418 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Sept. 



For the New England Farmer. 

 LAOTD AJNTD MANURE. 



Mr. Editor: — When will our farmers learn 

 that, to form with profit, thoy must cultivate no 

 more land than they can manure well ? Being in 

 one of the towns in New Hampshire a few months 

 since, and having an opportunity to learn some- 

 thing of the farming operations of several of the 

 largest cultivators of the soil in the town, I learned 

 that a large majority of them manured only at the 

 rate of from ten to twenty loads to the acre, and 

 this upon uplands that have had the same treat- 

 ment for many years, which of course is entirely 

 insufficient to have any lasting benefit. The con- 

 sequence is, that many of the farms from which 

 two tons of hay to the acre were cut years ago, 

 now barely produce one-half that quantity, and 

 very many farms of from one to two hundred 

 acres, and which ought to be a large source of in- 

 come to the owners, barely afi'ord them a support ; 

 and this on land naturally productive. 



Now there maybe various reasons for this state 

 of things, but in my opinion, the principal cause 

 arises from the miserable policy of cultivating 

 more land than they can manure sufficiently to 

 keep it in its original state of productiveness. I 

 believe it is just as impossible to keep an upland 

 farm in a state of cultivation that will renumerate 

 its owner for his labor and capital, without suf- 

 ficient manure, as it is for a man to labor without 

 sufficient food to nourish and strengthen him. If 

 farmers will look into this matter, and act up to 

 its truthfulness, my word for it, you shall hear less 

 about farming as being so very unprofitable. Some 

 fifteen years ago, in one of the hilly towns in New 

 Hampshii-e, a man purchased a farm of about 150 

 acres, which was pretty well worn out, but natu- 

 rally productive land, i)aying but a small portion 

 of the cost down, as he had but a few hundred 

 dollars to begin life v/ith. One of the first things 

 this man did, was to go to the village, and engage 

 manure, and draw it full two miles to his farm, 

 and up hill at that. The farmers about said to one 

 another that neighbor Jones could not afi'ord to 

 buy manure and haul it such a distance, as he was 

 yet in debt for his farm, and they prophesied 

 speedy bankruptcy for him. But neighbor Jones 

 still continued to buy manure, and the consequence 

 was that he got the best crops of any man in town, 

 and to-day he has the richest and most productive 

 farm in that vicinity, all paid for, and his neigh- 

 bors say it is worth at least ten thousand dollars, 

 and I believe still continues to buy manure as oc- 

 casion requii-es. 



It was my privilege to visit this town in Au- 

 gust last, and from an eminence I could overlook 

 some twenty-five farms, and where almost every 

 other one was parched and dried up, neighbor 

 Jones's was green and luxuriant, showing plainly 

 the eff'ects of high cultivation. c. c. H. 



Boston, July 20, 1860. 



The Curculio. — Having seen our own apples 

 so thoroughly hacked for the last six or eight 

 years, that we have found it difficult, some sea- 

 sons, to select a single specimen which did not 

 bear unmistakable evidence of the operations of 

 the curculio, we are not a little surprised to find 



the following paragraph in the published proceed- 

 ings of the Ohio Pomological Society. 



"Much general conversation was had on the 

 subject, and no one present was of the opinion 

 that the curculio ever committed any ravages up- 

 on the apple. Dr. Waixler, ^Ir. Bateham and 

 others expressed the belief that the injury observed 

 by the gentleman in Washington county, was the 

 work of the apple worm, and not the curculio.' 



HYMlSr OF THE HAKVESTERS. 



We gather them iu — the bright green leaves — 



With our scythes and rakes to-day. 

 And the mow grows l>ig, as the pitcher heaves 



His lift in the sweltering hay. 

 O ho ! afield ! for the mower's scythe, 



Hath a ring as of destiny, 

 Sweeping the earth of its burden lithe, 



As it's swung in wrathful glee. 



We gather them in — the nodding plumes 



Of the yellow and bearded grain, 

 And the flash of our sickles' light illumes 



Our march o'er the vanquished plain. 

 Anon, we come with the steed-drawn car— , 



The cunning of modern laws ; 

 And acres stoop to its clanking jar, 



As it rocks its hungry jaws. 



We gather them in — the mellow fruits, 



From the shrub, the vine and tree. 

 With their russet, and golden, and purple suits, 



To garnish our treasury. 

 And each has a treasure stored, 



All a'neath Us tinted rind. 

 To cheer our guests at the social board, 



When we leave our cares behind. 



We gather them in — this goodly store — 



But not with the miser's gust, 

 For that great All-Father we adore, 



Hatlr given it but in trust: 

 And our work of death is but for life, 



In the wintry days to come — 

 Then a blessing upon tlie reaper's strife, 



And a shout at his Harvest Home. 



For ike New England Farmer, 

 POTATO. 



A variety of potato originated from seed is 

 generally considered in England to continue 

 about 14 years in perfection ; after this ])eriod it 

 gradually loses its good qualities and becomes un- 

 productive. Without endeavoring to account for 

 the origin of the potato rot, they say that in the 

 present state of this disease, clay soils should 

 be avoided, for out of 1G3 cases in England, 129 

 were returned as having suff"ercd much by the dis- 

 ease. Out of 32 cases on peaty soil, cultivated 

 with moss in the hill, 5 suff"ered much, and 17 

 little, while 10 escaped altogether. The conclu- 

 sion to which they arrived was, that in pure, well 

 drained peat moss, potatoes suff"er very little from 

 disease. Wood ashes are a safe manure when 

 applied by themselves, and crops have sufi'ered 

 little or nothing by disease, throughout Great 

 Britain, when manured with them alone in the 

 proportion of 27 to 4, but when mixed with farm- 

 yard dung, the success has been ns 54 to 15, that 

 is, in the former case 4 sufi'ered much, while 54 



