1863. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



S77 



IMPORTANCE OP MAWXTBE. 



It is useless — nay, worse than useless — for us 

 to expect that our crops will feed us, unless we 

 first feed them. The phenomena of the vegetable 

 kingdom are, it is true, in many respects, inexi)li- 

 cable , yet enough of light has been tlirown upon 

 the path of the husbandman, by the lamps of sci- 

 ence, to demonstrate the fact that vegetation is 

 capable of receiving very important assistance 

 from man, and that in a great variety of ways. 



Without manure, the farmer can no more pro- 

 duce a series of remunerating crops — even from 

 the best and most affluent lands — than he can 

 produce fat animals without hay and grain. Every 

 plant which sjn-Ings from the soil, takes from it a 

 certain quantity of organic and inorganic matter, 

 which must be supplied to pre^'ent exhaustion ; 

 and this can be effected only bj- the application of 

 manure, or some equivalent means. 



The sources from which we are enabled to sup- 

 ply this waste are numerous. Every product of 

 the soil contains within itself the elements of re- 

 production, and when the vitalizing spirit ceases 

 its functions, and the chemical affinities resume 

 their control, that product is speedily resolved 

 back to its elementary constituents, and becomes 

 pabulum, or food for plants. The leaves of the 

 forest, small bushes, rotten wood, the various spe- 

 cies of fungi, as well as many substances of an 

 animal and mineral character, present themselves 

 as vaUial)le assistants in the labors of the farmer, 

 and when judiciously applied, produce both imme- 

 diate and ])ermanent results. 



^luck, which, in its purer state, is composed al- 

 most exclusively of organic matter in a state of 

 semi-putrescence, is a valuable adjunct, and one 

 that can be obtained in quantity on most 

 farms, or in their immediate vicinity. Mixed with 

 lime, or macerated in the barn-yard or stye with 

 the liquid and solid excrements of the stock, it 

 constitutes one of the most energetic and efficient 

 fertilizers that can be produced. 



Comi)osting is a branch of farming which has 

 not yet received the attention it deserves from the 

 generality of our farmers. It should be studied 

 as a science, and will be, when men come properly 

 to appreciate its importance. 



Brown Bkkad —Take one quart of buttermilk, 

 two teaspoonfuls of soda, four cups of Indian meal, 

 two cups of flour and half cup of molasses. Mix 

 and steam over a kettle of boiling water, for three 

 hours, and then bake for half an hour. This 

 makes very excellent bread, which is not unwhole- 

 some to he eaten when warm, as is raised bread. 



E^ TFie Mormon immigrant trains, comprising 

 over four tliousand persons, had becrun to arrive at 

 Salt Lake City at hist accounts. The season had 

 been rein:\'kal)ly dry on tlie plains, and the hard- 

 sliips of liie trip and the loss of stock have been 

 much u " ler liian usual. 



For the Keir England Farmer, 

 THE HARVESTS— APPLES AND TREES. 



Another harve.vt has been gathered in. In these 

 parts, we have cause to be thankful for the boun- 

 tiful harvests tiiat we have. I hope uU have 

 made note of that wiiich they have seen which 

 would he of advantage to us, and put it down on 

 paper, and let you scatter it broadcast through 

 the land by the means of your jjaper. If one 

 make note of a fact and make mention of it to a 

 neighbor, it becomes limited in its peregrinations, 

 but if it is in the Farmer thousands are those who 

 see it. In most every locality they have different 

 modes of trying to reach the same results. I find 

 that in the part of the country in which it has 

 been my fate to tarry, that they farm differently 

 and perha])3 for the better. In future letters I 

 will make some reference to them. 



It is a custom here to gather the apples prior to 

 the frosts, or before the leaves fall, as they wish 

 the skin of the apple to wither rather than to re- 

 main moist, as an api)le will if permitted to re- 

 main upon the tree until after heavy frosts. Those 

 near the seacoast pile up sea sand around their 

 young apple trees to jjrotect them from the mice, 

 and in the spring level around the trees, which re- 

 tards the grass from growing ; nicer fruit trees I 

 do not see. I have read of famed variety of grapes 

 puffed up to sell, but I have yet to see, in these 

 northern climes, better or larger grapes than grow 

 in the towns of Barrington and Strafford, on the 

 ledges and trees, unculiivated. s. P. M. 



Newcastle, N. //., Oct., 1863. 



Fur the Neic Knsland Farmer. 

 SHALL "W:E3 RAISE TOBACCO P 



The fapmers of the Connecticut Valley seem to 

 have the tobacco fever this year in its most ma- 

 Ugnant form. Those who remember the multi- 

 caulis fever some years ago, and later still the 

 hen fever, will have some idea of the tobacco fever 

 now raging here. 



Probably more tobacco has been planted the 

 present year in this valley than ever before in any 

 single year. Hardly a farmer can be found that has 

 not one or more acres, and we hear of some that 

 have ten, twenty and thirty acres of the weed. I 

 know of several instances where all the manure, 

 made on the farm fur a year, was ])Ut upon the to- 

 bacco land, leaving the grain, grass and root crops 

 to take care of themselves. This practice has 

 been followed for some years past to some extent, 

 and the consequence is, these farmers are obliged 

 to buy hay and grain to carry their stock through 

 the winter, that they may get manure enough to 

 raise another tobacco crop. 



These farmers contend that by following the 

 above system they can make more than money 

 enough to buy the l)alance of hay, straw and 

 grain needed on the farm, and a handsome profit 

 besides, and that by changing the ground for to- 

 bacco each year, tliey will ultimately get their 

 farms up to a high state of fertility. 



I will admit, that at present prices tobacco will 

 probably ])ay better than any otlier field croj), but 

 can we depend on such prices any length of time ? 

 And when the prices do fall, will not many a poor 

 farmer be caught with a crop of tobacco on his 

 hands, and not much else to carry his family and 

 stock through tiie winter ? 



There are several objections in my mind to 



