No. 9. 



AND GviRDENER'S JOURNAL. 



T35 



same return, acre for acre, in ordinary enclosed pas- 

 tures. The greatest objection to them in Canada, ari- 

 ses from the wool not suiting the machinery in com- 

 inonusc; but as that may soon be obviated, and they 

 are so valuable in all other respects, they call for spe- 

 cial attention from our farmers. It is worthy of re- 

 mark, that Leicester mutton, although quite as early 

 Bnd fat, is infinitely superior in grain and flavor to the 

 same sheep grown in England. 



One other description of stock remains to be noticed, 

 and though last, not least important to Canadian farm- 

 ers. The ffyg" may be well denominated ihe^V/Vnt/ 

 of Canada, without whose aid our forests could hardly 

 be subdued. There is probably no domestic animal 

 whose improvement has been more neglected, or 

 ibandoned to chance, nor is there one which can 



ake a better return for care and attention. We 

 ,ave only to look at the gaunt, flat-sided brute, with 

 [ahead, Ibrming, (as Paddy might say,) one-third of 

 his carcase, and then cast our eye upon the short-leg- 

 ged, round-bodied, comfortable looking pig, living 

 most probably upon the next adjoining farm, to be ful- 

 y satisfied of the ctilpable negligence displayed in this 

 department. The swine of Canada must not be con- 

 demned in too general terms, as the best and worst 

 luietics meet our observation in every neighborhood. 

 I In raising hogs, two objects present themselves, and 

 ivill regulate the prudent husbandman in the selection 

 >f a breed. He may require pork merely as an arti- 

 tle for family consumption, or be may incline to grow 

 I as aivobject of merchandize. For the first of these 

 jurposes, the small breed ol China make nn excellent 

 oundation,from the tendency to be always ready for the 

 inife, and susceptible of any modification, by croeaing, 

 which may be desired. 



Of the larger breeds, for bacon or salted pork, the 

 Hampshire and Sussex, white breeds, and the Berk- 

 shire, piebald, black, or tawny, will be found to suit 

 he farmer best. 



With the Hog, as with all other live stock, one in 

 variable rule should be rigidly adhered to, and which 

 3 the only security against disajjpointment and loss: 

 Kexer keep more mouths than you are lyerfettbj able to 

 atisfij. It is painful and disgraceful to contemplate 

 he herds of wretched swine, starving along ourhigh- 

 vays, worried and mangled by dogs, and breaking the 

 ronds of good neighborhoods by provoking inroads 

 ipon crops. 



Little or no attention has yet been paid to the great 

 idvantages of a change of seed, whether of grain, pidse, 

 ■r roots. It is a well established fact in vegetation, that 

 .he quality and product are greatly improved by a 

 :hange of seed, from heavy land to light soil, and vi- 

 :a versa. 



It is more than time however, to close these cursory 

 ■emarks,aud I shall only add,that if you consider them 

 worthy of a place in your journal, I trust they will be 

 perused in the spirit in which they have been penned, 

 triz: a candid and anxious desire to advance the great 

 MUse which you seek to forward, and tend to strength- 

 !n A^rlmlture, the impregnable bulwark for the secu- 

 rity and happiness of nations. 



Yours, &c., 



WoodhiU, V. C. ADAM FERGUSSON. 



Rainy Days. 



Messrs. Editors — How much timeis thrown away 

 by some formers in our country, %vhen the weather will 

 not permit them to work out of doors. This tinig 

 might be well improved by every farmer. In the 

 course of a season there aro many days of wet weath- 

 er, in which it is impossible to do work on a farm; 

 tbrefore when these are lost, (as they are to many far- 

 mers of my acquaintance in this vicinity,) they amount 

 to a considerable sum. " Time is money," as the 



saying is; therefore how im|)ortant it is for we farm- 

 ers, at this day of the world, to take care of the pence, 

 and the pounds will take caro of thcmeelvce. Now if 

 this is good advice in money matters, it will surely ap- 

 ply to our domestic atl'airs — to thooe hours and 

 half-days when the rain drives us under shelter. — 

 Well, some will ask how these hours and half-days 

 can best be employed? I will loll you, my brother 

 farmers. Get yourselves a set of carpenter's tools, 

 and make a work bench, and if you can plane a board 

 and drive a nail, you will find enough to occupy all the 

 spare hours ond days you will have in a year. The 

 tools will cost but fivcor si.\ dollars, such as are most 

 necessary for a farmer's use, and then yoii will be able 

 to keep your out buildings, and stable doors, &c., in 

 good repair, without paying out the money. If your 

 barn doors get out of order, the first rainy day you 

 can repair them. If a board on your fence gels loose, 

 put a nail in it or replace it. In this way you can im- 

 prove every rainy day, and thereby keep your build- 

 ings and fences in good condition. 



Many farmers in our country think if any small job 

 of work is necessary to be done on their premises, they 

 must go and employ a mechanic to do it, when they 

 could very probably do it just as well themselves, and 

 consequently save e.vpense. If a farmer wants any 

 plain and useful furniture for hie- kitchen, such, for in- 

 stance, as a pine table, benches, &c., take a rainy day 

 to do it. But it is unnecessary to multiply the many 

 things that might be done or prepared in such times. 

 Every farmer that looks around his premises, (if he is 

 not in the habit of so doing,) will generally find his 

 out-building3 and fences are decaying; and out of 

 repair. Every farmer should accustom himself to the 

 use of tools, and whenever he wants a small job o{ 

 work done, he can do it himself, without going four or 

 five miles after a carpenter. I know a good many far- 

 mers in this vicinity, that have not a hatchet, drawing 

 knife, augur, plane, or work bench, about their prem- 

 ises. The consequence is, their jobs go undone, and 

 they have naught to do on rainy days. Is this econo- 

 my ? I can safely answer no. Yet such men will 

 carry their graiir five miles further to a market where 

 they can get two cents more on a bushel. Enough 

 has been said to convince those who do not improve 

 rainy days, that they must inevitably be running down 

 hill, and soon their out-buildings, fences, &c., will all 

 be gone. Therefore I close my remarks upon this 

 subject, and wait with anxious solicitation to hear it 

 more fully dealt with. 



August mh, ^s^o. w. s. T. 



Shade Trees in Pastures. 



Mi-:s3R3. Editors — I believe it is a pi'evoiling opin- 

 ion among farmers, that shade trees are beneficial to 

 cattle in hot weather; but fronr my own observation, I 

 am inclined to think quite differently. 



I have been engaged in the dairy business several 

 years, and have noticed that cows often decline in their 

 milk in very hot weather, notwithstanding they had 

 good pasture and plenty of water. This led me to 

 take some pains to ascertain the cause of this declen- 

 sion. I am this season milking fifty-five cows; I have 

 two pastures, of about seventy-five acres each, both 

 seeded with the same kind of grass, the feed equally 

 good, and both well watered. One of them has no 

 shade in it, but the other has a piece of woodland en- 

 closed with it, and some scattering trees which afford 

 shade. Until recently I have made a practice of turn- 

 ing my cows into one pasture one week, and into the 

 other the next. Since otir intense hot weather came 

 on, I noticed that during the week when the cows 

 were in the shady pasture, the weight of our cheese 

 was from 15 to 20 lbs. per day less, than during the 

 week when they were in the pasture without shade. 



This led me to examine the cause, and I noticed that 

 in very hot weather cows will not (erd hall as many 

 hours when they can find sliade, as they will when de- 

 brived of it. Of late I have practised turning my 

 cows into the shady pasture during nights and cloudy 

 weather, and into the other pasture during sunny wea- 

 ther; since which my cheese has been of uniform and 

 full weight. Hence i am led to believe that pastures 

 for cows are better without than with shade. Such is 

 their diead of the scorching rays of the sun that cattle 

 will stand in the shade and fight fhes until hunger 

 forces them from their retreat. 



Yours respectfully, 



ARTHUR F. BILL. 

 Ilardingshirg, la. 



lictiKirks. — Our correspondent seems to be fully 

 convinced that shade trees are injurious to cow-pas- 

 tures ; still we feel inclined to doubt whether the evil 

 effect is generally as great as oppeared to him. At all 

 events we shall cry " IVoodnian spare that tree ;" 

 and we hope our readers will " Tunch not a single 

 bough" of the beautiful oaks, elms, maples, &c. which 

 perchance may now ornament the boundcries of their 

 pastures, until more evidence is adduced against them, 

 and some admirer of Nature's beauties has been allow- 

 ed to speak in th'eir behalf. — Kds. 



For tlie jVeic Genisec Farmer. 

 Prospects of the Wheat Market. 



Mkssrs. Editors — The question is in the mouth of 

 every farmer you meet — What price shall we be able 

 to get for our wheat ? — And no wonder it is often ask- 

 ed; for on its answer depends in a great degree the 

 footing of our profit-and-loss account for the year. 



Interesting as the question is however, it unfortu- 

 nately belongs to that closs which is easier asked than 

 answered. To undertake to predict the realization of 

 any specific price might seem presumptuous: yet I ■ 

 will venture to say that much, very much, depends 

 upon our icisdom and sagacilij in marketing the arti- 

 cle It is n mortifying fact that our farmers, as a class, 

 are extremely unwise in this branch of our business. 

 When prices are high, we hold on for higher; and 

 when low, we seem to think there is no time to be 

 lost in securing what little we can get. In the fever 

 of excitement we simultaneounly rush upon the mar- 

 ket, and after glutting and depressing it to its lowest 

 ebb, sell our hard earnings for a mere " mess of pot- 

 tage." We pay little or no regard to the prospect of 

 demand and supply, — considerations upon which all 

 commercial transactions should be based ;t— but (par- 

 ticulatly when prices are extreme either way) allow 

 ourselves to be governed quite too much by the im- 

 pulse of temporary excitement. 



Let us now look at the prospect before lis, with re. 

 ference to the considerations of demand and supply. 



And, first of supply, or quantity on hand. Wo 

 have undoubtedly, (noiwiihstanding local failures heie 

 and there, ftora diftbrent causes,) at least as large a 

 quantity of bread stuff's on hand, and probably as great 

 a surplus, after supplying our own people, as we ever 

 had. Of course this surplus will of itself involve us 

 in ruinous prices, unless it shall he absorbed by for- 

 eign demand. Hence it becomes us to ascertain 

 whether such a demand may be prudently calculated 

 upon; and if so, to what extent. 



By a careful examination of extracts from late Eng- 

 lish papers, we shall find, 



1st. That the weather is so ominous as to produce 

 serioi'B apprehensions of a bad harvest. These fears 

 however, may, and quite probably will, be dissipated 

 by a favoroblg change of weather. 



2d. That the prospect is that the crop thronghout 

 Great Britain " will prove much, very much, below 

 nn avpiogp." That in Ireland " the peasantry are 



