174 



TH E X E W G E N E S E E F A R M E R 



Vol. 1. f 



yrom thi Fanners' Cabinet. 



Book Farmiug. 



Sir — On n visit to n young uml ncigbbiring form- 

 er, one wliQ bid IcU " the busy town tur the peaceful 

 cuiinlry," in he ..:iys, ami who rcails the ngrie-ullurol 

 '.vorks of tlie day in bis "wn delencc, 1 eiiw inuny 

 things about bi3 bouse and preiniaes which even 1 — an 

 old fanner, with perhaps a pretty strong epice of pre- 

 judice, especially against bouli furniing — at oijccc;)uld 

 perceive were improvements upon the old plans nd ipt- 

 cd by my grandfather, 1 had called upon him to oiler 

 my services by way ot advice, but I v.iw that beiore 1 

 entered the hjiiic, I was sensible that i had come to 

 the wrong place fur that bu6ine=c — so I made what is 

 called a virtue of neco^8;ty, and beli my tongue. — 

 Why, Mr. E iitor, before i left liim, 1 found that he 

 was tlij oldest in point of knowledge, and only want- 

 ed a little practice to render him by far a better mana- 

 ger than mysel/'^I guess lie talked like a book, and 

 had chapter and verse iit bis fingers' ends for every 

 thing he did, and someibing better than that too, for 

 he had the modesty to listen, while I described some 

 of our old fiishioned m.ides of management, which, 

 luiwever, he would demolish, although very quietly, 

 in about half a minute, by turmng to hisbooks, which, 

 1 declare, he seemed to have the power to iind just 

 what he looked after; and the truth of his notions was, 

 I am c impelled to say, as plain as A, 15, C. 'I'bere 

 is one thing however, in wdiich 1 think he is wrong; 

 he snyn we do not, according to his calculation, plough 

 deep enough — now, I think, if any thing, we plough 

 too deep, and so 1 told him, but he only an3wercd he 

 wa^ yonng, and was desirous of getting information 

 by t/in/ing it, and was making cxjicriineiUs which 

 \v nild'c.uivinee him of th.- truth or bilsity of the the- 

 ory; and then he asked me if ever 1 had given 

 the thing a fiir tnni 1 which I was bound to say 1 

 Lad not; and there, Mr. Editor, these youngsters have 

 the advantage over us — for nothing will satisfy ihern 

 but rooting to the bottom of things; and it w.is in vain 

 for me to say, as I did iO|ientc'diy, " he nriy be sore 

 that I was right in my notions on that subject, and he 

 w.mld fniil it so." 



His dairy cjws which he bad bought but the Inst 

 year, were all oi' the proper age and in full milk, for 

 he tokl me, as often as he was convinced that he had a 

 bad milker, he sold her right awnv and bought nnolh 

 er; for, added he, '* my books tell me there is more 

 than a hnndrei per cent, difference between a good 

 and a bad milker, for wiiile a good milker gives d pra- 

 Jit,n bad milker gives a i;.-.'i'." This was physic to 

 me, for I knew that one half my dairy cows were too 

 old or too young, and the other half far Irom good — so 

 I said nothing. 



ISut there was one thing in which he shamed me, 

 and that was the way in which he had chong'*d the 

 Situation of his cnttlu yard, so as to prevent the drain- 

 age of the dung from passing over the high road and 

 d )\vn the ditch, as had been the case fjr the loot age 

 or two, and this he had ilone so easily too, for, by dig- 

 ging up the l).>ttom of t!ieold yard two or three feet in 

 depth in the centre, he had cast it hollow, and obtnin- 

 cd by these means many hundrcil loads of the richest 

 mould, exactly in the place whei'e it wai icquired, and 

 oil without the cost and labour of carting, to act as n 

 sponge to Boilc up the draining during the winter; and 

 now 1 found him turning it up with his long manure, 

 a heiji, 1 had almost said, as large as a little burn I tlii?i 

 was killing two birds with one st-me, you see, audi 

 wondered how the idea could have entcrcl his head — 

 for I am sure it had never entered mine — but he took 

 dnvno book where there wad a idcturc of n cattle 

 yard as natural as life, and pointed out the advantage? 

 of l\n alteration, and made a calculation of the saving 

 it would be to him in the course of the year, in th* ar 

 tielc of manure, that ijuite astonished me; and then 

 be went to work with his iiguring to show me the 

 quantity of capital mould he had obtained, iiierijiy by 

 digging; multiplying together, as he called it, the 

 length and breadth by the height, and turning the 

 whole into lorrh, without evei loading a bit of it — I 

 djelarc it made me feel all-over-like to sec him go from 

 Dm to Ueersheba in about a whistle. 



Bat there was n machine in a shed at iho end of the 

 ho loc, that was n caution to roc; it Wfis a large grind- 

 6. me set upon rollers, so true, that wjlb a single lin- 

 ger i; might be set off as though it tvould go for a 

 nnnth; now thai was a tool which I had |)romiRed to 

 get fir the last ten years, but never found time to do it, 

 although it has cost me hundreds of hours, and some- 

 thing more than tiiiij, to go to the tavern a mile of}", 

 every time we want to grind a scythe, or hook or axe, 

 and operate upon an old worn out, rickety thing, about 

 a^ s tiooth ae the back of my bond, a quality which it 

 Rjver biifo'" -t'oei' ine wa3cho-«en by tho owner and 



tenant o^' the tavern, for the purpose of keeping tie 

 noses of his customers so long at the grindstone, as to 

 bring on a desire for drink; and, now 1 think ol it, it 

 is placed in the nine-pin alley 1 I would have patetd 

 without noticing it, but my yonng friend remarked, 

 "here is the ciieopci'I ortiele I ever bought; It is large 

 and cuts so readily thiit it is no labor to use; 1 guess ;t 

 has saved me about the amount of a rent already; nil 

 our tools, from the knives of the table to the hots, 

 spades, shovels, and I'ick-a.vcs, are kept sharp, and it 

 is pleasure to work with them; iit hoytime and har- 

 VI e: we geneially give our scythes a ti'Ueh every 

 morning, which saves hours in the doy and many a 

 weary back, besides cutting the crops closer and clean- 

 er; 1 cannot calculate the value of such a conve- 

 nience, becttuse I have never been without one:" but 

 I thought I could, and from that moment determined 

 to get one right away. He had many other ttiange 

 things about him, the knowledge of wdiich he told me 

 he had obtained from books; but as 1 must have tired 

 yon hy this time, I shall reserve a. farther description 

 of them for another opportunity. 



ONE OF THE OLD SCHOOL. 

 P. S. He had also wdiat, he termed course of crops, 

 different from ours, which I must notice in my next. 



Frum tke Amtrican Famitr, 



Ilenery. 



This is a new term to us, and when v/e first noticed 

 the article which is subjoined, we were at a loss to de- 

 line its meaning; but we soon discovered that it was 

 upon a subject that is too much neglected by our farm- 

 ers, and laid it by for insertion in our pnjier. Our at- 

 tention is again called thcrto by the reception of a let- 

 ter from one ot the most eminent and successful agri- 

 culturists in the United States, the proprietor ot the 

 Tlircc HiUs Farm, near Albany, who, in discoursing 

 of other matters, thus introduces the suliject of poul- 

 II y, which we think worthy the attention of all who 

 wi-h to enjoy the lu.xniy cninnating from the *' Ilen- 

 ery." It is also particularly worthy the attention of 

 those residing near the niai kets, where they can ob- 

 tain an average price of 16^ cents per dozen the year 

 round fjr eggs, and ^'ii to $3 per titzen for chickens 

 Mr. Cement observes: — 



" I am now paying particnior attention to poultry, 

 have built me a poultry house, and enclosed a yaril for 

 them to roam in. In this section considerable atten- 

 tion is being paid to poultry. Since I built my poul- 

 try house, several have followed suit, and I have no 

 reason to regret the expense; fur, from (iO hen3 we ob- 

 tained in six months, yCUO eggs; whereas in firmer 

 years, when 1 kept from SO to 100 hens, 400 and 500 

 were all wc obtained during the year, Btsides they 

 are not half as much trouble on the farm." 



HENERV NOT HKNRV. 



Hcnrn/~ says our neighbor Adams of the Temper- 

 ance Grzette, is lo hcv^, what piggery is to pigs, or 

 rookery is to rooks, — he might have added — or hog- 

 gery to hogs, and cowery to cows. We aie glad to 

 lind him so learned in these matters, and especially to 

 see him willing to turn his knovvleilge to a practical 

 iiccoinit. 



During a late visit in Wintnrop, he noticed the 

 liencry establishment of Rev. D. Thurston, which, ae 

 he thinks it an improvement on the common method 

 oi keeping hens, he thus describes in the last Gazette: 



I.MPROOKU HKNEKY. 



Wcjjre not sure that Hcnr.nj is a tiic'inittmj word; 

 hut we suppose that our readers will uiulcist'ind it — 

 if not, we would say that henery is to hens what p'g- 

 gery is to pigs, or rookery to rooks; — u jilace where 

 these u-,ol'nl feathered bipeds congregate, and perfmm 

 the appropriate duties of their stiition. We lately 

 met with one of these establishments, which ece.nied 

 to us so excellently adapted to its purpose, that we 

 have thought it worth a brief description. 



First, then, in the upper part of the barn is an apart- 

 ment 12 feet square, boarded so as to prevent the es- 

 cape of what is put within it. Here the to.vls are to 

 roost, lay their eggs, and perfniu all their in-door 

 work. At the distance of a rod and n half from the 

 barn, on the borders of the garden, is aiiodier oport- 

 nient, of o'jout tho same dimensions as tho first, sur- 

 rounded by n high fence made of loth stuff, sawed 

 two inches wide, and nine feet long, and put on close 

 enough to prevent the hens getting out. These two 

 apartments are c mneeted by a cofcrtil trui/, which pas- 

 ses from the scaffold of the barn, in what sooic would 

 call slantindicular direction, to thetencc, about three 

 feet from the top, and is continued down to tlie ground 

 in the inside of the yard. This is made tight. top and 

 b.ittom, and on one side, but with open work on the 

 othor side. Through ihia covered way tho inmatss of 



the establishment poss when they choose, taking the 

 n.r ond enjoying the prospect, and when they come 

 into their out-door apitrtnieiit, tf.fv iiuU.lgc, ail libi- 

 tum in iheirfavorite amusement ot sctalehiiig diit and 

 devouring gravel. 



• Tiic result of the whole is, they ore kept under per- 

 fect contiol, and yet enjoy ail tout liberty which is CG- 

 senliol to their health ond con.fu't, ond v/hen you 

 want a fresh egg, jou have only to lilt a lid over a 

 row of little apartments, in which their nests are 

 made, ond you will lind ot nlitiost any lime of the 

 day, a plentiful supply. The little chickens, loo, C8 

 soon as they ore large enough to make excursions a- 

 blood, will be ready to perfoiin an excellent service in 

 the garden, by devouring the grulu antl insects. — 

 Thus the inhabitants ef our village", and of our cities, 

 even, who hove '' scope and verge eii.mgh" to possess 

 a barn and garden, can keep as much poultry as they 

 choose, without infringing in the leost upon the lows 

 of good neighborhood. Those who wish lo inspect 

 the establishment w'e have described, may he gratified 

 hy calling on Rev. D. Thurston of AVinthro))." 



The plan, doubtless, is a good one. Ey such an en- 

 closure, the fowls are kept liom doing damage in cul- 

 tivated grounds, are prtvmted from roving to theirown 

 hazard and injuiy, and will, if propeily fed, lay their 

 eggs and rear their young better, than if they enjoyed 

 a more enlarged libirty. Care should be taken, bow- 

 ever, when they are confined, to supply them liberally 

 with water, gravel, lime, and oniinal tood — such as 

 fresh meat, worms, ii'c. In this way, people in large 

 villages and cities can keep hens as well as though 

 they lived on farms in tlie country. Indeed, it would 

 be belter for farmers if they would at certain seasons 

 ol' the year, keep their poultry in such an establish- 

 ment. 



We do not know as we undcrsl".nd the necessity or 

 the benefits of separating the yord from the bam, by 

 the distance of a rod and a half unoccupied ground, 

 connected by the " covered way" or lube leading 

 from the barn to the yard. Our eatoLlishmer.t diffcia 

 from the foregoing chielly in this part'cular. Tho 

 yard is directly attached lo the back side of the barn, 

 from a wall of which a roof projects under which arc 

 poles for rooste. This is a shelter fiimi the rains ond 

 winds. On a level with the floor of the barn, two 

 holes ore cut, several feet distant from each other, suf- 

 licieiuly large t J enable a hen to enter one and skulk 

 out of the other into the yard again if she wishes. — 

 The hens like secrecy in these iniporlunt matters. — 

 Within the barn is a long chei t, covired by a lid, 

 having a communication with the yard by the holes 

 a.bresaid. The cheet is partitioned off into nests 

 where each hen is allowed to lay her eggs " alone in 

 her glory," I. tile expecting perhnp.^, that the top of 

 her excellent place of concealment is liable to be 

 opened, and her eggs taken awoy by human stratagem. 

 — Maine Cul. 



A Statcmcut 



Of tlie cnlUirc and proiiucl of S.'gnr Beet, Mangel 



IVuitzd, Field Carrot, and Sugar Parsnip, <,)i t!ie 



farm of James Goicen, Mount Alnj, in the season 



of 1S39. 



SubuiilteJ anj re.id liy Jamfs fioWAN. Icfore the " riiilctlcl- 



phiji Society fo.^ jiroiiioliejt -Vijricul.uie." 



The lond setapnit for these roots was port of en old 



apple orchard, and is a light, sandy soil, iniernii.\od 



with Mica, or Isiny'aes, and from wdjich a crop of 



corn had been taken the previous year. It was 



p'oughedas eaily in the spring ae poss bic, sny lS)th 



March, and before ploughing w: e linitd ot the rote of 



thirty bushels to the acre. It was ]U'rmitted to rest a 



few weeks, otter which it had a tolerable dressing of 



well rotted stable manure immediately ploughed in 



Befi.re harrowing, it was tica ed w ith a few cart loads, 

 say one hundred and fifty bushels, good street dirt, a|i- 

 plicd lime fashion from the cut, by seatteiing with 

 the shovel — then harrowed. The qiiaiilily of niannro 

 in all was not more than would hove been used on 

 similar soil in same condition for potatoes. The labor 

 up to sowing, was two plougliings, two harrowing?, 

 and one rolling — the lost operot-on deemed indispen- 

 sable in such soil, ond to render the diilling moic per- 



llolf an acre was intended for mangel wurtzel — 

 half an acre for sugar beet — half an acre for field car- 

 rote, and t. quarter of an acre for sugar parsnip; but 

 the seed for mangel won tzil falling shori. and there 

 being an abundance of beel seed en hand, the latter 

 was increased to more than half an acre, while the 

 former stood less by as much as the other was increo- 

 eed. 



The drill used wh-n working for beet ond mangel 

 wurtcel, was provided with three teeth, set two feet 



