II ■■ IMIIMI iii m nii I I 



No. 8. 



AND GARI)]!:.\r:R'S JOI RNAf,. 



115 



about £15, nnl will conio n (ibove 7C0 h.'g-hinjs of 

 wa'.tr. Oiic of iuily-fivc hci in (linnit'ter, by five in 

 (]c; lb ill lue cfiilif, wMlcon'cin i!l:in;;.l!iO bcig>:l:eou8, 

 ar.d may be tX'Cineci f.tr abciu .Ci'-. This is a vfltl 

 supply at a 6i;ii;il c.\ycrco. Tbe wnli i- tbu.-i piescrvcd 

 IS i:l nii cxocllfiTt qusliiy, whtii not ii jmtd ly tbt 

 catilo. 



Much might be Bfii"! upon lue rxcellvncc I'f ib'e 

 1 Inn, ln;t I will ictVnin iVi.ni tresji.'isslu;.' i-poii your 

 volutble foluiniid, by L'iving atiy observaiioiia of ni\ 

 ow,-!, lliiiikinj' tbcy mny be uucallcd for, 

 1 LUi, tSir, youi ubcditni si-rvant, 



YEOMAN OF KENT. 



piece of ground. Tbe drawing lbs dirt on after pla- 

 cing li'.e stones, is lo quick du e, that it iiccd not en- 

 ter Into tbe c.tiJOiice. 



Tbe liitcli jboiild not be filled nearer tbnu witbin 

 Bix iuclics oi' tbe eurfn/o. S'>d3 or slrnw tbould he 

 liii'l oil Uieiliues iirr\ior8 ro rep'aein^' '.be dirt. Tbs 

 quantity of %va*er to be d ^eharged, and tbct>tun:-a uiJ- 

 on the land, will influence no to widib nnJ depth of 

 the dilcb. 



I hive r.inde my article longer than I had intended 

 \vb<:u 1 began tn wiite. I am not aiiibiiious to make 

 a display of my farming, b.it to elicit atttniioii to, and 

 promote agriL-tdtural interests. R. H. 



Uiinburii, Mill/ 3, 1841. 



Frum till f.i-ntlon Ttiarh L.ci,c EzpTcss. 

 On Sliik'i's i'oHiis. 



Sir — Observing one oi yotir correspondents to he 

 making an iriquiiy as to a mc'h"d of making ponds, 

 I take the liberty nf sending you, lor his )n:'ormatton, 

 the method practised some time ago by Mr. Rjbert 

 Gardiner, of Kilham, in tbe Kast Riding of York- 

 shire. 



Lei a eircio be marked on the ground eixty feet 

 ill diameter — ui«rc or less as tbe person choi:=es, or 

 (be fUe 01 tbe pasture may require n j-iipi It of v.'aior — 

 and if of tbit diameter, let it be bolloAed out into ihe 

 ebapo of a basin, or bowl, to tbe depth of seven feet in 

 tbe centre ; when tbe suifnce of this hollow b.ts been 

 mked situoib, let it be well beaten over, so as to re- 

 duce it into as even, uniform and liim a surface, as 

 the nature of the ground Will admit of; on this, well 

 slacked I'ud gcreeii^'d lime must be uniformly spiead 

 with a riddle, to the ihiekiiess of two or ibiee inches: 

 the more poroua or open the ground, the greater will 

 be the quantiiy oflimereeUTed : this lime tlieii must I 6 

 slightly watered, to make it adhere firmly to the 

 place, and great care mutbe talun to spread it equal- 

 ly, so that no place may remain uncovered— as on 

 the lime depends, m'lre than any thing else, the suc- 

 cees of tbe woik. On this limi; must be laid a bed of 

 clay, to about the thickness of si.v inches, which being 

 niuistc:m;d suIikMenily to render it ductile, is to be 

 beaten with mallets or beetles, into a eompacl solid 

 body, capable of being trodden upon without impres- 

 sion or injury. Great eare is to bs taken in laying 

 on this mass of clny uniformly, and healing it into a 

 cuaiptct body ; for ibis purpose no moie must be 

 spreod at a time up.in tbe lime tbati can undergo the 

 beating, while it retains a proper temper nj- consist- 

 ence for the purpose ; after the whole is thus (inisbed, 

 it is gone over several times with tbe beaters, and 

 sprinkled each time with water, and care is taken to 

 prevent any cracks being ILrmcd, which might entire- 

 ly destroy the power of retemiin. 



Pure brick clay is not requ red in pirticular, but 

 any tenacious earth; that by be.".ting will Uccome a so- 

 lid conipact body, w-ill ;.n:^wer the purpose. As eoen 

 las this ope.-ation has been duly performed, the whole 

 •surface of the clay is eove.'ed, to oboiit the thickness 

 of a foot, with bnken chalk, ^e gravel, or the chip- 

 pings of mjuldering stuic, or limestone D prevent 

 any injury being done by tbe treading of eatile. — 

 It is nejjssary to observe, that coar-e stones ought 

 not to be made use of, as tbcy are liable to be dis- 



filaccd by the treading ot cattle. They are also 

 iable to b? pressed into or through the clay, or 

 to be rolled down to the bottom of tbe pond ; un- 

 der all which circumstances, the beds of lime and 

 clay are liable to be broken, an.l the water conse- 

 <iuently let out of the i.ond. S.enetimcs tbe clay \i 

 covered with sods, the gr"35 side being laid down- 

 ward a? a supp irt to the g-a>'el, by which some sav- 

 ing of the covering may bo made; or a covering of 

 e%rth may be used, wiiere gravel and such like are 

 acSVee. After tbe clay has been well beaten, some- 

 workmen water tlie s-irfacs of it, and f)ld sb'^ep or 

 pigs for a c msiderable time upoa it — the treading of 



which is found, to be serviceable in rendering it more 



eompsct. 

 The h.-st season for making these pond?, is thought 



to be .n autumn, r3 they are then likely to be filled the 



soonest, and the least liable to crack bef« re they are 

 I'fiUed. Should the weather prove dry at tbe time 



they are tinislied, it is well to cover the surface wiih 



straw, or litter, to hinder them from cracking. 



These ponds arc usually made at the foot of some 



declivity where, after heavy rains, water may run into 



Uiem from the load, but many are place! w'ithout any 



iSBch assistance, it beinj found ihat tbe ram which 



ifclla upon tUi.-ir surlace is lu general sufiicient for a 



supply, after they have been once filled ; for this pur 



pose snow is sometimes collected and heaped upon 



them iho first winter after they are finished. One ol „ „ . , _ - , 



the Blw above (fiveii, hi ssya, may be executod for dnetiVB and of ctrsy mBProgement, ii first to TOironnd ] 



Keep your Laud Dry. 



The imponauce of draining is not duly appreciated, 

 nor Its practice well uiiderctood, among u^, Aiiiioeijb 

 water is indispeiisub'e to vegetation, loo imieh c>f it 

 is as hurtful as too little. It is nccessaiy to the germ- 

 ination of the seed, to tbe decom)ii)ditio;i of the veget- 

 able matter in lue soil, to llie transniissioii of tbe 

 food from the soil to the plant, to its circubitinii there, 

 and 10 tbe niat'iiity of the pioduct. All ihee-e useful 

 purposes are ilefented, where water rcmuins in tbe 

 soil to eicee.s — ihe setd rots, the vegetable matter 

 which r-hou!U scive r.s the fond of the ero|t, rcmtiiiis 

 unsoluble, in consequence of the absence of heat and 

 air, which the water excludes ; or, if the seid grows, 

 the plant io sickly, for want of its proper food, and 

 there is con.«"qiicnlly a virtual failure in the harvest. — 

 It is nut from tbe i,uifaee only we arc to determine 

 whether laud is siifiieiently dry to ruslcin a healthy 

 vegetation ; tut we a;e to e.xnmine the surfaee strat- 

 um, into whieh the roots of the plants penetrate, and 

 from wliieh th y draw their food. If this is habitual- 

 ly wet — if itgrowc marshy plants — it water will col- 

 lect in a hole sunk fifteen inches below the surface — ' 

 the Inod is t'lo wet for culiivcted crops, and means 

 should be adopted to render it more dry. From my 

 partial acquaintance with this country, I feel assured 

 that much of your host land is tendered unfit for till- 

 age, or tbe giowih of the finer grasses, by reason of 

 the e.veess of water, which parses or reposes upon the 

 subsoil unnoticed by the cultivator. These lands are 

 denominated evld and sour, ai,d they truly are so. — 

 Cold sour Inn. is are invariably wet lam's below, if not 

 upon tbe furfoce. But if the euperlhions water 

 were judiciously conducted off by eflieient undcr- 

 drains, (for tbe coBstruction of which, you possess 

 tbe beat materials in abundance,) tliese lends would 

 be rendered warm and sweet, and highly productive, 

 and tbe ou;lay would be repaid by the increased value 

 of two or three of the first crops. Wet lands are gen 

 erally rich lands, nbounding in vegetable matters, 

 which water has jirescrvcd from dec.imposilion, but 

 whieh readily beeome the food of plants, when the 

 water is drawn olT, Let me imagine a case, which I 

 am sure will be found to e.vi.^t in many pans of your 

 country. There is a slope of a little bill, half a mile 

 in extent, terminating in a iiat forty rods wide, through 

 whieh a brook meanders. Tbe soil on this slope, and 

 in this fiat is of a light porous ipiality, si.'i; to twelve 

 inches deep, repo^ing oi: a subsoil impervious to wa- 

 ter, as eipy, rock or haidpan. By soil, I mean the 

 upper stratum, in which vegetable maticrBa''c blended 

 with earthly materials, an-.l which constilute the true 

 p.isture of plants, Menr the top of this sliqe, all along 

 on a horizontal level, oi .perhaps lower tlown, spouts 

 or springs burst through the subsoil, a thing very 

 coniiiion in hilly districts, the waters from which 

 tiiuling an ca^y passage tkrttvgh the loose soil, spread 

 and run donii the slope, and uptjn the stjisuit and 

 through the fiat, till they find their level in the brook. 

 A thermometer [ilunged djwn to the subnoll, will in- 

 dicate, at niidsumm.er, a temperature iirobably not 

 grea'cr than Go"' whereas to grow and mature many of 

 our lest farm crops, we requij'eaheat in the toilof70~' 

 or S)'', How shall we remedy this evil, and render 

 this land profitob'e to the occupant ? Simply by mak- 

 ing an underJrain or drains, in a gently inclining di- 

 rection ; a little below these spouts or springs, and, 

 if practienble, somewhat into the subsoil. Tlicse will 

 e-a'tcb and conduct ofT the spouting waters, and by 

 laying the lower plane dry and permeable to heat 

 air, develope all its natuial powers of fertility. 



I will suppose another case — that of a flat surfaee, 

 underlaid by an impervious subsoil. This is render- 

 ed unproduetive, or difiicult to manage, by singiuint 

 waters. The rain and snow waters, penetrating the 

 soil, ere arrested in their downward passage, by the 

 subsoil, which not having elope to pass them oti', they 

 here remain and stagnate, and putrii'y, tdike prejudi- 

 cial to vegetable an.l animal health. Tbe mode of 

 raining such grounds, and of rendering them prO' 



the field with a good underdrain and to construct a 

 ■Tuffieieiit open drain fioni the outlay to carry off the 

 waters. Then with the plough, thrt w the lend into 

 ridges of twenty to thirty feel in breadth, oecoiding to 

 the tenai iiy of the soil, in the di.'-eclion of the slope, 

 iiiid sink an underdrain in each ot the fmrows be- 

 tween tbo ridges, terminating them in the lower 

 Cioss drain. The u;ateriuls of the nnder.diaina, which 

 are generally ttoues, should be laid so low as to admit 

 of the free passage of the plough over them. The 

 supeillaoiis water, by the Inwa of grr.vitatiioi, sdtlo 

 into these drains, and pats off and tlie soil becomes 

 dry, manageable and productive. An aequaintanca 

 called upon a Scotch farmer whose form had been un- 

 derdio iicd in this way, and being inforircd that 

 the iiiiprovement cost si.vteen dollars an acre, tila 

 having been used, remarked that it was a costly 

 m; rovement. " Yes," was the farmer's reply. 



" but it cost a deal mair net lu do il," which he illus- 

 trated by pointing} to an adjoining fa m, like situated, 

 which h'ld not been drained, and was overgiown wilh 

 rushes and wiih sedge gross, and then to bis own 

 tiehls teeming with iH.^-.iriancc and rich in the indica- 

 tions of' an abundant harvest, 



I have dwelt upon the c-ubjeet of draining with moro 

 detail, because I have peisonol'y realized its benefits, 

 iind am sure it may be extensively gone into with 

 certain prospect of reward, — Judge Buel. 



Far the J^cw Genttea Fanner. 

 Scraps of Isifoimation. 



LIVl.R C0.MPLA1.\T, 



MiissBS, Editors — Barley is an old n;edicine for 

 the cure of liver complaints. In the countries west of 

 the Allegany mountains, animals ore particularly sub- 

 ject to such complaints, especially hogs. Repeated 

 experiments have shown, that if they are fed with s 

 proportion of barley while fattening — say one-third or 

 one-half barley — their livers, when they are killed, 

 will be found free of any defect or unsoundness: 

 Whereas, if they are fattened upon corn or other arti- 

 cles, such as are generally used, a sound liver can rare- 

 ly be founfl. In order to produce this efiect, it is best 

 to feed tbo barley without cooking il ; — boiling it will 

 lessen its medicinal properties. 



DEAD sni;i-P. 



If the wool of dead sheep is not wonted for stock- 

 ings, it should be sheaied oflTftom ihcni instead ol^ be- 

 ing picked ofl", lf"sheored off, it can be sorted by tho 

 manufacturers, and will be pui chased by them at iia 

 fair value. It is also n great saving of labor, 



STKl.TdtES, OR COSTIVKNESS OF SHKEP. 



This complaint frequently arises from dry bay be- 

 coming consolidated in their stomachs. 



(;i;nj;. — To half a pint of yeast add hidf a pint of 

 lukewarm water, and, from a bottle, turn it down ihu 

 sheep's thio;,t. Dose it in this monncronce in two or 

 three hours, until relieved. , 



Th-s nicdicine operates by dissolving the contents 

 of the bowels by fermentation, and will generally opo' 

 rate when all other medicines fail — is Q cooking and 

 safe remedy. Doses of two or three quarts should he 

 given to oxen and cows clliicted wilh dry murrain, 

 which is similar to the complaint among sheep. 



I'utntots. — Sheep ate not fond of Potato tops, es- 

 pecially when they ore full grown, or getting old — 

 therefore, if your potatoe patch becomes too grassy or 

 weedy, either before or after hoeing, turn in youj 

 sheep, and they will shortly cnt down the gross and 



^veeds or'y he careful to tarn tuem cut os soon as 



they hive fiu shed the gross and weeds. 



HOCS IS PASTCKES. 



1 have conversed wilh many farmers upon tbe sub- 

 ject of letting liogs in upon pasture ground, and I find 

 upon inquiry that a majority are in favor of letting 

 old hogs tn upon pastuie ground, and think that tbcy 

 add to the quantity of paaturoge wr.hout injuring tho 

 quality. My own impression is the reverse of ' ^^ ■ • 



but 1 find so many large farmf-" ' ■" 



should be pleased if y i_ . 



' Iject and notice it in ,s3ing of Albany has sold a Berk- 

 Okm, Jvi\f, liii, the former for $200, and the lat- 

 V. P. Curd of Kentncky, Th» 

 weighed 880 lbs. 

 .4 



