SPtTRREY FOR SANDY SOILS.—BERKSHIRE HOGS. 
143 
Mr. R. were spun by the negroes, and woven on a 
neighboring plantation. Economy, careful manage¬ 
ment, and everything made at home, is the order 
of the day among us here. One principal item is 
cotton-bagging. This, it is evidently our interest, 
in every way to encourage. 
There was a fine show of vegetables—beets, 
peas, onions, tnrneps, potatoes, beans, cabbage, &c., 
&c. An excellent specimen of spring-wheat was 
offered by P. K. Montgomery, and received a pre¬ 
mium. Mr. M. cultivates a considerable quantity. 
This is another item of saving that should be more 
generally attended to. I gathered three flour-bar¬ 
rels heaping full of clean upland rice, last year, 
from less than one eighth of an acre of land, and 
shall continue its cultivation. I shall be able, this 
fall, to supply any one with a couple of quarts or 
more for seed, who assures me that he is a subscri¬ 
ber to at least two agricultural papers; one of them 
being published in the state where he resides, if 
there is one published. “ None other need apply !” 
Any other seeds, plants, or cuttings, that I may 
have to spare, will be distributed on the same condi¬ 
tions. Mr. Isaac Dunbar received a premium for 
samples of wine made on his plantation, of the 
vintages of 1841 and ’42, which are assuredly the 
best specimens of domestic wine that I have met 
with. The exhibition of cattle, horses, hogs, and 
sheep, was pretty good. The working model of a 
cotton-press excited much attention. But I must 
refer you to the published reports, which I will send 
you, for further particulars. The dinner was an 
extensive affair, and—but, it was in Jefferson coun¬ 
ty , so I shall add no more. Ever yours, 
Thomas Affleck. 
For the American Agriculturist. 
SPURREY FOR SANDY SOILS. 
Buffalo , June 13, 1843. 
This is a plant which is cultivated to a great 
extent in Denmark and Flanders, on the poorest 
sands. It is considered there as the most profit¬ 
able crop that can be grown on very thin soil. 
Von Voght says: “ It is better than red or white 
clover; the cows give more and better milk when 
fed on it, and it improves the land in an extraor¬ 
dinary degree. If the land is to lie several years 
in pasture, white clover must be sown with it. 
When sown in the middle of April, it is ripe for 
pasture by the end of May. If eaten off in June, 
the land is turned flat, and another crop is sown, 
which affords fine pasture in August and Septem¬ 
ber. This operation is equivalent to a dressing of 
ten loads of manure per acre. The blessing of 
spurrey, the clover of sandy lands , is incredible 
when rightly employed.” 
It is used as hay as well as for pasture, and is 
eaten greedily by sheep. The seeds are rich and 
highly nutritious for all kinds of stock, and afford, 
when expressed, a valuable oil. We think our 
poorest sandy soils, such as are to be found on our 
Atlantic coast, which are not rich enough for clo¬ 
ver, would be admirably adapted to this crop, and 
its introduction might be the means of affording a 
profitable rotation with rye, and eventually pro¬ 
duce, with judicious management, an entire reno¬ 
vation of extensive tracts, of what is now almost 
entirely waste land. Schwartz, who is esteemed 
high authority in Germany, says, “ without spurrey, 
the Gampine (Kempenland, a district in Dutch 
Brabant), “ the best cultivated soil in the world , 
would still have been a desert. It requires no 
manure for itself, and even when mown, by the 
residue it leaves, it gives back more than it takes 
from the soil; and except for the seed, it requires 
no preparation, and it will grow where no other 
crop, excepting rye, will live.” Will some of our 
enterprising and intelligent farmers, having land 
adapted to this crop, give the experiment a thorough 
trial ? 
R. L. A. 
i From the Brit. Amer. Cultivator . 
BERKSHIRE HOGS. 
Mr. H. M. Wakeman of the village of York- 
ville, one mile north of this city, slaughtered in 
the month of December last, two full-bred Berk¬ 
shire pigs, aged 7 months and 5 days—the one 
weighed 2051bs., and the other 2251bs. net weight. 
They were purchased from Mr. Severn, Brewer, 
of Yorkville—who is well known to many of our 
readers, as a successful breeder of this our favorite 
breed of swine—when ten weeks old, and required 
no extraordinary care or feed, to fatten. 
A writer in the Farmer's Gazette , Connecticut, 
in eulogizing the English breeder, says, they have 
given the Berkshire swine size, greater than an 
alderman or lord-mayor of London; fine formed, 
symmetrical limbs; fine, thin, glossy hair; soft, 
lady-like skins, and great hardiness of constitution— 
made them prolific breeders, best of nurses, of 
thrifty growth, early maturity, easily kept on grass, 
and will fatten at any age. Their dispositions, 
quiet, and powers of endurance great; and their 
meat is of the best kind, lean where they should 
be, and fat where you want it; hams and shoulders 
lean, and delicate, and broad sides, the best of mess. 
From our knowledge of Berkshire swine, we 
feel no hesitancy in bearing out the above writer 
in his remarks, and would recommend every farm¬ 
er to engraft either the Berkshire, improved Dur¬ 
ham, Yorkshire, or some of the breeds that are 
celebrated for their propensity to fatten at an early 
age, on their breeds. A single cross will satisfy 
them that the difference of breed does not consist 
merely in the difference of keep. The day is not 
far distant when fattening pork for the British 
market will be found a profitable business for the 
Canadian agriculturist. The success of which, 
however, will much depend upon the skill practi¬ 
sed in feeding and curing. As a public journalist, 
we will not lose sight in giving such information 
on these two important points, as will enable the 
Canadian agriculturists to compete in a very few 
years, with the very celebrated Dutch and Irish 
pork curers. In the meantime, we beg to suggest 
to those who intend to engage largely in the busi¬ 
ness, the propriety of selecting a breed of swine as 
above, without delay. The most valuable hams 
and bacon that are sold in the British market, are 
made from pork from eight to ten months old, 
averaging in weight from 160 lbs. to 220 lbs. each. 
