JARMERS* CLUB.-AG. ASSOCIATION.-HAY AND GRAIN HARVEST. 
187 
iixed as cost, while the other lot at same rate ex¬ 
ceeded it. This is owing to the small hogs in this 
lot. The charges against this lot are for 
75 lbs. of salt.... 75 
| do. saltpetre..... • 14 
Cutting up and salting...1.00 
Overhauling and weighing. • ..... 36 
$2.25, 
No matter what the price of fresh pork is, if the 
farmer is sure that he could sell the bacon for dou¬ 
ble that price, he will find it profitable to salt in¬ 
stead of selling in the hog. For the lard, sausage- 
meat, joles, ribs, &c., will more than pay the cost 
and trouble of curing, and then he will save about 
40 per cent., in the weight of hauling to market. 
I should like to see similar calculations upon 
putting up pork in barrels. Solon Robinson. 
Crown Point, Lake Co ., la., April 25th, 1847. 
NEW YORK FARMERS’ CLUB. 
The meetings of this club have been kept up as 
usual, and its previous character fully sustained. 
As most of the subjects recently discussed, have 
been treated of at length in our back volumes, it 
is deemed unnecessary to repeat what has been 
said. 
Millet for Soiling Cows. —Inquiry was made by 
Governeur Morris, after the best kind of millet for 
soiling, the mode of culture, and where and at 
what price the seed can be had. As no satisfacto¬ 
ry answer was given by any one present, we offer 
the following, which has been obtained from a re¬ 
liable source :— 
The kind best adapted for soiling purposes, is the 
common millet ( Panicum niiliaceum), which usu¬ 
ally grows like a reed to a height of three or four 
feet, and bears a loose panicle of seeds hanging on 
one side. It will flourish on any soil adapted to 
the growth of Indian corn, but will produce the 
heaviest crop in a deep, rich loam, refreshed, if ne¬ 
cessary, with abundance of street or barnyard ma¬ 
nure. The ground maybe prepared as for ordinary 
crops, and the seed may be sown broad-cast, at the 
rate of half a bushel to an acre, or it may be 
planted in drills twelve or fifteen inches apart. 
Like Indian corn, when cultivated for soiling, it 
must be sown at successive periods, commencing in 
the spring as early as the season will permit. When 
grown for seed, it should be planted in May, and 
cultivated like corn. The product will vary ac¬ 
cording to the soil and the mode of culture, say from 
two to four tons of hay. We have the seed for 
sale in our warehouse, at $1.50 per bushel. 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURAL ASSOCIATION. 
Introduction of the Alpaca. —This long talked of 
project, it seems, is ’likely soon to be carried into 
effect. By a statement lately made before the As¬ 
sociation by the Chairman of the Committee, the 
services of Mr. J. D. Williamson have been secured, 
who i§ to proceed forthwith to the coast of Peru in 
one of the U. S. ships, where another government 
vessel will lie in wait to receive the animals and 
convey them directly to the United States without 
charge. Although the funds raised by the Asso¬ 
ciation for this object are not large, in consequence 
of the aid so liberally tendered by Government,' 
they are deemed sufficient to make a fair trial of the 
experiment, and should it prove successful, it is a 
business which will ultimately take care of itself. 
Mr. Williamson, we understand, has also received 
instructions from Washington to collect such seeds, 
plants, or other agricultural products, as can con¬ 
veniently be obtained, and ship them either in pub¬ 
lic or private vessels at government expense, sub¬ 
sequently to be distributed gratuitously to different 
agricultural societies, as -well as to individuals, in 
this county. 
PREPARATION FOR THE HAY AND GRAIN 
HARVEST. 
During this month and the next, will be the 
height of hay-making, and the reaping of grain, 
the most pleasing, yet the most laborious of agricul¬ 
tural occupations. Arduous and toilsome as these 
operations are, they may be greatly facilitated by the 
use of suitable implements, which may cost a little 
more than poor ones in the outset, but will prove 
cheaper in the end. 
The first requisite, in hay-making, is a large or 
moderate-sized grindstone, of a sharp grit, mounted 
in a manner that the mower can turn it himself, and 
grind at the same time. Next, a good scythe, 
which must be well hung, with a sharp-gritted 
whetstone, and a well-prepared rifle, made after 
the old-fashioned mode, of tvood, covered with a 
layer of grease and fine sharp sand. Then the 
small fork for spreading and turning the hay ; one 
or more spare rakes, in case of accident; a large 
fork for pitching; hay-ladders and bolsters, for fit¬ 
ting on the waggon or cart; a pair of spruce hay- 
poles for conveying the hay to the barn or stack, in 
cases of emergency; and those possessing large 
hay-farms, will find it economical to purchase a 
horse-rake, and a sufficient number of mats or tar¬ 
paulins for guarding the cocks of bay in the field 
from showers and heavy dews. 
In our agricultural labors, perhaps there is no 
branch more frequently slighted, and more sloven¬ 
ly done, than that of stacking hay and grain. The 
stacks are usually placed flat on the ground, often 
in situations where the water will not drain off, 
with the whole structure, rough, mis-shapen, and 
totally unprotected from vermin, and the rain. In 
England, this business is done differently, the stacks 
being made with the view of saving all the grain, 
and keeping the hay secure from the rain. They 
are generally placed on frames, elevated about two 
feet above the earth, and then built with the most 
exact symmetry, to the height of twenty or thirty 
feet, and covered with thatch. See page 335, of 
our first vol., for a cut illustrating the English me¬ 
thod of stacking hay and grain. 
Those who have large fields of grain to cut, if it 
is not much lodged, will find it advantageous to em¬ 
ploy the cradle-scythe instead of the sickle. One 
accustomed to its use, will do the work more rapid¬ 
ly and weJI. In fact, the scythe is an instrument 
which should be more generally adopted in harvest, 
as long experience has fully proved. 
Green Pea-Soup. —Dried peas, either for soup 
or for eating whole, soaked until they begin to ve¬ 
getate, say about two days, will taste nearly as well 
' as when green. 
