242 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST, 
not found their way up here, iu any considera¬ 
ble quantity. These light, sandy lands, now 
yielding but a ton of hay, or twenty bushels of 
corn, to the acre, are just the fields to be profit¬ 
ed most by the ores of Chincha. The farmer 
who shall introduce them will not only benefit 
his own soil, but will introduce a new era in the 
husbandry of this valley. 
We found that plaster was quite extensively 
used, and saw some fields of corn and potatoes 
dressed with it. It is applied to grass lands 
with beneficial results, bringing in red and 
white clover, and increasing the product of hay 
for two or three years after the application. 
Lime is not much used, although it is fur¬ 
nished in quantities inexhaustible, near by. In 
the north-east part of the town, and in Colches¬ 
ter, there are extensive lime-kilns. The Wi¬ 
nooski River here forces a passage through the 
rock. The channel is about 40 rods in length, 
70 feet in width, and 65 feet deep. A covered 
bridge has been thrown across the chasm, which 
is perfectly secure from the floods. From its 
windows you get a fine view of the river far be¬ 
low you, and of the precipices on either side, 
v hich are covered to the edge, with evergreens 
and other forest trees. The place is well worth 
visiting as a natural curiosity. There are lime¬ 
kilns on both sides of the river. The rock crops 
out, and is easily accessible. It is remarkably 
pure, and-makes lime of as good quality as the 
Thomaston or Smithfield. Some of the best 
specimens show 98 per cent, of carbonate of 
lime. It is very fine for finishing, and com¬ 
mands the highest price in market. The Ver¬ 
mont Central railroad passes right by the kdns, 
so that it finds easy access to the markets 
along the line of the road, all the w T ay to Bos¬ 
ton. The Colchester kilns burn about 150,000 
bushels annually, which brings, in market, by 
the quantity, about fifty cents a barrel. It is 
retailed at from one to two dollars a barrel. 
There is considerable refuse lime made every 
year, and we saw it lying by the cart-load near 
the kiln, with few purchasers, at five cents a 
bushel, the price at which it was offered. It 
would probably be good policy on the part of 
the owners, to lower the price, or even to give it 
away, until the value of it should become 
known to the farmers. There would then be a 
ready sale for all they could produce, at a fair 
price. 
A little lower down the river, the lime rock is 
of different composition, and makes good water 
lime. Some of it has been burned and tested, 
but its manufacture was not found profitable at 
that time, and was abandoned. There is inex¬ 
haustible mineral wealth in the soil of this 
State, and its value has hardly begun to be 
known. 
There are large supplies of muck in the 
swamps near here, but they are very little used. 
Some, however, have found out their value, and 
are beginning to work the muck mines. There 
is a new spirit abroad, going out from our agri¬ 
cultural and horticultural societies, and from 
the papers devoted to these pursuits, and it can¬ 
not be long before it will reach every nook and 
corner of the land. Before we visit this region 
again, we doubt not, the Wizard of the Pacific 
(guano) will have made its advent, and we shall 
have to record its magic working, and wonderful 
crops upon the soil of this valley. 
Burlington , Vt., June 13, 1854. 
BUCKWHEAT. 
A few days since we paid 62 ^ cents for a bag 
of Buckwheat flour which contained but 10 lbs., 
and we can seldom obtain a really good article 
at a much lower price. The reason for this high 
price is that there is a short supply, as there 
has been for some years past. Since the recent 
introduction of improved mills for hulling and 
grinding this grain, its use has greatly extended, 
and will continue to extend, and we think we 
may put Buckwheat down as one of the most 
remunerating crops that can be raised by the 
farmer. It is easily cultivated, and it is not yet 
too late to sow it with a prospect of a good 
yield. It may even be sown as late as July 4th, 
in this latitude, though earlier is preferable. 
The following is from the Maine Farmer, pub¬ 
lished several degrees north of New-York. 
It has been said that buckwheat held the 
same position among grains, that the donkey 
does among animals—useful, but not popular. 
There are two varieties of buckwheat cultivated 
in Maine. The smooth common buckwheat, 
and the rough tartarean buckwheat. This last- 
named is much cultivated in Aroostook County, 
and in the adjoining province of New-BruDS- 
wick. It is much used there for feeding swine 
and poultry; and all their mills have apparatus 
for separating the hull from the flour, when 
they grind it. It is also used for making buck¬ 
wheat cakes for the table, which when eaten 
warm, and well coated with maple molasses, are 
very excellent 
This rough buckwheat was introduced into 
Kennebec County some fifteen years ago, under 
the name of Indian wheat, and cultivated more 
or less by some of our farmers, but it was not 
very highly appreciated by them, and it was 
gradually laid aside, and we do not know of 
any of it being raised here now. We have seen 
some exceedingly fat pork, which was fed upon 
nothing but the meal made from this species of 
buckwheat. 
Either of the varieties are profitable, and 
should be more cultivated among us than they 
are. They need not be put in very early— 
indeed it has been found that if sown too 
early, it does not yield so great a crop as if sown 
later. 
From the middle of June to the fourth of 
July, is sufficiently early. We have harvested 
a good crop of buckwheat in just two months 
from the day it was sowed. This is getting 
along pretty fast, but it is best to cut it soon 
after the kernel begins to change color, and 
then by trussing it up into small heaps, let it 
lay and ripen. In this manner, a greater amount 
of grain is obtained, for the grains which ripen 
first would shatter out while harvesting, if suf¬ 
fered to remain until the whole were ripe, be¬ 
fore being cut. When cut somewhat green, 
and properly cured, we have found that horses 
would eat the whole, as readily as they would 
clover. 
We have also found that it made a good fall 
pasture for hens. By sowing a field of it, and 
after letting it get sufficiently ripe, cutting it and 
letting it lie sometime to mature more fully, and 
then turning the hens in, they will do the har¬ 
vesting or threshing for themselves. They will 
pick upon it until snow comes, and get very fat 
without much trouble from you. 
When threshed and cleaned, buckwheat also 
makes good feed for poultry in the winter. The 
flour of buckwheat sells as readily as any other 
flour, and large quantities of it are brought into 
Maine, in small casks, from New-York, and sold 
to us, when we might raise enough of it in 
Maine to supply the Union. 
-- 
What Next? —A convention of farmers is to 
be held in July, at Warrenton, Va., on the sub¬ 
ject of the joint-worm. The exchange from 
which we clip the foregoing calls it “A Joint- 
Worm Convention,’' 
THE WHITE DORKING. 
My individual reason for preferring the White 
to the Colored Dorking is, that though the white 
is certainly a somewhat smaller bird, it has the 
great advantage of a handsome plumage, a de¬ 
sideratum not to be overlooked by those who 
rear poultry as a source of pleasure, and not for 
a livelihood. Many of the birds shown as 
White Dorkings at the different poultry shows 
last 3 'ear were called so with as much justice as 
a London cab-horse might be palmed off as a 
pure Arabian or a first-rate Yorkshire hunter ; 
of course, this would not apply to many pens 
exhibited, but, taking the whole of those which 
came under my notice, it was very evident 
many exhibitors were totally ignorant or indif¬ 
ferent as to what were the necessary points. 
But I will describe what I consider to be a good 
bird, and then leave your readers to judge for 
themselves. 
First, the color: This should be a pure white, 
without any shade of yellow, or any colored 
feather of any description about the body. 
When the attention of the novice is directed to 
this single feature, he will be astonished to find 
how few specimens (especially of the cocks) will 
pass in this respect; but still it is essential; for 
as beauty is the only point in which the White 
Dorking is superior to the Grey ar Speckled, so 
much more is it necessary that the feature 
which gives them this preeminence should be 
distinct and perfect. 
The comb: Both single and double combed 
birds may be pure bred, but it is now, I think, 
almost decided that this beautiful appendage 
should be double; indeed, any person of taste, 
who has no knowledge whatever of poultry, 
would immediately pronounce for the double, as 
being more graceful, and more in harmony with 
the general appearance of the bird; in the cock 
it should be very broad at its base near the 
beak, gradually passing over the back of the 
head in the form of a triangle, the point of 
which should be slightly curved upwards; the 
whole of the surface should be evenly serrated, 
and not ragged and unequal; the color should 
be a bright red, indicating a healthy state and 
good condition; the same remarks will apply to 
the hen, only that the comb will always be very 
much smaller. 
The form: The back should be broad, and 
from the point of the head to the root of the 
tail should be almost straight; the breast should 
be broad, full, and gracefully rounded—wher¬ 
ever a large bird is found with a c mcave back, 
a straight instead of a full breast, legs large and 
not white, and a short instead of a flowing tail, 
you may strongly suspect a trace of Cochin 
blood; the legs should be white, a proportionate 
length, and a fair distance apart to allow of a 
good broad breast; each foot should have five 
claws, the fifth being as distinct as any of 
the rest. Viewing the bird as a whole, the at¬ 
titude should be erect and bold, lively in its 
motion, and appearing full of spirits at all 
times. 
Qualities: When describing these, I would 
be understood as describing chiefly from my 
own birds, and not from any thing I may have 
read about this breed. In breeding Dorkings, 
one thing is essential to success—I here refer 
to a dry soil; if this is present, and they receive 
an ordinary amount of care, they will be found 
a prolific bird, very fast growers, and easy to 
rear; my broods, this year, varying from ten to 
fourteen chickens in each, and up to the present 
time we have only lost one, and that a weakly 
one, the day after it was hatched. All our 
broods, to a bird, are in strong and healthy con¬ 
dition ; they are small eaters, good layers, and 
though not laying to the same extent as the 
Cochins, their eggs are finer and more delicate; 
as mothers, they are excellent, taking great care 
of the young chickens, and not forsaking them 
at so early an age as the Cochins. Their superi¬ 
ority for the table is so well known, that it will 
be unnecessary to enlarge on that point,-— J, C. y 
of Dorking, in Poultry Chronicle. 
