VOLUME II. NO. 2. I 
ROCHESTER, N. Y.-THURSDAY, JANUARY 9, 1851 
•i WHOLE NO. 54 
PREPARATION OF HAMS. 
Few articles of animal food depend more 
for their acceptability upon the perfection 
of the process of curing than smoked hams, 
and few are better relished at all tables 
than these, when well prepared and pre¬ 
served. We propose therefore, to give a 
summary of the most important requisites 
necessary to their being of excellent quality. 
Something depends, it is true, upon the 
feeding and size of the hog, as well as upon 
the salting and smoking. The best hams 
are furnished by hogs weighing not over 
200 lbs., which have been fed mostly on 
solid food—such as corn, peas, and barley 
—and have been allowed range and 
similar subsoil, underlaid with lime rock or 
shale. There have been in the main hill 
lands and abundantly supplied with springs, 
and' favorably located. 
The quality of soils differ so much in their 
capacity for imbibing and parting with wa¬ 
ter, in their colors, and in that friableness 
which is at once ‘removed from the adhe¬ 
siveness of strong clay and the openness of 
loose sand, that any definite rule can hardly 
be of practicable value. Again—the sub¬ 
soil in many instances has an important 
bearing upon the value of lands. Where 
it is permeable by water, it holds a quantity 
as it were in reserve, and allows the latent 
moisture to ascend and supply the plant not 
only with this necessary element, but bring¬ 
ing up with it by capillary attraction, from 
remote depths, many of the essential ele¬ 
ments of plants—often rendering a soil more 
productive than would have appeared prob¬ 
able, judging from the composition of the 
surface. The character of soils is con¬ 
stantly undergoing a change, by cultivation; 
so much so, that what are now among the 
best grass lands in Herkimer county, and 
lands, too, that hardly grow enough of grain 
to repay the tilling, have been, within the 
memory of those now residing upon them, 
among the best grain lands in the State.— 
The virgin soil yielded in profusion, and 
tradition recounts the drawing of manure to 
the streams, and committing it to the waves, 
as something useless upon the farm® These 
lands are now heavy, with stiff clay predom¬ 
inating, which, with ample feeding and 
nursing, rank among the best dairy lands of 
the State. It is only necessary now to add, 
that no farm is suitable for dairy purposes, 
unless it has an abundant supply of good 
water, of which we shall have occasion to 
speak hereafter. n. o. w. 
or loss. By thus keeping an account with 
himself from year to year, every farmer is 
able to know whether he is improving his 
condition by his labor, or not—whether he 
is progressing in knowledge, the fruit of care¬ 
ful observation and experience, or whether 
he permits these to profit him nothing. 
In all the entries, whether of debit or 
credit, care should be taken that the value 
of every thing in the account be set down 
at its real worth—just what it would sell 
for in cash. Be careful, neither to over 
nor under estimate any thing—for upon 
your accuracy here depends the worth of 
your statistics. 
According to the census taken in 1840, 
the average product of wheat per acre over 
this State, was 14 bushels; oats 26; barley 
11; rye 9£; and Indian corn 25. These 
were the averages made from the data col¬ 
lected by the marshals whp took the cen¬ 
sus. These same data have been collected 
again, and we shall soon see published 
results similar to those quoted above. How 
many of the farmers of this, or of any other 
of the States which compose this Republic, 
were able when called on, as they all recently 
were, to give with accuracy the produce of 
their farms? We doubt from what we 
know whether one in a hundred was found 
able to do more than to guess out the in¬ 
formation demanded. 
Let any farmer who has not been in the 
habit of keeping such an account or record 
of his doings, as here suggested, uo it for 
one year only with care, and he will not be 
very likely to omit it after such an experi¬ 
ment. Such a record furnishes the data, for 
statistics that may be relied on by all who 
have occasion to refer to them or use them. 
These remarks are designed as suggestive 
—and we hope, that, though the subject 
may be deemed a hackneyed one, what 
has been said, will lead those who a^e inter¬ 
ested in farming, to consider the importance 
of the subject here presented. w. 
A WBKKI.Y JOHRNAI,, DKVOTKD TO 
Agriculture, Horticulture, Mechanic Arts and Sci¬ 
ence, Education, Rural and Domestic Economy, 
General InteUigence, the Markets, &c., &c. 
CONDUCTED BY D. D. T. MOORE, 
ASSISTED BY 
J. H. BIXBY, L. WETHER ELL, and H. C. WHITE. 
what we were doing, so that you might give ) 
us all the advice in your possession. As I '• 
think that I have made a great improve- ■ 
ment in my old age, I will let you know ( 
what I have done, in hopes that you will > 
make some more useful suggestions for fu- \ 
ture improvements. But I had best inform \ 
you what and how I was doing before I \ 
commenced the improvement. 
Like most of the pioneers of Western ) 
New York, I began with no other capital ; 
than industrious and economical habits.— 
In those days of hearty and unpretending • 
friendship, when a new comer arrived in 
the settlement, he generally took up his 
abode with the family nearest his location • 
—next day looked out the building spot, 
and gave the word that he was ready for a 
house. The settlement obeyed the call : 
promptly—put up a log house, and felled < 
the trees that were in danger of injuring it ; 
in coming down, and in a week he was able j 
to occupy his own mansion. 
When the trees were cut down, and the ( 
brush burnt, so that we could plant corn > 
and potatoes amongst the logs, and thus j 
raise a supply for the coming winter, much 
was accomplished. Weeds in those days 
grew as spontaneously as at present, but we 
had not time to clear them from about the \ 
stumps nor fence-sides, so that from neces- { 
sity we were rather slovenly, and perhaps ■ 
have continued to be so longer than we ought, 
for you know that habit is a stubborn mas- > 
ter. But, sir, considering how much we > 
had to do, and how little we had to do it ( 
with, when, or where was there a set of \ 
men that have done more, or better, than \ 
the pioneers of Western New York? 
The necessaries for the family being se- > 
cured, the next craving demand was, forage > 
and pasture for the cattle. Few of the \ 
present day can realize the inconvenience s 
and toil that we had to undergo in getting \ 
the oxen and cows from the big pasture.— \ 
It was nothing unusual to have to tramp 
three or- four miles in the morning to pro- > 
cure the oxen for the day’s labor, and fre- > 
quently the same in the evening, in search • 
of the cows. Thus by the hard band of \ 
necessity we were taught to realize the val- l 
ue of cleared fields, and perhaps we per- ’ 
severed in clearing until we procured more 
than was necessary, or really profitable, for > 
the labor we could give to their cultivation. > 
Thus I tugged on, adding clearing to > 
clearing, until 150 acres of the farm was j 
improved. Fifty acres of it was rather wet \ 
for wheat, but it answered well for grass, 
and summer crops; one hundred acres was > 
good wheat land, and fifty of it was annu- \ 
ally sown with wheat. My family having > 
advanced, my oldest son and I worked the \ 
farm, believing that 150 acres of good , 
ground would not afford profitable employ- \ 
ment for more than two hands, and the two \ 
younger boys were sent to school to edu- < 
cate for a profession. Jo and I worked the l 
farm the best we could, (as we then thought,) > 
sowing fifty acres of wheat a year, and win- ; 
tering the cattle at the straw-stack. And ; 
it was said we got along, and were getting < 
rich, but I have now found, that there are 
various kinds of riches, and a great differ¬ 
ence in circumstances for the enjoyment of \ 
rational happiness. j 
We built a larger and a finer house than ‘ 
the old log one—carpets were got, and the ^ 
rooms adorned with costly furniture—my < 
sons and daughters must dress and appear i i 
as well as the store-keepers’, (who profit by l ! 
Dr. M. M. RODGERS, Foreign Corres[ionilenL 
room 
for exercise, so that the lean or muscular 
part is well and healthily developed. To 
these causes combined, the Westphalia and 
Virginia hams owe probably a portion of 
their excellence. Hams from hogs weigh¬ 
ing from 300 to 400 lbs. and over, are so 
large that it is almost impossible either to 
salt or smoke them thoroughly, without ta¬ 
king longer time and more pains than is 
usually allowed or considered necessary. 
There are a multitude of recipes for pick¬ 
ling hams, each possessing in the minds of 
those who use them their peculiar excellen¬ 
cies, and we will give here two or three of the 
most noted, so that our readers may choosy 
that which they deem most proper, or feasi¬ 
ble of application. 
PROGRESS .W» IMPROVEMENT. 
DAIRY INTEREST OF NEW YORK. - (NO. 1.) 
THE FARM. 
The first great requisite for commencing 
the operations of a dairy is, not only a good 
farm, but one suited for growing an abun¬ 
dant supply of grass for grazing, as well as 
being adapted to meadow lands capable of 
furnishing an adequate amount of good for¬ 
age for winter use. 
It is very common to hear farmers in the 
grain-growing districts say, that any land 
that will raise good crops of grain, need 
never be doubted, when a supply of grass 
is wanted. It is true that good wheat farms 
will produce grass, and that of the best 
quality, but as a general rule, they can not 
as safely be depended upon for a constant 
supply of fresh grass during the season.— 
They are more affected by drouth, and the 
extreme heat of summer. It is not denied 
or indeed contended but that lands well 
adapted to growing wheat can be made to 
remunerate the owner when used for dairy 
purposes; but in the main it will be satis¬ 
factorily known, that they are not the best, 
the most sure or profitable lands, for such a 
purpose. It may well be questioned whether 
it is a judicious so to employ them, unless 
in localities where grain is raised almost 
exclusively, thereby augmenting 1 the price 
of dairy products, for home consumption. 
Within the borders of our noble State, 
there are ample acres that can be used for 
grazing and dairy purposes, which cannot 
be relied upon for wheat growing. Lands 
that are much broken 4 by streams, having 
high banks, and bordered on each side by 
high ranges of hills, which render them less 
fitted for the plow, are by nature well 
formed for grass fields. 
There are some lands which, if judiciously 
managed, would be kept in perpetual grass. 
These consist of such rich bottom or inter¬ 
val lands as are liable to be overflown by 
the spring and fall rains—such also as the 
lands adjacent to rivers and streams, though 
seldom submerged. Lands upon the hill 
They have all been 
published before. 
The celebrated “ Knickerbacker Pickle,” 
which is recommended as superior for both 
beef and pork, is compounded as follows:— 
Take 6 gallons of water, 9 lbs. of good 
salt, 3 lbs coarse brown sugar, 1 quart mo¬ 
lasses, 3 ounces saltpetre, and 1 ounce of 
pearlasb; mix and boil the whole well, and 
skim off all impurities. The meat should 
be slightly rubbed with fine salt, and lie a 
day or two, that the blood may drain off; 
and should then be packed in tight casks, 
and the pickle turned on cold, in which it 
should remain until sufficiently cured for 
smoking. 
The Virginia method, or dry mode of 
curing, is as follows:—For each ham take a 
spoonful of saltpetre, pulverize and apply it; 
rub each piece with salt well on both sides, 
and pack them in hogsheads with holes in 
the bottom to let off the brine. Let them 
remain five or six weeks; then take them 
out, brush off the salt, rub each well with 
hickory ashes, and hang each piece in the 
smoke house. 
What is called the Jersey method, is as 
follows:—To every 80 lbs. of lum, take 4 
ounces of sugar, 3 ounces of saltpetre, and 
1 pint of fine salt Powder and mix them 
finely, and rub the bams well with this mix¬ 
ture, and lay them on planks for two days. 
Then pack in casks, adding 2 quarts of salt 
to every 80 lbs. of ham. In fifteen days 
they may be taken to the smoke house. 
The excellence of a ham depends much 
upon the proper smoking or drying, and in¬ 
deed, the best are made when both smoking 
and drying are performed at the same time. 
It is a matter that cannot be hurried, and 
six weeks is the least time in which a ham 
can be perfectly and thoroughly cured.— 
The meat must not be kept in a damp, un¬ 
ventilated smoke bouse so that the surface 
will be in the least moist or dripping, if good 
hams are expected. They should also be 
hung at such a distance from the fire that 
the heat will not affect them. 
Hickory and maple are the best woods 
for making the smoke, and the cobs of dry, 
sound Indian corn are first rate for that 
purpose. A fire built once or twice a day 
answers in the end, better than one kept up 
continually, as the smoking and drying are 
thus most perfectly performed. 
KEEP AN ACCOUNT WITH YOUR FARM. 
This is the age of statistics. Every re¬ 
former meets his opponents with an array 
of figures which, he says, “ cannot lie,” and 
thus as he claims, puts down all opposition 
by what he calls facts. Truth is not unfre- 
quently laid low by this magic wand of 
statistics; and real progress and improve¬ 
ment, are kept back by the false reasoning 
founded upon, or predicated of these “guess¬ 
work” statistics, or such as are no better.— 
You can hardly turn to any department of 
art or morals even, where this method of 
reasoning is not employed. Listen to the 
lecturer on temperance, or to the advocate 
of any other moral or civil reform, and you 
hear the same infallible argument of figures. 
Observation and investigation have taught 
many that figures, statistical figures, are the 
greatest liars in the world excepting always 
the “ father of lies.” 
It is proposed now to make some sugges¬ 
tions, which, if heeded, will aid the farmer 
in making such statistics relative to his crops 
as shall be valuable both to himself, and 
others who may have occasion to refer to 
them. 
What we would say, then, to the farmer 
is, that he should open and keep a strict ac¬ 
count with his farm, making it debtor for 
every thing that he puts on to it—such for 
example, as cattle, sheep, horses, hogs, fowls, 
farming tools of all sorts, seed and labor of 
all kinds. Having made the farm debtor 
for all these, together with the interest of 
the money invested in its purchase and the 
taxes, the good husbandman can truly esti¬ 
mate the expenses of his farming operations 
from year to year. After having debited 
his farm for all that he has put on to it, he 
should credit it with all the produce that is 
taken from it At the end of the year, hav¬ 
ing kept an accurate record of its transac¬ 
tions, it will be an easy matter to strike the 
balance, which will, at once, show the gain 
FARM GATES 
In several extensive tours in the country 
during the past season, we were excessively 
pleased with the evident improvement that 
is making, in the arrangements of fields, 
fences, and out-houses, but more particular¬ 
ly with the substitution of gates, in place of 
those accursed labor-inflicting, do-for-the- 
present engines of a new country— bars. 
This subject is a litt^ hobby-horsical with 
us, and we glory in the charge. When we 
see hundreds of good, thriving and intelli¬ 
gent farmers, wearing out their lives, their 
patience and their clothes—removing and 
replacing—letting down and putting up 
those palpable nuisances, we feel like turn¬ 
ing missionary and preaching a crusade 
against the tyranny of habit; for nothing else 
could induce any good husbandman so to 
spit in the face of good sense, economy, 
safety and convenience, as to tolerate them 
a moment 
When we see a large and well cultivated 
farm, and a fine, comfortable house, perhaps 
showing an acre of white paint, and before 
it an old straggling, tatterdemalion rail fence, 
with a sett of bars, polished and worn by 
the labor of a life time—we can’t help but 
think that habit and familiarity have calloused 
the owner’s feelings to this glaring plague 
spot, and that it would only require his at¬ 
tention to be fastened on the inconsistency 
for a moment, to induce him to remedy it 
On the 41st page of our first volume, we 
gave a cut and description of the only good 
and cheap gate ever constructed, and for the 
benefit of farmers and “ mankind in gene¬ 
ral,” we propose to republish the article in 
a few weeks, at the solicitation of several 
of our new subscribers. 
