154 
MOORE’S RURAL NEW-YORKER: A AGRICULTURAL AND FAMILY JOURNAL 
eating. It may be cultivated similarly to 
the parsnip, and, like it, needs a deep soil 
and will stand the weather and frosts as well. 
Speaking of tomatoes, reminds me, that, 
last season, by way of experiment we tried 
drying them in a manner similar to other 
fruits. In cooking it recently, we were sur¬ 
prised and delighted to find the pies and 
sauce but a little inferior to the fresh fruit 
It did not loose so much of its original flavor 
as many others do. The method we pur¬ 
sued in drying it, was to remove the skin 
from the ripe fruit, slice it, and dry with all 
the juice on earthen plates by a gentle stove 
heat No doubt the addition of sugar -would 
much improve it. Who does not love the 
tomato ? Then plant an extra quantity and 
by this means secure yourselves an ample 
supply for winter use. t. e. w. 
VINDICATION OF THE “AMERICAN SYSTEM” 
OF FARMING. 
IN THREE NUMBERS.-NO. I. 
% - 
Friend Moore: —It would almost seem 
that a combination had been formed be¬ 
tween certain boastful foreign professors and 
our native “ amateur ” scientific theorists, 
to degrade and villify the character of the 
farmers of our country. Foreigners come 
here, professing to understand much better 
than the most experienced of us, how we 
ought to conduct our agricultural opera¬ 
tions—and insist that we are “mere novices 
in farming, yet in the infancy of agricultu¬ 
ral science,” and we must “ look to their 
countries for systems of pattern farming,” 
&c., &c. Our native visionary gentlemen 
immediately join in concert with them, and 
(as usual with those who ape others for want 
of self-reliance and respect,) go beyond their 
“pattern” in abusing those from whose 
sweat and toil they receive their “ daily 
bread.” Even our legislative halls are an¬ 
nually prostituted to the same base pur¬ 
poses, by having “ placed upon the record,” 
“ Reports ,” from some (so called,) “ learn¬ 
ed members,” censuring in “good set terms,” 
the “ignorance and stupidity” of our agricul- 
ural population in the “ science” of farming. 
Those braggradocio representations, and 
idle “reports” have influenced nearly all 
our people to believe that they are far be¬ 
ll ind the spirit of the age; and that they 
must follow the European systems of farm¬ 
ing, as described by these foreign profes¬ 
sors, with all their expensive, and impossible 
details of “ weeding, and hand hoeing wheat, 
raising and feeding green crops, consisting of 
ruta bagas, mangel wurtzels, beets, carrots,” 
<&c., — modes of farming which every sensi¬ 
ble practical farmer knows can never (from 
the situation of our country, its climate, soil» 
&o.,) be successfully practiced by us. 
I am well aware that agricultural opera¬ 
tions are better performed in England than 
in any other European country; and.no 
doubt, in a more “garden like” manner 
than in our own; because there the price of 
labor is very low, and that of land is very 
high. Here, the case is entirely reversed— 
the wages of labor are high, and land is at 
comparatively, a merely nominal value.— 
That country is an old one, which for cen¬ 
turies past has been cleared of trees, stumps, 
stones, and indeed all natural impediments 
in the way of good tillage, and high culti¬ 
vation ; in ours, but a small proportion of 
the land in cultivation is yet free from them. 
In England they have a mild, moist and 
temperate climate, with little snow, and that 
covering the ground but for a short period 
of time, with so little frost that their sheep 
and cattle frequently live upon the ungath¬ 
ered turnips in the fields. Their plows, too, 
can generally be run during the winter as 
well as the summer. Here, (I refer to the 
Eastern, Middle and Western States,) we 
have deep snows, which often cover the 
ground continuously for months—and, if 
not covered with snow, the earth is gener¬ 
ally so frozen as to render it impossible for 
us to till it for five, or more, consecutive 
months. There, the climate is so cool in 
the summer, in consequence of the preva¬ 
lence of cloudy and rainy weather, as en¬ 
tirely to prevent the growing of Indian 
corn to perfection, in any part of the coun¬ 
try ; here, it is a staple crop. 
In truth, the contrast, in almost every 
respect, is so great, that I cannot imagine 
how any person can be so stupid as not to 
see, at a glance, that the modes of farming 
must, of necessity, be essentially,—nay, 
entirely, different Hence the universal 
failure of those English farmers who came 
to our country and attempted to pursue the 
English system—not one of whom, I be¬ 
lieve, has sustained himself in it during a 
period of fifteen years. Indeed, such has 
been the fate of ad the Europeans who have 
made the like experiment of attempting the 
modes of farming practiced in their native 
countries. 
The different circumstances and situa¬ 
tions of the European and American coun¬ 
tries and people, it would seem, were either 
not known to those sapient foreign and na¬ 
tive censors, or they did not consider them 
of any importance in regard to the manner 
of conducting agricultural operations. This, 
however, is not surprising when we recol¬ 
lect that from their secluded situations as 
professional gentlemen, few if any of them 
have had the opportunity of acquiring any¬ 
thing more than mere theoretical knowledge. 
I have been an attentive observer in re¬ 
gard to these matters for more than forty 
years, and, notwithstanding the charges of 
“ ignorance ” have been iterated and re-iter¬ 
ated, annually —yea, I might say, daily — 
against our farmers as a class, I insist that 
in no country in Europe can there be found 
an agricultural population equal to our own, 
either in intellectual education, moral and 
religious habits, or agricultural knowledge. 
This is not boastfully said, with a view to 
disparage or degrade the characters of the 
farmers of other countries; but simply in 
vindication of those of our own country, 
who, (almost ever since my remembrance,) 
have been the constant theme of abuse and 
censure of every class of dogmatizing the¬ 
oretical “Professors of agricultural science,” 
as well as the many other, so called, “learn¬ 
ed” men. The late Chancellor Livingston 
has so well expressed his opinions upon the 
subject of the intelligence, education, and 
practical knowledge of the American far¬ 
mers, compared with those of Europe, that 
I will give some extracts. He says: 
“ One might be surprised at the contempt 
with which Europeans, who have never 
seen the country, or travelers who have 
seen it with ignorant or jealous eyes, speak 
of the Agriculture of the United States, 
did we not know the prejudices that it is 
the interest of the European governments 
to keep up against a country which offers 
an asylum from the oppression, and the 
wants that w 7 eigh heavy on their subjects. 
To this we must add an erroneous idea that 
most strangers entertain on the perfections 
of agriculture. They presume that it con¬ 
sists in obtaining the greatest quantity of 
produce from a given quantity of land.—- 
And when they find that the arable yield 
of our fields is less than that of their native 
country, they at once pronounce us miser¬ 
able farmers—not considering that agricul¬ 
ture is good or bad in proportion to the 
return it makes for the capital employed; 
and that the capital consists not of land 
only, but of stock, land, and labor. In 
countries in which a great population causes 
land to be dear, and labor cheap, the far¬ 
mer expends much labor on little land, and 
renders that extremely productive; and the 
reverse where land is cheap and labor dear. 
A Chinese would pass the same censure on 
British agriculture that a Briton does upon 
that of the United States: and yet, a 
Yorkshire farmer is, in all probability, a 
much better cultivator than the Chinese— 
that is, he lives more comfortably, and reaps 
a greater profit from his capital. Consid¬ 
ered in this view 7 , we are much inclined to 
think that the agriculture of the United 
States is, at least, equal to that of Europe.” 
To this I will add that, if our farmers 
were to manure and cultivate their wheat 
lands as highly as is done in England, 
where the climate is cool during the sum¬ 
mer, their wheat, from its rank growth, and 
superabundance of sap would undoubtedly 
be generally struck with rust in consequence 
of the great heat of our seasons, and they 
would thereby lose their crops. And even 
if fortunately, that should not be the case, 
the man who would expend as much labor 
and capital in raising 50 bushels of wheat 
from one acre, as would produce 200 bush¬ 
els from ten acres, in our country, would 
but illy merit the character of being the 
“ best farmer.” / 
And yet theoretical, amateur farmers, 
I and inexperienced “ Professors,” are con¬ 
stantly prating about the ignorance of our 
farmers, and drawing false and invidious 
comparisons, because English farmers grow 
so much more to the acre than ours. A few 
years since the average product per acre of 
wheat, in England, as given in Brewster’s 
Encyclopedia, was but about 20^ bushels. 
A year or two ago it was “ estimated” 
somewhat higher—about 23 bushels—and 
this with all their so-much-boasted-of im¬ 
provements in “ implements and agricultu¬ 
ral science.” Vindicator. 
Messrs. Ciias. Clow Son, of Port 
Byron, N. Y., have invented, and taken 
measures to secure a patent for some very 
important improvements in the Gram Cra¬ 
dle. One of the improvements, is the ma¬ 
king the post or standard into which the 
fingers are inserted w 7 ith a hinge joint at the 
point where it is fastened to the snathe, as 
shown at letter F, in the accompanying cut 
This enables the cradler, by means of the 
brace, C, to adjust the pitch of the cradle 
to the grain, as it leans, or to suit his pecu¬ 
liar views, the same pitch seldom suiting 
two persons. 
Another improvement is the fastening of 
oval or flat strips of brass or other metal, 
to the inside of the finger from the brace 
to the point, and as far down the back of 
the fingers as may be necessary to improve 
their strength, as shown at E. This metal 
will have the effect of keeping the fingers 
RAISING LAMBS. 
Eds. Rural New- Y orker : —Having been 
a reader of your valuable paper the past year, 
and having seen in it many valuable sug¬ 
gestions on the subject of wool-growing and 
sheep breeding, allow me to inquire of you 
and your numerous readers through the 
Rural, relative to raising lambs. 
Wool-growing constitutes an important 
item in the agricultural interests of this, and 
adjoining towns. Ellington,—the next town 
— has an annual surplus of wool, amount¬ 
ing probably from 50,000 to 75,000 pounds, 
which, at 40 cents per pound, taking the 
minimum estimate, would give the town 
an annual income from its wool interest of 
$20,000, more money probably, than is re¬ 
ceived from any other one source. 
The annual increase of the flock consti- 
tutes a very important item in the profits of 
the shepherd. This year our lambs are dy¬ 
ing oft’nearly as fast as dropped. Our ewes 
are in good flesh, apparently in good health 
and condition, have a plenty of milk, and 
yet we can raise few or no lambs. The 
lambs are large, and fine looking, but seem 
to be stupid. Some of them never get up, 
dying soon; some of them are more active, 
get up and suck, lie down, soon become 
stupid and die,—never rising a second time; 
and some of them, one in three or four per¬ 
haps, with no better apparent or visible 
means or chance, live and grow well. One 
of our neighbors has saved only four out of 
twenty lambs, from large coarse wooled 
ewes that have heretofore raised their 
lambs extremely well. His ewes are in 
good condition, but the lambs would die .— 
To the few he has saved he gave oil before 
they sucked, and thinks he saved them by 
that means, but I have tried the same with¬ 
out success. The said neighbor’s sheep 
have run in the woods some during the past 
winter, where beech-nuts were plenty, and 
he attributes the loss of his lambs to the 
beech-nuts eaten by the sheep. 
Perhaps some of your readers have had 
experience in these matters, and know the 
effect, of different kinds of feed for ewes, 
upon the lambs. If you, or any one can 
give correct answers to the following ques¬ 
tions, it would be of much value to your 
subscribers who are engaged in wool-grow¬ 
ing and sheep breeding. 
Does a sheep’s eating beech-nuts in win¬ 
ter or spring have a deleterious effect upon 
her forthcoming lamb ? Do straw and 
grain mak< as ood a winter feed for ewes 
to raise lambs the following spring as hay ? 
in shape, being stiff enough to prevent their 
straightening or “ lopping down.” 
An additional improvement is making the 
thumb screw to fit, and work in a metal 
nut that has a thread on the inside so as to 
be screwed firmly into the snathe. The 
thumb screw and nut is shown at letters E 
and H. The adjustable braces, D, D, pass 
into the snathe, and are securely held in 
their places by the thumb screw, or readily 
moved as desired. The cradles are fur¬ 
nished with a patent heel ring, fastening the 
scythe by means of a nut and collar, rag¬ 
ged on the lower side, where it comes in 
contact with the snathe. 
Taken as a whole, it must add to the 
value of the grain cradle. The samples 
which we have examined, of the improved 
and common cradles, cannot fail to com¬ 
mend themselves to the favor of all who 
prefer well made, light and neat tools. 
Is corn, wheat, oats, or wheat and oats mix¬ 
ed, fed w'ith hay and straw, injurious to 
ewes for raising lambs? Do snow storms 
and cold weather late in April or early in 
May, when ewes are heavy, have an effect 
to bring lambs forward too soon, thereby 
rendering them weak and stupid when drop¬ 
ped, though plump and fine looking? 
.;. c. s. 
Gerry, Chautauque Co., N. Y., May 5,1851. 
CTJLTIVAilON OF THE PARSNIP. 
The cultivation of this root is, perhaps, 
more neglected in this country than in any 
other, where its valuable qualities are known. 
The parsnip requires a deep, rich, loamy 
soil, is very easily cultivated, and will pro¬ 
duce an abundant crop. Very few are 
aware of tue value of the parsnip as green 
food for cattle, especially the dairy in the 
winter. 
In the island of Guernsey and Jersey the 
parsnip is well known and properly appre¬ 
ciated. Col, LeCourteur observes, the crop 
in Jersey, where they sow their seeds of all 
kinds in the Spring, varies from 13 to 27 
tons per acre, the latter quantity being suf¬ 
ficient for the keeping of 12 Jersey cows for 
six months! There, “ they have been found 
to yield a heavier crop than the Altring- 
ham carrot, in the ratio of 840 to 200.” 
As the parsnip contains six per cent, 
more mucilage than the carrot, the Colo¬ 
nel conceives that the difference is suf¬ 
ficient to account for the superior fattening 
as well as butyraceous quality of the parsnip. 
The result of the experiment there has 
shown that not only in neat cattle, but in 
the fattening of hogs and poultry, the ani¬ 
mals become fat much sooner, and are more 
healthy, than when fed on any other root or 
vegetable, and that, besides, the meat is 
more sweet and delicious. 
Poultry among the Quakers. —The 
editor of the Lebanon Advertiser paid a 
visit last week to the ponltry establishment 
which has recently been started in North 
Lebanon. He found the concern in “ full 
blast,” and has no doubt now, although he 
had some time ago, of the success of the “ nov¬ 
el undertaking.” The coop, which by the 
by, is a monster, and the largest in the 
world! — (that is something to be proud of,) 
is situated on the top of a hill, facing the 
south. It is perhaps, 120 feet in length, 9 
in breadth, and 12 in height, and divided 
off into a dozen or more apartments. The 
yard in front is enclosed by a neat pale fence 
and several strings of wire to prevent the 
feathery occupants from deserting. Owing 
to a scarcity of fowls, only about 500 have 
been procured. These lay at present from 
five to seven dozen eggs daily. 
\Ye believe the best fertilizer of any soil 
is a spirit of industry, enterprise and intel¬ 
ligence—without this, lime and gypsum, 
bones and green manure, marl and guano, 
will be of little use. 
PRESERVING CORN FROM WORMS. 
The following plain, straight-forward 
story is from a correspondent of the Albany 
Cultivator. If his method should prove in¬ 
variably successful, it will be of much 
value in many places where now but 
little corn is raised, and will bring many 
fields particularly adapted to this crop into 
profitable cultivation. He says: 
“In the spring of 1847, we plowed up 
one acre in a corner of a six acre meadow, 
which had been several years in grass, and 
the whole of which was much infested with 
cut-worms and the yellow wire-worm. The 
acre was planted with corn, and totally de¬ 
stroyed by the worms. Late the ensuing 
fall, the whole field was manured and turn¬ 
ed over smoothly; the spring of 1848 the 
whole w r as sown with barley, which w r as 
very much injured by the w r orrns—in many 
places entirely destroyed. In September, 
it was sown with wheat with the same re¬ 
sult as with the barley. In the spring of 
1850, we manured it well with fresh barn¬ 
yard manure, turned under; harrowed and 
marked three feet and a halt apart by two 
and a half, and planted corn, four grains in 
a hill, the first of June. It came up in five 
to seven days, and is now a very promising 
piece, as forward as any planted the middle 
of May. 
The seed was soaked in a decoction of a 
pound of tobacco in four gallons of water. 
There were plenty of worms in the ground, 
as I found in planting and hoeing; but they 
would not touch the tobacco-scented corn, 
while there was not a single weed to be 
found; and indeed they did no small benefit 
in destroying the grass and weeds. The 
field was kept as clean of everything but 
corn as it well could be. At the first hoe¬ 
ing I observed a large mullen plant, the 
leaves of which were eaten through like a 
riddle, and upon digging around it I found 
over 20 cut-worms.” 
Prof. Mapes, in the May number of the 
Working Farmer, has a paragraph on this 
subject. He speaks of this and other steeps 
for seed—says that a solution of carbonate 
of ammonia, adds to the productiveness of 
the crop, remarking in conclusion: 
“ But for the removal of cut-worms, and 
indeed all other worms from the soil, we 
would recommend the application of six 
bushels of common salt to the acre, one 
week or more before planting, leaving the 
dews of two or three evenings to dissolve 
and carry the salt into the soil. Unless 
soil is surcharged with chlorine and soda, 
which is seldom or never the case, common 
salt can be applied with profit not only for 
the purpose of destroying insects and a large 
class of weeds, but to supply chlorine and 
soda for the use of plants." 
PROFITS OF FARMING. 
Young men enough are found who think ^ 
nothing can be made by working for wages, - 
though wages have seldom been higher > 
and clothing has never been less. Why J 
not say that nothing can be made in any ( 
kind of business. Something is made, and ( 
the country grows richer. The property- < 
of the Commonwealth has doubled within ) 
a few years. \ 
A hundred millions have been expended < 
on railroads within twenty years, and the ( 
country is now more able to expend another \ 
hundred millions in any project than before. 
Who has accumulated this property ? Is it S 
the speculator, or trader in other men’s < 
property? Certainly not, for people in t 
trade are not producers. They only collect ( 
and distribute what others have produced. $ 
The farmers and mechanics are the peo- ? 
pie who have produced this wonderful j 
change in the country. It is they who t 
have operated upon real and personal estate c 
till it is doubled in value. They have been \ 
aided by the few who have aided as distri- [ 
butors it is true; but the farmers and the i 
mechanics have been the producers. Why { 
have they not been paid for their services? \ 
The presumption is that they have been ) 
paid or they would not continue to produce. > 
When factories cannot be run at a profit \ 
the wheels are stopped, and when farmers < 
find no demand for their produce they hire ( 
less labor and cultivate less. All is free: } 
young men are free to engage in such pur- ) 
suit as they desire, and the profits of bus- j 
iness will always find a true balance with- \ 
out much legislation. 
Now we ask again who they are who < 
have doubled the property of the State with- 'i 
in a few years? The land holders and [ 
workers have not kept all their earnings, for < 
a portion has gone to those who have been < 
engaged in the distribution of the proceeds. <* 
These distributors have sometimes been ^ 
lucky and made great fortunes, but they 
ran great risks in the meantime, while oth- ^ 
ers engaged in the same business have lost j 
all. Farmers and those who labor for them; ( 
Mechanics and those who labor for them, \ 
are pretty sure of reasonable profits in case J 
they attend to their business—and why | 
should they expect to make sudden fortunes ( 
when they run so little risk ? ( 
Do not begin farming by building an ex- \ 
pensive house, nor erecting a spacious barn, ( 
till you have something to store in it. \ 
