14 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
BERKSHIRE HOGS, &c. 
We give the following from a letter from Col. John 
Bonner, of White Plains, Georgia, dated Nov. 17: 
“ In the last number of your Cultivator, I read the re¬ 
marks of J. W. G., relative to the weight of his Berk- 
shires, &c. I can only say that the Berkshires raised 
by me have greatly exceeded the weights stated by 
him, and that with ordinary food. I have no doubt but 
with good food, and a plenty of it, I can, at one year 
old, make a lot of ten or more of my hogs, average over 
400 lbs. nett. I also notice your reply to his remarks 
on that subject, in which you say “ that other food than 
corn will make them attain greater weights, &c.” Now 
I should be much pleased to know what kind of food it 
is that is cheaper and will make hogs grow larger than 
corn will. I am a raiser of Berkshires to a considerable 
extent, and should be happy to find any food better and 
cheaper than corn, or corn meal, to raise them on.” 
If our correspondent will turn to the Cultivator for 
1843, page 30, he will find in the Lecture of Professor 
Playfair, some hints which will enable him to see why 
some kinds of food are more productive of muscle and 
growth, than of fat, and vice versa. Our method is to 
allow our pigs to run in clover pasture the early part 
of the season, feeding them with potatoes, or small 
quantities of barley meal, to keep them constantly thriv¬ 
ing, not fattening. When apples begin to fall, they run 
in the orchards. Peas which are sown for this purpose, 
are now fit for feeding to them, and experience proves 
there are few things that better promote both growth 
and condition, than to commence with the pea while 
the vines are still green. By the time to commence the 
process of fattening, a good growth is obtained, and the 
fattening is conducted with peas, or barley meal, or corn, 
as circumstances may indicate. Dr. Dana’s analysis of 
Indian corn, shows why it is better for fattening, than 
the formation of muscle or growth. Of the principles 
that promote growth, it contains but about twelve parts 
in a hundred, the remainder belong to those useful in 
fattening. 
PREMIUM FARMS. 
Among the most interesting papers emanating from 
our Ag. Societies, are the Reports on Farms. From a 
very valuable report of this kind, made by our corres¬ 
pondent, J. J. Thomas, to the Wayne Co. Society of 
this state, we copy the following description of the Farm 
which received the first premium: 
The farm of Wm. P. Capron, in the town of Mace- 
don, contains 160 acres, of which 120 are cultivated, and 
40 occupied with wood. It is handsomely laid out, di¬ 
vided by a lane, with fields of about 10 acres on each 
side. This is the only farm where the committee found 
a regular system of rotation of crops. The following is 
the rotation pursued in each field:—1st. Wheat after clo¬ 
ver; 2d. Corn with all the manure; 3d. Barley; 4th. 
Wheat; 5th. Clover one ye&r; 6th. Wheat, &c. Differ¬ 
ent fields are of course occupied the same year with dif¬ 
ferent stages of this course; and so uniformly is it pur¬ 
sued, that the proprietor can tell for twenty years to 
come, what is to be in each field. \ proof of the clean¬ 
liness and fine tilth which this rotation produces, is fur¬ 
nished by the fact that 7 acres of corn w^re hoed well, 
the present year, by three men in three days. His crop 
of corn averages from 40 to 60 bushels to the acre; bar¬ 
ley averages 35, and has never been less than 25; wheat, 
which he considers is more benefitted by the manure ap¬ 
plied two years previously to the corn, than if directly 
applied, has averaged over 20 bushels,—in one case Ve 
had 50 bushels per acre on 5 acres; ruta bagas, from 600 
to 700 bushels per acre, and has raised more than one 
thousand bushels on one acre; these he feeds successful¬ 
ly (uncooked,) to hogs and other animals during winter. 
There are 17 acres of permanent meadow, generally low ¬ 
land, which is occasionally top dressed and harrowed, 
but rarely plowed, and which averages fully two tons to 
the acre. He never raises oats, but buys them when 
needed. He has 9 cattle, 5 horses, 120 sheep, ami 20 
hogs, from which he makes yearly 300 loads of manure, 
all of which is applied every spring to the corn crop., 
He fattens hogs on ground and cooked corn and barley, 
the cooking greatly swelling the bulk with water, and 
according to his experiments, increasing the value of the 
food about three fold. A part of the farm which cannot 
be well brought into the regular rotation, is periodically 
summer fallowed and sown with wheat. There are ne¬ 
ver less than 30 acres of wheat each year,—10 acres of 
which are after clover, 10 after barley, and 10 or more 
after summer fallow. There are but 10 acres of pasture, 
besides stubble and fallow. This is the one year of clo¬ 
ver preceding wheat. When the clover sod is clean, he 
mellows the surface with a cultivator, and sows it. 
There is a mile and a half of stone wall; nearly all the 
rest of the fences are rails, with upright stakes and con¬ 
necting caps under the riders. The buildings are a good 
house, large barn, sheds, stone granary, &c. 
THE SILK BUSINESS. 
The 6th No. of Greely & M’Elrath’s “ Useful Works 
for the People,” is devoted io the “ Silk Culture,” and 
has heretofore been noticed. In this work we find a 
letter from Alex. Walsh, Esq., of Lansingburgh, on 
the progress of the Silk business in this country, from 
which we make the following extract: 
“ The statements which have recently been laid before 
the public on this subject, are most gratifying to those 
who, like myself, years ago asserted the practicability 
of the Silk culture; and the argument which they afford 
is conclusive in fa\ or of the value and importance of 
this branch of industry. The experiments made in dif¬ 
ferent parts of the United States, form a new era in the 
business of Silk culture, and must remove every lurking 
doubt as to its practicability and utility, even when man¬ 
aged on an extensive scale. It will give a new impetus 
to such as are already engaged in the employment, and 
arrest the attention of others in whom the subject has 
hitherto awakened comparatively but little interest. 
“ I am gratified to observe that in New-England this 
enterprise is steadily advancing. The amount of Silk 
made, seems to be doubling with each successive year. 
e Maine can grow Silk; New-Hampshire and Vermont 
can grow Silk. Notes of encouragement come from the 
cold North and the warm South. The fertile West has 
spoken in terms full and decided. Onward we are sum - 
moned; onward determined to move.’ 
« The late experiments and results connected with the 
< Silk Culture,’ assume especial importance when regard¬ 
ed in a national point of view, and as pointing to a gen¬ 
eral and lasting benefit that must flow from the successful 
establishment of the Silk culture and manufacture in the 
United States—this being e a department of industry that 
has enriched and aggrandized every nation by which it 
has been adopted.’ 
« Now that the principal obstacles in the way of the 
successful prosecution of this business have been sur¬ 
mounted, will not our agriculturists generally direct 
their attention to this branch of new and profitable in¬ 
dustry? The production of Silk fabrics might furnish 
employment to classes of our population who are now 
of necessity unemployed, or meagrely compensated for 
their labor. This would secure the advantage of stea¬ 
diness of employment—increase the average reward of 
labor—promote individual comfort and national wealth. 
I persuade myself—looking at present indications, and at 
the same time dwelling in roy own mind on the impor¬ 
tance of the subject—that the United States will shortly 
become a Silk growing nation; that Silk will be the 
prime staple article, and its culture the most profitable 
branch of agriculture; and the time thus arrive when 
there will be saved to the nation the amount of money 
now expended in purchase of foreign silks, and exceed 
ing seventeen millions of dollars per annum.” 
REMEDY FOR HARD MILKING. 
Mr. Kniskern, of Knox, says that he has tried the 
plan of opening the teats of cows that milk hard, with a 
harness awl, or a small penknife, as recommended in a 
former No. of the Cultivator by Mr. Durand, and has by 
this means made a very good milking cow from one 
which could scarcely be milked before. 
