THE CULTIVATOR 
37 
CORRESPONDENCE. 
VALUE OF AGRICULTURAL PUBLICATIONS—EXPERT 
MENTS WITH POTATOES. 
INQUIRY, 
Wheutland, Monroe county, March 15th, 1836, 
Mr. J. Buel— Sir—Having had a slight knowledge of farming, and 
wishing to improve both my farm and capital, I take the liberty to re¬ 
quest information through the Cultivator, expressly for my own inte¬ 
rest ; and now, sir, on the first day of April I shall come in possession 
of a small farm of 125 acres of land; 80 acres of which are improved, 
and all, or nearly all, dry land. The soil of said farm is a dry, hard, 
gravelly or stony, or what is generally in this town termed a limestone 
soil. The information I wish to obtain, is in what manner to proceed 
to pay for the farm off of the farm in the shortest time possible, having 
to pay $37 an acre for the land. If you will give your views on the 
above subject, you will confer a favor on your most humble servant 
and subscriber. A. B. S. 
The Conductor's views .—That our correspondent is sincere is evi¬ 
denced by his having paid postage;—that he can learn is indicated by 
his asking advice—for many think there is nothing for them to learn— 
under these circumslances he shall have our advice. The location and 
description ol the soil show that the farm is good wheat land. The 
requisites are, that A. B. S. be industrious, prudent and persevering; 
and that he always examine his crops before sunrise. He may put 40 
acres in wheat next fall, having prepared the ground well, and sow 
clover upon it next spring, at the rate of ten pounds seed an acre, and 
cover it by passing a light harrow (a short wooden toothed one will 
do) over his wheat crop. Sow other 40 acres, and stock it in like 
manner in the fall and spring of 1837. The first 40 acres may be put 
in wheat again in 1838, and the second 40 acres in 1839. These four 
crops should average 30 bushels the acre, which, at $1 per bushel, 
will more than pay for his land, and give him the use of 40 acres to 
pay his labor and support his family. In the mean time he may learn 
from those who do better around him; and when he has paid for his 
farm, let him discontinue alternating wheat and clover, lest he should 
exhaust his land too much of its fertility. If he successfully follows 
these directions, he will not then stand in need of our advice. 
PIGS PROFITABLY FATTENED ON GRAIN. 
It is a mooted question,'whether these devourers can be kept and 
fattened on grain for market, so as to leave a small profit to the produ¬ 
cer. 
The Rev. Mr. Watson, pastor of the Lutheran Church at Cobles- 
kill, has furnished us with an experiment to the point. If the conduc¬ 
tor of the Cultivator thinks it worth a place in his paper, it is at his 
service. The above gentleman is a shrewd economist, and does not 
think it beneath him to pay systematic attention to the small concerns 
of life. 
He says, “I purchased two pigs, December 23d, 1834, for $6.50; 
they then weighed 316 pounds; they had been dropt some time in the 
preceding April; they were immediately put in a warm pen and fed 
on rye or corn-meal, six quarts a day in three feeds, with regularity 
and precision, until October following; then they were fed nine quarts 
per day about one month, then raised to twelve until the 7th of De¬ 
cember, 1835, when they were butchered; they then weighed 1,138 
pounds. They were fed on grain 349 days, they drank the refuse 
milk of two cows, and had a few weeds Irom the garden. If we allow 
one-third offal in dressing, they gained in live weight a fraction un¬ 
der three and a half pounds per day, and cost about ten cents per day. 
They ate fifty-five bushels of rye and corn; the grain was ground fine 
and the toll taken out; in cold weather it was scalded and fed warm, 
in warm weather fed dry and milk poured on it in the trough; none 
was ever made into a swill and fermented. The grain cost 5s. per 
bushel=$34.37J ; value of pork at $7 per hundred=$97.66, deducting 
first cost and grain, it leaves a balance in favor of the producer of 
$39.2S£.”—Tolerably fair pay on two pigs. It seems this is not a so¬ 
litary case of his success; he says he has pursued the same course for 
many years, and with much the same results. The notoriety of his 
success in making pork, though not a farmer by profession, and his 
parsonage only contains one acre, induced me to beg the details of his 
plan for the readers of the Cultivator. 
The rationale of his practice seems to be, firstly, to give a sufficient 
quantity of the most nutritious food, to keep them in a growing con¬ 
tented condition, that they may lie down and rest, and not work off 
their flesh, or loose what they already have. Secondly, to keep them 
at all times dry, clean and comfortable, never let'ing them to the 
ground to feed and wander about, or to wallow in dirt. This seems to 
cross the disposition of a hog, but I think I never saw any so content 
and happy. He thinks such feed contracts the maw and makes it in¬ 
capable of eating large quantities, like hogs that are summered on 
coarse food. WM. WALKER. 
Neic-Bedford, Pa. February 25th, 1836. 
J. Buel— Dear Sir— I read your paper with intense interest; in my 
opinion it is extremely well calculated to further and advance the ob¬ 
ject of its publication ; it pleases me to see its wide spread circulation. 
We, in this section of the country, very much want information on this 
all important subject. A paper of this character, so ably conducted 
as the Cultivator, is truly a desideratum, and I feel and know that 
every farmer should be in possession of this or of some other agricul¬ 
tural periodical. A great writer observes, and who can dispute it, 
that the state of civilization of any country is to be fairly estimated by 
the advance agriculture has made, the liberty which the fair sex en¬ 
joys, and the respect paid to the worship of the Divine Being. We 
may add, that not only the happiness of the people, but the wisdom of 
the government, is proved by the above remark. There are single 
communications in the Cultivator, which I esteem of more value than 
a year’s subscription. I need not enumerate them; the extracts taken 
from works of celebrity are valuable ; the selection for the young 
men’s department, and prudential maxims inculcated, are excellent. 
I wish you to go on and persevere, in the laudable w'ork you have un¬ 
dertaken. Be liberal, sir, in your remarks and strictures upon the 
communications you receive. This is the way to elicit truth and com¬ 
bat error—the way to break down those impregnable prepossessions 
and prejudices under which the farmer labors, more than any other 
class of society. I cultivate a small farm ; my means of improvement 
are not ample; yet I am ambitious to work it up to its zenith. The 
intelligence communicated through the columns of the Cultivator is am¬ 
ply assisting me, and yet it is subjecting me to more work and more 
expense. I have many things to ask and questions to propound, but 
the limits of this letter forbid. 
In the first volume, there is a piece taken from the Maine Farmer, 
if I recollect right, on the comparative merit of planting whole or cut 
potatoes. The experimenter put two whole potatoes in the hill; 
against these he put four sets of cut potatoes, a very unequal match. 
He used twenty-three bushels more of whole potatoes than of cut ones; 
he might as well have planted this excess over the cut potatoes on a 
separate acre of land, and brought the produce to bear against the four 
set hills. A moderately large potato I cut into five or six pieces—these 
I put into a hill; I put one potato in the hill, which would cut the same 
number of sets; in this way, I use equal quantities of seed, whether 
whole or cut. In the experiments here alluded to, there was no equali¬ 
ty in the seed. Had the two potatoes been cut, they would probably, 
on an average, have given ten or twelve sets; the produce of potatoes 
is in the ratio of the seed put in; that is, increase the quantity of 
seed, and you increase the quantity of potatoes, on any given piece of 
ground; to a certain extent this is true. The stopping point has not 
been ascertained by experiment. 
This question ought to have been settled long ago. Every farmer who 
cultivates this plant, if he has made any observation, must know that 
the whole potatoes are the best for seed, and will give the greatest re¬ 
sults, either in weight or measure, when the quantities of seed are 
equal. I would ask, when our fields are overrun with sorrel, does it 
not indicate the absence of calcareous earth ? and would not its presence 
eradicate the nuisance, or neutralize the acid ? The clay marl you re¬ 
commend, is extremely well adapted to your farm, it gives tenacity and 
and fixedness. Would not lime be better on ours, which has a subsoil 
of tenacious clay? 
I am sir, with great respect, yours, WM. JOHNSON. 
Note —Sorrel indicates the presence of oxalic acid, which lime or 
marl will neutralize, or absorb. Lime, or silicious or shell marl, is 
best suited to our correspondent’s soil.— Cond. 
BEES MAY BE KEPT IN CELLARS IN WINTER, &c. 
Lebanon, January 23, 1836. 
J. Buel, Esq.—Dear Sir—I would beg leave to solicit the privilege 
of presenting a few lines, which I have been inclined to think, may be 
useful and interesting to those who have had but little experience in the 
principle of cultivating bees, and who would also deem it a favor to be 
reminded of the danger to which that article may be exposed. 
It is a fact, that the principal losses sustained, are for want oT pro¬ 
per care and judicious management. After trying the experiment to 
my satisfaction, I would just recommend the following course, in order 
to preserve them through the winter. Instead of allowing them to re¬ 
main out of doors, as many are accustomed, it is far more desirable to 
put them in a dry cellar, and moderately warm, likewise, so as to guard 
as much as possible against the unpleasant consequences produced by 
bad, mouldy comb. This practice is preferable on two accounts. They 
are less liable to die, do not require so much honey, and are much more 
inclined to swarm the following season. Notwithstanding having pur¬ 
sued this course of practice, yet I have frequently met with losses, and 
have not, till recently, been satisfied with having ascertained the principal 
cause. It is just about one year ago now, on passing an examination, as 
