THE CULTIVATOR. 
45 
iiot be excluded from the intervals; and where the soil is stiff, or 
the sod tough, hills are considered preferable to drills. 
5. That if the ground is well prepared, and the seed well cover¬ 
ed, they are not benefitted by heavy earthing; and that plough ng 
among them, or earthing them, after they come in bloom, is pre¬ 
judicial. 
6. That the kinds best for the table, are a’so best for farm stock, 
containing a larger portion of nutriment than inferior kinds. 
While upon the subject, we will mention, that our friend Capt. 
Joab Centre, who has some time ago left ploughing of the deep for 
ploughing of the glebe, has invented a potato plough, which is said 
greatly to facilitate the gathering of the crop. As soon as we be¬ 
come satisfied of its utility from our personal knowledge, we in¬ 
tend to give a cut and description of it. 
THE GARDEN. 
Those of our fair readers, as we ! l as others who design to culti¬ 
vate flowers, should have their grounds put in order to sow their 
seeds. Hardy perennials and biennials, as the larkspurs and holly¬ 
hocks, of which there are several beautiful sorts, vallerians, peren¬ 
nial poppies, pinks, penstemmons, coreopsis, &.C., and many of the 
hardy annuals, as astors, marygolds, balsams, petunia, coxcombs, 
amaranthus, &ic., may be sown the fore part of this month, in warm 
borders. Take care to cover the seeds just enough to keep them 
moist, and to press the soil moderately upon them. If the ground 
becomes dry, it may be occasionally watered. If a frame is at com¬ 
mand, it is better to start the tender annuals, and indeed all that it 
is desirable to bring early into flower, under glass, about the mid¬ 
dle of the month, and to transplant into the border as soon as the 
season will permit. A single sash will serve for twenty kinds.— 
Most of these flower best when transplanted. They should not be 
crowded in the border. A good assortment of seeds, embracing 
twenty of the best varieties, will cost at Thorburn’s one dollar. 
It will still do to transplant roses and flowering shrubs, and also 
herbaceous perennials. Dahlias, ferrarias, tuberoses, and tyger 
flowers may be planted out. 
We would recommend to every family to cultivate medicinal 
plants, as bam, tansey, mint, hysop, rue, wormwood, &c.; they are 
often useful and necessary, are all perennial, and require little trou¬ 
ble when once planted. There are also herbs employed in the cu¬ 
linary department, which should not escape notice, such as sage, 
parsley, thyme, and rhubarb. All these may be raised in a garden 
with about the same trouble that it often costs to beg them, when 
wanted, in a neighborhood. Egg plants, tomatos and peppers, may 
be planted in a warm border, or under glass, to be planted out when 
the season is sufficiently advanced. Onions, beets, carrots and par¬ 
snips, should be planted early this month, if not already done.— 
Plant a few hills of corn very early, and when it breaks the ground, 
you may plant Lima beans and melons. It will be of little use to 
plant these before the ground is warm enough to sprout corn.— 
Sow cabbages for a winter crop from the 25th to 30th May. 
As soon as plants have good hold of the soil with their roots, 
the surface should be broken up, and the oftener it is stirred the bet¬ 
ter, not only to destroy weeds, but to open it to the influence of 
the air, heat and dew. 
THE HOUSE-WIFE.—PRESERVING BUTTER. 
Believing that butter may be kept sweet and good, in our cli¬ 
mate, almost any length of time, if properly manufactured, and well 
taken care of, in order to test the validity of this opinion, we had 
two pots put down, one in June, and the other in August, 1834, 
more than twenty months ago; and on probing them with a tryer, 
while penning this article, the butter is found perfectly sweet, and 
seems to retain most of its original flavor and freshness. We de¬ 
sign to send both pots to Boston next fall, with a view of having 
its mode of manufacture, and method of preservation, judged of by 
the butter tasters of that notable city. 
In the manufacturing process, no water is permitted to come in 
contact with the cream or butter —because it is believed that water, 
and particularly soft water, dissipates much of the fine flavor that 
gives to butter its high value. The Orange County Dairy Women 
say, “ give us good hard water and we will make good butter” for 
the reason, probably, that it abstracts less of the aroma from the 
butter than soft water. The temperature of the cream may be re¬ 
gulated by cold or hot water put into a tub, in which the churn 
may be plunged. If the cream is clean, it needs no washing; and 
if the butter is dirty, water will never clean it. 
Nothing but good well pulverised salt is used in preserving the 
butter: this is all mixed, and all dissolved, in the mass, before the 
butter has its second, thorough and final working with the butter 
ladle, and which is not finished till all the buttermilk is expelled. 
To avoid all taint from the butter vessels, and the better to ex¬ 
clude it from the air, which soon injures it, the butter is packed 
close in clean stone jars, and when nearly filled, is covered with a 
strong brine, rendered pure by previous boiling, skimming and set¬ 
tling. In twenty months this brine has been twice renewed, on the 
appearance of a film upon the surface of the old pickle. To pre¬ 
serve butter, air and water, and heat above 65 or 70 degrees, are to 
be guarded against as much as possible. The brine upon the sur¬ 
face does not penetrate the mass, nor while sweet taint it; but it 
thoroughly excludes the air. 
To Encourage Agriculture, a bill has been reported in the 
Maryland legislature, for loaning to farmers, on landed security, 
and at long terms, one million of dollars. The loans to bear six 
per cent interest, payable semi-annually; with the further provi¬ 
sion, that such sums as shall be expended in the melioration of 
lands by drainage, by the application of mineral manures, or in 
planting the mulberry and the production of silk, shall only pay an 
interest of four per cent, thus virtually paying a premium of two 
per cent upon the capital employed in these improvements. 
NOTES TO CORRESPONDENTS. 
P. S. Diehard, of Winchester, Ten., who has the highest claims 
to our regards, for he has sent us thirty-three subscribers, and pay¬ 
ment in advance, has sent to us a number of queries in regard to 
sheep husbandry, to which he has solicited our written answers.— 
Although we might refer him to the communications of our corre¬ 
spondents in this and the two preceding numbers, for excellent in¬ 
structions in sheep husbandry, we dare hardly disregard hjs request. 
We therefore select the prominent queries, and subjoin answers in 
our brief way. 
1. What sheep are the most profitable? The Saxon and Spa¬ 
nish merino for fleece; the South Down and New Leicester for 
mutton. The fleece would probably be the most desirable object 
in Tennessee. 
2. What is their cost ? Fair merinos may be had, after shearing, 
bucks at 8 to 12 dollars, ewes four to six. New Leicesters at 
$25 to $30 for bucks, and $12 to $15forewes. South Downs are 
scarce, and we can hardly quote their price. Select animals will 
be higher than the prices quoted. 
3. Where can they be had ? All, except the last, in the counties 
about Albany, and elsewhere, probably in Ohio. 
4. What is best time to move them ? In September. 
5. What pasture best suits them, and how many can be kept on 
an acre ? Sheep want a dry pasture, and if hilly and stony, the 
better. Although they w 11 thrive best upon good herbage, such 
as other farm stock like, they will live where other animals will 
starve. They bite close. An acre of good pasture will summer 
six sheep. 
6. How many should be kept together?—what shelter do they 
require, and what food, in winter ? The number in small enclo¬ 
sures, or in a yard, or in a shed, should not exceed 100—when in 
large pastures, it may exceed 100—sheds are only necessary to pro¬ 
tect them from storms—to keep them dry. They want air and ex¬ 
ercise. See Cultivator, No. 2, of this volume. Sheep are kept up¬ 
on hay and straw in w nter—some add oats, or corn, or roots, ei¬ 
ther of which are serviceable in keeping them in good plight. One 
quart of grain may be given to a dozen sheep per day, beginning to 
feed with a less quantity. In Tennessee sheep will get much from 
the pastures in winter, where they should be permitted to range in 
dry weather. 
7. How is wool managed for exportation—the time of shearing, 
SzcA The wool is carefully rolled up, each fleece separate, and 
tied, and sent to market in bales like those used for cotton. Shear¬ 
ing is generally performed here in June, after the cold rains have 
subsided. It is considered bad policy to sheer lambs the first sea¬ 
son, as they want their fleece to protect them during our cold 
winters—and it is found that nothing is gained by early shearing. 
It is advisable to tag ewes in spring and autumn. Sheep enrich the 
