42 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
WORK FOR THE MONTH. 
System. 
System is as essential in farming, as in any other oc¬ 
cupation of life. Let the farmer, therefore, who has 
never reduced his methods to order, commence now ; 
let him examine his farm, make a map of it, number 
each field, and having provided himself with a memo¬ 
randum book, (a few sheets of paper doubled will do, 
if a better one cannot be had,) and a regular debt and 
credit kept with each field. Charge to the field the ma¬ 
nure, labor, seed, &c., and credit to it the crop taken 
from it, whether of grass or grain. It is only in this 
way that any thing like an estimate of profit or loss can 
be correctly formed. In another part of your book, en¬ 
ter in separate columns all the cash received or paid out 
by you. Look it over occasionally, and see if any pur¬ 
chases have been improvidently or needlessly made. 
This will be particularly necessary if you are in the 
habit of purchasing articles on credit, one of the very 
worst practices in our opinion, into which a farmer can 
fall. — 
Fruit. 
M.arch, of all the year, is the best for securing cions 
v. ith which to improve our fruit orchards. Where the 
trees from which the desired grafts are to be taken 
stand in the same orchard or neighborhood, the cutting 
may be delayed until the time of setting arrives ; but as 
a general rule it is far better in all cases to cut them be¬ 
fore the spring circulation of sap commences. Budding 
in the cases of peach, plum, cherries, 8tc., is more com¬ 
monly practiced than grafting • but, unless in small 
trees, grafting is better for the apple. We think there 
is too little attention paid to fruit among farmers. When 
it is recollected that a good fruit tree costs no more than 
a poor one, that it occupies no more space, and that 
for eating or for feeding, the fruit of one is infinitely 
superior to the other, the general prevalence of inferior 
trees is surprising, and can only be accounted for, ex¬ 
cept on the supposition of extreme negligence. A good 
paste may be made for grafting by melting together 
three parts of beeswax, three of rosin, and one of tal¬ 
low ; and working them together into rolls in cold water, 
after the manner of shoemaker’s wax. Some place the 
wax directly on the tree ; but the better way is to spread 
it on common cotton, and then it may be cut into such 
strips or pieces as are wanted. Warmed in the sun, or 
by the hand, they are a much neater as well as better 
application than the old fashioned method of applying 
the paste directly. Those who are intending to graft 
next spring, will do well to prepare a quantity of cotton 
cloth in this way now, or while there will be more time 
than in the hurry of spring work. 
Maple Sugar. 
March is the month for making maple sugar ; and no 
one who has a sufficient number of these valuable trees 
should neglect to supply his family with sugar from 
them. The quantity of maple sugar made in the United 
States, when unfolded by the Agricultural census, will 
surprise all. The full returns are not yet made out ; 
but in many districts of the northern States it is ascer¬ 
tained to amount from 40 to 80 pounds to each individual. 
To make good sugar, the greatest neatness in every 
thing is requisite. The sap must be boiled as soon as 
possible after it is drawn from the tree, as delay ren¬ 
ders it partially sour, and prevents the syrup graining. 
If from any cause the sap when gathered, cannot be 
boiled at once, a quart of lime to a hundred gallons 
should be added, which will prevent the acidity, and 
render the formation of good grained sugar certain. 
The sugar maple is one of the most beautiful as well as 
valuable of our forest trees ; and we think that for or¬ 
namental purposes it is exceeded by none. If therefore 
each farmer would plant a few hundred trees, either as 
a grove, or by the road side, but a few years would 
elapse before he would find himself independent of the 
Brazils or Cuba for one of the most indispensable arti¬ 
cles of domestic consumption. 
Preparation. 
In the field, little or nothing can be done in this month 
to advantage, especially at the north ; but much maybe 
done to forward the labors of the year and ensure suc¬ 
cess to the farm husbandry. If it is not already done, 
let the farm implements be thoroughly examined and 
repaired ; a list of such as are to be purchased made 
out; the seeds necessary for the season secured ; and in 
short let every thing be done now, that must be done 
now or hereafter. True agricultural forethought is es¬ 
sential to the proper employment of time. 
Care of Animals. 
The stock of the farmer requires his utmost care and 
attention during this month. In the severe climate of 
the north, animals are more liable to diseases in the 
spring months than in any other ; and as it is besides 
the usual time of bringing forth their young, additional 
reasons for attention are furnished by this fact. Cows 
should have daily supplies of bran or shorts in water, 
with roots if they are to be had, for sometime previous 
to dropping their ca.lves, as good nutritive food gives 
them strength, and besides secures a better flow of milk. 
Sheep now, especially the ewes, should have a good 
supply of turneps or other roots daily, with a good por¬ 
tion of salt, and, if not as necessary now as in the sum¬ 
mer, an occasional covering of the trough with tar., will 
conduce to health. On the treatment of his animals 
much of the farmer’s success in his business is depend¬ 
ing, and it is one of those things to which his attention 
cannot be too frequently urged. Every dairyman is 
aware of the great difference in profit there is between 
a cow that is in good condition in the spring, and one 
that does not recover from the effects of the winter until 
the summer is half past. So with sheep. A flock of 
well kept ewes will raise more and better lambs ; and 
their wool will be ten per cent better than that from half 
starved, weak and feeble animals. 
Sowing Grass Seeds. 
If there is one point of husbandry more than another 
in which farmers are generally defective, it is the nig¬ 
gardly way in which they use grass seeds in their til¬ 
lage. If any seeds are sown, not more than half the 
quantity required is often used, the fields are left bare, 
and the unoccupied ground becomes a fit place for the 
vile weeds that are ever ready to spring up, where the 
husbandman does not anticipate them, by giving the 
earth something more valuable. Something must grow 
on our rich lands ; it remains for the farmer to say 
whether the product shall be valuable or useless; whe¬ 
ther it shall be the grasses, clover, &c., orJohnswort 
and daisies. — 
Plaster. 
Let a good stock of this invaluable aid to the farmer, 
be laid in this month, if it has been neglected to this 
time. Plaster alone will not restore exhausted lands, 
or prevent the deterioration of others ; but applied to 
clover in a rotation of crops or to meadows, it is of the 
greatest importance to the farmer. Some have appre¬ 
hended that its use was injurious ; but on some of our 
best cultivated districts fifty years experience lias shown 
that such apprehensions are groundless. 
ANSWERS TO INQUIRIES, &c. 
Thin Rind Hogs. 
Messrs. Editors —I should be pleased if you would 
give us some information respecting the hog called with 
us the “ thin rind hog,” as I do not recollect that this 
breed has been noticed in the Cultivator. The thin rind 
hog has a small head and ears, is straight in the face, 
short in the legs, and in other respects is very well 
proportioned. There are a few of them in this county, 
and I have purchased two with an intention of impro¬ 
ving my stock of pigs. Those that have tried the breed 
are very well satisfied with them. John Young. 
Iredell Co. North Carolina. 
The hogs alluded to by our correspondent, are doubt¬ 
less the breed called the “ Norfolk Thin Rind,” and were 
introduced into New-Jersey in 1830, by H. Degroot, 
Esq. of New-York. Mr. Townsend of New Haven, ob¬ 
tained some of them, and in 1834, he sold numbers of 
them to go to the Middle and Southern States. They 
are doubtless a valuable breed, and very far superior to 
the old breeds so common in this country. Mr. Barnett 
of New Haven, killed a pig of this breed, lacking one 
day of nine months old, that weighed 360 lbs. The 
Norfolk has however, generally yielded to the Berkshire 
both in this country and in England, although in many 
of the most essential points, they much resemble each 
other. — 
Dime, Apple Trees, &c. 
Messrs. Editors —As I wish to try an experiment in 
liming land, you would oblige me by giving in your pa¬ 
ges a description of the cheapest and most efficient mode 
of burning lime, and also your opinion of its value if ap¬ 
plied to ground intended for corn. Also, whether apple- 
trees of a small or medium size blown out at root last 
spring, yet some of the roots remaining in the ground, 
and the others mostly green, can be topped, replaced 
and grafted with an assurance of doing well afterwards, 
or will their place have to be supplied with new ones 1 
Greenville, Tennessee. E. Link. 
Lime is a valuable manure, and without its presence 
in some form in the soil, there are some plants that will 
not succeed. The easiest way of making some lime for 
an experiment, where wood is plenty, would be to make, 
as is often done, a pile of hard wood logs, and on the 
top of this spread the limestone broken small. The 
heap is then fired, and when burned out the limestone 
will in most cases be ready for use. This is a barba¬ 
rous practice, however, and where much lime is want¬ 
ed, regular kilns must be used, of which figures and de¬ 
scriptions have been given in former volumes of the 
Cultivator (VI. 153.) The best method of using it for 
corn has been to make it into a compost with manures, 
vegetable mold, swamp muck, &c., and apply this to the 
soil before planting, either by spreading over the sur¬ 
face, or by depositing it in. the hill. In this way, from 
fifteen to twenty bushels will be sufficient. 
Apple trees in the condition spoken of by our corres¬ 
pondent, may doubtless be preserved in the manner al¬ 
luded to by him ; but grafting would not be apt to suc¬ 
ceed if performed before the roots had obtained firm 
hold of the ground, and the circulation of the sap be¬ 
come vigorous. If good trees from a nursery were at 
hand, we should plant anew ; but if not, or if any of the 
trees were of a particularly valuable kind, we should 
restore and secure them in their former position, until 
by the aid of new roots their former hold on the ground 
could be regained. 
The picture given by our correspondent of the agri¬ 
culture of that district, is not very flattering, but if with 
their fine climate, and excellent soil, they will pay more 
attention to the growth of grasses and roots, introduce 
the Berkshires and the Short Horns, make more manure 
and practice the scourging system of cultivation less, 
and that of rotation more, they cannot fail of all the 
success they can reasonably desire. 
Hatching Chickens. 
“ A Subscriber” at Newburgh, N. Y. who wishes for 
more information respecting the “ Eccaleobion,” noticed 
at number 1, vol. 7, of the Cult, is referred to the last 
volume of Chambers’ Edinburgh Journal , for a full ac¬ 
count of the hatching process; in the mean time we 
condense from that article such parts as may best meet 
his wishes. 
The “ Eccaleobion” at Pall Mall, London, is a room, 
on one side of which is a large oblong case placed against 
the wall, divided into eight parts, each one of which is 
warmed by steam pipes, and which are used for hatch¬ 
ing the eggs. These divisions are exposed to view by 
means of glass doors. The bottom of these boxes or 
parts, and indeed the whole is lined with cloth, and is 
covered with eggs lying at a little distance from each 
other. There is a jug of water in each part to preserve 
a proper degree of moisture to the air in the divisions. 
The meaning of having eight boxes, is to insure a batch 
of chickens every two or three days. Each part holds 
some two or three hundred eggs, or about two thousand 
in the whole. From twenty-one to twenty-three days are 
required to hatch the eggs, and as these are purchased 
in the markets, from one-third to one-half prove worth¬ 
less. None but new eggs should be used for the Ecca¬ 
leobion. 
When the chickens appear, they are not immediately 
removed from the oven, but remain a few hours until 
dry, when they are taken from the oven and put into a 
glass case or box, made shallow and the sash lid easily 
removable. They are not fed for twenty-four hours 
after hatching, and the material then used is a coarse 
meal or grit, which they pick up with great eagerness, 
instinct in this case supplying the want of the mother. 
They are kept in this case two or three days when they 
are put into divisions on another part of the floor of the 
same large and warm apartment. At dusk they are 
put into a coop or box with a flannel curtain and cover¬ 
ing, where they rest with as much quietness as under 
the wing of the mother. In the morning they are turn¬ 
ed into the yard, which is cleaned and strewed with seed. 
When three weeks or a month old they fetch in market 
one shilling each. It thus appears that all that is ne- 
cessarry to form a chicken establishment is suitable 
rooms, a steady supply of the proper heat, fresh eggs, 
and constant attention. 
Diseases of Swine. 
Messrs. Editors —Is there no remedy for diseases in 
Swine ? I have lost 20 valuable pigs in the course of 
the last 6 months, by blind staggers, consumption, 
(sometimes with and sometimes without cough,) ob¬ 
truding of the rectum, and many without apparent cause. 
I have looked to books in vain for information. Last 
week three beautiful healthy Berkshire pigs, as hand¬ 
some as I ever saw, and two emaciated, unhealthy ani¬ 
mals, in three different pens, were attacked on the same 
morning, and all the remedies known, which I consider¬ 
ed as mere quackeries, were resorted to, and in a few 
hours some, and in 24 hours, all fell victims to it. I 
wish every man that takes the Cultivator, would send 
all his pig and cattle remedies for general condensation 
and arrangement, and see if we can learn any thing by 
it. I conceive the appointment of scientific men by the 
State to note the different diseases and experiments for 
cures, would be of more service to us, than the bestow¬ 
al of the same amount of legislative aid in any shape 
whatever. R. L. 
We have found charcoal one of the best preventives 
of disease in swine. They will eat it freely, if placed 
within their reach, and we have never known hogs at¬ 
tacked with disease when occasionally fed with it. 
Disease of Sheep. 
Mr. Clarke of Chenango Co., inquires respecting a 
disease of his sheep new to him, and which he thus de¬ 
scribes : “ First apparent symptom of the complaint, a 
severe teasing cough, next a rapid loss of flesh, and in 
a few days, death ; followed in an hour by a mortifica¬ 
tion around the head and shoulders. It has as yet been 
confined to my lambs, of which I have lost 8 out of 126, 
and some 20 more have been attacked by the cough.” 
The disease of which our correspondent speaks, is 
fortunately a rare one in this country, and is not indeed 
common in England. It is known by the name of 
Peripuneumonia, coryza, glanderous rot, inflamed lungs , 
SfC., and the general symptoms of cough, stoppage of 
the nose, inflammation of the throat and bronchial tubes 
are in the main the same ; the violence and fatality of the 
disease is very different in different seasons or cases. It 
generally occurs from the exposure of the animal to in¬ 
tense cold or sudden chills, after having been heated, 
but it sometimes appears as an influenza or epidemic 
without any readily assignable cause. According to 
Blacklock and Youatt, if the cough is severe and the 
fever high, purgatives and bleeding must be resorted to 
in the beginning of the disease, and then ten grains of 
the following powder, dissolved in a tea cup full of warm 
water may be given : 
“ Powdered digitalis, half a drachm ; 
Tartarized antimony, fifteen grains ; 
Nitre, two drachms.” 
“ Rub well together, and divide the whole into fifteen 
