Farmers' gazette, and Cheraw advertiser. (Cheraw, S.C.) 1839-1843, April 17, 1840, Image 1
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VOLUME V. &
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SSe
EDITOR AND PROPRIETOR
TERMS:
If paid within three months, . $3 00
11 paid within threo months aftor the
close of the year, - 3 50
If paid within twelve months after the
- ~ J AA
close of the year, 4 uu
If not paid within that time, ... 5 00
Two new subscribers will be entitled to the
paper the first year for Jive dollars, pud at the
tune of subscribing ; and five now sabscrib :rs
for ten dollars piid at the time of subscribing. j
NcTpipor to bo iiscontinued but a the option
of the editor till arrearages are paid.
Advartiso.nents not exceeding sixteen lines,
inserted for one dollar the first time, and fifty
cants, each subsequent ins irtion.
. IVcptins seudiujjn .ivlvartiso.ments on; requesl
4.0 s'pocify the number of times ihcy are to bfc
unseated; otherwise they will be continued till
ordered out, and churgeil accordingly.
KTTho Postage must be naid on all coramon'citions.
Account of an Agricu/tunl Excursion tnto
S.. John's, Barkley, by the Editor of the
Southern Cabinet.
No. 1.
We do not bclinvo that we shall be able
to render a more acceptable service, to the
Agricultural community, than by visiting
the different sections of ;lie So itiiern Sates,
examining the so Is and the improvements
made, the inodt-s of culture, economy and
police, and reporting on them, as well as on
such other matters as may fall under our
observation. By pursuing this plan steadily
for a few years, many districts will be
examined, embracing every variety of soil
and culture, in uil the various ways now
practised among us. The practices of
some districts will, no doubt, be found to
be superior to thnt of others, and som?
neighbourhoods, will surpass those adjoining
in the culture of particular crops, or in
their domestic arrangements. If these be
carefully collected and reported, the planters
of different sections will not only become
better infoimed of the course of culture
a dopted elsewhere, but will abo be able
to compare it w.'th their own, an I make
such alterations as their soil, locality and
other circumstanvg may render desirable.
While ednng the Sou hern Agriculturist,
we gave an accounr of the M inagement of
Pooshee, and of the Agriculture of Middle
and Upper S . John's Berkley. We now
proposed re-visiting this section of country
to ascertain what improvements had taken
place, and what alt ra ions made. Accord
ngiy we left Charleston on the26ibof |
December lust, and, as we supposed, allot- i
ted ample time, uud so planned our excur- I
lion as to attain our object. But unfortu- i
natejy we were not able to accomplish all <
we desired and intended. Nearly the whole i
lifltt? WC WCTO lii If lO tuuim J y K WW qg WiVl
and rainy as to render it, if not impossible,
yet highly unpleasant, to venmreout even
to ride from one plantalion to another. We,
therefore, visited hut few, and our account
both of the culture, product and economy of
this section of country, is far less full and
satisfactory than we hoped to have made it.
We have had the pleasure, however of, seeing
many of the planters, (soma since our
return to town) and from them have added
to our stock of information. But there are
many things connected with the police and
economy of plantations whtch we wished to
have noticed, and odiers would have suggested
themselves to us more readily while rambling
about, than while seated by the firpside,
or at the table of our friends. We
wished also to have been moro careful in
our examination of the vnrous ?oi!s ' ultiva'.ed,
and more minute in our investiga"
tions. Causes, however, beyond our con.
trol, as we have just stated, prevented us
from carrying in?o full effect our plans.
The parish of St. John's, Berkley, is long
and narrow, extending from the branch of
Cooper River to a short distance above the
- Eutaw sprin s, a distance of near 50 miles.
Its Eastern boundary is ihe Sao tee, and its
WesNrn. the o irish of S\ James, Go '8".
" w ?F ? I creek,
embracing thy Western branch of
Coop* r River. The lower sect on of this
parish includ s some of the finest Rimplantations
in the Slate. Bit of theso it is
not our intention, at present, to give any
account, and wo shall therefore, coo fin*'
our remarks to middle and upper St. John's.
The soil of this parish embraces almost
every variety, with perhaps the exception
that the stiff clay preponderates, so far as to
form what may be termed a clayey loam.
In the upper part, the sand predominates,
forming a very light soil. In this classification,
we of co'irse confine ourselves :o
the high lands under cultivation. Throughout
the whole parish, pine barrens abound,
and along the San tee, and in other places,
pory'ons of the swamps are reclaimed
The crops cuhivated ore cotton, corn,
??? ? i?ni>n/lrtiilc /1 m email nil.in.
pc(l9) put0.lwtnj glUUItUMUKl y?? ?
tities,) and rice in sufficient quantities lo
supply the demand for f ?mily use. Cotton,
of course, id the principal crop intended for
market while the others arc general!) plant,
ed only to meet th*? demand of the plantation;
though we were huppy to find that on some
plantations, corn was also one of the crops
raised for sale, and tha' it was profitable.
We were sorry to find, that no rotation is
adopted, but that usually, the fields supposed
best adapted to tfie culture of particular
crops, were selected for these crops, and
under such were kept with little variation.
Yet to such an extent do they now carry the
manuring sys etn, that these fields, wj;k the
exception of those cultivated in potatoes,
have actually so improved as, in some in.
stances, to yield from 50 to 100 per cent,,
more than formerly. This has been brought
about, as wo have already stated, by mano
ARM
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Ji JSTD C B
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C1IERA
"?<? ???#! in n.tl.inn tunun iua mnm nlv:isod 1
I 'U^t <?|IU >11 Ullt'llli^ wcrio " V V.v
fh?.t to find how universally this practice
has been adopted, ancf how strenuously all
are engaged in this laudable work. When
we first \us'ted Si. John's, so little was the
system of manuring appreciated, thai the
few who had commenced the practice1 systems
ically, were actually laughed at by
their, neighbors as vision tries?not that manuring
was wholly unattended to, but be cause
they tho ighf i? impossible to manure
I the wnole of their crops. Lutle atten ion,
I ile re/ore, was prod to the sjbject. What
I'tdtt manure wns made, was place I in
meagre qu-ifttiti's around the corn, or Home
crop near the horn-'stead, and the clearing
of new land was relied on to supply the
phew of those fields wtrictj wore worn out
by constant cultuie. In this respect, we
were hippy to fin! th,ire had been a great
change of opinion and consequently of
practice. O i every plantation we visi ed,
(and w have understood, on all or nearly
all,) the collecting, prep i ring and apply a g
of manor' s, is considered of primary impor
ance, and is now conducted systematically.
The manure most used, is what is
here caled * c mposf" It consists of
qua >*r iMs of es. g >thered in the wo ?ds '
and carted into h" stables, cattle, sheep and <
h >g pens, and from ili?*nco into the fi Ids. 1
A specific number of hands and carts are I
set apart for h s work, and on no account <
(on most plantations) are they diverted to I
any otuer. Dr. llaveiv-l has one cart and '
mule, uith tbo driver, and two voung ne. I
groes, (a girl at>d hov, who could not be <
employed advan'age.uMly in tlie fi d J*.) con <
s antly engaged in h ?uling in i%trash^ con- '
slating principally of pine and oak leaves' I
raked up in the woods adjoining. The ?
distance is nn? great, and with this one, t
thus employe I throughout the whole year, *
and the use of two ox earrs, lor five or six
weeks in summer, lie nnn-ig^s to keep **very
thing well li tered, and to make about
15,000 <>x cart loads of manure, each load
averaging about 50 busb"l baskets. On
this he ppns about 60 head of catllo during
the winter, (nil of which lie regularly feeds)
and about 150 to 160 during summer,
about a dozen or more, horses, a tolerable
large flock of sheep, and a number of hogs.
Major Poreh'-r and Mr. Joseph Pulmer,
keep four cans constantly at work, but the f
distance they have io cart is grea'er. We <
did no' ascer ain the number of animals I
penned bv either of those gentlemen. At '
Major .Porclier's, we saw a quadrangular t
pile of manure, taken from the stables *
alone, the base of which would measure r
from 80 to 100 lect, and which was from 5 f
to 6 feei high. That from the cow pen we ^
did not see. We regret we had it not in c
our power to visit the plantations of Messrs. <
Joseph Palmer. Jas. Gil hard and Thos. W D
Porcher, all residing in the upper part ol
St. John's, and all actively engaged in 1
manuring their lands and improving their <
crops. We htd, however, the pleasure of *
meeting these gentlemen' after our return, '
in this city, and from them we gathered a ?
few particulars, relative to these. I
From the vast amount of new vegetable <
matter (*nd mat not of a kind easily de- '
composed,) carried into the pens, the rela~ j
live quantity of animal manure cannot b"
large, us may easily be supposed.? <
On some plantations, all of the cotton {
seed, which can be spared, is spread i
in one of the pens and this manure is 1
then used fqr the crop to which the cot- i
ton jeed is usually applied. This plan,
however, is very Imle adopted, the cotton ?
seed b ing more generally applied alone, f
O hers scatter over rhe pen, a short time I
b fore carting our, a quantity of salt; whilst t
others again previous to the hauling it t
away, throw their manure into heaps, scat- ?
tering between each layer, a quantity of f
salt, sufficient to bo diffused throughout the I
whole muss. This manure is highly prized (
and its effecis have been very gratifying. ?
We shall have occasion to refer to 'his ma*
nuro when we com** to speak of the crops.
Liui", marl and ashes, are also getting 1
into use, and some small experiments *
have been highly satisfactory. In some 1
few instances, ih Ieuv< s taken out of the
woods have been at once carted into
ihe fields, and used with benefit to the sue- i
ceding crop. These fields are of a clay, i
ey nature, and of course the best adapted i
for such crude manure. I> was truly grali- |
fying to us to find how much attention is i
paid now in this parish to manuring* Many
things, which nor a few years ago were .
permitted to lie neglected, und were rather (
considered nuisances, but not o( such quon- i
lilies as to require abutemeineQi, by being
carried off, ase now Sedulously sought after,
collected, and carted off to the fields at the
proper periods, where they fulfil their destiny,
by a dmg materially :o their fertility.
In such just estimation is manuring now
held, and so striking have been the effects,
that planters are no longer anxious to cleur
new fields, unless forced :o do so by the
want of room. The attentiou of most of
them is termed to the renovating of their
ni l fields, and what a few years ><go would
have been deemed a hopeless task, is now
' actually in progress, and fields which were
deemed at most unfit for culture of any kind,
are now restored to their pristine fertility.
In fact, experiments havo b? en stated to
us, going to show, that old fields constantly
manured, (and in what would be considered
but moderate quuntities elsewhere) have
become maro productive, than fields recently
cleared. YVo select an ;n stance furnish,
ed us by Mr. Thomas W. Porchert Walworth.
Among the fields cultivated by
him the last year, were three. The first,
which we shall designate as No, 1, was
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W. SOUTH-CAROLINA,
considered as nearly worn out when he first i
took poss?ssinn of this plantation, ten rears
nifo. Nos. 2 & 3 were new|y>>cle ?r' d,
and the last year, was 'he gero-nd andjIiiM
of their culture. No. I hail been regularly
plant'd every yar for the last ten, ten had
also been constantly manured.: Nos. 2
<5c 3 were no: manured, for the second and
th rd \enrs, ?r? deemed ihe most product
ve. W t'lr the except on of ope OjMwo
>enf{, Wh -n pots of jt *v??recul ivTtod, fon .
had been grown on No. I. overy \ear;
N"s. 2 & 3 had also been enHtqtfid in cotion.
since th?*v h-id b-en 'feared. The
product of he old fi? !d (No. I) was an
iv? rage of 170 lbs., that trf lU? new. fields
(Nes 3 & 2)135 and 160 lb*. Jjfp find
also froirt referring to oor no eg, i.iat at
Mexico, a field which had been cuhiv.i ed
without rest since 1801, and noinlv th
whole of that lime in cotton, produced 176
Ihs. per acre, while the new fields only two
years under culture, yielded 77 and ll)9
Ihs. per acre.
It mav l>e said, that the season of 1839
whs more f.vorahle to he growth of coiton
in old fields than id nMw? It may have
been,?still, however, we do not think that
such a diff r?*pce cou'd have been produ
c d wholly by the spason. Tnoae who advu.
rate the clearing of new fields for the cuL
tuie of col on, in preference to manuring
he old, suggest that the experiments now
trying nugh> not to he relied on, because
tie b- st lauds were cleared long since, and
those which are now being brought under
sulture for the firs' time, nro what were
cunsidcred inferor at the time that senlenents
were made, and fi"|.!g located, while
hat which is now und> rgoinga renovaiion,
is old ami worn out fi Us, wero originally
ho very choices' of the land, and therefore
ire easily restored, while the new fields.
)eirig of inferior quality, are soon exhausted,?consequently,
that a true estima e of
he advantages or disadvantages of clearing
lew lands, or manuring old, cannot be
nude, unless the new lands be also of the _
ies' quality. Allowing ail thai is asked,
we cannot but think that if they will take a
series of yeare, (snj 10, 15 or 20, the longer
the better) they will find that the balance
vill be greatly in favor of the old land malured
; for while the new land is losing its l
ertility every year, and producing less, the i
>ld will be gradually improving until it sur>asses
even what it was originally ? I
3ut again, if the choicest of the lands have
><;en cleared already in this parish, is it not 1
hen far preferable to manure the old fields, I
a'b?r-thon to dear new, which will last'but 1
or a few seasons, and then be worthless. !
iVe recollect making a few years ago, a
:alcolaiion, in the company of a gentleman
if th's parish, (an excellent planter, and an
tdvocate for clearing new fiel hs) whether
t was most advantageous, taking every
hing into consideration1, to clear new fields
>r manure the old. W? took for data, the
ictual improvements made on fields w:ih
vhich he was well acquainted, by manunng,
ind on the other hand, the actual expend
lure of time and labor bestowed on clearing
?nd working new ground, as furnished by
iim8e|f, and the products usually obtained
rom such fields, for a number of years ?
rite precise period we do not recollect, nor
lid we note the calculation at the lime. All
hat we recollect it that the difference was
n favor of the eld fields, he bing judge.?
We forget also what reason he assigned for
jot following out, or at least experimentng,
with a view to ascertain how fur what
tppeared so well on paper, whs correci in
act. We had not the pleasure of seeing
lim when last in S(. John's, but understood,
hut he was ? most stren ious advocate f.>r
nanuring, and carried it 10 great s ent. W.
lo not know what chants have taken
dace in h's opinion, if any, tor this rah'ua
ion did ?<d occur to us at the time, and
:onsequently we made no inquiries on the
tuhject.
[The facta and reasoning of tho following sr.
icle with a few variation* th it will sujrg?**
.hsmselves to evrry reader will apply as well to
;he Caaolinai as to Tennesx t ]
TO THE FARMERS OF MIDDLE TEMNBftsRB
"How is it thut the firmers of Maury are
so in debt ?" is a question which wis aske t
a few days since in the presence of the wri
ter. This was a poser to the whole crowd
present. It could only be answered that
the fact is so, not only with he farmers of
Maury, but of all Mid lie Tennewe, to a
greater or less extent No doubt the farm
ersnre about as weft off as any other class
of citizens in these disjointed times?Iwt
'hey should be, of all men, the most completely
independent and unembarrassed.?
The great body of them are embarrnsed, and
huve been for the last ten years annually d"rwwip*
nf a nromot cotton
pr||U\/||! UU IMV r 9
market. How few can wait even nix months
for a sale of their cotton ? What scores of
them are compelled to anticipate their cotion
crops to keep off the sheriffM wouhi
arouse my counirym-n. if possible, from
the h thargy under which they have been
slumbering.
One good field hand can cultivate and
pick out about ten a^res of cotton. Now
what is the product of Ins labor worth ? On
an av< ra e, Middle Tennessee hods willnot
produce more than 800 lbs- to the acre
of seed cotion, or two hundred pounds of
clean cotton, wor'h(??l ft cents, which is a
'air average) $18. Multiply this by the |
number of acres, and you have the value of
that hand's annual labor?$180. Now
compare this with other agricultural prod,
ucts, and you will a' oncesoKe the question
of the embarrassments of Middle TeDnesee
cotton planters.
#Aa
ID VERT
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FRIDAY, APRIL 17, 1840
? m'?""gg????Ipg?B?
Tlie P*w gentlemen who cultivale Grass t
es in l'?K County assure me iha1. they m ike <
avenge crops of 2000 lbs. hay fo fit*1 acre, f
It is safely computed that tho labor bestowed c
upon 50 acres of grass does not exceed the I;
iaborof one good field hand in the year. Hay c
ne/er sel s lower here than 75 cts. p r bun ^
dred*?mors frequently $ I per hundred. Bu. u
lei us take the lowes* price, and see wnai the n
I ?bnp of a hand will yield in the grass culture, ti
Ti?e product of one acre of hay (2000 lbs.), c
at 75 ?*ts! per hundred, is $150. Multiply d
this by thu number of acres in the crop, and ^
you nave the enormous product of the labor h
of one hood. $75(7. If ties is so, is it not sur- tl
pnsingtintihe gr? at body of our farmers are 0
stiil making cotton,which only pays $180 to ft
the hand f Let any man who doub.-s it, look d
.it the i .rify condition of the few shrewd n
fanners among us, who are raismggrasses j v;
most of iliem are amassing fortunes !? f{
Let uny man who doubts it look at the h
grass and stock growers of Kentucky, who ^
are armuallv buying 'and at $80 and $100 hi
an acre f whilst our cotton planters rarely **
ever catch up with their store bills. Vl
Ah, hut says, one it requires a capital to l'
sta't on, and a man should be out of debt and ')
h ?ve money to lay cut in s'ock, before he l>
turns nis cotton fit-Id into n s'ock fatm, and p1
r.... .... .... .ui? ?_ .i. u.?. o
irw ui us air nuin in uu uiau p?
My dear, sir, what better evidences do you A
want of the ruinous efforts to make cotton
on our lands and in our climate. You have B
been planting co'ton ten or twenty years, ft
and are not yet able to purchase stock to {*
begin on! I would advise you at once, to in
sell som>i property % which you can best spare, 1
and sever forever the chains that bind you. til
Renounce, at once and fcever, a product /15
which k'-eps you enslaved to your creditors, c<
nnd will no; permit you as a freeman to turn Y
your lab r into a more profitable channel.
The objection has sometimes been mad.*, bt
too, thai we cannot sell stock when we raise et
them?that we have no market. It is auf* ei
ficient I trust to remark in reply to this ob- h<
jection, that we are two hundred miles near. Id
r the great market of the south, than ow P!
neighbors of Kentucky, who have grown d<
rich, and are combining to pile up wealth y<
by means of this unmarketable commodity, el
Hemp is a crop on which a few knowing pi
farmers have for the last few years been yi
amassing piles of money with small labor ; y<
whilst the great mass of their neighbors h<
have be. n content to make corn and cotton te
with great labor and remain impoverished, w
One of these formers fells me that his hemp ul
lards average him fiOOIbs. to the acre? &
that a careful calculation aolisfias hiaukiL
(taking the year round ) the labor upon an
acre of hemp is not grater than that upon ^
an acre of corn?and that he will this year nr
realise 8S a hundred for his hemp. One nr
good hand can cultivate 20 ucres of corn, M
which, (hs our lands generally do not aver. *|
age more than 7 barrels to the acre, which
is worth not more 'Han an average of$l 25 ?2
per barrel.) is worth about $175. Twenty di
ar cs of hemp, at 6001b*. to the acre, and H
$8 |?er hundred, is worth worth $960 f For k'
he last ten years, it t? known that Hemp
averaged $5 per hundred. At hat price b
the crop is worth $600. What a contrast ol
between hi* and the value of the corn cr ip,
or the crop of cotton.
I onlv throw out these suggestions for ?
the b< nefit of such of mv neig bora as U"V- hi
t take the pmns to m ke these simple cab d
cul iiions for themselves. ft is wonderful, if
but i o less titan true, that whole communities
go on fr >m year to year wasting the al
swea of h* ir brows on unprofitable work,
without ev?r lifing their eyea to see, or ol
turning their thoughts to r fleet upon* the pi
riches the tip of Ceres so invinpgly present* *'
in oth' r and convenient form* of labor. f
can point to more than one dozen frugal, in- 'c
lustrious, corn and eo'ton planters in this al
county, who have toiled hard for ten years; ^
and whom th?t nme hove not mode one p?
rod cent by farming On the other hand, ai
I can point to another dozen farmers, not a
whit more mdus:riou* or economical, who A
by cultivating grass or hemp, or roots, or tl
payng attention to their orchards* or raising c
stocky have sn ten vears, bought land and l'
negroes to the value of half what they are ti
now worth Do these facts not speak vol. *
uines? I have others of eqwal or greater
fore- whi.-h for the present I will reserve
for another moment of leisure, when I will
?g'iin advnn ro this subject. Middle. Tennessee
is all vrong headti in its farming. P
Southern Cultivator.
Clover. '
E
From the Tsnaenes Agriculturist. t i
THE JERUSALEM ABtlCHoRR. U
CUnion College, Nov 20,1830. w
Messrs Editors?For the satisfaction of y
all who may feel Rn interest jo the culture of
the Jerusalem Artichoke, I am disposed to give
them, through your paper, so much of *'
lis history and mode of culture as I hive 0
I It ' . . . -f II
learned. Having aoour ivvswy acres 01 u
this valuable product myadr, I am often in- c
terrogated as to its nature, value and ruJtute, *
lis botiinic name is He/ianlhus Tuboerg. c
us, and i* is supposed o have been originally '
dscovored first on the borders of (he Gulf of &
M? x co ; whence it has been curried nnd f
cultivated in Europe far the table and for 1
tood for hogs. But it does not appear lobe f
I so productive in England, where it has been I
, cultivated to advantage, as it is here. There ,
500 bushels to iho acre is considered a large f
crop, but Iteru I am satisfied that one acre of '
common soil, the second year after planting 1
it, writ yield at least 1000 bushels, and many *
acres will overgo that amount. So that I
its native country is best adapted to its pro* '
duction.
The race which I have was. discovered I
i _ % - -
5ET1
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IZER.
y3? v
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ibout seven years ago, In Jackson countj
>f this Sr;ite, by Mr. Samuel Young, am
rom its correspondence with the descriptor
>f lite Jerusalem Artichoke, ( unhesitating
y . roronounced it the some. Before dislovering
tho Jerusalem Artichoke, Mr.
foung had cultivated for his hogs the comnon
whi e (Ciitara Colymus) and finding
0 profit m them had abandoned their cuiLire.
During last spring, about one.eighth
?fan acre of the Jerusalem Artichoke was
iseovered on the furm of Hams Toggle of
Vjison county. Mr. T. had seen them in
afield fur several years, and regarding
iehi as noxious weeds, bad tried to externnare
them without success. But when he
)und by compuring them with mine, That
ley were Artichokes, he net a different estiiaie
on them. From the farm of Mr. Young
arious persons have obtained andculiivanJ
them as food for hogs, all of whom unite
1 their praiso. And the accounts given of
Kerr productiveness and value in feeding
ogs, are almost incredible. Yet the state?ews
are made by men of unquestionable
cr icity, and the accounts of all who have
ed them correspond, SQthat we can hard'
disbelieve In the spring of 1838, a neighor
of mine, who is incredulous to any re.
ort which has the appearance of extravaonce,
having heard of the products of the
rtt -liiikfVi-AmjirlrpH thxt hp thought it look
J like too many squirrels up one tree."
Int when he came last spring to dig some
>r seed out of my patch, he recalled what
e had formerly said, and gave it m his opi
on that it was equal to its representation,
'lie great advantage of the Artichoke is,
lat it contradicts the assertion, that M there
no royal road to wealth," for it will yield
jnsiderable profits almost without labor,
ou have (o plough the ground well in Jan?ry,
February or March, (the earlier the
stter,) nod immediately check off 4 J feet
ich way, and dropping one Artichoke in
ich check, cover them wiih the plough. A~
3ui the time they come up, plough them
ke Irish potaioes, and then oguin cross
ough them one foot high, and you are
one cultivating them forever; The first
par they will make from 400 to 700 bush,
s per acre, and af'erwards they will imrove
for two or three years, tHI they will
ield about double the product of the first
!?ar. I now apeak from expnienee. The
rigs being allowed to root them all ihe win.
tr, is an advantage to them, because they
>ot up and soiVn the soil to a great depth,
nd the Artichokes will fill the soil as fur
own as it is pulver Z'd. Thisthey improve
>r yveral years, enough always being left
y tlio hogs to sot Ihe grotunt Tutnpteirij.
ind lest some one should object, that they
light freeze F*planted rn the winter, I reiark
that this Aptichoke will freeze and
i<j w nil the winter, and still be as good in the
;>nng as if it had been in a cellar. The
n.'y way in which it may be injured, is by
cpoaure ro the air long enough to let it get
ry. whe i i withers up lo a hard stick,
[ence in transporting them, we have to
rep them moist, in order to preserve them.
Your hogs should not go on them tilt a.
out the first of November, when Hie trouble
f feeding them is over till spring, for each
og 44 roots for his living."
Sows with suckling pigs should not go
n tnem. for the Artichokes injure the quali
of the rnilkt so as to make the pigs
wmdle. But as soon as pigs are woaned,
tey will do finelv by rooting for their living.
Heretofore, I h ive given Aiti' hokes* to
1 who desired th-m, and still give to my
eighburs who will dig them ; but being
ft' n Called on by persons at a distance, I
ropoae to acommodate them in a manner
mt m ill tak'- care of number one. Wherever
persons will unite and take a wagon
i;id, 1 will send a load, i can Jeliver them
l G nl itin, N .shville, Franklin, Columbia,
lurfr esboroutfli, or McMinnyille for 92
rr bus id, 5 bushels being enough to plant
n aere*
I am decidedly of the opinion that this
trtichnke will farm a valuable accession to
le Husbandry of the western country ; bcause
ev"ry farmer may keep his hogs
irough tha winter, wrdioiut labor, by devo.
ng rugte I parts of his farm, or some thin
oodiand, to Artichoke.
Francis II. Gordon,.
COMPARATIVE VALUE OF ROOTS.
Me. Holmes:?In answer to your old
' armerV quer?? s. which lie wish"d answer*
d in No. 8, vol. 8, of the Farmer, respect
ig the worth of roots compared with good
Jngltsh hay. corn. 6tc. 6ic. I would saj
tut I consd' r 50 bushels of Ruta Baga
jrirps for 8 nek, in the hands of a farmei
no knows a thing or two about feedings
our corrt ipondont expresses it, equal to c
>n of hay, when fed with a ton of the latter;
?and that six hundred bushels well cleaned
* an average crop of turnips on an acrt
f sod when sHl (Jresned, not forgetting tc
ise nsh*s freely as a top dressing,?which,
:afling 64 pounds a bushel, is 86,400 lbs. ;
rhieh sum, divided by 2,000, the numbei
f pounds in a ton, is 18 tons 400 lbs. tc
?e acre. 3.100 lbs. of turnips is equal tc
tton of liny, which is nearly equal to IS
ons, on an acre. Of course they are equa
0 1*20 bushels of corn, calling ten busheh
>f corn equal to a too of hay, but Isupposi
j bus'iels are equal to a too..
From this data an old Farmer may maki
lis calculations as to Barley, Wheut, dsc
1 have considered Ruta Baga of about at
rverage worth *mong other roots for stock
some think potatoes are worth more pei
j us he I?carrots and sugar beets no doub
ire?Flat or round turnips less.
My experience shows that no kind o
WBips de well on wet hnd, nor very dry
0
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^ nor in time of dioutb, nor wiH any othet <
i kind of roots, not even potatoes,
i aware that many farmers suppose that Rata * *
Bagas properly fed by an eadfejiencedjac-' .
. mer, with hay an I s;r4W,ar<rwihasrm?eh;
pound for pound, as English hay, but
doubt this; therefore fnare made my cak.
-1 cuiation as above. I hop&others wi^givjJ
' their views on this-subject. %j
Maine Farmert ;
-j manure jrtthe state OF^UI* '. /
If't were well when ,!t y/etB (fife ^ * '
'T were well 'twere dftne quickly. >
. * Shakespeare.
Mr. Holmp.s :?Manure is the. foftodn- .
lion of agriculture. * If I Jjrar the oa/n? of*
a farmer who professes to be skiifoi tc* his
occupation, I ask my sell the question, Hoes
he increase his manure by every possible
mear.9 ? Does he read what the best wrij
ters say on the subject of manures, and
- does lie practice accordingly? I have
heard many farmers speak to the praise of
manure who nover in their whole kfe hauh
ed a single cart load of loam, mud, tilrf or
j other material either to the compost heap
j or to the bam yard* Now this is what 1
; shall call tip wisdom. We have it host of
i farmers who are sudject to that terrible malI
ady, lip wisdom, or wisdom in words only.
' There is no better remedy for this sore
disease than resolution. Let the farmer
who has been only praising manure for
yeais yoku his oxen?no! the frost.binds
the earth in Maine but six or seven months
uf the year, but notwithstanding this the
; farmer may haul materials for rasnure : j
i I say lei the farmer yoke bis' oxen; but
| perhaps ho may thus soliloquize to himself,
indeed f have other work whieh must soon
j be done, but {ha ve teen talking more than
j five years of hauling mud, turf,into
; my barn yard, and I am certain that it is
not from lack of tune but frOmLdt of resolution
that it has not been performed : J
say go forward Buck and Bright, I wHl hqxe
one load if it is the last act of my tile, it
is only necessary for the farmer to acquire
the resolution, and the dei^on of proems4ination
instantly vanishes'. ' 0 "
Rumford, Dec. 1839. , ' R. .
Maine Farmer.
i ? A
SWAMP MOD FOR MANURE.
Swamp mud appitec^on an upland loam,
gravel, or sandy soil, will pay the expense
of labor in removing it, two for one the firstyear,
as the statement of fuels hereafter
annexed fullyffo.vef, ^, ,.
Loot fell ir ?tw>l lfti(ti tit _
muck on to a knoii of loam, and put it into
one heap. In the spring, prior to planting
corn, the muck was spread and ploughed
under. The crop of corn, where the muck
was spread, was large; I thought larger than
where barn yard' rpanure wai put. A
neighboring furmeraas made use of muck
for several years. The first year he thought
it equal to barn yaifi manure and its effects
were perceptable a much longer time. The
soil on- which the muck was put, was a
warm gravelly loam. Tlie.muck was used
by another neighboring farmer, for manur.
ing corn in the hjll, which was used in the
following manner: -Arow.ofcach oiternately,
one of muck* one of barn yard manure
and one of hog manure! Ho assured
me the corn manured with the muck wae
the best. The soil, a sandy 'Ion tins'
A farmer in New York had four acres of
gravelly loam, of equal quality, which be
planted with corn. Prior to planting the
' com, he applied fifty loads of muck per
acre, on two acres ; these two acres produced
him one hundred and twenty bushels;
the other two yiel Jed him only sisty bushels.
The next spr ng these four acres were
sowed with oats and grass seed. The oat#
were more than twice as large on the two
acres dressed with muck, as (hey were #n
other two. The grass tor the lour cuccee- H
ing years produced io much &e same ratio. B
Many other similar improvements might be fl
related. Ji is presumed that every intelii- B
gent and wdustrious farmer wilt be satisfied B
of the u ili y of muck as manure. Those fl
farms widen are interspersed with swamps fl
of muck and uplands either ofloam, sat if fl
or gravel, may bo made at an expense of H
from five to ten dollars per acre, capable cfH
paying an interest, annaully, of one hundred H
! dollars, per acre. It is thought that tev\^|
dollars ex pendt;J with ecowffnj,WtH In moFffll
c rcumstances, be sufficient to csrt
1 spread one hundred loads of swamp maou/a^H
' on &o acre. ^B
t These who own farms, situated as jul^fl
' stated, now valued at twenty.five dollars psi^|
i i nrrt? have nnlv to snvtheword, and sofyr^^B
I v - - - .
11 ward, for one or two years, to convinces
i themselves and their neigbors^hut they hau^H
i farms intrinsically worth one hundred doli^H
' ars per acre. HI
> Why so 1 it may' be' asked. Becaus^^f
, they will pay a nett proGtoverand above a^H
; expense, amounting to the interest of onl^
* hundred dollars.
> Look for a moment at the statement <Hb
> the New York Farmer above. He tells
I he applied fifty loads of muck per acre,
I the spring (though the fall is a better
? and the muck is better to be laid on iands^^|
' the fall) which cost him fivo dollar*. Cfl I
this acre he had an increase of corn of ihid^f
t i bushels; at fifty cents per bushel nhim I
J would leave ten dollars nearly enough I I
J pay the interest of one hundred and
i dollars, at seven per cent., and this only
r first year. It is worthy of considers
t that by taking the muck from the low
ditches may be made or improved, so
f low lands will produce a bountiful crop
>! mothy and red top. &c. It is desirable
II