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m, jSf v * > ' JMJr- ;> w * tv ? \ ' ?. *? VOLUME V. \ X* X EDITOR AND PROPRIETOR. TERMS: If mjd within three months, . . $3 00 11 paiJ within threo months after the V close of the year, 3 50 If phid within twelve months after the cleoo of the year, ...... 4 00 If net paid within that time, ... 5 00 Two new subscribers will be entitled to th< fcupeV the first year for Jive dollars, paid at tin time of subscribing , and five new subscriber " * * ? _r for tea dollars p&ia ti inc umo ui ?uusn iumS N* paper to be discontinued but at the optior of the oditor till arrearages are paid. AJvertiaemeots not exceeding sixteen lines inserted for one dollar the first time, and lift) cents, each subsequent ins irtion. Persons sending in advertisements are reques. t ju io specify the number of times they aro to be ir.se*ted; otherwise they will be continueStill ordered out, and charged accordingly, 0*The Postage trust be oaid on allcommu. nieations. * From the Albany Culivator. BERKSHIRE PIGS. Messrs. Gay lord fy Tucker:?Having for some years paid much attention to this most valuable breed of swine* and having been frequently requested to give the history, marks of identity, statistics, habits, qualities, and properties of the animal, I have prepared the following, as a reply to the many queries I am continually receiving on the J0 subject. Such a paper would seem the more necessary, as it is evident the grossest frauds and impositions have been, and probably will be, practiced by the unprincipled on the unsuspecting publ c. For instance, a drover collects a few" hun^ dreJs of swine,! ihtyonJ, or in the west of this state, a heterogenous mass, comprising every kind, from the alligator to the snapping turtle. By the simple process of passing through Albany on his way down east, his drove becomes full blood Berkshire*; though they may exhibit in cblor nil the'tints' of the rainbow ; and by the time he reaches Boston, it is not impossible certificates may be shown to prove the purchase Iroin some noted dealer in swine. effect of this detention may be found inthe remark which is frequently heard ih distant parts of th? country : l* Our folks hafte tried the Berkshire*, and find'them to be do gn at snakes after all; no better than the common hogand well 'may the remark be made, as it is not probable these persons had ever seen a Berkshire pig in their Ihtos. in endeavoring to palm ofl their black and white counterfeits, somnhave traced the genealogy of their pigs to Noah's Ark, and, found them to be the exact counterparts of the two saved in that vast menagerie : and others I presume, have tiaccd their stock to the garden of Eden, and find in theii while Berkshire* an emblem of the purity and innocence of that place, though I have never found white, except in rite ex* extremities, to bo any emblem of the Berkshire pig nt all. The genuine Berkshire* were brought to this country in 1832, by S. Hawes, Esq. an English gentleman. who purchased Judge Spencer's soot, three miles from Albany. Mr. Hswos, associated with several other geotiemen, in England, had by a series of % experiments and investigations, continued for more than twenty years, previous to his coming to this country, brought the full blooded Berkshire pig, to his present high excellence, ? * ""^1" miimal " snnnr'fir in SVmmPlrV MM lil/vr laiui) VU|? a '<# ~ J . j jand perfection, apparently conscious of the Admiration he every where excites, and a noble monument of what the plastic Inml of cultivation can effect over that otherwise uncouth, filthy, and devouring cannibal. i was the first to procure the breed from Mr. Hawes, in 1832. 'Ffiese pigs soon.attracted general admiration; in 1824 and '5, th?*y were first introduced into Ohio and Kentucky, and since that period, I have sent more or less of them to every Slate in the Union; and i understand that they took premiums-in every country in the two States above named, last, autumn. VVhCre the full bloods have leen obtained, and continued without alloy, and not suffered to run out by breeding with those too near akin, nor fei to run with other hugs, as they will in these ways surely degenerate. I have nev< r heard but one opinion, and that of unqualified approbation. Mr. [Iawes returned to England with his family in 1 -38, but through him and his agency, I have, s nce 1832, procured four fresh importations of the h si animals?the last in the fid! of'1839. With these preliminary remarks, I shall now proceed to point out some of the character's ics - -? . ii i.^L: .ci me rrue oorKsiur^ pig. Color.?Tne Berkshire pigs imported jxs above, ore principally black, with the ends .of the hairs tinged with red or brown, giving them a beautiful brilliant changeable appear.unco in the sun, something like velvet oi that color. Mr. "Hawes informed me thai too had never known a full blood to have less .than three white feet, some white in the face or end of the nose, and occasionally white hairs interspersed over the whole surface? the end of the tale invariably white; there are, however, slight variations from the a. foresaid color, as some are ntuclt less bril. Jiant, their coals more sandy, and hair shgli. tly inclined to curl. Pigs were imported from Berkshire forty years ago, nearly o! the same* color, but far inferior in point o rotundity, and other essential points of form All the stock procure I from Mr, Hawes those which I have bred, and all the ful bloods through any other channels have beer .essentially the same in point of color. Foui years since, I saw a bo ir, that the ower in formed me he purchased from on board e ship, far a full blood. His form and colot was right; and being anxious to get a frrsl xrosa, I took Mr. iluwcs to look 'U hiui ' * /J, ARM .1 .A' D C H ~~ CHERA 1 , ' , ~ I " He said hid appearance was good, and as a-test, I might put him to one of my firil blood sows, which 1 did. At the litter; two pigs were all black, three all white, the bu-*" lance Berkshire*. Mr. iIawfes prononuced him a counterfeit; as the result proved he had blood of different racers in his veins. Considering the color as essential in do. 3 termining the character of Berkshire?, .1 s have been much surprised at-the efforts that ? have been made in some quarters to break down color as a test of purity. One main, i ' ' -? r*/*/*A??iiiniT In lud ittlnrmnhrtn iK^j t I lailis, IU.UI IV > ? IHIWJ i<i>;>'i<r v?yj have as much vrhite as black, in England; ] ' and that the color imported by Mr. Hawes, ' was merely accidental. Another some- I ' what extensive breeder of Speculator in I j Berkshire's informed me, as an apology for < full bloods of every color, that it was from a j . particular mode of breeding in England, ? that colors resulted. Perhaps peeled sticks ( haveproduced on swine there, the effects ] they once did on the cattle of Labap ? There i is at this time in the vicinity ofthis City, I ' an imported sow, all white, and three others i ; with about as much white as black: two of < the males I have seen, and from their gen- I ' eral appearance. I should not hesitate to call them impure. 1 have been informed that a i planter from Kentucky, purchased a boar t from a g?'n leman on Long-Island, entirely i white, from a stock he hod imported as ] Uorkshires; and I have seen one bred in this i vicinity, seven-eighths Berkshire, purely I j white, retaining all the Berkshire points of t : form; but such will most certainly very soon | J deg"nera'e into the common breeds. I have ; never met with a pure black Berkshire pig, i i although there are many advocates for titan I j before the public. v i I may add here, that las* spring I saw an : I English gentleman emigrating to Upper. { | Canada, who had a number of very fine j j animals lie was taking on with him, cattle, j ! sheep, and two pigs. He informed me, t that lie was horn and raised in Berkshire* and had paid particular attention to makingthe best selection of animals to bring out with him. The color of his pigs agreed precisely with those of Mr. ilawet' impor. tation ; and he informed me* that it was the | only standard color for the full blood.' All co'ors were sold, he said, ni England for I full blood, and it was extremely difficult, if ' not impossible, for a stranger to procure I such as eoulJ be fully depended upon. Mr. i \ Hawe's importations he pronounced pure, i and fine animals. I have the testimony of I a number of other gentlemen we'l acquaint- I ed with the Berkshire in his nativo country, < and they agree with the statement given as i to color, &c., indeed, were this not the case I with the pure bloods, it would seem strange, < that the pigs sent out by Mr. Hawes, at four I different times within eight years, should < happen to be all of them w ithiu a few shades i of the same color. i Whatever may be the intentioi?9 or wishes i of those who havfc shown ^o much anxiety 1 to break down the dis inction of color, I think it would be as easy to introdOce nil i white or Jill black leopards, as puro blood I Berkshire's of similar description; and any | gentleman purchasing pigs as Berkshires, j other than the color above, described, may j have just reason to suspect their pjtrity. 1 I would advise purcliasers w*ho wish first rate < animals, and pay high prices, to he partic- t ularly careful in ascertaining their pedigree; ( even rfimporte 1, they are npt secure against j imposition, uttl- ss proofis afforded that they i were-selected by competent persons. No I pig should be supposed imported, the vender I of which cannot produce a bill of lading: as i thor?s is reason to believe that some, af:er a | little travel, have been dubb-d imported, that j had never snulF d suit water. A liltlo ntten- b tio'ri to these tilings would have a salutary ti effect in frustrating the attempts at imposi. l i lion so fiequontly made, and vtfith such do- i trinient to the public. . i Objections have been made to Bcrkshires I on account of their supposed black rind, i wInch is not the case after a good scald. A ' blank scurf, or outer covering ofthn skin, < convs off*, lenving a rind not much thicker i than paper, much more white an i beautiful I tliRO that of any other swine. Sizb. ? Pull grown Berkshire's are of all ( i sizes, from 1000 lbs. downwards; the reason why there are so many varying stizes nmong ; ': those imported, is this: gentlemen in Eng- ! 1 i land wishing to have small ones for family i ' us^, have selected the smu lest of tlu-ir litters i j for breeding; and us the result of a well j j known liw, have purposely procured a | smaller stock. O hers, preferring a large" s'ze for mu.kct, have ptirsued the reverso of j tliis course, and run their slock up to a very i great s zau hi the autumn of 1333,' Mr. Hawcs , - brought rue one female and two mala pigs, j unrelated to each other, and also those of 11 the former importation?one from Newbury, j one from Teal, and ;ho other from Reading, t i ail in Berkshire. These I procured express| ly for a new cross; their color is the same of t ! the others, with points agreeing materially, j In consequence of some complaint about siz-s Air. [Jawcs selected the males from ! very large animals: one of these at fifteen I : months old, measured from end of snout to r > the root of the tail, six feet five inches?and r girts five feet six inches in common cohdL ?. . n 111 ir>mo:ri>r nMfirlv | liUll.' lll>; VIIILI, l???? lll /IIIMP ^uutl^-..! . ' j the same size. I challenge the United j j Sates to produce two animal of their species and age, of any other color than what I have named, as a standard color for Berkshire.*, i to compare with them in point of sizo or '- beauty, lam offered .3200 for the oldest, j hy M. Beach, Bsq., of O do. I have one j sow, purchased of the Snuk' rs \V.,:ei vhel, ' ; at 3100, raised by Mr. 11 awes, measuring E It .i IV . ' ; ' j a???in 1.1 i um'jwmr.*,iAVAftua-MW W, -SOUTH-CAROLINA from the end of her nose to the root of Ik toil, six feet ten inches, and in girth, fiv feel ton inches, in breeding order. The Shakers fcf-VVatervIiet slaughter? fifteeu full biuodslast fall?the whole nuir ber being what nre called runts and gulling of litters, from fifteen to seventeen month old, and their average weight was 336 lbs One killed at the Shaker village at Lebanoi two and x half years old, weighed S00 lbs Mr. Shaw, of Ronnsseluer county, slaugh tered one-thftt weighed 555 lbs. I killer one ot sixteen months, weighing over 401 lbs. Isold one to Mr. Curd, of Lexington Kentucky, which Ire advertises as the " Afas ;er," and wliich fs supposed by good jiK%*7, ;o weigh at least 1000 lbs. Mr. Bunco, o 3hio. informs me, that many half and three, fourths blood have been slaughtered in ilia state, weighing, when from seventeen tc jighteen months old, from 450 to 500 lbs Mr. Hawes informed me, that it was not un common for them to reach from 600 to S5C fbs. in England. There is, therefore, tlx most conclusive evidence, that so far as regards weight, the Berkshire's are all that car )c desired. Habjts.?The habits of these animals art much more quiet and docile than those o ho iest of The great swinish family: -theii lative ferocity is solam'd down amazingly [ have never known a sow to eat her pigs i thing that frequently occurs with otliei Dreeds; they come to maturity much soonei i?an the old stock, and are extremely proli. 1c, products| from i? n to-fifieen at a litter ind are very certuin.?to rajse the whole Some of my sows, and those of my neigh tors, have raised twenty five pigs-per an turn for years. When two of th??e pigs of nearly cqua nzo, are put together, u severe conflict im ?.i)li<>?Jv nln/?n tin. rPCIlll nf wlliefl I: 1IUJ1UIV. IJ miw ?j j/?uv? I ?< ?. vW%..? Ml inal, these two never fight again. Uerk shire pigs, il fed at regular anci stated per ods, precisely, (and th6y are much mor< icc'uratc chroniclers of time; than most o Dur wooden clocks,) will finish their meal ind return to their nests, where they wii ueditato grave as juges, and possibly a profoundly. I am decidedly opposed to high feeding for any breeding stock. I have found ii very pernicious in all cases, and nianj times fatal, as the constitution of any animal must eventually give way to it. It it quite too much prucliceJ on young pigs for the laqdable purpose of bringing then forward rapidly, and being afterwards dis sontinqed, the pig is spoiled; high feeding is no way to produce or improve the breed I shall advise to feed light, anJ change tin Jish often. A little pounded charcoal, liuve found-an excellent tonic or corrective af the stomach for pigs* The sun an< water, arc considerations indispensable ii 1 P'ggery. Pigs should be fed separately is convenience will permit, otherwise they will be all that their name implies. Sows.?-In the sows t&king the malcure never interfere with the course of nat, J futlicr than to have the litter com'? in nt ; proper season, viz: spring yr fall. I hav< abandoned the longstanding opinion, tna iows never should be impregnated young hough the young sow may not have ieacn ;d horfull strengh and maturity?nature vhich is' a great economist in this as in al Jther things, will diminish tlie number o jigs accordingly. A sow I raised; whicl neasured seven feel from snout to rbol o he tail, and was in girth six feet, had he firs' Inter at eleven months old, and bori sight pigs. For experiment, a gendemai look two sow pigs of equal size arid vigor and of the same litter, one uas impregnate! at six months, the other at eighteen months each having their regular semi annul lit lers. At the end of three \cars, the on< impregnated at six months wps the largest and by far the best m;lk"r ?nd breeder.? Hesides this, a number of similar experi ments liave been made within my. know ledge, and .wrh similar results. Sow: should be kept quiet after pregnancy,, wiij room for exercise and uir. and furnishei water, and kept separate, to prevent thrust ing, crowding, or fighting. A clover pas ture, where it can bo had, is much prefer able to the pen fur breeding sows; but i should be one in which they are not liabl to be worried Ijv dogs, or oilier animals.? They should neither be over fed or starve: ?for by the first course, you m iv lose th pigs; and by the last, you will haven swam of canniba'si which would be about n bad* Never admit the boar to the so\ while she is in a heated state from drivin or worrying, but let her remain three o IUUI IIUUIO Ul l-.ao I lU U'-LUUJW VWV/I UII ^uiet. The" Hoa^.?1> service of the mal will he ecrially good and efficient, and tli pigs will attain the same size the would although lie may not have attaine half the age and size of his stock. H should not be allowed connection with to many sows at first, or indeed never, as i this case nature will hecome Iter own exc culioner. Never suffer the boar to be pi to a sow .in a ho.t day, till he has been pel milted to cool Himself in a pud lie of wate which ho is sure to do, if th< re is one in bi yard. 1 have known a number of instar c?'s, where neglect of this precaution hu proved fatal to the boar. Not having sue a reservoir in my yard, I make a practic of throwing a pa l or two of water ove them In hot-weather. Having done tli a few times, when I let the boars out the would coiiio and lie down to receive tl water, before they would notice the sow.For any further directions respecting ff management oftlfs animal, I may refer tl 41 ' ?A 5 L? ' > . J /> f E R T , WEDNESDAY, AUGUST ;r inquirer to the December number of vol, e ume Gib of this periodical. I would observe, that I received in Ocfod her las?, per the brig Henry Bell, from i- Heading, Berkshire, England, for a fresh s cross two males and two sows, with colors s agreeing with my former stork, entirely i, unconnected with each other,and also with i, my former breed. One boar 1 sent to M. i. Beach, Esq., Lebanon Ohio?one of^the , sows, my neighbor Z. Standisb, -Esq. j also has a number of very fine breed. ) ing sows of my former stock and will be able to supply his friends abroad with some . fine specimens of Jhe breed.. There was % such an increas^ demand for ti.-ov f m ils last year, that I have been 1t considerable pains and expense in preparing t for it again. Gentlemen from abroad de? > siring to obiain them, would do well to make an caily application to moat No. . 252 Washington srcct, Albany, N* Y. ) John Loosing.. " ? P. S.?The Shakers of Walervliet have . a nunib#k* of fine breeding sows, impregna. j nalecl by iny imported boars. Their Tig- ' gory, for characteristic neatness, regularity * and economy, is surpassed by nonejn the f country. # J. JL... r CC?*!'1 o subsequent number of ibe Cul tivator, we find the following correction: "Mr. Lossing desires us to say, that anorr ror occurred in transcribing the* description r of the Berkshire pig, in bis commnnication - published in the May No. page 70. lu stead of "the tail invariably white," it should have reud "occasionally white." Berkshire Pigs I have just read Mr. Lussing's article 1 upon Berkshire pigs, and .would object to * to the description given of Mr. Hawe's and s bis own importation of them. lie quotes - Mr. lliwcs hs saying, "that he never knew a full blood to have less throe white feet. 5 some white in the fuce or end of the nose, f and occasionally some while hairs intcr3 sperscd over the whole surface, and the end 'I of the tail invariably white; First* I 'object s to the description, as being loo particular about white feet arid white tail, and next, I I object to it on account of pigs sold by Mr. I Lossing, and bis friends about Albany, not r answering to his description." I purchased - eight pigs in and near Albany, last spring, 5 and three of them have no white on the ? ilr;endsof tltoir tails. Tho pigs without 1 white tails I believe to be as good and genu ine as those with it. All the above pigs were recommended to me by Lossing, and one lacking while on its tail out his Teal sow 3 by one of his imported boars, was sold to I me by Mr. Lossing himself. 1 will now prove that the Berkshire hog, i was a red or tawny hog, wi:h brown o* 1 black spots. f In the 6di addition of the Complete GraV zh'r, published in London, in 1833, page 291, speakmg of the Berkshire breed, it ' says "the sp'icific characters of wh'ch an; 1 a reddish color with brown or black spots; 1 sides very-broad; body thick, close, and well 5 formed; short legs; the head well placed, t and the oars large, and generally standing forward; but sometimes pendant over the eyes. Another distinctive mark of this breed is, that the best are without bristles; their ' hair long and curly." The British Husf bindry, (u standard English woik,) agrees 1 with !. Complete Grazier, In assigning the f same color, so docs London's Encyclope r dia oi 13-Ji. ; I hope the above is sufficient proof that 1 the L> .rksliire was a rcg hog with brown or '? block spots. Now as the original Berk. J shire (the genuine article,) was red and '? black, I shall endeavor to show how they " came by their present colors. But before c go ng any father, f would state, thatthoeas* tern hog was resorted to, to change a * coarse, heavy eared, curly haired, great * consumer, into a ffno boancd, thin haired. * thrifty animal. With this explanation,* I s shall proceed to the China hog. "Of these there are two nearly distinct k'nds; the ' while and ih'tllack." "The Chinese hog * is oftho widely extended Siamese breed of * the ens', a race which extends from the ' continent to the island of Sumatra, New. " (riiinea and to all the Islands of the South e Sens." \V*apMolJ in Low's Clements of Ag. d riculturo , (an E iglish work,) that ^The e Ije:kshire was the earliest of the Improved n breeds of England, and is now the most s gem-rally diffused of all others. It was v undoubtedly formed by a mixture of the ^ eastern hog with the ancient swin t of. the r cou: try." "The Modern Berksliire, howd ever, is of a loss size than the older breed; < > _i but st.II the animals are-ut tne larger cmss e of swin". Their common color is a red' o dish hi own with dark spots* Manv of the v breed are nearly black, manifesting their .J near approach to the Siamese charater, and e sometimes tiiey are black broken with white, o indicating the eflect of tho cross of the n white Chinese." ' Mr. Letton,- justly celebrated fi?r his it knowledge and experience in breeding fine > hogs, after travelling extensively over Eng. r, hnd, in search of hogs selected a white is Berkshire boar of the improved breed for a i- breeder. Mr. Let ton had imbibed Mr. is' Lossing's prejudice in relation to color, be. b fore ho visited England. And Mr. Wille iams says in Ins certificate to Mr. Letton, ;r (Franklin Farmer, vol. 3, page 10,) "The is origin of the late improved Berkshire is o v cross on the lain black Berkshire sow, witli ie the large white China hoar, which gives the - color white." if An improved Berkshire boarthat I im. ie ported from England, last fall, is ciilircl) E BT1 I Z E R. .. \ * %, Y ' 5, 1840: 11 r M I- ill i white in the hair, with a spotted (black and white) skin; he has all the fine points of the bestof the Berkshire, one-third Iarger.than those of his age purchased near Albany. 1 have no. disposition to deny the general characteristics given to Mr, Halves' and Lossing's importations, if not extended so far as to exclude those that are acknowledged to be of the best blood. But I do object to his denying purity of bl<-od to all other importations of different colors, when his own lacks the original color. AVe are told in English standard works, "that every country has its^peculi ir kind, iliesupcriojry of yvhich is niaitained in its own district -..liU-jtuTiua iu cveuy ohivIi<um #? ?? *" l,je best arc bread in Staffordshire." I have many hogs, descendants of Mr. Hawes' and Lossing's importations, and have but one of the white Berkshires, and this one is acknowledged t>y me. 10 nave eastern blood in him, for which I prjz'* him mucii more than I should if he was without "\ * - * - * The purcnhsers are led to expect hogs of much gfeater siz'f timn thoir*own will ever be; they feci -disappointed ami ore led to condemn the Berkshire. I have no dOub much injury has afso been dune them by unprincipled men, representing a.s. Berkshire hogs that were not. But -Mr. Lossing's article will ufford no security. 1 have- three quarter blooded pigs that possess all Mr. Lossing's marks, and of the full blooded ones purchased of Mr.. Lossing, lock the white tail, and another purchased also of the Shakers, n?;nr Albany, has hut iwo white hirs in her tad. Mr. LossingV information is not correct in rbspect to tho Berkshire* taking the premiums in every country in the Stale of Kentucky, last fall. The Berkshire* -have never [taken a premium in this (Cl&rk) country. The premiums have been divided between the Wo burns and Irish Grazier hog The Berkshires were beaten in more than half the counties from which \ had lizard any particular account. 1 know no hing about the premiums given in- Ohio. Saml. D. Martin. . CoVvvifle, Ky. May 26, 1810. ' New Strawberry-Hovey's Seedlinq. ?A new variety of tlio Strawberry, which originated in 1835, is now offered to the public, after the experiment of three years has confirmed its superiority over every oihef variety cultivated in this country.?belongs to the class donornin^ed P?'ne Strawberry, snd i* scientifically "described in the last number of the Magazine of floriieulture. The same work s.iys? I ** ' * ri" *v U, ki tr%A <11 "This-otrawuerry wjj ihsi ... the Massachusetts Horticultural Society's Rooms, in 1838; again in 1836, and also the present year; and each season .obtained the Society's premium, although in compej tiM.on with the Methven, Kwn's Seedling, j Downton, &c. Gentlemen well acquainted I with all the other varieties cultivated in the country, have seen the bed in full bearing, nnd they unhesitatingly pronounce it to be the largest, handsomest, best flavored, most'productive and hardy variety they havo ovr seen. "The Keen's Seedling is the strawberry now almost universally ia England; and those who have been the most succesful cultivators of that variety, in this country, have not been able to obtain such speci. niens ns were exhibited of Hovey's Seed, ling, at tho Rooms of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, on Saturday, June 13."?Boston Courier, ASHES ASA MANUJtE ** - *. *" a,. ti hi ftxiraci rrom ino ?u.une manner. 1 had supposed, that enriching land with ashrs, was of recent discovery and practice tint a prejudice against them as manure which experience has proved to le Ue%-had but just been made to yield.. There* is however, a field at Buxton- town corner, known as the Garland place, which was richly manured with the refuse and waste of a Pot-Ash" more than fifty years since; and the^ virtue of flit jnppliration is every season evident. The soil is light, and thin and of a descrpiion easily rxhaus <'d. The place bus changed heads repeatedly, and has been, by supposition more than once "run out" Yet every fresh ploughing, discloses I he virtue of the strewed cfsh.hccp ?<ind corn and grain and potatoes wrll ever exhibit a luxuriant growth and yield 1 an abundant return. The clover and tall [ timothy is thissenson "up to my eyes," and ! confesses both in excellence and. amount? the worth of ashes as a manure. -' The "old people"-who live in the past and la., ment this degenerated age, over, that years ago the grass that grew in this field, was a burden, to -haymakers. 'Tis high-land far elevated above the river, yet a dry time will i hardly affect its verdant apearnnCe.-When ! the "adjoining lols'Mo the h? art of the ! drouth. show sear and vcllow, this is the green spat^-tpi ongis of verdure in.thc midst of bliglrtah^deciy. Yet with this notable instance _pf the worth of ashes, ever before them, green i and fresh, our farmers have tili with:u a little period, suffered the ash heep to run to waste. It is now beginning to be prized , and the leavings of burnt wood, are now us much valued by the men, aslliey ever have , been by the neat housewife. Th< ir virtue it : not alh/fc, bu.t after this is faithfully purged i from them and greased, to make it ?'go i down weli" they are mixed with the manure 11 heap or strewed upon the acre dovotcd to I Indian corn bread from nsbes! though il i smacks of Dr. Graham and shw dust, is yel ' no m irvel. Tliev ure as nil testily* o I * ' . MU w * < '' * A X m ~*e*sBB~mmssBgsmiBmrNUMBER 38 ,|, * "long manure" and thir virtue remaiftes and blosaome in the dus'," when other varieties arc soon exhausted and -forgotten, prom the Albany Cultivator.' y tbeatm^vt of sandr suls. Messers. Editors?Should you deem g ihe following remarks, copied from a letter written by one farm?r to another, in reply * to some inquiriesnrd jn ans wer to spate ohjecions, worthy of a place in thecoJuaio* of the Cultivator, they are at yonr servicer "Drar Sir:?My reasons for supposing i hat in deep' sandy soils, (or ihOso in "f silex predominates, to the rfC'MajnrfpfT^'B nrfj|j uravif "uj "file Value Ot ?? manure wh9 lost by infil'ruiiort, or passing l_ _ I tL ^ M I M i' k.lft tti*. ?. 4 ! ?' ? - ** ik-iow me ruuia 01 piauis, were me opinions of such practical and scientific ififen as Voir Thear and Davy in Europe, and Jackson and others of our state geologists, in tbji;' observation of the operation of water on the soluble parts of manures, and the huffily with which th' se parts are grparafed, and, carried otT when the water is in excess, as w evident Iroro the color of water in yards,and that which leaches from tliein; and also froirr some personal experience in that clan of soils*- One part of the farm oh which I many years since resided in New. England, was a tract of very light sand, which woe cultivated according to the exhausting mod* then in use, nnd which after f fc'ff poshed into the hand* of an old fashioned farmer* who has continued the system- of cropping, uniil the hind is now incapable of producing any thing, ?nd is mostly a- bare surface, ?r nearly so, of sand. In rccmmending a different course to hm, a few yours since-?a difP-rent course founded on mtmure,clov?HV and- p'ader, his reply way, "inapOre doru no good, it sinks mto the sand, and 1**10* to the plants pn the surface." Now ak though ( believe I could hike* those mft* sand plan s, and in five years nwUW*fSbm ilie most fertile part of the * farm, ftfc for the reasons already assigned, i have been inclined to believe that on porou*,gro*elly,. or deep snpdy sftils, much oj?tho benefiit Tw and value of manures Was lost by emkiog. with (ISP water beyond the reach of .plants* It is the mow active part of the manure, th? salts, that are the moit soluble, and hwi&e the most liable to be lost/ mf' I may be mistaken, in some of rcrf infer, cnces, and in the British Husbandry, I find a remark that reminds me of the opioioiY expressed by your neighbor^ viz: that or* sucli soils the manure do** nor sink booeotl* the sail plowed; that war It asserting that on the light sancls ofiMgiuni, their system of manuring and plowing, with their course of cropping, soon converts the sand into* rich soil as low as it is stirred by the spado or plow. in the cultivation of what are termed sandy -soils, experience would seem to have taught European farmers, that it is better in most cases to form the manures into compost, than to apply it lodfcor fresh. Their method of forming Compost is to place u> layer of sods, muck, or swamp earth, (the I ? I.aIm'* Mnnn irfilVA^ WAMtr WlllllflkLft no IttUUr UC I|I^ VVI jr f UIMHVH7 'O# containing usually a quantity of clay.) theiv . a layer of fresh manure, then another of sods or earth, and then of manure, and thereto aliernnte until the requisite height is reached, and then it is left to ferment -and rot. , The coverirg of the heap is of turfr greatside down, as are ali the sals used, to re* ceive the wash or draining* of the manorr. These piles are occasionally watered t?y tK rii.e, bu: this can be dispensed with. V/h6f9there, is a deficiency of lime in the soil, or where the compost is to be used Tor grat* crops, layers of lime ore added to the hetqv hut these layers are not placed in contact with the manure, but between layers of 0O<$ or earth, * - These heaps of compost made in autumn are ready for use in the spring,, and ire applied to the crops or to thosoila* are wanted for the purpose of the farm. 1 have sojiie doubts whether compost heaps m;ide in this wnv. in our climate, late in wo * tumn, would decompose during our winters, so as to be fit for use in the spring, for roMX ' crops; but if they would, I have no doubt it would be iliQest mode of manuring'your lund, or iudeOT olinost any other.' For myself, I think that rotund manure, as being more quietly felt- by the plants, is better for roots than- that which is long, tho* roots and corn are the only crops to wbkii long or fresh manure should be applied.. If ashes could be obtained, I should use them liberally, fifUfcr in the comj>ost heaps,t>r applied directly-to the land. On sandy soils jew things are more useful. A short lime siiice ih visiting a neighboring town, I observed a Mr/L. an escelk-nt farmer, draw., ing manure. His method was to draw onu load of stable manure, place it where Wan. ted, and then go to an old ashery, and get a load of leached ashes, which was placed on the'insnjire.' In this way, the gases and volatile salts of the manure are k'jit from evaporation, und the salts that abound iu *N| ashes are incorporated with the manure. jjfk svsforn li.-iti nmdiiped uomc of tl?C OJOSt ma ??%??. _ _ i^eaui.iiul fields of grain J have, ever seen; and thougii iris soil is not cjune as sandy as yours, I have oq doubt would succeed wed i with you. One difficulty in a soil corwtiuied na is i yours, is that it pans with moisture so readily, 1 that mamure if applied fresh or long to u i crop, is kept in so dry n s'ate that deeompI osition is but slowly or pnrtiajly effected, i ah J the change of the earths that compose i ihe surface, into soil or rendered fertile, i* i rot so complete or rapid, as when tho-propt er degree of mojsiurn is prcsen'; or the ma. t nuruis rotted and made info compost befom i its application to il(o land. To this want of 4 ' ? #