w
t ' N<? - r
fcfc '
VOLUME V
.
EDITOR A XDPROPRIETOR
T E It M si:
IfpiH within tlir^e months, . . $3 00
II paid within threw months after the
close oftha year, 3 50
IF paid within twelve months aflcr the
clone of lhe year,* 4 00
If uot paid within that time, ... 5 00
Two new subscribers will he entitled to the
piper the first yoar for five dollars, paid at the
time, of subscribing , and fivo new subscribers
fur ten dollars piid at the time of subscribing.
lY-'fllO Postage must be ouid on all coinimitf
cations.
Mo p iper to be discontinued but at the option
of liio editor till arrearages are paid.
AJv irtis^mcnts not exceeding sixteen lines,
inserted for one dollar the first time, and fifty
4entx, each subsequent inr rrtion.
Person* sending in advertisements arc reqims.
ti?. sjicciiy the number of times they are to lie
i s* ted; otherwise they will lie continued til)
till itnrl oli inri'rl nppnrdiiiirlv.
v- ? h" * J
From the Georgia News.
large corn crop.
We publish the t'oilowing, from William
Stone, Esq., of this place, with great
p'earn re. We think the crop described
can hardly be beaten. If any of our
farming friends know of apian by which
as much or more com can l?e raised, ou
xj the exhuastcd lauds of tiiis, and the neighboring
counties, they will do us, and the
community a favor, by letting us into the
secret. Communications, on agricultural
' O
subjects, we always gladly publish; and
we regret that those who have practical
knowledge of agriculture, do not oftoner
send us trie result of their cxpriui nts.
"Ajk, C utting:
4\V j?lii?gtoii, S.'fvr. 15, 1840.
"Dear Sir:?The following experiment,
and unparalleled production of sixteen
barrels, three pecks, and four quarts of
com, made upon one acre of poor land. I
w ithout any manure, save that of leaves,
i (duces me to oiler you this for publication.
The following was the proe?ss.
* The land was broken up in November,
and thrown into broad flat ridges, two
fret wide, ami six feet apart. It lay in
that situation until the middle ol March,
we then run a furrow, with a small root.,
er, in the middle of tin; Hat ridge, and a
similar one on each side of the middle
furrow, nine inches from it?making ihree
rooter furrows on each Hat ridge and
dropped the corn in each rooter furrow,
double the quantity ire intended to let
stand. When brought to a stand, our
O 1
intention was to leave tin; stalks three feet
apart iu each furrow which would give
alnuit eight thousand five hundred stalks
to the acre. When the corn was up,
thinned, and had obtained the height of
si\ inches, we put on a coat of leaves,
about three err four inches thi"k, covering (
the Hat ridge all over and around the corn; j
then ploughed and hoed it covering the
leaves with soil. In about twelve days,
wc repeated a similar process?laid the
corn by, some time in May, and then covered
the ground all over, between the
rows, about six inches deen. with leaves
a X
which were put on and covered while wet,
in order that the ground might retain its ;
O c
moisture, to prevent the crop from tiring.
"The rows were 80 by O'J yards,
m iking JW double rows. bO vards Ion?;.?
? w ' o
We gathered and measured throe of the
double rows, two on each side, and one in
the middle; the three rows produced ton
bushels in the care, which shelled out six
bushels one and a halt' pecks. A short
calculation will show that, as the three
rows produced six bushels and three,
eighths of a bushel, the whole product of
the 3D rows was eighty.two bushels, three
peeks, and lour quarts for about an acre.
The corn being so thick, might have tired
in a dry season, and unquestionably
would, if not protected by the leaves.
" Your s respectfully,
" WM. STONE."
LUCEKXE.
This grass delights in a deep sandy
loam. The laud should he thoroughly
cleaned of all weeds, or the seed should
be sown in drills, so that the plants may
be hoed until the weeds arc subdued.?
Mr. 8. Howard states in the Zancsville
(Ohio) Oazctte, that he sowed a small
quantity of seed in drills, the lust week in
May, on the "river bottom." The last
of July it had reached eighteen inches in
height, when it was cut and fed green to
bogs and milch c?jws, who both ate it voraciously.
in four weeks it had again
irrown to.iht5 same height, when it was cut
the second time : on the first of November
it was again cut, the crop being henvicr
than either of the proceeding. A pcice
oi very flourishing red clover adjoining,
oa precisely a similar soil, did not yield
near half as much as the lucerne. Mr. II.
lias no doubt hut it may be cut, after the
^ first year, five times in a season, and that
? it will yield a ton and a half per acre, of
hay at each cutting. The culture of lucerne
has formed a distinguishing feature
in the agriculture of franco, where it has
been in use for more than 250 years. The
crop is there estimated at from five tosevcu
tons to tho English acre.
Albany Cult.
On the Culture ok the Swkkt Potato.
Mobile, May 22//, 1^40.
To tho Editor oftlw American Parmer :
Dear Sir :?I am an earnest seeder
after agricultural knowledge, and reading
over the different numbers of your paper
makes nie fee! a spirit of emulation that
* 4 .
<?l$f
CHERAW
almost reaches enthusiasm. Discovering
that you solicit every one to contribute in \
aiding all practical improvements derived '
from experience, I have presumed for the !
first time in my noviciate at farming, to '
attempt a description of the best mode ot;
cultivating the sweet potato, so well suited
to be the best and most profitable product,
from thn mn?nn of the little labour re
qusitc to ensure a good crop on any de-'
scription of land in the Middle States, |
particularly from Louisiana to the Onroli- ,
nas, and I wo Id farther state that I have |
been engaged in raising vegetables for our
city market since 18:30, and have hut'
recently discovered that husbandry properly
pursued is the only true source of
happiness to any people, insuring to all
who will be diiligetit a more certain com-!
O
petenee than even the mechanic arts, leav- i
ing out of view those who are subject to!
spasmodic affections, from inflated cur-:
rency. My experience then assures me j
that the most convenient and profitable J
mode of culture, is to plant in ridges, four
feet apart, on ground only once ploughed,'
as the distance is the guide lor the size of
the ridge, letting the slips, as the planting I
potato is called, he cut very small, say one 1
inch only in length, where the pot a toe is |
small; and where large round, diviced or I
split in twoor four peices, which will pre-!
vent the large peices from growing to j
what arc called mothers, which, in other,
words, is only an increased size of the potato
planted assuming a globular form in- J
stead of its striking out roots, each of
which will make an oblong potato. The
number of small peices when prepared j
should be four dropped one foot apart,'
and covered liuee to four inches deep: i
that done, it only becomes necessary to !
! scrape off the grass from the surface ot the \
i ridges, and between the potatoes, observ-1
j i'tg to give them a stirring at the same j
time; and as soon as completed, plough J
them deep into the ridges, so as only to j
leave thorns- cure in tiicir places, from in- j
jury to the sun's exposure, and at a week's j
interval, or sooner, let the ho* s draw up all
the itir: well under tlv in as nossiblc. and
your crop is made, for the vines will soon j
shade ihc whole ground, supereceding the '
necessity of any more labour. Another j
decided advantage of a crop of sweet pota- ;
toes, results from the proof that, in addition I
to the potatoes, it will produce as many I
water-melons, or musk, or pumpkins, as if
they were planted by themsohvs, and do
not injure the potatoes that I could ever
discover. Above all is the nutritious aliment
which it yields, exceeding the Irish
l>otntoe two-fold when fed from the root;
but when dried as I do the vines in digging
to the sun 48 hours even on the
ground turned over next day, and when
housed, by shaking all dirt or grit falls olf;
and I assure you that my horses leave
hay, or clover, or corn blades, to eat the
potato vines. In curing the vines, as in
every thing else, tho farmer must exercise
his judgment according to the intensity of
the sun : with me two days arc suflicicnt.
You will have lo decipher this scrawl, and
if you make any use of it, revise, correct
I and punctuate, as I know it is too crude to
be seen. I can give nothing but the substance
or matter?You must embellish in
giving form and language. I would not
o ? c* r?
write, hut I know you have too much good
i- i ,jWt
SCI1.SC lO CruiCISC, iroiu ii?itni? mill njv,
sensible remarks in your editorials ever
since your last control of the American
Farmer. By the time you receive this it
will he too late to act on my suggestions j
in planting from last year's slips, hut not
too late, even in your State, up to the last
of June, to make goo 1 sized potatoes from
the vines, and if you can prevail on any
of your acquaintance, who may have some
now growing to try the experiment, the
result will please them. From the vine j
the Spanish will not grow well. All i
other kinds may he cut so as to admit of j
doubling at least four if not six times, one j
foot lo.ig, and that introduced into an np- i
crture or hole made either with an iron j
crow-haror heavy dibble, that will impress j
from the flattened surface of the ridge, \
one foot or more deep, and when put in by !
hand, observe that the running end is left !
out, and none of the ends project hut one
to two inches out; the dirt well compress- j
cdatthc surface, and the yield will ii>
your climate he incredible. It is only ne- j
cessarv as in the former, to have them
hoed clean off, as soon as the grass appears,
and then plough down the ridge, and make
? 1
it up to tiiein again, n uio vine ?ntn
doubled lour or six times, should not bo
over six inches in length, it will answer;
but tiie longer, the hotter yield, and more
certainty of living, for which my mode is
particularly remarkable, entirely obviating
the necessity of watering, if the vines are
set out when (lie ground is thoroughly
wet. Another advantage of this root is
the case with which it is kept ; which is
! only to have than put under the ground
deeper than the frost will penetrate, and
make trenches between them lower than
the potatoes, so that they arc drained.?
They are not injured by the rains penetrating
tlicm, as all they require to keep
tuem fresh, and not even to sprout under
ground, if kept there until June, is to have
{ tne water drained off, and so deep as not
\ to be affected by cold or frost. In my
Opinion it exceeds all other because
jf'isso certain : no worms or 'pug injure it
lit any s.age of its gr%wtl\, \yhercas beet
and turnip are liable to boiq.
L. V. F>.
P. t*. I assure you, you cannot expati
0
$
1 *
w ?wm?<tiw
.SOUTH-CAKOIJNA. W
ate too lengthily on the advantages of
the culture of the sweet potatoe, for if
farmers would but try it, I am satisfied it
would supercede many root crops, to the
enriching of the grower, to be used to fatten
cattle for the shambles, cows for the
dairy, horses for the plough, by having
them washed, intermixing a little salt; and
in fattening hogs, they arc next in nutriment
to corn.
The above should have appeared long
since, but was mislaid by some means?it
is worth the consideration of those who
have not already given attention to the
culture of this root.
American Farmer.
*
AGRICULTURAL EXHIBITIONS.
At the 'Farmer's Festival' held at (Jcorgetnviwi
Masn piirli:<?nn tp.irna vvpre in
*""" - f - O 1
the ploughing match. The Salem Gazette
says:
"In the hall for domestic manufacture* we
noticed a rich exhibition of useful article*.?
The number oi entries was about 149. comprizing
the usual variety. The display of
hearth ruga was highly creditable to the taste
and industry of those who tnadethem. Among
the ar idea exhibited was a siik gown made
by a lady now 93 years of age, from silk of
her own rai.-ng. Tint chairman of the committee
pleasantly suggested to the Trustees
the expediency of ottering a premium to that
young lady who should produce a similar
gown, as her own handiwork; and then as
me best reward that could be given to the
best young farmer in the county, the young
lady herself."
Of the Fair at New Haven, the New
England Farmer says :
"The exhibitions of the day were distiri"
guished by a team of more than three hundred
yoke of oxen fr? in t!ie neighboring towns ?
The cattle, with scarce y an exception, were
almost red and marked every wh?*rejpviili the
Devon blood. There were many Jphnal* of
pure Devon, we presume des. endeairoin the
stock presented n?iue years since by Mr.
Coke, n??w Lord Liecestor. one of the best
breeders of Devons in England, to the Messrs.
iiurlbut, of C .nnccticiit. 'Lite cattle were
not only remarkable tor their s ze, color and
fortn, but hkewise, and particularly, for their
high condition, shewing excellent keeping, and
likewise for very skilful training. It would
he d;ffi< ult to conceive of a show of this kind
in this resj>ecl more gratifying or honorable.
At two o'clock an address was delivered in
the ehurch;the reports were read and the pretn;uin-i
pronounced ?The proceeds ofoneof the
farms presented for premium, exceeded, '1000
dollars; the size of the farm was 160 acres.
\Ve are promised a copy ol the report on (arms
which was drawn up with great care, and
shall l-?y iC as soon as received before our
readers."
CAUSES OF TItK FAILURES IN REARIN'C.
mii k.wninic
To the Editor of the Farmers* Register.
Fredericksburg, Sept. Is?, 1840.
The last number of the Farmers' Register
contains (to mr) unpleasant news
relative to the general result of silk culture,
in Virginia, during the past summer;
hut it is proper that these failures should
he known, that persons intending to prosecute
the business may provide convenient
ad proper fixtures, and exercise more
care in time to come. Some of Dandolo's
directions for the preservation of silkworms'
eggs are good, hut others are unnecessary,
and impracticable in our climate.
As a specimen take the following:
"The linen clothes upon which the eggsare
deposited may he left then in the same
place, provided the heat of the room does
not exceed 06 to 68.' *
Now where in Virginia shall we find a
place frce/rowi (htmpness that can he kept
at a temperature as low as 63 "in July or
August.'" The eggs from which my rear
ings were made the past summer were frequently
exposed to a temperature, a short
time after they were deposited, as high as
85 to 88, and yet worms proceeding from
these eggs were more thrifty than any
large parcel that I have seen. The hatching
of a portion of the eggs was retarded
by placing them in the ice-house the 10th
rxC iwiiinmrv nnrJ n not her on reel were 1)11
V/* 1 v./. ..... . , g
ried underground, and these too succeed,
ed well. Well I ain not yet sure that this
plan will retard the hatching ns late as
1st of August, because a thermometer occupying
the same situation, under ground
stood on June 27th at sunrise at 67, and
I on June 29th, at 2 P. M., at G8. The
plan which I adopt for retarding the
| hatching differs in some respects from
any that has hitherto been made public,
i and as it is probable that some of your
! readers may wish to try it, 1 will send you
! an accurate description in November oi
I December.
I will state my opinion relative to the
causes of failure in rearing silk-worms
during the summer:
1. Closing too inanv of the window,
! and ventilators of the room in warm and
| damp weather.
j 2. Crowding the worms so as to prej
vent their feeding with regularity, anc
i which also checked proper transpiration
! Hear Dandolo on this point. "It must
he acknowledged transpiration canno
n i
! exist without the contact of air. Th<
health of animals requires that they shouh
expel, by means of the excreting organs
11 he superabundant liquid and cxtrancou
; substances, which may have been inlro
i duccd into their organization by nutri
; tion."
) 3. Wi:!c hurdles or shelves and narrov
i passages have been a fruitful cause ofdis
i j
* Dandolo's treatise, p. *?31. London etli
tion, 18--3. Vol. VIII?78.
f '
'MBWIMSiWWU
EDNESDAY, NOVEMBE
1 .% '
ease wncn in other respects the manage- j
ment may have been very good. These !
i wide hurdles with narrow passages render
it impossible to expel the large quantity
of carbonic acid generated, with that
uniformity and rapidity required to ensure
health.
Hear Dandolo on this point also.
"The quantity of carbonic acid which
is discharged by thesilk-worms is in greatI
cr pro[>ortion when the worms arc numerous,
when the temperature is high in the
laboratory, and when the atmosphere is
laden with moisture. This same acid is
well known to be heavier than the atmosjpheric
air; and it would fill constantly the
"regions of pure air which are in immediate
contact with the silk-worms, if care
irere not taken to establish currents of air
to expel it" (Note at page 263. Lonj
don edition, 1823.)
j The success of C'ount Dandolo in rearing
silk-worms in 1814, when, as he says
"the crop of cocoons generally failed
in Italy." is mainly attributable to the
ample space allowed the worms, and the
means which he possessed for a very free
vent itaf ion. This of course is nothing
more than my opinion, and it may pass
I for it is worth. These statements have
reference only to cases where the worms
| were healthy ichcn hatched. The best ar'
rangement and management can avail
| nothing for worms from diseased eggs,
i An opinion that rearing* of silk-worms
I // *>rrn oonoonnrinc
! art* more j?rucui u?us m #?##??> vwwhvi?vj
! than in small ones, has prevailed to some
extent, both in Italy and in this country.
In Virginia especially, this objection has
I been zealously urged by those who contend
that the culture of silk cannot be
i pursued with profit on an extensive scale.
Farts stated by Dandolo stand in diJ
rect opposition to this opinion.
I "In general the laboritories of the tenants,
farmers and common cultivators, j
; have the appearance of catacombs. I say j
! in general, for there arc some few, who,
although thev may not have all the roO
? 0
quisitcs of rearing silk-worms in perfection,
yet have care sufficient to preserve
the worms from any very severe disease.
"I have often found, on entering the
rooms in which these insects arc reared,
i that they were damp,* ill-lighted by lamps
| fed with stinking oil, the corrupt and stagnant
to a degree that impeded respiration,
disagreeable effiuvia disguised with aromatics,
wickers too close together, covered
with fermenting litter, upon which the
silk-worms were spinning. The air was
.never renewed except by the breaches
which time had worn in the doors and
windows; and that which made this seem
more sad and deplorable, was remarking
that the persons who attended to these insects,
however healthy they might have
, been when they entered on the employ,
i ment, lost their health, their voices became
hollow, their hue pallid, and they
j had the appearance of valetudinarians, as
j if issuing from the very tombs, or recovering
from some dreadful illness/'?(page
0030
"The silk-worms succeed better in the
I great laboratory, and form finer cocoons.
eliAtu tlvit fhn
j "1 in; IUIU1 IVOIIII n III .mull W?? .....
| great laboratory is less expensive, and betI
ter overlooked, consumes less leaf, preI
serves the worms belter from the attacks
J ot'dLseasc, and affords nn abundance and
i fine produce of cocoons." M. Dandolo
; observes, that having reared silk-worms,
i in large, middle-sized, and small lahornlories,
the cocoons of I he large laboratories
! were invariably of superior quality.?"Neither
is it liable to breed so great a
quantity of carbonic aciil gas, ormophetic
air, so peculiarly noxious to the silk-worm,
I as the small laboratory."?(Note, page
I 298.)
j 1 have recently ascertained that the
mortar or lime from an old budding, wiioii
used as a surface dressing, will produce a
growth of white clover. In the spring of*
1838 a cart load of this compost was thrown
j 011 apiece of land that produced nothing
I but hen's nest grass, and a very feeble
1 j growth of that; in June last a beautiful
1 j growth of white clover covered the spot
i whence the compost had been shovelled off*
and applied to some trees a few steps disI
taut. When I wrote you some time ago
1' on the subject of marling this spot was
' overlooked.
1 Layton* Y. Atkins.
postscript.
Among (he causes which have contribu1
: ted to failure, in many of the attempts to
' , rear silk-worms during the past summer,
j the retarding the hatching of eggs by icc!
houses, or otherwise, mav be named.?
51 The cause, however, of disease, must he
! sought for in the manner of retarding, or
; in the circumstances of the eggs, either
I before or after they were subjected to the
I process. If, for example, eggs had been
I placed in a refrigerator or ice-house in
I ! January or February, and the package
i containing the eggs was opened frcquent1
ly in March, April and May, for the purl
pose of withdrawing portions for hatching
' j or for sale, the condition of the remaining
1 , eggs would he changed by the sudden in>
j traduction of the atmosphere, so as to
s , render it dangerous to subject them again
I to the full operation of the retarding pro
J cess. My experiments, made the present
, season, prove that eggs may be safely re/
| * Some persons have supposed that closing
the windows and ventilators in rainy weatliei
- nro rctcd the worms from dampm ss. This er
rut jias destroyed millions of mlk-woruis.
I
I
R. II, J840. 7 7
tarded until late in June, full tiro months
beyond the natural period for hatching.
This period, in Virginia, in latitude 38,
varies from the 20th of April until the
15th of May. In 1936 it occurred the
5rh of May, in 1838 15th of May, in
1839 5th of May, in 1840 20th of
April.*
If the winter state of the eggs may he
prolonged until the 20th June, i think it
fair to inter that it may be extended to
July or August. Mr. McLean, of New
Jersey, has succeeded in retarding the
eggs until the last named periods. But
this is an important subject, anJ time,
with oft-repeated cxperimenIs. alone must
furnish facts on which positive co >cU*~I
sins may be based, in the mean time a
free communication offsets and opinions
from persons engaged in rearing silkworms
is very desirable.
There is another cause which I believe
has produced numerous failures in attempts
to rear late broods of silk-worms,
which deserves notice. In all early roarings
it is well known that the worms and
the leaves of the mulberry advance simultaneously
towards maturity; and hence
the worms have leaves suited to their
different ages. But in many cases, when
late rearings have been attempted, the
leaves have been fed to the worms promiscuously,
and consequently the young
worms have been compelled to cat leaves
not containing the kind of nourishment
suited to their delicate organs when first
hatched. I know it has been asserted that
the young silk-worm will devour voraciously
the toughest leaf; hut because the
worms will eat such leaves to escape starvation,
it should not be inferred that it
does no harm. A little reflection, I think,
should convince us that it is unreasonable
as that i is unnatural.
The following quolai ion from an article
translated from the French, and published
in the Farmers' Register, tends to confirm
the opinion expressed above.
" On the other hand, if the putting forth
of the leaves is backward, and it is followed
by beat that lasts long, as may usually be
expected, and yet if but little heat is kept
up in the laboratory, the worms will advance
6lowly and their growth will be prolonged.
Still the leaves grow and Itceomc
harder. and have too much consistence for
he worms, in their backward slate" Th is.
(hen, is a state of things in which the
growth of the worms should be hastened
by continued high temperature, in order
that their progress may be brought up to
l that of the leaves, which is an essential
point."
I will only add that the object of the
French writer may be obtained without
; raising the temperature, or without the use
I of artificial temj>eratura, at all, viz.: by sc|
lecting the most tender and succulent
I leaves for the first ten days, reserving the
! toughest for the last age. I have pursued
' this course for jive years, and have only
had one late rearing that was diseased.
The hatching of silk-worms* eggs had
| been retarded until the first of August in
i Italy, prior to the year 1778, andconse:
queutly is not a discovery of American ini
genuity. The discovery was of 110 use to
I them, because the rearing of late broods
1 was prohibited by the government, to pre|
vent the destruction of the mulberry trees.
1 (See Farmers' Register, vol. vii. p. 274.)
!
; * -~.1~ ?,1 Kv Ion v..
1 firriuun ntit oni.iiiarivu
" ? egg8 exposed to all the changes of the
: weather, in our cocoonery during each pre.
cceding whiter, with the exception of le'3G.?
j The eggs lor that year had been kept in an
upper room in Fredericksburg.
From the Indiana Fanner.
rut a bag a.
; Friend Wii.lets:?I am much gratified
to see and know that the value of
the Ruta Ilaga is rapidly becoming properly
appreciated among my brother Far1
mors in this part of the country, and
' though the feeding out the roots is uttended
with some trouble, the advantages of
: their culture arc so dccidod, that wc may
i reasonably expect the time is near at hand,
when very few farmers will he found who
! do not cultivate that excellent root ; as
i they can be fed out to any animal, and in
! almost any way, with great profit.?
j They ran he raised with a great deal less
j labor than grain of any kind whatever,
j and yield a much larger crop; last season
dry as it was I raised, I suppose, between
five and six hundred bushels, or about twe
| hundred bushels per acre. Some will nr
doubt say this was a very poor yield ;indeed
; it was in proportion to what they will dr
j in even ordinary seasons, but poor as il
| may be, they were the most profitable crop
that I cultivated. They were of niort
value in feeding my stock, than a corn
crop of about twenty acres, while the laboi
of sowing and harvesting the Ruta Rnga
was less than the labor bestowed upou tin
corn crop acre for acre. My horses wer<
j very fond of Ruta liaga, and done wel
J when fed upon them. When I first com
I mcnccd to cultivate of the Ruta Baga
I there were many conjectures by some o
! my neighbors as to my success, 6cc?
' | These doubts seem all to be removed; am
many have determined to cultivate tha
excellent root for themselves. Last sea
! son I could have sold oil mine at 37 1-:
' i nrr bushel as I had manvappliction
...
for them and all I sold were sold at tha
1 price, though I refused to sell at air
. price. At that rate I should have mad
| not les than 73 dollars-per acre. Now !e
#+ *
-. J*'
* > . 1
*
y ^- ? ?
i
* ,. < __
% %
"* ' '#
* ? . * \ 1
V t* ; , 1
NUMBfcK W ' i|
ggagggg
^ " '" " *.? .
' 4 . * **" ^
mc ask my brother fiarme^ if l bad to hatfe
sold them at even Tfo low' a# Id 8-4 eaatt
per bushel, what other crop with tha aaaar
lobor would have been of so much profit?
Anthony
The New Specie# or
Balt(K08e, Oct. 3d, 1840.
To the Editor of the American Farmer* i .
Sir,?I think it proper to taiie the ear- %
liest occasion to notiee the new wheat, ?
drawing of which has just been puMiahed?
in the American Farmer and copied into* %
double purpose oi saving money and.
trouble to all concerned. This new species
of wheat, is, without doubt the Egyptian
wheat, triticum c cup positum. For a draw
ing and discription of which seo Loudon's
Encylopedia of plants. The engraving
in Loudon and that in the Farmer present,
the same characters precisely. Beside*, I
have often seen the Egyptian wheat and
the head of the new species which has been
exhibited to me is identical with the Egyp-.
tian. This kind of wheat was introduced
into England in 177G and from that time
to the present has made frequent appear*
ances in the United Slates. It has been
called successively the Egyptian, Syrian,
Manv-spiked, Seven-headed Reed, Wild
goose wheat, &c. Ate. The name "Wildgoose"
was given from the fact that a few
grains of it were found some years ago in
the crop of a wildgoose that was killed on
the shores Lake Champlain. The name
"Reed wheat'1 was'given to it because of its'
stout stem resembling a small reed or cane
It was received by the Philadelphia Society
for promoting agriculture in 1807,
from General Armstrong then our minisat
Paris. Judge Peters took charge JQ&+A --- *
part of it and grew ti fiyje^sffrTrars. It
was at first very productive under his cultivation;
a pint of seed sown in drills and**
hoed producing one bushel and a peck 4>f *
grain. But after three or four years th#'
J udge says it did not thrive.suflictent to authorize
extensive cultivation. At that time
it was extensively distributed by the above
society. Judge Buel says#he had seenex*
tensive fields of it. In the Domestic fincyclopedia
published in 1821 It is stated
that the Egyptian wheat does not yield, as.
much flour as any of.the other kinds and
that the flour is scarcely superior to that
obtained from the finest barley. In March
1838; it was selling in Albany, N? Y? *frfive
dollars per bushel. It has several times
been brought from Santa Pee, by travelers,
and traders. 11 appears to be cultivated,
in that country probably owing to its batter
adaption to the climate than other
Ifin/to 'Phfit flio ftjo/tA Tmtranc miorht
have obtained it from fcjanta Fee, ie no
way improbable. How it found its way
from Egypt to Santa Fee, I cannot pretend
to guess, unless a wiidgooscaJso carried it
from the former to the latter country-;
which, on reflection is scarcely more
improbable than tlic fact s'ated above,
that one of these birJs carried it to
the shores of L ike Charnplein. From
all thes? facts it would appear that if the
wheat i 1 question had beicn adapted to our
climate, or was susceptible of acclimation
tc in other respects a good variety, it would
have gone into general cultivation long
before this time, as I take it for granted
that an article that had been so exteusively
distributed and so thoroughly ex*
pcrimented upon, would have been retained
and universally cultivated, it* it
had been found valuable. During the
twenty years of my agricultural expert*
ence it has been presented to my notice
at least twenty times.
Your obedient servant.
Gideon B. Smitii.
From the Maine Farmer.
Doct. Holmes :?In your last number,
noticed an article headed,4 the Rohan outdone.
" I wish to make another convnun* *
ication on the same subject. About thfr
usual time for planting, my son planted 1
lb. 11 oz of the Rohan potato, from which
i he dug 120 lbs. At the same time, and
ou the same kind of ground, he planted 7
oz. of another kind, recently ruiscd from
' the ball, by one of my neighbors, which we
, call the t^ueen potato, from which he dug
i 50 lbs., a little over 100 to 1, and if we
i had planted the same quantity that we did
> of the Rohan, it would make the astonish*
) inrr difference of 74 lb. in favor of the
I
I Queen potato.?The quality to say the
> least is as good as the Rohan. Beat that
t it' you cau, aud then wo will try again.
> Respectfully yours, N. Pierce.
MvNatoirrn, Sept. 29, 1840.
I
r Experiment with Corn.
We are indeed pleased to receive Mr.
, Wit.liaks' report of his experiment. Wo
j would be gratified and the public would bo
nothing the loser were such experiments
more frequent. So tar as a single instance
j- may go, Mr. Williams' experiment proves
the correctness of the principles on which
j it was conducted. We are convinced
t that the common modes of cultivating this
plant arc wrong, and they err in no par2
ticular more tliau in the mutilation of the
rtx>ts. If this experiment, and others
t which we have before quoted in support of
' his opinion arc not sufficient to convince
the doubting, wc beg of them to try an *t
periment for themselves, and 9eud us the
result.
jf A