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BRIEF COMPEND
AMERICA!
AGRICULTURE.
BY R. L. ALLEN
PUBLISHED BY
SAXTON <fc MILES, NEW-YORK
T. & 31. B U TL E R, B U F F A L O.
i846.
.% : : •: ••: •••
• • • • • . ••• , . ,,, ,
N4AfN Ll»«A«Y.AOItlCUV,TOIlK Dtc
Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1846, by R. L. Allen in the
Clerk's Office of the Northern District of New- York.
PRESS OP JEWETT, THOMAS & CO.
.■1
I
PREFACE
The following brief compend of American Agriculture is
intended as one of the first in the scries of lessons lor tiie
American Farujer. The size precludes its embracing any
thing beyond the shortest summary of the principles and
practice by which he should be guided, in the honorable
career he has selected. As a primary work, it is not desirable
it should comprise so much as to alarm the tyro in agriculture
with the magnitude of his subject. A concise and popular
exposition of the principal topics to which his attention will
necessarily be directed, will, it is believed, in connexion with
his own observation and practice, give him a taste for fuither-
ressarch, which will lead him to the fullest attainment in
agricultural knowledge, which could be expected from his
capacity and opportunities.
Much of what is detailed in the j)resont volume, has been
tested by the writer's own ex})eriencc and observation. For
the remainder, he is indebted to various oral and written
information, derived from the best agricidturists, and especially
from the valuable foreign and domestic agricultural periodicals
of the present day.
Whenever original authority could be known or recollected,
it has been credited ; but many even of the most recent
discoveries, have already passed through such numerous
hands, and received so many shades of alteration or improve-
ment, that their authors would haixlly recognise their own
ofl'spring. It would not be strange therefore, if they had
become incorporated in the mass of agricultural principles,
6ft7?35
4 PREFACE.
without any indication of their origin. The same or similar
discoveries and improvements, are also, not unfrequently
made, without any interchange, by difterent minds, at remote
distances. If any omissions of proper acknowledgment have
occurred, the writer will be happy to correct them here-
after.
To the experienced and scientilic, this work may appear
too common-place — to the uninstructed, too enlarged or
abstruse. It was not intended to reconcile imi)ossibilities.
The first must look to elaborate or complete treatises lor the
fullest information on the various subjects comprehended in
this general summary. To the last, it must be answered,
that what is here conmiunicated, is important to be known ;
that modern agriculture, like all other progressive modern
sciences and arts, has necessarily introduced neM^ terms, for
the explanation of new principles and new practices ; and
the former must be learned betbre the latter can be compre-
hended .
To THE.YoUxNG Farmers of tub United States, this
WORK IS REsrF.cTFt LLY ui^DiCATED, with the hopc, that it
will add its mite in sustaining and carrying forward the great
agricultural improvements of the present day. To agricul-
ture, " the most healthful, the most usetui, the most noble
employment of man," rather than fo any other, or pei'haps,
to all others combined, must we look for the permanent
strength, the glory and happiness of our great Republic.
:^ >> >
INTRODUCTION
Agriculture in its most extensive sense, may be defined*
the cultivation of the earth with a reference to the production
of vegetables, and the conversion of portions of them into
animals and a variety of K)rms, which are the best adapted
to the wants of mankind. It is appropriately distinguished
by numerous subdivisions.
Tillage Husbandry consists in the raising of grain, roots
and other products, which require the extensive use of the
plow and harrow to prepare the ground for annual sowing
and planting.
Grazing is limited to the pasturing and winter feeding of
farm stock, and it requires that the land appropriated to this
purpose, should be kept in pasturage for summer food, and in
meadows to yield the hay necessary for winter's use. In its
strictly technical meaning, grazing implies the rearing of
farm stock till they have attained sufficient maturity for a
profitable market, as far as this maturity can be secured on
grass and hay. It however, properly embraces in its minor
divisions, the keeping of cows for the purposes of a dairy,
and the support of flocks for the production of wool.
Feeding in its agricultural signification, consists in stall
fattening animals, and it is properly connected with tillage
husbandry, by which grain and roots are produced, and by
their free use, animals can be brought to a higher condition
or ripeness, and they will thus command a much better price
in market, than if fed exclusively on grass or hay.
b INTRODUCTION.
Breeding, technically defined, is restricted to the production
of choice animals for use as future propagators, by the judi-
cious selection and crossing of the best specimens of the
various distinct breeds of domestic stock.
Ho7'ticullvre embraces the entire departments of gardening
and arboriculture or the cultivation of trees, which is again
variously subdivided
By Planting, (or the occupation of planters,) is understood
the cultivation cf extensive farms or plantations, for the
exclusive production of one or more commeicial staples ; as
cotton, sugar, rice, tobacco, indigo, &c., and their preparation
for a distant market. The term is peculiarly sectional, and
its use, so far as adopted in this country, is limited to the
Southern part of it.
All of these, and various other occupations connected with
the cultivation of the earth are comprehended under the
general head of Agriculture.
Besides the varied practical knowledge which is indispen-
sable to the proper management of every department of
agriculture, its general principles and theoretical relations
require a familiarity with the elements of History, Geology,
Chemistry, Botany, Anatomy, Physiology, and Mechanics ;
and in their ultimate connexion, they involve no inconsidera-
ble share of the entire circle of human knowledge and
science.
In view of its intricacy, its magnhude, and its importance
to the human race, we cannot fail to be struck with the
peculiar wisdom of Deity in assigning to man this occupation*
when a far-seeing and vigorous intellect fitted him to scan
with unerring certainty and precision, the visible works of
his Creator, and trace their causes and effects through all
their varied relations. It was while in the sinless perfection
of his original nature, when *' the Lord God put him into
the garden of Eden, to dress it and to keep it,*' and agriculture
was his sole occupation, that his godlike intelligence enabled
him, instinctively to give appropriate names, indicative of
INTRODUCTIOX. 7
their true nature or character, " to all cattle, and to the fowl
of the air, and to every beast of the field;" and so just and
accurate was his perception, that " whatsoever he called
every living creature, that was the name thereof.'*
In our present imperfect condition, a beneficent Providence
has not reserved a moderate success in Agriculture, exclu-
sively to the exercise of a high degree of intelligence. His
laws have been so kindly framed, that the hand even of
uninstnicted toil, may receive some requital in remunerating
harvests ; while their utmost fulness can be anticipated,
only where corporeal eflTorts are directed by the highest
intelligence.
The indisp disable necessity of an advanced agriculture to
the comforts anri wealth, and indeed, to the very existence of
a great nation, renders it an object peculiarly worthy the
attention and regard of the legislative power. In looking to
the history both of ancient and modern times, we find, that
wherever a peop.'o have risen to enduring eminence, they
have seduously enco iraged and protected this right arm of
their strength. Examples need not be given for they abound
in every page of their civil polity.
Our own country has not been wanting in a moderate
i*egard for Agriculture. By wise legislation in our National
Congress, every item of extensive agricultural production
within the United States, with the single exception of the
inferior wools, is believed to be fully protected from foreign
competition, by an unyielding and perfectly adequate impost
on all such articles, as would otherwise enter into a success-
ful rivalry with them from abroad. Many of our subordinate,
or State Legislatures have also, by liberal provisions, given
such encouragement to various objects, as they deemed
necessary to develope the agi'icuhural resources within their
jurisdiction. Such have been the appropriations for numer-
ous Geological and other state surveys ; the bounties on
diflfereni articles, as silk, hemp, and some others : and occa-
8 INTRODUCTION.
sionally a small gratuity to encourage the formation and
support of State and County Agricultural Societies.
But while we would not be unmindful of what has hereto-
fore been effected, our duty compels us to assert, that much
yet remains to be done. A single suggestion for the action
of the general government and states, is all that our limits
will permit us to make.
The organization of a National Board of Agriculture,
composed of able and intelligent men, expressly selected for
this purpose, whose sole duty it should be to collect all infor-
mation and statistics on the subject, and arrange and spread
them before the people ; to introduce new and valuable
foreign plants, adapted to our soil and climate ; suggest
improved methods of cultivation; point out new avenues for
the profitable disposal of our surplus products; and recom-
mend such laws or their modification, as might best subserve
this interest ; in short, who should stand as sentinels and
defenders on the watch-tower of this great citadel — this is
the lofty duty, and should be esteemed the peculiar privilege ,
of American Legislation to accomplish. This was a favorite,
yet never a fully digested plan of Washington, the promptings
of whose mind, were never followed but for his country's
good.
From the Legislatures of the individual States a less
commanding, but not less beneficial duty is required. Re-
strictions wisely imposed upon the general government, limit
its action to such measures only as are essential to the
general welfare, and such as cannot properly be accomplished
by any more circumscribed authority. More liberal and
enlarged grants from the people, (the only legitimate source
of power with the farmers and their fellow citizens of the
United States,) give to the State Legislatures, the power of
doing all Avhich their constituents choose to have effected for
their own benefit.
Education, in all its branches, is under their exclusive
control ; and to endow and foster every institution which has
I\TRODUnTION. 9
a tendency to raise and improve tlie intellectual, the moral
and the social condition of the people, has ever been their
cherished policy. Yet up to this time, no institution expressly
designed for the professional education of farmers, has ever
been established in this country. That far-seeing wisdom,
which characterises the consummate statesman, which re-
gards the future equally with the present and past, has halted
upon the threshhold of the great temple of agricultural
science, whose ample and enduring foundations have hetm
commenced by the united efforts of the men of genius
throughout both hemispheres. To aid with every means in
their power in laying these foundations broad and deep, to
elevate its superstructure, to rear its mighty columns, and
adorn its graceful capitals, would seem, most properly to
come entirely within the province of the representatives of
intelligent freemen, the great business of whose lives is the
practice of agriculture.
In addition to continuing, and making more general and
comprehensive the encouragement for other objects heretofore
considered ; it is the duty of each of the larger States of the
Union, liberally to endow and organise an Agricultural Col-
lege, and insure its successful operation within its jurisdiction.
Connected with them, should be example and experimental
forms, where the suggestions of science should be amply
tested and carried out before submitting them to the public.
The most competent men at home and abroad should be
invited to fill a professional chair; and if money would tempt
a Liebig, a Boussingault, a Johnston, or a Pia}'fair, to leave
the investigations of European soils and products, and devote
all their mind and energies to the development of American
Husbandly, it should be freely given.
These institutions should be schools for the teachers equally
with the taught ; and their liberally appointed laboratories
and collections, should contain every available means for the
discovery of what is yet hidden, as well as for the further
development of what is already partially known. Minor
10 INTRODUCTION.
institutions should of course be established at different and
remote points, to scatter the elements of agricultural knowl-
edge broad-cast over the land, and luring them within the
reach of the poorest citizens and the humblest capacities.
By such a liberal and enlightened course, we should not
only incalculably augment the productive agricultural ener-
gies of our own country, but we should also in part, repay
to the world at large, the obligations under which we now
i*est, for having appropriated numerous and important disco-
veries and improvements from abroad. If we have the ability,
which none can doubt, we should make it a point of honor to
return in kind, the liberal advances we have thus received.
It is to the rising generation these suggestions are made ;
the risen are not yet prepared for their acceptance. The
latter have been educated, and become habituated to different
and more partial influences. By their industry, intelligence,
and energy, displayed in numberless ways, and especially by
their protection of American labor, they have accomplished
much for their own and their country's welfare — they are
resolved to leave this glory for their successors.
Buffalo, N. Y. June, 1846.
AMERICAN AGRICULTUEE
CHAPTER I.
SOILS.
Soils are those portions of the earth's surface, which
contain a mixture of mineral and vegetable or animal sub-
stances, in such proportions as adapt them to the support of
vegetation. Rocks are the original basis of all soils, which
by the convulsions of nature, or the less violent but long
continued and equally efficient action of air, moisture and
frost, have been liroketi into fragments more or less minute.
There are various gradations of these changes.
The textube of Soils. — Some rocks exist in large
boulders or rounded stones, that thickly overspread the surface
and mingle themselves with the earth beneath it, giving to
it the name of a rocky soil. The smaller sizes but equal
prevalence of the same materials, give to the surface where
they abound, the character of a stony soil. A third and
more minute division is called a gravelly soil ; a fourth is a
sandy soil ; a fifth constitutes a loam ; and a sixth, in M'hich
the particles of eailh are reduced to their greatest fineness,
is known under the name of a clay soil. The two first
mentioned, arc not properly distinct soils, us the only support
of any profitable vegetation, is to be found in the finer earth
in which the rocks and stones are embedded. In frequent
instances, they materially benefit the crops, in the influence
produced by the shade, moisture, and protection from ^\ inds,
afforded by them ; and by the gradual decomposition of such
as contain lime, potash and other fertilising materials, they
contribute to the siipport of the soil. This last eff*ect is
aided by the apparently worthless vegetable life which they
yield to the living mosses that cling to their sides and every
12 AMERICAN AGRICULTURE.
where penetrate their fissures, thus imperceptibly corroding
the solid structures and preparing them lor future usefulness
as soils. If we add to the above, a peat or vegeta])le soil,
we shall have the material divisions of soils, as distinguished
by their texture.
Other classifications or Soils. — Soils are also dis-
tinguished by their tendency to absorb and retain water,
gravel and sand holding very little, while clay and peat
readily absorb and retain a great deal; by their constant satu-
ration from perennial springs, which are called springy soils;
by the quantity of vegetable and animal matter tliey contain ;
by their porosity or adhesiveness ; by their chemical cliarac-
ter, whether silicious, argillaceous or calcareous ; by the
quality and nature of the vegetation they sustain ; and lastly,
and by far the most important, they are distinguished by their
fertility or barrenness, the result of the proper adjustment and
combination of most of the conditions enumerated. Deserts
of sands, layers of rocks, stone or pure gravel, and beds of
marl and peat are not soils, though containing many of their
most important elements.
It is apparent to the most casual observer, that soils fre-
quently and by almost imperceptible degrees, change from
one character to another; and that no classification therefore,
however minute, will suflice to distinguish each. Some
obvious yet simple distinctions, which are usually recognised,
must nevertheless be assumed for future reference. For this
purpose, and to avoid unnecessary deviations from what
should be a common standard, we shall adopt the arrange-
ments as made by Professor Johnston, which is based princi-
oipally upon their chemical constituents.
*' 1". Pure clay (pipe-clay) consisting of about 60 of silica
and 40 of alumina and oxide of iron, for the most pari chem-
ically combined. It allows no silicious sand to subsidewhen
diflTused through water, and rarely forms any extent of soil.
" 2". Strongest clay soil (tile-clay, unctuous clay) consists of
pure clay mixed with 5 to 15 per cent, of a silicious sand,
which can be separated from it by boiling and decantation.
" 3". Clay loam difi*ers from a clay soil, in allowing from
15 to 30 per cent, of fine sand to be separated from it by
washing, as above described. By this admixture of sand, its
parts are mechanically separated, and hence its freer and
more friable nature.
" 4°. A loamy soil deposits from 30 to 60 per cent, of sand
by mechanical washing.
SOILS. in
*' T)". A sandy ham leavos from ()^ to 90 por cent, of sand,
and
"0". A sandy soil coii{[i\\\?> no more than 10 percent, of
pure rlay.
*'The mode of examininpf with the view of naming soils,
as uhove, is very simple. It is- only necessary to spread a
weiijhed quantity of the soil in a tliin layer upon writing
paper, and, to dry it for an hour or two in an oven or upon a
hot plale, the heat of which is not sufficient to discolor the
paper — the loss of weight gives the water it contained.
While this is drying, a second weighed portion may be
boiled or otherwise thoroughly incorporated with water, and
the whole then poured into a vessel, in which the heavy sandy
parts are allowed to sul>side until the fine clay is beginning
to settle also. This point must be carefully watched, the
liquid then poured oflj the sand collected, dried as before
npon paper, and again weighed. This weight is the quan-
tity ol' sand in the known weight of moist soil, which by the
previous experiment has been found to contain a certain
quantify of water.
" Thus, suppose two portions, each 200 grs., are weighed,
and the one in the oven loses 50 grs. of water, and the other
leaves 60 grs. of sand, — then, the 200 grs. oi' moist are equal
to 150 of jn/, and this 150 of dry soil contain 60 of sand, or
40 in 100 (40 per cent.). It would, therefore, be properly
cuIIimI a loam, or loamy soil.
'* But the above classification has reference only to the clay
and sand, while we know that lime is an important constituent
of soils, of which they are seldom entirely destitute. We
have, therefore,
" T\ Marly soils, in which the proportion of lime is more
than 5 but does not exceed 20 per cent, of the whole weight
of the dry soil. 'I'he marl is a sandy, loamy, or clay marl,
according as the proportion of clay it contains would place it
under the one or other denomination, supposing it to be
entirely free from lime, or not to contain more than 5 jier
cent., and
'* 8°. Calcareous soils, in which the lime exceeding 20 per
cent, becomes the distinguishing constituent. These are
also calcareous clays, calcareous loams, or calcareous sands,
according to the proportion of clay and sand which are
present in them.
"The determination of the lime also, when it exceeds 5
per cent., is attended with no difficulty.
14 AMERICAN AGRICULTUEE.
"To 100 grs. of the dry soil diffused through half a pint of
cold water, add hdf a wine glass-full of muriatic acid (the
spirit of salt of the shops), stir it occasionally during the day,
and let it stand over night to settle. Pour off the clear
liquor in the morning and fill up the vessel with water, to
wash away the excess of acid. When the water is again
clear, pour it off, dry the soil and weigh it — the loss will
amount generally to about one per cent, more than the quan-
tity of lime present. The result will be sufficiently near,
however, for the purposes of classification. If the loss
exceed 5 grs. from 100 of the dry soil, it may be classed
among the marls, if more than 20 grs. among the calcareous
soils.
" Lastly, vegetable matter is sometimes the characteristic
of a soil, which gives rise to a further division of
" 9°. Vegetable mordds^ which are of various kinds, from the
garden mould, which contains from 5 to 10 per cent., to the
peaty soil, in which the organic matter may amount to 60 or
70. These soils also are clayey, loamy, or sandy, according
to the predominant character of the earthy admixtures.
" The method of determining the amount of vegetable
matter for the purposes of classification, is to dry the soil well
in an oven, and weigh it ; then to heat it to dull redness over
a lamp or a bright lire till the combustible matter is burned
away. The loss on again weighing is the quantity of organic
matter."
The foregoing are only such general divisions as possess
properties sufficiently common to each, to require a treatment
nearly similar. Besides their principal component parts,
every soil must contain in greater or less quantities, all the
elements which enter into the composition of vegetables.
They may have certain substances which are not necessary
to vegetable life, and some one or all of such as are, may be
contained in excess; yet to sustain a healthy prolific vegeta-
tion, they must hold, and in a form fitted to its support, silex
alumina, carbonate of lime, sulphate of lime, potash, soda,
magnesia, sulphur, phosphorus, oxide of iron, manganese,
chlorine,and probably iodine. These are called the inorganic,
or earthy parts of soils, as they are found almost ex.
clusively in combination witli earths, salts, or minerals.
They however constitute Irom less than 0.5 (one half of one)
to over 10 per cent of all vegetables. In addition to these,
fertile soils must also contain, carbon, oxygen, nitrogen and
hydrogen, which are called the organic parts of soils, from
SOILS. \9f
their j^reat preponderance in vegetables and animals, of which
they constitute tVom about 90, to over 99 per cent of their
entire substance.
Clay soils — theiu ciiaracteuistics and treatment.
— Clay soils are usually denominated cold and wet, from their
strong alfmity to water, which they generally hold in too great
excess tor rapid or luxuriant vegetation. The alumina which
exists in clay, not only combines with water forming a
chemical compound, but the minute division of its particles
and their consequent compactness, oppose serious obstacles
to the escape of such us rests in or upon it. Hence the
necessity of placing it in a condition to obviate these essen-
tial defects.
The most effectual method of disposing of the surplus
water in clay soils, is by underdraining. This draws off
rapidly yet by imperceptible degrees, all the excess of water,
and opens it to the free admission of atmospheric air ; and
this, in its passage through the soil, imparts heat and such of
the gases it contains, as are useful in sustaining vegetation.
When these are not constructed, open drains should be formed
wherever water stands after rains. The slight elevation
and depression ot the surface made by careful plowing, will
probably be sufficient, if they terminate in some ravine or
artificial ditch, and have size and declivity enough to pass ofT
the water rapidly.
Clay soils are greatly improved by coarse vegetable manures,
straw, corn-stalks, chips, &c., which tend to the separation
of its particles. The addition of sand is very beneficial, but
this is too expensive for large fields. Lime is also a valuable
material for a clay soil, as by the chemical combinations
which are thereby induced, the extreme tenacity of the soil is
broken up, while the lime adds an ingredient of fertility, not
before possessed by it perhaps, to an adequate extent.
GjT)sum has the same effect in a more powerful degree.
Paring and burning (by which the surface containing vegeta-
ble matter is collected into heaps and fired, reducing the mass
to a charred heap, which is again spread over and mixed with
the soil,) produce the same result. This is a practice which
has been long in use in different parts of Europe, and
although attended with immediate and powerful results, it
is too expensive for general introduction into a country,
where labor is high, and land and its products comparatively
cheap.
16 AMERICAN AOHTCULTTTRE.
The plowing of clay lands for spring crops should be done
in the autumn if practicable, by which their adhesiveness is
temporarily destroyed, the earth is finely pulverized by the
frost, and they are left in the finest condition for early spring
sowing, and without additional working. If plowed in the
spring, it should be done when they are neither too wet or
dry ; if the former, the earth subsequently bakes, and for a long
time it is almost impenetrable to the hoe or the teeth of the
harrow ; if too dry, they are so compact as to be turned over
only with great effort, and then in solid lumps. The action
of the atmosphere, will pvdverize these masses of baked earth
after a time, but not sulliciently early for the convenience or
advantage of such crops as are intended immediately to fol-
low the plowing.
No soils are so tenacious of the manures which may be
incorporated with them as the clays. They form an inti-
mate combination, both mechanical and chemical,* and hold
them securely against waste from drainage or evaporation for
an indefinite time, till the growing crops demand them.
They also greedily seize upon and hoard up all such fertil-
izing principles as are conveyed to them by the air and
rains. We may mention as an example of their efficiency
* By mechanical in the sense above used, is understood the external relation of
hodics, which is nearly equivalent in its meaning in this connexion, to artificial.
Thus the clay envelopes the manures, and frnin its impervious nature, it shields
it from escape either by drainage or evaporation, and almost as efl'eclually as il"
it were enclosed in an earthern vessel.
By chemical is meant, its internal or constitutional character. Thus clay not
only absorbs the gases which are brought into contact with it from manures, from
moisture and from air, as a sponge absorbs water ; but it also forms new combina-
tions with them, which change the original nature of these elementary principle.**,
and from light evanescent gases, they bocone component parts of solid bodies, in
which condition they are retained till exhausted by the growing vegetation.
These terms are important, and should be clearly understood. For the sake of
aiding the young student, we will give some further examples. Ff we take a piece
of crystalized marble, compact uncrystalized limestone, and chalk, we shall have
three substances exactly alike in their chemical character ; for they are a.U combi-
nations of carbonic acid and lime associated together in precisely the same propor-
tions, liut in their external arrangements, as they appear in a recent fracture to
the eye and touch, that is in their OTefArt»/<;rt/ arrangements, they are all totally
dissimilar.
Again — If we take the pure lime (quick lime) that is obtained from each of the
foregoing by subjecting them to an intense heat, by which the carbonic acid is
expelled, and pour upon it nearly one third of its weight of water, great heat is
developed and the lime both mechanically absorbs, and chemically combines with
it, forming a new compound, or salt, which is a hydrate of lime.
If sand (mostly si lex) be added to the lime with water, and mechayncally mixed
or stirred together and allowed to remain for a sufficient time, they will combine
(hemically, forming silicate of lime, (the common mortar of stone masons.)
Sand (silex) stirred in with clay (an impure alumina) \s mechanically imxeA;
if then subject to a strong heat as in making brick, they become chemically
united, forming silicate of alumina, inseparable by any human means short of the
chemist's crucible. If we divide or separate a stick by splitting or cutting, it is a
mechanical; and it by burning or charring, it is a chemical change. Thus every
alteration either in nature or art is referable to one of the above conditions or
changes.
SOILS. IT
in abstracting vegetable nutrition from the atmosphere, that
many of them when thrown up from a great depth below the
surface, and entirely destitute of organic remains, (vegetable
or animal matter,) after an exposure for some months to its
meliorating influence, become capable of bearing large crops
without the aid of manure. This is particularly true of the
clays which rest on the Onondaga limestone, an extensive
group occupying the central and north-western part of New-
York.
The clays are admirably adapted to the production of
most of the grains; and the red and white clovers cultivated
in the United States. These they yield in great profusion
and of the best quality; and so peculiarly suited are they to
meadows and pasturage, that they are styled by way of emi-
nence, grass lands. They are justly characterised as strong
and lasting soils, and when properly managed and put to their
appropriate use, they are esteemed as among the choicest of
the farmer's acres.
Sandy soils and tiieik management. — The character
and treatment of sandy soils, are in almost every particular
the reverse of those of clay. They do not possess the
property of adhesiveness, and they have but little affinity for
water, which escapes from them almost as soon as it falls.
They have but a slight hold upon the manures which are
diffused through them; they are loose in their texture, and may
be plowed at any time with equal advantage, provided the
sowing or planting is to follow immediately.
As clay soils are much benefitted by a mixture of sand, so
likewise are sandy soils greatly improved by the addition of
clay, yet in a much higher degree; for though it would never
pay, as a general rule, to add sand to clay, yet the addition of
a few loads of the stiffcst clay to a light sand, would in almost
every instance much more than compensate for the trouble
and expense. For this purpose, the clay should be thinly
spread in autumn upon sward land previously plowed, and
the winter's frost will effectually separate the particles. It
should then be harrowed thoroughly and deeply in the spring,
and subsequently plowed if necessary. Such a dressing on
a light crawling land, is more than equivalent to an equal
quantity of the best manure, and will be permanent in its
effects. Clay and sand are necessary to each other, as
they both contain qualities which are essential to a good soil;
and that will always be found the best, which has the proper
proportion of each.
18 AMERICAN AGRICULTURE.
Sandy soils are improved by the frequent use of a heavy
roller ; it cannot be used too often. They require to be
made more compact, and any treatment that secures this
object, will be advantageous.
Lime, by its chemical action on the constituents of soils,
while it separates clay, renders sand more adhesive ; and
when cheaply obtained, it is always a profitable dressing for
sandy soils, to the full amount they may require. Gypsum,
in considerable quantities, has an effect similar to lime, both
on clay and sand ; and when added in smaller portions, pro-
duces a striking increase in the crops of sandy soils. Clay
marls containing either carbonate, sulphate, or phosphate
of lime, are of great value to sandy soils. Equally bene-
ficial are ashes leached or unleached, peat, or vegetable
manures of any kind. Some calcareous sands, containing
a large proportion of lime, like those of Egypt and exten-
sive regions in the Barbary States, will produce luxuriantly,
if supplied with a slight addition of manure and an abun-
dance of water. Sandy soils can never be profitably culti-
vated till they have acquired sufficient compactness and fer-
tility to sustain a good growth of grass or clover ; and
when once brought to this condition, they are among the
most vahiable.
They are at all times, easily plowed and worked; they re-
quire no draining; and though light and dry, are quick and
kindly soils, giving an immediate and full return for the labor
and manure bestowed upon them. When in a condition to
produce grass, sheep are admirably adapted to preserve
and augment their fertility, and by their incessant migrations
over it, their sharp hoofs pack the surface closely, producing
the same efTect as the roller.
Gravelly soils, are in some respects similar to sand, but
much less desirable, being appropriately termed hungry.
They are also like the latter, peculiarly leachy, but in an
increased degree, permitting the rapid escape of manures
both by evaporation and drainage. Such as are calcareous
or composed of limestone pebbles, are in a great measure
not subject to those objections ; as the disposing affinities
of the lime, (of which enough will be found to exist in the
soil in a finely comminuted or divided state, which in this
condhion is enabled to act efficiently,) have a tendency to re-
tain the vegetable matters, thus compacting the soil, and
holding whatever pabulum or food of plants, may from time
BOILS. H^
to time be given to it for the wants of future crops. Unless
of this latter description, gravelly soils, should not be subjected
to tillage; but appropriated to pasturage, when sheep will keep
them in the best and most profitable condition of which they
are capable.
Loamy soils being intermediate between clay and sand,
possess characteristics and require a treatment approximating
to one or the other, accoixling to the predominance of either
quality. They are among the most desirable soils for the
various purposes of agriculture.
Marly and calcareous soils, have always a full supply
of lime, and like the loams, they frequently incline towards a
clay or sand, requiring a treatment corresponding to their
character. Putrescent and vegetable manures increase their
fertility and they are held with great tenacity till exhausted
by crops. In durability or lastingness they cannot be
exceeded.
Alluvial soils, are such as have been formed from the
washing of streams. They vary in their characteristics,
from a mixed clay to an almost pure sand; but generally they
combine the components of soils in such proportions as are
designated by loamy soils, or sandy loams. When thus formed
they are exceedingly fertile, and if subject to the annual
overflow of a stream, having its sources far above them, they
usually receive such an addition to their productiveness, as
enables them to yield large crops perpetually without further
manuring.
They are for the most part easily worked, and are suited
*to the various purposes of tillage and meadows; but when
exposed to oversowing, it is safer to keep them in gi*ass, as
this crop is less liable to injury by a freshet; and where sub-
ject to washing from the same cause, a well matted sod is
the best protection which can be offered against it. Many of
the natural grasses which come into these meadows yield
a fodder of the highest value
Peaty soils. These are composed almost wholly of peat,
and are frequently called vegetable soils. They are exten-
sively diffused between the latitudes of 42" and 60° north, at
a level with the ocean, and are frequently found in much
lower latitudes, when the elevation of the surface produces a
corresponding temperature. They generally occupy low
swampy levels, but sometimes exist on slight northern
declivities, where the water in its descent is arrested by a
succession of basin shaped cavities.
20 AMERICAN AGRICULTURE.
Their peaty character is acquired by the growth and partial
decay through successive ages, of various aquatic plants, the
principal being the sphagnums and lichens. In swamps,
many of which, were probably small lakes in their origin,
the peat is found of an unknown depth, reaching in some
instances beyond 30 and 40 feet. On declivities and occasion-
al levels, the peat is sometimes only a few inches in thickness.
It is of a blackish or dark brown color, and exists in various
stages of decay, from the almost perfect state of fallen stumps
and leaves, to an imperfectly defined, ligneous mass, or even
an impalpable powder.
In its natural state, it is totally unfit for any profitable
vegetation, being saturated with water, of an antiseptic nature
which effectually resists putrefaction or decay. When thrown
out of its native bed and exposed to drain for a few months,
much of it is fit for fuel; and it is always of advantage to the
muck heaps, as an absorbent of the liquid and gaseous portions
of animal and other volatile manures; or it is of great
utility when applied alone to a dry, gravelly or sandy soil.
Cultivation of peat soils. When it is desirable to culti-
vate a peat soil, the first process is to drain it effectually of
all the moisture w^hich has given to it, and sustained its
pres3nt character. The drains must be made sufficiently
near, and on every side of it; and so deep as to prevent any
injurious capillary attraction of the water to the surface.
When it has been properly drained, the hummocks if any,
must be cut up with the mattock or spade and thrown into
heaps, and burnt after they are sufficiently dried, and the ashes
scattered over the surface. These afford the best top
dressing it can receive. Sand or fine gravel, with a thorough
dressing of barn-yard manure and effete lime, should then be
added. On some of these, according as their composition
approaches to ordinary soils, good crops of oats, corn> roots,
&c., may be grown, but they are better suited to meadows,
and when thus prepared, they will yield great burthens of
clover, timothy, red top, and such of the other grasses as are
adapted to moist soils. Subsequent dressings of sand, lime,
manure and wood ashes, or of all combined, may be afterwards
required when the crops are deficient, or the grasses degen-
erate.
Peat contains a large proportion of carbon, and the silicates
in which such soils are deficient, and which they procure only
in small proportions from the farm-yard manure, but more
SOIL8. 91
largely from the sand or gravel, are essential to furnish an
adequate coating for corn stalks, straw and the valuable
glasses. As they arc exhausted they must })e again supplied
or the crops will fail. Besides yielding an important food to the
crop, lime is essential to produce decomposition in the mass
of vegetable matter, as well as to combine with and aid in
furnishing to the growing plants, such of their food as the
atmosi>herc contains. Ashes are one of the best applications,
as they possess the silicates, lime, potash, and other inorganic
materials of plants iii great abundance, and in a form readily
adapted to vegetable nutrition. Gypsum is also a valuable
manure for peaty stnls,
SUBSOILS AND THEIR MANAGEMENT.
The elficiency of soils for producing good crops, depends
much on the subsoil. If this consists of impervious clay or
hard-pan, so as to oppose a ready escape to the water, it is
evident the accumulation of the heavy rains, will materially
injure the vegetation above them ; for it is certain that while
nothing is more essential to productive crops than an adequate
supply of moisture to the roots, nothing is more mjurious than
their immersion in stagnant water. When such is the char-
acter of the subsoil, it should be under-drained if possible,
or if this be not practicable, it should be broken up and
loosened by the use of the subsoil plow.
A variety of plows have been constructed for this purpose,
but unless it be intended to deepen the soil by an admixture
of manures, care should be taken to avoid bringing up the
subsoil to mix with that on the surface. In addition to the
more ready escape of water thus secured by breaking it up,
the air is also admitted, which enables the roots to strike
deeper, and draw their nourishment from a much greater
depth. The increased distance through which the roots
penetrate, furnishes them with additional moisture during
a season of drought, thereby securing a luxuriant crop when
it might otherwise be destroyed. This is frequently a great
item in the profit of the farmer ; as besides the increase of
crop which follows a dry hot season when a full supply of
moistuie is furnished, the product is usually of better quality;
and the general deficiency of agricultural produce which
ensues from seasons of drought, makes his own more valuable.
As a result of this practice, there is also a gradual increase
in the depth of the soil, as the fine and more soluble parti-
cles of the richer materials above are constantly working
22 AMERICAN AGEICULTURE.
down and enriching the loosened earth below ; and in time
this becomes good soil, which in proportion to its depth,
increases the area from which the roots derive their niilrii
ment. So manifest are the advantages which have followed
the use of subsoil plows, that they have been extensively
introduced of late years among the indispensable tools of
the better class of agriculturists.
When the subsoil is loose and leechy, consisting of an
excess of sand or gravel, thereby allowing the too ready
escape of moisture and the soluble portions of manures, the
subsoil plow is not only unnecessary, but positively injurious.
In this case the surface soil should be somewhat deepened by
the addition of vegetable manures, so as to afford a greater
depth, through which they must settle before they can get
beyond the reach of the roots ; and the supply of moisture
is thereby much augmented. It is better however, to keep
lands of this character in wood, or permanent pasture.
They are at best ungrateful soils, and make a poor return
for the labor and manure bestowed upon them.
If there be a diversity in the character of the sub and
surface soil, one being inclined to sand and gravel, and the
other to marl or clay, a great improvement will be secured
by allowing the plow to reach so tar down as to bring up
and incorporate with the soil, some of the ingredients in
which it is wanting. This admixture is also of remarkable
benefit in old or long cultivated soils, which have become
deficient in inorganic matters and in th«iir texture.
The effect of long continued cultivation^ besides exhausting
what is essential to the earthy part of plants, is to break
down the coarser particles of the soil, by the mechanical
action of the plow, harrow, &c., and in a much more rapid
degree, by the chemical combinations which cultivation and
manuring produce. A few years suffice to exhibit, striking ex-
amples in the formation and decomposition of rocks and stones.
Stalactites and various specimens of limestone, indurated
clays, sandstone and breccias or pudding stones, are formed
in favorable circumstances, almost under our eye ; while
some limestones, shales, sandstones, &c., break down in large
masses annually, from the combined effect of moisture, heat
and frost. The same changes on a smaller scale, are con-
stantly going forward in the soil, and much more rapidly
while under cultivation. The general tendency of these
surface changes is towards pulverization. The particles
forming the soil, from the impalpable mite of dust, to the
SOILS. , 2^
liirge pebbles, .and even stones and rock^s, are continually
broken up by tbe combined action of the vital root.s and the
constituents of soils, by which new elements of vegetable
food are developed and become available, and in a form so
minute, as to be imbibed by the spongioles of the roots, and
by the absorbent vessels, they arc afterwards distributed
in their appropriate jilaccs in the plant. Where this action
has been going on for a long period, a manifestly beneficial
effect has immediately followed from bringing up and mixing
with the superficial earth, portions of the subsoil which have
never before been subject to cultivation.
A subsoil which is permeable to water, is sometimes
inii)erceptibly ))eneficial to vegetation, not only by allowing
the latent moisture to ascend and yield a necessary supply
to the plants, but a moisture frequently charged with lime
and various saline matters, which the capillary attraction
brings from remote depths below the surface. It is [)robably
from this cause, that some soils produce crops far beyond the
yield which might be reasonably looked for from the fertili-
zing materials actually contained in them. This operation
is rapidly going forward during the heat of summer. The
water thus charged with saline matters ascends and evaporates
at and below the surface, leavmg them diffused throughout
the soil. After long continued dry weather, a thin white
coating of these salts is frequently discernible on the ground.
Where rain seldom or never falls, this result is noticeable in
numerous and sometimes extensive beds of quiescent (not
shifting) sand. Deposits ofltimes occur several inches in
thickness. Such arc the extensive beds of impure muriate
of soda and other salts in the arid deserts of California ; in
the southern parts of Oregon ; the nitrates found in India,
Egypt, Peru, and various other parts of the world.
ADDITIONAL PROPERTIES OF SOILS.
Besides the qualities of soils already noticed, there are
several physical conditions which affect their value. They
should be of sufiicient depth, friable, or easily pulverized,
they should possess the right color, and be susceptible of the
proper admission and escape of heat, air, and moisture.
Jethro TuU, who wrote more than a century ago on the sub-
ject of agriculture, maintained that if a soil be worked to a
jiroper depth and perfectly well pulverized, nothing more is
necessary to insure an indefinite succession of the most
luxuriant crops without the aid of manures? 8Mid it oiust be
24 AMERICAN AGRICULTURE.
confessed his practice, gave some apparently strong confirma-
tions of his theory. By carrying tillage far below the surface,
thus securing the minute division of the earth, and render-
ing it permeable to the roots, he insured the free access of air
and moisture, which are among the first and most important
requisites in the growth of vegetables.
But TuU wrote before agriculture became a science, and
omitted to estimate the large amount of fertile ingredients
which every crop takes out of the soil, and which can only be
supplied by the addition of fresh materials. A succession of
crops would therefore, so far reduce the soil as to render it
necessary to add manures, or vegetation must inevitably fail.
This careful laborious practice could only for the time being,
enhance the crop and prolong its available supplies; yet in
accomplishing even this object, his example is worthy of the
imitation of every tiller of the soil.
Friableness of the soil, is a quality equally removed
from the adhesiveness of strong clay, or the openness of loose
sand. Good loams, and fertile alluvial soils, always possess
this property. When stirred by the plow, the spade, or the
hoe, the earth should fall and crumble readily, although wet.
Such a condition secures a ready admission to the roots, which
thus easily pervade the soil, and draw from it in every direc-
tion, their necessary support. Under draining and the
addition of coarse manures to clay, fermented manures and
ashes to sand, and lime and gypsum to both, will materially
enhance their friableness.
Color is an essential feature in soils, and like friableness,
it has an important relation to their capacity for heat and
moisture. Dark colored earths, and black in the highest
degree, absorb heat more rapidly than any other when exposed
to a temperature above their own, and it escapes with equal
readiness when their relative temperatere is reversed,
Jl rough pulverised surface, which is seen in the minute
inequalities of a friable soil, produces the same result.
During the heat of the day, especially when the sun's rays
fall upon the earth, the dark friable soil imbibes the heat free-
ly, and transmits it to the remotest roots, thus securing warmth
to the plant, which is one of the necessary conditions of its
growth. When the temperature of the air falls, on the
approach of evening, a reversed action in the soil takes place
by which the heat as rapidly escapes. This immediately
brings the surface to "the dew point" and secures a copious
BOILS. 2%
deposit of moisture, which a friable soil speedily conveys to
every part of the roots.
The dew point is attained when the surface of any object
is below the temperature of the surrounding air ; and the
careful observer will not tail to discover the formation of
dew, not only atler the sun has risen, and long before he
sinks below the horizon, when the condition above indicated
exists ; but sometimes even in the fervor of a mid-day sun,
when the thick corn or any luxuriant vegetal^le growth
repels his fierce rays from the earth. In many instances,
the rank, dark growing crops themselves, when shielded from
the sun's rays by their overspreading tops, become rapid
condensers of atmospheric vapor, and the i)lant drinks in at
every pore, the wholesome and nutritious aliment, and fre-
quently collects a surplus, which streams down its sides to the
thirsty soil beneath. The principle is further illustrated by
the deposit of moisture in large globules on the surface of
any vessel or object in the shade, which is sensibly below
the surrounding temperature, as is shown by an earthen
or metallic vessel filled with cold water and set in a warm
room on a summer's day.
The proper capacity of soils for imbibing and parting with
moisture gives them another decided advantage over others
which have it in an imperfect degree; as it is found by recent
experiments, that rich porous soils which are readily penetra-
ted by water and air, absorb the nutritious gases, (oxygen,
nitrogen, and their compounds, nitric and carbonic acid,
ammonia, &c.) largely from the atmosphere, and that they do
this to an appreciable extent, only while moist The efiect
of this will readily be estimated, from the well known bene-
ficial influence exerted on the growing plant by the presence
of these important elements.
Light colored clays, marls and sands, are neither in their
mechanical texture, fiiableness or color, the best suited to
promote the growth of plants. Peat soils, from their too
great affinity for water in their natural condition, are even
less adapted to the object than either of the preceding.
Schubler has found that during 12 hours in the night,
when the air was moist, 1000 lbs of entirely dry quartz* or
common sand, did not gain a pound ; calcareous sand gained
2 lbs ; loamy soil 21 lbs ; clay loam 25 lbs ; such as were
* duartz as analyzed by Bergman, gave 93 per cent, of silex; 6 of alumina ; and
1 of oxide of iron. It comes so neat a pure silica, that in treating of if agricultu-
rally, we speak of it as silex or silica.
A
26 AMERICAN AGRICULTURE.
rich in vegetable mould still more, while peats absorbed a
much larger per cent, than either.
Davy also found, that the same quantity of very fertile and
perfectly dry soil on exposure gained 18 lbs in one hour ; a
good sandy soil under the same circumstances absorbed 11
pounds ; a coarse inferior sand, 8 lbs, and an almost worthless
heath gained but 3 lbs.
The power of soils in retaining water, is somewhat pro-
portionate to their power of absorbing it : —
Of its own weight.
Quartz sand is saturated when it contains 24 per ct.
Calcareous sand " " " 28 "
Loamy soil " " " 38 «
Clay loam " *' " 47 "
Peat (about) " " " 80 "
It is thus evident that perfection is not obtained in either
sandy, gravelly, clay or peat soils, as they are characterized
in the classification w(. have assumed. It is only when they
have been improved by partial admixture with each other,
and charged with the proper quantity of vegetable manures,
and the salts which are requisite for their fertility ; when
they have been drained wherever necessary to free them
from stagnant water, whether upon or within the soil, or to
remove any noxious springs which sometimes contain mat-
ters in solution injurious to vegetation ; and finally when the
subsoil is in the proper condition to facilitate the free passage
of the roots in every direction — it is only when all these
conditions exist, that the. fullest products from soils can be
realized.
It is absolutely essential to profitable cultivation, that all
the earthy substances required by the crops should exist in the
soil in sufficient quantities, and in an accessible form to
supply its wants. The proportions may be various, one
sometimes greatly predominating over another, as is sufh-
ciently obvious in the equally productive powers of good
clays, sands and peats; yet in every instance it will be found,
unless owing to a heavy coating of manures, and a peculiarly
favorable season, that they can be relied on for such constant
results, only when they have been so ameliorated as to
approximate towards the character of loams.
SOILS.
The following is an analysis of three specimens of very
fertile soils, made by Sprengel :
Soil near
From the bank
^oftheWeser
Oeterliriicli.
near Hoya.
near Weseite.
Silica, Quartz, Sand oiid Silicates
84 510
71-849
83318
Alumina
6435
9-350
3-085
(\\idc3 of Iron
2 395
5-410
5 840
Oxide of Manganese
0150
0925
0 620
Lime
0-740
0987
0-729
jMajxncsia
0-525
0245
0 120
PoUisli and Soda extracted by
water 0-009
0-007
0005
Phosphoric Acid
0120
0131
0065
Sulphuric Acid
0046
0 174
0-025
Chlorine in common Salt
0006
0002
0006
Ilunjic Arid
0-780
1 270
0800
Insoluble Humus .
2995
7-550
4-126
Orrjanic matters containing ni
rogen 0 960
2-000
1-220
Water
•
0 029
0100
0-150
100 100 100
The above had remahied for a long time in pasture, and
the second was remarkable for the fattening qualities of its
grass when fed to cattle.
The following are arable lands of great fertility :
1
2
3
Fron
Ohio.
Soil
Soil from Motavia.
Soil.
Subsoil.
From Belgium
Silica and fine Sand
77 209
87-143
94-261
64-517
Alumina
8514
5-666
1-376
4-810
Oxides of Iron .
6592
2-220
2-336
8-316
Oxide of Manganese
1-520
0-360
1-200
0-800
Lime
0-927
0.564
0-243
''uL'! 9-403
Magnesia •
1-160
0-312
0-310
Garb.
Mag
"' 10-361
Potash chiefly com-
bined with Silica
0-140
0 120 I
0-025 \
0-240
5 0 100
I 0.013
Soda, ditto ,
0640
Phosphoric Acid com-
bined with Lime
and Oxide of Iron,
0-601
0-060
trace
1221
Sulphuric Acid in gyp-
sum
0011
0-027
0-034
0.009
Chlorine in common
salt
0-010
0 036
trace
0003
Carbonic Acid united
to the Lime .
0-080
Humic Acid
0-978
1-304
0447
Insoluble llumus
0-540
1072
Organic substances
containing nitrogen
1-108
1011
100 100 100 100
" Of these soils, the first had been cropped for 160 years
successively, without either manure or naked fallow. The
28 AMERICAN AGRICULTURE.
second was a virgin soil, celebrated for its fertility. The
third had been unnianiired for twelve years, during the last
nine of which it had been cropped with beans, barley pota-
toes, winter barley and red clover, clover, winter barley,
wheat, oats, naked fallow." — {Johnston.)
Bergman found, that one of the most fertile soils in
Sweden contained 30 per cent, of carbonate of lime. Chap-
tal analyzed a very productive soil in France, which gave near
25 per cent of the same, and 7 of organic matter. Tillet
even found one, and that the most fertile, which yielded 37.5
of carbonate of lime. Some of the best in the Mississippi
valley, have yielded upon analysis, 20 to 25 per cent, of
magnesian lime, and of j)hosphate of lime, 2 to 3 per cent.
Many other soils throughout the United States, contain an
equal proportion of carbonate of lime. Such are always the
last to wear out, and the first to recover by the addition of
manures, when suffered to remain uncultivated or in a state
of rest.
MANURES. 29
CHAPTER II.
MANURES
While soils are permitted to remain in their natural state,
or if denuded of their original foliage and used only for pasture,
little or no change is perceptible either in their character or
productive powers. A slight change is however gradually
wrought in their texture and capacity for production, which is
fully revealed in the lapse of centuries. The elevated moun-
tain's side, and the steep declivities of hills, support a vege-
tation of more or less luxuriance ; and a portion of this,
together with the broken twigs, and even the wasting matter
of fallen trees, are carried down hy the rains and become a
rich addition to the lower soils on wiiich tiiey ultimately rest.
Besides the vegetable matter thus annually removed from one
spot and accumulated upon another, many of the fertilizing
salts, which the action of the roots, or exposure to the atmo-
sphere has rendered soluble, and the line particles of earth
which the aUernations of heat and frost, of rain and drought
have reduced to dust, are also washed out of the higher soils
and deposited on the plains and vallies below. Such, doubt-
less, was once the condition of those secondary bottom-lands,
which for ages probably, received the rich deposits from
other soils, but whose present situations, elevated beyond
even the extraordinary rise of the rivers whose course is near,
show some radical alteration of their respective levels, by
which the latter no longei- contributes to their fertilization.
These soils being well stored with the food of plants, and fre-
quently to a great depth, will bear large successive crops for
a long period ; and they have, in many instances, been treat-
ed by their tirst occupants as if they were inexhaustible. Of
this description were the James river and other alluvial lands
in Virginia, some of which were continued in uninterrupted
crops of corn and tobacco for more than a century without the
addition of manures. But they have long since become ex-
hausted, and the more careful planters are now endeavoring
to resuscitate those worn-out lands, which ought never to
30 AMERICAN AGRICULTURE.
have become impoverished. Of the same character are most
of the secondary bottoms on the Connecticut, the Scioto, the
Miami, and other rivers. The first, although under cuhiva-
tion for more than two centuries, in consequence of its divis-
ion among intelhgent farmers, has fully maintained its pro-
ductiveness ; and the latter, if properly managed, are capable
of perpetual fertility. Although but a little more than half a
century has elapsed since these last have been subject to the
white man, they have already, in too many instances, been
severely cropped. The writer has seen fields, which he was
assured have born forty-seven large successive crops of corn,
and exclusively from their own resources. A more careful
tillage is however becoming general.
The lower alluvial bottoms that are frequently overflowed,
and thus receive large coatings of manures which are fully
equivalent to the products taken ofT, are the only soils which
will permanently sustain heavy crops without the aid of man.
Such are the banks of the Nile and the Ganges, and many of
our own rivers, which by the overflowing of their waters
alone, have continued to yield large annual burthens, the two
former, for more than 3000 years ; but they are thus suppor-
ted at the expense of a natural drainage of thousands of acres,
which by this means, are proportionally impoverished. Ma-
nures then in some form, must be considered as absolutely
essential to sustaining soils subjected to tillage.
In their broadest sense, manures embrace every material,
which if added to the soil, tends to its fertilization. They
are appropriately divided into organic aucl inorganic ; the first
embracing animal and vegetable substances, which have an
appreciable quantity of nitrogen ; the last comprehending only
such as are purely mineral or earthy, and which in general
contain no nitrogen. These characteristics are sometimes
partially blended, but they are sufficiently distinct for clas-
sification.
Much pertinacity has been exhibited by some highly intel-
ligent minds, who should have entertained more liberal
views, as to the peculiar kinds of manures necessary to
support a satisfactory productiveness. We have seen that
Tull maintained, that the deepening and thorough pulverization
of the soil was alone sufficient to secure perpetual fertility.
But this crude notion, it is evident to the most superficial
modern reader, is wholly untenable. Some agriculturists of
the present day however, while they scout at the theory of
Tull, (who was really a shrewd man for his day,) will yet
MANURES. mt
claim as essential to successful vegetation, the existence in
the soil of but a part only of the food of plants. Thus, one
asserts that the salts alone will secure good crops ; others
maintain that the nitrogenous substances are the true source
of fertility; while still another class refer to the presence of
humus or geine (the available product of vegetable and ani-
mal decay in the soil) as the only valuable foundation of vege-
table nutriment in all manures. Truth and sound practice
lie between, or rather in the combination of all these opinions.
It has been shown in a preceding page, that all fertile soils
must have not less than 15, and more probably 16 different
simple or elementary substances, in various combinations
with each other. All of the ordinary cultivated plants con-
tain potash, soda, lime, magnesia, alumina, silica, oxide of
iron, oxide of manganese, sulphuric acid, phosphoric acid,
chlorine, and frequently iodine ; each of which, excepting the
two last, are in combination with oxygen. In addition to
these, they also have carbon, oxygen, nitrogen and hydrogen.
Other substances or ultimate principles may possibly exist in
plants, which analysis may hereafter delect, but hitherto they
have eluded the closest investigation.
It is therefore obvious that such principles as all fertile soils
furnish to vegetables, must be contained in manures. It is
no satisfactory answer to this position to assert, that nume-
rous experiments have apparently been successful, of growing
plants in pure sand and water ; or with charcoal and the
salts added ; or even that there are some atmospheric plants,
that fulfil their zooph}i;ic existence in air. Growth may con-
tinue for a long ^time under such circumstances ; but full mU'
turity Tiever arrives^ and probably never can, without the availa-
ble presence in the soil of every element which enters into the
compodtion of plants.
Profitable farming requires that manures embodying all
these elements, should be added in sufficient quantities to the
soil, to develope fully and rapidly, such crops as are sought
from it. It becomes then, a matter of the highest consequence
to the farmer to understand, not only what substances may be
useful as manures ; but also how to apply them in the best
manner to his crops so far as they can be made profitable.
We shall first speak of the inorganic manures.
ASHES.
If any organic matter, whether animal or vegetable, be
burnt, an incombustible substance remains behimJ, called the
32
AMERICAN AGRICULTURE.
ash or ashes. This varies in difterent plants from less than
1 to over 12 per cent, of their whole weight. It also varies
with the diflerent soils upon which they are found, with the
difierent parts of the same plant, and in the different stages of its
maturity. Thus plants which grow on peaty or low, wet soils,
give a less proportion of ashes, than those which mature upon
soils that are dry or rich in the silicates and salts. The bark,
leaves and twigs, give much more ashes than the trunks of
trees and stems of plants : and in their early growth, they
yield a larger proportion, than after they have attained matu-
rity.
The following table, constructed from several reliable sour-
ces, but principally by Sprengel, arranged in part by Johnston,
will shew the relative quantity of ashes found in some of the
more important objects of cultivation :
■s
i
i
• re
1
i
<
w
P
0
ft
JS
fin
c3
i
1
1
0
2
0
1
Wheat— Gr'n
2.25
2.40
0.96
T90
0^26
4.00
0.50
0.40
0.10
trace
11.77
" St'w
0.20
0.29
2.40
0.3-2
0.90
28.70
0.37
1.70
0.30
35.18
Barley— Gr'n
" St'w
2.78
2.90
1.06
1.80
0.25
11.82
.59
2.10
0.19
trace
23.49
l.bO
0.4S
5.54
0.70
1.46
38.56
1.16
1.60
0.70
0.14
0.20
52.42
Oats — Grain
1.50
1.32
0.86
0.67
0.14
19.76
0.35
0.70
0.10
0.40
25.80
" Straw
8.70
0.02
1.52
0.22
0.06
45.88
0.79
0.12
0.05
0.02
0.02
57.40
Rye — Grain
" Straw
5.32
1.22
0.44
0.24
1.64
0.23
0.46
0.09
0.42
0.34
10.40
0..32
0.11
1.78
0.12
0.25
22.97
1.70
0.51
0.17
27.93
Field I Bean
Bean i Straw
4.15
8.16
1.65
1.58
0.34
1.26
0.89
2.92
0.41
21.36
16.56
0.50
0.24
2.09
0.10
2.20
0.31
2.26
0.80
0.07
0.05
31.21
Field I Pea
Pea 5 Straw
Pota- } Roots
toes 5 Tops
8.10
7.39
0.58
1.36
0.20
4.10
0.53
1.90
0.38
0.10
24.64
2.35
27.30
3.42
0.60
9.96
3.37
2.40
0.04
0.20
0.07
49.71
4.C2.S
2.334
.33]
.3241.050
.084
.540
.401
• 160
.032
8.284
8.19
.09
12.97
1.70
• 04
4.94
.42
1.97
.50
.02
30.84
Tur- > Roots
2.386
1.048
.752
.254
.036
.338
.801
.367
•239
.032
6.303
ueps ^ I^eav's
3.23
2.22
6.20
.59
.03
1.25
2.52
.98
.87
.17
18.09
Carrots
3.5.33
.922
.657
.384
.039 .137
.270
.514
.070
.0.33
.060
6.619
Parsneps
2.079
.702
.46?
.270
.0241 .162
.192
.100
.178
.005
7
4.180
Rye Grass
8.81
3.94
7.34
0.90
0.31 27.72
3.53
0.25
0.06
52.80
Red Clover
19.95
5.29
27.80
3.33
0.14
3.61
4.47
6.57
3.62
74.78
White Clover
31.05
5.79
23.48
3.05
1.90
14.73
3.53
5.05
2.11
0.63
91.32
Lucern
13.40
6.15
48.31
3.43
0.30
3.30
4.04
13.07
3.18
0.30
95.. 53
Sainfoin
20.. 57
4.37 21.951
2.8S
0.66 5.OOI
3.41
9.16
1.57
69.. 57
* Included in Potash.
In the foregoing table, the grain, beans, peas, straw and hay are estimated after
they have been dried in the air; the roots as they are taken from the field. The
clovers and grass lose from .55 to 75 per cent of their entire weight when full of sap,
lessening, of course, as they approach to the state of ripening their seed. The
potato loses in drying, 69 per cent of water ; the turnip, 91 •, carrot, 87; the turnip
leaf, 86; the carrot leaf, parsnep and parsnep leaf, each 81; and the cabbage, 93.
There is much variation in the diflerent specimens of the above substances sub-
jected to examination, according to the peculiar variety, the different circumstances
and various stages of their growth. The oat is the most variable of the grains, one
specimen sometimes containing three times the quantity of ash afforded by others.
The roots also sometimes vary as three to one in their quantity of ash. As
the grain and most of the other crops approach to maturity, the quantity of
some of the principles constituting the ash" diminish, as of potash and soda, their
presence being no longer necessary in the sap to aid the formation of the various
products of the plants.
MANURES. S8
The farmer will perceive from this table, the great value
of ashes to his crops. The quantity seems small in compa-
rison with the total weight of the vegetable ; yet "small as it
is, the aggregate of a few years will so far exhaust the soil of
one or more of the principles necessary to sustain a luxuriant
vegetation, that it will cease to yield remunerating returns.
The annual exhaustion of salts from large crops of grain, roots
and grass, is from 180 to more than 250 lbs. in every acre of
soil. The ashes of vegetables consist of such elements as are
always required for their perfect maturity, and it is evident
they must furnish one of the best manures which can be sup-
plied for their growth. They are to the earthy parts of vege-
tables, what milk is to the animal system, or barn-yard ma-
nures are to the entire crop ; they contain every element,
and generally in the right proportions, for insuring a full and
rapid growth.
Ashes then, may be pronounced the best of the saline ma-
nures. They are also among the most economical ; as from
our free use of fuel, they are largely produced by almost every
household. Good husbandry dictates that not a pound of
ashes should be wasted, but all should be saved and applied
to the land ; and where they can be procured at a reasonable
price, they should be purchased for manure. Leached ashes,
though less valuable, contain all the elements of the unleach-
ed, having been deprived only of a part of their potash and
soda. They may be drilled into the soil with roots and grain,
sown broadcast on meadows or pastures, or mixed with the
muck-heap. They improve all soils not already saturated
with the principles which they contain.
The quantity of ashes that sJioidd be applied to tJie acre, must
depend on the soil and crops cultivated. Potatoes, turnips
and all roots — clover, lucern, peas, beans, and the grasses
are'great exhausters of the salts, and they are^consequently
much benefitted by ashes. They are used with decided ad-
vantage for the above crops in connexion with bone-dust ; and
for clover, peas and roots, their effects are much enhanced
when mixed with gypsum. Light soils should have a small-
er, and rich lands or clays, a heavier dressing. From 12 to 15
bushels per acre for the former, and 30 for the latter, is not
too much ; or if they are leached, the quantity maybe increa-
sed one-half, as they act with less energy. Repeated dres-
sings of ashes, like those of lime and gypsum, without a cor-
responding addition of vegetable or barn-yard manures, will
eventually exhaust tillage lands.
34 AMERICAN AGRICULTURE.
Ashes may he applied to meadow-lands, for a longer time
than to any other crops, and for tiiis obvious reason. The
whole surface of the soil is closely covered with vegetable
agents, which are actively employed in drawing carbon from
the air and soil, a large portion of which is stored up in the
stubble and roots, which thus makes it less important that the
organic matters should be given back to the soil, in the shape
of vegetable or animal manures. As an instance of the rapi-
dity with which this operation goes forward, it has been found
that the dried roots and stubble of a clover-field the second
year, (and after one crop for the first, and two for the second
season had been taken off,) yielded 56 lbs. for every 100 lbs.
of the aggregate crops of hay. An old meadow has yielded
400 lbs. of roots for every 100 of hay for the season. Carbo-
naceous and organic matters are constantly increasing in pas-
tures, and they also increase for a time in meadows ; and
will continue to do so for an indefinite period, if the ashes of
plants are added to the soil nearly to the amount of those taken
off. With this increase in the organic elements of vegetation,
(if we were certain that nitrogen is accumulated in the same
ratio, v/hicli we arc not,) it is evident that the salts alone
would then be wanting to give the utmost luxuriance. But"
care is necessary that they be not added in excess.
Coal- Ashes. — The bituminous and anthracite coals afford
ashes, and although mferior in quality to those made from
wood and vegetables, are like them, a valuable manure and
they should be applied to the land in a similar manner. If
they contain many cinders from not having been thoroughly
burned, they are more suited to heavy than to light soils ; as
they tend to their mechanical division, which though iDenefi-
ciai to the former, are injurious to the latter.
Ashes of Sea- Weeds oh Marine Plants. — When from
their quantity or remoteness it is inconvenient to carry the
sea-weed, which abounds on some coasts on to the soil, it can
be burned ; when it will be found to yield a laige proportion
of ash, which is peculiarly rich in soda. This is of great
value to the farmer. Several species of ihefuci have for a
long period been collected and burned on the northern coasts
of Scotland, Norway and the Baltic, forming an article of
commerce under the name of help. Its value consisted in
its alkaline properties, for which it was much used by the
glass and soap-makers, the bleachers, and for other uses in
the. arts. For these purposes it is now nearly superseded
by soda ash, a crude carbpnate of soda, extracted by the
MANUKE8. W
decomposition of sea-salt ; and tlie price it now bears in
market will bring it within the reach of farmers for some of
the economical purposes of husbandry.
Peat Ashes — Nearly all peat approaching to purity,
when thrown out of its bed and thoroughly dried, will
admit of being burned to an imperfect ash; and when it
does not reach this point it will become thoroughly charred
and reduced,to cinders. In both of these forms, it is a valuable
dressing for the soil. It is always better for dry uplands to use
the unburned peat after it has been properly composted in a
muck heap, as the organic matters which it contains and
which are expelled by burning, are of great benefit to the
soil. But when they are remote, the peat may be burned at
a trifling cost, and the ashes carried to a considerable distance
with manifest profit. The principal use hitherto made of
them by farmers, has been in spreading them directly over
the surface of the reclaimed bed from which they were taken.
LIME.
Lime is the product of limestone, marble, marl or chalk
afler it has been burned, or subjected to an intense heat.
In either of the foregoing forms it is a carbonate, and con-
tains from 43 to 46 per cent of its weight of carbonic acid,
which is expelled by calcination. After the acid has been
driven off it exists in its quick or caustic state, and in that
condition its affinity for moisture and carbon is so great that
it greedily combines with both on exposure to water, the
earth, or even to the atmosphere; passing again into a carbon-
ate and hydrate. It is in these latter conditions that it is
applied to soils and muck heaps. If reduced to powder (the
condition in which chalks and marls exist,) limestone would
act with equal efliciency as if burnt.
Lime next to ashes, either as a carbonate or sulphate, has
been instrumental in the improvement of our soils beyond any
other saline manures. Like ashes too, its application is bene-
ficial to every soil, not already sufficiently charged with it.
It makes heavy land lighter, and light land heavier; it gives
adhesiveness to creeping sands or leachy gravel, and com-
parative openness and porosity to^ tenacious clays; and it has
a permanently beneficial effect where generally used, in
disinfecting the atmosphere of any noxious vapors existing in
it. It not only condenses and retains the organic matters
brought into contact with it by the air and rains, but it has
the farther effect of converting the insoluble matters in the
36 AMERICAN AGlilCULTURE.
soil, into available food for plants. It has proved in many
instances the wand of Midas, changing everything it touched
into gold. It is the key to the strong box of the farmer,
securely locking up his treasure till demanded for his own use,
and yielding it profusely to his demands whenever required.
In its influence in drying the land, and accelerating the growth
of plants, the use of lime is equivalent to an increase of tem-
perature ; and the farmer somtimes experiences, in effect, the
same benefit from it, as if his land were removed a degree
or two to the south. The influence of lime in resuscitating
soils after they have been exhausted, has been frequent and
striking ; and it may be stated as an incontrovertible truth,
that wherever procurable at low prices, lime is one of the
most economical and efficient agents in securing fertility
within the farmer's reach.
It has been falsely said to be an exhauster of soils; that it
enriches the fathers and impoverishes the sons. So far as it
gives the occupant of the land the control over its latent
fertility, this is true, but if he squanders the rich products when
within his reach, it will be his own fault. Lime gives him
the power of exhausting his principal; if he uses aught beyond
the interest, his prodigality is chargable to his own folly, not
to the liberality of his agent. By the addition of lime to the
soil, the insoluble ingredients contained in it are set free, and
they are thus enabled to aid in the formation of plants, and
larger crops and of better quality are the results. If these be
taken from the soil, without a corresponding return of ma-
nure, exhaustion must follow. In the proceeding table it is
seen, that lime constitutes in all cases, only a very minute
part of the entire plant ; all the other ingredients must be
added or the fertility of the soil cannot be sustained. But in
the very abundance of the crops which lime aflbrds, means
are provided for the maintainance of the highest fertility. If
they are consumed on the ffirm their manure should be
returned to the fields; and if sold, other manures should be
procured to replace the substances from which they are formed.
A practice which has extensively prevailed for many years
in sections of the eastern states, consists in alternating wheat
and clover on strongly limed lands. The plan usually adopted
is to give one year to wheat and two to clover, sometimes
taking off the first clover crop for hay, and feeding off on the
ground and plowing in the after growth for manure; and
upon this, wheat is again sown. This course has succeeded
in bringing into fine condition, many unprofitable fields. It
ItfANURES.
St
may work well for years, ])ut it is nevertheless faulty and
improvident. Lime only is added directly. to the soil, but
clover draws from the air and moisture whatever food it
can attract from ihem. There remain to be added potash,
soda, the phosphates and silicates, which the soil will soon
cease to furnish sufficient for the wants of the wheat and
clover removed, or stertility must inevita])ly follow.
The best method, is to add in someform^ thefidl amount of
all the. materiahy abstracted by the annual crop. When this
is done, the large dressing of lime will retain the accumulating
fertility, far beyond what the soil would be capable of were
it not for its agency; and it is in this that the great profit of
farming consists.
Large crops only are profitable. The^market value of many
indifferent ones will hardly meet the expense of cultivation,
and it is only the excess beyond this which is profit. It is
evident that if L5 bushels per acre of wheat, be an average
crop, and it requires 12 bushels to pay all expenses of produc-
tion, 3 bushels is the amount of profit. But if by the use of
lime and ordinary manures, the product can be raised to 30
bushels per acre, the profit would be near the value of 12 or
15 bushels, after paying for the manures. Thus the advan-
tage from good management may be five times that of neglect.
This example is given as illustrating a principle and not as
an exact measure of the difference between limed and unlimed
land.
Application of lime. — It may be carried oji to the ground
immediately after burning and placed in small heaps. There
it may be left to slack by rains and the air, or it is better to
reduce it at once with water if accessible, and then spread
it preparatory to plowing. A good practice is to place it in
large piles and cover it thickly with earth, which gradually
reduces it to powder. It may then be carried where it is
wanted and spread from the cart. It is still better, when
small quantities only are wanted to add it to the compost after
it has been thoroughly air-slacked, avoiding fermentation as
far as practicable after it has been added, as its avidity for
carbon expels the ammonia, which is the most valuable of
the volatile ingredients of the muck heap. A thick coating
of earth over the whole, will arrest and retain much of the
gas that would otherwise escape.
Fresh burnt lime does not act on the crops during the first
year, and it may be prepared for action as well by mixing it
88 AMERICAN AGRICULTURE.
with 3 or 4 times its bulk of earth, as by spreading it directly
upon the ground.
Magnesmn Lime. — Many of the limestones contain mag-
nesia and are called magnesian lime. The effect of this is
a more energetic action and where it is found in lime, the
same result will be produced by the application of a less
quantity. Oyster and all other shells of marine origin, afford
pure lime by burning.
The amount to he used depends entirely on the soil.
Some fertile lands contain over 30 per cent, in their natural
state. 800 bushels of lime per acre, have been applied at
one time to heavy clays and such soils as were full of vegetable
mold, with decided benefit to the land. In the United States,
the average for a first dressing, is from 50 to 120 bushels
per acre; which may be renewed every 4 or 6 years, at the
rate of 20 to 40 bushels. If an overdose has been applied,
time or the addition of putrescent or green manures are the
only correctives.
To give lime its fullest effect, it should be kept as near the
surface as possible; and for this reason it is well to spread it
after plowing, taking care to harrow it well in. Allow it
then to remain in grass as long as possible. Its weight and
minuteness give it a tendency to sink and after a few years
cultivation, a large proportion of it will be found to have got
beyond the depth of its most efficient action. This circum-
stance gives additional value to the system of underdraining
and subsoil plowing, which enables the atmosphere and root
to follow it, thus prolonging its effect and greatly augmenting
the benefit to crops. It should be spread upon the ground
immediately after taking off the last crop, so as to allow all
the time possible for its action before the next planting
Application to Meadows. — In addition to its other good
effects, lime like ashes, is useful to meadows in destroying
the mosses and decomposing the accumulated vegetable decay
on the surface. For this purpose it may be spread on them
unmixed, after having first passed into the state of carbonate
or effete lime, to prevent injury to the grass. If no such
necessity require its use in this form, it may be combined
advantageously with the muck and scattered broadcast over
the meadow.
MARLS.
Marls are composed of carbonate of lime, mixed with clay,
sand, or loam, and frequently with sulphate and phosphate
3IANURES 90
of lime. They arc a useful application to land in consequence
of the lime they yield, and when containing the phosphate
in addition, their value is largely incvoused. The quantity
that may be advantageously used is even more variable
than that of pure lime, inasmuch as the quality varies with
every bed in which it is found. They are adapted to the
improvement of all soils, unless such as are already
sufficiently filled with lime, and they are more generally
useful to meadows than the pure carbonate. Their benefits
will be greatly enhanced if the clay marl be used on liglit or
sandy soils, and sandy marls on clay and heavy lands-
From 20 to 400 cart loads of marl per acre have been applied
according to its quality and the character of the land to be
benefitted. Circumstances must alone determine the proper
quantity to be used.* Marl should be carried out and
exposed in small heaps before spreading on the land.
Exposure to the sim and especially to the frosts of winter, is
necessiry to prepare it for use.
SHELL SAND.
This is a calcareous sand, sometimes mixed with animal
matter. It abounds on some parts of the coast of Cornwall,
and on the western shores of Scotland, and Ireland. It is also
found on the coast of France, and particularly in Brittany
where it is known by the name of trez. This produces
prodigious eftects on peaty, clay and other soils, to which it is
applied at the rate of 10 to 15 tons per acre. It is so much
esteemed for the former, that it is sometfmes carried to a
distance of 100 miles. It is probable there are similar
deposites on the coast of some of the Atlantic States, though
we arc not aware of any such application for agricultural
objects. Its great value as a top dressing, will fidly justify
exploration, for the purpose of detecting it Avherever it may
exist.
*Marls may be readily analyzed by any one with a pair of accurate scales and
weiglits, anci a large mouthed vial. To one part muriatic acid, add 2 parts water
and fill the vial to about one third, and balance it oirthc scales. Then slowly
add 100 grains of the pulverized marl, thoroughly dried over the fire. When the
effervescence has subsided, expel the carbonic acid from the vial, by pouring it off,
blowing into the vial through a rei*d or with a bellows, its greater "weight causing
it to retain its place to the exclnsion of the air. Now add weights to the opposite
scale till balanced, and the deficiency of grains under 100, will show the amount of
carbonic acid expelled; and as this is combined in the proportion of 46 to 54 of
quick or pure lime, in every 100, the loss indicates 40 per cent of the carbonate of
lime contained in the marl.
From the frequent presence of phosphate and sulphate of lime, and sometimes
potash and animalizcd matters in marls, this kind of analysis seldom indicates the
value of a marl bed for agricultural purposes. If its exact worth is to be ascertain-
ed, there must be a more perfect analysis by an experienced chemist, .
40 AMERICAN AGRICULTURE.
GREEN SAND MARL.
There are extensive beds of a green sand (generally
though improperly termed) marl, which run through a section
of New-Jersey, from which farmers have derived an aston-
ishing addition to their crops. It is found by analysis to
contain but a small quantity of lime, but it readily yields a
large amount of potash, varying from 6 to 15 per cent.
From a careful analysis of eight different specimens, Prof.
Rodgers found in it an average of 10 per cent, of potassa.
The effect of this applied to the barren sands which abound
in that neighborhood, has been so favorable, that lands which
before could be bought for $3 per acre, would afterwards
bring $40. Several deposits of green sand in the counties
of Plymouth and Barnstable, Mass., similar in external
appearance to the foregoing, were explored by Prof. Hitch-
cock, and specimens were analyzed by Dr. Dana, without
however, detecting any qualities of decided advantage to
agriculture.
GYPSUM— PLASTER OF PARIS— OR SULPHATE OF LIME.
This is a combination of lime witli sulphuric acid and
water in the proportion of 28 of lime, 40 of acid, and 18 of
water. It is frequently found in connexion with carbonate
of lime, clay &;c. The use of gypsum has been attended
with great benefit in most parts of the United States ; and
by many of the most experienced farmers, is justly consid-
ered as indispensable to good farming. Like all saline, and
indeed all other manures, it acts beneficially only on soils
which are free from standing water, or which may be satu-
rated with it. It is felt most on sandy, loamy, and generally
on clay soils, requiring more for the latter, and for all such
as contain a large proportion of vegetable matter. From
two pecks on sandy, to fifteen bushels on clay soil have
been applied per acre; but from two to four bushels is the
usual quantity.
The crops on which it produces the greatest effect are the
red and white clover, lucern and sainfoin, and the legumi-
nous plants, peas, beans, &c. On natural meadows and
the cereal grains, it has no perceptible influence.
It should be sown broadcast as soon as the leaves have
expanded in the spring. It takes 460 times its weight of
water to dissolve it, which shows the necessity of applying it
while the early rains are abundant, and the increased eflfect
MANURES. 4l
of* sowing it oil the leaves, requires that its application should
be deferred till they have become partially developed. For
corn, potatoes, turneps, &c., it is usually put in with the
seed, or sprinkled upon them aller the first hoeing.
From its great effect on the clovers, increasing them
sometimes to twice, and in rare instances, to thrice the qan-
tity produced without if, it is manifest that it is the most
profitable manure which can be used, as it can be generally
procured by farmers at from $3 to $6 per ton. Yet it should
be fully understood, that like lime and ashes, it furnishes
only a part of the food of plants ; and like them too, the
addition of vegettible and animal manures is indispensable
to secure permanent fertility.
Extensive sections of this and other countries, particularly
in Great Britain, apparently derive no benefit from the appli-
cation of gypsum. This failure has been variously ascribed
to there being already enough in the soil ; or to the presence
of a marine atmosphere. Its great usefulness however, on
many parts of our Atlantic coast, would seem to require
some other explanation than the last as the .cause of its
inefficiency. Experiment alone can determine the circum-
stances which will justify its application, and to this test
should not only this, but all other practices of the farmer be
rigidly subjected.
BONES.
About 33 per cent, of fresh bone, consists of animal mat-
ter, (oil, gelatine, dec;) from 53 to 56 per cent, of phosphate
of lime and the remainder is principally carbonate of lime,
soda and magnesia. There is no part of the bone that is
not useful to vegetation ; it is especially so to the various
kinds of grain, to potatoes, turneps, the clovers, peas and
beans. The bones should be crushed or ground, and then
drilled in with the seed, or scattered broadcast, at the rate of
25 bushels per acre. They may be repeated in less quanti-
ties every 4 or 5 years, or till the soil ceases to be improved
by them, when they should be withheld till additional crop^
ping shall have so far exhausted them as to justify a further
supply.
Bones are generally boiled before using for manure to
extract the oil and glue. This does not lessen their value
for agricultural purposes, beyond the diminution of their
weight, while it hastens their action. They are sometimes
burned, which drives off all the organic matter, leaving only
42 AMERICAN AGRICULTURE.
the lime, &c., to benefit the soil. This is a wasteful practice,
though the effect is more immediate on the crops; but it is
also more transient, and they require to be more frequently
renewed. Bones ought always to be saved ; and if not prac-
ticable to crush them, they may be thrown upon the land,
where they will gradually corrode and impart their fertilizing
properties. When partially decomposed and buried just
beneath the surface, the roots of the luxuriant plants above,
will twine around them in all directions to suck out the rich
food which ministers so freely to their growth. Crushed
bones are advantageously used with nearly an equal amount
of ashes, or with one third their weight of gypsum ; or, as
with nearly all other saline manures, they may be added to
the muck heap.
PHOSPHATE OF LIME.
This exists in a fossil state, and is known in some of its
forms as apatite, phosphorite^ &;c. An extensive quarry is
found in Estramadura, in Spain, and smaller deposites of it
have been discovered in different parts of the United States,
under a variety of names. It is probable it may yet be found
in such localities and in such quantity as to be useful to the
farmer. It has been shown that more than half of the whole
weight of bones consists of pure phosphate of lime; its value
therefore is apparent.
SALT -OR CHLORIDE OF SODIUM
Is variously obtained, as fossil or rock salt ; from boiling
or evaporation of salt springs ; and from the waters of the
ocean. In a pure state it consists of 60 of chlorine and 40
of sodium, in every 100 parts. Sodium chemically combined
with oxygen forms soda ; and it will be seen by referring
to the table, page 32, that salt furnishes two of the important
constituents in the ash of every vegetable. Its advantage to
vegetation are to be inferred from a knowledge of its compo-
sition, which is fully sustained by experience. As a manure,
salt was extensively used by the ancients, and has ever since
been employed by intelligent agriculturists. On some soils
it yields no apparent benefit. Such as are near the sea-coast
and occasionally receive deposites from the salt spray, which
is often carried far inland by the ocean storms ; or such as
contain chlorine and soda in any other fonns, are not affected
by it. But in other situations, when used at the rate of 3 to
16 bushels per acre, the crops of grains, roots or grasses have
MANURES. 43
been increased from 20 to 50 per cent. It may be applied
in minute portions in the hill, or scattered broadcast, or
mixed with the muck heap. Its great aflinity for water has
the eftect, like that of gypsum, of attracting dews and atmos-
pheric vapor to the growing vegetation, by which it is supplied
with moisture in a period of drought much beyond what is
conveyed to such as are destitute of these manures. Salt is
also useful in destroying slugs, worms, and lan^ae which
frequently do much injury to the crops.
SULPHATE OF SODA, (.Glauber Salts,) SULPPIATE OF MAG-
NESIA, (Epsom Salts,) AND SULPHATE OF POTASH.
These are all useful manures, and they act on vegetation
in a manner similar to gypsum. This was to have been ex-
pected so far as the sulphuric acid is concerned, which is
common to each ; but their action is modified to a certain
degree by the influence of the base or alkaline ingredients
on the plants. The generally increased price which they
bear over gypsum, will prevent their use away from those
localities, where they exist in a state of nature, or where
they may be procured at low rates, near the laboratories in
which they are manufactured.
NITRATE OF POTASH, (Saltpetre,) AND NITRATE OF
SODA.
These are both found in a crude state in native beds, or
as an efflorescence ; and in this condition they can fre-
quently be bought at a price which will justify their use.
The first contains potash 46 i, and nitric acid 53 ^ ; the
second, in its dry state, soda 36i,and nitric acid 63^, in every
100 parts. Numerous experiments have been tried with
them on various crops ; but they have not thus far, afforded
very accurate or satisfactory resulfs. In general, they give
a darker color and more rapid growth, and they increase
the weight of clover, grass and the straw of grain ; and the
former are more relished by cattle. But in the average
effects upon grain and roots, the statements are too much at
variance to deduce any well settled principles.*
As a soak or steep for seeds, and especially when dis-
solved and added to the bed where they are planted, there
is no doubt of their great value in giving an early and vi-
* From the decidedly beneficial effects, produced in numerous instances, may
we not reasonably infer, that they have generally been successful, where there has
been a deficiency of them in the soil?
44 AMERICAN AGRICULTURE.
gorous start to vegetables. This enables them rapidly to
push forward their roots, stems and leaves, thus obtaining a
greater range for the roots and more mouths for the leaves
to draw their nourishment from the atmosphere.
CARBONATES, NITRATES, SULPHATES, PHOSPHATES,
SILICATES, AND CHLORIDES.
Several of these have just been particularly enumerated.
The remainder are composed of carbonic, nitric, sulphuric
and phosphoric acids, silica and chlorine, in chemical com-
bination whh potash, soda, lime and the other bases of
plants. Although no one of these can fail to benefit crops,
when rightly applied, yet the expense of most of them will
prevent their extended use. This can only be looked for
from those which are procurable at a cheap rate. The che-
mical laboratories, glass works and some other manufacto-
ries, afford in their refuse materials, more or less of these
mineral manures, which would well repay the farmer for
removing and applying to his land. The most obvious that
occur in this country, are all that will be here mentioned.
OLD PLASTER.
This is a true silicate of lime, being formed mostly of sili-
ceous sand and lime, chemically combined. For meadows,
and for most other crops, especially on clays and loams, this
is worth t\vice its weight in hay ; as it will produce a large
growth of grass for years in succession, without other ma-
nure. This effect is due not only to the lime and sand, but to
the nitric acid which they have abstracted from the atmos-
phere, and which they continue alternately (while in com-
bination) to absorb from the air and give out to the growing
plant. But the farmer cannot too carefully remember, that
with this, as wdth all other saline manures, but a part of the
ingredients only is thus supplied to vegetables ; and without
the addition of the others, the soil will sooner or later become
exhausted.
BROKEN BRICK AND BURNT CLAY.
These are composed mostly of silicate of alumina, generally
mixed with silicate of potash and other substances. They
are of much value as a top-dressing for meadows. In addition
to their furnishing in themselves a minute quantity of the
food of plants, like old plaster, they serve a much more ex-
MANURES. 45
tended purpose, by condeiisiiig aninioiiia nitric acid and the
gases of the atmosphere.
CHARCOAL,
wScatlered over the ground, produces the same effect as the
foregoing, and probably in a greater degree ; as it absorbs
and condenses the nutritive gases within its pores, to the
amount of trom 20 to over 80 times its own l)ulk. The eco-
nomy and benefit of such applications can he readily under-
stood, as they are continually gleaning these floating materi-
als from the air, and storing them up as food for plants.
Charcoal as well as lime, often checks rust in wheat, and
mildew in other crops ; and in all cases mitigates their rava-
ges, where it does not wholly prevent them.
BROKEN GLASS
Is a sUicaie of potash or soda^ according as either of these
alkalies are used, in its manufactures. Silicate of potash,
(silex and potash chemically united,) is that material in
plants, which constitutes the flinty, outer coating of the
grasses, straw, cornstalks, &c. ; and it is found in varying
quantity in all plants. It is most abundant in the cane,
Indian corn, the stings of nettles, and the prickly spikes in
burs and thistles. Some species of the marsh-grasses have
these silicates so finely yet firmly adjusted, like saw-teeth on
their sharp edges, as to cut the flesh to the bone when drawn
across the finger. Every farmer's boy has experienced a yet
more formidable weapon in the exterior of a cornstalk.
It is to the absence of this material in peat and such other
soils as have an undue proportion of animal or vegetable ma-
nures, that we may attribute the imperfect maturity of the
grain and cultivated grasses grown upon them, causing them
to crinkle and fall from the want of adequate support to the
stem ; and it is to their presence in excess in sandy and cal-
careous soils, that the straw is always firm and upright,
whatever may be the Aveight of the bending ear at the top.
By a deficiency of silicates, we mean, that they do not exist
in a soluble form, which is the only state in which plants can
seize upon and appropriate them. The efforts of the roots in
procuring this indispensable food are so irresistible, that they
have been known to decompose glass vessels in which they
have been grown. Before using, the glass should be redu-
ced to powder by grinding.
b
46 AMERICAN AGRICULTURE.
CRUSHED MICA, FELDSPAR, LAVA, THE TRAP R0CK3, &c.
Feldspar conlsiins 66.75 of silica; 17.50 alumina; 12 potash;
1.25 lime ; and 0.75 oxide of iron. Mica consists of silica,
46.22 ', alumina, 34.52 ; peroxide of iron, 6.04 ; potash,
8.22; magnesia and manganese, 2.11. Most of the lavas and
trap-rocks hold large quantities of potash, lime, and other
fertilizing ingredients. The last frequently form the entire
soils in volcanic countries, as in Sicily, and around Mount
Vesuvius in Italy, in the Azores and Sandwich Islands ; and
their value for grains and all cultivated plants is seen in the
luxuriance of their crops and the durability of their soils.
These examples illustrate the great influence of saline ma-
nures, and their near approach to an entire independence in
sustaining vegetation. Whenever they become exhausted by
the severe usage they undergo, two or three years of rest ena-
bles them again to yield a remunerating crop to the improvi-
dent husbandman. Granite, sienile, and some other rocks,
yielding laige proportions of potash and some lime, abound
throughout the eastern portion of this country. The potash
in them is however firmly held in an insoluble state ; but if it
be subjected to a strong heat, it may afterwards be crushed,
and then yield it in an easily soluble form, and constitute a
valuable top-dressing for lands.
It is a subject of frequent remark, that the soil underneath,
or in immediate contact with some stone walls, which have
been erected for a long period, is much richer than the adjoin-
ing parts of the same fields. This difierence is probably
due, in some measure to the slow decomposition of important
fertilisers in the stone, which are washed down by the rains
and become incorporated in the soil. The removal of stones
from a fertile tield, has been deprecated by many an obser-
ving farmer, as materially impairing its productiveness. Be-
yond the shade thus afforded against an intense sun, protection
from cold winds, their influence in condensing moisture,
(and the beneficial effects which perhaps ensue as injibrous cov-
ering,) the difference may be attributable to the same cause.
SPENT LYE OF THE ASHERIES
Is the liquid which remains after the combination of the
lye and grease in manufacturing soap. It is of great value
for plants. Before its application to the land it should be
mixed with peat or turf, or diluted with ten times its bulk of
water. Five gallons of this lye is estimated to contain as
MANURES. 47
much potash or soda, according as either is used, as would be
furnished by three barrels of ashes. It has besides, a large
quantity of nitrogen, the most valuable ingredient of animal
manure, which by judicious application, is either converted
into ammonia, or serves the same purpose in yielding nutri-
tion to plants.
AMMONIACAL LIQUOR (from the gas-houses).
This liquid is the residuum of bituminous coal and tar used
in making gas, and holds large quantities of nitrogen, from
which ammonia is frequently extracted. When used for land
near by, it may be carried to the muck-heap in barrels ; and
when at remote distances, gypsum or charcoal dust may be
added to the barrel, stirring it well for some time, and then
closely covering it. The gypsum and charcoal soon combine
with the ammonia, when the liquid may be drawn off, and the
solid contents removed. It is a powerful manure, and should
be sparingly used.
GUANO
Is derived exclusively from the animal creation, but from
its existence in a highly condensed state, and in combination
with large proportions of the salts, and having by its accu-
mulation through thousands of years lost the distinguishing
characteristics of recent animal matter, it may almost be con-
sidered as a fossil, and is properly enough classed under the
head of inorganic manures. It is the remains of the dung,
feathers, eggs, food and carcasses of innumerable flocks of
marine birds, which have made some of the islands in the
Pacific and Atlantic oceans, places of resort for rearing their
young through unknown ages. It is found in the Pacific,
near the coast of Peru, between latitude 13° and 21° south,
where the rain never falls; and in some places it has accumu-
lated to the enormous height of 60 and 80 feet. Yet such has
been the demand for this justly popular fertilizer, that over
373,000 tons were imported into England from July 1844, to
the same period in 1845, at an average value of $33 per ton.
A comparatively small amount has been taken to other coun-
tries, including the United States. Its value has been known
and appreciated from time immemorial by the Peruvians, who
transferred it to the continent, and used it for various crops.
48 AMERICAN AGRICITLTUKE.
Different specimens vary greatly as to quality. The
average analysis of Dr. lire's examinations is :
Organic matter containing nitrogen, including urate
of ammonia, and capable of affording from 8 to 17 per
cent, of ammonia by slow change in the soil, 50
Water 11. Phosphate of lime 25, 36
Ammonia, phosphate of magnesia, phosphate of am-
monia and oxalate of ammonia, containing from 4 to 9
per cent, of ammonia, 13
Silicious matter from the crops of birds, 1
100
The above analysis shows a strongly concentrated manure,
and it is certain it is much above the medium, as the sand
alone is sometimes 15 or 20 per cent. It is applied to roots,
grain and other cultivated crops, and as a top dressing for
grass; but it has thus far proved of most value to the former.
Before using it as a top dressing, it is mixed with twice its
bulk of fine earth, ashes, plaster or charcoal dust. The
proper quantity is from 200 to 400 lbs. per acre, sown
broadcast and harrowed in, or supplied in two dressings; the
first soon after the plants appear, but not in contact with
them ; the last, 10 or 14 days after, and immediately before
moist or wet weather. The crops on poor soils are much
improved, while those on rich lands, have in some cases,
been injured by it. For hot houses and many minor pur-
poses it is a desirable manure, and in solution it is very
convenient as an occasional dressing. It is thus prepared
by dissolving 4 lbs. in 12 gallons of water, 24 hours before
using. On account of its volatile character, it should be
closely covered till wanted.
SOOT,
Like ashes, has its origin exclusively from vegetables,
but may with them, be properly treated under the present
head. It holds ammonia, charcoal and other rich ingredi-
ents, and is used at the rate of 50 to 300 bushels per acre.
It produces its greatest eftects in moist weather, and in dry
seasons, it has sometimes proved positively injurious. It
may be sown broadcast over ihe field and harrowed in, or
mixed with such other manures as are intended for immedi-
ate use. The ammonia has a great tendency to escape,
which can only be prevented, by adequate absorbents, as
MANURES. 49
earth or the like. Many experiments made with it have
proved contradictory. In some, it has been shown to be
useless for clovers, while it has proved of great service to
several of the grasses. Salt enhances its effects. In an
experiment made in England with potatoes, on three sepa-
rate acres ot' land of equal quality one without manure,
gave 160 bushels ; one manured with 30 bushels of soot,
yielded 19C ; and the third, which received the same quan-
tity of soot and seven bushels of salt, yielded 236.
h
50 AMERICAN AGKICULTUEE.
CHAPTER III.
ORGANIC MANURES.
THE PRINCIPLES CONSTITUTING ANIMAL AND VEGE^
TABLE -PUTRESCENT OR ORGANIC MANURES.
From the table in the foregoing pages on the ashes of
plants, to which reference has been frequently made, it is
shown that in burning dried vegetables, they lose from
about 95 to 99 per cent, of their whole weight. The mat-
ter that has been expelled by heat, consists of four substan-
ces or ultimate principles ; carbon, oxygen, hydrogen and
nitrogen, of which carbon makes up from 40 to 50 per cent,
or about one half of the whole.
Carbon constitutes all of charcoal but the ash ; nearly
all of mineral coal, and plumbago or black lead ; and even
the brilliant diamond is but another form of carbon. The
properties and uses of carbon are various and important ;
its agency in the growth of plants alone concerns us at the
present time.
Carbonic Acid, — When any matter containing carbon is
burnt, its minute particles or atoms combine with the
oxygen which exists in the atmosphere, and form carbonic
acid, consisting by weight of 6 of the former and 16 of the
latter. When animals inhale air into their lungs a similar
union takes place ; the carbon contained in the system being
brought to the surface of the lungs, and after uniting with
the oxygen as carbonic acid, is expelled. Pure lime-
stone or marble loses 46 per cent, of its weight by burning;
and all of this loss is carbonic acid, which it slowly absorbs
again on exposure to the air, or to such substances as con-
tain it. It is evolved by fermentation, and if the surface of
a brewer's vat in full activity be closely observed in a clear
light, it may be seen falling over the edges, when it gradu-
ally mingles with the air. Its density is such that it may bo
ORGANIC MANURES. 51
poured from one open vessel into another, without material
loss. It is this which gives to artificial soda water and to
mineral springs (as the Saratoga) their sparkling appearance
and acifl flavor. It abounds in certain caves, sunken pits,
and wells, which destroy animal life, not from any intrinsic
poisonous qualities, but from its excluding oxygen, which is
essential to respiration. And it is from the same cause,
that death ensues to such as are confined in a close room
where charcoal is burnt.
This acid is an active and important agent in the inces-
ant changes of nature. It is everywhere formed in vast
f|uanfitics, by subterranean fires and volcanoes. Though
heavier than atmospheric air, it mingles with it and is car-
ried as high as examinations have yet been made, consti-
tuting in bulk, about one part in 1000 of the atmosphere,
and something more than this in weight. Gay Lussac
ascended in a balloon •21,735 feet, and there filled a bottle
with air, which analysis showed to be identical in composi-
tion with that on the surface of the earth. Carbon is one of
the great principles of vegetation, and it is only as carbonic
acid, that it is absorbed by the roots, leaves and stems of
vegetables, and by them is condensed and retained as solid
matter.
Oxygen, hy«lrogen and nitrogen, when uncombined with
other substances, exist only as gases. The first makes up
nearly one half of all the substances of the globe ; and with
the exception of chlorine and iodine, it constitutes a large
part of every material in the ash of plants. It forms rather
over 21 per cent, by measure, and 23 by weight of the whole
atmosphere ; and about 8 parts out of nine by weight of
water, hydrogen making up the remainder. It is absorbed
and changed into new products by the respiration of ani-
mals, and it is an essential agent in combustion. Oxides
are composed of it in union with the metals, alkalies, &c. ;
and most of the acids, as when combined with other substan-
ces, nitrogen, sulphur and phosphorus. Its presence indeed,
is almost universal; and the agency which it exerts in vegetn-
ble nutrition, is among the most varied and intricate mani-
fested in vegetable life.
Hydrogen is thelightestof all the gases. It is but 1.14th
the weight of the atmosphere, and l-16th the weight of oxy-
en ; and from its great levity, it is used for filling balloons.
t burns with a light flame when brought into contact with
f,
52 A3IERICAN AGRICULTURE.
atmospheric air on applying a lighted taper, the combustion
forming water.
It is largely evolved from certain springs, in connexion
with carbon or sulphur and is called carburetted and sul-
phuretted hydrogen, an offensively pungent and inflamma-
ble gas. So abundantly is this emhted from the earth in
some places, that it is used for economical purposes. The
inhabitants about the village of Fredonia, N. Y., light their
buildings with it ; and some of the salt manufacturers in
the valley of the Ohio, apply it to evaporating the water of
the saline springs. Carburetted hydrogen is the gas
now employed for lighting cities. It is manufactured from
oils, fat, tar, rosin and bituminous coal, all of which yield
large quantities of carbon and hydrogen. Both the carbon
and hydrogen are entirely consumed with a brilliant light,
when inflamed and exposed to the oxygen of the atmosphere.
It is the residuum of these substances, after driving off the
gas, which makes the ammoniacal liquor so useful as a
manure ; all the nitrogen with a part of the hydrogen
remaining. In combination with chlorine, one of the ele-
ments of salt, it constitutes the muriatic, one of the strongest
of the acids.
Amrmmia. — The most frequent condition besides water in
which hydrogen is mentioned in connexion with vegetation,
is when combined with nitrogen in the proportion of 3 of the
former in bulk, to 1 of the latter; and by weight, 17.47 of
the first, to 82.53 of the last, in every 100 parts, composing
the volatile alkali, ammonia, which is about 6-lOths the den-
sity of the atmosphere. By strong compression at a low
temperature, it may be condensed to a liquid having rather
more than 3-4ths the specific weight of water. It is never
found in a tangible shape, except in combination with acids,
forming carbonates, nitrates, sulphates, muriates, &c. of
ammonia.
Nitrogen exists in the atmosphere to the extent of about
79 per cent. The principal purpose it appears to fulfil in
this connexion, is in diluting the oxygen, which in its pure
state acts with too great intensity on animal life, in com-
bustion, and all its various combinations. So great is the
attraction of undduted oxygen for iron, that a wire ignited
by a taper and plunged into ajar of oxygen gas, will itself
lake fire and rapidly melt into irregular drops. This is
nothing more than an illustration of the principle exhibited
OROANTC MANURES.
h
(in an intt-nac degree) in the gradual rusting wliich lakes
place in the air at its ordinary temperature ; or the more
rapid tbrmation of the scales under the heat of the black-
smith's forge. All are simple oxidations of the metal, or the
combination of oxygen with iron ; and we see in the com-
parison, the immensely accelerated effect produced by the
absence of nitrogen.
Nitric acid is another compound of great importance to
vegetatio!>. It is simply nitrogen and oxygen ; the identical
materials which compose the atmosphere, combined in differ-
ent proportions, 26.15 parts by weight of the former, and
73.85 of the latter in every 100. This acid in union with
potash, forms nitrate of potash, or saltpetre ; and with soda
foniis nitrate of soda. The last is found in immense beds and lies
upon and immediately under the surface of the earth in Chili,
India and Spain. From Chili it is exported in large quanti-
ties, and has been extensively used in England of late years,
Jis a manure.
It has been deemed relevant to our subject to say thus much
respecting some of the most striking characteristics of those
four simple principles, which make up an average of mon^
than 98 per cent, of all living vegetables. And here a mo-
ment's reflection irresistibly forces from us an expression of
wonder and admiration at that Wisdom and Omnipotence,
which, out of such limited means, has wrought such varied
and beautiful results. Every plant that exists, from the
obscure sca-weed 100 fathoms below the surface of the ocean,
to the lofiy pines that shoot up 300 feet in mid-air; and
from the clinging moss that seems almost a part of the rock
on w hich it grows, to the expanded banyan tree of India, with
its innumerably connected trunks, overshadowing acres ;
every thing that is pleasant to the taste, delightful to the eye,
and grateful to the smell, equally with whatever is nauseous,
revolting and loathsome, are only products of the same
materials, slightly differing in association and arrangement.
BARN. YARD MANURE.
The first consideration in the management of manures, is
to secure them against all waste. The bulk, solubility and
peculiar tendency to fermentation of barn-yard manure, ren-
ders it a matter of no little study so to arrange it as to pre-
sence all its good qualities and apply it undiminished to the
soil. A part of the droppings of the cattle are neces-
54 AMF.RIOAN ACRICTTLTrRE.
sarily left In the pastures, or about the slacks where they are
fed; though it \6 better, for various reasons, that they should
never receive their food from the stack. The manure thus
left in the fields, should be beaten up and scattered with light
long-handled mallets, immediately after the grass starts in
the spring, and again before the rains commence in the
autumn. With these exceptions, and the slight w aste which
may occur in driving cattle to and from the pasture, all the
manure should be dropped either in the stables or yards.
These should be so arranged that cattle may pass from one
directly into the other; and the yard should if possible, be
furnished with running water. There is twice the value of
manure wasted annually on some farms in sending the cattle
abroad to water, that would be required to provide it for them
in the yard for 50 years. •
The premises where the manure is dropped, should be kept
as dry as possible ; and the eaves should project several feet
beyond the side of the building so as to protect the manure
thrown out of the stables, from the wash of rains. The barns
and all the sheds should have eave-troughs to carry off the
water, which if saved in a sufficiently capacious cistern,
would furnish a supply for the cattle. The form of the yard
ought to be dishing towards the centre, and if on sandy or
gravelly soil, it should be puddled or covered with clay to
prevent the leaking and escape of the liquid manure. The
floors of the stables may be so made, as to permit the urine
to fall on a properly prepared bed of turf under them, where it
would be retained till removed ; or it should be led off by
troughs into the yard or to a muck heap.
It is better to feed the straw and coarse fodder, which can
always be advantageously done by cutting and mixing it with
meal or roots. When it is not thus consumed, it may first
be used as litter for the cattle, and as it becomes saturated
with the droppings, it should be thrown into the yard. If the
cattle are fed under sheds, the whole surface ought to be
covered with such straw, refuse forage, &;c. as can be col-
lected ; and if there is a deficiency of these, peat or any turf
well filled with the roots of grass, and especially the rich
wash from the road side may be substituted. The manure
may be allowed to accumulate through the winter, unless it
be more convenient to carry it on to the fields. When the
warm weather approaches, a close attention to the manure is
necessary. The escape of the frost permits circulation of the
ORGANIC MANURES. ^
air through it, and the increasing heat of the tsun promotes
its decomposition.
LoNc; AND Short Manure. — The question has been often
mooted as to the comparative advantages of long and short
manure, {the fermented and unfermented.) This must depend
on the use for which they are designed. If intended for the
garden beds, or for loose light soils, or as a top dressing for
meadows, or any crops, or if needed to kill any noxious seeds
incorporated with the heap, it should be fermented ; if for
hoed crops in clay or loamy soils, it should be used in as
fresh condition as possible. Loose soils are still flirther
loosened tor a time by long manure, and much of ifs volatile
parts is lost before it is reduced to mold ; while adhesive and
compact soils are improved by the coarse vegetables which
tend to their separation ; and all the gases which are set
free in fermentation, are combined and firmly held in the
soil.
Decomposition of Manures. — Three conditions are
essential to produce rapid decomposition in manure ; air,
moisture and a temperature above 65% and these except in
frosty weather, are generally present in the heap. The
gradual chemical changes going on in all manures, but most
actively in the excrements of the horse and sheep where they
have sufficient air and moisture, induce an elevation which
keeps them always above the low temperature of the sur-
rounding air. If the manure be trodden compactly and satu-
rated with water, the air cannot circulate, and if its tempera-
ture be likewise kept down, it will be preserved a long time
unchanged. The fermentation of manure should go forward
when thoroughly blended with all the vegetable and liquid
fertilizers about the premises, including urine, brine, soap-
suds, ashes, gypsum and coal-dust ; the last three substances
combining with the ammonia as it is formed. Over all these
should be placed a good coating of turf, peat or fine mould,
which will absorb any gases that escape the gypsum, &c.
Old mortar or effete lime may also be added for the formation
of nitric acid. It draws this not only from the materials in
the heap, but largely also from the nitrogen of the air ; it
having been ascertained in the manufacture of saltpetre,
(nitrate of potash,) that the amount of nitrogen in the salt, is
greatly increased above that in the manure used. The
absorption of nitre by lime in a course of years, is found to
be large, as is seen by the practice of the Chinese farmers,
who to secure it will gratuitously remove the old plaster on
56 AMERICAN AORICULTlTRr..
walls and replace it with new. If required to hapten decay,
and especially if there be intractable vegetableftj, as broom
and other corn-stalks, or such as have seeds that ought to be
destroyed, they may be well moistened and thrown together
in layers three or four inches thick; and on each may be
strewn a liberal coating of fresh unslacked lime reduced to
powder. This promotes decomj)ositioi), and when it is ilxr
enough advanced, the whole may be sparingly added to the
general mass, as the lime will by that time have become
mild. These coarse materials, when remote from the cattle
yard, may be at once burnedj and the ashes added to the soil,
or they may be buried in furrows, where the ground will not
be disturbed, till they are entirely rotted.
When thoroughly decomposed, tlie manure heap will have
lost half its original weight, most of which has escaped a:^
water and carbonic acid. It may then be carted on to the
ground, and at once incorporated with it; or if intended for
a top dressing, it should be scattered over it immediately
before or during wet weather. For the protection of the
manure, it would be well to cover it with a roof and convey
off all the water from the eaves. This will prevent any
waste of the soluble matter and promote the escape of mois-
ture by the free circulation of air, which to the extent of this
evaporation, will lessen the labor of hauling.
Tanks for holding liquid manure have long been in
use. They should be convenient to the stalls and yards, and
tight drains should convey into them every particle of the
urine and drainage from the manure. In com})act clay they
may be made by simply excavating the earth, and the sides
can be kept from falling in, by a rough wall or by planks sup-
ported in an upright position, by a frame-work of joice. Bui
in all cases the cisterns should be closely covered to prevent
the escape of the ammonia, which is developed while ferment-
ing. In porous soils, it is necessary to construct them with
stone or brick laid in water-lime or cement.
When. partially filled, fermentation will soon take place in
the tank, and especially in warm weather ; gypsum or char-
coal should then be thrown in to absorb the ammonia. A few
days after decomposition commences, it should be pumped
into casks and carried on to the land. If intended for water-
ing plants, it must be diluted sufficiently to prevent injury to
them. The quantity will depend on the strength of the
liquid, and the time it is applied, much less water being
necessary to dilute it in a wet than in a dry time. By fer-
ORGANIC BIA NUKES. 57
inenting iu the open air and undiluted, it lias been found that
in six weeks, cow's urine will lose nearly one half of its solid
matter or salts, and 6.7ths of its ammonia ; while that which
had been mixed with an equal quantity of water, lost only
1.18th of the former and 1.9th of the latter. The stables
and troughs leading to the tank should be frequently washed
down and sprinkled with gypsum. This last will absorb
much of the ammonia which would otherwise escape. Some
loss of the volatile matter must be expected, and the sooner
it is used alter proper fermentation or ripeness, as it is termed,
the greater will be the economy.
Liquid maxuke applied to the muck heap. — As a
general rule, it is more economical and a great saving of labor
to keep the urine above ground and mix it at once with the
manure ; but in this case vegetable or earthly ab3orbent3
mast be adequately supplied ; and in addition, the heap ought
frequently to be sprinkled with gypsum or charcoal. Rich
turf, the wash of the road-side, tan-bark or saw-dust, and all
refuse vegetables may be used for this purpose, and so placed
that the liquid can run on to them, or be deposited where it can
be poured over it. The same protection of a rough open shed
should be given to this as to the other heap?, to facilitate evapo-
ration and prevent drenching from rains. When fully satu-
rated with the urinary salts and all is properly decomposed, it
may be carried out for use, or closely covered with earth till
wanted. The decomposition is in a great measure arrested
by covering with compact earth thoroughly trodden together ;
this prevents the access of air, which is esse ntial to its
progress.
A simple yet economical mode of saving the liquid manure,
irT sometimes adopted in Scotland, and is thus detailed:
** We divide a shed into two compartments, one of which we
make water-tight, by puddling the side walls with clay to the
height, say, of two feet, and separated from the other com-
partment by a low water-tight wall or bo:irding. This is my
f'^M-menting tank, which is filled half or three parts full of pul-
verized burnt peat, and the liquid manure from the stable, pig-
styes, Ajc, directed into it. This is mixed up with the pul-
verized peat, and allowed to remain three or ibur weeks, till
the decomposition seems about completed, being occasionally
stirred about afl<'r the composition has become about the con-
sistency of gruel. The whole is then ladled (with a pole and
bucket) over the low partition into the second floor, which is
also three parts tilled with the carbonized peat ; and as the
58 AMERICAN AGRICULTURE.
second floor is meant mej-ely as a (iltcr, we have it louver cii
one side than the other, by which means, in the course of a
day or two, the carbonized peat is left comparatively drv.
The water having passed off at the lower side, the first or
fermenting floor is again (Hied as before, and the contents of
the second floor, if considered saturated enough, arc then
shovelled up into a corner, and allowed to drip, and further
dry till used, which may be either immediately, or at the end
of twenty years, as scarcely anything will alTect it, if not ex-
posed to the continued washing of pure water, or exposed to
the influence of the roots of growing- plants. By being
thinly spread on a granary floor, it soon becomes perfectlv
dry, and suited to pass through drill machines.
'* The mixing of the carbonized peat with the liquid manure
on the first or fermenting floor, it will be observed, is for
laying hold of the gaseous matters as they escape during the
fermentation ; perhaps other substances may effect this mon^
(effectually, but none so cheaply. I think by this plan it will
be obvious to every one that a great many desiderata are at
once obtained. In the first place, you get fVee of over 900
parts out of every 1,000 of the weight and bulk of manure, by
the expulsion of the water ; while at the same time you link
all the fertilizing properties contained in it to one of the most
handy vehicles — light, cleanly, and portable, and possessed
of the peculiar property of holding together the most volatile
substances, till gradually called forth by the exigencies of the
growing plants. Lastly, you get free of the tank, hogshead
and watering cart, with all its appendages, and are no more
bothered with overflowing tank, or ovcrfermentedliquidj with
weather unsuited to its application. You have merely to
shovel past the saturated charcoal, and shovel in a little fresh
stuff, and the process goes on again, while the prepared stuffs
lie ready for all crops, all seasons and all times."
Value of Liquid Manures. — TJie urine voided from a
single cow is considered in Flanders, where agricultural
practice has reached a high state of advancement, to bo
worth 810 per annum. It furnishes 900 lbs. of solid matter,
and at the price of ^50 per ton, for which guano is frequently
sold, the urine of a cow for one year is worth $20. And
yet economical farmers will continue to waste urine and buy
guano ! " The urine of a cow for a year will manure 1 i
acres of land, and is more valuable than its dung, in the ratio
by bulk, of 7 to 6 : and in real value ns 2 to 1," — Dana.
ORGANIC MANURES. SO
•
Ifuw important then, that every particle of it be tdrefully
liii:> banded tor the eropa.
The avcra^ie urine of the eow, as analyzed by Sprengel,
contains 9J.(i per cent, of water ; that of the horse, 94 ; the
sheep, 96 ; the hog, 92.6 ; and the human, 93.3. The
remainder is composed of salts and rich vegetable food ;
but the human is far richer in these than' any other. The
quantity and value of urine varies much, and depends on
the food and licpiid taken into the stomach, the loss by
perspiration, &^c.
Solid Animal manures. — Of these Horse dung is the
richest and the easiest to decompose. If in heaps, fermenta-
tion will sometimes commence in 24 hours; and even in mid-
winter if a large pile be accumulated, it will proceed with
great rapidity; and if not arrested, a few weeks under favor-
able circumstances, are sutHcient to reduce it to a small part
of its original weight and value. Boussingault, one of the
most careful observers of nature, as well as an accurate
experimental chemist, states the nitrogen in fresh dried horse
dung to lie 2.7 per cent. The same manure laid in a thick
stratum and permitted to undergo entire decomposition, loses
9-10 of its whole weight, and the remaining tenth when
dried, gives only 1 per cent, of nitrogen Such are the
losses which follow the neglect of inconsiderate farmers.
Peculiar care should therefore be taken to arrest this action
at the precise point desired.
The manure of Sheep is rich and very active, and next to
that of the horse is the most subject to heat and decompose.
The manure of Cafile and Swine being of a colder nature,
may be thrown in with that of the horse and sheep in alter-
nate layers. If fresh manure be intermixed with straw and
other absari)ents, (vegetables, peat, turf, &c.) and constantly
added, the recent coating will combine with any volatile
matters whicli ferm3ntation developes in the lower part of
the mass. Frecjuent turning ol* the manures is a practice
attended with no benelit, but with the certainty of the escape
of much of its valuable properties. Many farmers assign a
distinct or peculiar merit to the ditlerent manures. Much of
this opinion is fanciiul, for there is frequently more difierence
in the comparative value of that from the same species, and
even the same individual, at different times and under differ-
ent circumstances, than from those of different species.
TIte diversity in manures may arise from several causes.
The more thoroughly the food is digested and its nutritive
00 AMERICAN AGKlCULTtKE.
qualities extracted, the Icnti is the vahie of the manure. Thus
oil the same quantity and quality of food, a growing animal,
or a cow in calf, or giving milk, yields a poorer quality of
foeces, then such as arc not increasing in weight, and if the
animal be actually losing condition, the richness of the ma-
imre is very much increased. The quality of food adds
materially to this difference, the richest giving by far the
most valuable manure. Those animals which are kept on a
scanty supply of straw or reiiise hay, yield manure little better
than good turf, and far inferior to the droppings of such a>;
are highly fed. The imperfect mastication of the horse and
mule, in comparison with the ruminating animals, the ox and
sheep, their generally better quality of food, and the fact
ihat for the greater part of their lives they are not adding to
their carcass, is the cause of the increased value of their
manure. Their solid foeces are also much richer than those
of the cow, as they void less urine and this is of an indiffer-
ent character. In a long series of carefel experiments, made
at Dresden and Berlin by order of the Saxon and Prussian
governments, it was ascertained that soil which would yield
3 for 1 sown, when dressed with cow dung would give 7 ;
with horse dung 10; and with human 14.
POUDRETTE AND URATE.
Poudrette is the name given to the human foeces after they
liave been mixed with charcoal dust or charred peat, by wliich
it is disinfected of its effluvia, and when dried if become?; a
convenient article for use, and even for remote transportation.
The odor is sometimes expelled by adding quick lime, but
this removes with it much of the ammonia, and on this ac
count should always be avoided.
Urate as well as poudrette, has become an article of
commerce. It is manufactured in large cities by collecting
the urine and mixing with it 1-6 or 1.7 of its weight of
ground gypsum, and allowing it to stand several days. This
combines with a portion of the ammonia, after which it is
dried and the liquid is thrown away. Only a part of the
value is secured by this operation. It is sometimes prepared
by the use of sulphuric acid, which is gradually added to urine
and forms sulphate of ammonia, which is afterwards dried.
This secures a greater amount of the valuable properti.^s of
the urine; but even this is not without waste.
Night soih— From the analysis of Borzelius, the excrements
of a healthy man yielded water^ 733; albumen, 9; bile, 9:
OttOANiC MAJVURIJS. 61
luuscilagu Ikt and the animal matters, 167; saline matters, 12;
and undecompo'sed food, 70; in 1000 parts. When treed from
water, 1000 parts lef>, of ash, 132; and this yielded, carbon-
ate of soda. 8; sulphate of soda, with a little sulphate of po-
tash, and phosphate of soda, 8; phosphate of lime and
magnesia, and a trace of gypsum, 100; silica, 16.
Human urine^ according to the same authority gives in
every 1000 parts; of water, 933; urea, 30.1; uric acid, 1; free
lactic acid, lactate of ammonia, and inseperable animal mat-
ter, 17.1; mucus of the bladder, 0.3; sulphate of potash, 3.7;
sulphate of soda, 3.2, phosphate of soda, 2.9; phosphate of
ammonia, 1.6; common salt, 4.5; sal amoniac, 1.5; phosphates
of lime acid magnesia, with a trace of silica and of fluoride ot
calcuim, l.l.
Urea according to Prout, gives of carbon, 19.99; oxygen,
26,63; hydrogen, 6.65; nitrogen, 46,65. The analysis of
Woehler and Liebig diffi^rs immaterially from this. Such are
the material.5, abounding in evejy ingredient that can minister
to the production of plants, which are suftered to waste in the
air, and taint its purity and healthfullness; or they are buried
deep in the earth beyond the reach of any useful application,
and even in this position, (frequently in villages, and always
in cities,) they pollute the waters with their disgusting and
poisonous eflluvia. 1'he water from one of the wells in
Boston examined by Dr. Jackson, gave an appreciable per
rentage of night soi 1!
Treatment of Night Soil. — No perfect mode has yet
been devised of managing night soil. For compactness and
facility of removal we suggest, thai in cities, metallic boxes
of sufticienl capacity bo placed in the privies, so arranged as
to be easily taken out in the rear for the purpose of emptying
their contents. To prevent corrosion, they should be made
of composite or galvanized metal. In the country where it
can be at once applied, tight wooden boxes may be used, with
hooks on the outer side, to which a team may be attached,
for drawing it out wherever required. The boxes should
have a coating at the bottom, and successively as they become
rilled, of charcoal dust, charred peat, or gypsum. These
materials are cheap, compact and combine readily with the
volatile gasses. Sulphuric acid is more efficient than either
but more expensive. Quick lime will neutralize the odor
but it expels the enriching qualities, and if it be intended to
use the night soil, lime should never be mixed with it. Both,
the charcoal and peat condense and retain the gasses in their
02 AMERICA?* AGRICULTURE.
pores, and the bulphuric acid of the gypsum Icaveo the lime,
and like the free acid, conibines with the ammonia, forming
sulphate of ammonia, an inodorous and povvori'ul fertilizer.
Raw peat, turf, dry tan bark, saw-dust and ashes are all good;
but as more bulk is needed to effect tlie object their use is
attended with greater inconvenience. From its great ten-
dency to decompose, night soil should be immediately covered
with earth when exposed to the air. It is always saved by the
Flemings and Chinese, the former generally using it liquid,
and the latter either as a liquid or mixed with clay and dried
like brick.
The use of this manure effectually prevents the propaga-
tion of all weeds. Its value like all others, depend much on
the food from which it is derived.
THE EXCRExMENTS OF FOWLS.
These contain both the fceces and urine combined, and are
next to night soil in value. They should be mixed at once
with the soil, or with a compost where its volatile matters will
be retained. They are very soluble and when expose'.] t(i
moisture, arc liable to waste.
F L E S H, B L O O D, &c.
When decomposed, these substances afford all the materials
of manure in its most condensed form. Whenever procure-
able, they should be mixed with 8 or 10 times their weight
of dry peat, turf, tan bark or rich garden mould. A dead
cow or horse thus buried in a bed of peat, will yield 10 or 15
loads of the richest manure. Butchers offal will give 2 )
times its weight of more valuable manure than any from his
cattle yards.
HAIR, HORNS, HOOFS. PELTS, WOOLEN RAGS. AND THE
FLOCKS, AND WASTE OF WOOLEN MANUFACTORIES
Are rich in every organic substance required by plants,
and when mingled with the soil they gradually yield them,
and afford a permanent and luxuriant growth to every
cultivated crop. All animal substances contain about 15 or
18 per cent of nitrogen.
FISH.
Fish are extensively used in this and other countries for ma-
nure. The moss-banker, alewives or bony fish frequent
the Atlantic coast in countless numbers in the spring, and are
there caught in seines, and sold to the farmers by tlie wagon
load. They are sometimes plowed into the soil with a spring
OUOANIC MANURES. 63
crop; or ai c more frequently used for growing corn, for which
purpose one or two lish are placj.'d in each hill and buried
witli tlic seed. This was the system adopted Ijy the Abori-
•rines of our country in raising their maize on exhausted lands,
long before their occupancy or even discovery by the whites.
There is waste in this practice, as the soils used for corn are
generally light sandy, and the slight silicious covering im-
perfectly combines with the putrefying fish, and much of their
g-ises thereby eludes the plant, to the excessive anoyance of
the olfactories for miles around.
The proper method of using them, is by composting with
dry peat in alternate layers of about three inches in thickness
offish to nine of peat, and over the whole a coating of 2 to 4 feet
of peat is placed. A few months of warm weather suffices
to decompose the fish, which unite with the peat, no percept-
i})le effluvia escaping from the heap so effectual is its absorb-
tion. A strong acid smell is however noticeable, originating
in the escape of the acidifying or antiseptic principle, which
lias kept the peat for ages in a state of preservation, and
whose expulsion is the signal for breaking up its own struc
ture. It now passes rapidly into decay, and is soon lost in
a mass of undistinguiahable vegetable mold, the fruitful
bed of new and varied vegetable forms. This compost nuiy
remain without injury, for years. Two or three weeks be-
fore using, it should be overhauled and intimately mixed,
when another fermentation commences with an elevation of
temperature. When this ceases, it may be applied to the
land, and is suited to nearly all soils and crops.
SEA WEED
Is a powerful aid to the farmer when within convenient
distances. It is thrown upon the sea coast by the waves in
large windrows, or it is carefully raked up from the rocks or
bottom of the bays, either by tarmers or those who make it
a business to procure and sell it. It may be used as bedding
for cattle or litter for the barn yard, or added directly to the
compost heap. Where the distance for carrying it would
prevent its use, it may be burned and the ashes removed to
the land. It has much more saline matter than vegetables
which grow on land and yields a more valuable manui-e.
PEAT.
This substance is seldom found in this country in the
purity that characterizes it in many parts of Northern
Europe. There, its nearly pure carbonaceous quality adniitg
64 AMERICAN AGRlCULTUItE.
of its extensive use as fuel. In the United States it is gener.
ally mixed with the wash from the adjacent elevations, which
renders it more easily susceptible of profitable cuhivation in
its native bed, and not less valuable as a fertilizer when
applied to other lands. In six different specimens from
Northampton, and four from other localities in Massachu^
setts, Dr. Dana found an average of 29.41 soluble, and 55.03
insoluble geine or humus ; and 15.55 of salts and silicates
in every 100 parts. The extensive researches of the same
intelligent observer have led him to recommend the mixture
of 30 lbs. potash, or 20 lbs. of soda ash, or what is more
economical and equally efficacious, 8 bushels of unleached
wood ashes, with one cord of peat as it is dug from its bed •
or if leached ashes be used, they should be mixed in the
proportion of one to three of peat. This he considers fully
equivalent to pure cow dung in value. He also estimates
the salts and humus of 4 cords of peat, as equal to the
manure of a cow for one year. The opinion of Mr. Phin=
ney, a distinguished agriculturist of Lexington, Mass., foun-
ded on close observation and long practice, is that one part
of green cattle dung composted with twice its bulk of peat,
will make the whole equal in value to the unmixed dung.
Peat in its natural condition, contains from 70 to over 90
per cent, of water. It should be dug from its bed in the fall
or winter for the purpose of draining and exposing it to the
action of the atmosphere, Avhen it will be found to have lost
about two-thirds of its bulk. In this state it still holds about
65 per cent of water. It may then be carted in to the cattle
yards, and used for making composts in any way desired,
MANURING WITH GREEN CROPS.
This system has within a few years, been extensively
adopted in some of the older settled portions of the United
States. The comparative cheapness of land and its pro-
ducts, the high price of labor, and the consequent expense of
making artificial manures, renders this at present the most
economical plan which can be pursued. The object of this
practice is primarily, fertilization ; and connected with it, i.-<
the clearing of the ground from noxious weeds, as in fallows,
by plowing in the vegetation before the seed is ripened ; and
finally to loosen the soil and place it in the mellowest condi-
tion for the crops which are to succeed. Its results have
been entirely successful, when steadily pursued with a due
consideration of the objects sought, and the means by which
OKOANTC MANITRES. 65
they are to be accomplished. Lands in many ol' our Eastern
States, which have been worn out by improvident cultivation,
and unsalaeble at $10 an acre, have by this means, while
steadily remunerating their proprietors tor all the outlay of
labor and expense by their returning crops, been brought up
in value to l$50.
The full benefits of green crops seems only to be realized
where there is sufrlcicnt calcareous matter in the soil. Cal-
careous soils, or such as have a large proportion of lime,
however they may have become exhausted, when put under
a thorough course of treatment in which green crops at
proper intervals are returned to them, are soon restored to
fertility ; and wlien lime does not exist in the soil, the appli-
cation of it in the proper manner and quantity Mill produce
the same eiTect. Gypsum and ashes are the best substitutes,
when lime or marl is difticult to be procured.
This system of improvement varies with almost every indi-
vidual who practices it, according to the quality of his land,
flie kind of crops to be raised, the facility of procuring
manures, the luxuriance of particular crops, &;c. We shall
state merely the general principles in this, as in most other
subjects, and leave to the farmer's judgment to apply them
according to his circumstances. It is always better to com-
ruence this system while the land is in good condition, as a
luxuriant growth of vegetation is as profitable for turning in
as for cropping. Buckwheat, rye, and some of the grasses,
have been much used for this purpose in this country ; and
spurry, the white lupine, the vetch and rape in Europe ; but
for the Northern portion of the Union, nothing has been
hitherto tried which is so wel! fitted for the object as red
(lover.
Clover for Greex Manures. This is suited to all
soils that will grow anything profitably, from sand, if possess-
ing an adequate amount of fertility, to the heaviest clay if
drained of its superfluous water. The seed is cheap, its
growth certain and rapid, and the expense of its cultivation
trifling, while the return on a kindly soil and with proper
treatment is large. Added to this and very much increasing
its merits, is the abundance of its long tap roots, which pene-
trate the ground to a great depth and break up the stiff soils
in a manner peculiarly beneficial to succeeding crops. The
material yielded by the roots and stubble, is of itself equal to
a good dressing of manure. It has the further advantage of
giving two or more years growth from one sowing, and of
66 AMERICAN AORICULtURF!.
inaiiilainuig itssell in the ground thereafter by self &ecding
when not too closely cropped ; and it is equally suited to
profitable pasturage and winter Ibrage.
If the first season of growth of clover be luxuriant after
the removal of the grain upon which it was sown, it may be
pastured in the autumn or suffered to fall and waste on the
ground, the first being the most economical. The following
year, the early crops may be taken off for hay, and the se-
cond, after partially ripening its seeds, may be plowed in, and
thus it carries with it a full crop of seed for future growth.
It is usual when wheat is cultivated, to turn in the clover
when in full flower in July, and allow the ground to remain
undisturbed till the proper time for sowing the grain, when
it may be cross-plowed if necessary, or the wheat may be
sown directly on the ground and harrowed in. This system
gives alternate crops of grain and clover, and with the use of
such saline manures, as may be necessary to replace those
abstracted from the soil, will sustain the greatest fertility.
With a slight dressing of these when the land is in good con-
dition, the first crop of clover may be taken off, and yet
allow a suflicient growth for turning in.
It is customary however, to adopt a 3 or 4 years course of
cropping, in which grain, roots, corn, &;c. alternate with clover
and barn-yard manures ; and this we think the most judicious
practice when the land is within convenient distance of the
manure. If the fields are remote, a still longer course would
be preferable, where stock and particularly sheep are
kept, as they might be allowed to pasture the field during a
much greater time. Sheep would remove only so much of
the forage as remains in their carcass ; while milch cows
and working animals would of course carry off a greater
amount, the first in the milk and the last in their manure
dropped while out of the field.
The Cow Pea is a rank, luxuriant producer, and is
deemed the best of the fertilizers for the south ; as it will there
grow two crops in one season from two successive plantings.
This is also a valuable fodder for cattle and sheep, and the
ripe peas are a profitable crop. Like a luxuriant growth of
clover, it requires the roller, to prepare it properly for the
plough.
Spurry is extensively used in the north of Europe, Flan^
ders, Germany and Denmark, as a fertilizer and as forage for
cattle, both in its green and dry state. It is admirably adap-
ted to the lightest sands, where it is said to grow with more
ORGANIC MANURES. 67
iuxuruincc and profit than any other of the cultivated plants.
It may be sown in the fall after grain or early roots, and
plowed in the following spring. Three crops may be grown
<m the same land in one season. Van Voght says, Ijy alter-
nating these crops with rye, it will reclaim the worst sands,
and yield nearly the same benefits if pastured oif by cattle ;
while it adds materially to the advantages of other manures
applied at the same time. It grows spontaneously in many
of our fields as a weed, and its cultivation on our lightest sands
which are too poor for clover, might be attended with the
best effects. Like the cow pea however, it is deficient in
the deep, tap roots, which give much of their efficiency to the
clover and while lupine.
White Lupine. — This plant has not to our knowledge,
been introduced as a field crop in this country ; but from the
great success which has attended its cultivation in Europe,
it is a proper subject of consideration, whether it might not
be advantageously introduced among us. It grows freely in
all except calcareous soils, and is best suited to such as have
a subsoil charged with iron. It is hardy, not liable to injury
from insects, grows rapidly and with an abundance of stems,
leaves and roots. The latter projects the plant from drought
by penetrating through the subsoil for a depth of more than
two feet, which they break up and prepare in the most efficient
manner for succeeding crops.
The advantages of Green Manures consist principally
in the addition of vegetable matter which they furnish to the
soil. The presence of this, aids in the liberation of those
mineral ingredients which are there locked up, and which
on being set free, act with so much advantage to the crop.
The roots also, exert a power in effecting this decomposition
beyond any other known agents either of nature or art. Their
minute fibres arc brought into contact with the elements of
the soil, and they act upon them with a force peculiar to
themselves alone, and which is far more efficacious than the
intensest heat or strongest acids, persuading the elements to
give up tor their own use, what is essential to their maturity
and perfection. By substituting a crop for a naked fallow,
we have every fibre of the roots in the whole field, aiding the
ordinary decomposition which is slowly going forward in
every soil.
Clover, and most broad-leaved plants, draw largely for their
sustenance from the air, especially when aided by the appli-
cation of gypsum. By its long tap roots, il also draws much
68 AMERICAN AGRICULTURr.
from the sub-sioil, as all plants appropriate such saline sub.
stances as are necessary to their maturity, and are brought to
their roots in a state of solution by the up-welling moisture
from beneath. This last is frequently a great source of im-
provement. The amount of carbon drawn from the air in
the state of carbonic acid, and of ammonia and nitric acid,
under favorable circumstances of soil and crop, are large ;
and when buried beneath the surface, all are saved and yield
their fertility to the land ; while such as decay on the surface
lose much of their value by evaporation and drainage. In
' the green state fermentation is rapid, and by resolving the
matter of plants into their elements, it fits the ground at once
for a succeeding crop.
THE FALLOW SYSTEM.
As a means of enriching lands, this was formerly much
practised, but it is now entirely discarded by intelligent
farmers, ft consists in plowing up the land and exposing it
naked to the elements, whenever the exhaustion by tillage
required it. This practice is founded on the principle, that
plants gradually exhaust the soil of such soluble tbod, potash,
soda, &c., as are necessary to their support ; and unless they
are again given to it in manures, in a form suited to their
immediate appropriation by plants, time is requisite for dis-
solving them in the soil so as to enable them again to sup-
port vegetation profitably. Besides the loss resulting from
the frequent idleness of the land, naked fallows have this
further disadvantage, and especially in light and loose soils;
they are exposed to the full action of the sun and rains, and
by evaporation and drainage are exhausted of much of their
soluble vegetable food.
This system, bad as it is, may yet be absolutely necessary
where grain alone is raised, and no manure is applied. But
it is always avoidable by substituting fallow crops as they arc
termed, potatoes, turneps, &c. with manure ; or clover or
other green crops, as above detailed ; by which the land is
cleared of weeds and sufficiently enriched for succeeding
cultivation. Land is equally well prepared for grain by
having been occupied as meadows, if they have been kept in
good condition by top dressing and pastures answer the
same purpose without them.
IRRlGATtON AKD DRAINING. 09
CHAPTER TV.
IRRIGATION AND DRAINING.
Irrigation might properly enough be classed under the
liead of manures, for the materials which it provides are
not only food for plants, but they aid also in procuring it
from other sources. Water is of indispensable necessity to
vegetable life, and the great quantity of it demanded for
this purpose, is in most climates amply provided by nature
in the stores of rain and dew which almost every where
moisten the earth, and especially during the early growth of
vegetation when it is most required. In countries where
rain seldom or never falls, as in parts of South America,
Egypt and elsewhere, the radiation of heat from the sur-
face is so rapid under their clear skies, that excessive
deposites of dew, generally supply the plants with all the
moisture which they need. The same effect takes place
throughout most of the United States in our transparent
summer atmosphere, and it is to the presence of copious
dews on our rich well cultivated fields, that much of the
luxuriance and success is due, which has ever attended en-
lightened and judicious American husbandry.
Besides the moisture that abounds in the atmosphere, but
which is not always available in rains and dews to the
desired extent for tlie wants of vegetation, and that which
imperceptibly ascends from remote depths in the earth and
administers to the support of plants; it is a practice coeval
with the earliest history of agriculture, to bring artificial
waters upon the cultivated fields, and make them contribute
to the support of the crops. In many countries this sys-
tem is indispensable to secure their maturity; for although
dews accomplish the object in a measure, they do not sup-
ply it in the quantity required to sustain a vigorous growtli.
We find III looking to the practice of Egypt and the Barbary
States in Africa; of Syria, Babylon, and other places in
70 AMERICAN AGEICULTUEE.
Asia; Italy, Spain and elsewhere in Europe, where hus-
bandry early attained a high rank, that irrigation was
extensively introduced. Damascus is one of the most
ancient cities on record, (for it is mentioned in Genesis as
existing nearly4000yearsago,)andnotwithstanding is num-
erous successive masters and its having been frequently
subject to plunder and devastation when conquered, it is still
a flourishing city, though in the midst of deserts. This is
no doubt owing to the waters derived from the " Abana and
Pharpar, rivers of Damascus," which are conducted above
the city till they gush from the fountains and overspread
the gardens, and subsequently water all the adjacent plain.
Had it not been for irrigation, Damascus would doubtless
ages ago, have followed Palmyra, the Tadmor of the wil-
derness, into utter ruin. On no other principle than a
systematic aud extensive practice of irrigation, can we
account for the once populous condition of Judea, Idumea
and other vast regions in the East, which to the eye of the
modern traveller present nothing but the idea of irreclaim-
able sterility and desolation. The possession of the "upper
and nether springs" was as necessary to the occupant, as
possession of the soil.
In those countries where the drought is excessive and
rains are seldom to be depended on, water is led on to the
fields containing all the cultivated crops, and is made subser-
vient to the growth of each. But in the United States and in
the middle and northern part of Europe, where the crops
oi-dinarily attain a satisfactory size wathout its aid, irrigation
is confined almost exclusively to grass or meadow lands.
All waters are suitable for this purpose excepting such as
contain an excess of some mineral substances, that are dele-
terious to vegetable lif?. Such are the drainage from peat
swamps, from saline and mineral springs, and from ore beds
of various kinds ; and those are most frequent, in which iron
is held in solution. Of the spring or ordinary river waters,
those are the best which are denominated hard, and which
owe this quality to the presence of sulphate or carbonate of
lime, or magnesia. Those waters which are charged with
fertilizing substances that have been washed out of soils by re-
cent floods, are admirably suited to irrigation. Dr. Dana
estimates the quantity of salts (in solution) and geine or
humus, which were borne sea-w^ard past Lowcl!, on the Mer-
rimac river, in 1838, (a season of unusual freshets,) as reach-
ing the enormous amount of 840,000 tons — enough to have
IRRIGATION AND DRAINING. 71
given a good dressing to 100,000 acres of land. Such wa-
ters as have flowed out of the sewers of cities or past slaugh-
ter-houses and certain manufactories, and received the rich,
vegetable food thereby afforded, are the most beneficial when
applied to vegetation. Meadows thus irrigated in the neigh,
horhood of Edinburgh, have rented by the acre, at the large
>um of $250 per annum. But when none of these can be
l)rocured, pure spring water apparently destitute of any solu-
ble matters, may be advantageously used.
Besides its drainage of diflierent matters from remote dis-
tances, water freely obsorbes the gases (carbonic acid, oxy-
gen and nitrogen, &c.,) in proportions altogether difterent
from those existing in the air, and brings them to the roots
by which they are greedily appropriated, and in its onward,
agitated progress over the field, it again absorbs them from
the air, again to be given up when demanded by the roots.
When the water is permitted to remain stagnant on the sur-
face, this good efiect ceases ; and so far from its promoting
the growth of the useful and cultivated grasses, they speedily
perish and a race of sour and worthless aquatic plants spring
up to supply their place.
Another and important office that water fulfils in ministe-
ring to the growth of vegetation, is in disposing the soil to
those changes which are essential to its full maturity.
Gypsum requires 460, and lime 778 times its bulk of water
at 60" to dissolve them. Others among the mineral consti-
tuents of plants, also require the presence of large quantities
of water to fit them for vegetable assimilation.
Time for applying Water to Meadows. — In those
regions where the winters are not severe, water may be kept
in the fields during the entire season of frosts. This prevents
its access to the ground, and on the approach of warm wea-
ther the grasses at once start into life, and give an early and
abundant. But in general, this system cannot be success-
fully practiced. The water is admitted at proper intervals,
freely during the spring and early part of the summer when
vegetation is either just commencing or going forward
rapidly. It is sufficient to flood the surface thoroughly, and
then shut off the water for a time. In very dry weather this
may be done with advantage every night. Continued water-
ing under a bright sun, is an unnatural condition with up-
land grasses, and could never be long continued without
proving fatal to them. Neither should the water be applied
after the grasses have commenced ripening. Nature is the
72 AMERICAN AGRICULTURE.
proper guide in tliis, as in most of the operations of the
farmer ; and it will be seen how careful she is in ordinary
seasons, to provide an affluence of rains for the commence-
ment of vegetation, while she as carefully withholds them
when it approaches maturity. After the grass is cut, the
water may be again let on to Hood the meadows. Pastures
may be irrigated at proper intervals, throughout the year.
The manner of irrigating. — This must depend on the
situation of the surface and the supply of water. Sometimes
reservoirs are made for its reception from rains or inunda-
tions, and sometimes they are collected at vast expense from
springs found by deep excavations, and led out by extensive
subterraneous ditching. The usual source of supply however,
is from streams or rivulets, or copious springs which dis-
charge their water on elevated ground. The former are
dammed up to turn the water into ditches or aqueducts,
through which it is conducted to the fields where it is divided
into smaller rills till it finally disappears. When it is desira-
ble to bring more water on to meadows than is required
for saturating the ground, and its escape to fields belc»vv is to
be avoided, other ditches should be made on the lower sides,
to arrest and convey away the surplus water.
The advantages of irrigation are so manifest, that they
should never be neglected when the means for securing them
are within economical reach. To determine what economy
in this case is, we have to estimate from careful experiment,
the equivalent needed in annual dressing with manures to
produce the same amount of grass as would be gained by irri-
gation; and to offset the cost of the maimrc, we must reckon
the interest on the permanent fixtures of dam, sluicos, &;c.,
and the annual expense of attention and repair.
The quality of gra^s from irrigated meadows is but slightly
infrior to to that grown upon dry soils ; and for pasturage it
is found that animals do better in dry seasons upon the former,
and in wet upon the latter. In Europe, where the disease is
common, sheep are more liable to rot upon irrigated and
marshy lands, than on such as arc free from excessive
moisture.
The Kind of Soils suited to Irrigation. — Light porous
soils, and particularly gravels and sands, are the most bene-
fited by irrigation. Tenacious and clay soils are but slightly
improved by it unless first made porous by underdraining.
It is not only important that water be brouglU on to the ground,
IRRIGATION AND DRAINING. T8
but it should pass off immediately after accomplishing the ob-
jects sought.
The increase from the application of waier is sometimes
fourfold, when the soil, the season and the water are all favor-
able, and it is seldom less than doubled. Many fields which
in their natural condition, scarcely yield a bite of grass for
cattle, when thoroughly irrigated, will give a good growth for
years, and without the aid of any manures.
UNDER DRAINING HEAVY AND TENACIOUS CLAY
LANDS.
The advancement of agriculture in this country during
the few last years, the high price of farming lands and their
products w^ithin convenient distances of our larger markets,
justify the commencement of an intelligent system of drain-
ing on such lands as require it. This system has for many
years been introduced and largely practiced in England and
Scotland, and has resulted in the most signal success. The
plan first adopted was, to excavate the land in parallel lines
at intervals of 16 to 25 feet, and to a depth of 2 or 3 feet,
forming a slightly inclined plane on the bottom, which was
from 3 to 6 inches wide and gradually enlarging as it
approached the surface. The narrowest drains were arched
with inverted turf and clay, and so high as to allow of the
requisite space at the bottom for the escape of whatever
water might filter through the soil. Others were formed
with continuous arched tiles laid on a sole, (a flat tile of the
same material,) or a board placed on the bottom forming an
uninterrupted conductor. Larger ditches were filled with
rubble. stone (and in some instances brush,) to a sufficient
depth, and then covered with soil. In all cases the
smaller ones communicated by their outlets with a large
open drain which led the water from the field. These drains
were always below the reach of the plow, thus leaving the
whole surface of the lands free from any obstruction to culti-
vation. Two recent improvements have been introduced
which materially diminish the expense while they enhance
the benefits of the system. They consist in sinking the
dmin to 4 feet and using baked clay or tile pipes li to 2
inches in diameter, and 12 to 18 inches in length, connected
by allowing the descending end to enter the next below it
as a socket or by placing the ends close to each other. The
trifling opening at each joint, with small holes perforating
the top of the tiles, is found to be sufficient to admit all the
C
74 AMERICAN AaRICUlTURE.
water which falls into the drain ; while the increased depth
at which the drainage takes place, draws the water from a
much greater distance. With the depth indicated, it has
been found that the drains instead of being required once in
16 to 25 feet, may be placed at intervals of 40 to 50, and
accomplish the object with equal success, and in less time.
The expense of the former plan was from $20 to $30 per
acre, while the last is only from $12 to $18.
The advantages of under draining are numerous and
important. They take away all the surplus v^^ater which
exists in heavy or tenacious soils, w^hich in wet seasons are a
serious impediment to the successful growth and perfection
of vegetation ; thus always ensuring a full crop when fre-
quently not one -fourth of a crop is matured on similar
undrained soils. They allow of early cultivation in spring
and late in autumn, by furnishing a dry, warm soil, which
would not admit of cultivation except in the warm part of
the season ; thus enabling the farmer to grow a greater vari-
ety of products where only a few were adapted to the soil
before, and to these it gave several weeks' additional growth.
It saves all the trouble and waste of surface drains and open
furrows, which' require that much of the land be left almost
in an unproductive state, to serve as conductors of the sur-
plus water. The rains falling on the convex surfaces of
the lands, run off rapidly into the furrows, and not only
prevent the benefit to the soil which would result from its
absorption, but they carry with them much of the fine soil,
which is thus allowed to waste.
Rainwater is charged with some of the most important
elements of nutrition to plants, and especially contains con-
siderable proportions of carbonic acid and ammonia. If
these be permitted to percolate through the soil, the roots of
the plants, or in their absence, the elements of the soil itself
absorb and form permanent combinations with them. Air
also holds vegetable food and it is necessary that this should
penetrate through every portion of the soil where the fibres
of the roots exist. Soils which are saturated with water do
not admit of any air, unless the small proportion combined
with the water ; and from all such this vital adjunct of vege-
tation is excluded. The porosity of the land thus secured,
facilitates the admission and escape of heat, which last con-
dition is of the utmost consequence in promoting the deposi-
tion of dews.
lARlOATION AND DRAINING. 75
The dense mass of saturated soil is impervious to air and
remains cold and clammy. By draining it below the soil,
the warm rains penetrate the entire mass, and there diffuse
their genial temperature through the roots. Immediately
pressing after these, the warm air rushes in and supplies its
portion of augmented heat to the land. Porous soils thus
readily imbibe heat, and they as readily part with it; every
portion of their own sudaces radiating it when the air in
contact with them is below their own temperature. This
condition is precisely what is adapted to secure the
depooit of the dews, so refreshing, and during a season
of drought, so indispensable to the progress of vegetation.
Dew can only be found on surfaces which are below the
temperature of the surrounding air, and rapid radiation of
the heat imbibed during the warmth of a summer's day, is
neces3ary to secure it in suiHcient profusion for the demands
of luxuriant vegetation in the absence of frequent showers.
An insensil)le deposit of moisture precisely analogous to
dew, is constantly going forward in deep, rich, porous soils.
Wherever the air penetrates them at a higher temperature
than the soils themselves possess, it not only imparts to them
a portion of its excess of heat, but with it also, so much of
its combined moisture as its thus lessened capacity for retain-
ing latent heat compels it to relinquish. To the reflecting
mind imbued with even the first principles of science, these
considerations will be justly deemed as of the highest conse-
quence to the rapid and luxuriant growth and full develop,
ment of vegetable life.
Another essential benefit derivable from drained lands,
consists in the advantageous use which can be made of the
subsoil p!ow. If there be no escape for the moisture which
may have settled below the surface, the subsoil plow has
been found to be injurious rather than beneficial. By loosen-
ing the earth it admits a larger deposit of water, which
requires a longer time for evaporation and insensible drainage
to discharge. When the water escapes freely, the use of the
subsoil plow is attended with the best results. The broken
earth thus pulverized to a much greater depth and incorpora-
ted with the descending particles of vegetable sustenance
atfords an enlarged range for the roots of plants, and in pro-
portion to its extent, furnishes them with additional means of
growth. The farmer thus has a means of augmenting his
soil and its capacity for production wholly independent of
increasing his superficial acres; for with many crops it mat-
76 A>IERICAN AGRICULTUEE,
ters not in the quantity of their production, whether he owns
and cultivates 100 acres of soil, one foot deep, or 200 acres
of soil, half a foot in depth. With the latter however, he
has to provide twice Ihe capital in the first purchase, is at
twice the cost in fencing, planting and tillage, and pays
twice the taxes. The underdrained and subsoiled fields have
the further advantage of security and steady development
in seasons of drought, as they derive their moisture from
greater depths which are frequently unaffected by the parch-
ing heat. This secures to them a large yield while all
around is parched and withered.*
A more enlarged and general, or what may justly be
termed a philanthropic view of this system, will readily detect
considerations of great moment, in the general healthfulness
of climate which would result from the drainage of large
areas, which are now saturated, or in many instances covered
with stagnant waters, and which are suffered to pollute the
atmosphere by their pestilent exhalation^.
SPRING AND SWAMP DRAINING.
Springs are sometimes discovered not by a free or open
discharge of their water, but in extensive plats of wet, boggy
lands, which are of no farther use than to mire the cattle and
bear a small quantity of inferior bog hay. These springs
should be sought at the highest point where the ground
appears moistened and led away to a ravine or rivulet, by a
drain sufficiently deep to prevent the escape of any of the
water into the adjacent soil ; unless as it sometimes liappens,
the position and quality of water are suited to irrigation,
when it may be conducted over the field for that purpose.
Sicamps and Peat beds occur frequently in a hilly country.
These are low level, wet lands, whose constant saturation
with water prevents their cultivation with any useful plants.
The first object in effecting their improvement, is to find an
outlet for the escape of the water to a depth of 3 to 5 feet
below the surface, according to the area to be reclaimed ;
the greatest depth above specified being fi-equently necessary
to the efifectual dra,inage at all times, of an extended surface.
If the water in the swamp has its origin in numerous springs
from the adjoining hills, a ditch should be dug around the
entire outer edge of it where it meets the ascending land. If
*The experienced reader will sometimes notice the same ideas repeated under
ditlerent heads. He must bear in mind that this work is intended for learners ;
and that it is of more consequence thoroughly to impress their minds with impor-
tant principles, than to study brevity in communicating them.
MECHANICAL DIVISION OF SOILS. 77
the water bo derived from a rivulet, a broad ditch should be
made as direct as possible from its entrance to its outlet, and
deep enough to lead off all the water. If these are found
insufficient, additional ones may bo made wherever required.
CHAPTER V
MECHANICAL DIVISION OF SOILS.
SPADING.
After selecting a proper soil, and placing it in a suita-
ble condition, as to manuring, draining <kc. the next most
important consideration is the further preparation of the land
for the reception of the seed. In small patches of highly
cultivated land, spading is resorted to for breaking up and
pulverizing the ground more effectually than can be done
with the plow. Tliis is the case with many of the market
gardens in the neighborhood of our large cities, and with
large portions of Holland, Flanders and other coimtries of
Europe. It is even contended by many highly intelligent
and practical farmers in Great Britain, where labor is about
half and land and agricultural products nearly twice the
the average price with us, that spade husbandry can be
adopted for general tillage crops with decided advantage to
the farmer. However this may be abroad, it is certain it
cannot be practised in this country to any extent until some
very remote period.
PLOWING.
This is the most important of the mechanical operations of
the farm. The time, the depth and the manner of plowing
must depend on the crops to be raised, the fertility and char-
acter of the soil and other circumstances.
Plowing clay lands. — Whenever practicable these
.should be plowed in the fiill for planting and sowing the
ensuing spring. The tenacity of the soil may thus be tem-
porarily broken up by the winter frosts, its particles more
thoroughly separated, and the whole mass reduced to a finer
tilth than can possibly be effected in any other manner.
78 AMERICAN AGKICTTLTTTRF.
There is a still further and important advantage from this
practice which ensues from the attraction existing between
the clay and those gases that are furnished from the atmos-
phere, snow, rains and dews. In consequence of being thus
thrown up and coming in contact with them, it seizes upon
the ammonia and carbonic and nitric acids which are in the
air, and holds them for the future use of the crops ; while
their great affinity for manures effectually prevents the waste
of such as are in it.
The furrows of clay soils should be turned over so as to lap
on the preceding and lie at an angle of 45° ; and for this
purpose the depth of the furrow slice should be about two
thirds its width. Thus a furrow 6 inches deep should be
about 9 inches wide, or if 8 inches deep, it should be 12
inches wide. This will allow of the furrows lying regularly
and evenly, and in the proper position for the drainage of
the soil, the free circulation of air, and the most efficient ac-
tion of frosts which in this way have access to every side of
them. Land thus thrown up is found to be finely pulverized
after the frosts leave it, and it is comparatively dry and
ready for use some time earlier than such as is not plowed
till spring. For sowing, land plowed in this manner requires
no additional plowing, but it is better fitted for the reception
of seed than it can be by any further operation, unless by a
slight harrowing if too rough. The different kinds of grain
or peas may be dibbled in or sown directly upon the surface
and covered by the harrow ; and if sown very early, the
grass and clover seeds 'require no covering, but find their best
position in the slight depressions which are every where
made by the frost, and which the subsequent rains and winds
fill up and cover sufficiently to secure a certain growth.
When a field is intended for planting and is thus plowed in
the preceeding autumn, in some instances, and especially
when the soil is full of vegetable manures, as from a rich
green sward, a single furrow where the seed is to be drop-
ped, is all that is necessary to be plowed in the spring.
If the land has been previously cultivated, (not in sward,)
and is designed for planting, a stiff clay is sometimes ridged
up by turning a double furrow, one on each side and so close
as partially to lap upon a narrow and unbroken surface, thus
leaving t-he greatest elevations and depressions which can
conveniently be made with the plow. The frost and air by
this means, have a greater surface to act upon than is affor-
ded by thorough plowing, unless it be in a firm sod, which
I
MEORA^CAt DIVISION OP SOILS. 79
maintains its position without crumbling. The advantage of
a dry surface and early working are equally secured by this
latter method ; and to prepare for planting, the furrows need
only to be split by running a plow through their centre,
when they are ready for the reception of the seed.
Plowing sandy or dry soils. — These require flat plow-
ing, which may be done when they are either quite wet or
dry, but never till wanted for use. By exposure to heat,
rains and atmospheric influences the light soluble manures
are exhaled or washed out, and they receive little compensa-
tion for this waste in any corresponding fertility they derive
from the atmosphere in return. To insure flat plowing on
an old sward, the depth of the furrow should be about one-
half its width, and the land or ridges as wide as can conve-
niently be made, so as to preserve as much uniformity of
surface over the whole field as possible.
Depth of plowing. — AH cultivated plants are benefitted
by a deep permeable soil, through which their roots can
penetrate in search of food ; and a though depth of soil is not
fully equivalent to its superficial extension, it is evident that
there must bs a great increase of product from this cause.
For general tillage crops the depth of soil may be gradually
augmented to about 12 inches, with decided advantage.
Such as are appropriated to gardens and horticultural pur-
poses may be deepened to 15 and even 18 inches to the
manifest profit of their occupants. But whatever is the
depth of the soil, the plow ought to turn up the entire mass,
if within its reach, and what is beyond it should be thor-
oughly broken up by the subsoil plow, and some of it occa-
sionally incorporated with that upon the surface. The sub-
soil ought not to be brought out of its bed except in small
quantities to be exposed to the atmosphere during the fall,
winter and spring, or in a summer fallow ; nor even then,
but with the application of such fertilizers as are necessary
to put it at once into a productive condition. The depth of
the soil can alone determine the depth of ploughing ; and
when that is too shallow, the gradual deepening of it should
be sought by the use of proper materials for improvement
till the object is fully attained. Two indifferent soils of
opposite characters, as of a stiff* clay and sliding sand,
sometimes occupy the relation of surface and subsoil towards
each other ; and when intimately mixed and subjected to
the meliorating influence of cultivation, they will frequently
produce a soij of great value.
80 AiMERICAN AGRICULTURE.
Cross Plowing is seldom necessary except to break up
tough sward or tenacious soils ; and the former is more ef-
fectually subdued by one thorough plowing in which the
sod is S3 placed that decompositioa will rapidly ensue ; and
the latter is m )re certainly pulverized by incorporating with
it such vegetables, and long or unfermented manures and the
like, as will take the place of the decaying sod. The pres-
ence of these in the soil, lessens the labor of cultivation and
greatly increases the products.
Subsoil Plowing. — This is a practic of comparatively
recent introduction, and it has been attended with signal be-
nefit from the increase and certainty of the crop. It is per-
formed by subsoil plows made exclusively for this purpose.
The objects to be accomplished are to loosen the hard earth
below the reach of the ordinary plow and permit the ready
escape of the water which falls upon the surface ; the circu-
lation of air ; and a more extended range for the roots of the
plants, by which they procure additional nourishment, and
secure the crop against drought, by penetrating into the re-
gions of perpetual moisture. When all the circumstances
are favorable to the use of the subsoil plow, an increase in
the crop of 20, 30, and sometimes even 50 per cent, has been
attributed to its operations. Its maximum influence on stiff
soils is reached, only where underdraining has been tho-
roughly carried out. Its benefits have been more than doubt-
ed when used in an impervious clay subsoil, where it makes
further room for storing up stagnant water ; and it is evident
they can only aggravate the faults of such subsoils as are na-
turally too loose and leachy.
PLOWS AND OTHER FARM IMPLEMENTS.
There are plows for almost every situation and soil, in- addi-
tion to several varieties which are exclusively used for the sub-
soil. Some are for heavy lands and some for light ; some
for stony soils, others for such as are full of roots ; while still
another class are expressly made for breaking up the hither-
to untilled prairies of the west. Some are adapted to deep
and some to shallow plowing ; and some are for plowing
around a hill and throwing the furrows either up or down, or
both ways alternately ; others again throw the soil on both
sides, and are used for plowing between the rows of corn or
roots. Every farm should be supplied with such plows as
are entirely adapted to the diflTerent operations required.
XECRANICAL DIVISION OP SOILS. 81
The ilirmer will find in the best agricultural ware-houses,
all the implements necessary to his operations, with such de-
scriptions as will enable him to judge of their merits. Great
attention has been bestowed on this subject for several years
by skilful and intelligent persons, and great success has fol-
lowed their efforts. The United States may safely challenge
the world to exhibit better specimens of farming tools than
she now furnishes, and her course is still one of improve-
ment. There are numerous competitors for public favor in
every description of farm implements ; and an intelligent
farmer cannot fail to select such as are best suited to his own
situation and purposes.
The best only sJioidd be used. — There has been a " penny
wise and pound foolish" policy adopted by many farmers in
their neglect or refusal to supply themselves with good tools
to work with. Tiiey thus save a few shillings in the first
outlay, but frequently lose ten times as much by the use of
indifferent ones in the waste of labor and the inefficiency of
their operations. A farmer should estimate the value of his
own and his laborer's time as well as that of his teams, by
dollars and cents ; and if it requires one third, one tenth or
even one hundredth more of either to accomplish a given ob-
ject with one instrument than with another, he should before
buying one of inferior quality, carefully compute the amount
his false economy in the purchase will cost him before he has
done with it. Poor men or those who wish to thrive, can ill
afford the extravagance of buying inferior tools at however
low a price. The best are always the cheapest ; not those
of high or extravagant finish, or in any respect unnecessarily
costly ; but such as are plain and substantial, made on the
best principles and of the most durable materials. To no
tools do these remarks apply with so much force as to plows.
The improvements in these have been greater than in any
other instruments, the best saving fully one half the labor for-
merly bestowed in accomplishing the same work.
HARROWING.
The object of the harrow^ is three fold ; to pulverise the
land, to cover the seed, and to extirpate weeds. Unless the
land be very light and sandy, the operation should never be
performed for either object, except when sufficiently dry to
allow of the crumbling down into a fine mellow surface un-
der the action of the harrow. There are several varieties of
harrows in use ; the tri angular and the isquare, both some-
82 AMERICAN AGRICtJLTUltfi.
times hinged and sometimes double ; with long teeth and
with short ones, some thickly set together, and some far
apart. For pulverising firmly sodded or stiff clay lands, a
heavy, compact harrow is required, with strong teeth suffi-
ciently spread ; and for lighter lands, or for covering seed,
the more expanded harrow, with numerous, small and thick-
ly set teeth. To pulverise soil, the harrow should move as
quickly as possible, so as to strike the lumps forcibly, and
knock them to pieces ; and for this purpose an active team is
required. When the land sinks much under the pressure of
the horses feet, light animals as mules or ponies are prefera-
ble.
THE ROLLER
Is an important implement for many fields. It is always
useful for pulverizing the soil, which it does by breaking
down such clods and lumps as escape the harrow, and thus
renders the field smooth for the scythe or cradle ; and it is
equally so on meadows which have become uneven from
the influence of frost, ant-hills, or other causes. It is ser-
viceable in covering seed by pressing the earth firmly
around it ; which thus secures moisture enough for germi-
nation. But its greatest benefit is with such sandy soils
as are not sufficiently compact to hold the roots of
planis firmly and retain a suitable moisture. With these it
is invaluable, and the proper use of the roller has in some
instances doubled the product. Its effect is similar to that
produced by the frequent treading in a foot-path ; and the
observing farmer will not have failed to notice the single
thread of thick green-sward which marks its course over an
otherwise almost barren field of sand or loose gravel. The
thickly woven emerald net-work that indicates the sheep-
walks, on similar soils, is principally due to the same
cause.
Rollers are variously constructed. The simplest form is
a single wooden shaft with gudgeons at each end, which rest
in a square frame made by fastening four joists together, a
tongue for drawing it being placed in one of its sides. A
box may be attached to this frame for the purpose of hold-
ing stones and weeds picked up in the field, and for weight-
ing the roller according to the work required. When a
roller exceeds 8 or 10 feet in length, it should be divided in
the middle and have an iron axle pass through each part,
upon which they revolve, taking care to diminish the fric-
MECHANICAL DIVISION OF SOILS. 83
tion at the ends by a thick washer. The larger the r oiler
the greater surface is brought into contact with the ground
the more level it leaves it, besides giving a much easier
draught to the team. To accomplish this without too much
increase of weight, they are frequently constructed with
heads at the ends and closely covered like a drum. For
dividing compact clay lumps or for scarifying meadows,
they are sometimes made with large numbers of short, stout
angular teeth, which penetrate and crush the clods, and tear
up and loosen the old turf and moss of meadows.
THE CULTIVATOR
Has a light frame in the form of a triangular or wedge-
harrow with handles behind like those of a plow, and with
several small iron teeth in the frame, somewhat resembling
a double share plow. They are of various sizes, slightly
differing in construction, and are of great utility in stirring
the surface of the ground and destroying weeds.
THE DRILL BARROW
Is useful for dibbling in seeds, and when ihe surface is
mellow it will open the furrows for the reception of the
seed, and drop, cover and roll the earth firmly over it. The
smaller ones are trundled along like a wheelbarrow, by hand;
and the larger for field planting, having several fixtures for
drilling, are drawn by a horse. They are suited to the
smaller seeds, and some have Ijeen made to plant corn,
beans and peas successfully.
SURFACE OR SHOVEL PLOWS.
These are a cheap, light instrument, much used in Eng-
land, and to some extent in this country, for paring the
stubble and grass roots on the surfaces of old meadows.
These are raked togetiier into heaps, and with whatever
addition there may be of earth or clay are burnt, and the
ashes and roasted earth scattered over ^ soil. There is
an apparent objection to this practice in the expulsion of
the carbon and nitrogen stored up in the plants and in the
waste of the coarse material of the decaying vegetables
which is so useful in effecting the salutary mechanical divi-
sions of clay soils. But by a reference to what has been
said on the efficiency of burnt clay or broken brick, their
great utility as fertilizers will be seen. This and the ash
of the plants remain, and both are useful in quickening the
84 AMERICAN AGRICULTURE.
I
action of soils and accelerating those changes so beneficial
to vegetation ; and even the re-absorption of the atmosphe-
ric gases, it is probable will more than compensate for their
equivalents expelled in burning. The effect is further
salutary in destroying grubs, insects and their larva?, and
the seeds of noxious weeds.
CHAPTER yi.
THE GRASSES, CLOVERS, MEADOWS AND PASTURES.
The order designated by naturalists as GramincB, is one
of the largest and most universally diffused in the vegetable
kingdom. It is also the most important to man and to all
the different tribes of graminiverous animals. It includes not
only what are usually cultivated as grasses, but also rice,
millet, wheat, rye, barley, oats, maize, sugar cane, broom
corn, the wild cane and the bamboos sometimes reaching 60
fieet in height. They ar« universally characterized as hav-
ing a cylindrical stem ; hollow or sometimes as in the sugar
cane and bamboos, filled with a pith- like substance, with
solid joints and alternate leaves originating at each joint,
surrounding the stem at their base and forming a sheath
upwards of greater or less extent; and the flowers and seed are
protected with a firm straw-like covering, which is the chaff
in the grains and grass seeds, and the husk in Indian corn.
They yield large proportions of sugar, starch and fatty mat-
ter, besides those peculiarly animal products, albumen and
fibrine, not only in the seeds, but also and especially before
the latter are fully matured, in the stems, joints and leaves.
These qualities give to them the great value which they
possess in agriculture.
Of the grasses cultivated for the use of animals in England,
there are said to be no less than 200 varieties ; while in the
occupied portion of this country, embracing an indefinitely
THE GRASSES, MEADOWS, ETC. 86
greater variety of latitude, climate and situation, we hardly
cultivate twenty. The number and excellence of our natu-
ral grosses are probably unsurpassed in any quarter of the
globe, for a similar extent of country; but this is a depart-
ment of our natural history hitherto but partially explored,
and we are left mostly to conjecture as to their numbers and
comparative quality. From the health and thrift of the
wild animals, the bulTalo, deer, dec, as well as the rapid
growth and fine condition of our domestic animals when
permitted to range over the prairies, or through the natural
marshes and woods in every season of the year, even during
the severe and protracted winters in latitude 44" north,* the
superior richness and enduringness of our natural grasses,
may be inferred. We shall limit ourselves mostly to those
whicii have been introduced, and successfully cultivated in
this country.
Timothy, Cat's Tail or Herd's grass (Phleum pra-
tense.) — We are. inclined to place the Timothy first in the
list of the grasses. It is indigenous to this country and
flourishes in all soils except such as are wet, too light, dry
or sandy, and is found in perfection on the rich clays and
clay loams which lie between 40'' and 44" north latitude. It
is a perennial, easy of cultivation, hardy and of luxuriant
growth, and on its favorite soil, yields from 1 1 to 2 tons of hay
per acre at one cutting. Sinclair estimates its value for hay
when in seed to be double that cut in flower. From its
increased value when ripe it is cut late, and in consequence
of the exhaustion from maturing its seed, it produces but
little aftermath or rowen. It vegetates early in the spring,
and when pastured, yields abundantly throughout the season.
Both the grass and hay are highly relished by cattle, sheep
and horses ; and its nutritive quality, in the opinion of prac-
tical men, stands decidedly before any other. It is also a
valuable crop for seed, an acre of prime grass yielding from
* The writer lias scon large droves of the French and Indian ponies come into
the settlements about Green Bay and the Fox river in Wisconsin, in the spring, in
ijood working condition, after wintering on the natural grasses of that region. The
pony grass may perhaps be mentioned as one of the principal of the winter grasses
in that region. It grows in close, thick, elevated tufts, and continues green all
winter, and is easily detected by animals under the snow, by the little hummocks
which everywhere indent its surface. The wild rice which lines the still, shallow
writers of the streams and stnall inland lakes of many of the Western States, atibrds
nutritious forage when preen or if early cut and dried; and the grain which is pro-
duced in>great profusion is an exhaustless store to the Indiana who push into the
thickest of it, and bending over the ripe heads, with two or three strokes of the
paddle on the dry stalks, rattle the grain into their light canoes. The wild ducks,
geese and swans which yet frequent those waters, fatten on this grain throughout
the fall and winter.
86 AMERICAN AGRICULTURE.
15 to 25 bushels of clean seed, which is usually worth in
the market from $1.25 to 112.00 per bushel, and the stalks
and chaff that remain make a useful fodder for most kinds
of stock. It may be sown on wheat or j've in August or
September or in the spring. When sown alone or with
other grasses early in the season on a rich soil, it will pro-
duce a good crop the same year. From its late ripening it
is not advantageously mixed with clover unless upon heavy
clays which hold back the clover. We have tried it with
the northern or mammoth clover on clay, and found the
latter though mostly in full blossom, still pushing out new
branches and buds when the former was fit to cut. The
quantity of seed required per acre depends something on the
soil and its condition. Eight quarts on a fine mellow tilth
is sufficient, and is equal to 16 on a stiff clay.
The Tall Fescue {Festuca elatior) would appear by the
Woburn experiments to yield more nutritive matter per acre
when cut in flower than any other grass cut either in flower
or seed. This is a native of the United States, and is best
suited to a rich loam. It is not extensively cultivated in
this country.
Meadow Fescue {Festuca pratensis) likes a boggy soil,
bears well and produces an early grass much relished by
cattle, either green or cured as hay.
Spiked Fescue (F, loleacea) is adapted to a rich loam,
and produces the best of hay and pasture.
The Purple Fescue {F. rubra;) Sheep's Fescue {F.
ovina ;) The Hard Fescue (F. durinscula ;) The Float-
ing Fescue (F, Jluilans,) are all indigenous to this country,
and good pasture grasses.
Orchard or Cock's Foot Grass {Daciylis glomeraia)
is indigenous, and for good arable soils and especially for
such as are shaded, it is one of the most profitable grasses
grown. It should be cut for hay before it is ripe, as in seed-
ing it becomes coarse and hard and is less acceptable to
cattle. It is ready lor the scythe with the clover, and after
cutting, it immediately springs up nnJ furnishes several
crops of hay or constant pasturage throughout the season.
It should be fed closely to secure a tenrier succulent herbage.
The seed is remarkably light, weighing only 12 or 15 lbs.
ber bushel. Twenty to thirty lbs. are usually sown upon
one acre ; yet ten lbs, on finely prepared soils have been
THE GHASSES, MEADOWS, ETC. 87
known to produce a good sod over the entire ground. It
flourishes from Maine to Georgia.
Smooth Stalked, Meadow, Green, Spear or June
Grass, tlie (erroneously'cnlled) Blue Grass op Kentucky
(Poa p?'afensis) is highly esteemed for hay and pasture. It
is indigenous and abounds through tiie country, but does not
appear to reach perfection north of the valley of the Ohio.
It is seen in its glory in Kentucky and Tennessee. The
seed ripens in June and falls upon the ground, where the
succeeding rains give it vitality and it pushes out its long,
rich slender leaves, two feet in height which in autumn fall
over in thick windrows, matting the whole surface with
lucious herbage. Upon these fields which have been care-
fully protected till the other forage is exhausted, the cattle
are turned and fatten through the winter. It maintains its
freshness and nutritive properties in spite of frost and the
cattle easily reach it through the light snows which fall in
that climate. A warm, dry calcareous soil seems to be its
natural element, and it flourishes only in a rich upland.
The Roughish Meadow Grass (Poa trivialis) has much
the • ppearance o^ Xhe poa 'pratensis^ but its stalk feels rough
to the touch while the other is smooth. It has the fufther
difl^erence of preferring moist or wet loams or clay. It yields
well and affords good hay and pasture.
'JALL Oat Grass {Avena elatior) is an early luxuriant
grass growing to the height sometimes of five feet. It
makes guod hay but is better suited to pasture. It flour-
ishes in a loam or clay soil.
Meadow Fox Tail (Alopecunis praiensis) is a highly
esteemed grass in England both for meadows and pasture.
It grows early and abundantly, and gives a large quantity of
aftermath. It is best suited to a moist soil, bog, clay or
loaih. It is indigenous to the middle states.
Perennial Rye Grass {Lolium perenne) and Biennial
and Italian ditto, are all grasses highly esteemed in
Europe, but repeated trials in this country have given no
satisfactory results. They yield indiflferenlly with us, and
easily winter kill. Careful cultivation under favorable cir-
cumstances, may yet acclimate and render them useful
grasses.
FiORiN Grass (Agrostis stolonifera) has been much lauded
in England of late, but has madfe little progress in the esti-
mation of American farmers, and probably with sufficient
88 AMERICAN AGRICULTURE.
reason. It is a diminutive grass, affording considerable
nutriment in a condensed form, and is adapted to a winter
pasture. It grows on a moist clay or boggy soil Several
of the florin family abound in this country, among which is
the squitch, couch or quick grass.
The sweet scented Vernal Grass {Antlioxanlhum odo-
ratum,) is an early valuable pasture grass, which exhales that
delightful perfume, so characteristic of much of the eastern
meadow hay. It is a late as w^ell as early grass and luxuri-
ates in a dry sandy loam. It affords two and sometimes three
crops in a single season.
Red top, Herds Grass, Foul Meadow, or Fine Bent
(agrostis vulgaris,) is a hardy luxuriant grass, loving a very
moist soil, and somewhat indifferent as to its texture. The
scale of its nutritive properties is put down in the Woburn
experiments at a remarkably low rate, being less than one
fourteenth of the value per acre of timothy in the seed. We
think there must be an error in this estimate, as it grows lux-
riantly under favorable circumstances and is relished by cat-
tle ; but by observing farmers it is seldom cultivated where
the better grasses will grow.
Upright Bent Grass, Herds Grass or Foul Meadow
(Agrostis siricta) is similar to the foregoing, and by some is
deemed only a variety.
Flat Stalked Meadow or Blue Gha&s {Poa compressa)
is an early dwarfish grass, which abounds in the middle and
northern states. It is tenacious of its foothold wherever it
intrudes. It possesses little merit as hay, but is valuable for
pasture affording as it does a close covering to the ground
and yielding much in a small compass.
American or Swamp Cook's Foot {Dactylis cynosuroi-
des) is an indigenous swamp grass, yielding a large amount
of grass or hay of inferior quality.
Ribbon Grass (Phalaris Americana) is the beautiful stri-
ped grass occasionally used for garden borders. It has been
highly recommended for swamps, where it ^ is alleged
that by transplanting, it supesrsedes all other grasses,
and affords a fine quality of hay of an appearance quite dif-
ferent from the upland growth. The waiter tried several ex-
periments both with the seed and roots, on a clay marsh
without success. Its proper pabulum is probably a carbona-
ceous soil, such as is found in an alluvial swamp or peat bed.
Gama Grass, ( Tripsacum dactyloides,) is found growing
spontaneously on a naked sand beach in Stratford, Ct. and in
THE GRASSES, MEADOWS, ETC. 89
other places on our eastern coasts. It has occasionally been
much lauded, but is a coarse rough' grass at the north, and
seems not to be highly prized at the south. We have the
opinion of some intelligent men in the latter section, that it
is utterly worthless for any stock.
Bermuda Grass. — This is considered by Mr. Spalding of
Georgia, who examined them both critically from specimens
which he raised together, as the Douh grass of India, so
much commended by Sir William Jones, and so highly
prized by the Brahmins. It is by the agriculturists of the
south deemed an invaluable grass, yielding 4 or 5 tons per
acre on good meadow. Mr. Affleck of Mississippi states the
yield of 3 cuttings at '^.^ to 8 tons per acre on conmion mead-
ow, that it loses just 50 per cent, of its weight in drying, and
is consequently the hardest grass to cut. It is the most nu-
tritive grass known, and to the river planter it is invaluable.
There is not a levee on the banks of the Mississippi which
could resist for an hour the pressure and attrition of its fear-
ful flood but for their being bound together by this grass."
It loves a warm and moist, but not wet soil.
Grama {''^la grama^^^ or the "grass of grasses,") is held in^
the highest estimation by the Mexicans. It attains a medi-
um height, and is deemed the most nutritious of the natural
grasses in our south western frontier prairies, in California
and parts of Mexico. It grows on dry, hard, gravelly soils, on
side hills, the swells of the prairies, and the gentle elevations
in the vallies. The principal value is found in the numerous
seeds, which are retahied in the pods with great tenacity
long after they are ripe, serving as a luxurious food for all
the graniverous beasts and fowls of the western region. —
(Dr. Lyman.)
The Buffalo Grass is found intermixed with the Grama,
and seldom grows more than a few inches in height. It
forms a thick soft herbage, on which the traveller walks with
ease, and reposes when weary, with delight. It yields a
rich sustenace to countless herds of wild cattle, buftaloes,
deer, antelopes^ dec.
ToRMLLo OR Screw Grass. — This grows in great profu-
sion in the region of the two last grasses, but is most con-
spicuous on the table lands, and between the rivers and
creeks, the tall grass of the lower levels giving place to it as
the surface ascends. It is taller than the buflalo, with broad-
er leaves. It bears a seed stock 8 or 10 inches, surrounded
by a spiral shaped pod an inch long and one fourth of an inch
90 AMERICAN AGRICULTURE.
diameter, which contains 10 or 12 round flattened seeds. — <
The herbage is not relished by animals, but the ripened
seeds yield a food of' great richness, on which innumerable
herds of wild cattle fatten tor slaughter. Horses, mules and
most other animals and fowls subsist upon it. — {Dr. Lyman.)
The Prairie Grasses are found abundantly in the western
prairies and afford largo supplies of nutritious food both as
pasturage and hay. As a general rule however, they are
coarse, and easily injured by the early frosts of autumn. Some
of the leguminosae, or wild pea vines, which are frequently
found among them, yield the richest herbage. We are not
aware that any of these grasses have been cultivated with
success.
Tussac Grass (Dactylis cesjyitosa) is a luxuriant salt
marsh grass, growing in large tufts, and is found in perfection
on its native soil, the Falkland islands, between 51" and 52°
south, and about 8" east of the straits of Magellan. Capt.
Ross describes it as "the gold and glory of those islands. —
Every animal feeds upon it with avidity, and fattens in a
short time. The blades are about 6 feet long and from 200
to 300 shoots spring from a single plant. About 4 inches of
the root eats like the mountain cabbage. It loves a rank wet
peat bog with the sea spray over it." Governor Hood of
those islands says, " to cultivate the tussac, I would recom-
mend that the seed be sown in patches, just below the surface
of the ground, and at distances of about two feet apart, and
afterwards weeded out, as it grows very luxuriantly, and to
the height of six or seven feet. It should not be grazed, but
reaped or cut in bundles. If cut, it quickly shoots up : but is
injured by grazing, particularly by pigs, who tear it up to get
at the sweet nutty root."
Arundo Grass, (Arundo alopecurus.) — Mr. Hooker from
the same islands says, " another grass, however, far more' abun-
dant and universally distributed over the whole country,
scarcely yields in its nutritious qualities to the tussac ; 1
mean the Arundo Alopecurus, which covers every peat bog
with a dense and rich clothing of green in summer, and a
pale yelloAv good hay in the winter season. This hay,
though formed by nature without being mown and dried,
keeps those cattle which have not access to the former grass
in excellent condition. No bog, however rank, seems too
bad for this plant to luxuriate in ; and as we remarked du-
ring our survey of Port William, although the soil on the
quartz districts was very unproliiic in many good grasses
THE GRASSES, MEADOWS, ETC. 91
whicli rtourish on the clay slate, and generally speaking, of
the wori>t description, still the Arundo did not appear to feel
the change ; nor did the cattle fail to eat down large tracts of
this pasturage."
We have purposely devoted some space to the description
of such new grasses as are indigenous to this continent, and
which hy their superior value in their native localities would
seem to commend themselves to a thorough trial in similar
situations elsewhere. There are doubtless others of great
merit, which experiment hereafler, will demonstrate to be of
singular l)enetit to the American farmer. The subject of
grasses has betMi but slightly investigated in this country in
comparison with its immense importance ; and for this rea-
son, with few exceptions, we are at a loss for the true value
of the foreign and indigenous grasses to American husbandry.
As an instance of the want of a well established character
to some of our cultivated grasses, we quote the opinions of
Dr. Muhlenburgh of Pa., who has written ably on the subject,
and the late John Taylor, a distinguished agriculturist of
Virginia, both of whom place the tall oat grass {Avena elatior)
at the head of the grasses ; yet from the investigations made
at Woburn it appears among the poorest in the amount of nu-
tritive matter yielded per acre. Dr. Darlington, also of Penn-
sylvania, does not mention it but gives the following as com-
prehending " those species which are considered of chief value
in our meadows and pastures, naming them in what I consi-
der the order of their excellence. 1. Meadow or green grass,
(Poa praiensis.) 2. Timothy, {PWeum 'pratense.) 3. Orchard
grass, {Dactylis glomerala.) 4. Meadow fescue, (Festuca
praiensis.) 5. Blue grass, (Po« C077ij9re5*a.) 6. Ray grass,
{Loliiim perenne,) 7. Red toi^,(Agrostis vulgaris.) 8. Sweet
scented vernal grass, {AnfJioxanthum odoratum.^^)
The sweet scented, soft grass, or holy grass, (IIolcus odo-
raius,) according to the Woburn table is next to the tall fiscue
and timothy in point of nutritive matter to the acre, when cut
in seed, and it is placed as far in advance of all others in the
value of its aftermath ; yet scarcely any other authority men-
tions it with commendation. Without relying on these ex-
periments as an unerring guide for the American farmer, we
append the table on the two following pages, as the fullest
and most correct we have on the subject, and as affording a
useful reference to some of the leading and most valuable of
the English grasses, niost of which are more or less cuUiva-
ted in this country.
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94 AMERICAN AGRICUITURE.
Sowing Grass Seeds. — As a general rule grass seeds do
best when sown early in the spring, on a fine tilth or mellow
soil. If this is done while the frost is leaving the ground,
no harrowing will be necessary, as the spring rains M^ash
the seed into the honey-comb left by the frost, and secure to
it an early germination. They are also successfully sown
in August or September, when the fall rains will generally
give them sufficient gro\vth to withstand the eifects of the
succeeding winter, if the land be free from standing or sur-
face water. It has recently been the practice of many judi-
cious farmers, to renovate their old worn out meadows, by
giving them a coating of unfermented manure, and then turn
the sod completely over. On the surface thus plowed, a
dressing of well rotted manure or compost with ashes, is
spread and thoroughly harrowed lengthwise of the furrows.
The seed is then sown and slightly harrowed in, and the
decomposing manure and the stubble and roots of the sod
give an immediate and luxuriant growth. Grain may occupy
the land with the grass seed ; but if the latter be sown alone
and sufficiently thick, the young plants will exclude the weeds
and occupy the soil as profitably as can be done with the
grain. There is usually a great deficiency of grass seed
sown when permanent meadows or pastures are required.
The English method is to mix together and sow on a single
acre, without any grain, 4 or 5 bushels of various seeds
which are the best adapted to the purpose. A quick and
full growth rapidly covers the surface with a rich herbage,
surpassing in value that of the best natural pastm-es or
meadows.
Lands that should be kept in perpetual grass,
are such as are frequently under vrater, as salt and fresh
water meadows ; such as are liable to ovcrllow, as the rich
bottom or interval lands upon a river bank ; lieavy tena-
cious clays and mountain or steep hill side land, which is
peculiarly liable to w^sh from rains. The low bottom lands
generally receive one or more annual dressings from the over-
flowing waters. The fertilizing matters thus deposited are
converted into hay, and become a reliable source for increas-
ing the muck heap for other parts of the farm without deman-
ding any thing in return. The thick sward of nutricious
grasses which nature has so lavishly supplied to them, is an
effectual protection against abrasion and waste from the
overflowing water, while the crop if at any time submerged,
can receive comparatively little injury. If plowed and the
THE GRASSES, MEADOWS, ETC. 96
fine loose earth is exposed to a sweeping current, much of the
soil and all the crop may be lost.
Strong clay lands cannot be properly worked without much
labor, unless when under drained and well filled with manure;
and they seldom exist in the former condition in this country.
Yet these soils next to the fertile, self sustaining bottom
lands, are the most profitable for the various grasses. When
put into this crop, after first clearing off the native growth
of wood, the fine vegetable mold at the surface, aided by
the magazine of supplies contained in the clay below, gives
to them the most certain and permanent growth. When
once plowed this mold is turned under and the intractable
clay takes its place on the surface; which, lacking those pecu-
liarities of color, texture and chemical composition, we have
before shown are essential to the most successful vegetation,
the grass is thin and comparatively unproductive for years.
When necessary to break up such lands, they should be
thoroughly manured, evenly laid down, and heavily seeded to
grass ; and if any deficiency of seed or growth is manifested
they should receive an addition of seed with a compost
dressing.
The injury to plowing steep side hills is sufficiently apparent,
as not only the soluble matters, but many of the finer particles
of the soil are washed out and carried far beyond reach.
Such lands should be kept in permanent pasture if not suita-
ble for mowing. It fed off' by sheep, they drop most of
their manure on the higher points which is partially washed
down and sustains the fertility of every part. There is
still another class of lands that should not be broken up for
meadows. These are such as are filled with small stones
from the surface of which they have been cleared, but which
plowing and harrowing will again bring to it and there leave
a perpetual annoyance to the mower.
The means of renovating permanent Meadows and
Pastures. — The general theory adopted in regard to pas-
ture lands, is that they are manured suflficiently by the animals
feeding on them. This opinion is only partially correct.
Pastures wear out less than other lands, but when milch cows
and working animals are fed upon theni? they carry off'much
of the produce of the soil which is never again returned to it.
Even the wool and carcass of sheep with the ordinary escape
of the salts by the washing of the rains, will after a long
time, impoverish the land. How much more rapidly when
much of the manure and all the milk, which is rich in all
96 AMERICAN AGRICULTURE.
the elements of plants, is daily carried from the soil. To
such an extent have the permanent clay pastures of Cheshire,
(in England,) been impoverished, that it has been found
necessary to manure them with crushed bones, Avhich at
once brought up their value more than 100 per cent. There
is much phosphate of lime in milk, and bones which are
mostly of the same material, are the best manure that could
be used for dairy pastures. Wool contains a large proportion
of sulphur, and sulphate of lime (gypsum) becomes a proper
manure for sheep pastures ; but vi'hatever has a tendency to
develop vegetation, will generally accomplish the object by
yielding all the needful properties. Ashes and salt are of
the highest value for pasture lands, and with the addition in
some instances, of Irme, bones and gypsum, arc all that
would ever be necessary for permanent pastiu-es. From the
peculiar action of these, instead of growing poorer, 'pastures
may become richer through every successive year.
Permanent meadow lands if constantly cropped witlwut
manures, may he exhausted with much greater i-apidity than
pastures though this depreciation is much more gradual than
with tillage lands. There is no greater mistake than to
suppose they will keep in condition by taking off one annual
crop only, and either pasturing the aftermath or leaving it to
decay on the ground. By recurring to the table of the ash
of plants, page 32, it will be seen that the analysis of hay
there given shows over 5 per cent., while dried clover yields
from 7 to 9 per cent, of earthy matter. Every particle of
this is essential to the success of the plant, and yet if the
land produces at the rate of 3 tons p6r acre, they are taken
off to the amount of upwards of 300 llis per annum. No
soils but such as are periodically flooded with enriching
waters, can long suffer such a drain with impunity. They
must he renewed with the proper manu7'es, or barrenness
will ensue. Ashes, lime, bones, and gypsum, (the latter
especially to to be applied to clovers, its good eflects not
being so marked on the grasses,) are essential to maintain
fertility, and to insure the greatest product, animal or vege-
table manures must also be added. The proper manner of
applying manure, is by mixing in a compost and scattering it
over the surface when the grass is just commencing a vigor-
ous growth in spring, or simultaneously with the first rains'
after mowing. The growing vegetation soon buries the
manure under its thick foliage, and the refreshing showers
wash its soluble matters into the roots ; and even the gases
THE GRASSES, MEADOWS, ETC. 97
thai would otherwise escape, are immediatclj absorbed by
the dense leaves and stalks which every where surround it.
The loss of manure is trifling even in a state of active
decomposition, when scattered broadcast under such circum-
stances.
Pasturing Meadows. — There is no objection to feeding oft'
meadows in early autumn, while the ground is dry and the
sod firm. The roots of the grass are rather beneiitted than
injured by the browsing and the land is improved by the drop-
pings from the cattle. But they should never ijc pastured in
spring. It is economy to purchase hay at any price rather
than to spring-pasture meadows.
Rotation on grass lands. — Most soils admit of a profi-
ta})lo rotation or change of crops, and wheie this is the case
it is generally better to allow grasses to make up one of the
items in this rotation. Where these are snccessfully grown
in permanent meadows, this change or breaking up is less
to be sought on their own account than for the other erops,
which do better for having a rich fresh turf to revel in. Thus
potatoes are sounder, better and yield more on turf than on
old plowed ground ; and the grain crops are generally more
certain and abundant than on other lands. But there are
many of the light soils which retain the grasses only for
a short time. These should be placed in a rotation which
never assigns more than two years to gras«.
Time for cutting grass. — This must depend on the
kind of grass. We have seen that Timothy afTords nearly
double the quantity of nutriment in seed than it does in
flower, and it is then much more relished by stock. Timo-
thy therefore should never be cut except when the seed is
formed. The proper time is when it is between the milk
and dough state, and will nearly ripen alter cutting. Orchard
grass on the other hand, although it possesses two-sevenths
more nutritive value for hay in the seed, yet as it is more
tender, and preferred by stock when cut in flower, and as it
continues to grow rapidly afterwards, should be always
cut at that time.
Curing Grass. — Many farmers do not consider the scorch-
ing effects of our cloudless July suns, and the consequence is
that hay is too much dried in this country. Unless the crop
be very large, grass will generally cure sufl!iciently when
exposed in the swath for two days. When shook or stirred
out, it should not remain in this condition beyond the first
day, as it will lose much of its nutritive juices ; nor should
D
08 AMERICAN AGRICULTURE.
dew or rain be permitted to fall upon it unless iti cocks. It
is better after partially drying, to expose it for three or
four days in this way, and as soon as properly cured place it
under cover. It is a good practice to salt hay when put up,
as it is thus secured against damage from occasional green-
ness ; and there is no waste of the salt as it serves the double
object after curing the hay, of furnishing salt to the cattle and
the manure.rheap.
THE CLOVERS,
Sometimes improperly called grasses, are botanically ar-
ranged in the order, leguminoscB, under the same head with
the bean, pea, locust, vetches, &;c. More than 160 species
of clover have been detected by naturalists. Their properties
and characteristics are totally unlike the grasses, with which
they agree only in their contributing in a similar manner to
the support of farm stock. There are many varieties culti-
vated abroad, but the attention of farmers in this country has
been limited to a very few.
The CoMMor^f Red or Northern Clover, (Trifolium
pratense,) a biennial, and occasionally on calcareous soils, a
triennial, is the species most generally in use in the United
States. This is a hardy, easily cultivated variety, growing
luxuriantly on every properly drained soil of sufficient strength
to afford it nutriment. It has numerous strong well devel-
oped stems, branching outwardly and vertically from a single
seed, and bearing broad thick leaves which are surmounted
by a large reddish purple flower. By the analysis of Da,M.y
the whole plant yields an amount of nutritive matter fully
equal to any other of the clovers.
Mode of Cultivation, — Clover may be sown broadcast either
in August or September, or early in the spring, with most of
the cereal grains or the cultivated grasses ; or it may pro-
fitably constitute a crop by itself. The quantity of seed
required per acre depends on the kind of soil. On well pre-
pared loams 10 or 12 lbs. of good seed will frequently give
a full covering to the land, while on clay 12 to 16 lbs. arc
necessary per acre. When so"wn with the grasses, 4 to 6 lbs.
on the first, and 8 to 12 lbs. on the last soil will suffice. An
additional amount of seed, as with the grasses, will give a
finer quality of hay in consequence of multiplying the number
of stalks ; and for this purpose, as well as to insure it on every
spot of the field, it should always be liberally sown. The
covering, like that of grass seeds, should be of the slightest
r
THE GRASSES, MEADOWS, ETC. 99
kind ; and when sowi:; very early in the spring or on well
pulverized grciunds and followed by rains, it will germinate
freely without harrowing. After the leaves are developed
in the spring, nn application of gypsum should be made
by sowing broadcast, at the rate of one to three or tour bush-
els per acre. The ellect of this on clover is singularly great,
and it seems to be augmented by applying it on the leaves.
This may perhaps be accounted for in the fact, that besides
its other uses, gypsum yields a considerable proportion both
of its sulphuric acid and lime to the plant and thus consti-
tutes a direct food. The iniiuence of gypsum is almost
incredible in developing the clovers on fields where they
were hardly discernable before. This may be witnessed in
almost any soil where gypsum has any effect. By sowing
a quantity over thft grass })lat containing either the seeds or
plants of the clover, however thin or meagre they may be,
an immediate and luxuriant growth distinguishes the spot
which has received it, from all the surrounding field. Bones
are invaluable manure for the clovers. The table of the
ashes shows the great quantity of lime and phosphoric acid
(the leading elements of bones) which the clovers contain in
comparison with the rye grass which is a type of the other
grasses. Thus I he red clover has about ibur times as much
lime, twenty-six times as much phosphoric acid, more soda
and sulphuric acid, and nearly twice and a half as much
potash as the grass. The white clover has about four times
the potash ; the lucern nearly seven times tlie lime, and
fifty-two times the sulphuric acid contained in the grass.
Such are the various demands of plants and the necessity
of providing each with its specific food. And hence the
advantage of cultivating a variety of grasses and clover on
the same spot. Each, it is true, draws its nutriment from
the same elements, but in such unlike proportions that when
they cease to yield adequate supj)ort to one the soil may still
be rich in those which will give luxuriant growth to others.
Thus two or more of the forage plants when growing toge-
ther may each yield a large crop, swelling the aggregate
product far beyond what would be realized in the separate
cultivation of either. This is one of the instances, and it is
sufficiently satisfactory, of the utility of good husbandry in
the cultivation of the mixed grasses and foryge.
Time for ciUting and mode of curing Clover, — Clover should
be cut after having fully blossomed and assumed a brownish
100 AMERICAN AGRICULTURE.
hue. By close cutting more forage is secured and the clo-
ver afterwards springs up more rapidly and evenly. The
swath, unless very heavy, ought never to be stirred open
but allowed to wilt on the top. It may then be carefully
turned over and when thus partially cured, placed in high
slender cocks and remain till sufficiently dry to remove into
the barn. The clover may be housed in a much greener
state by spreading evenly over it in the mow from 10 to 20
quarts of salt per ton. Some add a bushel but this is more
than is either necessary or judicious for the stock consum-
ing it, as the purgative effects of too much salt induce a
wasteful consumption of the forage. A mixture of alternate
layers of dry straw with the clover, by absorbing its juices
answers the same purpose, while it materially in)proves the
flavor of the straw for fodder.
After -management of clover fidds. — The second crop of
clover may be either saved for seed, mown, pastured, or
turned under for manure. As this is usually a biennial
when allowed to ripen, the stocks die off after the second
year, unless its seeding has been prevented, and the crop is
only partially sustained by the seed which may have ger-
minated the second year from the first sowing, or from
such as has been shed upon the surface from the seed ma-
tured on the ground. The maximum benefit derivable to
the soil in the manure of the stubble and roots is attained the
second year, as we have seen that the dried roots of the clo-
ver at that time are in the proportion of 56 for every 100
lbs, of clover hay produced from them in two years. But
the ground is then so full of the roots as to check further
accumulation. This then is the proper time for plowing up
the field and renewing again its accustomed round of crops.
If desirable, the clover may be imperfectly sustained on
some soils for a iew years by the addition of gypsum, bone-
dust, ashes and otlier manures, which will develop and
mature the ripened seeds, but the greater tenacity of other
plants and grasses, will soon reduce il to a minor product in
the field.
Importance of the Clovers. — The great value of the diffe-
rent clovers as forage was well known to the ancients.
They were largely cultivated by the early Romans, and
since that period, they have been extended throughout a
large part of Europe. They were not introduced into Great
Britain till the 16th century, but have since constituted a
I
I
THE OR ASSES, MEAPOWS,, 15^% lOl
profilable branch of its husbandry. Their impoitance has
long been acknowledged in the United States. The nutri-
, tive matter, although relatively less than from some of the
grasses, is yet in the amount per acre, fully equal to the
average of any other forage crop which is produced at the
same expense. It is early and cheaply raised, it is liable to
few or no casualties or insect enemies in this country, and
its long tap roots are powerful auxiliaries in the division
and improvement of soils. Its broad, succulent leaves de-
rive a large portion of their nutriment from the atmosphere,
and thus while it aflbrds a product equal to the best grasses,
it draws a large part of it from the common store house of
nature without subjecting the farmer to the expense of pro-
viding it in his manures.
It is as a l^ertilizer however, that it is so decidedly superior
to other crops. In addition to the advantages before enu-
merated, the facility and economy of its cultivation, the
great amount yielded, and lastly the convenient form it offers
for covering with the plow, contribute to place it far above
any other vegetable. All the grains and roots do well after
clover, and wheat especially which follows it, is more gene-
rally free from disease than when sown with any other
manure. The introduction of clover and lime in con-
nexion, has carried up the price of many extensive tracts of
land from -$10 to $50 per acre, and has enabled the occu-
pant to raise large crops of wheat where he could get only
small crops of rye ; and it has frequently increased his crop
of wheat three-fold where he had before produced it.
It is a common observation of intelligent farmers, that
they are never at a loss to renovate such lands as will pro-
duce even a moderate crop of clover. Poor clay lands
not capable of bearing it, have become so by sowing an early
and late crop of oats in the same season and feeding them
off on the ground. Poor sandy soils may be made to sustain
clover with manure, ashes and gypsum, combined with the
free use of the roller. This object is much facilitated* by
scattering dry straw over the surface, which affords shade,
increases the deposite of dew and prolongs its effects. When-
ever the period of clover-producing is attained, the improve-
ment of the soil may be pushed with a rapidity commensu-
rate with the inclination and means of the owner.
Harvesting clover seed may be done generally after
taking off one crop, or pasturing the field till June, or at
lo-:^
'AMrsrCAN AORTrrLTFRE.
such time as experience shows to he the proper one for
leaving it to mature a full crop of seed. Early mowing
removes the first weeds, and the second growth of the clo-
ver is so rapid as to smother them and prevent their seeding,
and the clover is thus saved comparatively clean. It is then
mown and raked into very small cocks, and when dried at
the top they are turned completely over without breaking,
and as soon as thoroughly dried they may may be carried
to the tlireshing floor and the seeds beaten out with sticks,
light flails, or with a threshing machine. An instrument
with closely set teeth and drawn by a horse is sometimes
used for collecting the clover heads from the standing stalks
from which the seed is afterwards separated. If wanted for
use on the farm, these heads are sometimes sown without
threshing. The calyx of the clovers is so firmly attached
to the seed as to be removed with difficulty, but if thrown
into a heap after threshing and gently pressed together a
slight fermentation takes place and the seed is afterwards
readily cleaned. A fan or clover machine may be used for
cleaning the seed for market. The produce is from three
to six bushels per acre which is worth to the farmer from
$3 to $5 per bushel of 60 lbs.
Southern Clover (Trifolium medium) is a smaller spe-
cies than the T. pratense and matures ten or fourteen days
earlier, and the soil best suited to it is nearly similar. It
does better on a light thin soil than the larger northern and
should be sown thicker. Strong clay or rich loamy soils
will produoe much heavier crops of the larger kind. Expe-
rience alone will determine which of these kinds should be
adopted under all the circumstances of soil, fertility, &c.
White Creeping Clover (Trifolium repetis.) — There
are several varieties of white clover all of which are hardy,
nutritious and self-propagating. Wherever they have once
been, the ground becomes filled with the seed which spring
up whenever an opportunity is afforded them for growth.
They are peculiarly partial to clay lands having a rich
vegetable mould on the surface, and the addition of gypsum
will at all times give them great luxuriance. Their dwarf
character renders them unfit for the scythe, while the dense
matted mass of sweet rich food ever growing and ever
abundant, makes them most valuable for pasture herbage.
The Yellow Clover, Hop Trefoil or Shamrock (Tri-
folium procumhens) like the white, is of spontaneous growth,
k
THK GRASSES, MEADOWS, ETC. 103
very liardy and prolific. It bears a yellow flower and black
seeds. It is one ot* those unostentatious plants, which though
never sown and little heeded, help to make up that useful
variety which gives value and permanence to our best
pasture lands.
Many other op the minute Clovers and LEOUMfNOs^B,
THE VViLn Pea, &;c., abound in our untilled lands and add
much to the value of the forage, althougli their merits and
even their existence are scarcely known.
Crimson or Scarlet Clover {Trifolium incarnatum) is
a native of Italy and much cultivated in France. It bears
a long head of bright scarlet flowers, and in southern Europe
is a profitable crop. Although it was introduced into this
country many years since it has not hitherto commended
itself to particular attention as an object of agriculture.
Locern {Medicago saiiva) is one of the most productive
plants for forage ever cultivated. It was extensively cultiva-
ted by the Greeks, and other nations of antiquity for many cen-
turies, and it has been a prominent object of attention in Ita-
ly, Spain, France, Holland and Flanders. Its relative value
as compared with clover (T. prcUense,) is decidedly inferior,
while its absolutle value per acre, is much greater. It was
early introduced into this country. Chancellor Livingston
published his experiments with it in 1791 to '94, by which he
estimates that he cut in one season, at the rate of 6 1-5 tons
per acre in five cuttings, yielding a profit of over $35 an acre.
It bears from three to five crops per annum, containing from
three to eight tons of hay. Those who have cultivated it pro-
nounce it hardy and as capable of successful growth in this
country as clover, but to reach the highest product, it requires
a richness of soil and carefulness of cultivation, which would
give an enormous produce to its more humble rival.
Manner of Cultivation. — It must have a deep, dry, loamy
soil, free from weeds, and well filled with manure. A suita-
ble crop to precede it is corn or potatoes, heavily manured
and kept clean. Plow in the fall, and add 40 bushels crush-
ed bones per acre ; and early in April, harrow throughly, and
sow in drills from one to two and a half feet apart at the
rate of 8 or 10 lbs. seed per acre. Stir the ground and ex-
tirpate the weeds with the cultivator or horse and hand hoe.
It may be lightly cropped the first year, and more freely the
second, but it does not attain full maturity till the third. The
roots strike deep into the ground, and being a perennial, it
requires no renewal, except from the loss of the plants by
104 AMERICAN AGRICULTURE.
casualties. It should be cut before getting too heavy, and
cured like clover. Liquid manure is good for it, as are also
gypsum and ashes. Barn yard manure is occasionally neces-
sary, but to avoid weeds, it must be thoroghiy fermented to
destroy all the seeds. It is sometimes sown broad cast, but
the rapid progress of weeds, grass, &c. in the soil will soon
extirpate it if they are suffered to grow ; and there is no other
means of effectually eradicating them but by cultivating the
kicern in drills, and the hoe and cultivator can then keep the
weeds in subjection. It is one of the most valuable plants
for soiling. From the care and attention required, the culti-
vation of lucern is properly limited to an advanced slate of
agriculture and a dense population, where labor is cheap and
products high. In the neighborhood of large cities it may be
advantageously grown, and in all places where soiling is
] practiced.
Sain-foin [Hedysarum onobrychis,) the esparcette of the
French, is a native of the chalk soils of Europe and is adapt-
ed only to strong calcareous lands. On such it is a valuable
herbage, as the roots penets-ate to a great depth and yield
large burdens of nutritious fodder. Though often attempted,
we are not aware that it has been raised to any extent in this
country.
Bokhara or Sweet-s(;ented Clover {Melilotus major)
is a tall, shrub-like plant, growing to the height of .4 to G
feet with branches whose extremities bear numerous small
■white flowers of great fragrance. When full grown it is too
coarse f<:)r forage, but if thick and cut young it yields a pro-
fusion of greem or winter fodder. It should be sown in the
spring with about 2 lbs. of seed per acre, in drills 16 to 20
inches apart; it must*be kept clear of weeds and cultivated
like kicern. It requires a rich, mellow, loamy soil. There
are some other plants which might probably be introduced
into American husbandry for forage with decided advantage.
Among these is
Spurry (Spcrgiila m^ensis.) — It is a hardy plant which
grows spontaneously in the middle states. Its chief merit
consists in its growing on soils too thin to bear clover. On
such it can be judiciously used to bring them up to the clover
bearing point, from which they can be taken and carried for-
ward much more rapidly by the clovers. Van Voght says,
" it is better than red of white clover ; the cows give more
and better milk when fed on it, and it improves the land in an
extraordinary degree. If the land is to lie several years in
THE GRASSES, MEADOWS, ETC. 105
pasture white clover must be sown with it. When sown in
the middle of April it is ripe for pasture by the end of May.
If eaten o^f iu June, the land is turned flat and another crop
is sown which affords fine pasture in August and September.
This operation is equivalent to a dressing often loads of manure
per acre The blessing of spurry, the clover of sandy lands,
is incredible when rightly employed." Three crops can be
grown upon land in one season which if turned in or fed on
the ground, can be made a means of rapid improvement.
PASTURES.
It is too often the case, that pastures are neglected and
like woodlands are allowed to run to such vegetation as un-
assisted nature may dictate. As a necessary consequence,
their forage is frequently meagre and coarse and incapable
either in quantity or quality ot suppporting half the number
of cattle in poor condition, that might otherwise be full fed
from them. But if we consider that pastures furnish most of
the domestic stock with their only food for seven months of
the year at the north, and generally for ten months at the
south, they may well be deemed worthy the particular atten-
tion of the farmer.
Pastures ought to he properly divided ; and it is perhaps
a difficult point to determine between the advantge of small
ranges, and the expense and inconvenience of keeping up
numerous divisions. The latter requires a large outlay on
every farm, not only for the first cost of material and
annual repairs, but from the loss of land occupied by them ;
and they are further objectionable from their harboring
weeds and vermin. Yet it is beneficial to give animals a
change of feed, and the grass comes up evenly and grows un-
disturbed, if the cattle be removed for a while. There is a
further advantage in being able to favor some particular indi-
viduals or classes of animals. Thus fattening stock ought to
have the best feed ; milch cows and working animals the
next ; then young stock ; while sheep will thrive on shorter
feed than either and greedily consume most plants which
the others reject. By this means a field will be thoroughy
cleansed of all plants which animals will eat, and the remain-
der should be extirpated. The same care should be taken to
prevent the propagation of weeds in pastures as in other fields.
Many of these, mullen, thistle and the like, muUiply prodi-
giously from sufferance, and if unchecked will soon over-
spread the farm.
D*
106 AMERICAN AGRICULTURE.
Every pasture should if possible, be provided with running
^vater and shade trees, or other ample protection against a
summer's sun. The last can at all times be secured by a few
boards supported on a light, temporary frame. Excessive
heat exhausts and sometimes sickens animals, and conse-
quently it materially diminishes the effects of food in promo,
ting their secretion of milk, the growth of wool, flesh, &c.
Pastures ought to be protected against poaching in the spring
or late in the autumn. All grounds immediately after long
and late rains in the fall or the winter's frosts, are liable to
this when exposed to the hoofs of cattle, particularly clay
lands and such as have been recently seeded. On late, and
off early, is a good rule to be adopted for spring and fall
pasturing. Wherever the grasses disappear, fresh seeds
should be added and harrowed in ; mosses should be destroy,
ed ; they should be properly drained and every attention
paid to them that is bestowed on the mowing lands, except
that they seldom require manures. But ashes, gypsum,
lime, &c., may frequently be applied to them with great pro-
fit. Pas^tures should take their course in rotation when they
get bare of choice herbage or full of weeds and it is possible
to break them up advantageously. Though many choice, na-
tural forage plants may thus be destroyed, yet if again turned
into grass at the proper period and they are sown with a plen-
tiful stock of assorted grass seeds on a rich and well prepared
surface, they will soon place themselves in a productive state.
fiRAiN AND Its CULTIVATION. 107
CHAPTER VII.
GRAIN AND ITS CULTIVATION.
WHEAT (Triticum).
This is one of the most important and mo.st generally
cultivaled of the cereal grains, (or grasses as they are bo-
tanically termed,) though both rice and maize or Indian
corn, contribute lo the support of a larger population. It is
found in every latitude excepting those which approach too
nearly to the poles or equator, but it can be profitably raised
only within such as are strictly denominated temperate.
Linnfeus describes only six varieties, but later botanists enu-
merate about thirty, while of the sub-varieties there are sev-
eral hundred. The only division necessary for our present
purpose is of the winter wheat, (Triticum hyhurnvm) and
spring or smnmer wheat (Triticum (Bstivvm). The former
requires the action of frost to bring it to full maturity, and is
sown in Autumn. Germination before exposure to frost,
docs not however, seem absolutely essential to its success,
as fine crops have been raised from seed after having been
saturated with water and frozen for some weeks, and sown
early in spring. It has also been successfully raised when
sowed early in the season and while the frost yet occupied
the ground. Spring and winter wheat may be changed
from one to the other by sowing at the proper time through
successive seasons, and without material injury to their
character. The latter grain is by far the most productive,
the stiaw is stouter, the head more erect and full, the
grain plumper and heavier, and the price it bears in market,
from 8 to 15 per cent, higher than that of spring wheat.
This difference of price depends rather on the appearance
of the flour and its greater whiteness, than on any intrinsic
108 AMERICAN AGRICULTUKE,
deficiency in its substantial qualities. The analysis of Davy
gave in 100 parts of
IiisoluUlt;
Gluten. Staich, mattef.
Spring wheat of 1804, 24 70 «
Best Sicilian winter wheat, 21 74 5
Good English winter wheat of 1803 19 77 4
Blighted wheat of 1804 13 53 34
This analysis gives the greatest nutritive value to the spring
wheat, as the gluten constitutes the most important element
in flower, resembling so nearly as it does animalized matter.
It will also be noticed that the Silician yields about 2 per
cent more gluten than the English, which enables the flour
to absorb and retain a much larger proportion of water when
made into bread. This is what is termed by the bakers,
strength; and when gluten is present in large proportions,
other qualities being equal, it adds materially to the value of
flour. American wheat also contains more gluten than
English, and that from the southern states still more than
that from the Northern. An eminent baker of London
says, American flour will absorb from 8 to 14 per cent,
more of its own w^eight of water when manufactured into
bread or biscuit than their own ; and another reliable
authority asserts, that while 14 lbs of American flour will
make 21 i lbs of bread, the same quantity of English flour
will make only 18 i lbs. As a general rule, the drier or
hotter the climate in which the grain is raised, the greater is
the evaporation and the more condensed is the farina of the
grain, and consequently, the more moisture it is capable of
absorbing when again exposed to it. Certain varieties of
wheat possess this quality in a higher degree than others.
Some manures and some soils also give a difference with
the same seed, but for ordinary consumption, the market
value (which is the great consideration with the farmer,) is
highest for such wheat as gives the largest quantity of bright
flour, with a due proportion of gluten. Other prominent
difi^erences exist among the leading cultivated varieties of
wheat, such as the bearded and bald or beardless, the white
and rod chaff, those having large and strong stalks, or a
greater or a less tendency to tiller, or to send out new stems,
<Sz;c., &c. There is great room for selection in the several
varieties, to adapt them to the difterent soils, situations, and
climate for which they are designed.
Preparation of the Land for Sowing. — Wheat is
partial to a well-prepared clay or heavy loam, and this is
(illAIN AND ITS CtLTIVATlON. 109
Improved when it contains either naturally or artificially a
large [)roportioii of lime. Many light and all marly or cal-
eareou:> soils, if in proper condition, will give a good yield
of wheat. Lime is an important aid to the full and certain
growth of wheat, checking its exuberance of straw and its
liability to rust, and steadily aiding to fill out the grain. A
rich mellow turf or clover ley is a good bed for it ; or land
which ha?; been well manured and cleanly cultivated with
roots or corn the preceding yeai*. Fresh barn-yard manure
applied directly to the wheat crop, is objectionable, not only
from its containing many foreign seeds, but from its tendency
to excite a rapid growth of weak straw, thus causing the
grain both to lodge and rust. The same objection lies
against sowing it on rich alluvial or vegetable soils ; and in
each, the addition of lime or ashes, or both, will correct these
evils. A dressing of charcoal has in many instances, been
found an adequate preventive ; and so beneficial has it
proved in France, that it has been extensively introduced
there for the wheat crop. A successful example of uninter-
rupted cropping with wheat through several years, has been
furnished by a Maryland farmer, Avho used fresh barn-yard
manure with lime. But this is an exception not a rule, and
it will be found that profitable cultivation requires, that wheat
should take its place in a judicious rotation. The great pro-
portion of silica in the straw of cereal grains, (amounting in
wheat, barley, oats and rye, to about four-fifths of the total
of ash from the grain and straw,) shows the necessity of
having ample provision made fen* it in the soil, in a form
susceptible of ready assimilation by the plant. This is af-
forded both by ashes and from the action of lime upon the
soil.
Depth of soil is also indispensable to large crops. The
wheat plant has two sets of roots, the first springing from
the seed and penetrating downwards, while the second push
themselves laterally near the surface of the ground from the
first joint. They are thus enabled to extract their food from
every part of the soil, and the product will be found to be in
the ratio of its extent and fertility. Under-draining and
sub-soil plowing contribute greatly to the increase of crops,
and it is essential that any surface water be entirely removed.
Wheat on heavy clay lands are peculiarly liable to winter
kill unless they are well drained. This is owing to succes-
sive freezing and thawing, by which the roots are broken
or thrown out. When this is done to a degree that will
llO AMERICAN AGRirrLTURE.
materially diminish the crop, the naked spots may be sown
with spring wheat. Any considerable portion of the latter
will lessen the value Tor sale, but it is equally good ibr domes-
tic use. The land should be duly prepared ior the rece})tion
of the seed by early and thorough plowing, and harro\^ ing
if necessary.
Selection and Preparation of Seed. — Many persons
select their seed by casting or throwing the grain to some
distance on the floor, using only such as reaches the farthest.
This is a summary way of selecting the heaviest, plumpest
grain, which if Sprengel's theory be correct, is attended
with no advantage beyond that of separating it from the
lighter seeds of chess or weeds. It is certain that the utmost
care should be taken in removing every thing from it but
pure wheat, and this should be exclusively of the kind
required. When wheat is not thoroughly cleaned by casting,
a sieve or riddle should be used, or it should even be picked
over by hand, rather than sow anything but the pure seed.
Previous to sowing, a strong brine should be made of salt
and soft water, and in this the grain should be washed for
five minutes, taking care to skim off all light and foreign
seeds. If the grain be smutty this washing should be
repeated in another clean brine, when it may be taken
out and intimately mixed with one-twelfth its bulk of fresh
pulverized quick lime. This kills all smut, cleans out
weeds from the grain, and insures early rapid growth.
When the seed is not smutty, it may be prepared by soaking
or sprinkling it with stale urine and afterwards mix with the
lime ; and if well done this also will prevent smut though
the first is most certain. (See " varieties of seed " following
for further directions.)
Quantity of Seed and time of Sowing. — On well
pulverized, ordinary wheat soils, about 5 pecks of seed is
sown to the acre, while rough land, clay soils and such as
are very fertile, require from 6 to 8. In Maryland, but 3
pecks are frequently sown to the acre, and some of the best
crops have been raised from only 2 pecks of seed on a finely
pulverized soil. It takes more seed when full and plump
than when shrunken, as there may be nearly two of the lat-
ter to one of the former in the same measure. A difference
is to be observed according to the kind of wheat, some need-
ing more than others. A larger quantity of seed produces an
earlier growth of lighter straw and head, but does not usually
increase the aggregate crop. There is always a tendency
GRAIN AND ITS CrLTIVATtON. ill
in wheat and most of the cereal grasses to tiller or send out
new shoots for future stalks. This is a law of these plants*,
whicii compels them to make the greatest effort to cover the
whole ground, and sometimes a single seed will throw
out njore than 100 stalks. In early sowing, the wheat tillers
in the autumn ; in late sowing this is done in part only till
the ensuing spring. Thick sowing is a substitute for tiller-
ing to the extent that would otherwise be induced, and is
equivalent to earlier sowing of a smaller quantity. The time
for sowing in our Northern states is from the 10th to 20th
September. If sown earlier it is liable to attack from the
Hessian fly, and if later, it does not have time to root as well,
and is in more danger of being thrown out by the frost or of
winter killing. Late sowing is also more subject to rust the
following season from its later ripening.
Sowing. — When the ground has been well mellowed, the
seed may be sown broadcast and thoroughly harrowed in. ^
Rolling is a good practice as it presses the earth closely upon
the seed and facilitates germination, and as soon as the seed
is covered the water furrows should be cleaned out, and again
late in autumn and early in the following spring. In nor-
thern Europe it has been found a preventive against winter
killing on strong clays, to sow the wheat in the bottom of
each furrow 6 inches deep, and cover it with the succeeding
one. The wheat thus planted, comes up as soon as on the
lields sown broadcast and harrowed, grows more vigorously,
withstands the winters and produces large crops. Lightly
plowing in wheat is perhaps under any circumstances better
than harrowing, as the wheat is thereby all buried, and at a
more suitable depth than can be done by the harrow. The
roughness of the furrows when left without harrowing, is
advantageous in heavy or clay lands, and only injurious in
light or sandy.
After Culture. — Harrowing in the spring by loosening
the soil, adds to the growth of the crop, and the loss of the
few plants is much more than compensated by the rapid
tillering and vigor of those which remain. Sowing in drills
and hoeing between them is much practiced in Europe.
The additional amount thus frequently raised would seem to
justify the adoption of this mode of cultivation in this coun-
try; and it should at least be done so far as to give it a fair
trial. On light soils, rolling the wheat both in fall and
spring is highly advantageous. When the growth is luxu-
riant, decided benefit has attended feeding off the wheat on
112 AMERICAN AGRICULTURE.
the field in the fall or spring, taking care to permit the ani-
mals to go on only when the ground is firm.
Enemies of Wheat. — These are numerous. It is subject
to the attack of the Hessian Fly if sown too early in the
fall, and again the ensuing spring, there being two annual
swarms of the fly earl}^ in May and September. When thus
invaded, harrowing or rolling, by which the maggots or flies
are displaced or driven ofl' is the only remedy of much avail.
Occasionally other flies, and sometimes wheat worms com-
mit great depredations. There is no effectual remedy known
against any of these marauders, beyond rolling, i^rushing
and harrowing. Dusting the grain with lime, ashes and
soot, have been frequently tried, as have also the sprinkling
them with urine, dilute acids, dz;c.; and also by fumigating
them in the evening when the smoke creeps along through
the standing grain. For this last purpose a smouldering
%eap of damp brush, weeds, or chips, is placed on the wind-
ward side of the field, and its efficacy may be increased by
the addition of brimstone. Whenever obnoxious to these
attacks, the only safety is to place the crop in the best con-
dition to withstand them by hastening its growth, and by
the propagation of the most hardy varieties. An application
of unleached ashes in damp weather will sometimes dimin-
ish the ravages of worms at the root. Quck lime has the
same effect on all insects with which it comes in contact,
but it should be carefully applied to avoid injury to the
plants.
S?nut is a dark brown or blackish parasitic fungus, w^hich
grows upon the head and destroys the grain. The only rem-
edy for this, is washing in two or three successive strong
brines, and intimately mixing and coating the seed with
quick lime.
Rust affects the straw of w^heat while the grain is form-
ing and before it is fully matured. It is almost always pres-
ent in the field, but is not extensively injurious except in
muggy (close, showery and hot) weather. The straw then
bursts from the exuberance of the sap, which is seen to
exude, and a crust or iron colored rust is formed in longitu-
dinal ridges on the stalk. It is generally conceded that this
rust is a fungus or minute parasitic plant which subsists on
the sap ; but whether it be the cause or consequence of this
exudation is not fully determined. There is no remedy for
this when it appears, and the only mitigation of its effects,
is to cut and harvest the grain at once. The straw in this
GRAIN AND ITS CULTIVATION. Il3
case will bo saved, and frequently a tolerable crop of giain
which partially matures after cutting ; while if suffered to
stand, both straw and grain will be almost totally lost. The
only preventives experience has hitherto found, are the selec-
tion of hardy varieties of grain which partially resist the
ertccls of rust ; sowing on elevated lands where the air has a
free circulation ; the abundant use of saline manures, salt,
lime, gypsum, and charcoal ; the absence of recent animal
manures ; and early sowing which matures the plant before
the disease commences its attack.
Harvesting. — The grain should be cut immediately after
the lowest part of the stalk becomes yellow, while the grain
is yet in the dough state and is easily compressible between
the thumb and finger. Repeated experiments have demon-
strated that wheat cut then, will yield more in measure, of
heavier weight, and a larger quantity of sweet white flour.
If early cut, a longer time is required for curing before
threshing or storing.
Threshing is usually done among extensive farmers, with
some one of the large horse machines taken into the field.
The use of machines enables the farmer to raise some of the
choicest kinds of grain, whose propagation was limited before
their introduction, by the great difiiculty of separating the grain
from the head. He can also push his wheat into the market
at once if the price is high, which is frequently the case im-
mediately after harvest ; and they save all expense and trou-
ble of moving, storing, loss from shelling, and vermin, inte-
rest, insurance, 6lc. For the moderate farmer, a small, single
or double horse machine, or hand threshing in winter where
there is leisure for it, is more economical than the 6 or 8
horse thresher.
Mowing or stacking. — When stored in the straw, the
grain should be so placed as to prevent heating or molding.
This can only be avoided, unless very dry before carrying
into the barn, by laying it on scaffolds where there is a fi-ee
circulation of air around and partially through it. If placed
in a stack, it should be well elevated from the ground ; and if
the stacks arc large, a chimney of lattice or open work should
be left from the bottom running through the centre to the
top ; or a large bundle may be kept at the surface in the
centre, and drawn upwards as the stack rises, thus leaving
an opening from the bottom to the roof. Additional security
would be afforded by similar openings horizontally at suitable
intervals, so as to admit the air from one side to the other.
114
AMERICAN AGRICULTURE.
Mice and rats may be avoided by laying the foundation of the
stack on posts or stones elevated beyond their reach, and
covered at the top with projecting caps. Weevils sometimes
affect the grain after storing. These may be almost if not
wholly prevented by thorough cleanliness of the premises
where the grain is stored.
Tlie straw and chaff of wheat should never be wasted.
This is the most nutritious of the cereal straws, and yields
good fodder to cattle in time of scarcity, and is always valu-
able for this object when cut and mixed with meal or roots ;
and particularly when early harvested and well cured. Tur-
neps and straw are the only food of half the cattle and most of
the sheep throughout Great Britain, and nowhere do tliey
thrive more or better remunerate their owners than in that
country. It is of great use also as bedding for cattle, and as
an absorbent of animal and liquid manures. It furnishes in
itself the best manure for succeding grain crops ; containing
large proportions of the salts or ash required. When thresh-
ed on the fieldj and not wanted for cattle, it should be scat-
tered over the ground and either plowed in or suffered to de-
cay on the surface.
Varieties of seed. — Much depends on the judicious selec-
tion of seed. Some soils are peculiarly adapted to wheat grow-
ing, and on these should be sown the finest varieties, which
are generally of a more delicate character. Wheat on other
soils, is liable to many casualties, and on such only the har-
dier kinds should be propagated. Careful and repeated expe-
riments with different varieties of seeds, on each field or on
those which are similar, will alone determine their adaptation
to the soil. There are several choice varieties of winter
wheat in cultivation in the United States, some of which
stand higher in one, and some in another section. Some in
high repute abroad, have been introduced into this country
and proved to be valuable acquisitions, while others have
been found on trial, decidedly inferior to many of the long
adopted varieties. Experiment alone will enable the farmer
to decide as to their value for his own grounds, however
high they may stand elsewhere. When of a fine quality and
found to produce well on any given soils, their place should
not be usurped by others till repeated trials have shown their
superiority either in yield or quality. But when the acclima-
ted grain is inferior, other seed from remote distances, even
if no better in quality, may properly be substituted for it, as a
decided benefit has been found to follow an exchange.
ORiJ^IN AND ITS CULTIVATION. 115
Wheat and nearly all seeds are found to be more productive
when taken from a soil inferior to the one intended for sow-
ing ; and it is claimed liiat what is produced both in a warmer
and colder climate will mature earlier. It is not essential
that the fullest, heaviest grain be sown. Sprengel affirms
that seed somewhat shrunken is more certain to give a good
yield than the choicest seed ; and numerous trials would
seem to tavor this conclusion. The grain designed for seed
should be well ripened before harvesting. From the ever
varying character of the diflerent kinds of seed, their superi-
ority at one time and on one locality, and their inferiority at
other times and in other situations, it seems almost superflu-
ous to give a particular enumeration of the present most pop-
ular kinds. A brief mention of such only as stand high in
public favor in this country, with some of their most striking
peculiarities, is all that our limits will admit.
The improved fi'mt is extensively cultivated in the fine
wheat growing country of western New- York; where it was
introduced in 1822. It is hardy and withstands the winters
remarkably well. A striking improvement in the strength of
its straw has been observed, which at first inclined to lodge,
but it is now erect and firm till fully ripened. The heads
are also fuller and longer than when first introduced ; the
berry is plump and white, yielding a large proportion of choice
flour ; and it is retained in the head w^ith great tenacity which
is a decided advantage for econamy in harvesting, w^here
threshing machines are substituted for the flail.
The old Genesee red chaff is a bald white wheat, first cul-
livated in the same region in 1798 ; and for a long time it
was the decided tavorite. Since 1820 however, it has been
very subject to rust and blast, but when circumstances are
favorable it is still found to be highly productive. Its trans-
fer to other localitities, may therefore be attended with great
success.
Tfie white May of Virginia was a choice variety and exten-
sively raised in the neighborhood of the Chesapeake bay in
1800, but is now nearly extinct there. It has been cultivated
in New- York for 10 years, is a good bearer, very heavy ;
weighing frequently 66 lbs. per bushel, and ripens early, by
which it escapes rust.
The Wheatland red is a new variety discovered and propa-
gated by Gen. Harmon of Monroe co., N. Y., by whom it is
held in high estimation. It produces w^ell and ripens early.
116 . AMERICAN AGRICULTURE*
T1i£ Kentucky white bearded^ Hutchinson or Canadian jiint
is very popular in Western New- York where it has been ra-
pidly disseminated since its first introduction sonic 12 years
since. It is hardy, a good yielder, with a short pkinip berry,
weighing 64 Ib.s. per bushel. It requires thicker sowing
(about 25 per cent, more seed) than the improved flint, as it
does not tiller as well, and unlike that it shells easily, wasting
much unless cut quite early.
The English velvet heard or Crate wheat has a coarse straw,
large heads, a good berry of a reddish hue, and is well adapt-
ed to the rich alluvial bottom lands, where its firm straw pre-
vents its lodging. It is a fair yielder and tolerably hardy, but
its long beard is a great objection to its introduction on such
lands as are suited to the finer kinds.
The Yorkshire or English flint or Soules wheat has been
recently introduced, and is similar in its leading features to
:)he old Genesee.
The white Provence is a new and favorite variety, but its
slender stalk frequently subjects it to lodging. It is only suit-
ed to the finest calcareous wheat soils.
The blue stem has been raised with great success in Union,
Penn., where it resisted smut and rust when all other kinds
in the vicinity were affected by it.
The Mediterranean is a coarse wheat with a thick skin,
yielding a dark flour. It resists rust and the fly, is a good
bearer, and may be profitably grown w^here other choice kinds
fail.
The Egyptian, Smyrna, Reed, Many spiked, or Wild goose
wheat is also a hardy variety, with a thick, heavy straw which
prevents its lodging.
Production of new varieties of wheat. — Besides in-
troducing valuable kinds from abroad and the improvement by
careful cultivation of such as we now have, new varieties
may be secured by hybridizing or crossing. This is done by
impregnating the female organs of the flowers on one plant,
by the pollen from the male organ of another. The progeny
sometimes materially differs from both parents, and occasion-
ally partakes of the leading qualities of each. Among those
thus produced, some may be found of peculiar excellence and
w^orthy of supplanting others whose value is declining. The
effect of this crossing is striking in the ear of corn, where the
red and white, the blue and yellow^ kernels are seen to blend
in singular confusion over the whole ear, each differing too
GRAIN AND IT8 CULTIVATION. 117
in size, shape and general qualities. Observation will some-
times detect a new variety of wheat in the field, self hybridi-
zed, the result of an accidental cross. If this has superior
merit, it should be carefully secured and planted in a bod by
itself for future seed.
Propagation may be extended with incredible rapidity by
dividing the plant. The English Philosophical Tran^;actions
give the result of a trial made by planting a single grain on
the 2d of June; on the 8th of August it was taken up and
sisparated into 18 parts and each planted by itself. These
were subdivided and planted between 15th of September and
15th of October, and again the foUowing spring. From this
careful attention in a fertile soil, 500 plants were obtained,
some containing 100 stalks bearing heads of a large size ;
and the total produce within the year was 386,840 grains
from the single one planted.
Spring VVheat. — This requires a soil similar to that of
winter grain, but it should be of a quick tind kindly charac-
ter as it has a much shorter time to mature. Ths ground
should be well pulverized and fertile. The best crops are
raised on land that has been plowed in the fall, and sown
without additional plowing, taking care to harrow in tho-
roughly. When planted early, the wheat rarely suffers
from the fly as it attains a size and vigor beyond the reach
of injury before it appears. In certain localities where the
fly abounds and the wheat has not been early sown, it is
found necessary to keep back the young plants till the disap-
pearance of the fly. Large crops have been obtained under
favorable circumstances, when sown as late as the 20th May.
Varieties. — The Black Sea Wheat is one of the most
popular kinds at present cultivated. Of this there are two
varieties, the red and the white chaff, both of which are
bearded. The former is generally preferred. This wheat
has yielded very profitable crops. The Siberian is a valua-
ble wheat, and has been much raised in this country. It
produces a full, tine grain, is hardy and a good bearer.
The Italian has been much cultivated, and held in high esti-
mation, but it is now generally giving place to the pre-
ceding where each has been tried.
There are some other varieties which bear well and are
tolerably hardy. Excellent spring grain has been produced
by early sowing from choice winter wheat, which has
retained most of the characteristics of the original under its
118 AMERICAN AGRICULTURE.
new summer culture. In large sections of this country
wheat has been seriously injured by winter-killing and other
casualties; and wherever these prevail and the soil is suited
to it, summer wheat may be advantageously introduced. A
proper attention to the selection of seed and the prepara-
tion of the soil will generally insure a profitable return.
If its market value is not as high, it may at least afford
all that the farmer and his laborers require ; and he will
generally find if not in a wheat-growing region, that he
can d&pose of his surplus crop among his neighbors before
the next harvest comes round and at satisfactory prices.
RYE (Secale screak)
Is extensivel}' cultivated in the northeastern and middle
Atlantic states. It is grown on the light lands of Ohio
and Michigan, and as the supporting elements of wheat
become exhausted in the soil of the rich agricultural states
of the west, it will take its place in a great measure on
their lighter soils. Most of the Eastern and Atlantic states
when first subjected to cultivation, produced wheat ; but
where lime did not exist in the soil the wheat crop soon failed,
and it has gradually receded irom the Atlantic border, except
in marly or calcareous soils or these that were reclaimed by
a plentiful addition of lime, rye almost universally succeeding
it. But the liberal use of lime with the agriculteral improve-
ments of the present day are regaining for wheat much of its
ancient territory.
Rye resembles wheat in its bread-making properties, and
for this purpose is only second to it in those countries where
it is cultivated. There is a peculiar aroma attached to the
husk of the grain, which is not found in the finely bolted
fiour. The grain when ground and unbolted is much used
in the Nev/-England states for mixing into loaves with scalded
Indian meal ; it is then baked for a long time and is known
as rye-and-Indian or hroicn bread. This possesses a sweet-
ness and flavor peculiar to itself, which is doubtless owing
in no small degree to the quality above mentioned. Von
Tliaer says " this substance appears to iacilitate digestion
and has a singularly strengthening, refreshing and beneficial
effect on the animal frame," Rye is more hardy than wheat
and is a substitute for it on those soils which will not grow
the latter grain with certainty ond profit.
Soil and Cultivation. — Neither strong clay or calcare-
ous lands are well suited to it. A rich sandv loam is the
GRAIN AND ITS CULTIVATION. 119
natural soil for rye, though it grows freely on light sands and
gravels which refuse to produce either wheat, barley or oats.
Loamy soils that are too rich for wheat and on which it
almost invarial^ly lodges, will frequently raise an excellent
crop of rye, its stronger stem enabling it to sustain itself under
its luxuriant growth.
The Preparation of thk Soil for Rye, is similar to
that for wheat ; and it may be advantageously sown upon a
rich old turf or clover ley, or after corn or roots where the
land has been well manured and thoroughly cleansed from
weeds. There is not an equal necessity for using a brine-
steep for rye as for wheat, yet if allowed to remain a few hours
in a weak solution of saltpetre or some of the other salts, it
promotes speedy germination and subsequent growth.
Sowing. — There is but one species of rye, but to this cul-
tivation has given two varieties, the spring and winter. Like
wheat they are easily transformed into each other by sowing
the winter continually later through successive generations to
change it into spring grain, and the opposite for its re-conver-
sion into winter grain. The last should be sown from the
20th of August to the 20th of September, the earliest requi-
ring less seed, as it has a longer time to tiller and fill up the
ground. Five pecks is the usual quantity sown, but it varies
from one to two bushels according to the quality of the soil,
the richest lands demanding most. It is a practice among
many farmers to sow rye among their standing corn on light
lands, hoeing it in and leaving the ground as level as poss-
ble. On such lands this is attended with several advantages,
as it gives the grain an early start and a moist, sheltered po-
sition, at a time when drought and a hot sun would check
or prevent vegetation. As soon as the corn is sufficiently
matured, it should be cut up by the roots and placed in com-
pact shocks, or removed to one side of the field, when the rye
should be thoroughly rolled. When sown on a fresh plowed
field, it should be harrowed in before rolling. Great success
has attended the turning in of green crops and following the
fresh plowing with instant sowing of the seed. This brings
it forward at once. No after cultivation is needed except
harrowing in spring and again rolling if the land is light, both
- of which are beneficial, for though some of the stools may be
thus destroyed, the working of the ground assists the remain-
ing plants so as to leave a great advantage in favor of the
practice. A friend of the writer had occasion to plow some
land in the spring which joined a field of rye belonging to a
120 AMERICAN AGRICULTURE.
neighbor. The owner claimed damages for supposed injury
by the team and plow, which it M^as agreed should be assessed
on examination after harvesting, when it appeared, that the
damaged part was the best of the whole field. An honest
English yeoman received several pounds from a liberal
squire, for alleged injury to his young grain from the tram-
pling of horses and hounds in hot chase after a fox ; but at
harvest he found the crop so much benefitted by the operation
that he voluntarily returned the money. If the rye is luxuri-
ant, it may be fed both in the fall and spring. Early cutting
as in wheat produces more weight, larger measure and
whiter flour. What is intended for seed, must however be
allowed to ripen fully on the ground.
Diseases. — -Rye is subject to fewer casualties than wheat.
Ergot or cockspur frequently aflects it. This fungus is dis-
covered not only on rye, but on other plants of the order
graminae. Several of these elongated, curved and brownish
spurs appear on a single head, and they are most frequent in
hot, wet seasons. They are poisonous both to man and
beast, and when eaten freely they have generated fatal epi-
demics in the community; and emaciation, debility and in
some cases death to animals consuming it. The sloughing
of the hoofs and horns of cattle has been attributed to ergot
in their grass and grain. Rust like that which affects the
wheat crop, and owing probably to the same causes, attacks
rye. When this happens it should be cut and harvested
without delay.
Rye for Soiling is sometimes sown by those who wish late
forage in autumn and early in spring. For this purpose it
should be sown at the rate of 2 to 4 bushels per acre. If on
a fertile soil and not too closely pastured, it will bear a
good crop of grain; and in some cases when too rank, early
feeding will strengthen the stalk and increase the grain.
BARLEY ( Hordeum)
Is a grain of extensive cultivation and great value. Like
wheat and rye, it is both a winter and spring grain, though
in this country it is almost universally sown in the spring.
There are six varieties, differing in no essential points and all
originating from the same source. Loudon says in choosing
for seed, " the best is that which is free from blackness at
the tail, and is of a pale lively yellow, intermixed with a bright
whitish cast ; and if the rind be a little shrivelled so much the
better, as it indicates thin skin. The husk of thick-rinded
GRAIN AND ITS CULTIVATION. 1^
barley is too stiff to shrink and will lie smooth and hollow
even when the flour is shrunk within. The necessity of a
change of seed from time to time, for that grown in a different
soil, is in no instance more evident than in this grain, which
otherwise becomes coarser every successive year. But in
this as in all other grain, the utmost care should be taken that
the seed is lull bodied."
The principal varieties are the two and six rowed ; the last
being preterred for hardiness and productiveness in Europe,
and the first generally cultivated in this country for its supe-
rior fulness and freedom from smut. There are numerous
sub-varieties, such as the Hudson's Bay which ripens very
early and bears abundantly ; the Chevalier and Providence,
both accidental, of which a single stalk was first discovered
among others of the ordinary kinds, and proving superior and
of luxuriant growth, they were widely propagated ; the
Peruvian, Egyptian, <&,c. New varieties may be produced
by crossing, as with wheat.
Soil. — Barley requires a lighter soil than will grow good
wheat, and a heavier than will grow tolerable rye ; but in
all cases it must be one that is well drained. A mellow rich
loam, ranging between light sand or gravel and heavy clay,
is best suited to it.
Cultivation. — It may be sown as soon as the ground is
sufficiently dry in spring, on a grass or clover ley turned over
the preceding fall ; or it may follow a well manured and
cleanly hoed crop. If sown on a sod it should be lightly
plowed in, but not so deep as to disturb it, and afterwards
harrowed or rolled. The soil should always be well pulver-
ized. From li to 2h bushels per acre is the usual allowance
of seed, poor and mellow soils, and early sown, requiring the
least. Barley should never follow the other white grains,
nor should they succeed each other unless upon very rich
soil. No farmer can long depart from this rule without
serious detriment to his soil and crops. Barnyard manures
should not be applied directly to this grain unless it be a light
dressing of compost on indifferent soils ; or in moderate
quantity after the plants have commenced growing in spring.
When the plants are 4 or 5 inches high, rolling will be of
service if the ground is dry and not compact. This operation
gives support to the roots, destroys insects, multiplies seed
stalks and increases their vigor.
Destroying weeds in grain, — When grain is infested with
cockle, wild mustard or other weeds, they should be extirpa-
E
122 AMERICAN AGRICULTURE.
ted by hand before they are fairly in blossom. If neglected
till sometime after this, the seed is so well matured as to
ripen after pulling, and if then thrown upon the ground they
will defeat the effort for their removal. When too luxuriant,
barley like rye may be fed off for a few days, but not too
closely.
The Harvesting of barley should be seasonably done
or its extreme liability to shell will cause much waste, and
on the contrary, it will shrivel if cut before fully matured.
It may be stacked like wheat.
The uses of Barley are various and important. In
Europe it forms no inconsiderable part of the food of the
inhabitants. The grain yields from 80 to 86 per cent, of
flour, which however contains but 6 per cent, of gluten ; 7
per cent, being sacharine matter and 79 mucilage or starch.
It is inferior in nutriment to wheat and rye but superior to
oats. In this country it is principally used for malting and
brewing and in some cases for distilling, but when ground is
more generally appropriated to fattening swine, though some-
times used for other stock.
THE OAT (Avena saliva)
Is cultivated throughout a wide range of latitude and on a
greater varioty of soil than any other grain. It will grow
on rich or poor, and on dry or moist soils ; on the heaviest
clays and the lightest sands, and it will pay as well on rich
lands as any other crop. The average yield on good soils is
from 30 to 40 bushels per acre, and on the richest when well
cultivated, it has exceeded 120 bushels. It is exposed to
fewer injuries than other grain, being seldom affected by
rust, smut or insects. The wire-worm is most destructive
to it, especially when sown on fresh sod. The most effectual
mode of extirpating these and other troublesome insects is
to turn the sud over late in the fall just before our severe
winter fjosts. They thus become chilled and incapable of
seeking a safe retreat from their fatal effects. If not plowed
at that time, it should be done immediately before sowing in
spring, when by turning them into the bottom of the furrow,
they cannot find their way to the surface in sufficient num-
bers to prey upon the plant before it gets beyond the reach of
their attacks.
Varieties. Of these, Loudon mentions nine as being
well defined and entirely distinct, besides which there are
many local or recent sub-varietes. He says " The White or
\
GRAIN AND ITS CULTIVATION. 1^
common oat is in most general cultivation in England and
Scotland and is known by its white husk and kernel. The
Black oat known by its black husk and cultivated on poor
soils in the north of England and Scotland. T/ie Red oat
known by its brownish red husk, thinner and more flexible
stem and firmly attached grains. It is early, suffers little
from winds, meals well, and suits windy situations and a
late climate. The Poland oat^ known by its thick white
husk, awnless chaff, solitary grains, short white kernel, and
short stiflT straw. It requires a dry warm soil but is very
prolific. The black Poland oat is one of the best varieties ;
it sometimes weighs 50 lbs to the bushel. The Friezland or
Dutch oat has plinnp thin skinned white grains mostly double,
and the large ones sometimes awned. It has longer straw
than the Poland, but in other respects resembles it. The
Potato oat has large, plump, rather thick skinned, white
grains, double and treble, with longer straw than either of
the two last. It is now almost the only kind raised in the
north of England and the south of Scotland, and brings a
higher price in the London market than any other variety.
They have all been derived from the produce of a single
stalli which was first discovered growing in a field of potatoes
in England, in 1788. The Georgian oat is a large grained,
remarkably profitable variety and on rich soil, in good tilth
has produced more than any other variety. Tlie Siberian or
Tartarian is by some conceded a distinct species. The
grains are black or brown, thin and small and turned mostly
to one side of the panicle and the straw is coarse and reedy.
It is little cultivated in England, but is found very suitable for
poor soils and exposed situations. The winter oat is sown at
the rate of 2 bushels per acre in October, the plants are luxu-
riant and tiller well, and afford good winter and spring pas-
ture for ewes and lambs, and when these are shut out, it
affords an ample crop of grain in August."
TJie Hopetown oat originated from a single stalk that was
first discovered in 1824, by Mr. Sherriflf, in a field of potato
oats. It is distinguished by its exceeding height, and supe-
rior produce when sown on rich soils. Thje Dyock oat is a
recent sub-variety of the Potato oat, and it is claimed for it
that it exceeds the last in the number of bushels yielded per
acre, and also in the weight of the grain and the quantity
of meal. The Skinless oats, much commended in Ireland,
have been tried in this country without much success. They
have shown a tendency to degenerate, the necessary effect
124 AMERICAN AGRICULTURE.
of previous highly artificial cultivation. There are many
other varieties which have a partial or local popularity, and
from the readiness with which new kinds are produced, care-
ful attention and observation on the part of the farmer, will
detect from time to time such as may have a decided value
over others for particular localities. A superior kind was
discovered in a field of common oats in Oneida County, N.Y.
some years since, and from the produce of one stool it became
widely disseminated and has uniformly proved both hardy
and prolific. The variety most cultivated in the United
States, is the common white, which is hardy and a good
bearer, weighing from 32 to 35 lbs per bushel. The black
oat is preferred in western N. Y. and some other sections of
the country. Repeated trials have been made with the
potato oat, a heavy grain weighing from 35 to 45 lbs per
bushel, but its merits have not proved conspicuous enough
to have given it the place of the old and long tried varieties
in the United States.
Cultivation. — In this country oats are sown at the rate
of 2 to 4 bushels per acre during all the spring months and
sometimes, though rarely, in .Tune. The earliest sown are
usually the heaviest and most productive. They may occupy
a turf or follow any of the well-manured hoed crops as men-
tioned in the preceding grain. No apparent advantage has
been derived from steeps for the prevention of smut as in
wheat, the impervious husk of the oat apparently arresting
the liquid and preventing its penetration to the kernel.
Sowing salt broadcast over the land at the rate of 2 to 6
bushels per acre has been found of use to the crop, both in
furnishing it with a necessary manure and by killing insects.
The seed should be well harrowed in and rolled and no after
attention is required except to destroy the prominent weeds.
Harvesting. — Oats frequently ripen unevenly and if there
is a large proportion of such as are backward, the proper
time for cutting will be as soon as the grain in the latest may
be rubbed out of the straw by hand. The oat is sufficiently
matured for harvesting after it has passed the milk state, and
is easily compressed between the thumb and finger. The
lower part of the stalk will then have assumed a yellow color
and it ceases to draw nutriment from the soil. If cut at this
time the straw is better for fodder and for other uses ; the
grain is fuller ; the husk lighter ; and the loss from shelling,
which is frequently a great item when left too late, is avoided.
Oats when very tall are most profitably cut with the sickle,
OllAIN ANt) ITS CULTIVATION. lH^
and when lodged, with the scythe ; but when erect and of
medium height, with the cradle, which is by far the most
speedy and economical, and this leaves them in a suitable
position for binding into sheaves. They may be stacked
like wheat.
The uses of oats are vai'ious and differ materially in dif-
ferent countries. In Scotland, Ireland, and many other
countries, oat meal is much used as human food and for this
the potato oat, or some one of the heavy kinds is prefened,
as they aflbrd a larger proportion of meal and less of husk.
Scotland, " the land o' cakes " draws no inconsiderable part
of the support of her entire laboring population from this
meal, which is formed into small thin cakes and eaten with
milk, butter, &;c., or it is mixed with water or milk and made
into a kind of pudding under the name of stirabout^ a favorite
dish, which is said to be palatable to those accustomed to it.
Davy found in 1000 parts of Scotch oats, 743 of soluble
or nutritive matter, containing 641 of mucilage or starch,
15 saccharine matter, and 87 gluten or albumen. Those
of England, gave 59 of starch, 6 of gluten, 2 of saccharine
matter, and 33 of husk in 100 parts. They are but little
used f()r human food in this country, and this is principally
by emigmnts who bring their early habits with them. They
are prepared by kiln-drying and hulling, then grinding and
bolting when required to separate the flour. The meal is
scalded before using and mixed with about half its weight
of wheat flour when made into bread. It is sold by the
apothecaries to invalids for whom it is valuable on account
of its light, digestible character. It is also stirred into
water, making an excellent beverage for laborers in hot
weather. The principal use of oats however, in the United
States, is as food for working animals, tor which it is unri-
valled. Oats are sometimes used when ground, for fattening
cattle, sheep and swine, but for this purpose they are far
surpassed by corn, barley, peas or boiled potates. They are
an excellent fodder for stock sheep and for them arc most
economically fed in the straw.
INDIAN CORN, {Zea maize).
This next to the grasses, is by far the most important crop
of the United States. The census returns for 1840, gave
387,000,000 bushels ; and for 1843 the estimate of the
whole product of Indian corn in this country was over 494,-
000,000 bushels. The eflect of this immense production of
126 AMERICAN AGRICULTURE.
a staple article is felt in every department of our agriculture;
and is conclusively shown by the low prices of beef, pork,
mutton, human food, whiskey and highwines, to all of which
corn is made largely to contribute. Nearly all the beef and
pork of the vast and fertile west, and much in the north and
south is fed upon it. Corn seemg to have been created for
this western hemisphere. It is raised in boundless luxuri-
ance from the frozen regions of Canada, almost to the Straits
of Magellan. It riots in the fierce blaze of our cloudless
western sun, and it is here that it attains the highest perfec-
tion. Its most prolific area on this continent lies between
40° North and 38** South latitude, deducting a limited portion
of the equatorial regions. Close attention in its cultivation
is necessary when receding from these limits towards the poles
on account of a deficiency of sun for ripening it. In such
localities, the smaller and earlier kinds should be planted on a
warm soil so as to mature before the first frosts.
Varieties. — There is no one of the cereal grains or grass-
es which manifests itself under such multiplied forms as maize.
From the little shrubby stalk that grows on the shores of Lake
Superior to the palmetto-like corn of the Miami Valley, and
from the tiny ears and flattened, closely clinging grains of the
former, the brilliant rounded little pearl, or the thickly wedged
rice corn, to the magnificently elongated, swelling ear of the
Kentucky, with its deeply indented gourd seed, it is develop-
ed in every grade of sub-variety. The kernels are long,- round,
or flat, and are white, yellow, blue, red or striated ; Ijut each
contain the same principles of nutriment combined in some-
what different proportions, and contributes for equal weights,
nearly in the same ratio to the support of man and the lower
order of the animal creation. The analysis of corn as given
by Dr. Dana, is in 100 parts, of
Flesh forming principles, (gluten and albumen) 12'60
Fat forming, (gum, sugar, starch, oil, woody fibre,) 77*09
Salts, 1-31
Water, 9
100
Besides the kinds in general cultivation in this country,
varieties have been occasionally introduced from abroad, of a
character so different as almost to entitle them to the distinc-
tion of independent species. Such are the Chinese tree corn,
bearing its slender ears at the extremity of several expanded
branches ; the Egyptian with its millet-like head ; the Ore-
GRAIN AND ITS CULTIVATION. 127
gon with its separate husk or envelope for every distinct ker-
nel. But if we narrowly watch tha vagaries of nature, we
shall notice deviations from the matter of fact standards of our
domesticated varieties, which approximate so closely to the
most fanciful of the exotics, that we are compelled to believe
that all those which have hitherto come within our notice,
originated from one common head ; and that all the peculi-
arities are owing to the difference of soil, climate and cul-
ture, and the carefully cherished eccentricities of nature, aid-
ed by a skilful science or well practised art. It is needless
to particularise the many popular kinds of corn under suc-
cessful cultivation in this country. They are found to vaiy
with almost every degree of latitude and longitude ; and there
are not unfrequently numerous kinds held in deservedly high
estimation within a single district. From these there will be
no difficulty in selecting such as will best repay the farmer's
attention.
The soil for corn must be dry, rich and well pulverized.
Neither strong clay, wet or poor lands will yield good crdps
of com. Land can scarcely be too rich for it, and the fresh-
er and less fermented the manure applied to it is, unless on
light sandy soils, the better it will be for the crop. A great
error is committed in raising corn as with most of our tillage
crops, from not having the soil sufficiently enriched ; though
this error is diminished in the case of such as will not bear
an excess of manure. Corn is a gross feeder and necessarily
ranges over a great space in search of food. It has a large
amount of stalk, leaves and grain to provide for in a few
weeks, and its increase will be commensurate with the supply
of food.
A clover ley or rich grass sod is an excellent preparation
for corn, with the addition of manure when required. But
the manure should always be scattered broadcast, plowed
and well harrowed in. The roots will be certain to find it
and in consequence of its general diffusion, the development
of the ear and ^rain will correspond with that of the stalk
and leaves. When manured in the hill on poor soil, it comes
forward early, and this induces an extension of the roots,
which finding little support, the crop is limited to the stalks
and leaves and a small proportion of grain.
The selection of seed should be made with the utmost
care, not only from the best varieties, but the best seed of
the particular kind desired. Some of the choicest have been
brought to their present perfection by selecting only the ear-
128 AMERICAN AGRICULTURE.
liest and largest ears from the most prolific stalks. This
ought always to be done before the corn is gathered in the
field where there is an opportunity for comparison.
Preparation op seed. — Repeated experiments have de-
monstrated the great utility of steeping corn for 24 to 48
hours before planting, in a solution of saltpetre. This ac-
celerates the growth of the plant, and is a protection against
birds, squirrels and mice, and for a while it will keep off
worms. An effectual remedy against these depredations is
to add half a pint of boiling tar to a peck of seed, stirring the
corn briskly for several minutes as the tar is added, till every
kernel is thinly coated with it. This supercedes the necessi-
ty of the worse than absurd remedy of scare scrows. The
crows and other birds are of great advantage to the farmer
on all his fields as they pick up numberless insects, grubs and
worms which infest the ground and destroy or seriously in-
jure the vegetation.
Planting. — Corn may be planted in hills from 3 1-2 to 4
1-2 feet assunder, and with from 3 to 5 stalks well spread in
each hill, according to the kind of seed, quality of land, 610.
Some plant in drills, but this is objectionable as the trouble of
cultivation is greater without increasing the yield. Thick
planting gives fewer ears upon a stalk and those of less size.
The time of planting at the North is usually within the three
first weeks of May, depending much on the season. Late
frosts will sometimes cut down the first leaves without de-
stroying the germ, but it is always best to defer planting till
all apprehensions of it ai-e removed. In the more Southern
States earlier planting is desirable, and it is there put into the
ground in March and April. To give regularity to the rows
and facilitate after culture, the furrows for the seed should be
struck out each way with the utmost exactness, and twice
the corn planted that is required to remain. It should be
covered about 2 inches. The surplus plants can be pulled
up at the second hoeing when all fear of injury is past. If
the land is light, it should be laid fiat before planting and af-
ter this, it should be thoroughly rolled.
Cultivation — The ground may be stirred when the
plants first show themselves. This is most economically
done with the cultivator or light plow, and if the operation
be frequent and thorough there will be little use for the hoe.
Hilling or heaping the earth around the plants should always
be avoided except with very heavy soil or such as is liable
to an excess of moisture ; in all other cases it should remain
OBAIN AND ITS CULTTVATION. 129
flat. Stirring the gronnd in dry weather is peculiarly be-
neficial to corn and all hoed crops. Some omit it then from
fear of the escape of moisture, but its effect is precisely the
reverse, as nothing so certainly produces lightness, porosity
and unevenness in the soil, which under the head of soils and
draining, we have shown facilitated the admission and es-
cape of heat, that inevitably secures the deposit of large
quantities of moisture, even in the driest and most sultry wea-
ther. Corn and other crops, which were withering from ex-
cessive drought, have been at once rescued from its effects by
a thorough use of the plow and cultivator. Well drained,
dark colored and rich porous soils will be found to suffer much
less in drought than others which lack these characteristics.
Harvesting. — If there be no danger of early frost, the
corn may be suffered to stand till fully ripe ; though if the
stalks are designed for fodder, they are better to bs cut when
the grain is well glazed, and this should be done in all cases
where frost is expected. Scarcely any injury occurs either
to the leaf or grain if the corn be stooked, when both would
be seriously damaged from the same exposure if standing.
The stalks of corn should never be cut above the ear, but
always near the ground, and for this obvious reason. The
sap which nourishes the grain is drawn from the earth, and
passing through the stem enters the leaf, where a change is
effected analogous to what takes place in the blood when
brought to the surface of the lungs in the animal system ;
with this peculiar difference however, that while the blood
gives out carbon and absorbs oxygen, plants under the influ-
ence of light and heat, give out oxygen and absorb carbon.
This change prepares the sap for condensation and conver-
sion into the grain. But the leaves which thus digest the
food for the grain are above it, for it is while passing down-
ward that the change of the sap into grain principally takes
place. If the stalk be cut above the ear nourishment is at an
end. It may then become firm and dry but it is not increas-
ed in quantity, while if cut near the root, it not only appro-
priates the sap already in the plant, but it also absorbs addi-
tional matter from the atmosphere which contributes to its
weight and perfection. It must be perfectly dried in the
field, and after this husked and carried into an airy loft or
stored in latticed or open barracks. The stalks may be housed
or carefully stacked for fodder. Many of our Western farmers
allow both grain and stalks to stand in the field till wanted for
use, when they are fed in an adjoining enclosure. This is
130 AMERICAN AGRICULTURE.
more economically done b^^ first cutting (or what is better, by
both cutting Siwd grinding, which may be accomplished by a re-
cently invented machine,) and then mixed either with roots or
meal. When fodder is high, the stalks and leaves will repay
the expense of cultivation.
Corn for soiling. — Corn has recently been much culti-
vated for fodder, and for this purpose the soil should be in high
condition and well pulverized. It should be prepared in a
pickle of salt petre like that intended for ripening, and may
be sown broadcast and harrowed in at the rate of 3 or 4 bush-
els per acre. A much better method is to sow thickly in drills,
and stir the groimd with a light plow or cultivator. The sow-
ing may be done early or late, though the first is most success-
ful. It should be cut before the frosts touch it, and dried pre-
vious to housing. Several tons of excellent forage have been
raised from a single acre. In the report of Mr. Leak to the
Pedee Agricultural Society of South Carolina, it is asserted
that 138,816 lbs. of green corn stalks have been cut from one
acre in a season, weighing when dry, 27,297 lbs.
The uses of corn in this country are various. It is large-
ly fed to fattening and working animals, but must be judicious-
ly fed to the latter and only in cool weather. It is exten-
sively manufactured into high-wines and whiskey, (a sad per-
version of one of the best gifls of nature.) It is converted
into oil, molasses and sugar to a very limited extent, and is
variously and largely applied to domestic uses. While green
it is boiled and roasted in the ear ; or it is cut from the cob
and cooked with the garden or kidney bean, which forms the
Indian succotash. When ripe, it is hulled in a weak ley,
then boiled and known as hulled corn ; or parched over a hot
fire, affording a delicious lunch and a convenient provision for
hunters as popped corn, Hommony or samp, is a favorite
dish, and consists of corn coarsely ground and boiled in wa-
ter ; and hasty pudding differs from this in being made of fine
meal. The meal may be compounded with milk and eggs into
jenny cakes, puddings, griddles and other delicacies univer-
sally esteemed for the table.
RICE (Oryza sativa.)
(contributes directly to the support of a larger number of
the human family than any other plant. In China, and
nearly the whole length of the southern part of Asia, through
the innumerable and densely populated islands of the Pacific
and Indian Oceans, in the southern part of Europe, and a large
GRAIN AND IT<? CULTIVATION. 13l
extent of Africa, and througli no inconsiderable portion of
the North and South American continent, it is extensively
grown, and forms the staple food of the inhabitants. Rice
requires a moist soil, and is much more productive when sub-
ject to inundation. A hot sun is also necessary to mature it,
and as a result of these two essential conditions, its culture is
limited to regions much more circumscribed than are allotted
to wheat, maize, or some of the usually cultivated plants.
We subjoin from the American AgricuUurist, an excellent ar-
ticle on the cultivation of rice, from the pen of Dr. Cart-
wright.
" There are many varieties of rice ; but I am induced
to believe that they are all essentially aquatic. All the varie-
ties, yet discovered, flourish best under the inundation system
of culture ; yield more to the acre, give less trouble, and re-
quire less labor. Nevertheless, each variety grows pretty
well on light, moist uplands without irrigation, when cultiva-
ted with the hoe or plow. The product, however, is so
much less than by the irrigation system, and the labor of til-
lage so much more, that the upland producer never can com-
pete successfully with the lowlander. The former may cur-
tail his expenses by growing rice for domestic uses, but he
can not, very profitably, produce it for sale. Besides the
ten-fold labor, which rice on upland requires, in comparison
to that cultivated by the irrigation system, it can not be sown
thick enough to make a larger yield per acre. Space must
be left for the plow or hoe to till the rice, which is not neces-
sary in those localities where it can be overflowed at will,
and the water drawn off as occasion may require.
" The method pursued on the rice lands of the lower Mis-
sissippi, is to sow the rice broadcast, about as thick as you
sow wheat at the north, and harrow it in with a light har-
row having many teeth ; the ground being first well plowed
and prepared by ditches iand embankments for inundation at
will. It is generally sown in March. Immediately after
sowing, the water is let on, so as barely to overflow the
ground. The water is withdrawn on the second, thiitl, or
tburth day, or as soon as the grain begins to swell. The
rice very soon after comes up and grows finely. When it
has attained about three inches in height, the water is again
let on ; the top leaves being lefl a little above the water. Com-
plete immersion would kill the plant. A fortnight previous to
harvest, the water is drawn oflT to give the stalks strength,
and to dry the ground for the convenience of the reapers.
132 AMERICAN AGRICITLTURE.
" A different method is practised in the northern part of
Italy. The seed is sown in April ; previously to which it is
soaked a day or two in water. After sowing, about two
inches of water is let in upon the ground. The rice comes
up through the water, which is then drawn off to give the
plant strength, and after some days, is again let on. The
rice is more apt to mildew under this practice, than our meth-
od of letting the water on about the time the Italians draw it
off.
" The same measure of ground yields three times as much
rice as as wheat. The only labor, after sowing, is to see
that the rice is properly irrigated, except in some localities
where aquatic plants prove troublesome, the water effectual-
ly destroying all others.
"The rice-grounds of the lower Mississippi produce about
seventy-five dollars worth of rice per acre. The variety
called the Creole white rice is considered to be the best. In
the eastern part of the State of Mississippi, called the '■ piney
woods,^ rice is very generally cultivated on the uplands. Al-
though it can not be made a profitable article of export, yet it
affords the people of that interior region an abundant supply
of a healthy and nutritious food for themselves, and a good
provender for their cattle, and makes them independent of
the foreign market. Unlike other kinds of grain, it can be
kept for many years without spoiling, in a warm climate, by
simply winnowing it semi-annually, which prevents the wee-
vil and a small black insect that sometimes attacks it. It is
cultivated entirely with the plow and harrow, and grows well
on the pine barrens. A buU-tongued plow, a kind of shovel
plow drawn by one horse, is driven through the unbroken
pine-forest ; not a tree being cut or belted, and no grubbing
being necessary, as there is little or no undergrowth. The
plow makes a shallow furrow about an inch or two deep, the
furrows about three feet apart. The rice is dropped into them
and covered with a harrow. The middles, or spaces be-
tween the furrows, are not broken up until the rice attains
several inches in height. One or two plowings suffice in the
piney woods for its cultivation — weeds and grass, owing to
the nature of the soil, not being troublesome. A similar
method of cultivation obtains on the prairie land of the north-
western states.
" Rice, like hemp, does not impoverish the soil. On the
contrary, it is a good preparatory crop for some others, as In-
dian corn. The pine barrens of Mississippi would produce rice
GRAIN AND ITS CTLTIVATION. 133
ad infinitum, if it were not that the land, after a few year&,
owing to the sandy nature of the soil, becomes too dry for it.
It has been ascertained by Arnal, that 12 pounds of wheat
flour and 2 pounds of rice will make 24 pounds of an excel
lent bread, very white and good ; whereas, without the addi-
tion of rice, 14 pounds of flour will only make 18 pounds of
bread. Like other kinds of grain, rice adapts itself to the
soil and climate, and particular mode of cultivation ; but if
the seed be not changed, or selected from the best specimens
of the plant, it will ultimately degenerate. Thus in Pied-
mont, after a long series of years, the rice became so much
affected with a kind of blight called the brusone, as to compel
the Piedmontcse to import fresh seed in 1829, from South
Carolina. The American rice introduced into Piedmont es-
caped the brusone, but it was several years before it adapted
itself to the soil and climate. Some years ago, a French tra-
veller by the name of Poivre, finding rice growing in great
perfection on the mountains and highlands of Asia, particular-
ly Cochin China, named it ' riz sec' or dry rice, and sent the
seed to Europe, where many experiments were made with it.
It yielded no better than any other kind of rice, and was
found like all others to succeed best when inundated. The
reason why it yielded so much more in Asia than in Europe,
can be readily accounted for, by the natural inundations it
receives from the excessive rains during the monsoons. ,
" No variety has been discovered which yields as much
out of the water as it does in it. There are many localities
in the United States, where the culture of rice by the irriga-
ting system, would rather serve to "make the surrounding
neighborhoods heaUhy instead of sickly. It is generally ad-
mitted, that a given surface of ground completely inundated,
is much less unhealthy than the same surface partially in-
undated, or in transitu between the wet and the dry state.
Hence mill-ponds which partially dry up in the summer, are
fruitful sources of disease. Some of the best rice is said to
grow on the bottom of mill-ponds. Nothing more is neces-
sary, than to make the bottom of the mill-pond perfectly level,
and then to overflow the whole surface just deep enough to
keep the top leaves above water. As if to show, that un-
healthiness is not necessarily connected with the culture of
this valuable grain, nature has imposed a law upon it, order-
ing that it should flourish better when overflowed with pure
running water than with the stagnant waters of impure lakes
and marshes.
134 AMERICAN AGRICULTITRE.
" There are two kinds of rice, which aj-e said to succeed
best on uplands ; the long and the round. The former has a
red chaftj and is very difficult to beat. The latter shakes
out, if not cut as soon as ripe. They nevertheless succeed
best under the inundation system of culture. In the eastern
hemisphere, rice is cultivated as far north as the 46lh degree
of latitude. The climate of the United States is better suited
to it than that of Europe, because our summers are hotter.
In the northern part of China the variety called the imperial
rice, or rlz sec de la Chine (the oriza saliva mutica)^ is more
precocious than any other, is said to yield a heavy harvest, and
to constitute the principal food for the people of that populous
region. But it has succeeded no better in Europe than any
other kind of rice.
" The best rice lands of South Carolina are valued at five
hundred dollars per acre, while the best cotton-lands sell for a
tenth part of that sum, proving that rice is more profitable than
cotton. The profits of a crop should not so much be estima-
ted by the yield per acre, as the number of acres a laborer
can till. After the land is properly prepared for inundation,
by levelling, ditching, and embankments, a single individual
can grow almost an indefinite quantity of rice. Rice is no
doubt ultimately destined to supersede cotton in a large por-
tion of Mississippi and Louisiana."
MIL LET {Panicum milliaceum)
In it growih and the manner of bearing its seeds, the mil-
let strongly resembles a miniature broom corn. It grows to
the height of 2^ to 4 feet with a profusion of stalks and
leaves which furnish excellent forage for cattle. From 80
to 100 bushels of seed per acre have been raised, and with
straw equivalent to li or 2 tons of ha}, but an average crop
may be estimated at about one third this quantity. Owing to
the great waste during the ripening of the seed, from the shel-
ling of the earliest of it before the last is matured, and the
frequent depredations of birds which are very fond of it, mil-
let is more profitably cut when the first seeds have began to
ripen, and harvested for fodder. It is cured like hay, and on
good land yields from 2i to 4 tons per acre. All cattle relish
it, and experience has shown it to be fully equal to good hay.
Cultivation. — Millet requires a dry, rich and well pul-
verized soil. It will grow on thin soil, but best repays on the
most fertile. It should be sown broadcast or in drills from the
1st May to 1st July. If for hay and sown broadcast, 40
ORAIN AND ITS CULTIVATION, 135
quarts per acre will be required, if sown in drills for the grain,
8 quarts of seed will suffice. It will ripen in 60 to 75 days
with favorable weather. When designed for fodder, the near-
er it can approach to ripening, without waste in harvesting,
the more valuable will be the crop.
BUCK WHEAT OR BEECH WHEAT {Polygonum fagopyrum)
Is a grain much cultivated in this country. It grows
freely on light soils, but yields a remunerating crop only on
those which are fertile. Fresh manure is injurious to this
grain. Sandy loams are its favorite soils, especially such
as have lain long in pasture, and these should be well
plowed and harrowed. It may be sown from the 1st of May
to the 10th of August, but in the northern states this ought
to be done as early as June or July or it may be injured by
early frosts which are fatal to it. It is sown broadcast at
the rate of three to six pecks per acre and harvested when
the earliest seed is fully ripe. The plant often continues
flowering after this, and when the early seed is blighted as
is often the case, the plant may be left till these last have
matured. As it is liable to heat, it should be placed in small
stacks of two or three tons each, but it is better to thresh
out the grain at once. If not perfectly dry, the straw may
be stacked with layers of other straw and when well cured,
it will be a valuable fodder for cattle. Sheep will feed and
thrive as well on this straw as on good hay.
Uses. — This grain is ground and bolted and the flour is
much used for human consumption. Before grinding, the
hull or outer covering is removed, and when thus prepared,
the flour is as white and delicate in appearance as the best
rye, it is equally light and digestible, and is scarcely inferior
to wheat in its nutritive properties. The grain is used for
fattening swine but is most profitable when mixed with corn.
Poultry thrive upon it. Buckwheat was formerly employed
as a fertilizer, but for this object it is inferior to the clovers
in all cases where the soil is capable of sustaining them. Its
rapid growth will insure the maturing and turning under of
two crops in one season. There are other varieties than
the one specified, but none of equal value for general culti-
vation in this country.
186 AMERICAN AGRICULTUItfi.
CHAPTER VIII
LEGUMINOUS PLANTS.
THE PEA (Fismn sativum.)
The pea, the bean, the tare, vetch, lupine, the clovers, &c.
are all embraced in the botanical order Leguminosce. The
pea is valuable for cultivation not only for the table, but for
many of the domestic animals. It is much fed to swine,
sheep and poultry. For the former, it should be soaked,
boiled or ground. If land is adapted to it, few crops can be
more profitably raised for their use. They ripen early, and
when beginning to harden they may be fed with the vines,
and the animals will masticate the whole and soon fatten.
The Soil. — The heaviest clays will bear good peas, but
a calcareous or wheat soil is better. Strong lands produce
the best crops, but these should be made so by manures pre-
viously applied, as the addition of such as are fresh increa-
ses the growth of haulm or straw and sometimes diminishes
both the quantity and quality of the pea. When sown on a
thin sward, the manure should be spread before plowing. A
dressing of well rotted manure increases the crop and is a
good preparation when intended to be followed by wheat.
Varieties. — Of these there are many. The earlier
kinds are generally indifferent bearers and their cultivation
is limited almost exclusively to the garden. Of those for
f^cM culture, the marrow-fat are preferred for good lands,
and II L .-» a rich pea. The small yellow are perhaps the best
for pooi-r.,* soils. There is a very prolific hush-pea grown in
Georgia, bearing pods six or seven inches long, which hang
in clusters on a short upright stem. The pods are filled
with a white pea, which is highly esteemed for the table,
either green or dry. In that latitude they bear two or three
crops in one season.
Cultivation. — Peas should have a clean fallow, or fresh,
rich sod well harrowed. They are not affected by frosts
LEGUMINOUS PLANTf. 137
and may be sown as soon as the ground is dry. This will
enable them to ripen in season to plow for wheat. They
are very liable to attack from the pea-bug, which deposits its
egg in the pea while in its green state where it hatches, and
the worm by feeding on the pea, diminishes its weight nearly
one-half. Here it remains through the winter and comes
out as a bug the following season. To avoid this pest, some
sow only such seed as has been kept over two years, while
others sow as late as the lOth or 25th of May which delays
the pea till after the period of its attacks, but this latter prac-
tice seldom gives a large crop. It may be killed by pouring
boiling water upon the seed, stirring for a few minutes, and
then draining it off. Peas are sometimes sown in drills, but
most usually broadcast, at the rate of two or three bushels
per acre. It is better to plow them in to the depth of three
inches and afterwards roll the ground smooth to facilitate
gathering. When sown in drills they may be worked by
the cultivator soon after coming up. The growth is pro-
moted by steeping the seed for twenty or thirty hours in
urine and then rolling it in ashes or plaster.
Harvesting is accomplished by cutting with the sickle
or scythe, or what is more expeditious, (when fully ripe so
that the roots pull out easily) with the horse rake. When
thus gathered into heaps and well dried, they may be
threshed out and the haulm carefully stacked and saved for
sheep fodder. If this is secured in good condition, cattle
and sheep will do well upon it. Peas are frequently sown
with oats and when thus grown, they be fed to sheep or
horses unground, or made into meal for swine.
The Cow Pea. — This is grown in the Southern states,
and is valuable either as a fertilizer or as food for domestic
animals. Its long vines and succulent leaves which draw
much of their substance from the air, and its rapid and luxu-
riant growth particularly adapt it to the first object, while
its numerous and well filled pods and its great redundancy
of stem and leaf aflbrd large stores of forage. This is im-
proved for cattle, when harvested before the seed is fully
ripe. It is sown broadcast, in drills, or hoed in among corn,
when the latter is well advanced. If in drills, it may be
cultivated in its early stages by the plow, shovel-harrow or
cultivator. It may be cut with the scythe, or drawn toge-
ther with a heavy iron-toothed harrow or horse rake as with
1^ AMERICAN AORICULTtJRE.
the common pea. It requires a dry medium soil and is well
suited to clays.
THE BEAN {Phaseolus vulgaris.)
The bean is often a field crop in this country and espe-
cially in the northern and middle states. It is principally
used either green or dry for the table. It is a palatable and
highly condensed food, containing much in a small com-
pass. In proportion to its weight, it gives more nutriment
than any of the ordinary vegetables ; according to Einhof,
yielding 84 per cent, of nutritive matter while wheat gives
only 74. It has in common with the pea, vetch, &c., though
in a greater proportion, a peculiar principle termed legumin
which is analogous to casein, the animal principle in milk,
which is convertible into cheese, and in its nutritive proper-
ties it is essentially the same as the Jibrin of lean meat, the
albumen of eggs and other animal matters. There is no
vegetable we produce so fitted to supply the place of animal
food as the bean.
Soil. — The bean is partial to a quick dry soil, too great
strength or fresh manuring giving a large quantity of vine
without a corresponding quantity of fruit.
Cultivation. — The land should be finely pulverized and
if at all inclined to wet it should be ridged. Beans are ten-
der plants and will not bear the slightest frost, and as they
grow rapidly, they will be sure to ripen if planted when
this is no longer to be apprehended. The seed is exposed
to rot if put into the ground in a cold wet time, and the
land should therefore be previously well warmed by the sun.
The bush beans are the only kind used for field planting,
and of these there are several sub-varieties. The long gar-
den beans, white, red or mottled, are great bearers, of fine
quality and early maturing. Early ripening is important,
when other crops are to succeed the same season. They
are usually planted in hills about two feet apart, and also in
drills covered two inches with fine earth. They have been
sown broadcast on clean dry soils and produced largely.
When planted in drills, from five to eight plants should be
left in each according to their proximity, or if in drills they
need about 1 J bushels of seed to the acre.
Harvesting. — When the beans are fully formed and
there is any danger of frost, they should be at once secured,
LEGUMINOUS PLANTS. 139
but this scarcely affects them when they are gathered and
thrown into heaps. If the ground is not wanted for other
uses, they may stand till the latest pods assume a yellow
color. They are pulled with ease when the plant is mature
as the fibres of the root are by that time dead. This is
more quickly accomplished with an iron hook-rake, or if
the stalks are partially green they can be mown. The
vines if not dry should remain for a while in small heaps
and afterwards collected in larger piles around stakes set at
convenient distances, with the roots in the centre and secured
at the top by a wisp of straw ; and when well dried, they
should be threshed, cleaned and spread till quite free from
dampness. The straw or haulm is an excellent fodder for
sheep and should be stacked for their use. Beans are one
of the best kinds of winter food for sheep when fed in small
quantities. Sixty bushels have been raised on an acre worth
from $1 to '1^2 per bushel. Sheep are the only animal
which eats them raw, but swine, cattle and poultry will
thrive on them boiled.
THE ENGLISH FIELD BEAN (Viciafaba)
Is cultivated under many varieties in Europe and particu-
larly in Great Britain, as a field crop for the use of horses
and other animals. Among these are tlie Windsor, the tick,
the long pods and others. Arthur Young prefers " the com-
mon little horse-bean as being more generally marketable.'*
We have tried several of these varieties and although
entirely successful, have found them less adapted to our
climate and agriculture than the ordinary crops. They pre-
fer strong clay or clay loam soils.
THE TARE, VETCH OR FITCH {Vicia satira)
Is an important field crop in Europe for its stem and
leaves as animal food. It is hardy and productive and con-
sidered valuable for green fodder or soiling. There are
two kinds, the winter and spring. It is partial to a clay,
but grows indifferently on any rich soil which is not too dry.
It is sown broadcast or in drills, but generally the former,
on well pulverized lands and covered with the harrow,
demanding no after attention but the extermination of weeds.
They are most useful for soiling, but may be fed on the
ground or cut for hay. Tares have hitherto been little
grown in this country, but in certain soils and situations
I4i0 AMERICAN AGfelCULTlTRB.
they may be introduced as a substitute for clover, where
from any cause the latter does not grow successfully. All
domestic stock are fond of them.
THE FIND A OR GROUND PEA, (Arachis hypogcea).
This is a legumen and is cultivated with profit in the south-
ern states on light sandy lands, where it yields from 30 to
even 80 bushels per acre, besides furnishing much haulm for
forage. It is sown in drills 4 or 5 feet apart, and worked
with a light plow or cultivator immediately after the plants
show themselves above ground. They soon overspread the
whole surface. When properly matured, the roots are loo-
sened by a fork and pulled up by hand, and after curing are
put under covtn- for winter's use. They contain a large quan-
tity of oil, but in other respects, closely resemble the com-
mon pea and bean in their nutritive qualities. They are in
high repute for their fattening qualities.
HOOTS. 141
CHAPTER IX.
ROOTS.
THE ?OTATO, {Solarium tuberosum).
The potato is a native of the American Continent. It is
found in a wild state hoth in Buenos Ayres and Chili, and
was probably discovered in the same condition by the early
settlers of North America. It was supposed to have been
taken into Spain and Italy early in the 16l;h century by Span-
ish adventurers, as it was cultivated in those countries in
1550. In 1588 it was introduced into Vienna from Italy,
and also into England probably as early as 1586, by the
colonists of Virginia who were sent out by Sir Walter Ra-
leigh. It was regarded in Europe at first as a delicacy; but
not until within a comparatively recent period has it found
its way in both continents, as an article of agricultural atten-
tion, and an almost indispensable food for man and beast.
As an illustration of the neglect of the potato in this coun-
try as a field crop, the writer may mention that he once
knew an extensive eastern farmer, who, late in the last cen-
tury, had raised in one year 7 bushels of potatoes. After
disposing of all that was wanted for his own and his neigh-
bors consumption he had still a surplus left. A farmer on
the same premises at the present day would deem 700 bush-
els a short crop.
Varieties. — These are almost illimitable. They ditier
in form from round to oljlong, arc flat and curved or kidney-
shaped ; they vary in size from the delicate lady-finger to
the gigantic blue-nose ; their exterior is rough or polished
and of almost every hue, white, yellow, red, and almost black;
and the surface is smooth and even with the eye scarcely
discernible, or deeply indented with innumerable sunken
eyes like the rohan and merino. The interior is equally
diversified in color and is mealy, glutinous or watery, and
sometimes pleasatit and sometimes disagreeable to the taste.
They likewise differ in ripening earlier or later, and in being
I0ff AMERICAN AGRICULTURE.
adapted in some of their varieties to almost every peculiarity
of soil. New kinds are produced at pleasure by planting the
seed found in the balls. The tubers obtained in this way Avill
be small the first season, but with careful culture will be
large enough the second year to determine their quality,
when the best may be selected for propagation. The earli-
est are easily designated by the premature decay of the tops.
The varieties may also be increased from the seed by hybri-
dizing, or impregnating the pistils of one flower by the
pollen taken from the flower of another, and in this way
some of the best and most valuable kinds have been procured.
Such as have no flowers are more productive of tubers, as
there is no expenditure of vitality in forming the seed. They
may be compelled to flower by removing the small tubers
from the stalks as they form.
The best soil for potatoes is a rich loam, neither too wet
or too dry; but such as are cool and moist, as those of Maine,
Nova Scotia and Ireland, especially if in^rich fresh sod, give
the best flavored potatoes and are the least liable to disease.
A calcareous soil yields a good potato, and generally a sure
crop, and when there is little lime in the soil it should be ad-
ded. Salt, ashes and gypsum are excellent manures and in
certain instances have astonishingly increased the product.
Crushed bones also greatly improve a potato soil. Fresh
manures will often unpleasantly affect the taste of the potato,
and when necessary to apply it, it should be scattered- broad-
cast and plowed in.
The seed chosen should be such as experience has de-
cided is best adapted to the soil and the use for which they are
to be appropriated. Some are careful to select the most
mealy for the table, and plant those which give the greatest
yield for their cattle. This is sometimes mistaken policy, as
what are best for man are generally best for cattle ; and al-
though the farmer may get a much greater weight and bulk on
a given quantity of land of one kind, it may still be inferior
in fat and flesh-forming materials to those afforded by a smal-
ler quantity. Thus of three varieties grown in Scotland in
1842, the cups ga.Ye 13 3-4 tons per acre, containing 2 9-10
tons of starch ; the red dons yielded 14 1-4 tons and 1 5-10
of starch ; the white dons 18 1-2 tons and 2 4-10 of starch,
and the kidney has even given as much as 32 per cent, of
starch. — (Johnston.) There is also a difference in the rela-
tive proportions of gluten. Of this last, the potato contains
in its new and ripe state about 2 1-4 per cent., which diniin-
ROOTS. 143
ishes by long keeping. It is important in this as in an infi-
nite number of other practical matters in the economy of
agriculture, to have agricultural laboratories of unquestiona-
ble reliability, where the errors of superficial observation may
be detected, and where the real superiority of one product
over another, and their variations induced by soils, manures
and treatment may be established beyond the possibility of a
doubt.
Planting. — To produce abundantly, potatoes require a fer-
tile soil, and if not already sufficiently rich, manure should
be spread on the surface before plowing. If a tough sod, it
should be plowed the preceding fall, or if friable, it may be
done just before planting ; but in all cases the land should be
put in such condition as to be perfectly loose and mellow.
Hills are the most convenient for tillage, as they admit of
more thorough stirring of the ground with the cultivator or
plow. Medium size, uncut potatoes have been ascertained
from numerous experiments to be the best for planting, but
when seed is scarce, it is sometimes economical to divide
them. Two potatoes should be placed in each hill, or if in
drills, they should be planted singly 10 inches apart. The
distance both of hills and drills must depend on the strength
of the soil and the size of the tops, some varieties growing
much larger than others. Cover with light mold to the depth
of 4 or 6 inches, and if the soil be light leave the ground
perfectly level ; if cold, heavy or moist, let the hill be raised
when tinished. Subsoil plowing is a great help to potatoes.
The sets cut from the seed-end give a much earlier crop than
those from the root.
Cultivation. — When the plants first appear above the
ground, run the plow through them and throw the earth over
them 2 or 3 inches, and no injury results if the tops are par-
tially or even entirely covered. The hoe is scarcely required
except to destroy such weeds as may have escaped the
plow. The ground should be several limes stirred before the
tops interfere with the operation, but n ever afler they come
into blossom. Enormous crops have b oen procured by top
dressing with compost earth, well rotteu chip manure, &;c.
soon afler the plants make their appearane ; this is carried to
the field and spread from a light one hors^ cart, the wheels
passing between the rows; but such results are due to the
nicest cultivation and they would be equally attained by plac-
ing the land in the best condition before planting* Ther« is
i
l?it AMERICAN AGRICULTURE.
some gain to the crop, when the buds are plucked before they
come to blossom.
Harvesting and Storing should not be commenced un-
til the tops are mostly dead, as the tuber has not arrived at
full maturity before this time. They may then be thrown
out of the hills by a harrow, plow, or some hand implement.
They ought not to be exposed to the sun for any length of
time, but may dry on the surface in a cloudy day, or be gath-
ered into small heaps with some of the tops spread over them,
until freed from the surface moisture, when they may be stored.
Those selected for seed, should be placed in small piles in the
field, or in thin layers in a cool, dry place in the cellar
where the air is excluded and no heating or injury can oc-
cur. Such as are intended for consumption may be put in
dry bins or barrels in the store room, covered with straw and
diy sand or loose earth to prevent the circulation of air, or
buried in the field. Where convenient of access, a hole may
be excavated in the north side of a hill, or under a shade in a
porous soil. When first stored, the potatoes should be cover-
ed for a few days with a slight thatch of straw so arranged us
to shed the rain. A partial sweating or heating soon takes
place, which drives off some of the moisture, after which
they may be lightly covered with earth and in this way they
may remain till the commencement of severe frosts, when
they should be effectually protected from frost and rain till
wanted in the spring. A northern exposure or shade will
shield them from any injurious effects of the sun on the ap-
proach of warm weather. If stored on level ground, a hole
should be excavated for their reception, from 1 to 2 feet in
depth and 4 to 5 in width and of any length required. . The
potatoes are then ridged up like the roof of a house, thatched
and covered as previously described. A ditch lower than
the base must encircle the heap when the soil consists of
clay, from which an outlet conducts away all the water, as
any left upon them will inevitably produce decay.
Diseases. — The potato has long been subject to the curl.
From numerous experiments made in Scotland to avoid this
disease, it has been found that seed from potatoes which
were gathered before fully ripe gave a much better and
surer crop. It would be well to try the experiment in this
country where there is any deficiency of product from want
of full and healthy developement. Potatoes are also affected
by the scab and grub, against whose attacks there is no rem-
edy unless in a change of seed and location. Tlw rot has for
ROOTS. 145
several years produced serious and increasing injury to the
potato crop, in 1845, almost threatening starvation in Ireland
and causing great loss and suffering in other countries. Its
effects have also been extensively felt in the Ufcited States.
Numerous and scientific examinations have been made on
the subject. The proximate cause is supposed to be a fun-
gus, but what are the reasons for its late rapid extension and
the remedy for its ravages have not yet been satisfactorily
ascertained.
Preventives of rot. — Under the following circumstances rot
has not appeared when adjoining fields have been nearly de-
stroyed by it. 1. By using unripe seed, or seed whick has
been exposed to the sun, light and air, and well dried for 10
days after digging, and afterwards stored in a dry place in
small parcels where air is excluded till the moment of plant-
ing. 2. By the use of lime, some of which is placed in the
hill and the potateos dusted with it, and also from the use of
charcoal and salt, gypsum or other salts. 3. By fhe absence
of fresh barn-yard manure, or if used, by adding largely of
lime or saline manures. 4. The use of fresh sod which has
long been untilled. This has been found more efficacious
than any other preventive, although it has occasionally failed.
The sod may be plowed in the fall, or it may be lefi till late
in May or early in June, when it has a good coating of grass,
and then turned under flat, and furrowed lightly to receive
the seed without disturbing the sod. Or they may ba planted
by using a sharpened stake 3 inches in diameter, w!th a pin
or shoulder 10 inches from the bottom, on which the . bot may
be placed for sinking the holes. These should be made be-
tween the furrow slices at the proper distance for d.ills, and
a single potato placed in each which may be covcicd with
the heel. 5. Sound early varieties, early planted, *.ave also
escaped. Wo have thus secured a good yield, almc . ' wholly
free from disease ; and even those affected did not npear to
communicate disease to others. It has also been f: and that
some very late planted have escaped rot ; and if it b -: an epi-
demic, it may be that both by early and late planting, the
peculiar stage of vegetation when the fungus appears, is in a
great measure avoided. But the investigations on this impor-
tant subject are still in their infancy, and nothing has thus
far been ascertained, which can be justly considered as hav-
ing determined frinciples of universal application; yet it is
to be hoped that the Keal, intelligence and general inte-
rest which are now combined for this object will ere long de-
10 AMERICAN AGRICULTURE.
tect what has hitherto evaded the severest scrutiny of scienti-
fic research.
Arresting the disease has in some instances been successful,
by mowing off the tops when they are found defective. This
practice would be injurious to healthy plants, but may be
adopted, like that of cutting grain when struck by rust, if it
will secure even a part of the crop. When disease appears
in such as are dug, they should be carefully sorted and the
sound ones well dried, then placed separately in layers and
covered with ashes, burnt clay, or fine dry mold, which act
as absorbents of moisture and prevent contagion from such
as may be imperceptibly affected. They may also be cut in
slices and dried, or crushed and the farinaceous part ex-
tracted. By this means the potato will be made to yield
nearly all its nutriment. It is found that this disease affects
the tissues (the nitrogenized or albumenous part) of the potato
only; and for this reason, potatoes which have not been
too long or too deeply injured, will yield nearly their full
amount of fat for animals or starch for the manufacturer.
Uses. — Besides being an indispensable vegetable, potatoes
are boiled and mixed with flour for bread, to which they im-
part a desirable moisture and an agreeable flavor. They
are sliced, dried and ground and much used in Europe as
flour, and by the confectioners. They are also manufactured
into tapioca and when nicely prepared, the product is not
distinguishable from that of the manioc. In all of these and
some other forms, they enter into consumption as human
food. They are also used in large quantities by the manu-
facturers of starch ; to some extent for distilling ; and in a
less degree for making sugar. The refuse of the pulp after
extracting the starch, as well as the liquor drained from it,
is used for cleansing woollens and silks, which it effects with-
out injury to the color. But by far the greatest use of pota-
tatoes in this country is for stock feeding. They are eaten
with avidity by all the brute creation either cooked or raw.
For cattle and sheep, they are equally nutritious in either
condition. For horses they are improved by steaming or
baking. Swine and most poultry will subsist on them raw,
but will f itten on them only when cooked. Their good ef-
fects are i aost enhanced by mixing with meal when they are
hot, which partially cooks it.
ROOTS. 147
THE SWEET POTATO (Convolvulus f^atatus)
Is a root of very general growth in the southern, and is
much cultivated in the middle sections of the United States,
and for the table is scarcely surpasised by any esculent. It
is also greedily eaten and with great advantage by every spe-
cies of stock.
Soil. — A dry and sandy or light loamy soil is best for
them, and this should be well manured with compost scatter-
ed broadcast before working the ground, and thoroughly pul-
verized by repeated plowing and harrowing. It should then
be thrown into beds 4 feet wide, (which may be easily done
with the plow,) and in the centre of this strike a light furrow
to receive the seed if the soil is dry, or plant it on the surface
if moist.
Ci LTivATioN. — When the season is sufficiently long to
mature them, the potato may be most conveniently planted
by cutting the seed into slips and laying them 6 or 8 inches
apart in the place where they are to mature. Large pota-
toes divided into pieces of a proper size are better for seed
than small ones uncut. These should be covered about 2
inches with light mold. When they begin to sprout, the
plow may be run close to the rows on either side to remove
the earth and allow the full benefit of the sun and air to the
roots, and as the plant advances in its growth, the earth may
be gradually restored to them by the plow and hoe. Where
the vines are so large as to be injured by the j)low, the hoe
alone should be used. The hill or drills may then be made
broadly around the plants, hollowing towards them, to afford
a full bed of rich, mellow earth, and to retain the rain which
fills. Tliey are lit tor gathering when the vines are dead.
Where the season is short or early potatoes are wanted, plant
on a hot bed made of warm manure with a covering of 4
inches of fine mold. After splitting the potatoes, place them
on this and cover with 3 inches of light earth. As the sprouts
appear, draw and transplant them after a rain in the same
manner as before suggested. When early vegetated, a
bushel of seed will supply plants for an acre.
The preservation of the sweet potatoe through the winter is
difficult. We have often heard planters complain that they
could not preserve them, though their laborers are generally
succcessful. The latter frecjuently store them under the floors
of their cabins, by excavating a hole in the dry earth not far
EL distant from their fires and cover with light mold. Great
i
14i AMERICAN AGRICULTURE.
care to seclude them from air and light, and absolute dryness
seem to be essential to their preservation. They are fre-
quently kept by piling in heaps on dry earth, which arc still
more secure with a layer beneath of corn stalks or dry pine
boughs 6 or 8 inches deep. On this pack the roots in piles
6 feet in diameter. Cover with corn stalks and dry earth,
and protect this with a roof of boards and a ditch deep enough
to carry off all water. There must be a hole at the top slight-
ly stopped with straw to permit the escape of heated air and
to preserve uniformity of temperature. There are numerous
varieties of the sweet potato, red, yellow, &;c. They yield
from 200 to 300 bushels per acre and under favorable cir-
cumstances sometimes double this quantity.
THE TURNEP {Brassica rapa.)
The common flat English turnep was introduced into this
country with our English ancestry and has ever since been
an object of cultivation. When boiled it is an agreeable ve-
getable for the table. Its principal value however is food
for cattle and sheep by which it is eaten uncooked. Its
comparative nutritive properties are small, but the great bulk
which can be raised on a given piece of ground, and the fa-
cility and economy of cultivation, have always rendered it a
favorite with such farmers, as have soil and stock adapted to
its profitable production and use.
A GOOD SOIL for it is a fertile sand or well drained" loam.
Any soil adapted to Indian corn will produce good turneps.
But it is only on new land or freshly turned sod, that they are
most successful. An untilled virgin earth with the rich dres-
sing of ashes left after the recent burning of accumulated ve-
getable matter, and free from weeds and insects, is the surest
and most productive for a turnep crop. Such land needs
no manure. For a sward ground, or clover ley, there should
be a heavy dressing of fresh, unfermented manure before
plowing.
Cultivation. — ^Turneps are sown from the 15th of June
to the 1st of August. The first give a greater yield ; the last
generally a sounder root and capable of longer preservation.
The ground should be plowed and harrowed immediately be-
fore sowing as the moisture insures rapid germination of the
seed, which is of great importance to get it beyond the reach
of insects as soon as possible. This may be sown broadcast
at the rate of one or two pounds per acre and lightly harrowed
and rolled ; or it is better to be sown in drills, when a less
I
BOOTS* 149
(|uantity of seed will suffice. A turnep drill will speedily ac-
complish the farrowing, sowing, covering and rolling at a
single operation. The crop will be materially assisted by a
fop dressing of lime, ashes and plaster, at the rate of 15 or
W bushels of the hrst, half the quantity of the second, and 3
or 4 bushels of the last, per acre. When the plants show
themselves and the leaves are partially expanded, the cuUi-
vator or hoe may be freely used, stirring the ground well and
exterminating all weeds.
RuTA-BAGA ou SwEDES TuRNEP. — The introduction of
this is compai-atively recent, and it proves to be more worthy
of attention than the English or white mrnep. It will bear a
heavier soil, yield as well, give a richer root, and it has the
great advantage of keeping longer in good condition, thus
prolonging the winter food of cattle when they most need it.
Cultivation. — It is usually planted after wheat or corn,
but if a fresh virgin soil or old pasture sod is chosen, it will
materially lessen its liability to insects and other enemies. —
It is generally sown in drills about 2 feet apart, and on heavy
lands these should be slightly ridged. The plants must be
successively thinned to prevent interfering with such as are
intended to mature, but enough should remain to provide for
casualties. Where there is a deficiency they may be sup-
plied by transplanting during showery weather. They
should be left 6 or 8 inches apart in the drills. The Swede
turnep is a gross feeder and requires either a rich soil or heavy
manuring, though the use of fresh manures has been supposed
to facilitate the multiplication of enemies. Bones ground
and drilled in with the st^d, or a dressing of lime, ashes,
gypsum and salt are the best applications that can be made.
The Swede should be sown from about the 20th May to the
15th June, earlier than the English turnep, as it takes longer
to mature, and 2 or 3 weeks more of growth frequently adds
largely to the product. An early sowing also gives time to
raise another crop in case of failure of the first.
Enemies. — The turnep is exposed to numerous depredators,
of which the turnep flea-beetle is the most inveterate. It
attacks the plant as soon as the first leaves expand and often
destroys 2 or 3 successive sowings. The black catterpillar,
slugs, wire-worms, and numerous other insects, grubs and
aphides prey upon and greatly diminish the crop.
Remedies have been tried to an almost indefinite extent,
but none hitherto with more than very partial success. Lib-
eral sowing and rapid growth best insures the plant from in-
160 AMERICAN AGRICULTURE.
jury, and to effect this the seed should be plentifully sown,
and if possible, when the ground is moist, and always in a
rich soil. The seed should be steeped in some preparation
w^hich experience has shown will the most quickly develope
the germ. Solutions of the nitrates or sulphates,, urine, soot-
water, liquid guano, currier's oil, &c. impregnate the first
leaves with substances distasteful to their early enemies, and
thus a short respite from their attacks will be secured, gyp-
sum, ashes, bone dust and poudrette, drilled in with the seed
are excellent forcers for the young roots. Charcoal dust ap-
plied in the same way has been tbund to increase the early
growth from four to ten-fold. When the fly, and bug, &;c.
is discovered, the application of lime, ashes or soot, or all
combined should be made upon the leaves while the dew or
a slight moisture is on them. This leads the young plant
along, and kills such enemies as it reaches. Urine, diluted
sulphuric acid, (oil of vitrol,) and other liquid manures will
have the same effect. Ducks, chickens, and young turkies
and birds will devour innumerable quantities, and their pres-
ence should always be encouraged not only on this, but on
most of the fields. Dragging the surface with fine light
brush will lessen the slugs and insects. The ground should
be plowed just before winter sets in, w^hich exposes the
worms and the larvae of insects to the frost, when they are
unable to work themselves into a place of safety. The seed
should not be planted on ground before occupied or near any
of the order of platits amciferce, cabbage, radish, mustard,
charlock and water-cress, as they all afford food for the ene-
mies of turnips and thereby tend to their multiplication.
Harvesting may be deferred till the approach of cold
weather, and in those sections of the countiy not affected by
severe ii'osts, when on dry soils, they may be allowed to win-
ter on the field. Otherwise they should be secured during
the good autumnal weather. This is accomplished most ex-
peditiously with a root hook, which is made with two-iron
prongs attached to a hoe handle. The use of a bill hook or
sharp knife will enable the operator to lop off the leaves with
a single blow, when they are thrown into convenient piles
and afterwards collected for storage.
The Storing may be in cellars or in heaps, similar to
potatoes, but in a cooler temperature as slight heat injures
them, while frost does not. If stored in heaps, one or more
holes should be lefl at the top, which may be partially stop-
BOOTS. 151
ped by a wisp of hay or straw to allow the escape of the
gases which are generated.
Thr feeding of ruta-bagas to cattle and sheep is always
in their uncooked state. They are better steamed or boiied
for swine, but their food should be sought from the more fat-
tening products of the farm. In moderate quantity they may
be given to horses, but they cannot be relied upon for them,
as they are too bulky for working animals. Their place is
much better supplied for horses by the carrot or potato.
Their true value is as food for store and fattening cattle,
milch cows and sheep, as they furnish a salutary change from
dry hay, being nearly equivalent as a f d ler to green sum-
mer food. They should be washed bt fo e feeding if too
much dirt adheres to them, but if grown on a light soil, the
tap roots lopped off and otherwise properly secured, they will
not require it. They may be sliced with a heavy knife, or
more summarily cut up while lying on the barn floor, with a
sharp spade, or root slicer, which is made with a socket han-
dle and two blades crossing each other in the centre at right
angles, or by some of the numerous improved cutting ma-
chines. With an abundance of turneps and a small supply
of straw, hay may be entirely dispensed with for cattle and
sheep. Many of the best English breeds are kept exclusive-
ly on turneps with a little straw till ready for the shambles.
The varieties of turneps are numerous. After selecting
such as will give the largest crop of the most nutritious roots,
the next object in the choice of particular varieties should
be to adapt them to the most economical use. Some will
keep much longer than others, and if wanted to feed late in
the season it may be necessary to take a variety intrinsically
less valuable than another which must be earlier consumed.
The English turnep should be first fed as it soonest wilts and
becomes pithy, then follow with the others according to their
order of maturity and decay. The leaves yield good forage,
and if unmixed with earth may be fed dry or green to cattle.
The value of turneps to this country is trifling in compari-
son with that of many parts of Europe. In Great Britain
alone, this value probably exceeds one hundred millions of
dollars annually. But its culture here is much less desirable,
as our drier climate and early and severe winters are not as
well adapted to its production and economical preservation
and feeding as those of England, and its numerous enemies
render it an uncertain crop. These objections are increased
by the important fact, that it enters into competition with our
152 AMERICAN AGRICULTITRS.
Indian corn,\vhich under ordinary circumstances, always gives
a certain and highly remunerating return. It may sometimes
however take the place of corn with advantage, and the tur-
nip or some of the other roots should always occupy a con-
spicuous place in the change of winter food for cattle and
sheep.
THE CARROT ( Daucus carota)
Is one of our most valuable roots. It is a hardy, easy
cultivated plant, and grows in almost every soil, and is next
to the potato in its nutritive properties.
The soil which best suits it is a fertile sand or light loam,
but it will grow on such as are more tenacioas if well drain-
ed, and deeply worked. The success of this and the parsnep
depends much on the depth to which their roots can reach.
Deep spading or subsoil plowing is therefore indispensable to
secure large crops, and nearly all kinds of manure are equal-
ly suited for their food if well rotted. The ground should be
thoroughly pulverized.
The varieties chiefly used for field culture are the long
red, the orange, and white Belgian. The last under favor-
able circumstances, attains huge dimensions, and from its
roots grow high out of the ground, it is supposed to draw
more of its nourishment from the air, and to exhaust the ground
less, while it is of course more easily harvested. But it is
considerably below the others in comparative value.
Planting. — The carrot should be sown in drills, 16 "to 20
inches apart, when the ground has become warm and dry.
The seed is best prepared by mixing with fine mold or pou-
drette and stirring them w^ell together to break ofl' the fine
beards ; then sprinkle with water and allow it to remain in
a warm place and occasionally turn it to produce equal
development in the seed. It may remain 10 or 15 days be
fore sowing till nearly ready to sprout. It then readily ger-
minates and does not allow the w^ceds to get the start. The
frequent use of the cultivator and entire cleanliness from weeds
is all that is necessary to insure a crop, unless it be con-
venient to ^^ive it a top dressing of liquid manure, which the
Flemings always do, and which no crop better repays. Two
pounds of ^:ood seed will sow an acre. Any deficiency of
plants ma} be supplied by transplanting in moist weather.
Six inches is near enough for the smaller kind to stand, and 8
for the larger. They are subject to few diseases or enemies,
BOOTS. 153
excepting such as can be avoided by judicious selection of
soil and caretlil tillage.
The harvesting may be facilitated by running a plow
on one side of the rows, when the roots are easily removed
by hand. The tops are then cut and the surface moisture
from the roots dried, when they may be stored like turneps
and potatoes. They ought to be kept at as low a temperature
as possible above the freezing point. On the approach of
warm weather they will sprout early if left in heaps, and if
important to preserve them longer the crown should be cut off
and the roots spread in a cool dry place.
Uses. — Carrots are chiefly grown for domestic stock.
Horses thrive remarkably on them, and some judicious
farmers feed them as a substitute for oats. But their intrin-
sic value in weight, is bss in the proportion of about 5 to 1.
They are good for working cattle and unsurpassed for milch
cows, producing a great flow of milk and a rich yellow cream.
Sheep and swine greedily devour them and soon fatten if
plentifully supplied with them. The Dutch grate them, and
with sugar and salt, make a pickle for their choicest table
butter. They are also employed in distilling. The aver-
age yield on good land may be estimated at about 300 bush-
els of the smaller, and 450 of the Belgian or white, per acre,
but with extra cultivation, 1000 bushels of the last have been
raised.
THE PARSNEP {Pastinaca sativa)
Is cultivated as a field crop and is of nearly equal nutritious
value with the carrot. The soil may be heavier for parsneps
than for carrots and they will even thrive on a strong clay
if rich, well pulverized and dry. Large crops can only be
obtained on deep, rich ground, well pulverized. They
should be sown early as frosts do not affect them and
they require a long time to come to maturity. Drilling at a
distance of 20 inches apart, is the proper mode of planting,
and they should be thinned to a space of 6 or 8 inches. It
requires 4 or 5 lbs. of seed per acre which must be of the
previous year's growth, as older does not readily vegetate.
No preparation of the seed is necessary. The subsequent
cultivation is simi'ar to that of carrots, and they will gener-
ally yield more under similar circumstances of soU and tillage.
They are little subject to disease or enemies.
The gathering should be deferred till the frost leaves the
ground in spring unless wanted for winter's use, as they keep
154 AMERICAN AGRICULTURE.
best in the ground where they are uninjured by the intensest
frost. But particular care should be observed in allowing no
standing w^ater on them or they will rot. When taken up in
the fall, the roots should neither be trimmed or broken, nor
should the tops be cut too near the root. They must be stored
in a cool place and covered carefully with earth, as exposure
to air or even moderate heat wilts them.
Uses. — The parsnep is one of our most delicious table
vegetables. It is an excellent food for swine either raw or
cooked, and for cattle, milch cows and sheep it is highly priz-
ed. Qualey says, " it is not as valuable for horses for though
it produces fat and a fine appearance, it causes them to sweat
profusely, and if eaten when the shoot starts in the spring it
produces inflammation in the eyes and epiphora or weeping."
The leaves of both carrots and parsneps are good for cattle
green or dried. Gerarde who wrote in 1596 says. " an ex-
cellent bread was made from them in his time." They have
also like the carrot been used for distillation, and are said to
afford a very good vinous beverage. The best variety for
field culture is the large Jersey.
THE BEET {Beta.)
There are but two varieties of the beet in general use for the
field, the sugar beet and mangold wurzel, both of which have
several sub-\Tirieties. They are of various colors, red, pink,
yellow, white or mottled, but color does not seem to affect their
quality. The conditions under which they grow are similar.
Beets do well in any soil of sufficient depth and fertility, but
they are perhaps most partial to a strong loam. If well tilled
they will produce large crops on a tenacious clay. We have
raised at the rate of 800 bushels to the acre on a stiff' clay
which had been well supplied with unfermented manure. The
soil cannot be made too rich. For such aslJare adhesive,
fresh or unfermented manures are much the best.
The PLANTING should be in drills 20 to 24 inches asunder,
at the rate of 4 to 6 lbs. of seed per acre, buried not over
one inch deep. The seed should be early planted or as soon
as vegetation will ))roceed rapidly, but must first be soaked
by pouring soft scalding water on it, allowing it to cool to
blood heat, and remain for 3 or 4 days, then roll in plaster
and drill it in. The husk or outer covering of the seed is
thick and impervious to moisture,and without a thorough pre-
vious saturation, will not readily germinate.
ROOTS. 166
The CULTURE is similar to that of carrots and parsneps.
They should be thinned to a distance of about 8 inches and
all vacancies filled up with strong tliritly plants. It is better
to sow thick enough to avoid the necessity of transplanting,
tor in addition to the time and exj)ense of this operation, the
new plants will not thrive as well as those which grow in
their ranks from the seed. The above distances are suitable
for the sugar beet ; the mangold wurzel attains a larger size
and the spaces may be increased. The practice of plucking
off the leaves for cattle -feeding is objectionable, as it materi-
ally interferes with the growth of the plants. Scarcely any
disease or enemy troubles it except when young. It is then
sometimes though rarely attacked by grubs or small insects.
Harvesting may be commenced soon after the first leaves
turn yellow and before the frosts have injured them. The tops
must not be too closely trimmed, nor the crown of the roots
or its fibrous prongs cut from such as are destined for late
keeping. If intended for early winter use, they may be
abridged a trifle, and afler the surface is dry, stored like other
roots. They do not need as effectual protection as potatoes,
for if the frost touches them under a covering of earth, it will
gradually be withdrawn on the approach of warm weather
and leave the roots uninjured ; but they will not keep as long
as if untouched by the frost. A slight opening for the escape
of the gas, as with the other roots, should be left at the top
and partially guarded with straw.
Uses. — The beet is a universal favorite for the table and
of great value for stock. Domestic animals never tire of it
and swine prefer it to any other root excepting the parsnep.
We have kept a large herd in the best condition through the
winter on no other food than the raw sugar beet. They pos-
sess additional merit from their capability of resisting decay
longer than the turnep, and frequently beyond the carrot
and parsnep. They will be solid, fresh and juicy late in the
spring if properly stored, and at a time loo when they are
most wanted for ailing sheep or cattle, milch cows or ewes,
or for contributing to the support and health of any of the
ordinary stock. When fed to fattening animals, they should
follow and never precede the turnep. it has been found
that such animals continue steadily to advance in flesh after
being carried to a certain point with turneps if shifted on to
the beet, but in repeated instances they have fallen back if
changed from beets to turneps. Davy found in 1000 parts,
the following quantity of nutritive or soluble matter. White
156 AMERICAN AGRtCULTURE.
or English turneps, 42; Swede, 64; mangold wurzel, 136 ;
sugar beet, 146. This order of nutrititive quality is followed
by Boussingault, though he places the field beet and Swede
turnep at nearly the same point. Einhof and Timer on the
contrary place the Swede before mangold wurzel. But in
feeding to animals, unless for an occasional change, the
roots should be given out in the order named. The sugar
beet is seen to be more nutritious than the mangold wurzel,
it is equally hardy and productive and more palatable to
stock, and of course is to be preferred for raising. The for-
mer has been largely cultivated in France and Germany,
for making into sugar, where it has been entirely successful,
because protected by an adequate impost on the imported
article. Their conversion into sugar has repeatedly been
attempted in this country, but it cannot probably sustain a
successful comp :lition with the cane. From the experi-
ments pf M. Darracq, it has been found, that in summer the
best yielded from 3i to 4 per cent, of sugar, but in October
after the commencement of frost, it gave only syrup and
saltpetre, and no cr3'stalizable sugar. When used for this
purpose, the residuum of the pulp after expressing the juice
is given to cattle. When wilted, the leaves are also fed to
them, but caution is necessary to prevent their scouring.
What are not thus used are plowed in for manure. The
beet is also distilled and yields about half the product of
potatoes.
THE JERUSALEM ARTICHOKE {Hdianthus tuherosus,)
A native of Brazil, is a hardy plant, but little cultivated.
Loudon says the name Jerusalem is a corruption of the Ital-
ian word girasole, (or sun-flower,) the blossom of which it
closely resembles except in size. It flourishes in a moist,
loose soil or sandy loam, with little care except to thin out
and prevent weeds. It is very productive and easily culti-
vated in drills, three or four feet apart. The planting may
be done in March or April. As it is not injured by frost
and is very prolific, it will spread rapidly and often becomes
a pest in the garden. The product is enormous, some-
times overrunning, it is said, 2,000 bushels per acre. Its
nutritive qualities are much less than those of the potato,
but its great productiveness and the facility of raising it,
would seem to commend it to more general favor. Bous-
singault considers it an improving and profitable crop from
FRUITS. 151'
its drawing its nitrogen largely from the atmosphere. It is
peculiarly fitted for a spring feed, as the roots lie uninjured
by the vicissitudes of the weather, and may be taken out in
perfection after most other roots are gone.
The USES of the Jerusalem artichoke in this country are
both for human and animal food. The roots are generally
used as a pickle or salad. Loudon says " they may also be
eaten boiled, mashed in butter, or baked in pies, and have an
excellent flavor." The tops when cut and cured as hay,
afford a good fodder for cattle, and the roots are excellent
for sheep and other stock. Swine will thrive upon them
through the winter, and do tlieir own harvesting when the
ground is not locked up by frost.
NOTE.
We give on the following pages the table of nutrive equivalents of food, compiled
by Boussingault, as a convenient reference, though not entirely reliable in all
cases. For it will be seen from what haa before been said, that the particular
plants vary not only according to the season and soil, but also frequently, accord-
ing to the particular variety subject to analysis. He says: "In the tollowing tahle,
to the numbers assigned by the theory, I have adiled those of the whole whicn I
find in the cnliie series of observations that have come to my knowledge. I have
also given the sta.idard quantity of water, and the quantity "of azote, contained in
each species of food. When the theoretical equivalents do not ditfer too widely
from those supplied by direct observation, I believe ihat they ought to be preferretl.
The details of my experiments, and the precautions needful in entering on and
carrying them through, must have satisfied every one of the ditiiculties attending
their conduct; yet all allow how Uttle these have been attentively contemplated,
and what slender measures of precaution against error have been taken. In ray
opinion, direct observation or experiment is indispensable, but mainly, solely as a
means of checking within rather wide limits the results of chemical analysis."
158
AMERICAN AGRICULTrRE.
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160 AMERICAN AGRICUITUBE.
CHAPTER X
FRUITS.
The growing of fruits to the extent at least of the demands
for his own use, should never be neglected by the farmer.
The soil and climate of the United States are almost every-
where suited to their cheap and easy production. They are
a source of profit for market purposes as well as useful to
stock ; and they afford some of the choicest and most eco-
nomical luxuries for domestic use. Success in their cultiva-
tion may at all times be secured by a judicious selection of
the fruit, the soil and location, and by proper attention
thereafter.
THE APPLE.
The locality of the apple orchard should depend much on
the climate and soil. In warm latitudes, a northerly expo-
sure is perhaps best when not subject to violent winds, as
these from any quarter are liable to blast the fruit while in
blossom, and blow it from the tree before it is ripe. It is
generally advantageous to protect an orchard from the bleak
winds which prevail in its immediate neighborhood by a
judicious selection of the ground. A warm and sunny posi-
tion subjects the buds in spring to premature swelling, and
these are often cut off by the severe spring frosts that follow,
when an ordinary or northern exposure would retard their
budding until the season was sufficiently advanced for their
protection. The orchard should have a medium position as
to exposure and the influences of the season.
Soil. — All the varieties intermediate between a stiff,
unyielding clay and a light shifting sand, are friendly to the
apple. The soil best suited to the perfection of fruit is a
moist, friable, calcareous loam, slightly intermixed with fine
gravel. This may run either into a sandy loam, which
usually rests upon a sub soil of sand or gravel j or into a
FRUITSi 161
clayey loam with a sub soil of stiff clay. Either of these is
a good soil for the orchard. The ground should be rich
enough for the production of good crops of grain, roots or
grass. This state of fertility is absolutely necessary for the
thrifty growth of the tree and its existence in a healthy and
vigorous state. Springy or wet land is decidedly bad for an
orchard, and if the farmer can appropriate no other for this
purpose, it should be well drained, either by under-ground
ditches or open trenches sufticiently deep to carry off the
water for a depth at least two feet below the surface, so as to
leave the soil perforated by the roots, in a warm and active
state. Rocky and stony soils of the above descriptions are
usually well adapted to the growth of fruit trees. The
stones keep the ground moist, loose and light. Some of the
finest fruits grow where there is scarcely room to deposit
the tree between the huge rocks. They should not however
lie too deep when close together, as they will impede and
control the growth of the roots. A sufticient area of earth
is always necessary for an ample growth of wood and the
full size of the tree at maturity. Stiff clays and light blow-
mg sands under very nice cultivation will grow fruits, but
they require active manure. Clays should be often plowed,
particularly in the fail, that the soil may be ameliorated by
the winter frosts. The sands require compact culture,
and appropriate manures. All such as are suited to ordi-
nary crops on these lands will promote the growth of trees.
The use of other soils however for the orchard should be
preferred, as the fruit will be larger, fairer and better fla-
vored, and the trees of much longer duration.
Planting. — Dig the holes from three to six feet in diam-
eter and twelve to eighteen inches deep, accoixling to the
kind of soil and the size of the tree. The more compact
the soil, the deeper and larger should be the hole. When
ready to plant, let enough of the best or top soil be thrown
into the !)otom of the hole, so that the tree may stand about
one inch lower than when removed from the nursery. The
tree should be taken up so as to injure the roots as little as
possible. If any be broken, cut them off, either square or
obliquely with a fine saw or sharp knife. If left in their
bruised or broken condition, they will canker and decay in
the ground, but if thus cut off, numerous rootlets will spring
out at the tennlnation of the amputated root, which strikes
into the soft earth and give increased support to the tree. If
the soil be poor, the roots should be covered and the holes
162 AMERICAN AGRICULTURE.
filled with good earth. If the hole be small, the surrounding
land hard, and the roots bent up and cramped, the tree can-
not grow, or if after a long time of doubt and delay, it finally
survives, it creeps along with a snail's pace, making little re-
turn to the planter. If the tree be crooked, confine it with a
straw band to a stake firmly planted in the ground. This is
the best ligature, as it does not cut the bark, which small cords
often do, and it gradually gives way as the tree increases in
size. When thus planted, well manured and looked after
subsequently, the tree thrives and in a kw years rewards
the owner with its delicious and abundant fruit.
The season of planting may be any time after the fall of
the leaf by frost in autumn, till its reappearance in the spring,
provided the ground be not frozen. Early spring is to be
preferred for planting stone fruits. They may be planted
while in embryo leaf and blossom with entire success, but it
is usually best to do this before the bud is much swollen. —
If one time be equally convenient with another, we recom-
mend fall planting for fruit generally, as the earth then be-
comes settled about the root early in the season. This is
particularly advantageous when the spring is succeeded by a
severe summer's drought. So important is the operation of
planting, that it is better to have one tree well planted, than
three planted badly, and more fruit may be anticipated within
the first ten years if not forever, from the first one than from
all the others. It some times occurs that in removing trees
from a great distance, they arrive too late in the fall to be
properly transplanted. In such case a trench should be dug
in soft earth and the trees laid at an angle of about 45°, three
or four inches apart, the roots carefully placed to prevent
breaking, and the earth piled on them for a foot up the trunk,
and eight or ten inches over the roots. This will preserve
them until spring without detriment to their future growth. —
The practice is adopted by nurserymen and others, who of-
ten transplant their trees from one location to another with-
out loss or difficulty. Trees should never be planted in the
apple orchard at a less distance than two rods, and forty feet
apart is better. Close planting prevents the trees from re-
ceiving the requisite quantity of sun and the free circulation of
air, both of which are essential to the size, flavor and perfec-
tion of fruit. Forty trees will plant an acre, at the distance
of two rods apart. The consequence of closer planting is
the premature decay of the trees and an inferior quality of
fruit.
FRUITS. 168
Cultivation. — A previously uncultivated or virgin soil
is the best for an orchard, but if such is not to be had, that
which has been long in pasture or meadow is most suitable.
The most eflicient manures are swamp muck, decayed
leaves and vegetables, rotten wood, chip manure, lime,
ashes, gypsum, &c. Trees, like any other vegetable, draw
their own specific food, largely from the soil, and to supply
the elements of their growth in abundance, the earth should
occasionally be renewed with those materials which may
have become partially or wholly exhausteil. When care-
fully plowed and cultivated in hoed crops, orchards thrive
most rapidly, care being always taken to protect the trees
from damage either to the trunks or roots. All tearing of
the roots is objectionable. The ground should be kept rich
and open, so as to be pervious to the influence of rains, the
sun and the atmosphere. Under these conditions the trees
will thrive vigorously. When lands are kept in grass, a
space of three to six feet in diameter, according to the age
and size of the tree, should always be kept free from turf
around them. Pastures which are trodden by animals,
are so bared by this and the closeness of their cropping that
the roots of the trees get their share of benefit from the sun
and rains. From this cause pastures are better suited to
orchards than mowing lands ; for the latter are so com-
pletely covered by the rank growth of grass that the tree
suffers, and without the aid of manures and the annual
loosening of the ground for a few feet around,' the tree in
some cases dies from exhaustion. All kinds of cereal grains
are bad for orchards, except perhaps buckwheat. The pre-
paration of the ground for this crop by early summer plow-
ing, is highly condusive to the growth of trees, and its nutri-
ment being drawn largely from the air, it robs the roots of
a small amount only of the materials in the soil.
A neighboring farmer, whose management many years
since came under our notice, had a small mowing lot adjoin-
ing his barn and cattle sheds, which was surrounded with a
stone wall. The soil was a moist gravelly loam, every way
fitted for the growth of apple trees, as was shown by there
having been several flourishing orchards on similar soils in
the immediate vicinity. He filled this with apple trees set
in small holes at the proper distances, the rows terminating
on each side close to the wall and also near his barn and
sheds. After setting out, the trees were staked and then
left to grow, as best they could without farther cultivation.
164 AMERICAN AGRICUL'TURE*
Those remote from the wall and buildings remained station-
ary for several years, while those under their influence,
after two or three years began to show a vigorous growth.
The grass was removed annually and the trees received no
cultivation, save perhaps a bushel or two of chip manure
occasionally thrown around them. Twenty years after they
were planted, the trees next to the wall and buildings were
thrifty and had attained a large size, while many of the oth-
ers had died, a few had grown to one-fourth the size of the
outer ones and otliers were still smaller, mossy and showing
signs of a premature old age. Not one-third of the trees
gave any return whatever. The wall and buildings kept
the soil next tliem light and moist, while that in the more
open held spent all its energy upon the grass. An orchard
to be productive and profitable, must he cultivated, and with-
out this, it is useless to plant it.
Pruning. — This operation should commence at the plant-
ing of the tree, the top of which should alwaysybe in propor-
tion to the size and number of the roots. If the top be high
and spindling, shorten it so as to throw the lateral shoots into
a graceful and branching form. The limbs may commence
about six feet from the ground. The pruning should be done
annually as the labor is then trifling, and the expenditure of
vital force in maturing wood \vhich is afterwards to be cut
off* is thus saved, and the branches to be removed being small
the wounds readily heal. In this case no covering is requir-
ed for the wound as one season's growth will heal it. "The
top should be sufficiently open to admit the sun and air. —
The best time for trimming is when the tree is in bloom, and
the sap in full flow. The proper instrument is a fine saw or
sharp knife, and the limb should be cut ofl' close to the re-
maining branch. The sap at this time is active, and is read-
ily converted into new bark and wood, which speedly forms
over the cut. But this is a busy season with the farmer, and
if he cannot then prune his trees he may do it when more
convenient, taking care to secure the wounds by an efficiein
covering of salve. Old trees or such as are growing vigor-
ously and have been long neglected, often require severe
trimming, which should always be done in May or June, and
when the wounds are large they should be covered with a
coat of thick Spanish brown paint or grafting wax. If they
are left exposed and the growth of the tree be slow, decay will
often take place before they are healed. Too much care
cannot be used in these operations. In large trees, a ladder
FRUITS. 165
should always be at hand to avoid breaking the limbs by the
weight of the operator. If by too close planting the branch-
es of different trees be brought into contact, thorough prun-
ing is absolutely necessary, as without it good fruit cannot be
obtained.
Graftixg axd Budding. — These operations are so sim-
ple, and usiially so well known by some individual in every
iarming neighborhood, that no written description of cither
operation ii necessary. Grafting wax of the best kind is
thus made. Take four parts of rosin, one of tallow and one
of beeswax, melt and stir them well together, then pour them
into a bucket or pan of cold water. As soon as cool enough to
be handled, work it over and draw it out like shoe-maker's
wax until it is entirely pliable. It may then be used imme-
diately or laid up and kept for years. The mode of applying
it is known to every gratler. Scions should always be of
the growth of the proceeding year and cut from well ripened,
thrifty wood in the months of January, February or March,
before the buds begin to swell with the flow of the spring
sap. Tie them up and keep in a moist cool place, a cellar
bottom, or box of moss or earth till ready for use. When cir-
cumstances require it, grafts may be cut at any time after the
fall of the leaf, but the months indicated are best in all locali-
ties north of the Potomac and Ohio rivers. July and August
are the best time for budding. This should always be done
while the sap is in flow and the bark is loose, as at no other
time is success certain.
SELECTION OF Trees. — These should always be selected
from seedlings. Suckers from the roots of grown trees are
objectionable as tending to throw up suckers themselves which
are always troublesome. When they appear, these should
be cut close to the root or stem, and if properly done, they
will rarely sprout anew.
Planting the Seed. — If the farmer wish to raise his own
trees, he can sow the seed or pomace in rows in the fall. Af..
ter they come up in the spring, weed and hoc them like any
vegetable. When a year old, they should be carefully taken
up, the tap root cut off* and replanted in rows four feet apart,
and at least a foot distant in the rows, when they should be
regularly trinmied and cultivated till they are H or 2 inches
diameter at the base, at which time they are fit for the orch-
ard. These operations are however the appropriate business
of the nurseryman, for whose guidance there should always
be at hand; some standard work on the cultivation of fruits.
166 AMERICAN AGRICULTURE.
Of these, Kenrick*s and Downing's areat present, the best
American treatises.
Gathering and Preserving. — For immediate use apples
may be shaken from the tree. For winter consumption or
packing for market, they should be carefully picked by hand
with the aid of ladders, to avoid bruising the fruit and injur-
ing the limbs. To preserve apples, the best method is to lay
them carefully into tight barrels or boxes, immediately after
picking with a thin layer of perfectly dry chaff on the bottom;
and after being lightly shaken together, another layer of
chaff on the top maybe added, though this is. not essential.
They may then be tightly headed or covered so as to e xclude
the air. The boxes or barrels should then be put away into
a dry place, and kept as cold as possible, above the freezing
point. But if slightly frozen, they will not be injured if suf.
fered to remain unpacked till the frost leaves them. Thus
managed they will keep as long as they are capable of preser-
vation. Bins in the cellar are good for ordinary use if close-
ly covered. If exposed to the air, warmth or moisture, ap-
ples soon decay. If too dry, they wilt and become tasteless.
They are sometimes Ijuried in the earth like potatoes, but
this is very liable to impair the flavor and give them an earthly
taste ; and they seldom keep so well after removal in the
spring as when they have been stored in barrels.
For farm stock apples are extremely profitable, and the
better the quality of fruit the more valuable are they for this
object. A variety of both sweet and sub-acid should be cul-
tivated. The sacharine matter of the apple is the principal
nutritive property and this abounds in some kinds of the sub-
acid. Animals like a change in their food as well as man,
and both these varieties should, therefore, be fed to them alter-
nately. When the soil and climate are adapted to them, we
have no doubt that apples for stock, can be grown cheaper than
any other kind of food, excepting grass. Hogs have been
often fatted upon them with an occasional change to grain ;
and when fed to horses, neat cattle, and sheep with hay, they
are almost equivalent to roots. That tree must be badly cul-
tivated which in ten years after planting will not produce five
bushels of apples ; and these, at ten cents a bushel, give an
annual revenue of fifty cents a tree, or twenty dollars per acre
for stock-feeding alone. At twenty years old, the tree will
double that product, casualties excepted, and as this estimate
is based on their least valuable use, an increased profit, of
course may be anticipated from their conversion to other
FEUIT8. 167
purposes. Good apples are rarely worth less than twenty-five
cents a bushel in market; often three or four times that
amount. The ranging of swine among any kind of fruit trees
greatly conduces to their health and growth. Besides the
support of the swine, their consumption of windfalls secures
the destruction of the insects in them. Sheep, turkies, ducks
and chickens answer the same purpose when suffered to fre-
quent them in sufficient numbers.
Making cider. — Good fn it is indispensable to the making
of good cider. The suitable time for this is in October and
November, and apples to be thus appropriated should ripen in
these months. Such as are slightly acid are excellent for
this purj)ose. As far as practicable, the fruit should be of
one kind, fully ripe, yet sound and undecayed. The mill
must be thoroughly cleansed with hot water, and capable of
grinding the pomace fine. This should lie in the vat at least
forty-eight hours after grinding, and be turned once or twice
before its removal into the cheese. Pomace so exposed ab-
sorbs large quantities of oxygen, thus undergoing a necessary
change for its conversion into good cider. All fruits are
subject to this change to a certain extent just before ripen-
ing. Wh'^n their juices are expressed or the pulp broken
and exposed to the air this effect is increased, and constitutes
the saccharine fermentation. In both cases, the result is to
increase the palatable and nutritive properties of the fruit, by
converting the starch, gum and other vegetable matters into
sugar.
When the pomace has been sufficiently pressed, it may be
fed to cattle, sheep, or swine, and the liquor put into barrels
in a cool place and allowed to remain till the pulp or feculent
matter has been thrown out at the bung, and to aid its remo-
val the barrel should be kept full. The second fermentation
is the vinous, and by it a portion of alcohol is developed,
which is slowly continued afterwards in the enclosed cask,
until it reaches from 6 to 9 per cent. When fermentation
apparently subsides, the cider should be drawn into clean bar-
rels and tightly bunged. Previous to doing this, a little sul-
phur should be burned in the cask to arrest the fermentation.
The addition of charcoal, raisins, mustard seed, fresh meat,
&c. produces the same effect. After standing two or three
months, closely confined in a cool place, it may be drawn oflf
and tightly bottled for use. Its long preservation and im-
provement will depend on its being kept cool and well corked.
In addition to its possessing a small proportion of alcohol, it
168 AMERICAN AGRICULTURE.
then contains large quantities of carbonic acid gas, which
occasions its lively effervessence when uncorcked, and gives
to it that peculiarly pungent and agreeable flavor so highly
relished.
Vinegar. — If the cider be allowed to remain in the cask in
which it is first placed, and exposed to a warm temperature, it
continues greedily to absorb oxygen and quickly undergoes
another fermentation called the acetic, by which it is converted
into vinegar ; and even if intended solely for this purpose, the
best and richest fruit is most valuable. When the vinegar
has acquired its perfection it should be kept air-tight at a low
temperature.
Best varieties of apples for cultivation. — Almost
every section of the apple-growing regions of America has a
greater or less variety peculiar to itself, and their valuable
properties appear more fully developed in these localities than
when removed to others. Such should of course be retained
when of extraordinary excellence. There are varieties,
however, which are of more general cultivation, cosmopolites
throughout the apple climates, of fine quality, and possessing
all the excellence of which the genus is capable. Thirty
different kinds for each section or state, will probably include
all which it is desirable to cultivate, and for any one location
perhaps twenty is sufficient. We here name 30 standard
varieties, all of which are now in successful cultivation in
different parts of the United States and the Canadas. The
names and descriptions are those of Downing, as published
in his late work on the Fruit Trees of America, 1845.
Summer Apples. — Early Harvest, Red Astracan, Large
Yellow Bough, Williams' Favorite.
Autumn Apples, — Golden Sweet, Fall Pippin, Gravenstein,
Jersey Sweeting, Pumpkin Russet, (by some, the Belle-
bonne,) Rambo.
Winter Apples. — Westfield Seek-no-farther, Baldwin,
Black Apple, Yellow Belle fleur, Detroit, Hubbardston None-
such, Green and Yellow Newtown Pippin, Northern Spy,
Blue Pearmain, Peck's Pleasant, Rhode Island Greening,
American Golden Russet, English Russet, Roxbury Russet,
Swaar, Ladies' Sweeting, Talman's Sweeting, Esopus Spit-
zenberg, Waxen Apple, Wine Apple.
THE PEAR.
The pear is the most valuable and one of the most luscious
and wholesome market fruits, though not comparable to the
FRUITS. 169
appJc for variety and general use. In a good soil and under
proper cultivation, it is both vigorous and hardy. It is bud-
ded and grafted like the apple, and requires the same treat-
mcnt ; it is as easy of propagation, attains a greater size and
age, and although longer arriving to maturity, it is a more
abundant bearer. Its favorite soil is a clay loam. It needs
little pruning as it usually throws out an upright, graceful
head, free from excessive bushiness. The trees may be
planted 25 or 30 feet apart, an abundance of sun being re-
quisite to full bearing and the perfection of the fruit.
Diseases. — The pear is seldom subject to more than one
formidable disease, the fire blight, and to this some localities
are more subject than others. The disease manifests itself
generally in mid-summer, in the sudden withering of the
leaves on one or more branches. The only effectual reme-
dy is to cut off and burn the diseased limb immediately on its
discovery. The causes are imperfectly known, but it has
been variously ascribed to the presence of minute insects, to
the abundant flow of sap and to the severity of the winter.
Collecting and preserving the fruit. — The pears in-
tended for market or for long keeping, should be hand-picked
and laid in a cool place ; and when perfectly dry put up in
casks like apples. Winter pears should be packed for pre-
servation like wriuter apples.
The varieties to be selected depends entirely on the ob-
ject of their cultivation. For market the best and most pop-
ular kinds only should be chosen, and for family use, an
equally good selection should be made of those running
throughout the entire season.
We name in their order of ripening, a dozen choice kinds,
the cultivation of which has thus far been thoroughly success-
ful and the qualities universally approved. The most of
these arc pears of American origin, which are to be prefer-
red as promising more durability, haixliness and perfect adap-
tation to our climate and soils. We quote Downing.
Summer and Early Autumn Pears. — Bloodgood, Dear-
bom's Seedling, Bartlett or Williams' Bon Chretien, Stevens'
Genesee.
Autumn Pears. — Beurre Diel, Dix, White Doyenne or Vir-
galieu, Duchess D'Angouleme.
Winter Pears. — Beurre D'Aramberg, Columbia, Winter
Nelis, Prince's St. Germain.
G
170 AMERICAN AGRICULTURE.
THE QUINCE.
This is also a valuable market fruit. It rtiakes a rich,
highly flavored sweetmeat, and to this use it is entirely-
limited. The tree is easily raised by suckers and the
cuttings, and should be planted fifteen feet apart, in a rich,
warm, heavy soil, (a clayey loam is the best,) rather moist,
and in a sunny exposure where it will be well sheltered from
severe and cold winds. The wash of a barn yard is its b^^st
manure, and it repays equally with the apple, for good cul-
tivation. The fruit is large, sometimes weighing a pound,
of a rich yellow color, and generally fre« from worms and
other imperfections. It ripens in October and November.
The orange quince is the best variety for common cultiva-
tion. The tree requires but little pruning. The trunk may
be entire for two or three feet, or branch from the ground
by two or more stems. The top should be kept open to
admit the sun and air, and the trunk freed from suckers. So
treated it will live long and produce abundantly.
THE CHERRY.
Aside from the value of its fruit, the cherry is an orna-
mental shade tree, hardy and vigorous in its growth, and
easy of propagation. It should be planted like the apple.
For culinary purposes, the common red cherry is perhaps
the best. This may stand sixteen to twenty feet apart,
according to soil and situation. The large Mazard or the
English cherry requires more room, and if on a deep, warm,
sandy loam, itsfavoiite soil, it should be planted two rods
apart, as it grows to a large size. It will flourish luxuri-
antly on a clay loam, or on an open gravel, provided the
soil be ri'^h and deep ; but on these, it demands more careful
cultivation. It seldom requires much pruning. Care must
be used with this as with all other fruit trees, to give it an
open head and to keep the limbs from crossing and chafing
each other. The varieties most in use are the Common Red
Kentish or Pie Cherry^ with which every one is familiar, the
English May duke, Black Tartarian Bigarreau, (Graffion or
Yellow Span sh.) the large Red Bigarreau, Elionj Belle de
Choisy and the late Duke. These will form a succession of six
weeks in ripening and embrace the entire cherry season.
The cherry is remarkably free from disease and it usually
requires but ordinary care in its cultivation.
FRUITS. 171
THE PLUM.
In its superior varieties, this is a delicious fruit, and is gen.
eralJy easily cultivated. It prefers a strong clay loam, but
does well in any ordinary ground except a light sand. It
should be planted like the apple, though on a smaller scale,
as it has a smaller and less vigorous growth. The proper
distance is sixteen to twenty feet apart. There are two for-
midable impediments in the cultivation of the plum. One
is an insect, which attacks the wood, and deposits its egg in
the sinaller branches. This is followed by a large swelling
or excrescence and if suffered to remain, will soon destroy
its productivness. The best and surest remedy is to cut oti*
the branch at once and burn it. The Curcidio commits its
depredations on the young fruit soon after the blossoms dis-
appear. These are frequently so destructive as to kill the
fruit of an entire orchard. Several methods of destroying
them have been suggested of which the most simple and
effectual is, to plant the trees in such places as will admit the
swine and poultry to feed upon the fallen fruit and insects.
Salt sprinkled around the tree in the spring is said to destroy
them. The smoke of rotten wood, leaves and rubbish which
have been burned under the trees when in blossom has
sometimes proved beneficial. Paving the earth under the
limbs to prevent the burrowing of the insects, and some
other remedies are recommended. This is a serious evil,
requiring more observation and experiment than it has yet re-
ceived.
Varieties. — The common blue or horse plum is cultiva-
ted in numerous sub-varieties. Some of these are very good,
others utterly worthless. Good plums are as easily raised
as poor ones. Young trees bearing an indifferent fruit, can
be headed down and grafted as readily as apples, but this re-
quires to be done a month earlier in the spring and before the
buds begin to swell. The best kinds are the Yellow, Green,
Autumn, Bleeckers, Imperial, Prince's Yellow, Frost, Purple,
and the Red Gages ; Coe's Golden Drop, the Jeftei-son, the
Grange, the Washington, the Columbia, Smith's Orleans,
and the Red Magnum Bonum.
This last variety is more liable to the attacks of the circu-
lio than many others. But its vigorous growth, great pro-
ductivness when not attacked and its excellent quality for
the table renders it a desirable fruit. For drying, the Ger-
man prune is perhaps the best, although several of the plums
172 AMERICAN AGRICULTURE.
above named answer an excellent purpose. We have enume-
rated a larger variety of plums from the difficulty in our
northern climates generally, of cultivating the peach, which
ripens nearly at the same time, and although not so delicious
a fruit, the plum is a valuable substitute for it. It is a more
durable tree though liable to several diseases, and its cultiva-
tion is comparatively easy.
THE PEACH.
This fruit on virgin soils and in the early settlement of our
country, was one of the easiest of propagation and most abund-
ant in its bearing, but it is now the most uncertain in its ma-
turity and the shortest lived of all. So liable is it to casual-
ties as to have become almost entirely discarded in large
sections of the United States, where it once flourished in the
highest perfection. It is now generally reared on an extensive
scale for market by those who make it an exclusive business.
Its FAvoKiTE SOIL is a light, warm, sandy or gravelly
loam, in a sunny exposure, protected from severe bleak winds.
Thus situated and in favorable latitudes, it often flourishes in
luxuriance and produces the most luscious fruit. In Western
New- York and on most of the Southern borders of the great
Lakes the peach grows more vigorously and lives longer than
in any other sections of the United States, frequently lasting
20 or 30 years, and bearing constantly and in abundance. —
Peaches are produced in immense quantities in the States of
New Jersey and Delaware, on the light soils near the Atlan-
tic coast for the large city markets, and in those states the
crop of a single "proprietor often amounts to $5000, and
sometimes exceeds $20,000 annually. None but the choi-
cest kinds are cultivated, and these are inoculated into the
seedling when a year old. They are transplanted at two and
three, and are worn out, cut down and burned at the age of
from six to twelve years. The proper distance at which they
should be planted is sixteen to twenty feet apart, according to
situation, soil and exposure. Constant Cultivation of the
ground is necessary for their best growth and bearing.
Diseases. — It is liable to many diseases and to the depre-
dations of numerous enemies. The Yellows is its most fatal
disease, and this can only be checked by the immediate remo-
val of the diseased tree from the orchard. Of the Insects, the
grub or peach worm is the most destructive. It punctures
the bark, and lays its egg beneath it at the surface of the
earth, and when discovered it should be killed with a pen-
FRUITS. 173
knife or pointed wire. A good preventive is to form a, cone
of eartli a foot high around the trunk about the first of June ;
or if made of leached ashes it would be better. Remove this
heap in October, and the bark will harden below the reach of
the fly the following year.
Varieties. — The best kinds in succession from early to
late, are the Red and Yellow Rareripes, Malacatune, Early
York, Early Tillotson, George the Fourth, Morris' Red and
White Rareripes, Malta and Royal George. These succeed
each other from August to October.
The Apricot axd Nectarine. — These are of the peach
family, but generally inferior as a fruit and much more diffi-
cult of cultivation, being more liable to casualties and insects.
They require the same kinds of soil and cultivation as the
peach with a warm exposure. As they are propagated solely
as an article of luxury and are not wanted for general use,
we omit further notice of them.
THE GRAPE.
The details for the proper rearing of this fruit demand a
volume, but wc can only refer to some prominent points in its
cultivation. It grows wild in abundance and of tolerable
quality in many parts of the United States, climbing over
trees, rocks and fences in great luxuriance. We have seen
in the Eastern States a dozen excellent native varieties of
white, black and purple, of different sizes, shapes and flavor,
growing within the space of a single furlong. So abundant
were the clustering vines on the Atlantic coast in the vicinity
of Narraganset Bay, that the old Northmen who discovered,
and for a short time occupied the country in the 12th century,
gave it the appropriate name of Vinland, or tJie Land of Vines.
The finer kinds require loose, shelly soils with warm, sunny
exposures and proper trimming. Thus cultivated they are
often raised with profit. The more choice and delicate kinds
must have protection in winter and glass heat in summer, and
are therefore better suited to large towns, or to a well armn-
ged conservatory.
Varieties. — The best American kinds are the Isabella
and Catawba, for the Middle, and the Scuppernong for the
Southern States. North of latitude 41° 30 neither of the
two former ripen certainly except in long, warm seasons, and
it would be better for the cultivator north of this to select some
of the hardiest and best wild grapes of his own latitude for
out-door propagation. Grafting a foreign variety on a
174 AMERICAN AGRICULTURE.
hardy native stock has been found to give a choice fruit in
great abundance, and with more certahity than could be se-
cured by an entire exotic. Of the European, the Aarietiesof
Chasselas, Black Hamburgh, and White Muscat of Alexan-
dria, are the best. In a good grapery and with artificial heat
and proper attention, these can undoubtedly be raised at a
price which would yield to the horticulturist an adequate re-
turn, and for this purpose they are the best kinds to propagate,
furnishing a long succession of fruit in its finest variety.
THE CURRANT
Is the first in importance of the small garden fruits. In
cookery it has many valuable uses and is wholesome and
delicious when ripe. It grows with the greatest certainty
and luxuriance either from the suckers or cuttings. The
ground should be rich and well worked and the bushes set at
least six feet apart. They require plenty of sun and air like
all other fruits. The Red is the most common kind, but the
large Dutch White is sweeter and more delicious, a great
bearer, larger, and as easily cultivated. The English Black
is very productive, of great size, and makes a fine jelly. It
has peculiar eflScacy in sickness. The usual mode of plant-
ing currants near fences is objectionable. They should stand
out where the gardener can get around them and where the
fruit can have plenty of air and sun. This improves the
fruit, and insects and vermin are more effectually prevented
from harboring beneath the bushes.
THE GOOSEBERRY.
This makes a palatable tart and as a ripe fruit possesses
some excellence. It is easily raised, and prefers a cool,
moist, rich soil in a sheltered position. It has been brought
to the highest perfection in Lancashire, England, and in Scot-
land, under the influence of their cool weather and intermina-
ble fogs and rains. It has long been cultivated in America,
but with little success ; for though frequently abundant, the
flavor is indifferent in comparison with American fruits gen-
erally. For those who design to cultivate them, the nursery
catalogues are a sufficient reference. As a tart they are infe-
rior to the rhubarb, or pie-plant, which can be grown with
little trouble or expense, in great profusion in every fertile
and well tilled garden ; and it is in season from May till
August, when apples are sufficiently advanced to take its
place.
FRUITS. 175
THE RASPBERRY.
Both Red and Black Raspberries are favorably known as
a wild American fruit. As market fruit near the large cities,
it is very profitable. It prefers a light, warm, dry soil, rich
and thoroughly loosened. The best varieties grown are the
Red and Yellow Antwerps, which produce abundantly and
are of fine flavor ; the Franconia, a fine, largo, purple French
fruit ; and the Fastolf, a late English Red variety of superior
size and flavor. The above kinds are all hardy in latitude
43" north. They are propagated by suckers, and should be
planted three feet apart if in hills, and four f et if in rows. —
Tho stalk lives but two years. The first season it shoots up
from the root and makes its growth. The next Spiing it
should be topped to three feet in height, the old stock cut
out, and the bearing ones (which ought never to exceed three
or four in a clump) should be securely tied to a stake or
trellis. li" the ground be ^vell hoed they will bear profusely.
THE STRAWBERRY.
This delicious and wholesome fruit is rapidly spreading in
garden cultivation throughout the United States. It will
flourish in almost any good soil which is not too cold or wet.
The plants should be set in rows two f 'et asunder and one
foot apart in the rows, kept clear from weeds and the runners
cut off once or twice in the growing season. Beds will last
from three to six years, depending, in a measure, on the mode
of cultivation. The fruit is in season from three to six weeks,
according to their kinds. Many cultivators have found difii-
cuity in procuring an abundant supply of the strawberr}%
which is probably owing (when other circumstances are fa-
vorable,) to an improper arrangement of the male and female
plants. Hovey's Seedling and several others demand the
presence of the male plant from some other variety, to fertilize
them. The most popular for the market are sub-varieties of
the Scarlet, Pine, Chili and Wood. Among these the Meth-
ven Castle, Keene's and Hovey's Seedlings are most highly
celebrated.
THE AMERICAN CRANBERRY (Oxycocus macrocarpvs)
Yields one of the most delicious of our tart esculents. It
is found in great abundance in many low, swampy grounds
in our northern and western states ; and although it has been
gathered from its native haunts from the earliest settlement
of the country, yet it is only within a few years that it has be-
1T6 AMERICAN AGRICULTURE.
come an object of cultivation. Experience has probably not
yet fully developed the most certain means of attaining the
greatest success, but enough is already known, to assume
that they are a profitable object of attention to the farmer.
Soil and cultivation. — They are generally planted on
low, moist meadows which are prepared by thorough plow-
ing and harrowing. They are then set in drills by slips and
roots, usually in the spring, but sometimes in autumn, about
20 inches apart and at distances of about 3 inches. They
require to have the weeds kept out and the ground stirred
with a light cultivator or hoe, and they will soon overrun and
occupy the whole ground. An occasional top dressing of
swamp muck is beneficial. Mr. Bates of Massachusetts has
in this way, produced at the rate of 300 bushels per acre,
which were worth in the market from one to two dollars per
bushel. Capt Hall of the same state, raises them in a s^vamp,
first giving it a top dressing of sand oi gravel to kill the grass,
when he digs holes 4 feet apart, and inserts in each a sod of
cranberry plants about one foot square. From these sods
they gradually spread till the whole surface is occupied.
The cranberry is sometimes killed by late or early frosts,
and it has been suggested, that these might be avoided by
having the fields so arranged when they may be expected as
to be slightly covered with water. The cranberry is gather-
ed when sulBciently ripe, by raking them from the bushes.
They are cleaned from the stems, leaves and imperfect ber-
ries, by washing and rolling them over smooth boards set on
an inclined plane, in the same manner as imperfect shot are
assorted. Afler this they are put into tight casks and filled
with water. If stored in a cool place, the water changed at
proper intervals, and the imperfect berries occasionally thrown
out, they will keep till the following summer. They will fre-
quently bring 820 per barrel in European markets. The
raking is beneficial rather than otherwise to the plants, for
though some of the plants are pulled out and others broken,
their places are more than supplied by the subsequent growth.
BEOOM CORN. 177
CHAPTER XI
MISCELLANEOUS OBJECTS OF CULTIVATION.
BROOMCORN (Sorghum saccharatum.)
So far as we are acquainted with its history, this is a pro-
duct peculiar to America. In its early growth and general
appearance it resembles Indian corn. It stands perfectly up-
right at a height of ten feet or more, with a stalk of nearly
uniform size throughout, from which an occasional leaf ap.
pears ; and at the top a long, compact bunch of slender, grace-
ful stems is thrown out, familiarly termed the brush, which
sustain the sred at and near their extremities.
Soil. — The best soil for raising broom corn, is similar to
that required for Indian corn or maize. It should be rich,
warm, loamy land, not liable to early or late frosts. Spring
frosts injure broom corn more than maize, as the roots do
not strike so deep, nor has it the power of recovering from
the effects of frost equal to the latter. The best crops are usu-
ally raised on a green sward, turned over as late as possible
in the fall, so as to kill the worms. Clay lands are not
suitable for it.
Manure. — Hog or sheep manure is best, and rotten bet-
ter than unfermented. If the land is in good condition, three
cords, or eight loads to the acre is sufficient. This is usually
placed in hills and 12 to 15 bushels of ashes per acre may be
added with great advantage. Plaster is beneficial at the rate
of two to four bushels per acre. The addition of slacked
lime helps the ground, atlbrds food to the crop, and is des-
tructive to worms. Poudrette at the rate of a gill or so to
each hill at planting, or guano at the rate of a table-spoonful
per hill, if the African, or two-thirds the quantity if Peruvian,
mixed into a compost with ten times its quantity of good soil,
is an excellent application, especially if the land is not in
178 AMERICAN AORICITLTURE.
very good heart. To repeat either of the above around the
stalks on each hill after the last hoeing, will add materially to
the crop.
Planting. — It should be planted in hills two feet apart, in
rows two and a half to three feet distant. If the seed is good,
15 to 20 seeds to a hill are enough ; if not, put in sufficient
to ensure eight or ten thrifty plants, which are all that re-
quire to be left for each hill. Time of planting must depend
on climate and season. The 1st of May is time for planting
in latitude 40°, and 10th to 15th in 42^ but as early as possi-
ble, yet late enough to escape spring frost is best. The ground
should be thoroughly harrowed and pulverized before plant-
ing. Thick planting gives the finest, toughest brush. Seed
should be buried one to one and a half inches deep.
After Culture. — As soon as the plants are visible, run
a cultivator between the rows, and follow with a hand hoe.
Many neglect this till the weeds get a start, which is highly
prejudicial to the crop. The cultivator or a light plow should
be used afterwards, followed with a hoe, and may be repeated
four or five times with advantage. Breaking the tops should
be done before fully ripe, or when the seed is a little past the
milk ; or if frost appears, then immediately after it. This is
done by bending over the tops of the rows towards each other,
for the convenience of cutting afterwards. They should be
broken some 13 inches below the brush, and allowed to
hang till fully ripe, when it may be cut and carried under
cover, and spread till thoroughly dried. The stalks remain-
ing on the ground may be cut close or pulled up and buried
in the fun-ows for manure, or burnt, and thus be restored
to the earth to enrich it ; or they may be carried to the
barn-yard to mix in a compost, or with the droppings of the
cattle.
Cleaning the Brush. — This is best done by hand, by
passing it through a kind of hetchel, made by setting upright
knives near enough together, or it may be cleaned by a long
toothed currycomb. By the first method none of the little
branches are broken, and the brush makes a finer, better
broom. We have seen horse power machines used for clean-
ing the seed with great rapidity, in the Miami valley. The
average yield is about 500 lbs. of brush per acre. It varies
according to season and soil, from .300 to 1,000 lbs. The
price also varies materially, ranging from 3 to 16 cents per
lb. ; the last seldom obtained unless in extreme scarcity. A
good crop of seed is obtained in the Connecticut valley about
FLAX. 179
two years out of five. When well matured, the seed will
average 3 to 5 lbs. for every pound of the Ijrush. A single
acre has produced 150 bushels seed, though 25 to 50 is a
more common yield. It weighs about 50 lbs. per bushel,
and is usually sold at 25 to 35 cents.
The uses of broom corn are limited to the manufacture
of brooms from the brush and the consumption of the seed
when ground and mixed with other grain, in feeding to fat-
tening or working cattle, sheep and swine, and occasionally
to horses. Brooms manufactured from it, have superseded
every other kind for general use in the United States, and
within a few years they have become an article of extensive
export to England and other countries. The brush and wood
tor the handles arc imported separately to avoid high duties,
and are there put together, and form a profitable branch of
agricuhural commerce to those hitherto engaged in the traf-
fic. The cultivation of broom corn has, till quite recently,
been almost exclusively confined to the north-eastern states ;
but it is now largely raised in the western states. Their
fresh, rich soil, however, does not in general yield so fine,
tough and desirable a brush as that grown in the older culti-
vated soils.
FLAX (Linum usitatissimum.)
This is one of the oldest cultivated plants of which we
have any record ; and its habitat or region of naturalization,
extends from the torrid to the frigid zones. Its long silken fibres
which come from the outer coating or bark of the stem, has
been used for the manufacture of linen, from time immemo-
rial. The absolute quantity at present grown, is probably
equal to that of any preceeding age ; but relatively, it is fall-
ing behind the product of cotton, which is rapidly on the in-
crease. Flax is still a profitable crop, for in addition to its use
as a material for clothing, the seed is of great value for its
oi', and the food it yields to cattle, and for the latter purpose
the whole plant is some times fed with decided advantage.
The proper Soil for flax, is a good alluvial or vegetable
loani, equally removed from a loose sand or tenacious clay.
In a very rich soil the fibre grows too coarse, and on a hard
soil, the crop will not make a profitable return. Fresh barn
yard manures are not suited to it and they should in all cases
where necessary for a proper fertility, be added to the pre-
ceeding crop. A rich sod which has long lain in pasture or
meadow, well plowed and rotted, is the best for it. Lime in
180 AMERICAN AGRICULTURE.
small quantities may be given to the soil, but the Flemings
who raise flax extensively, never allow it to follow a heavy
liming, till seven years intervene, as they consider it injures
the tibre. A good wheat is generally a good flax soil. Salt,
ashes and gypsum are proper manures for it ; the last has the
greatest eftect if applied after the plant is developed and
while covered with dew or moisture ; all the saline manures
used as a top-dressing benefit the plant and check the rav-
ages of worms which frequently attack the young plants.
Culture on a finely prepared surface either of fresh sod,
or after corn or roots which have been well cleared, sow
broadcast, from sixteen to thirty quarts per acre if wanted
for seed, or two bushels if wanted for the fibre. When thin
it branches very much, and every sucker or branch is termi-
nated by a boll well loaded with seed. When thickly sown,
the stem grows single and without branches and gives a long,
fine fibre. If the soil be very rich, and fibre is the object of
cultivation, it may be sown at the rate of three bushels per
acre. There is a great difference in seed, the heaviest is
the best, and it should be of a bright brownish cast and oily
to the touch. It should be lightly harrowed or brushed in
and rolled. When three or four inches high, it may be care-
fully weeded by hand, and for this it is Ijest to employ child-
ren, or if adults are put on the field they should be barefoot,
and any depression of the plants by the feet will soon be re-
covered by the subsequent growth, which on good soil, will be
sufficiently rapid to prevent the weeds again interfering with
it. Grass seed or clover may be sown with flax without any
detriment to it.
Harvesting. — When it is designed for cambrics and the
finest linen, flax is pulled when flowering ; but in this country
it is seldom harvested for the fibre till the seed is entirely
formed, and although not ripe, most of it will mature if pulled,
while the fibre is in its full strength. If required for seed,
it should be left standing till the first seeds are well ripened.
It is then gathered and bound in small bundles, and when
properly dried is placed under cover. If it falls before ripen-
ing, it should be pulled at once, whatever be its stage of
growth; as it is the only means of saving it.
After Management. — The usual method of preparing
flax in this country after removing the seed by drawing the
heads through a comb or rake of finely set teeth, called rip-
pling, is by dew-rotting, or spreading it thinly on a clean
sward, and turning it occasionally till properly rotted, after
HEMP. 181
which it is put into bundles and stored till a convenient
period for cleaning it. This is a wasteful practice and gives
an inferior quality of fibre. The best plan of preparing it
is by water-rotting, which is done in vats or small ponds of
soft water, similar to those used for hemp. This gives a
strong, even, rilky fibre and without waste, and worth much
more either for sale or for manufacturing than the dew-
rotted. Various steeps for macerating, and machines for pre-
paring it have been used, which materially increases its
marketable value. The fibre is generally got out on the
hrahe by hand, when the farmer is most at leisure. A crop
of the fibre may be estimated at 300 to 1000 lbs.; and of
seed, from 15 to 30 bushels per acre.
TJiere are no varieties worthy of particular notice, for
ordinary cultivation. Great benefit is found to result from a
frequent change of seed, to soils and situations differing from
those where it has been raised. The seed is always valua-
ble for the linseed oil it yields, and the residuum or oil cake
stands deservedly high as a feed for all animals ; and the
entire seed when boiled, is among the most fattening sub-
stances which the farmer can use for animal food. Flax, like
most other plants grown for seed, is an exhausting crop, but
when pulled or harvested before the seed matures, it is not.
The Flemings think flax ought not to be raised on thesame
soil oftener than once in eight ^tjars.
HEMP {cannashia saliva)
Is suited to large portions of our western soils and climate,
and for many years, it has been a conspicuous object of
agricuhural attention. We have not yet brought the supply
to our full consumption of it in its various manufactured
forms, as we have till recently imported several millions an-
nually. But the increased attention and skill bestowed on its
cultivation, combined with our means for its indefinite pro-
duction, will doubtless ere long constitute us one of the lar-
gest of the hemp-exporting countries.
The Soil for hemp may be similar to that for flax, but
with a much wider range from a uniform standard, for it will
thrive in moderately tenacious clay, if rich, drained, and well
pulverized ; and it will do equally well on reclaimed muck
beds when properly treated. New land is not suited to it
till after two or three years of cultivation. A grass sod or
clover bed is best adapted to it when plowed in the fall or early
in winter. This secures thorough pulverization by frost and
182 AMERICAN AGRICULTUKE.
the destruction of insects, and especially the cut worm, which
is very injurious to it. It should be re-plowed in the spring,if
not already sufficiently mellow, as a fine tilth, considerable
depth and great fertility are essential to its vigor.
Cultivation. — Early sowing produces the best crop, yet
it should not be put in so early as to be exposed to severe frost;
and where there is a large quantity planted, convenience in
harvesting requires that it should ripen at sufficient intervals.
The farmer may select his time for sowing, according to his
latitude, and the quantity cultivated. From the 10th of April
to 10th June is the fullest range allowed. The choice of
seed is material, as it is important to have a full set of plants
on the ground ; yet an excess is injurious, as a part are ne-
cessarily smothered after absorbing the strength of the soil,
and th(^.y are besides in the way of the harvesting, without
contributing any thing to the value of the crop. Seed of
the last year's growth is best, as it generally heats by being
kept over, which can be avoided only by spreading thin.
From four to six pecks per acre of good seed, is sufficient.
The best is indicated by its weight and bright reddish color.
It is usual to sow broadcast, and harrow in lightly both ways,
and roll it. A smooth surface is material in facilitating the
cutting. Sowing in drills, would require less seed, give an
equal amount of crop, and materially expedite the planting.
This should always be done before moist weather if possible,
as rapid and uniform germination of the seed is thus more cer-
tainly secured. If the soil be very dry, it is better to place
the seed deeper in the ground, which can be done with the
shovel plow. If sown in drills and well covered, it might be
previously soaked so as to secure early germination in the
absence of rains.
Cutting. — " No after cultivation is necessary, and as
soon as the blossoms turn a little yellow, and begin to drop
their leaves, which usually happens 3 to 3 1-2 months after
sowings it is time to cut the hemp ; if it stands, however, a
week or ten days longer than this, no other detriment will en-
sue except that it will not rot so evenly, and becomes more
laborious to break. Cutting is now almost universally prac-
ticed in preference to pulling. Not quite so much lint is saved
by the first as by the last process, but the labor is pleasanter,
and all subsequent operations, such as spreading out, stacking
and rotting, are made easier. The lint also is of a better
color and finer fibre, and the roots and stubble left in the
ground and plowed under, tend to lighten the soil, and as
HEMP. 183
they decompose, become an equivalent to a light dressing of
manure. It' the hemp is not above seven feet high, it can
be cut with cradle-scythes, similar to those used for wheat,
(only larger and stronger,) at the rate of an acre per day ;
but if above this height, hooks must be used full three inches
wide, of a corresponding thickness, and about two and a half
feet long, something in the shape of a brush scythe or sickle,
attached to the end of a long and nearly straight snath, and
with these half an acre is considered a good day's work.
Drying a>'d securing. — As fast as cut, spread the hemp
on the ground where it was grown, taking care to keep the
butts even, when if the weather be dry and warm, it will be
cured in three days. As soon as sufficiently dried, commence
binding into convenient sheaves, and if destined for water
rotting, it ought to be transported to dry ground convenient to
the pools, and then secured in round stacks, carefully thatch-
ed on the top to keep out the rain ; but if designed for dew
rotting, it should be secured in the same field where grown
in large ricks. The reason why these are to be prefered is,
that less of the hemp in them is exposed to the weather, and
of course the more and better the lint when it comes to be
rotted and broken out.
The Ricks should be 30 to 40 feet long, and 15 to 20 feet
wide, the best foundation for which is large rails or logs laid
down for the bottom course, six feet from each other, then lay
across these, rails or poles one foot apart. As the hemp is
bound in sheaves, let it be thrown into two rows, with suffi-
cient space for a wagon to pass between. * While the pro-
cess of taking up and binding is going on, a wagon and three
hands, two to pitch and one to load, is engaged in hauling
the hemp to the rick, and stacking it. The rick should be
in a central part so as to require the hemp to be removed as
short a distance as possible. Thus the process of taking up,
binding, hauling, and ricking, all progress together. In this
way five hands will put up a stout rick in two days and
cover it. By having two wagons and ten hands, it may be
accomplished in one day. It is proper to remark, that for
making the roof of the rick, it is necessary to have long hemp,
from which the leaves should be beat off. In this state only
will hemp make a secure roof.' — (Beatty.)
In laying down the hemp begin with the top ends of the
bundle inside, and if they do not till up fast enough to keep
the inside of the rick level, add as occasion may require
whole bundles. Give it a rounded elliptical form at each end,
184 AMERICAN AORICtTLTURE.
and as it rises it must be widened so as to make the top
courses shelter the bottom ones, and after getting up about
twelve feet high, then commence for the roof, by laying the
bundles crosswise, within a foot of the edges of the rick,
building the top up roof-shaped, of a slope at an angle of
about forty- five degrees. This finished, for the covering of
the roof lay up the bundles at right angles to its length, the
butt ends down, and the first course resting on the rim of the
rick as left all around, one foot in width. Lap the bundles in
covering the roof in courses, precisely as if shingling a house.
The first shingling thus finished, commence the second by re-
versing the bundles, placing the top ends down, and then go
on lapping them as before. The third course of shingling
begin with the butt ends down again, letting the first course
hang at least one foot below the edge of the roof, as eaves to
shed off the rain well from the body of the stack. Unbind
the bundles, and lay the covering at least one foot thick with
the loose hemp, lapping well shingle fashion as before, and
for a weather board, let the top course come up above the
peak of the roof about three feet, and be then bent over it,
towards that point of the compass from which the wind blows
least. If the work has been faithfully performed, the rick
may be considered as finished, and weather proof, and it re-
quires no binding with poles or anything else. The rick
should be made when the weather is settled and certain, for
if rain falls upon it during the process, it will materially-in-
jure the hemp. There ought always to be a sufficient num-
ber of hands in the field to gather, bind the shocks, and finish
the ricking in a single day.
Time of dew rotting. — The best time for spreading
hemp for dew rotting, is in the month of December. * It
then receives what is called a winter rot, and makes the lint
of the hemp a light color, and its quality better than if spread
out early. But where a farmer has a large crop, it is desira-
ble to have a part of his hemp ready to take up late in Decem-
ber, so that he may commence breaking in January. To ac-
complish this object, a part of his crop may be spread about
the middle of October. It would not be prudent to spread
earlier, as hemp will not obtain a good rot if spread out
when the weather is warm. The experienced hemp-grower
is at no loss to tell when hemp is sufficiently watered. A
trial of a portion of it on the break will be the best test for
those who have not had much experience. When sufficiently
watered, the stalks of the hemp lose that hard, sticky ap-
HEMP. 185
pearance or feel, which they retain till the process is com-
pleted. The lint also begins to separate from the stalk, and
the fibres will show themselves somewhat like the strings of
a fiddle-bow attached to the stalk at two distant points, and
separate in the middle. This is a sure indication that the
hemp has a good rot.
Shocking after breaking and rotting. — When
hemp is fit to be taken up, it should be immediately put in
shocks, without binding, of suitable size. If it is dry, the
shocks should be immediately tied with a hemp-band, by
drawing the tops as closely together as possible, in order to
prevent the rain from wetting the inside. If carefully put up
and tied, they will turn rain completely. Each shock should
be large enough to produce from fifty to sixty pounds of lint.
If the hemp should be considerably damp, when taken up, the
shocks should be left untied at the tops until they have time
to dry. If shocks are not well put up, they are liable to
blow down by a strong wind. To guard against this, it is
desirable, when commencing a shock, to tie a band around
the first armful or two that may be set up, and then raise up
the parcel so tied, and beat it well against the ground so as
to make it stand firmly, in a perpendicular direction. The
balance of the shock should now be set regularly around the
part as herein directed. If hemp be carefully shocked, it
will receive little or no injury till the weather becomes warm.
In the mean time it should be broke out as rapidly as possi-
ble. If the operation be completed by the middle of April,
no material loss will be sustained. If delayed to a later pe-
riod, more or less loss of lint will be the consequence. Cool,
frosty weather is much the best for hemp-breaking. In that
state of the weather, if the hemp is good, first-rate hands on
the common hemp-break, will clean two hundred pounds per
day upon an average. Two of my best hands, during the
past season, for every day they broke, favorable and unfavor-
able, averaged one hundred and eighty-six pounds. Two
others, who arc young men and not full hands, averaged one
hundred and forty-four pounds. The ordinary task for hands
is one hundred pounds.' — Beaiiy.
Hemp break. — The hand hemp-break is made pre-
cisely like that for flax, only much larger ; the under slats on
the hinder end are 16 to 18 inches apart, at the fore-end they
approach within three inches of each other. The slats in
the upper jaw are so placed as to break joints into the lower
186 American ACiRtcrLTURE.
one, as it is brought down on to the hemp. It is a machine
so common, however, that we deem further description un-
necessary. After breaking out the hemp, it is twisted into
bunches, and sent to the press-house to be baled, and is then
transported to market."
Water kotting. — " We think the best plan for water
rotting is in vats under cover, the water in which is kept at
an equable temperature. The hemp thus gets a perfect rot
at all seasons of the year, in seven or ten days, and when
dried, is of a bright, greenish, flaxen color, and is considered
by many, of a better quality, and appears as handsomely as
the finest Russian, and brings as high a price in market.
These vats may be easily constructed and managed, and if
built in a central position, by a company of planters on joint
account, they would be but of small expense to each, and all
in turn could be accommodated by them. The hemp is first
broken in a machine, which is moved by steam power, pre-
vious to rotting, this lessens the bulk greatly, by ridding it of
most of its woody fibre ; but the process is not esssntial to
rotting in vats, and can be dispensed with where the ma-
chines do not exist. If to be rotted in spring or river water,
artificial pools or vats must be formed for this purpose, and
should not be over three feet deep, otherwise the hemp is lia-
ble to an unequal rot. It Avill require plank placed upon it
weighted down with timbers or stones, in order to keep it
well under water. Mr. Myerle recommends vats 40 feet long.
20 feet wide, and 2 feet deep, as best and the most conven-
ient for the season, that the hemp is kept cleaner while rot-
ting, and the hands can lay it down in the vats and take it out
without getting wet, which is very important to the health of
the laborer. These vats also greatly facilitate the operation,
and can be fed with water and have it run off at pleasure,
without endangering loss from the hemp. Water rotting in
streams, requires a longer or shorter period, according to the
season. In September, when the water is warm, ten days
is generally sufficient ; in October, about fifteen, and in De-
cember, thirty days or more. For the latitude of Kentucky,
October and November are considered the best months for
the operation, and perhaps is easiest done, gives more lint,
and upon the whole, as good a sample as if deferred later."
— {American Agriculturist.)
Raising Hemp seed. — It is important that the farmer
should be supplied with good seed, which is free from weeds,
and this he can only be certain of when he produces it, him-
HEMP. 187
self. This requires another system of cultivation, but simi-
lar soil, which should be the in finest condition as to fertility
and pulverization. An old pasture or meadow heavily ma-
nured and plowed in the fall and well pulverized -in the spring
furnishes the best soil. We again quote from Judge Beatty's
valuable essays on practical agriculture :
" The seed should be planted as we do com, either in hills
or drills. I prefer the former, because it admits of easier
and better cultivation, as the plow can be used both ways.
It is usual to plant five feet apart, each way, and suffer four
or five stalks to stand in a hill until the blossom hemp is re-
moved, and then reduce the number so as not to exceed two
stalks in a hill. Thus there would be two seed plants for
each twenty-five square feet. It would be a better practice
to make the hills three feet six inches apart, each way, and
thin the hemp to three stalks in a hill, till the blossom hemp
appears, and at the proper time cut out the blossom or male
hemp ; and, if necessary, a part of the seed hemp, so as to
reduce the latter to one stalk in the hill. If each hill should
contain one stalk, there would be two seed stalks for each
twenty.four and a half square feet. This will give a greater
number of seed stalks per acre than planting five feet each
way, and leaving two in a hill. According to this plan, each
seed plant will stand by itself, and, having its appropriate
space of ground, can spread its branches without obstruction.
According to the other plan, two seed plants, standing to-
gether, will obstruct each other, in putting forth lateral
branches, and can scarcely be expected to produce tipice as
much as the single stalk.
•' The ground for hemp seed, having been well prepared by
at least two plowings, and a number of harrowings, suffi-
cient to pulverize the ground, it should be laid off as above
directed, and planted in the same manner as corn, except
that the seed need not be covered more than an inch and a
half deep. Thelve or fifteen seed should be dropped in each
hill, which should be somewhat scattered to prevent them
from being too much crowded in the hill. Though good
hemp seed is certain to come up, yet it is prudent to plant
about the number suggested to guard against casualties. Soon
after the hemp seed comes up, a small shovel plough should
be run through, both ways, once in a row. If the ground is
not foul, the ploughing may be delayed till the hemp is a few
inches high, which will enable the plowman to avoid throw-
ing the dirt on the tender plants. The hoes should follow the
IBS AMERICAN AGRICULTURE.
second plowing, and clean away the weeds, if any, in or
near the hill, and thin out the hemp to seven or eight stalks.
These should be the most thrifty plants, and somewhat sepa-
rated from each other. The plowing should be repeated
from time to time, so as to keep the ground light and free from
weeds. And when tlie plants are about a foot or a foot and a
half high, the hoes should again go over the ground and care-
fully cut down any weeds or grass which may have escaped
the plow. The plants should be still further thinned out, at
this time, leaving but four in a hill, and some fine mold drawn
around tlie plants, so as to cover any small weeds that may
have come up around them. After seed hemp has attained
the height of a foot and a half, it will soon be too large to
plow, but it ought to have one plowing after the last hoe-
ing. The ground, by this time, will have become so much
shaded by the hemp plants as to prevent the weeds from grow-
ing, so as to do any injury, and nothing more need to be done
but for a boy to follow the plow, and (if three and a half
feet be the distance of the hills apart,) reduce the number of
plants invariably to three^ taking care to remove those which
the last plowing may have broken or injured, by the tread-
ing of the horse or otherwise. The next operation will be to
cut out the blossom or male hemp. This, according to the
opinion of some farmers, should be done as soon as the blos-
som begins to show, in order to make room for the seed hemp
to grow and spread its branches. This opinion must be taken
with some allowance. The farina or pollen of the male hemp
is necessary to fertilize the seed bearing plants. The seed of
the latter would be wholly unproductive, if the whole of the
male hemp should be cut before its pollen has been thrown
out. It is important to cut the male hemp so soon as it has
performed its office, because much room is thereby afforded to
the seed bearing plants to spread their branches.
" When the seed hemp has so far advanced as readily to
distinguish the male from the female plants let all the blossom
hemp be cut out, except one stalk in every other hill, and
every other row. This would leave one stalk of male hemp
for every four hills. These, together with the stalks which
should thereafter blossom, would be sufficient to fertilize all
the seed bearing plants, and secure a crop of perfect seed. —
After the blossom plants, thus left, have been permitted to re-
main until they have pretty well discharged their pollen
(which can be easily ascertained by dust ceasing to flow from
COTTON. IS9
them when agitated) they, also, should be cut down. Some
farmers top the seed plants, when five or six feet high, to
make them branch more freely, but this is not necessary
where but one or two seed bearing plants are suffered to re-
main in each hill."
A seed bearing hemp crop is a great exhauster of land,
while such as is grown only for the fibre takes but a mode-
rate amount of fertilizing matter from the soil. Unlike most
crops sown broadcast, it grows with such strength and luxu-
riance, as to keep the weeds completely smothered, and it
may therefore be grown for many successive seasons on the
same field. Its entire monopoly of the ground, prevents the
growth of clover or the grains in connexion with it.
The seed yields an oil of inferior value, and when cooked, it
affords a fattening food for animals.
COTTON (Gossypium.)
Has, within the few past years, become the leading agricul-
tural export of the United States. The total amount of the
cotton crop in this country in 1845, was estimated at about
850,000,000 lbs. This enormous product has mainly grown
up within the last 60 years. Even as late as 1825 our total
production was within 170,000,000. The introduction of
Whitney's cotton gin, in the latter part of the last century
gave the first decided movement towards the growth of
American cotton. Previous to this invention the separating
of the cotton seed from the fibre was mostly done by hand,
and the process was so slow and expensive as to prevent any
successful competition with the foreign article. This incom-
parable invention, which cleaned 1000 lbs in the same time
a single pound could be cleaned without it, overcame the
only obstacle to complete success, and millions of acres of
the fertile lands of the south and west are now annually cov-
ered with the snowy producf. The increase seems to know
no check or abatement, as with the lessening price and in-
creasing quantity, the demand seems constantly to augment.
Climate and Soil. — Cotton will gi-ow in some of the
middle states, but with little profit north of the Carolinas
and Tennesee. The soil required is a dry, rich loam.
Cultivation. — During the winter, the land intended lor
planting should be thrown up in beds by turning several fui
rows together. These beds should be 4 feet from centre to
centre for a moderate quality of upland soil, and 5 feet for
the lowland. But these distances should be increased with
190 AMERICAN AGRICULTURE.
the increasing strength of the soil to 7 and 8 feet for the
strongest lands. These may lie until the time of planting,
from 20th of March to 20th of April, when no further danger
from frost is apprehended ; then harrow thoroughly and with
a light plow mark the centre of the beds and sow at the rate
of 2 to 5 bushels of seed per acre. A drilling machine might
be made to answer this purpose better and save much time.
An abundance of seed is necessary to provide for the ene-
mies of the plant, which are frequently very destructive. If
all the seed germinates, there will be a large surplus of plants,
which must be removed by thinning. The kind of useed sed
for uplands is Mexican and Petit-Gulf, both of the same vari-
ety, but the last is better selected and has been kept pure. —
There is an advantage in mixing the seed before it is sown,
with moistened ashes or gypsum, as it facilitates sowing and
germination. The seed should be buried from h tolh inches,
and the earth pressed closely over it. The subsequent cul-
tivation is performed with various instruments, the bull-
tongue or scooter, the shovel, double shovel, the sweep, the
harrow, the cultivator and the hoe. One or more of the for-
mer must be used to pulverize the land and uproot and clean
OiT the weeds ; while the last is necessary to carry this ope-
ration directly up to the stem of the plants. The culture is
thus summarily stated by Dr. Phillips : '* Commence clearing
the cotton early ; clean it well ; return to it as soon as pos-
sible, throw earth or mould to the young plants, and if the
ground be hard give it a thorough plowing ; keep the earth
light and mellow and the plants clear of grass and weeds."
The plants are thinned at every hoeing, till they attain a
height of 3 or four inches, when two or three are allowed to
stand together at intervals of about 8 inches for a medium
quality of soil. This distance should be largely increased
when it is richer. Cotton is subject to the cut and army
worm, the slug and catterpillar, cotton lice, rot, sore shin and
rust. We have seen no remedies prescribed for either, but
we suggest for experiment the exposure of the two former to
frost, by plowing just before its appearance. The free use
of lime and salt and similar manures might arrest or mitigate
the eftects of all. Birds should also be encouraged upon the
fields,as they would destroy numbers of the worm and insect
tribes. It has been claimed that the introduction of the Mex-
ican and Petit-Gulf varieties is the most effectual remedy, as
they furnish hardier kinds, which are less the object of attack
and have a greater ability to withstand it.
COTTON. 191
Harvesting is commenced when the bolls have begun to
expand and the cotton is protruded, and this is continued
from time to time as the bolls successively ripen and burst
their capsules. It is done entirely by hand, the picker pass-
ing between two rows and gleaning trom each. The cotton
is placed in a bag capable of containing 15 or 20 lbs. which
is hung upon his shoulders or strapped upon his breast. —
These are emptied into large baskets which are taken, when
filled, to the gin-house. We quote again from Dr. Philips :
** Having all things ready for picking cotton, I commence as
usual early, as soon as the hands can gather even 20 lbs.
each. This is advisable, not only in saving a portion of that
from being destroyed, if rains should fall, which often do at
this season (about the middle of August,) but for another rea-
son ; passing through the cotton has a tendency to open out
to sun and air the limbs that have interlocked across the
rows, and hastens the early opening. On low grounds, espe-
cially, much loss is incuned in some seasons from the want
of the sun to cause an expansion of the fibre within the boll,
so as to cause it to open. The boll is composed of five di-
visions, in each of which there is a parcel of cotton wool
surrounding each seed, there being several in each lock of
cotton. When green, these fibres lie close to the seed, and
as it ripens, the fibres become elastic, the boll becoming
hard and brownish. The Sea Island has only three divisions,
as also the Egyptian, which is only the Sea Island of the best
variety, with black seed, smooth, and a yellowish tuft of fibres
on the small end ; they are both from Pernambuco. Some
of the cotton we plant has only four divisions, but I think five
generally. There is a peculiar art in gathering the cotton
from the boll, which, like handling stock, can only be acquired
by practice ; many gather equally fast with either hand. The
lefl hand seizes the stem near the open boll, or the boll be-
tween the two middle fingers, the palm of the hand up ; the
fingers of the right hand are inserted tolerably low down in
the boll, a finger on each lock of cotton ; then, as the fin-
gers grasp it, there is a slight twisting motion, and a quick
pull, which, if done well, will extract the contents, the boll
being open, and the bottom of the locks not gummy to adhere.
There is a vast difference in hands — not the quickest making
the best pickers — a steady, clocklike motion, with some
quickness, is necessary to gather fast. A neighbor of mine,
when a young man, some ten years since, gathered 400 lbs.»
which was at that time the best I had known ; this has been
192 AMERICAN AGRICULTURE.
beaten since, by aiding the hand in emptying his sacks, and
ahnost feeding and watering him while at work."
" Cotton should be gathered from the field as clean as possi-
ble, taken to the scaffolds and dried until the seed will crack
when pressed between the teeth, not crush or mash, but
crack with some noise. It should be frequently turned over
and stirred (all the trash and rotten pods taken out while this
is being done,) so as to insure its drying earlier.
If seeds are wanted for planting, gin the cotton immediately,
and spread the seed over the floor some five inches thick, until
perfectly dry. If the cotton-seed be not wanted, pack the
seed-cotton away into the house, to remain until a gentle heat
is discovered, or until sufficient for ginning ; after it has heated
until a feeling of warmth to the hand, and it looks as if press-
ed together, open out and scatter to cool. This cotton will
gin faster, have a sofler feel, is not so brittle, therefore not so
liable to break by rapidity of gin, and has a creamy color ;
the wool has imbibod a part of the oil that has exuded by the
warmth of seed, and is in fact restored to the original color ;
for the oil being vegetable, it is dissipated by sun and air, and
the color by moisture (of rain and dews) and light. I have
known of a number of sales made of this description of cotton,
and even those who are most strenuous against the heating,
admit it bore a better price." The cotton is then ginned
and baled, when it is ready for market.
Topping Cotton between the 20th July and 20th August
is practised by many planters with decided success. It is
thought by the foregoing authority, highly beneficial in dry
seasons, but not in wet, and that in three years out of five it
is attended with particular advantage to the crop.
Sea Island Cotton requires in many respects a treat-
ment unlike that of the upland. We insert an article by
Thomas Spalding, Esq. who has long been engaged in its
cultivation.
" The Sea-Island cotton was introduced into Georgia from
the Bahamas ; the seed was from a small island near St.
Domingo, known as Arguilia, then producing the best cotton
of the western world. It in no way resembles the Brazil
cotton which is the kidney-seed kind, introduced some years
later, and which after trial, was rejected in Georgia. This
seed came in small parcels from the Bahamas in the winter
of 1785. It gradually and slowly made its way along the
coast of Georgia, and passed into Carolina, from the year
1790, to 1792. The winter of 1786 in Georgia was a mild
COTTON. 193
one, and although the plants of the Sea-Island cotton that
year had not ripened their seed ; it being a perennial, and
subject only to be killed by frost, it started the next season
(1787) from the roots of the previous year, its seed ripened,
and the plants became acclimated. Many changes have
come over this seed since that time from difference of soil,
of culture, and local position; and above all, from careful
selection of seed. But it requires to be discovered, that what
IS gained in fineness of wool, is lost in the quality and weight
of the product ; for in spite of a zeal and intelligence
brought to act upon the subject without parallel, the crops
are yearly diminishing ; until to grow Sea-Island cotton is
one of the most profitless pursuits within the limits of the
United States.
'•The Culture. — When the Sea-Island cotton-seed was
mtroduced in 1786, it was planted in hills prepared upon the
level field, at five {eet each way ; but it was soon learned,
that of all plants that grow, it is in its first vegetation and
early stage the most tender ; liable to suffer by storms, by
wind, by drought, and by excess of rain. The quantity of
seed was therefore increased, and the plants multipiied,
until, as in most other cases, one extrem.e produced another.
For many years, however, among experienced planters, the
course is to divide their enclosed fields, into two portions ;
the one at rest, the other in culture.
" Preparing the Land for the Crop.— Early in Feb-
ruary, any hands not engaged in preparing the previous
crop for market, are employed in cleaning up the rested
fields, and either in burning off" the fennel-weeds and grass
of the previous year, or in listing them in at five feet apart,
to serve as the base of the future ridges or bed. There is
much difference of opinion, upon the subject of burning or
listing in ; for myself, I am inclined to take the first opinion,
believing that the light dressing of ashes the field receives
from burning off*, is more beneficial to the soil than the decay
of the vegetable matter, and renders it less liable to produce
what is a growing evil, the rust, a species of blight, much
resembling the rust or blight upon wheat, and which takes
place about the same period, just as the plant is putting out
and preparing to ripen its fruit.
"Ridging. — The land being listed in short lines across
the entire field, at five feet apart, the operation of ridging is
commenced about the first of March. The ridges occupy
H
194 AMERICAN -AGRICULTURE.
the em ire surface ; that is, the foot of one ridge commencing
where the other ridge ends, and rising about eight inches
above the natural level of the land, thus presenting a surface
almost as smooth, and almost as deeply worked as a garden-
bed. This ridging is carried on but a few days ahead of the
planting. The ridge, if the operation has been carefully
done, is from 2 to 2h feet broad at top ; it is then trenched
on the upper surface with the hoe, six inches wide, and
from three to six inches deep, depending upon the period of
planting.
"Planting. — In the beginning, if the seed is covered
more than two inches with soil, the soil will not feel the
intience of the sun, and the seed will not vegetate later; that
is, in April up to the first of May, you must give from three
to four inches of covering to preserve the moisture, or there,
too, you fail from an opposite cause, the wind and burning
influence of the sun drying the soil too much for vegetation.
In most countries, after sowing the seed the roller is applied;
but in cotton planting, in our ridge-husbandry, the loot in
covering the seed and pressing down the earth well sup-
plies its place.
" Quantity of Sekd per Acre.-^A bushel of seed is
generally sown to the acre, 1 believe half a bushel is better ;
for where the evil comes, whether the worm, or wind, or
drought, or wet, there is no security in the many ; but on
the contrary, where they come up thin, they soon grow out
oi the way of injury from any enemy.
" Apter-Culture. — The cultivation of Sea-Island cotton
is carried on by the hand-hoe, and the quantity always
limited to four acres to the laborer. The operation of
weeding commences as soon as we finish planting, because
in our flat and sandy soils the grass-seed springs with the
first growth of the cotton, and by the time we finish plant-
ing, say the first of May, what we planted in March requires
the hoe. The land is kept in the operation of hoeing and
weeding as far as may be, at its original level, the beds
neither increased or diminished, that rains which generally
fall with bearing power, and in redundant quantity, in the
month of August, may as little as possible injure the grow-
ing plants, which are then in full bearing. The young cot-
ton is thinned out slowly at from six to twelve inches apart
on the ridge, by the 10th of June. As soon as the rains
commence, which is about the last of July, it is wise to leave
COTTON. 195
nature to herself, and no longer disturb the soil ; four hoe-
ings if well done, and the grass well well picked at each
hoeing, is enough ; nor does any aftergrowth of grass do
injury.
"Manures and SoiLiN^iSTOcK.— For ten years past, great
efforts have been made by the Sea-island planters, in ma-
nuring. Much of the alluvion of our salt rivers have been
<!ollected, and sometimes })laced directly in heaps through
(he tields at rest, at other times placed in cattle-pens, on
which cottonseed, and all waste materials are strewn, and
the cattle pounded up on it. But what is preferred, is to pen
our cattle near the river at night, and cut salt-grass, which
coveis these alluvion lands, and which is as nutritious as so
much clover. Great benefits will result from the use of
marl, I have no doubt, hereafter.
" A.MOUNT or Crop pkr Acre and Picking. — It has been
stated already, that 500 lbs. to the acre is about the medium
crop, which at 20 cents per lb., (more than the actual price
for the last three years,) is to the planter '^100 for gross
crop ; and from this hundred dollars is to be subtracted bag-
ging, freight, expenses of sale, clothing for his people,
medical attention, and too often provisions. "
The Varieties which have been cultivated with success
in the United States, in addition to those enumerated, are
the RUh with a staple about three inches in length of a
glossy, silky texture, brought from South America; the
Egyptian^ received from the garden of Mchemet Ali and
grown in Louisiana 15 feet in height ; the Mastodan, lately
introduced from Mexico, firm in texture and highly produc-
tive ; the Chinese Silk Cotton, white, soft, tine and silky ; the
East India, growing to a height of 14 feet and producing a
beautiful fibre ; and the Nankeen, a handsome staple of a
true nankeen color, raised by the late Hon. John Forsyth
of Georgia, and some other planters.
Cotton Seed. — The amount of seed in cotton is large,
being nearly 70 per cent, of the entire gathering, the fibre
being about 28. This is used for various purposes. Some-
times it is pressed for its oil, of which it yields from 15 to 20
per cent, of its own weight. When thus treated, the cake
is used for cattle food. The seed is frequently though impro-
perly fed raw to stock, and this ot'ten proves fatal espe-
cially to swine, besides being attended with much waste. It
is most advantageously prepared by boiling for half an hour,
196 AMERICAN AGRICCLTUEE.
when it will benefit all descriptions of ?tock. By adding an
equal quantity of corn and boiling them together it will fat-
ten swine rapidly. Tt is also useful to land as a manur?.
THE SUGAR CANE {Sarckarum officinamm.)
The cultivation of the cane is an important branch of South-
ern agriculture. Its first introduction into this country, is
said to have been in 1751, by some French Jesuits, who plan^
ted it on the present site of New- Orleans. But it was not
until between 1794 and 1800, when the revolution in St.
Domingo sent hundreds of their planters into that state, that
the growth of the cane became an object of decided impor.
fance. They brought with them the small yellow Creole,
the only kind then cultivated in the French M^est India islands.
From these limited and comparatively recent beginnings, the
product has rapidly increased, until it has now become next
to cotton, the great agricultural export liom the Southern
States. Over 160,000,000 lbs., with 9,000,000 gallons mo^
lasses, was the estimated crop for 1845. In Louisiana, the
great sugar producing ytate, it has been cultivated almost ex-
clusively on the low or rich level lands ; but recently, the more
elevated country has been used for it, and the experiments
have been such as to justity the expectation that large quan-
tities will hereafter be raised on the uplands. The cane was
brought to Georgia in 1805 from the island of Otaheite. Its
extension in some parts of that state and Florida was rapid,
and while sugar commanded 10 cents per pound, it was a re-
numerating crop. Since its decline to five and six cents, the
cultivation has diminished, but it is still largely -raised for
domestic consumption among the planters, and to some ex-
tent for exportation to the northern states.
CuLTivATiOiV. — The first operation is to drain the land
effectually with large open ditches, by which all the surface
water is removed. The ground is then thoroughly prepared
with the plough, and well harrowed if rough. " In Georgia,"
says Mr. Spalding, " the cane was cultivated differently from
what it was elsewiiere. It naturally took the course of our
cotton culture of the seacoast ; to wit, ridges at five feet apart ;
a trench was opened on the top of the ridge, three inches
deep, in which a double row of cane-plants were placed, cut
about two feet long, and placed so as the eyes which are al-
ternate, should be on the sides, and then covered with two
inches of earth. This you may suppose in a good season
gives a continued line of stalks, not more than three inches
tHE SitOAR CANF. 197
apart, and throwing up cane five or six feet fit for the mill.
I have often supposed that there was growing of vegetable
matter to the acre, from 30 to 40 tons, certainly containing
more nutritious matter for stock, than any other plant would
give upon the same surface. In Louisiana they planted al-
together with the plow, and had their trenches not more than
2h feet apart; they have since gradually widened their di^i-
tance. When I was there, they used generally the old
French plow, with a wheel at the end of the beam. VVitli
strong teams, they plowed deep and l)etter than anywhere 1
had seen in the southern states. It was by means of the
plow, tiiat they planted so many acres to the laborer ; and
again, because they had little grass upon their river-lands ex-
cept the nut-grass." The cane may be planted any time
between the months of September and March ; but is usu-
ally done in January and February after the sugar- making
is completed. Some planters have recently obtained large
crops by planting jn rows at a distance of 8 feet apart. Af-
ter the frost has disappeared, the earth is removed by the
plow from each side of the cane, and the top earth is scraped
off to prevent early vegetation. It is then kept clear of weeds
and grass by the frequent use of the hoe, till it has produced
suckers or shoots enough to afford a full stand. In the latter
part of May or early in June it should be hilled about four
inches, and then left unmolested till ready for the mill. The
rane l)cgins to ripen at the bottom in August or September
and advances upwards at the rate of about six inches per
uerk, and is usually fit for the mill by the middle of October.
Harvesting. — The cane is first topped while standing,
which consists in cutting off the upper end of the stalk as far
as the leaves are dry. The dry leaves are then stripped
from the standing stalk, and the cane cut with a cane knife
close to the ground, and carried in cails to the mill where
it is at once passed through the rollers for expressing the
juice. This last is immediately put iuto the kettles, boiled,
skimmed, and reduced to the proper point for gianulation
or conversion into sugar. The tops and leaves are tie-
quently left on the ground for manure, or used for stock feed-
ing, and sometimes they are planted. But it is better to use
the choicest whole cane for this purpose ; and when thus se-
lected, it is cut befoic frost and laid down in beds or matelas
one or two feet in thicknes, with the tops overlapping and
occupying the suiface like shingles in a roof. Cane is gen-
erally planted in this countr)^ once in three years, and it con-
108 AMERICAN AGBICTTI-TITRP.
tinues to grow vigorously for this period from a single plant-
ing. In 8t. Domingo, many of the cane fields are irrigated
from the mountain streamr--, by which the crop is largely
increased, and the ratoons or old plants last for several years.
Mr. Spalding places the average crop of the uplands in Geor-
gia at 500 lbs. of sugar per acre, and that of the bottom or
viver lands, at 1000 lbs., while that of Louisiana is estimated
af 800 lbs. The crushed cane is frequently used for fuel
wheie wood is scarce. This is a wasteful custom as it is a
valuable food for stock. Large quantities of the molasses
have hertofore been used for distilling into alcohol, but the
manufacture of this has materially lessened of late, and a
salutary change has been made in its disposal. When it
would not bring a remunerating price for exportation, as has
sometimes been the case in the West Indies, it has been
mixed with other materials and fed to stock. It is healthful
and excedingly fattening to animals. Its great value for con-
version into fat will be readily seen by comparing the eh^-
ments of each. Sugar has been analyzed by several chem-
ists with slightly varying results. According to the follow-
ing authorities, it consists of
Lussac & Thenard, Beizelius, Prout, Ure,
Oxygen, 50.63 49.856 53.35 50.33 in 100
Carbon, 42.47 43.265 39.99 43.38 —
Hydrogen, 6.90 6.875 6.66 6.29 — -
Fat according to Chevreul, consists of 79 carbon ; 11.4 hy-
drogen ; and 9.6 of oxygen. The only difference in the
chemical character of molasses and sugar, is that the former
contains a considsrable addition of water. Thus it will be
seen, that fat and molasses are identical in their constituents
though varying in their relative proportions ; and it would be
fairly inferable from theory, as it has been found in practice,
that no food is better suited to the easy and rapid conversion
into animal fat if fed profusely.
The varieties of cane cultivated in the United States,
are the blue Hhh&n, the stem of which is hadsomely striped
with blue and yellow. These were brought from Jamaica,
and are thus described by Mr. Spalding : " The first is so
hardy, that I think it might be grown in warm, sandy soils,
dressed with animal manures and with diluted ashes, even
to New- York, for the feeding of cattle, and other useful pur-
poses ; the cane for planting being placed in dry cellars, and
only taken out for planting in warm days in April, The
v/hite striped cane is the tenderest of all the species, and in
StJCAR MAPLE. 199
our cold season of years past, has disappeared from among
us — no loss, although a very soft cane, and easily expressed.
The objection to the blue striped cane, it is very hard to
grind, and really gives but little juice at best ; it, however,
grows higher, and is adapted to lower grounds, to moister
soils, and shorter seasons, and the plants are much easier
preserved for the next year. Light frost upon the cane im-
proves the juice, and we have known the green cane upon
Sapelo Island, for a few days, give juice that gave 13 by the
hydrometer when three pounds of juice made a pound of su-
gar; no cane in Jamaica ever did more." The blue ribbon
is the most prolific and most extensively cultivated v©.riety
on the rich lands of Louisiana. The Otaheite is largely
raised, and with the Creole or Brazilian, (now nearly super-
seded,) makes up the cultivated varieties of the United States.
The Cane Coverer recently invented by Mr. Bryan, it
is affirmed will save a large amount of labor, a boy and span
of horses covering with it 10 acres in a day, and it is equally
efficient in removing the earth from the cane. Tlie Jiydraulic
press has been lately introduced for expressing the cane juice,
which it does at the rate of 0000 gallons in every 10 hours,
either by manual labor or with the aid of a couple of mules.
The advantages claimed for it aro numerous and striking.
Tlie application of steam to the manufacture of sugar, has
been introduced into Louisiana quite recently, by Mr. Riel-
lieux, by which 18,000 lbs. were made in 24 hours, with
great economy and advantage.
MAPLE SUGAR.
The rock, hard or sugar juaple tree (Acer Saccharinum)
is among our most beautiful shade, and most valuable forest
trees, and it stands next to the sugar cane in the readiness,
and abundance with which it yields the material for cane
sugar. When refined, there is no difference either in appear-
ance or quality between the sugar from the cane, the maple
or the beet. In the brown state, the condition in which it is
sent to market, when made with care and formed into solid
cakes, it retains its peculiar moisture and rich aromatic flavor,
which makes it more acceptable to the nibblers of sweets,
than the most refined and highly sented bon-bons of the con-
fectioner. The quantity made in this country, is very large,
though from the fact of its domestic consumption, and its sel-
dom reaching the large markets, there is no estimate of the
the aggregate production which will come very near the
200 AMERICAN AGRICULTURE.
truth. The product for Vermont alone, for 1845, was esti-
mated at over 10,000,000 lbs. The quantity supposed to be
annually sold in the city of New York, exceeds 10,000 hhds.
TBoth the sugar and syrup are used for every purpose for which
the cane is employed.
The sugar maple extends from the most northern limits of
Maine and the shores of Lake Superior, to the banks of the
Ohio. Further South it is rarely found. The cane and
maple approach each other but scarcely meet, and never in •
termingle as rivals in the peculiar region which nature has
assigned to each. In some sections of the -country, the
sugar maple usurps almost the entire soil, standing side by
side, like thick ranks corn, yet large and lofty, and among the
noblest specimens' of the forest. The writer has thus repeat-
ediy seen them around the Manitouwoc river, near the coast
of Lake Michigan in Wisconsin, and in the beautiful sugar
orchards of the same country, where unlike the others, they
grow in open land among the rich native grasses, their tops
graceful and bushy like the cultivated tree, and but for their
greater numbers and extent and their more picturesque
grouping, one would think the hand of taste and civilization
had directed what nature alone has accomplished. And amid
those beautiful orchards, or in the depths of those dense dark
woods, the Indian wigwam and the settler's rude cabin may
be seen, filled with the solid cakes and mokoks* which con-
tain from 30 to 60 lbs. of their coarse-grained, luscious
sugar.
The season for drawing and chrystalizing the sap is in
early spring when the bright sunny days and clear frosty
nights, give it a full and rapid circulation. The larger trees
should be selected and tapped by an inch auger to the depth
of an inch and a half, the hole inchning downward to hold
the sap. At the base of this, another should be made from
3-8 to 1-2 an .inch diameter, in which a tube of elder oi
sumach should be closely fitted to conduct it off. A rude con-
trivance for catching the sap is with troughs made usually of
the easily wrought poplar, but it is better to use vessels which
admit of thorough cleansing, and these may be suspended by
a bail or handle from a peg driven into the tree above. If
*Mo-kok— An Indian sack or basket, with flattish sides and rounded end8f
similar in fashion to a ladies travelling satchel. They are made perfectly tight, o
strips of white birch bark, eevved with thongs of elm. They make some of their
::.i:' buckets of the same material, but different in form. The small mo-koks, taste-
f illy ornamented with various colored porcupine quills and filled with maple sugar,
are sold for toys.
SUGAR MAPLE. !201
ttails aro used, they may spoil the auger at some fliture tap-
ping. When the sugar season is over, the holes ought to bo
closely plugged and the head cut off evenly with the bark
whicli soon grows over the wound. If thus carefully man-
^ge(\f several may bo made in a thrifty tree without any ap-
poarcnt injury to the tree. The barbarous, slovenly mode of
half girdling the trunk with an axe, soon destroys it.
The sap is collected daily with buckets which are carried
on the neck by a milk man's yoke to the boilers ; or if
the quantity be great and remote from the sugar fires, by a
hogshead placed on a sled, with a large hole at the top covered
with a cloth strainer, or a tunnel similarly guarded, is inserted
in the bunghole. The primitive mode of arranging the
sugary, is with large receiving troughs placed near the fires,
capable of holding several hundred gallons of sap, and the
boiling kettles suspended over them on long polos supported
by crotches. The process of sugar making we shall give from
the statement of Mr. Woodwortii of Watertown, N. Y. who
obtained the premium from the State agricultural society, for
the best sample of maple sugar exhibited at the annual fair
of 1844. The committe who awarded the premium say
*' they have never seen so fine a sample, either in the perfec-
tion of the granulation or in the extent to which the refining
process has been carried ; the whole coloring matter is ex-
tracted, and the peculiar flavor of maple sugar is completely
eradicated, leaving the sugar fully equal to the double refine(l
cane loaf sugar to be found in our markets."
The statement says : " in the first place I make my buck-
ets, tubs, and kettles, all perfectly clean. I boil the sap in a
potash kettle, set in an arch in such a manner that the edge
of the kettle is defended all around from the fire. I boil
through the day, taking care not to have any thing in the
kettle that will give color to the sap, and to keep it well
skimmed. At night I leave fire enough under the kettle to
boil the sap nearly or quite to syrup by the next morning. I
then take it out of the kettle and strain it through a flannel
cloth into a tub, if it is sweet enough ; if not, I put it in a
caldron kettle, which 1 have hung on a pole in such a manner
that I can swing it on and off the fire at pleasure, and boil it
till if is sweet enough, and then strain it into the tub and let
it stand till the next morning ; I then take it and the syrup
in the kettle and put it altogether in the caldron and sugar it
off. I use to clarify, say 100 lbs. of sugar, the whites of five
or six eggs, well beaten, about one quart of new milk and a
202 AMEBIC AN AGRICULTURE.
spoonful of salaeratus, all well mixed with syrup before it is
scalding hot. I then make and keep a moderate fire directly
under the caldron until the scum is all raised ; then skim it
off clean, taking care not to let it boil so as to rise in the
kettle before I have done skimming it. I then sugar it off,
leaving it so damp that it will drain a littie. I let it remain
in the kettle until it is well granulated. I then put it into
boxes, made smallest at the bottom, that will hold from 50 to
70 lbs., having a thin piece of board fitted in two or three
inches above the bottom, which is bored full of small holes
to let the molasses drain through, which I keep drawn off by
a tap through the bottom. I put on the top of the sugar in
the box two or three thicknesses of clear damp cloth, and
over that a board well fitted in so as to exclude the air from
the sugar. After it has done or nearly done draining, I dis-
solve it and sugar it off again, going through the same process
in clarifying and draining as before."
When sap is not immediately boiled, a small addition of
lime water should be made to check fermentation, which pre-
vents the granulation of the syrup. A single tree has yielded
in one day, 24 gallons of sap, making over 7 1-4 lbs. of sugar;
and in one season it made 33 lbs. Trees will give an aver-
age of 2 to 6 lbs. in a single season.
TOBACCO {Nicotiana.)
This narcotic is a native of North America and has been
an object of extensive use and cultivatiou in this country
since the first settlement of Virginia in the latter part of the
16th century. It formed for a long time the principal export
Irom that colony and Maryland. It is still cultivated there
and has become an object of considerable attention in the
middle and western states and to some extent in the northern.
The Soil may be a light loamy sand, or it may be allu-
vial, well drained and fertile, new land free of weeds and
i'nll of saline matters is best suited to it, and next to this is a
rich grass sod which has long remained untilled. The seed
should be sown in beds which should be kept clean, as the
plant is small and slow of growth in the early stages of its
existence and is easily smothered by weeds. If not newly
cleared, the land should be burned with a heavy coating of
brush.
Cultivation — ^The beds should be well pulverized, and
the seed sown at the rate of a table spoonful to every two
square rods. Th? seeds are so minute, that sowing evenly is
TOBACCO. 20 n
scarcely attainable, unless by first mixing with 3 or 4 times
its bulk of line mold. This should be done sufliciently early
to secure proper maturity to the plants in time for transplant-
ing, (say l)y the last of February or early in March south ot*
the Ohio, and about the first of April north of it.) covering
lightly and completely rolling or treading down the earth. —
The plant ap[)ears in 15 or 20 days and will be fit for trans-
planting in si.\ or eight weeks. Tiiis should be done in damp
weather, and the plants set singly, at a distance of 2i to ti
feet each way. The after cuUure is like that of corn, and
consi.sts in frequently stiring the ground, with the plow or
cultivator and hoe, and keeping down weeds. The places of
such plants a^ fail, or are blighted, should be at once filled
up, and all worms destroyed.
The Priming, Toppixt; and Suckering are necessary
operations. The first consists in breaking oflf four or five of
the leaves next the ground which are valueless ; the second
is taking off the top to prevent the seed stalk from develop,
ing, and is regulated by the kind of tobacco. "The first
topping will always admit of a greater number of leaves be-
ing left ; and in proportion as the season advances, fewer
leaves should be left. The heavier kinds of tobacco are gen-
rrally topped early in the season, to twelve leaves, then to ten
and still later to eight. The lighter kinds are topped to a
greater number of leaves. If the soil is light, fewer leaves
should be left," {Bcatiy.) Suckering consists in breaking ofl*
the young side shoots which should be done immediately after
ihey make their appearance.
HARVESTING maybe commenced with such plants as have
become sufliciently ripe, which is indicated by greenish yel-
low spots on the leaves. This will generally occur in Augu.st
at the south, and in September at the north. The stem of the
plant is cut near the ground, and allowed to wilt, but not ex-
po.sed to a hot sun. If there is danger of this, it should bti
cut only in the morning or evening, when properly wilted,
which will be in a few hours, it may be carefidly carried to
the drying house, where it should be hung up by twine lied
to the butt end of the stalk, and suspended over poles, at dry-
ing distances, with the head downwards. The circulation of
air is necessary in the dry houses, but there must be entire
safety against storms or winds, as the leaves are liable to
break by agitation, and rain seriously injures them. When
the stem in the leaf has become hard, it is suflSently dried.
This takes place in good weather, in two or three months. —
204 AMERICAN AGRtCULTtTRR.
The leaves may be stripped in damp weather, when they will
hot crumble, and carefully bound in small bundles, termed
hands, and then boxed for shipment.
The Varieties of tobacco are numerous, not less than 12
being cultivated in America, and they are adapted to the dif-
lerent soils and climates where they are grown. The most
fragrant are produced in Cuba, and are almost exclusively
used for cigars. They command several times tlie price oi'
ordinary kinds. The tobacco of Maryland and the adjoining
states is peculiai'ly rich and high flavored, and is most esteem-
ed for chewing.
Much of the peculiar flavor and value of tobacco depends
on the soil, and the preparation or sweating of the plant after
drying. The former shoidd not be too rich, and never highly
manured, as the flavor is thereby materially injured though
ihe product will be increased. Yet it is an exhausting crop,
as is seen by the large quantity and the analysis of the asli,
and the soil requires a constant renewal of well tiumented
manures, and particularly the saline ingredients, to prevent
exhaustion. Tobacco contains nitrogen and the alkalies in
large quantities, and but very little of the phosphates. The
ash is shown in the analysis of Fresenius and Will, to consisl,
of potash, 30.67 ; lime, (mostly, with a little magnesia,)
U3.36 ; gypsum 5.60 ; common salt, 5.95 ; phosphates, 6.03 ;
silica, 18.39, in 100 parts of the ash. The inferior kinds
contain a large proportion of lime ; and the superior, the lar-
gest of potash. The customary method of burning fuel on
the beds designed for tobacco, and the use of freshly cleared and
burnt lands, by which the largest crops of the best quality an^
obtained, shows conclusively the proper tieatment required.
By each of these operations, the ground is not only loosened
in the best possible manner, and all insects and weeds de-
stroyed, but the sails, and especially potash, are produced in
the greatest abundance. Some of the best soils in Virginia
have been ruined by a constant succession of tobacco crops,
the necessary result of neglect in supplying them with the
constituents of fertility so largely abstracted. The yield per
acre is generally from 1500 to 2500 lbs., and it is a profita-
ble crop when the best kinds are properly cultivated, under
favorable circumstances of soil, climate, &;c. The total esti-
mated product of the United States for 1843, was over 185,-
000,000. lbs. of which Kentucky furnished 52,000,000, and
Virginia nearly 42,000,000 lbs. Missouri, Ohio, and other
states are rapidly becoming large producers.
INDIGO. 205
J N D I D O (Iiidignfcrit Unctoria)
Was formerly cultivated at the South to a limited dcgivc, but
tlift introduction ot' cotton and the great profits which it
yielded, and its consequent rapid extension, drove the culture
of indigo on to foreign soils. But the decline in the price of
cotton from larfjre productio'.i and the increasing co!isumption
of indigo in tliis country, together with the diminished price
of other southern staples, will prohahly again make it an ob>
joct of agricultural attention in those states where the soil
and climate are suited to it. We have no detailed histoiy of
its cultivation in the United States, and we quote from Lou-
don. He says "it is one of the most prolitahle crops in
Hindostan, because labor and laud here are cheaper tiian any
where else ; and because the raising of the plant and its man-
ufacture m.ay be carried on without even (ho aid of a house.
The first step in the culture of the plant h to render the
ground, which should be friable and rich, perfect])^ free from
weeds and dry, if naturally moist. The seeds are then sown
in shallow drills about a foot apart. The rainy season must
be chosen for sowing, otherwise, if the seed is deposited in
dry soil, it heats, corrupts, and is lost. The crop being kept
clear of weeds is fit for cutting in two or three months, and
this may be repeated in rainy seasons every six weeks. The
plants must not be allowed to come into flower, as the leaves
in that case become dry and hard, and the indigo produced is
of less value ; nor must they be cut in dry weather, as they
would not spring again. A crop generally lasts two years.
Being cut, the herb is first steeped in a vat till it has become
macerated, and has paited with its coloring matter ; tlien the
liquor is let of]' into another, in whicli it undergoes the pe-
culiar process of beating, to cause the fecula to separate from
the water. This fecula is let off into a third vat, where it
remains some time, and is then strained through cloth bags,
and evaporated in shallow wooden boxes placed in the shade.
Hefore it is perfectly dry it is cut in small pieces of an inch
square ; it is then packed in barrels, or sowed up in sacks, for
>ale."
Indigo can only be raised to advantage in our most south-
ern states. The soil requires to be dry, finely pulverized and
rich. The seed is sown early in April, in drills about 18 in-
ches apart, and the weeds are kept down by the hoe. It
should be cut with a sickle or scythe, when the lower leaves
f3egin to turn, and just before the plant is going into flower.
206 AMERICAN AGRICULTURE.
This period occurs in this country about the middle of sum.
mer. A second crop may be taken the first of autumn, and
in hotter climates even a third one.
The Baton Rouge Advocate of 1844 says, an acre in that
district will raise from 40 to 60 lbs. of indigo not inferior to
the best Carraccas, selling at $2 per lb. It takes only IVoni July
In October to mature, and it does not demand one third of the
time or expense for raising as that of a cotton crop. The
consumption of indigo in this country already amounts to be-
tween two and three millions of dollars annually. There
are several varieties indigenous to the Southern States, and one
or more in the Northern which yield inferior dye.
MADDER (Eubia tinctormn)
Used for several dyes, but principally for the rich madder red,
has been recently an object of attention in the United States.
The introduction of this with numerous other articles conse-
quent upon the extended growth of our manufactures, shows
the intimate and mutually beneficial effects of associating the
two leading industrial occupations of agriculture and rnanu-
factures. The principal cause Avhich has prevented its culti-
vation among us thus far, has been the long time required
for maturing a crop. We subjoin a descrij>tion of its culture
from Mr. Bateham.
Soil and treparation. — " The soil should be a deep,
rich, sandy loam, free from weeds, roots, stones, <kc., and
containing a good portion of vegetable earth. Alluvial bot-
tom land is the most suitable ; but it must not l)e wet. It old
upland is used, it should receive a heavy coating of vegetable
earth, (tVoin decayed wood and leaves.) The land should be
jjlowed very deep in the fall, and early in the spring apply
about one hundred loads of well rotted manure? [)er acre,
spread evenly, and plowed in deeply , then harrow till quite
fine and free from lumps. Next, plow the land into beds
four feet wide, leaving alleys between, three feet wide, then
harrow the beds with a fine light harrow, or rake them by
hand so as to leave them smooth, and even with the alleys ;
they are then ready for planting.
Preparing sets and plantimg. — Madder sets, or seed
roots, are best selected when the crop is dug in the fall. The
horizontal uppermost roots (with eyes) are the kind to be
used ; these should be separated from the bottom roots, and
buried in sand, in a cellar or pit. If not done in the fall,
the sets may be dug early in the spring, before they begin to
MADDER. 207
sprout. They should be cut or broken into pieces, contain,
ing from two to five eyes each; i. e. three to four inches
long. The time for planting is as early in spring as the
groujul can be got in good order, and severe frosts are over,
which, in this climate, is usually about the middle of April.
With the beds prepared as directed, stretch a line lengthwis»*
the bed, and with the corner of a hoe make a drill two in-
dies deep along each edge atul down the middle, so as to
give three rows to each bed, about two teet apart. Into
these drills drop the sets, ten inches apart, covering them
two inches deep. Eight or ten biishels of sets are requisite
for an acre.
After ct^ltiire. — As soon as the madder plants can be
seen, the ground should be carefully hoed, so as to destroy the
weeds and not injure the plants ; and the hoeing and weed-
ing must be repeated as often as weeds make their appear-
ance. If any of the sets have failed to grow, the vacancies
should be filled by taking up parts of the strongest roots and
transplanting them; this is l)est done in June. As soon as
the madder plants are ten or twelve inches high, the tops are
to be bent down on to the surface of the ground, and all ex-
cept the tip end, covered with earth shoveled from the middle
of the alleys. Bend the shoots outward and inward, in
every direction, so as in time to fill all the vacant spac e on
the beds, and about one foot on each side. Af\er the first
time covering, repeat the weeding when necessary, and run a
single horse plow through the alleys several times to keep
the earth clean and mellow. As soon as the plants again be-
come ten or twelve inches high, bend down and cover them as
before, repeating the operation as often as necessary, which
is commonly three times the first season. The last time may
be as late as September, or later if no frosts occur. By cov-
ering the tops in this manner, they change to roots, and the
design is to fill the ground as full of roots as possible. When
the vacant spaces are all full, there will be but little chance
for weeds to grow ; but all that appear must be pulled out.
The second year. — Keep the beds free from weeds :
plow the alleys and cover the tops, as before directed, two or
three times during the season. The alleys will now form
deep and narrow ditches, and if it becomes difliicult to obtain
good earth for covering the tops, that operation may be omit-
ted after the second time this season. Care should be taken,
when covering the tops, to keep the edges of the beds as
208 AMERICAN AGRICULTURE.
high as the mifldlo ; otherwise the water from heavy show-
ers will run ofJi and the crop suffer from drought.
The third year. — Very little labor or attention is re-
quired. The plants will now cover the whole ground. If
any weeds are seen, they must be pulled out ; otherwise theii-
roots will cause trouble when harvesting the madder. The
crop is sometimes dug the thh'd year ; and if the uo'ii and
cultivation have been good, and the seasons Avarm and favor-
able, the madder will be of good quality ; but generally, it
is much better in quaiit}-, and more in quantity, when left un-
til the fourth year.
Digging and harvesting. — This should be done be-
t ween the 20ih of August and the 20th of September. Take
a sharp shovel or shovels, and cut o.T and remove the tops
with half an inch of the surface of the earth ; then take a
plow of the largest size, with a sharp coulter and a double
team, and plow a furrow outward, beam-deep, around the
edge of the bed ; stir the earth with forks, and carefully pick
out all llifi roots, removing the earth from the bottom of the
furrow ; then plow another furrow beam-deep, as before, and
pick over and remove the earth in the same manner ; thus
proceeding until the whole is completed.
Washing and drying. — As soon as possible after dig-
ging, take the roots to some running stream to be washed.
If there is no running stream convenient, it can be done at a
pump. Take large, round sieves, two and a half or" three
feet in diameter, with the wire about as tine as wheat sieves ;
or if these cannot be had, get from a hardware store suffi-
cient screen-wire of the right fineness, and make frames or
boxes about two and a half feet long and the width of the
wdre, on the bottom of which nail the wire. In these sieves
or boxes, put half a bushel of roots at a time and stir them
about in the water, pulling the bunches apart so as to wash
them clean ; then, having a platform at hand, lay them on it
to dry. (To make the platform, take two or three common
boards, so as to be about four feet in width, and nail elects
across the under side.) On these spread the roots about two
inches thick for drying in the sun. Carry the platforms to a
convenient place, not far from the liouse, and place them side
by side, in rows east and west, and with their ends north and
south, leaving room to walk betw^een the rows. Elevate the
south ends of the platforms about eighteen inches, and the
north ends about six inches from the ground, putting poles or
sticks to support them — -this will greatly facilitate drying.
MADDER. 209
After the second or third day drying, the madder must be
protected from the dews at night, and from rain placing the
platforms one upon another to a convenient height, and
covering the uppermost one with boards. Spread them out
again in the morning, or as soon as the danger is over. Five
or six days of ordinarily fine weather will dry the madder
sufficiently, when it may be put away till it is convenient to
kiln- dry and grind it.
KiLx-DRYiNG. — The size and mode of constructing the
kiln may be varied to suit circumstances. The following is
a very cheap plan, and sufficient to dry one ton of roots at a
time. Place four strong posts in the ground, twelve feet
apart one way, and eighteen the other ; the front two four-
teen feet high, and the others eighteen ; put girts across the
i)ottom, middle and top ; and nail boards perpendicularly on
the outside as for a common barn. The boards must be well-
seasoned, and all cracks or holes should be plastered or other-
wise stopped up. Make a shed-roof of common boards. In
the inside put upright standards about five feet apart, with
cross-pieces, to support the scaflblding. The first cross,
pieces to be four feet from the floor ; the next two feet higher,
and so on to the top. On these cross-pieces, lay small poles
about six feet long and two inches thick, four or five inches
apart. On these scaffolds the madder is to be spread nine in-
ches thick. A floor is laid at the bottom, to keep all dry and
clean. When the kiln is filled, take six or eight small kettles
or hand furnaces, and place them four or five feet apart on
the floor, (first securing it from fire with bricks or stones,)
and make fires in them with charcoal, being careful not to
make any of the fires so large as to scorch the madder over
them. A person must be in constant attendance to watch and
replenish the fires. The heat will ascend through the whole,
and in ten or twelve hours it will all be sufliciently dried,
which is known by its l)ecoming brittle like pipe-stems.
Breaking and grinding. — Immediately after being
dried, the madder must be taken to the barn and threshed
with flails, or broken by machinery, (a mill might easily be
constructed for this purpose,) so that it will feed in a common
grir,t mill. If it is not broken and ground immediately, it
will gather dampness so as to prevent its grinding freely.
Any common grist-mill can grind madder properly. When
ground finely it is fit for use, and may be packed in barrels
like flour for market."
210 AMERICAN AGRIOULTTTRE.
Mr. Swift of Ohio has raised 2000 bbls. per acre in one
crop of four years growth, at a nett profit inckidingall charges
of rent &;c., of !S»200 per acre. The roots of madder arc
also a good food for cattle, but the expense and delay of pro-
ducing it unfit it lor this use among us.
W O A D (Isatis tlnctoria)
Is considera1)ly used in this country for dyeing and generally
as a base for blues, blacks and some other colors, andfn-
these it supplies the place of indigo. There are several vari-
eties of woad, but the common 1)iennial plant is the only one
cultivated. Loudon says —
" The soil for woad should be deep and perfectly fresh,
such as those of the rich, mellow, loamy, and deep vegetable
kind. Where this culture is carried to a considerable degree
of perlection, the deep, rich, putrid, alluvial soils on the flat
tracts extending upon the borders of the large rivers, are
chiefly employed for the growth of this sort of crop; and it
has been shown by repeated trials that it answers most per-
fectly when they are broken up for it immediately from a
state of sward.
The 'preparation of the soil, when woad is to be grown on
grass land, may either be eflected by deep plowings, with
the aid of the winter's frost, cross plowing and harrowing in
spring ; by deep plowing and harrowing in spring ; by paring
and burning ; or by trench-plowing, or spade-trenching. The
first mode appears the worst, as it is next to impossible to re-
duce old turf in one year, and, even if this is done, the danger
from the grub and wire-worm is a sufficient argument against
it. By plowing deep in February, and soon afterwards sow-
ing, the plants may geminate before the grub is able to rise
to the surface ; by trench-plowing, the same purpose will be
better attained ; and, best of all, by spade-trenching. But a
method equally effectual wdth the first, more expeditious, and
more destructive to grubs, insects, and other vermin, which
are apt to feed on the plants in their early growth, is that of
paring and burning. This is, however, chiefly practised
where the sward is rough and abounds with rushes, sedge,
and other plants of the coarse kind, but it might be had re-
course to on others, with benefit.
The mode op sowing is generally broad-cast, but the
plant might be most advantageously grown in rows and cul-
tivated with the horse-hoe. The rows may be nine inches or
a foot apart, and the seed deposited two inches deep. The
wo AD. 9Al
rjuantity of seed for the broad-cast method is five or six lbs.
to the acre ; tor the drill mode, two pounds are more than
sufficient, the seed being smaller than that of the turnep.
New seed, wliere it can be procured, should always be t>own
in preference to old ; but, when of the latter kind, it should
bo steeped for sometime before it is put ijito the ground. —
The time of sowing may be extended from Fel)riiary to July.
Early sowing, however, is to be preferred, as in that case the
plants come up stnmger and att'ord more produce the ijist
season. The afler culture of the woad consists in hoeing,
thinning, prong-stirring, and weeding, which operations may
practised by hand or horse tools, as in the culture of teazle.
Gatifering the crops. — The leaves of the spring-sown
plants will generally be ready towards the latter end of June
or beginning of July, according to the nature of the soil, sea-
son and climate ; the leaves of those put in at a later period
in the summer are often fit to be gathered earlier. This bu-
siness should, however, constantly be executed as soon as the
leaves are fully grown, while they retain their perfect green
color and are highly succulent ; as when they are let remain
till they begin to turn pale, much of their goodness is said to
be expended, and they become less in quantity, and of an infe-
rior quality for the purposes of the dyer. Where the lands are
well managed they will often afford two or three gatherings,
but the best cultivators seldom take more than two, which are
sometimes mixed together in the manufacturing. It is ne-
cessary that the after-croppings, when they are taken, should
be constantly kept separate tr-oin the others, as they would
injure thr whole if blended, and considerably diminish the
value of the produce. It is said that the best method, where a
third cropping is either wholly or partially made, is to keep it
separate, forming it into an inferior kind of woad. In the
execution of this sort of business, a number of l)asket9 are
usually provided in proportion to the extent of the crop, and
into these the leaves are thrown as they are taken from the
plants. The leaves are detached from the plants, by grasp-
ing them fumly with the hand, and giving them a sort of a
sudden twist. In favorable seasons, where the soils are rich,
the plants will often rise to the height of eight or ten inches ;
but in other circumstances, they seldom attain more than four
or five.
The produce is mostly from about a ton to a ton and a half
of green leaves. The price varies considerably; but for
woad of the prime quality, it is often from twenty-five to thirty
212 AMEHICAN AGRICTTLTTtRFi.
pounds* the ton, and for that of an hiferior quality six or
.seven, and sometimes much more.
To prepare it for the dyer, it is bruised by machinery to
express the watery part; it is afterwards formed into balls
and fermented, re-ground, and fermented in vats, where it is
evaporated into cakes in the manner of indigo. The haulm
is burned for manure or spread over the straw-yard, to be fer-
mented along with straw-dung. To save seed, leave some of
the plants undenuded of their leaves the second year, and
when it is ripe, in July or August, treat itlike turnep-seed. —
The only diseases to which the woad is liable are the mildew
and rust. When young it is otlen attacked by the fly, and
the ground obliged to be resown, and this more than once
even on winter-plowed grasslands."
WELD OR DYERS'S W RED . {Reseda luteola.)
Weld is much used by the manufacturers of various fabrics
as a dye. It has not to our knowledge been cultivated in
this country. We again quote from Loudon : " Weld is an
imperfect biennial, with small fusiform roots, and a leafy
stem from one to three feet in height. It is a native of Brit-
ain, flowers in June and July, and ripens its seeds in August
and September. Its culture may be considered the same as
that of woad, only being a smaller plant it is not thinned out
to so great a distance. It has this advantage for the farmer
over all other coloring plants, that it only requires to be taken
up and dried, when it is fit for the dyer. It is, however, an
exhausting crop.
Weld will grow on any soil, but fertile loams produce the
best crops. The soil being brought to a fine tilth, the seed is
sown in April or the beginning of May, generally broad-cast.
The quantity of seed is from two quarts to a gallon per acre,
and it should either be fresh, or, if two or three years old,
steeped a few days in water previously to being sown. Being
a biennial, and no advantage obtained from it the first year,
it is sometimes sown with grain crops in the manner of clo-
ver, which, when the soil is in a very rich state, may answer,
provided that hoeing, weeding and stirring take place as soon
as the grain crop is cut. The best crops, however, will ob
viously be the result of drilling and cultivating the crop alone.
The drills may be a foot asunder, and the plants thinned to
six inches in the row. In the broad-cast mode, it is usual to
* The pound sterling may be reckoned at about ^5.
WELD. 213
thin them to aix or eight inches' distance every way. Often,
when weld succeeds grain crops, it is never either thinned,
weeded, or hoed, but left to itself till the plants are in full
blossom.
The chop is t\ken by pulling up the entire plant ; and
the proper period ibr this purpose is when the blooni has
been produced the whole length of the stemb, and the plants
are just beginning to turn of a light or yellowish color ; as
in the beginning or middle of July in the second year. The
plants are usually from one foot to two feet and a half in
height. It is thought by some advantageous to pull it rather
early, without waiting for the ripening of the seeds ; as by
this means there will not only be the greatest proportion of
dye, but the land will be left at liberty for the reception of a
crop of wheat or turneps ; in this case, a small part must be
left solely for the purpose of seed. In the execution of the
work, the plants are drawn up by the roots in small hand-
fuls ; and after each handful had been tied up with one of the
stalks, they are set up in fours in an an erect position, and
letl to dry. Sometimes, however, they become sutficiently
dry by turning without being set up. After they have re-
mained till fully dry, which is mostly effected in the course of
u vvcek or two, they are bound up into larger bundles, each
containing sixty handfuls, and weighing fifty-six pounds. —
•Sixty of these bundles constitute a load, and in places where
this kind of crop is much grown, are tied up by a string made
for the purpose, which is sold under the title of weld-cord.
The produce of weld depends much on the nature of
the season ; but from half a loeid to a load and a half per acre
is the quantity most commonly afforded. It is usually sold
to the dyers at from five or six to ten or twelve pounds the
load, and sometimes at considerably more. It is mostly
bought by persons who afterwards dispose of it to the dyers.
The demand for it is sometimes very little, while at others it
is so great as to raise the price to a high degree. It is some-
times gathered green and treated like woad or indigo ; but in
general the dried herb is used by the dyers in a state of de-
coction.
The us£ of weld in dyeing is for giving a yellow color
to cotton, woollen, mohair, silk and linen. Blue cloths are
dipped in a decoction of it, which renders them green ; and
the yellow color of the paint called Dutch pink is obtained
from weld. To save seed, select a few of the largest and
healthiest plants, and leave them to ripen. The seed is easily
214 AMERICAN AGRICULTURE.'
separated. The chief disease of weld is the mildew, to
which it is very liable when young, and this is the reason
that it is often sown with other crops."
SUMACH. (Rhus glabrum, R. coriaria and E. cotinm:.)
The Rhus Glabruni is the common sumach of the United
vStates which grows spontaneously on fertile soils. It is con-
siderably used by dyers, and the tanners of light leather.
It is however much inferior to the R. Coriaria or Sicilian
sumach, which is imported into this country from Spain,
Portugal, Sicily, Syria and elsewhere, and sells at from $50
to $120 per ton. It is a dwarf, bushy shrub, smaller than
the American, but with much larger leaves. These with
the seed cones and young stems are all used by the manu-
facturers. The R. cotinus or Venice sumach, is the fringe
tree or burning bush, a shrub for ornamental grounds, bear-
ing a flossy, drab-colored blossom. It is knovvn in England
as young fustic, and is much used in the arts.
Cultivation and Treatment. — All the sumachs are
propagated by layers, though it is probable they might, under
favorable circumstances, be raised from the seed. On good
soils they grow in great profusion. The harvesting consists
simply in cutting olf the young branches with the leaves and
seed cones attached, in clear weather, drying them thoroughly
without exposure to either rain or dew, and packing them in
bales of about 160 lbs. for market.
The sumach is highly astringent, often taking the place
of galls. This quality is much enhanced by warmth of cli-
mate ; and the most valuable article is brought from the most
southern regions. There is no doubt this species of plants
might be cultivated with great profit in the southern states,
and thus save the large amount annually expended in its
importation, which is constantly increasing. The total
importation is now estimated at between one and two millions
of dollars per annum.
THE TEASEL OR FULLER'S THISTLE {Dipsacus fullonum)
Is another article exclusively used by the manufacturers, for
the purpose of raising a nap, or combing out the fibres upon
the dressed surface of woolen cloth or flannels. The con-
sumption cannot of course be extensive, being limited exclu-
sively to this' demand. There is but one kind cultivated.
A bastard variety of spontaneous growth exists in portions
MUSTABD. 215
o( our middle states which resembles the useful teasel, with
this peculiar difference, that the ends of the awns or chaff
CD the heads are straight instead of hooked, which renders
them perfectly useless.
Cultivation-. — The teasel is a biennial, requiring two
years to mature. It is sown on a deep loamy clay, previ-
ously well plowed and harrowed, in drills 20 inches asunder,
leaving a plant in every 10 inches, or in hills about 16
inches apart. The ground should be kept light by occa-
sional stirring, and free from weeds. The plants are gene-
rally stronger and more thrifty if allowed to mature where
sown, and to accomplish this, the intermediate sprices between
the hills may be annually planted with new seed. Many
adopt the plan of sowing in beds and transplanting. —
Although hardy, there is sometimes an advantage in cover-
ing the beds which contain the young plants Avith straw
during the winter.
Gathering. — Those intended for use should be cut with
a stem eight inches long below the head, just as it is going
out of flower when the awns are the toughest ; and as these
come into maturity at different times in the same plant, they
should be cut successively as they come forward. Those
intended for seed, which should always be the largest, strong-
est heads, must be suffered to remain till ripe, when they
can be gathered and threshed with the flail. The others
should bs thinly spread and dried under cover where no
moisture can reach them. They may then be assorted into
three parcels according to size and quality and pjicked in
large sacks, when they are ready for market. The crop on
good soils well cultivated, nmy be stated at 150,000 to 200,000
[ per acre, worth from $1.50 to $2.50 per 1006.
{ MUSTARD.
There are two species of mustard used for field cultiva-
tion ; the white (Sinapis alba,) and the black (S, nigra,) the
last of which is generally raified. It requires a rich loamy
soil, deeply plowed and well harrowed. It may be sown,
either broadcast, in drills about two feet apart, or in hills.
Mr. Parnielee of Ohio thus raised on 27 acres, 23,850 lbs.,
which brought in the Philadelphia market, $2,908 ; an ave-
rage of over $100 per acre. The ground on which it is
planted must be frequently stirred, and kept clear of weeds.
When matured, it should be carefully cut with the scythe
216 AMERICAN AGRICULTURE.
or sickle, and if wso ripe as to shell, laid into a wagon box
with tight canvass over the bottom and sides, so as to pre-
vent waste. As soon as it is perfectly dry, it may be threshed
and cleaned when it is ready for market.
The mustard is a valuable crop for green food for cattle
or sheep, or for plowing in as a fertilizer. The follo>ying
experiment was made by Mr. Gray in England in 1844, an
account of which appears in the Journal of the Royal Agri-
cultural Society. He says :— " The land on which it is
growing is a thin stone-brash, and very poor. It had been
manured, for turneps and rape, at the rate of 30 loads an
acre, Avith compost, consisting of two-thirds lime and one-
third road-earth; and, on the 10th of July, the turnep and
rape-seed were drilled in with 80 bushels of ashes an acre.
It came up slowly ; and, with very few exceptions, was
taken oft' by the fly. On the 2-?th of August I sowed 12 lbs.
of white mustard-seed an acre, harrowing in the same. It
was slow in coming up, from the dryness of the land; indeed,
atone time I despaired of a crop, but when the rain fell it
grew prodigiously ; and on the 11th day of October I com-
menced feeding it. On an average it was then two feet
high, and very thick in the ground ; you will judge, from,
the specimen sent, of its present height — above 30 inches. I
consider it a valuable artificial in sheep husbandry, and par-
ticularly so when turneps or rape fail ; and, from its rapid
growth, two, or even three crops may be taken and fed oft*
in the season. From its great succulency, some care is
required in feeding it off. Our sheep are doing well upon
it ; but I find they make better work, having an outlet every
day on their walk, than when they were wholly confined
upon it. Four hundred consume about a quarter of an acre
a day, or thereabouts. One grew a most excellent piece of
mustard last autumn, on some very heavy clay land, and
without manure. His sheep being badly managed when feed-
ing it oft*, he plowed in a considerable quantity for his wheatj
of which he had a splendid crop, and certainly the best he
grew last season. 1 mention this circumstance, believing it
may be grown with success on either heavy or light soils. I
was led to suppose it might be greatly aftected by frosts, but
we have experienced sufficient to destroy the potato-haulm
and the dahlias, yet it has not in the slightest degree affected
ihe mustard ; I therefore conclude it must be severe to des-
HOj',s. 217
troy it. The seed cost lis. 6d. (about $3.65) per bushel,
and weighed about 50 lbs. per bushel."
THE HOP, {Hamulus lupulus,)
Of w lucii there are several varieties indigenous to this country,
is an important lield crop. It grows best on a strong loam or
well drained clay with a light sub-soil. If the latter be reten-
tive of water, the hop will soon dwindle or die out. If made
suiliciently rich, it will flourish on light loam or gravels, but a
new, strong soil is better and this requires little or no manure.
The most desirable exposure is a gentle slope to the south,
but tiiis should be where it can have a free circulation of air
amidst the tall luxuriant vegetable growth.
CuLTivATiox. — If fJio land hasjbeen long in use, it should
1)0 thoroughly dressed with compost and alkaline manures, or
what is nearly equivalent, with fresh barn yard-manures on a
previously well-hoed crop, made perfectly free of all weeds
and dce[)ly plowed and harrowed. Then mark out the ground
at intervals of 0 feet each way and plant in the intersection of
the furrows, and unless the ground be sufficiently rich, place
3 or 4 shovels of compost in each hill. The planting is done
with the new roots taken from the old hills, which are laid
bare by the plow. Each root should be 6 or 8 inches long
and must contain two or more eyes, one to form the root and
the other the vine. Six plants are put in a hill, all of which
should be within the compass of about a foot, and covered to a
(I'^pth of 5 inches, leaving the ground level when planted.
The first season, the intermediate spaces between the hills
may be planted with corn or potatoes, and the ground should be
carefully cleared of weeds and frequently stirred. No poles
arc necessaiy the first year, as the product will not repay. —
The ground should^receive a heavy dressing of compost the
t'ollowing spring if not sufficiently rich and the plants should be
well hoed and kept clean.
PoLi:s may be prepared at the rate of *2 or 3 to each hill,
it) to 24 feet long and selected from a straight, smooth under-
;j,rowth ol tough, durable wood from 4 to 7 inches diameter at
the butt end. These are sharpened and firmly set with an iron
bar, or socket bar with a wooden handle, in such a position as
will allow the tlillest ellect €)f the sun upon the hills or roots. —
When the plants have run to the length of 3 or 4 feet in the
spring, they should be trained around the poles, winding in the
riirection of the sun's course, and fastened below the second or
third set of leaves where .there is sutficient strength of vine to
I
*218 AMERICAN AGRICULTURE.
sustain themselves. They may be confined with rushes, tough
grass, or more easily with wooolen yarn. This operation is
needed again in a few days to secure such as may have got
loose by the winds or other causes, and to train up the new
shoots.
The gathering of hops should be when they have acquired
a strong scent, at which time the seed becomes firm and brown
and the lowest leaves begin to change color. This precedes
the frosts in September. The vines must first be cut at the sur-
face of the ground and the poles pulled up and laid in conveni^
ent piles, when they may be stripped of the hops, which are
thrown into large, light baskets. Or the poles may be laid on
long, slender boxes with handles at each end, (to admit of being
carried by two persons,) and as the hops are stripped they fall
into the box. But care must be taken that they be free from
leaves, stems and dirt.
The hops should be hilled or covered with compost and all
the vines removed in the fall. The following spring when the
ground is dry, the surface is scraped from the hill, or additional
compost is added, when a plow is run on four sides as near as
possible without injury to the plants. All the running roots
are laid bare and cut with a sharp knife within 2 or 3 inches of
the main root and the latter are trimmed if spreadhig too far.
It is well to break or twist down the first shoots and allow those
which succeed to run, as they are likely to be more productive.
Cutting should be avoided unless in a sunny day, as the profuse
bleeding injures them. The poles will keep longer under cover.
Curing or drying. — This is an important operation and
it may be done by spreading the hops thinly in the shade and
stirring them often enough to prevent heating. But when
there is a large quantity they can only be safely cured in a
kiln. The following mode is recommended by Mr. Blanchard
in the New England Farmer;
"Much depends on having a well-constructed kiln. For
the convenience of putting the hops on the kiln, the side of
a hill is generally chosen for its situation. Care should be
taken that it be a dry situation. The kiln should be dug out
the same bigness at the bottom as at the top ; the side walls
laid up perpendicularly, and filled in solid with stone, to give
it a tunnel form. Twelve feet square at the top, two feet
square at the bottom, and at least eight teet deep, is deemed
a convenient size. On the top of the walls sills are laid,
having joists let into them in like manner as for laying a
floor ; on which laths, about one and a half inches wide are
HOPS. 219
nailed, leaving open spaces between them three-fourths of an
inch, over which a thin linen cloth is spread and nailed at the
edges to the sills. A board about twelve inches wide is set
up on each side of the kiln, on the inner edge of the sill, to
form a bin to receive the hops. The larger the stones made
use of in the construction of the kiln, the better ; as it will
give a more steady and dense heat. The inside of the kiln
iihould be well plasturcd with m<»rtar to make it completely
air-tight. Charcoal (that made from yellow birch or maple
1 should prefer) is the only fuel proper to be used in drying
hops. The kiln should be well heated before any hops are
put on, and carefully attended, to keep a steady and regular
heat. Fifty pounds of hops, when dried, is the largest quan-
tity that should be dried at one time, on a kiln of this size ;
and unless absolutely necessary to put on that quantity, a less
would dry better. The green hops should l)e spread as evenly
and as light as possible over the kiln. The fire at first
should bi# moderate, but it may be increased as the hops dry
and the steam is evaporated. The hops, after laying a few
days, will gather a partial moisture, called a sweat. The
sweat will probably begin to subside in about eight days, at
which time, and betbre the sweat is off, they oiight to be
bagged in clear dry weather. As the exact time when the
hops will begin to sweat, and when the sweat will begin to
.subside or dry off, (the proper time to bag them,) will vary
with the state of the atmosphere, it will be necessary to exa-
mii»e the hops from day to day, which is easily done by tak-
ing some of them from the centre of the hea}) with your hand.
If on (Examination you find the hops to be \rry damp, and
their color altering, which will be the case if they were not
completely dried on the kiln, and not otherwise, you must
overhaul them and dry them in the air. Hops should not re-
main long in the bin or bag after they are picked, as they
will very soon heat and become insipid. The hops should
jiot be stirred on the kiln until they are completely and tlilly
dried. Then they should be removed from the kiln into a dry
room, and laid in a heap, and there remain, unmoved and un-
stirred, until bagged, which is done with a screw, having a
l»ox made of plank, the size the bag is wished, into which the
cloth is laid, and th<j hops screwed into the box, which is so con-
structed that the sides may be removed and the bag sewed to-
gether while in the press. The most convenient size for a bag
of hops to handle and transport, is about five feet in length and
to contain about two hundred and fitly pounds. The best
220 AMERICAN AGRICULTURE.
bagging is coarse, strong tow cloth, of our domestic manu-
facturing ; next to that, Russia hemp bagging.
"It is now common for those who have entered considera-
bly into the cultivation of hops, to build houses over their kilns,
which, in wet weather, are very convenient; otherwise, a
kiln in the open air would he preferable. It is necessary to
have these buildings well ventilated with doors and windows ;
and to have them kept open night and day, except in wet
weather, and then shut those only which are necessary to
kce[) out the rain. It a ventilator was put in the roof of the
building, directly over the centre of the kiln, about six feet
square, built like those in breweries and distilleries, they
would be found very advantageous. I have seen many lots
of hops much injured both in color and flavor by being dried
ill close buildings. VV^here the houses over the kilns are
built large, for the purpose of storing the hops as they are
dried, which is a great saving of labor, a close j»artition
should be made between the kilns and the room in which the
hops are stored, to prevent the damp steam from ihe kilns
comijig to them, as it will color them, and injure their flavor
and quality very much."
Diseases. — Hops are liable to attack from various insects,
blight, mildew, &c. There is no efTective remedy of general
application for either. The best preventives are new or fresh
soil which is rich in ashes and the inorganic manures, and in a
fine tillable condition to insure a rapid growth, by which it
may partially defy attack ; and open planting on such positions
as will secure free circulation of air. When properly man-
aged, hops are one of the most productive crops, but their
very limited use will always make them a minor object of
cultivation.
THE CASTOR. BEAN, (liicinus communis, usually called
Palma Christi,)
Is a native of the West India Islands, where it grows with
great luxuriance. It is cultivated as a field crop in our mid-
dle states, and in the states bordering the Ohio river on the
north. It likes a rich, mellow bed, and is planted and hoed
like corn. It attains the height of 5 <n- 6 feet, and bears at the
rate of 20 to 28 bushels per acre. The seed is separated from
the pods, bruised and subjected to a great pressure, by which
they yield near a gallon to the bushel of cold pressed castor
oil, which is better than that extracted by boiling and skim-
ming. The last is done either with or without first slightly
ftOTATION OP CROPS. 221
roasting. This oil forms not only a mild cathartic, but with
some, is an article of food. Its separation into a limpid oil
for machinery and lamps, and into stearine for candles, has
lately much increased its valuable uses.
CHAPTER XII
MISCELLANEOUS AIDS AND OBJECTS OF AGRICULTURE.
We have thus far treated of soils and manures, the prepa-
ration of the ground and the ordinary cultivated field crops, as
fully as our limits will permit. It remains for us briefly to
add such incidental aids and objects of agriculture as could not
appropriately be embraced under either of the foregoing heads.
ROTATION OF CROPS, ITS USES AND EFFECTS.
The practiceof rotation of crops is an agricultural improve-
ment of very modern date. It is first mentioned in Dickson's
Treatise on Agriculture, puVdished in Edinburgh, in 1777. —
Rotation has for more than a centtiry been partially prac-
tised in Flanders and perhaps in some other highly cultivated
countries, and it was afterwards introduced and imperfectly
carried out on a limited scale in the Norfolk district in Great
Britain ; but its general introduction did not take place till the
beginning of the present century. The system of rotation is
one of the first and most important principles of general hu.s-
bandry, and it cannot be omitted without manifest disadvan-
tage and loss. The place of rotation was formerly supplied
by naked faUotcs. This practice consists, as we have before
shown, in giving the soil an occasional or periodical rest, in
which no crop is taken oflT, and the soil is allowed to produce
just what it pleases or nothing at all, for one or more years,
when it is refreshed and invigorated for the production of its
222
AMERICAN AGRICULTURE.
accustomed useful crops. This system, it will be perceived,
implies the loss of the income of the soil for a certain portion
of the time, and it can be tolerated only where there is more
land than can be cultivated. Modern agricultural science has
detected, in part at least, the true theory of the necessity for
rotation. It has been discovered that every crop robs the
soil of a portion of its elements, (fifteen or sixteen elementary
substances combined in various forms and proportions,) and
that no two dissimilar crops abstract these elements or their
compounds from the soil in the same proportions. Thus, if
we consider the amount of the salts taken out of the soil by a
crop of turneps amounting to 5 tons of roots per acre ; of
barley, 38 bushels ; one ton each of dry clover or rye-grass;
and of wheat, 25 bushels, we shall find the great dispropor-
tions of the various elements, which the different vegetables
have appropriated. As given by Johnston they will be in
pounds as follows :
Turnep
Roots.
145.5
BAR
Grain.
5.6
LKV
Straw.
'lis
Red
Clover.
Rye
Grass.
Grain.
IKAT.
StrT.^
Total.
Potash . . .
45.0
28.5 1 3.3
0.6
233.0
Soda . . .
G1.3
5.8
1.1
12.0
9.0 1 3.5
0.9
96.6
Lime . . .
45.8
2.1
12.9
63. 0
16.5
1.5
7.2
149.0
Magnesia . .
15.5
3.6
1.8
7.5
2.0
1.5
10
32.9
Alumina . . .
2.2
0.5
3.4
0.3
0.8
0.4
2.7
10.3
Silica . . .
2.3.6
23.6
90.0
8.0
62.0
6.0
86.0
299.2
Sulphuric Acid
49.0
1.2
2.8
10.0
8.0
0.8
1.0
72.8
Phosphoric do.
22.4
4.2
3.7
15.0
0.6
0.6
5.0
51.5
Chlorine . . .
14.5
0.4
1.5
8.0
0.1
0.2 1 0.9
25.6
970.9*
Besides the elements above noted, all crops absorb oxide
of iron, and nearly all oxide of manganese and iodine ; and
of the organic elements associated in various combinations,
they appropriate about 97 per cent of their entire dried weight.
Now it is not only necessary that all the above materials ex-
ist in the soil, hut that they are also to be found in a fwm jyre-
cwely adapted to tJie wants of the growing plant. That they
exist in every soil, in some conditions, to an amount large
enough to afford the quantity required by the crop, can hardly
be doubted, but that they are all in a form to supply the fiill
demands of a luxuriant crop, is probably true of such only as
are found, under favorable circumstances of season and cli-
mate, to have produced the largest burthens. If a succession
of any given crops are gathered and carried off* the land,
* This is exclusive of the turnep tops.
ROTATION OF CROPS. 228
without the occasional addition of manures, they will be found
gradually to diminish in quantity, till they reach a point when
thoy will scarcely pay the expenses of cultivation. We mean
to be understood as affirming this of all crops and all soils
however naturally fertile the latter may be, unless they are
such as receive an annual or occasional dressing from the over-
flow of enriching floods, or are artificially irrigated with water,
which holds the necessary fertilizing matters in solution ; and
such are not exceptions, but receive their manure in another
form, unaided by the hand of the husbandman. Neither are
old meadotps (mowing lands filled with the natural or unculti-
vated grasses or whatever of useful forage they choose to bear)
exceptions to this rule, for though they may part with a portion
of their annual crop in the hay, which is removed, and which
is not returned as manure, and by a partial rest or pasturage
appear to sustain their original fertility, yet if the true cha-
racter of the various plants which they produce were accu-
rately observed, (all of which are indiscriminately embraced
under the general head of grass or hay,) it would be found
that the plants gradually change from year to year ; and while
some predominate in one season, others take their place the
year succeeding, and these again are supplanted bj^ others in
an unceasing round of natural rotation. Another illustration
of rotation maybe observed in the succession of forest trees
that shoot up on the same soil, to supply the places of such of
their predecessors as have decayed or been cut down. Thus
the pine and other of the conifei*ae, are frequently found to
usurp the place of the oak, chesnut, and other deciduous trees.
This occurs sometimes partially, but in repeated instances
which have come within our notice, tbrests have been observed
to pass entirely from one order of the vegetable creation to its
remote opposite, the seeds or germs of which, (the product of
an ancient rotation,) had been lying dormant for centuries
perhaps, waiting a favorable condition of circumstances and
soil to spring into life.
Many choice secondary bottom lands, and others munifi-
cently supplied by nature with all the materials of fertility,
have by a long succession of crops been reduced to a condi-
tion of comparative sterility. Yet it will have been found in
the progress of this exhaustion, that after the soil (teased to
give an adequate return of one crop, as of wheat, corn or to-
bacco, it would still yield largely of some other genus which
was adapted to it. These lands when thus reduced and turned
out to commons for a few yeai-s, will again give crops much
224 AMERICAN AGRICULTURE.
larger than those which closed their former bearing career,
proving that nature has been silently at work in renovating
the land for further use. The whole course of her opera-
tions is not yet known, but this much is satisfactorily ascer-
tained ; that she is incessantly engaged in producing those
changes in the soil, which enable it to contribute to vegetable
sustenance. Enough of lime, or potash, or silica may have
been disengaged to yield all that may be required for one
crop, which by that crop is principally taken up, and if
another of the same kind follows in quick succession,
there will be a deficiency ; yet if a different crop succeed,
there may be found enough of all the materials it needs, fully
to mature it. A third now takes its place demanding mate-
rials for nutrition in forms and proportions unlike either which
has preceded it, and by the time a recurrence to the first is
necessary, the soil may be in a condition again to yield a re-
munerating return. These remarks apply equally to such
soils as have, and such as have not received manures ; un-
less, as is seldom the case, an accurate science should add
them in quantity and' character, fully to supply the exhaustion.
The addition or withholding of manures, only accelerates or
retards this eflfect.
Another prominent advantage of rotation, is in its enabling
such crops to have the benefit of manure, as cannot receive
it without hazard or injury if applied directly upon them.
Thus wheat and the other white grains, are liable to over-
growth of straw, rust, and mildew, if manured with recent
dung ; yet this is applied without risk to corn, roots and inost
of the hoed croi)s ; and when tempered by one season's ex-
haustion, and the various changes and combinations which
are eflfected in the soil, it safely ministers in profusion to all
the wants of the smaller cereal grains. A third benefit of
rotation is, by bringing the land into hoed crops at proper in-
tervals, it clears it of any troublesome weeds wliich may
infest it. And still a further advantage may be found, in cut-
ting off the appropriate food of insects and worms, which in
the course of time, by having a full supply of their necessary
aliment, and especially if undisturbed in their quiet haunts,
will ofttimes become so numerous as seriously to interfeie
with the labors of the farmer. A change of crops and ex-
posure of the insects to frosts, and by the change of cultiva-
tion which a rotation insures, will make serious inroads upon
their numbers if it does not effectually destroy them. The
fanciful theory of the noxious excretions of plants first broached
ROTATION OF CROPS. 225
> and ingeniously defended by the powerful name of Decandolle,
and which the closest scrutiny of scientific observers since,
has pronounced unworthy of credit, does not form a fifth
reason for rotation. It is because principles essential to suc-
cessful vegetation have been abstracted, not that others hurt-
ful to it have been added by preceding crops, that rotation is
rendered necessary. From all that has hitherto been learned
on the subject of rotation, either from science or practice, two
general principles may be assumed as proper to guide every
farmer in his course of cropping. First to cultivate as great
a variety of plants as his soil, circumstances and market will
justify ; and second, to have the same or any similar species
follow each other at intervals as remote as may be consistent
with his interests. From the foregoing observations on the
subject, it is evident that the proper system of rotation for
any farmer to adopt, must depend on all the conditions by
which he is surrounded, and that it should vary according to
these varying circumstances.
It is a practice with some to alternate wheat and clover,
giving only one year to the foi-mer and one or two years to
the latter. This will answer for a long time on soils adapted
to each crop, provided there be added to the clover, such ma-
nures as contribute to its own growth, and such also as are ex-
hausted by wheat. The saline manures, ashes, lime, &;c. may
be added directly to the wheat without injury ; but gypsum
should be sown upon the clover, as its benefits are scarcely
perceptible on wheat, while upon clover, they are of the
greatest utility. But there are objections even to this, as it
does not allow an economical or advantageous use of barn-
yard manures, which, from their combining all the elements of
fertility, are the most certain in their general effect. In dif-
ferent countries of Europe, fields which have been used for
an oft-recurring clover crop, have become clover sick, as it is
familiarly termed. The plant will not grow luxuriantly;
sometimes refusing to vegetate, or if it starts upon its vege-
table existence, it does so apparently with the greatest re-
luctance and suffering, and ekes out a puny, thriftless career,
unattended with a single advantage to its owner. This is sim-
ply the result of the exhaustion of one or more of the indis-
pensable elements of the plant. If it be desirable to pur-
sue this two-course system for any length of time, noth-
ing short of the application of all such inorganic mat-
ters as are taken up by the crops, will sustain the land in
a fertile condition. We subjoin simply for the purpose of
I*
226 AMERICAN AGHICULTURE.
illustration, and the guidance of such as may have little expe-'
rience in rotation, some systems which have been pursued
with advantage in this country :
1**. On a grass sod broken up, with a heavy dressing of
barn yard manure, and muck, ashes, and lime if necessary.
First year, corn with gypsum scattered over the plants after
the first hoeing, which should be immediately after its mak-
ing its first appearance ; second year, roots with manure ;
third year, wheat if adapted to the soil; if not, then barley, rj^e,
or oats, with grass or clover seed or both ; fourth year, mea-
dow, which may be continued at pleasure, or till the grass
or clover gives way. The meadow may be followed by pas-
turing if desired. Clover alone should not remain over two
years as meadow, but for pasture it may be continued lon-
ger.
2°. First year, corn or roots on a grass or clover ley with
manure ; second, oats and clover, with a top dressing of 10 to
20 bushels of cmshed bones per acre ; third, clover pastured
to last of June, then grown until fully matured in August,
when it is turned over, and a light dressing of compost and
40 to 80 bushels of leached ashes spread over it, and wheat
and timothy seed sown about 15th September. If desired,
the following spring, clover is soM^n and lightly harrowed.
This gives for the fourth year, wheat ; fifth and sixth, and if
the grass continues good, the seventh year also, meadow.
3**. First, corn on a grass sod heavily manured, and a half
gill of ashes and gypsum mixed at the rate of tw^o of the for-
mer to one of the latter put in the hill, and an equal quantity
of pure gj^sum added after the corn is first hoed; second,
oats or barley, with lime at the rate of 20 or 30 bushels per
acre, sown broad-cast after the oats and harrowed in ; third,
peas or beans, removed early, and afterwards sown with
wheat ; fourth, wheat with a light top dressing of compost,
and saline manures in the spring, and clover, or grass and
clover seed ; fifth, t\Vv, or three years in meadow and pasture.
4*'. First, wheat on a grass sod ; second, clover ; third,
Indian corn, heavily manured ; fourth, barley or oats, with
grass or clover seed ; fiflh, and following, grass or clover.
5". A good rotation for light, sandy lands, is first, corn
well manured and cut off early and removed from the ground,
which is immediately sown with rye, or the rye hoed in be-
tween the hill ; second, rye with clover sown in the spring,
and gypsum added when fairly up ; third, clover cut for hay,
WEEDS.
W
or pastured, the latter being much more advantageous tor
the land.
WEEDS.
Whatever plants infest the former's grounds, and are worth-
less as objects of cultivation, are embraced under the general
name of weeds. In a more comprehensive sense, all plants
however useful they may be as distinct or separate objects of
attention, when scattered through a crop of other useful
plants to their manifi^st detriment may be considered and
treated as such. Perfect cuUivation consists in having no-
thing upon the ground but what is intended for the benefit of
the farmer, and it implies a total destruction of every species
of vegetation which does not contribute directly to his ad-
vantage.
In China and some parts of Flanders, the fields are entirely
free from wc^eds. This is the result of long continued cleanly
cultivation by which every weed has been extirpated ; and a
scrupulous attention to the purity of the seeds ; and the sole
use of urine, poudrette, and saline manures. This object is
scarcely attainable in this country, except on fields peculiarly
situated. The principal causes of the propagation of weeds
among us, is the negligent system of tillage, and the use of
unfermented vegetable manures. By heating or decomposi-
tion, all the seeds incorporated in the manure heap are des-
troyed. But there is a great loss in applying manure thus
changed, and having parted with large portions of its active,
nutritive gases, unless protected by a thick covering of turf or
vegetable mold. For many soils and crops, undecomposed
manures are far the most valuable. But they should always
be applied to the hoed crops, and such as will receive the at-
tention of the farmer for the utter extinction of weeds. A sin-
gle weed which is allowed to mature, may become 500 the
following year, and 10,000 the year after. The cleansing of
land from weeds, is almost the sole justification for naked fal-
lows. When a large crop of them have by any means ob-
tained possession of the ground, they ought to be turned into
the soil with the plow before ripening their seed, and they
thus become a means of enriching ratlier than of impoverish-
ing the ground. Meadows which have become foul with
useless plants, may be turned into pasture ; and if there are
plants which cattle and horses will not eat, let them first crop
it closely, and then follow with sheep, which are much more
indiscriminate in their choice of food, and consume many
228 AMERICAN AGRICULTURE.
plants which are rejected by other animals. Whatever es-
capes the maw of sheep, should be extirpated by the hand or
hoe before seeding. The utmost care, also, should be used
in the selection of seed, and none sown but such as has been
entirely freed from any foreign seeds.
Tlie Canada thistle is the only weed which has taxed the
ingenuity of vigilant farmers in effecting its removal. This
is however within the power of every one, who will bestow
upon it a watchful attention for a single season. The plant
should be allowed to attain nearly its full growth, or till it
comes into flower, when it has drawn largely upon the vital-
ity of its roots. If the patch be largo the plow should be used
to turn every particle of the plant under the surface, and let
the hoe or spade complete what has escaped the plow. If
the patch be small, the hoe or spade should be used to cut off
the crown of the root, and if in blossom, let the tops be burnt
to prevent the possibility of any of the seeds ripening. As
soon as the tops again make their appearance above ground,
repeat the plowing or spading, and continue this till the mid-
dle of autumn, when the land will be free from them, and in
fine condition to yield a crop of wheat. If they harbor in
fences or walls, these should either be removed, or the this-
tle followed to its roots, and kept constantly cut into the
ground, when it will not long survive.
FIBROUS COVERING OR GURNEYISM
Is the name given to the practice, (conspicuously brought
into notice recently by Mr. Gurney of England,) of covering
grass lands with straw or any similar vegetable matter. It
has received the sanction of many eminent agriculturists
abroad ; and for the purpose of throwing every improvement
before our readers which may possibly benefit them, we sub-
join the following from an article on the subject, in the Bri-
tish Farmer's Magazine for 1845. "The fact of a remarka-
ble increase of vegetation from fibrous covering has now been
fully confirmed by numerous and careful experiments. In
every instance where the relative quantities of grass were
cut and weighed, that operated on by this agency showed an
increase of six to one over that of other parts of the fields
without manure, and of five to one above that where guano,
farm-yard manure, wood ashes, or pigs'-house dung had been
applied against it. Tlie quantity of hay obtained from the
grass was in the same ratio ; the mean of the results from
different farms, shows that a ton and a half was obtained
PTBROtJS COVERING. 229
where Gurneyism had been used, and only from four to five
cwt. where it had not. In many cases the grass M'as so sHght
on the parts of the fields not covered that it could with difticulty
be mowed, and in some cases was considered not worth cut-
ling at all. The question of quantity is indeeil settled. The
next question, viz : its comparative goodness, seems also de-
termined. Mr. Gurney at former meetings gave it as his
opinion that the quality was not inferior to that of other grass ;
this opinion, he said, was founded on botanical observation
and careful chemical analysis ; but he at the same time justly
remarked that nothing positive could be known without expe-
riment on cattle. In all caseS; cattle eat this grass as readily
as they do that of ordinary production, and appear to do as
well on it. It has moreover been observed that the milk and
cream of cows fed on it have both increased in quantity and
improved in quality. Another very interesting and impor-
tant fact has been recently developed, namely, that this action
tends to improve the herbage by favoring the growth of the
more valuable kinds of plants ; in almost every instance it
has very much increased the growth of the Dutch clover, &c.
In Belgium, and many parts of the midland counties of Eng-
land, it is the common practice, in order to destroy the
couch-grass, &;c., to manure twice on the green side with
active compost ; no doubt the result of this practice is to
bring up the more valuable grasses, which, being delicate,
require the assistance of art to insure their vigorous growth.
The same results follow the action of fibrous covering, but in
a more rapid manner, and certainly the quality of the herb-
age is improved. In many parts of tields where the action
had been induced, a beautiful floor of grass now appears ;
while on those parts left uncovered, the grass is very inferior
in appearance, having a considerable quantity of couch-
grass and bent. There is no doubt therefore in practice
that the quality of Gurneyized grass will be found equal if
not superior to that of ordinary growth.
" It was thought l)y several persons during the summer,
that the action of fibrous covering was occasioned by retard-
ing evaporation, and shading the soil during the unusually
dry season. This, however, is not the case ; the same pro-
portional increase of vegetation has gone on since the wet
weather set in, and still continues. Mr. Gurney stated at
the last meeting that he has found fibrous covering, in a late
experiment during the wet weather, had brought up the eaver
and clover in a barley arish, in which the seeds had failed
230 AMERICATf AGRICULtUBE.
from the dry season." The kind of soil, and the circum-
ctances attending the application are not stated, but we infer
from the product on the ground, that it was a very thin and
light, and probably a dry soil.
The observation has been frequently made in this country,
that certain half-cleared pastures, where the trees and brush
had been prostrated and paitially burnt, leaving a heavy
covering of old logs and dead branches, gave a much larger
supply of (eod than such as had been entirely cleared. But
all the facts and attending circumstances have not been given
with sufficient particularity to draw any well settled conclu-
sions; 3'et from the generality of the remark by observing
and careful men, there is undoubtedly some Aveight due to it.
The same effect has been oflen claimed from certain stony
fields, which apparently give much larger returns than others
from which the stones had been removed. If the results are
as have been inferred, after deducting something for what
observation or science may possibly not yet have detected,
we Avould ascribe them to two causes. 1°. The gradual de-
composition of the vegetable covering and stone, and the di-
rect food which they thus yield to the crop ; and 2°. the
greater and more prolonged deposit of dew, which is going
forward through most of the 24 hours of every day on larger
portions of the field. Does the influence of the shade and
moisture promote an unusual deposite of ammonia, nitric acid,
or any of the fertilizing gases ? We are inclined to think
nitric acid is thus formed in considerable quantities,, and es-
pecially where there is an appreciable quantity of lime in the
soil. Both M. Longchamp and Dr. John Davy assert, "that
the presence of azotised matter is not essential for the genera-
tion of nitric acid or nitrous salts, but that the oxygen and
azote of the atmosphere when condensed by capillarity, will
combine in such proportions as to form nitric acid thrugh the
agency of moisture and of neutralising liases, such as lin»e,
magnesia, potash or soda." — [Ure.) The condition of the
soil is precisely analogous to the artificial nitre beds, deduct-
ing their excess of manure and calcareous matter. These
exist to some extent in every soil, and it is probable under
similar circumstances they will produce an amount of nitric
acid proportionate to their own quantity, which in every case
will be particularly felt by the crops. We have the shade,
moisture, and capillary condition similar to those of the nitric
beds, for the formation and condensing of the acid, which in
this instance, is washed down into the soil by every succes-
ELECTRO CULTURE. 23l
sive rain, instead of being carefully preserved as is done by
the roofing of the beds. The question is one of sufficient
consequence to induce lurtlier trials, under such circumstan-
ces as will be likely to aftbixl data for estimating the precise
force of the cause.
Electro Culture. The application of electricity to
growing plants is a subject which has occupied the attention
of gcientitic men fur many years, and apparently without arri-
ving at any beneficial result. That it is capable of producing
unusually rapid growth when applied to vegetation, we have
too many examples to admit of any doubt. A stream of
electricity from a galvanic battery, directed upon the seeds
or roots of plants under a favorable condition, has sometimes
produced an amount of vegetable development within a few
hours, which would have required as many days or even
weeks to produce, in theoi-dinary course of nature. An egg
has been hatched in one fourth the usual period of incubation,
and every dairy maid is aware of the accelerated change in
the milk, from the presence of a highly electrical atmos-
phere. A thunder storm will sour milk in two hours that
would otherwise have kept sweet two days. But after all
the efforts hitherto made to secure this agent for the advance-
ment of the farmer's operations, a careful review of all the
results obtained, compels us to acknowledge that no applica-
tion of electricity is yet developed, which entitles it to the
consideration of practical agriculturists. Yet when we con-
sider the power and universal presence of electricity, we
must confess our confidence, that the researchers of science
will hereafter detect some principles of its operation, which
may be of immense value to the interests of agriculture. It
is probably the principal, and perhaps the sole agent in pro-
ducing all chemical changes in inert matter ; nor is it at all
improbable, its agency is equally paramount in the changes of
vegetable and to a certain extent also, in animal life. Inde-
pendent of human agency or control, it forms nitric acid in
the atmosphere during thunder showers, wKich is brought
down by the rain, and contributes greatly to the growth of
vegetables. It is also efficient in the deposit of dews, and
in numberless unseen ways, it silently aids in those benificent
results which gladden the heart, by fulfilling the hopes of the
careful and diligent husbandman. But until something is
more definitely established in relation to its principles and
effects, the prudent agriculturist may omit any attention to
the subject of electro culture.
232 AMERICAN AGRICULTURE.
EXPERIMENTS AMONG FARMERS.
A great advantage would result to agriculture if every intel-
ligent farmer would pursue some systematic course of experi-
ments, on such a scale and variety as his circumstances
would justify, and give the results if successful, to the com-
munity. It is with experiments in farming, as was said by
Franklin, of a young man's owning wild lands ; "it is well
enough for every one to have some, if he dont have too many.''^
They should he his servants, not his masters ; and if intelli-
gently managed and kept within due bounds, they may be
made greatly subservient to his own interest, aud by their
promulgation, eminently promotive of the general good. It
is fully in accordance with another maxim of that wise head,
that when it is not within our power to return a favor to our
benefactor, it is our duty to confer one on the first necessi-
tous person we meet, and thus the circle of good offices will
pass round. The mutual communication of improvements of
any kind in agriculture, has the effect of benefiting not only
the community generally, but even the authors themselves;
as they frequently elicit corrections and modifications which
materially enhance the value of the discovery. These ex-
periments should embrace the whole subject of American
agriculture ; soils and their amelioration ; manures of every
kind, alkaline, vegetable and putrescent, and their effects on
different soils and crops; plants of every variety, and their adap-
tation to different soils, under difte rent circumstances and with
various manures ; and their relations to each other, both as
successors in rotation, their value for conversion into animals
and other forms, and their comparative utimate prolit ; the
production of new varieties by hybridizing and otherwise ;
draining both surface and covered ; the improvenjent of im-
plements and mechanical operations, &:c. &;c. They should
also extend to the impartial and thorough trial of the different
breeds of all domestic animals, making ultimate profit to the
owner the sole test of their merits, crossing them in different
ways and under such general rules as experience has deter-
mined as proper to be observed ; their treatment, food, man-
agement, &;c. Although much has been accomplished within
the last few years, the science and practice of agriculture
may yet be cosidered almost in in its infancy. There is an
unbounded field still open for exploration and research, in
which the efforts of persevering genius, may hereafter dis-
cover mines of immense value to the human family.
I
UTILITY OF BIBDS.
THE UTILITY OF BIRDS.
These are among the most useful of the farmer's aids, in
securing his crops from insect depredation ; and yet manifest
as this is to every observing man, they are frequently pursued
and hunted from the premises as if they were his worst ene-
mies. The martin, the swallow and the wren, which may
almost be considered among the domestics of the farm ; and
the sparrow, the robin, the blue bird, the wood-pecker, the
bob-a-link, the yellow bird, the thrush, the oriole and nearly
all the gay songsters of the field accomplish more for the
destruction of noxious flies, worms and insects, (the real ene-
mies of the farmer,) than all the nostrums ever invented. —
And hence the folly of that absurd custom of scare-crows in
corn-fields and orchards, to which we have before alluded ;
and the chickens and ducks do the farmer more benefit than
injury in the garden and pleasure grounds, if kept out of the
way while the young plants are coming up. A troop of
young turkeys in the tield, will destroy their weiglit in grass-
hoppers every three days, during their prevalence in summer.
A pair of span'ows while feeding their young, will consume
3,360 catterpillars in a week. One hundred crows will
devour a ton and half of grubs and insects in a season. —
Even the hawk and the owl, the objects of general aversion,
rid the fields and woods of innumerable squirrels, moles and
field mice, which are frequently great depredators upon the
crops, (after having exhausted the stores of worms and insects
which they first invariably devour,) and the smaller species
when pressed by hunger, will even resort to grubs, beetles
and grasshoppers, in the absence of larger game. That
loathsome monster the bat, in its hobgoblin, murky flight,
will destroy its bulk of flics in a single night. Slight injury
may occasionally be done to the grain and fruit by the smaller
birds, and when thus intrusive, some temporary precaution
will suflTice to prevent much loss. But whatever it maybe,
the balance of benefit to the farmer from their presence, is
generally in their favor, and instead of driving them from
his grounds, he should encourage their social, chatty visits by
kind and gentle treatment, and by providing trees and pleas,
ant shrubbery for their accommodation.
Toads, Frogs, &c. — Shakespeare has said *' /Ae ioad^
ugly and venomous, wears yet a precious jewel in his head."
Deducting the venom we shall find the poet right ; for we can
no more attempt the defence of his beauty, than that of the
I
234 ABtERICAN AGRICULT^URTl.
muck heap ; and we can well excuse his unprepossessing
exterior, for the sake of the jewel which he wears in his
tongue. This, like that of the chamelion, of which he is a
cousin-german, he darts out with lightning rapidity, and clasps
his worms or insect prey within its glutinous folds, which is
with equal rapidity transformed to his capacious maw. Appa-
rently dull, squat, and of the soil's hue, whatever that may be,
he sits silent, meditative, yet watchful in the thick shade of
some overgrown cabbage ; and then as the careless insects
buzz by, or the grub or beetle crawl along unheedful of danger,
he loads hisaldermanic carcass with the savory repast. Six-
teen fresh beetles, a pile equal to his fasting bulk, have been
found in the stomach of a single toad. The Frog, traipsing
over the dewy fields, procures his summer subsistence in the
same way as his seeming congener the toad, and with equal
benefit to the farmer. The striped snake is a harmless object
about the farm premises, and like the toad, he is also a great
gormandiser of worms and insects. The sole drawback to
his merits, is occasionally feasting on the toad and frog. —
The black s^nake is sometimes destructive to young poultry, and
he is a fierce and formidable foe to all whom his indomitable
courage induces him to attack. He charms the old birds and
robs their nests both of eggs and young ; but his consump-
tion of superfluous squirrels and field mice, perhaps fully atones
for his own delinquencies.
FENCES.
In many countries which have been long under cultivation,
with a dense population and little timber, as in China, and
other parts of Asia, Italy, France, Belgium, Holland and
other parts of Europe, fences are seldom seen. In cer-
tain sections of the older settled portions of the New Eng-
land states also a similar arrangement prevails. This is es-
pecially the case over the wide intervals or bottom lands
which skirt the banks of the Connecticut river, where peri-
odical inundations would annually sweep them away. —
Wherever this systen is adopted, cultivation proceeds without
obstruction, and a great saving is made not only in their origi-
nal cost, but in the interest, repairs and renewal ; all the
land is available for crops ; no weeds or bushes are permitted
to send their annoying roots or scatter their seeds over the
ground ; no safe harbors are made for mice, rats or other
vermin ; the trouble and expense of keeping up bars or
gates are avoided ; and a free course is allowed by the con-
FENCES. ^35
ceded roads or bye paths, for the removal of the crops, and
carrying on manures, and the necessary passing to and fro
in their cultivation. These are important advantages, which
it would he well tor every community to consider, and secure
to the full extent of their circumstances. The inconveniences
of this arrangement are trilling. When cattle or sheep are
pastured in Europe, where fences are wanting, they are
placed under the guidance of a shepherd, who with the aid
of a well trained dog, will keep a large herd of animals, in
perfect subjection within the prescribed limits. In the un-
fenced part of the Connecticut valley, (where extensive leg-
islative powers reside in the separate towns, which enables
each to adopt such regulations as best comport with their
own interests,) no animals are permitted to go on to the fields
till autumn, and the crops are required to be removed at a
designated time, when each occupant is at liberty to turn on
to the common premises, a number of cattle proportionate to
his standing forage, which is accurately ascertained by a su-
pervisory board. A certain number of fences are necessary
tl>r such fields as are continued in pasture through the sea-
son, but unfortunately, custom in this country has increased
them beyond all necessity or reason. It rests with the farmers
to abate such as they deem consistent with their interests.
The kind of fences should vary according to the controlling
circumstances of the farm. In those situations where stone
abounds, and esj)ecially if it is a nuisance, heavy stone fences,
broad, and high are undoubtedly the most proper. Where
those are not abundant, an economical fence may be con-
structed, by a substantial foundation of stone reaching two or
two and a half feet above ground, in which posts are placed
at proper distances, with two or three bar holes above the
wall, in which an equal numl)er of rails are inserted. Post
and rail and post and board fences are common where there
is a deficiency of timber. The posts shotdd be placed from
two and a half to three feet below the surface in the centre of
a large hole and surrounded by fine stone, which should be
well pounded down by a heavy-iron shod rammer as they are
filled in. The post will not stand as firmly at first as if
siuTounded by dirt, but it will last much longer. The lower
end should be pointed which prevents its heaving with the
frost. If the position of the post while in the tree be reversed,
or the upper end of the split section of the trunk which is
used for a post, be placed in the earth, it will be more dura-
ble. Charring or partially burning the part of the post
236 AMERICAN AGRICULttJllE.
which is buried, will add to its duration. So also will im-
bedding it in ashes, lime, charcoal, or clay ; or it may be
bored at the surface with a large auger, diagonally down-
wards and nearly through, tilled with salt, and closely plug-
ged. The best timber lor posts in the order of its durability,
is red cedar, yellow locust, white oak and chestnut. We re-
cently saw red cedar posts used for a i)orch which we were
assured had been standing exposed to the weather previous
to the Revolution, and they were still perfectly sound. The
avidity with which silicious sands and gravel act upon wood,
renders a post fence expensive for such soils.
There are large portions of our country where timber
abounds, especially in the uncleared parts of it, where the
zig-zag, worm or Virginia fence is by far the most econom-
ical. The timber is an incumbrance and therefore costs
nothing, and the rails can be cut and split to 10 or 12 feet
long, for 50 to 75 cents per 100 ; and the hauling and plac-
ing is still less. With good rails, well laid up from the
ground on stones or durable blocks, and properly crossed at
the ends and locked at the top, they are firm and durable.
Staking the corners by projecting rails gives an unsightly
appearance at all times, and is particularly objectionable for
plowing, as it considerably increases the waste ground. The
same object is obtained by locking the fence when completed,
with a long rail on each side, one end resting on the ground
and the other laid into the angle in a line with the fence.
More symmetry and neatnes is secured, and a trifling amount
of timber saved, by piifting two small upright stakes, one on
each side of the angle, and securing them by a white oak
plank six inches wide by eighteen inches long, with two
holes of three inches diameter bored eight inches apart, and
slipped over the posts after most of the rails have been laid.
The additional ones which may be laid over it, keep
tile yokes or caps in their place and the whole is thus firmly
boinid together. In addition to the timber designated lor
posts, rails may be made from any kind of oak, black, walnut,
black and white ash, elm, and hickory.
Turf and clay fences have been tried in this country with-
out success. Our frosts and rains are so severe as to break
and crumble them down continually. Cattle tread upon and
gore them ; and to swine and sheep they scarcely offer any
resistance. Wire fences have been suggested, and if gal-
vanized wire which is not liable to rust, could be procured at
a reasonable cost, it would combine gracefulness and utility
FENCEH. 237
in a high degree. The hurdle or light moveable fence is
variously formed of cordnge, wire or wicker work, in short
panels, and firmly set into the ground by sharpened stakes
at the end of each panel, and these arc fastened together.
This is a convenient appendage to farms where heavy green
crops of clover, lucern, peas, turneps, die. arc required to be
fed ofl* in successive lots, by sheep, swine or cattle. The
ntnken /nice or wall is by far the most agreeable to good
taste, and it is perfectly efficient. It consists of a vertical
excavation on one side, about five feet in de})lh, against
which a wall is built to the surface of the ground. The
opposite side is inclined at sucli an angle as will preserve
the so<l without sliding from the effects of frost or rain, and
is then turfed over. A farm thus divided, presents no
obstruction to the view, while it is every where properly
walled in, besides affording good ditches for the drainage of
water. These sunken fences are sometimes raised a couple
of feet above the ground, which increases the protection, at
a less cost than deepening and widening the ditch. Good
fences, at all times kept in perfect repair, are the cheapest.
Most of the unruly animals are taught their habits by their
owners. Fences that are half down or which will fall by
the rubbing of cattle, will soon teach them to jump and throw
down such as they are unable to overleap. For the same
reason, gates are better than bars. When the last are used,
they should be let down so near the ground that every ani-
mal can step over conveniently ; nor should they be hurried
over so fast as to induce any animal to jump. In driving a
flock of sheep through them, the lower bars ought to be
taken entirely out, or they be allowed to go over the bars
in single file. Animals will seldom become jumpers except
through their owners fault, or from some bad example set
them by unruly associates ; and unless the fences be per-
fectly secure, these ought to be stalled till they can be dis-
posed of The farmer will find that no animal will repay
him the trouble and cost of expensive fences and ruined
crops.
Hedges have from time immemorial, been used in Great
Britain and some parts of the European continent, but arc
now growing unpopular with utilitarian agriculturists. They
occupy a great deal of ground, and harbor much vermin.
A few only have been introduced in this country, and they
will probably never become favorites among us. For those
238 AMERICAN AGRICULTURE.
disposed to try them as a matter of taste or fancy, we would
enumerate the English Jtawtlwrrij beautiful and hardy ; the
holly, with an evergreen leat^, handsomely variegated with
yellow spots, and armed at the edges with short stitF thorns ;
the gorse or furze, a prickly shrub growing to the height of
five feet or more and bearing a yellow blossom. These are
much cultivated in Europe as defences against the inroads
of animals ; while numerous other less formidable shrubs,
like the willow and privet are grown for protection against
winds, and when sufficiently large, they serve for cattle
enclosures. In America the buckthorn was first introduced
by Mr. Derby of Massachusetts, and by him was considera-
bly disseminated through the United States, and has proved
a hardy thrifty plant, entirely suited to the purpose. The
Osage oi'cinge grows spontaneously in the southern states and
is said to endure a northern climate. Its numsrous thick
tough branches and thorns, render it an effectual protection
to fields. We have fenced with the native thorn of Western
New-York, with entire success. The Michigan rose and
the sweet briar, both hardy and of luxuriant growth, and
some, other species of the native rose, have been tried and
proved efficient. The crab apple and wild plum, with their
thick tough branches and formidable thorns, (and especially
the latter,) with proper training will be found a perfect stop-
page against animals of all kinds. The yelloio locust and
acacia have been sometimes used ; and the wild laurel, an
evergreen of great beauty at all times, and especially so
with its magniiicent blossoms, would foiin a beautiful hedge
wherever the soil will give it luxuriant growth. There are
a variety of other trees and shrubs of native growth among
us, which may bo emj>loyed for hedges, but it is unnecessary
to specify thein, as each can best select for himself what his
judgment sanctions from the known character of the plant,
as best suited to his own peculiar soil and circumstances.
SHADE TREES,
In such situations and numbers as may be required around
the farm premises, are both ornamental and prolitable. They
have too a social and moral influence far beyond the mere
gratification of the eye or the consideration of dollars and
cents. In their freshness and simplicity, they imi)ress the
young mind with sentiments of purity and loveliness as
enduring as life. From the cradle of infancy, consciousness
SHADE TS£E8. 239
first dawns upon the beauty of nature beneath their grateful
shade ; the more boisterous sports of childhood seek their
keenest enjoyment amid their expanded foliage ; and they
become the favorite trysling place when the ieelings assume
a graver hue, and the sentirnenls of approaching manhood
usurp the place of unthinking frolic. Their memory in after
life greets the lonely wanderer amid his trials and vicisi-
tudes, inciting him to breast adversity till again welcomed
to their smiling presence. Their thousiind associations
repress the unhallowed aspirations of ambition and vice ;
and when the last sun of decrepid age is sinking to its rest,
these venerable monitors solace the expiring &oui with the
assurance, that a returning spring shall renew its existence
beyond the winter of the tomb.
Trees ought not to stand too near the buildings, but occupy
such a position as to give beauty and finish to the landsape.
In addition to danger from lightning, blowing down, or the
breaking off of heavy branches, there is an excessive damp-
ness from their proximity which produces rapid decay in
such as|ireof wood, and which frequently affects the health
of the inmates. Low shrubbery that does not cluster too
thickly and immediately around the house, is not objectiona-
ble. Trees are ornamental to the streets and highways, but
should be at such a distance from the fences, as will prevent
injury to the crops and allbrd a grateful shade to the way-
farer. In certain sections of the middle and southern states,
where the soil is parched from the long sultry summers, it
has been found that shade trees rather increased than dimin-
ished the forage of the pastures, but through most of the
middle and northern stales, they are decidedly disadvanta-
geous, as the feed is found to be sweeter and more abundant
beyond their reach. For this reason, such trees as are pre-
served exclusively for timber should be kept together in the
wood. lots, and even many that arc designed for necessary
shade or ornament may be grouped in tasteful copses, with
greater economy of ground and manifest improvement to the
landscape.
In the selection of trees, regard should be had not only to
the beauty of the tree and its fitness for shade, but to iis ulti-
mate value as timber and fuel. The elm when standing iso-
lated is one of our most graceful and imposing trees. It
grows to an immense size with gracefully projecting limbs
and long pendant branches. It is liable to few diseases, and
240 AMERICAN AGRICULTURE.
the fuel and timber are good for most purposes. Everyone
who has seen the patriarchal elms which grace the beautiful
villages of the Connecticut valley and other old towns of
New England, must wish to see them universally dissemi-
nated. The rock o?' sugar maple is a beautiful tree, having a
straight trunk and regular upward-branching limbs, forming
a top of great symmetry and elegance. Besides the ornament
and thick shade it alfords, it gives an annual return in its
sap which is used for making into sugar and syrup ; the fuel
is equal to any of our native trees ; the timber is valuable,
yielding the beautiful glossy hinVs-eye maple so much
esteemed for furniture. The hlack walnut is a stately, grace-
ful tree, of great value for wood and durable timber, and
besides its extensive use for plain substantial furniture, the
knots and crolches make the rich dark veneering, which
rivals the mahogany or rose-wood in brilliancy and lasting
beauty. In a fertile soil it likewise bears a highly flavored
nut. The lohite ash has a more slender and a stiffer top than
either of the preceding, yet is light and graceful. The fuel
is good and the timber unequalled in value for the carriage
maker. The weeping willow is a tree of variegated foliage,
and long flexile twigs, sometimes trailing the ground for
yards in length. Its soft silvery leaves'are among the ear-
liest of spring, and the last to maintain their verdure in
autumn. Its timber is worthless and the wood of little value.
The black oak on soil adapted to it, is a tree of commanding
beauty and stalwart growth. The foliage appears late, but
is unsurpassed for depth and richness of color and highly
polished surface, and it retains its summer green, long after
the early frosts have mottled the ash and streaked the maple
with their rain-bow hues. When grown on dry and open
land, both fuel and timber are valuable. The locust is a
beautiful tree, of rapid growth, flowering profusely and with
layers or massive flakes of innumerable leaflets of the
deepest verdure. The wood is unrivalled for durability as
ship timber except by the live-oak; and for posts or exposure
to the weather, it is exceeded only by the savin or red cedar.
It has of late years been subject to severe attack and great
injury from the borer, a worm against whose ravages
hitherto there has been no successful remedy. The hutton-
ipood^ sycamore, plane-tree, water-beach or cotton-tree, by all of
which names it is known in different parts of this country, is
p^ gigantic dimensions when occupying a rich and moist
WOODLANDS. 241
alluvial soil. One found on the banks of the Ohio measured
47 feet in circumference, at a height of four feet from the
ground. Its lofty mottled trunk, its huge irregular limbs,
and its numerous pendant balls, in which are compressed
myriads of seeds with their plumy tufts that are wafted to
immense distances for propagation, have rendered it occa-
sionally a favorite. They are often seen on the banks of
our, rivers where the branches interlock, and sometimes they
completely span streams of considerable size. The wood
is cross-grained and intractable for working, and the timber
is of little use. The great variety of American shade-trees,
both deciduous and evergreen, far surpasses that within the
same area on any portion of the eastern continent, but it
would be transcending our limits farther to particularize
them.
WOOD LANDS.
There are few farms in the United States, where it is not
convenient and profitable to have a wood lot attached. They
supply the owner with his fuel, which he can prepare at lei-
sure times, they furnish him with timber for buildings, rails,
posts and for the occasional demands for implements ; they
require little attention, and if well managed, will yield a
good supply of forage for cattle and sheep. The trees should
be kept in a vigorous, growing condition, as the profits, are
as much enhanced from this cause as any of the cultivated
crops. Few of our American fields require planting with
forest trees. The soil is everywhere adapted to their growth,
and being full of seeds and roots when not too long under
cultivation, it needs but to be left unoccupied for a while, and
they will everywhere spring up spontaneously. Even the
oak openings of the west, with here and there a scattered
tree, and such of the prairies as border upon wood lands,
when rescued from the destructive effects of the annual fires,
will rapidly shoot up into vigorous forests. We have re-
peatedly seen instances of the re-covering of oak barrens and
prairies with young forests, which was undoubtedly their
condition before the Indians subjected them to conflagration ;
and they have indeed, always maintained their ibothold
against these desolating fires, wherever there was moisture
enough in the soil to arrest their progress. In almost every
instance, if the germs of forest vegetation have not been ex-
tinguished in the soil, the wood lot may be safely lefl to self
propagation, as it will be certain to produce those trees which
K
242 AMERICAN AGRICULTURE.
are best suited to the present state of the soil. Slightly thin-
ning the young wood may in some cases be desirable, and
especially by the removal of such worthless shrubbery as
never attains a size or character to render it of any value.
Such are the alders, the blue beach, swamp- willow, &:c., and
where there is a redundance of the better varieties of equal
vigor, those may be removed that will be worth the least
when matured. In most of our woodlands however, nature
is left to assert her own unaided preferences, growing what
and how she pleases, and it must be confessed she is seldom
at variance with the owner's interest. Serious and perma-
nent injury has often followed close thinning. In cutting
over Avbodlands, it is generally best to remove all the large
trees on the premises at the same time. This admits a fresh
growth on equal footing, and allows that variety to get the as-
cendancy to which the soil is best suited. In the older set-
tled states, where land and its productions are comparatively
high, many adopt the plan of clearing off every thing, even
burning the old logs and brush, and then sow one or more
crops of wheat or rye, for which the land is in admirable con-
dition, from the long accumulation of vegetable matter and the
heavy dressing of ashes thus received. They then allow
the forest to resume its original claims, which it is not slow
to do, from the abundance of seeds and roots in the ground.
But unless the crop be valuable the utility of this practice is
doubtful, as by the destruction of all the young stuff which
may be lefl, there is a certain delay of some years in the after
growth of the wood; and the gradual decay of the old trunks
and brush may minister fully as much to its growth as the ash
which their combustion leaves ; and the fertility of the soil
is diminished just in proportion to the amount of vegetable
matter, which may have been abstracted by the grain crops
taken of!'. The proper time for cutting over the wood must
depend on its character, the soil, and the uses to which it is to
be applied. For saw logs or fi-ame timber, it should have a
thrifly growth of 40 or 50 years ; but in the mean time much
scattering fuel may be taken fi*om it, and occassionally such
mature timber trees as can be removed without injury to the
remainder. For fuel alone, a much earlier cutting has been
found most profitable. The Salisbury Iron Company in Con-
necticut, has several thousand acres of land, which were pur-
chased and have been reserved exclusively for supplying their
own charcoal. The intelligent manager informed us when
recently there, that from an experience of 60 years, they had
I
LIOIITNING-ROIIS. 243
ascertained the most profitable period for cutting, was once in
about 16 years, when every thinp; was removed of an availa-
ble'- size, and the wood was left entirely to itself for another
•growth. It has been found that this yielded an annual inter-
rst on SUi to ^20 an acre, which for a rough and rather
indilfercnt soil, remote from a wood or timber market, will
pay fully as much as the nett profits on cultivated land in
the neighborhood.
When young, the wood should bo kept entirely free from
sheep and cattle, as they feed upon the fresh shoots with
nearly the same avidity as they do u{>on grass or clover, and
when it is desirable to thicken the standing trees by an addi-
tional growth, cattle should be kept from the range till such
time as the new sprouts or seedling may have attained a
height beyond their reach. Where it is desirable to bring into
wocKlIand such fields as have not forest roots or seeds already
deposited in a condition for germination, the fields should be
sown or (danted with all the various nuts or seeds adapted
to the soil, and which it is desirable to cultivate. Trans-
planting* trees tor a forest in this country, cannot at present
be made to pay from its large expense, and if the trees will
jiot grow naturally or by sowing, the land should be contin-
ued in pastures or cultivation. There are some lands so un-
fitted for tillage by their roughness or texture, as to be much
more profitable as woodland. It is better to retain such in
tbrest, and make from them whatever they are capable of
yielding, than by clearing and bringing them into use, to add
them to what are perhaps already superfluous tillage fields,
and become a drain on labor and manures which they illy
repay.
In clearing lands, when it is desirable to reserve sufliicient
trees for a park or shade, a selection should be made of such
as are young and healthy which have grown in the most open
places, with a short stem and thick top. It will tend to insure
their continued and vigorous growth, if the top and leading
branches be shortened. A large tree will seldom thrive when
subjected to the new condition in which it is placed, after the
removal of the shade and moisture by which it has been sur-
rounded. They will generally remain stationary or soon de-
cay ; and the slight foothold they have upon the earth by their
roots, which was sufficient for their protected situation while
surrounded by other trees, exposes them to destruction from
violent gales ; and they seldom have that beauty of top and
symmetry of appearance which should entitle them to be retain-
244 AMERICAN AGRICULTURE.
ed singly. If partialities are to be indulged for any, they
should be surrounded by a copse of younger trees by which
they will be in a measure protected. Young stocks should be
left in numbers greater than are required, as many of them
will die, and from the remainder selections can be made of
such as will best answer the purposes designed.
THE PROPER TIME FOR CUTTING TIMBER.
Nine-tenths of the community think winter the time for
this purpose, but the reason assigned " that the sap is then in
the roots" shows its futility, as it is evident to the most su-
perficial observer that there is nearly the same quantity of sap
in the tree at all seasons. It is less active in winter, and like
all other moisture, is congealed during the coldest weather;
yet when not absolutely frozen, circulation is never entirely
stopped in the living tree. Reason or philosophy would seem
to indicate that the period of the maturity of the leaf, or from
the last of June to the first of November, is the season for
cutting timber in its perfection. Certain it is, that we have
numerous examples of timber cut within this period, which
has exhibited a durability twice or three times as great as that
cut in winter, when placed under precisely the same circum-
stances. After it is felled, it should at once be peeled, drawn
from the woods and elevated from the ground to facilitate
drying ; and if it is intended to be used under cover, the soon-
er it is put there the better. Wood designed for fuel, will
spend much better when cut as above mentioned and imedi-
ately housed, but as this is generally inconvenient from the
labor of the farm being then required for the harvesting of the
crops, it may be more economical to cut it whenever there is
most leisure.
Preservation of timber. — Various preparations of late
years have been tried for the more effectual preservation of
timber, which have proved quite successful, but the expense
precludes their adoption for general purposes. These are
Kyanizing, or the use of carbureted azote, (the base of prus-
sic acid ;) the use of corrosive sublimate, a bi-chloride of
mercury ; pyrolignite of iron, formed from iron dissolved in
pyrolignous acid, (which is produced from the distillation of
of wood, or from the condensed vapor that escapes from wood
fuel while burning, and which may be obtained in large
quantities from a coal pit where charcoal is made ;) and a
solution of common salt. These will be absorbed by the sap
pores and universally disseminated through the body of the
FARMING TOOLS. 245
tree, by sawing or cutting the trunk partially off while erect,
jind applyinji; the solution to its base ; or it may ]>e cut down,
Icaviiijr a part of tin; leafy branches al>ove the point of satu-
ration, and apply the solution to the butt end. Beautiful tintw
arc «riven to tinilier which is used for cabinet work, by satu-
rating it with various coloring matters. Although the
expense of these preparations may prevent their use for large,
cheap structures, yet for all the lighter instruments, such as
farmer's tools, plows, <&r., where the cost of the wood is
inconsiderable in comparison with that of making, it would
be economy to use such timber only as will give the longest
duration, though its first price may be ten-fold that of the
more perishable material.
FARMING TOOLS.
These should fbnn an impoitant item of the farmer's atten-
tion, as upon their proper construction depends much of
the economy and success with which he can perform his
operations. There have been great and important improve-
ments within the past few years, in most of the implements,
which have diminished the expense while they have greatly
improved the mechanical operations of agriculture. We
have studiously avoided a reference to any of these, as there
are many competitors for similar and nearly equal improve-
ment, and in this career of sharp and commendable rivalry,
what is the best to-day, may be supplanted by something
better to-morrow. These implements may now be found
at the agricultural ware-houses, of almost every desirable
variety. Of these, the best only should be procured ; such
as are the most perfect in their principles and of the most
durable materials. The wood work should be well guarded
with paint, if to be exposed to the weather, and the iron or
steel with paint, or a coating of hot tar, unless kept bright-
ened by use. When required for cutting, they should always
be sharp, even to the hoe, the spade and the share and coulter
of the plow. When not in use, they ought to be in a dry
place. Plows, harrows, carts and sleds, should all be thus
protected, and by their longer durability they will amply
repay the expense of shed room. They ought also to be
kept in the best repair, which may be done at leisure times
so as to be ready for use. [Some additional remarks on this
subject will be found under the head of " plows."]
246 AMERICAN AOBICWLTimE.
THE AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION OF THE FARMER.
Though last mentioned, this is of the first importance to
the farmer's success. It should commence with the thor-
ough groundwork attainments every where to be acquired in
our primary schools, and should embrace the elementary
knowledge of mechanics, botany, chemistry and geology, nor
can it be complete without some acquaintance with anatomy
and physiology. The learner ought then to have a complete,
practical understanding of the manual operations of the farm,
the best manner of planting, cultivating and securing crops ;
he should be familiar with the proper management, feeding
and breeding of animals ; the treatment of soils, the appli-
cation of manures, and all the various matters connected with
agriculture. This will be but the commencement of his
education, and it should be steadily pursued through the
remainder of his life. He must learn from his own experi-
ence, which is the most certain and complete knowledge he
can obtain, as he thus ascertains all the circumstances which
have led to certain results ; and he should also learn from the
experience of his neighbors, and from his personal observa-
tion on every subject that comes within his notice. He will
be particularly assisted by the cheap, agricultural journals of
the present day, which embrace the latest experience of some
of our best farmers throughout remote sections of country,
on almost every subject pertaining to his occupation. To
these should be added, the selection of standard, reliable
works on the various topics of farming, and of the latest
authority which can be procured for direction and reference.
It is'muchto be desired, that agricultural schools and colleges
could be added to the list of aids to farmings where experi-
enced and gifted minds should be placed, surrounded by the
means for conveying instruction in the fullest, yet most simple
and effective manner, and with every requisite for practical
illustration. We cannot permit ourselves to doubt, that this
neglected field will soon be efficiently occupied, and thus
supply the only link remaining in the thorough education of
the farmer.
FARM BUILDINOS. 247
CHAPTERXIII.
FARM BUILDINGS.
Great neglect is manifest in this country, in the erection
of suitahle farm buildings. The deficiency extends not only
to their number, which is often inadequate to the wants of the
farm, but more frequently to their location, arrangement and
manner of construction. The annual losses which occur in
consequence of this neglect, would in a few years, furnish
every farm in the Union with barns and out-houses entirely
sufficient for the necessities of each. We will give briefly
in detail, the leading considerations which should govern the
farmer in their construction.
THE FARM HOUSE.
If this is required for the occupation of the owner, it may
be of any form and size his means and taste dictate. If for
a tenant, and to be employed solely with a reference to its
value to the farm, it should be neat, comfortable and of con-
venient size. It should especially contain a cool, airy and
spacious dairy room, unless the owner should prefer one in-
dependant of the house, over a clear spring or cool rivulet,
where, partially protected from the sun by a sheltering bank,
half buried in the earth and made, as it should be if possible,
of stone, the cool atmosphere within will afford the best
safeguard against flies and other insects, and preserve the
butter and cheese in the finest condition. Stone or brick are
the best materials for dwellings, as they are cooler in summer
and warmer in winter, and if comfort be the object of the
farmer's toil, there is certainly no place where it should be
sooner consulted than in his own domicil. A naked,
scorching exposure, equally with a bleak and dreary one is to
be avoided. The design of a house is protection to its
inmates, and ifthere be no adequate shelter from the elements,
it fails in its purpose. It should be tastefully built, as this
need not materially increase the expense, while it adds a
248 AMERICAN AGRICULTURE.
pleasant feature to the farm. It ought to occupy a position
easily accessible to the other buldings and the fields, and yet
be within convenient distance of the highway. It is desirable
to have it so far removed as to admit of a light screen of
trees, and nature will thus add an ornament and protection
in the surrounding foliage, which no skill of the architect
can equal.
The Cellar. — This is an essential appendage to a house,
particularly where roots are to be stored. Many appropriate
a part of it to the dairy, and if thus employed it should be
high, clean and well ventilated. The proper preservation of
what is contained in it, and the health of the inmates, demand
a suitable dryness and free circulation of air. The cellar is
frequently placed on the side of a hill, which renders it more
accessible frory without. This is in no respect objectionable,
if the walls are made sufficiently tight to exclude the frosts.
When on level ground, they should be sunk only three or four
feet below the natural surface, and the walls raised enough
above to give all the room wanted ; and the excavated earth
can be banked arovmd the house, thus rendering it more ele-
vated and pleasant. It also provides for the admission of light
;md air through small windows, which are placed above
ground. A wire gauze to exclude files, ought to occupy the
place of the glass in warm weather, and if liable to frosts,
there should be double sashes in winter. Ventilation is im-
portant in all seasons, and it may be secured by as large an
aperture as possible connected with the chimney, and the
windows may be thrown open in pleasant weather during the
warmer part of the day. The cellar should be connected with
the kitchen or sheds above, by safe, w^ell lighted stairs. And
lastly, the entire building should be rat-proof. This is more
easily accomplished than, is generally imagined. When
erecting a building, a carpenter or mason, for less than the
additional expense of a year's support for a troop of rats, can
for ever exclude them from it, by the exercise of a little inge-
nuity. A brick floor in a cellar is easily broken up by these
insidious and and ever-busy vermin, and a plank or wooden
floor is objectionable, from its speedy decay. The most effec-
tive and permanent barrier to their inroads, is aflTorded by a
stone pavement laid with large pieces in cement, closely fit-
ted to each other and to the side walls. This is also secured
by placing a bed of small stones and pebbles on the ground
and groiUing, or pouring over it a mortar made of lime and
sand so thin as to run freely between the stones. When dry
FARM BUILDINGS. 240
a thin coating of water-lime cement is added, which is
smoothed over with the trowel. This can l)e so laid as to
admit of ready and [K'rfect drainage, by a depression in th«^
centre or sides, which answers lor gutters.
TiiK Barn is the most important appendage of the iarm,
and its size and form must de|)end on the particular wants of
the owner. It is sometimes essential to have more than one
on the premises, but in either case they should be within
convenient distance of the house. They should be large
enough to hold all the fodder and animals on the farm. Not
a hoof about the premises should be required to brave our
northern winters, unsheltered by a tight roof and a dry bed.
They will thrive so much faster and consume so much less
food when thus protected, that the owner will be ten-fold
remunerated. Disease is thus often prevented, and if it oc-
curs, is more easily removed. The saving in fodder by
placing it at once under cover when cured, is another great
item of consideration. Besides the expense of stacking and
fencing, the waste of the tops and outside fodder in small
stacks, is frequently one fourth of the whole, and if carelessly
done, it will be much greater. There is the further expense
of again moving it to the barn, or foddering it in the field,
which greatly increases the waste. It is a convenient mode
to place a barn on a side hill inclining to the south-east, when-
ever the position of the ground admits of it. There are seve-
ral advantages connected with this plan. Room is obtained
by excavation and underpinning, more cheaply than in build-
ing above. An extensive range of stabling may be made be-
low, which will be warmer than what is afforded by a wooden
building, and the mangers are easily supplied with the fodder
which is stored above. Extensive cellar room can be had
next to the bank, in which all the roots required for the cattle
can be safely stored in front of their mangers, and where
they are easily deposited from cails through windows arran-
ged on the upper side, or scuttles in the barn-floor above.
More room is afforded for hay in consequence of placing
some of the stables below, and in this way, a large part of the
labor of pitching it on to elevated scaffolds is avoided. The
barn and sheds ought to be well raised on good underpinnings,
to prevent the rotting of sills, and to allow the free escape of
moisture, as low, damp premises are injurious to the health
of animals.
Every consideration ought to be given to the saving of ma-
nure. The stables should have drains that will carry off the
K*
!250 AMERICAN AGRICULTURE.
liquid evacuations to a muck-heap or reservoir, and whatever
manure is thrown out, should be carefully protected. The
manure contains the future crops of the farmer, and unless
he is willing to forego the latter, he should carefully husband
the former. A low roof projecting several feet over the ma-
nure which is thrown from the stables, will do much to pre-
vent waste from sun and rains. The mangers ought to be
so constructed as to economize the fodder. Box-feeding for
cattle we prefer, as in addition to hay, roots and meal may be
fed in them without loss ; and with over-ripe hay, a grat deal
of seed may in 'this way be saved, which will diminish the
quantity necessary to be purchased for sowing. The fine
leaves and small fragments of hay are also kept from waste,
which in racks are generally lost by falling on the floor. We
object to racks, unless provided with a shallow box under-
neath, and to foddering in the open yards. There is a loss in
dragging the forage to them, and too often this is done near
a herd of hungry cattle, which gore each other and are
scarcely to be kept at bay by the use of the stoutest goad.
There is also a waste of the hay which falls while the cattle
are feeding, and which is largely increased in muddy yards ;
added to which the animals are exposed to whatever bad
weather there may be while eating, which is at all times to
be deprecated.
Sheds. — Feeding in sheds is far better, and in many in-
stances may take the place of the stall or stable. They are
frequently and very properly arranged on two sides of the
cattle yard, the barn forming one end, and the other opening
to the south, unless this is exposed to the prevailing winds.
This arrangement forms a good protection for the cattle, and
the sheds being connected with the barn is of importance in
economizing the labor in foddering. The racks or boxes are
placed on the boarded side of the shed, which forms the outer
side of the yard, and they are filled from the floor overhead.
If the space above is not sufficient to contain the necessary
quantity of fodder, it should be taken from the mows or scaf-
folds of the barn, and carried or dragged over the floor to the
place wanted. The floors ought to be perfectly tight to avoid
waste, and the sifting of the particles of hay or seed on the
cattle or sheep. Unless the ground under the shed be quite
dry, it is better to plank it, and it will then admit of cleaning
with the same facility as the stables. A portion of the shed
may be partitioned oflffor close or open stalls, for colts, calves
or infirm cattle, and cows or ewes that are heavy with young.
FARM B17ILDIN0S. 251
A little attention of this kind, will frequently save the life of
an animal, or add much lo their comfort and the general
economy of farm management. 'I'hc surplus straw, corn-
stalks and the like, can be used for betiding, though it is gene-
rally preferable to have them cut and fed to the cattle.
WATER FOR THE CATTLE YARD
Is an important item, and if the expense of driving the ani-
mals to a remote watering place, the waste of manure
thereby occasioned, the straying of cattle and sometimes loss
of limbs or other injury resulting from their being forced to
go down icy slopes or through excessive mud, to slake their
thirst — if all these considerations are taken into account,
they will be found annually to go far towards the expense of
supplying water in the yard, where it would at all times be
accessible. All animals require water in winter, except such
as have a full supply of roots ; and though they sometimes
omit going to distant and inconvenient places where it is to
be had, they may nevertheless, suffer materially for the want
of it. When it is not possible to bring a sti-eam of running
water into the yai*d, or good water is not easily reached by
digging, an eftectual way of procuring a supply through most
of the, year is by the construction of
Cisterns. Where there is a compact clay, no further
preparation is necessary for stock purposes, than to excavate
to a sufticient size ; and to keep up the banks on every side,
place two frames of single joist around it near the top and
bottom, between which and the banks, heavy boards or plank
may be set in an upright position, reaching from top to
bottom. The earth keeps them in place on one side, and the
joist prevents their falling. They require to be only tight
enough to prevent the clay from washing in. No appreciable
quantity of water will escape from the sides or bottom.
We have used one for years, without repairs or any material
wasting of water. This should be made near the buildings ;
and the rains carefully conducted by the eaves-troughs and
pipes from an extensive range, will aflbrd an ample supply.
For household purposes, one should be made with more care
and expense, and so constructed as to alford pure filtered
water at all times. These may be formed in various ways,
and of different materials, stone, brick, or even wood ;
though the two former are preferable. They should be per-
manently divided into two apartments, one to receive the
water and another for a reservoir to contain such as is ready
t52 AMERICAN AGRICULTURE.
for use. Alternate layers of gravel, sand, and charcoal at
the bottom of the first, and sand and gravel in the last, are
sufficient ; the water being allowed to pass through the
several layers mentioned, will be rendered perfectly free
from all impurities. Some who are particularly choice in
preparing water, make use of filtering stones, but this is not
essential. Occasional cleaning may be necessary, and the
substitution of new filtering materials will at all times keep
them sweet.
THE CARRIAGE HOUSE, STABLE AND GRANARY.
The carriage house and horse stable sometimes occupy a
distinct building, which is a good precaution against fire, and
where this is the case, it is fi*equently convenient to have the
upper loft for a granary. The propriety of having this
proof against rats is obvious. Yet it should be capable of
thorough ventilation when the grain is damp or exposed to
injury from want of air. Entire cleanliness of the premises,
is the best remedy against weevil and other noxious insects.
The corn crib. — If there be more Indian corn on the
premises than can be thinly spread over an elevated dry
floor, the corn crib for storing it should occupy an isolated
position. This should be made of upright lattice work, with
a far projecting roof, and sides inclining downwards to each
other, so as to avoid the admission of rain. The corn in the
cob is stored in open bins on either side, leaving ample
room in the centre for threshing or the use of the corn
sheller. Close bins may occupy the ends for the reception
of the shelled grain. All aj)proach from rats and other ver-
min may be avoided by placing the building on posts, with
projecting stones or sheet iron on the top, and so high that
they cannot reach it by jumping.
A TOOL HOUSE AND WORK SHOP ought always to have a
place about the premises. In this building, all the minor
tools may be arranged on shelves, or in appropriate niches ,
where they can at once be found, and will not be exposed to
theft. Here too the various farming tools may be repaired,
which can be anticipated and done in those leisure intervals
which often occur. Ample shed room for every vehicle and
implement about the farm^ should not be wanting. Their
preservation will amply repay the cost of such slight struc-
tures as may be required to house them. A wagon, plow,
or any wooden implement, will wear out sooner by exposure
FAEM BUILDINGS. 253
to all weathers without use, than by careful usage with proi>er
protection.
A iioKsK rowRR either stationary or moveable, can be
made to contribute greatly to the economy of farming opera-
tions, where there is much grain to thresh, or straw, hay or
corn stalks to cut. With the aid of this, some of the port-
able mills may crush and grind much of the grain required for
feeding. Even the water may be pumped by it into large
troughs for the use of cattle, and all the fuel sawed, thereby
saving more expensive in labor.
A STEAMING APPARATUS.
Where there are many swine to fatten, or grain is to be
fed, this is at all times an economical appendage to the farm.
It has been shown from several experiments, that cattle and
sheep will generally thrive as well on raw as on cooked roots ;
but horses do better on the latter, and swine will not fatten
on any other. For all animals excepting store sheep, and
perhaps even they may be excepted, grain or meal is better
when cooked. Food must be broken up before the various
animal organs can appropriate it to nutrition ; and whatever
is done towards effecting this object before it enters the
stomach, diminishes the necessity for the expenditure of vital
force in accomplishing it, and thereby enables the animal to
thrive more rapidly and do more labor, on a given amount.
For this reason we apprehend, there may have been some
errors undetected in the experiments in feeding sheep and
cattle with raw and cooked roots, which results in placing
them apparently on a par as to their value for this purpose.
The crushing or grinding of the gi*ain insures more perfect
mastication, and is performed by machinery at much less
expense, than by the animals consuming it. The steaming
or boiling is the final step towards its easy and profitable
assimilation in the animal economy. With a capacious
steaming-box for the reception of the food, the roots and meal,
and even cut hay, straw and stalks may be thrown in together,
and all will thus be most effectually prepared for nourish-
ment There is another advantage derivable from this
practice. The food might at all times be given at the
temperature of the animal system, about 98" of Farenheit,
and the animal heat expended in warming the cold and
sometimes frozen food, would be avoided.
The steaming apparatus is variously constructed. We
have used one consisting of a circular boiler five and a half
254 AMERICAN AGHlCTJiTimE.
feet long by twenty inches diameter, made of boiler iron and
laid lengthwise on a brick arch. The fire is placed under-
neath and passes through the whole length and over one end,
then returns in contact with the boiler through side flues or
pockets, where it entered the chimney. This gives an
exposure to the flame and heated air of about 10 feet. The
upper part is coated with brick and mortar to retain the heat,
and three small test cocks are applied at the bottom, middle
and upper edge of the exposed end, to show the quantity of
water in it ; and two large stop cocks on the upper side for
receiving the water and delivering the steam, completes the
boiler. The steaming-box is oblong, seven or eight feet
in length, by about four feet in depth and width, capable of
holding 60 or 70 bushels, made of plank grooved together,
and clamped and keyed with four setts of oak joist. We also
used a large circular tub, strongly bound by wagon tire and
keyed, and holding about 25 bushels. The covering of both
must be fastened securely ; but a safety valve is allowed for
the escape of steam, which is simply a one and a half inch
auger hole. Into these, the steam is conveyed from the
boiler, by a copper tube, attached to the steam delivery cock
for a short distance, when it is continued into the bottom of
the box and tub by a lead pipe, on account of its flexibility,
and to avoid injury to the food from the corrosion of the
copper. It is necessary to have the end of the pipe in the
steaming-box, properly guarded by a metal strainer, to prevent
its clogging from the contents of the box. We find no diffi-
culty in cooking 15 bushels of unground Indian corn in the
tub, in the course of three or four hours, and with small
expense of fuel. Fifty bushels of roots could be perfectly
cooked in the box, in the same time. For swine, fattening
cattle and sheep, milch cows and working horses, and perhaps
oxen, we do not doubt a large amount of food may be saved
by the use of such or a similar cooking apparatus. The box
may be enlarged to treble the capacity of the foregoing,
without prejudicing the operation, and even with a boiler of
the same dimensions, but it would take a longer time to
effect the object. If the boiler were increased in proportion
to the box, the cooking process would of course be acccom-
plished in the same time.
T?ie materials for farm buildings we have assumed to be of
wood, from the abundance and cheapness of this material
generally in the United States. Yet we would always prefer
when not too expensive, or where the capital could be spared,
rARM BUIL0IN09. 255
that brick or stone should take their place. They arc more
durable, arc less exposed to fire, and they sustain a more
cqual)lc temperature in the extremes of the seasons. Barns
and, sheds cannot like houses, be conveniently made rat proof,
but they may be so constructed as to aflbrd them few hidinjg^
places, where they will ])e out of the reach of cats and terrier
dogs, which are always indispensable around infested prem-
ises. These and an occasional dose of arsenic, carefully and
variously disguised will keep their numbers within mcxlerate
bounds. If poison be given, it woidd be well to shut up the
cats and terriers for three or four days until the object is
eflected, or they too might partake of it.
LIGHTNING RODS.
In the hot, dry weather of our American summers, thun-
der showers are frequent and often destructive to buildings.
This danger is much increased for such barns as have just
received their annual stores of newly cut hay and grain. —
The humid gases driven off by the heating and sweating
process, which immediatly follows their accumulation in
closely packed masses, offers a strong attraction to electri-
city, just at the time when it is most abundant. It is then an
object of peculiar importance to the farmer to guai-d his build-
ings with properly constructed lightning rods, and they are a
cheap mode of insurance against fire from this cause, as the
expense is trifling and the security great.
It is a principle of general application, that a rod will
protect an object at twice the distance of its height, above any
given point, in a line perpendicular to its upper termination.
Thus a rod attached to one side of a chimney of four feet
diameter, must have its upper point two feet above the chim-
ney to protect it. The height above the ridge must be at least
one half the greatest horizontal distance of the ridge from the
perpendicular rod.
Materials and manner of construction. — The rod may be
constnicted of soft, round or square iron, the latter being
preferable, in pieces of convenient length and of not less than
3 of an inch in diameter. These should not be hooked into
each other, but attached either by screwing the ends together,
or forming a point and socket to be fastened by a rivet, so that
the rod when complete, will appear as one continuous surface
of equal size throughout. If a square rod be used, it will attract
the electricity through its entire length, if the corners be
notched with a single downward stroke of a sharp cold
256 AMERICAN AGRICULTURE.
chisel, at intervals of two or three inches. Each of these
will thus become a point to attract and conduct the electricity
to the earth. A bundle of wires, thick ribbons, or tubes of
metal, would be much better conductors than an equal quan-
tity of matter in the solid, round or square rods, as the con-
ducting power of bodies, is in the ratio of their surface. No
part of the rod should be painted, as its efficiency is thereby
greatly impaired. The upper extremity may consist of one,
two or more finely drawn points, which should be of copper,
silver or well gilded iron, to prevent rusting. The lower part
of the rod, at the surface of the ground, should terminate in
two or three flattened, divergent branches, leading several
feet outwardly from the building, and buried to the depth of
perpetual moisture in a bed of charcoal. Both the charcoal
and moisture are good conductors, and will ensure the passage
of the electricity into the ground, and away from the pre-
mises. The rod may be fastened to the building by glass or
well seasoned wood, boiled in linseed oil, then well baked and
covered with several coats of copal varnish.
The conductors of electricity in the order of their conduct-
ing form, are copper, silver, gold, iron, tin, lead, zinc, platina,
charcoal, black lead (plumbago,) strong acids, soot and lamp,
black, metallic ores, metallic oxides, diluted acids, saline solu-
tions, animal fluids, sea water, fresh water, ice above 0°, living
vegetables, living animals, flame, smoke, vapor and humid
gases, salts, rarified air, dry earth, and massive minerals. The
non-conductors in their order, are shellac, amber, resins,
sulpher, wax, asphaltum, glass, and all vitrified bodies includ-
ing crystallised, transparent minerals, raw silk, bleached silk,
dyed silk, wool, hair and feathers, dry gases, dry paper, parch-
ment and leather, baked wood and dried vegetables.
I
00HE8TIC ANIMALS. 257
CHAPTER XIV
f
DOMRSTIC ANIMALS— PRINCIPLES OF BREEDNIG,
NUTRITION, MANAGEMENT, &c.
The principal domestic animals reared for economical pur-
poses ill the United States, are Horned or neat cattle, the
Horse, the Mule, Sheep and Swine. A few Asses are bred,
but for no other object than to keep up tlie supply of jacks
for propagating mules. We have also goats, rabbits and the
house domestics, the dog and cat ; the two former, only in
very limited numbers, but both the latter much beyond our
legitimate wants. There have been a few specimens of the
Alpaca imported, and an arrangement is now in progress for
the introduction of a flock of several hundred, which if dis-
tributed among intelligent and wealthy agriculturists, as pro-
posed, will test their value for increasing our agricultural
resources. We shall confine ourselves to some general con-
siderations connected with the first mentioned and most im-
portant of our domestic animals.
Their number as shown by the agricultural statistics col-
lected in 1339, by order of our General Government, was
15,000,000 neat cattle ; 4,335,000 horses and mules, (the
number of each not being specified;) 19,311,000 sheep ;
and 26,300,000 swine. There is much reason to question
the entire accuracy of these returns, yet there is doubtless
an approximation to the truth. Sheep have greatly increased
since that period, and would probably number the present
year (1846,) not less than 28,000,000 ; and if our own man-
ufactures continue to thrive, and we should moreover become
wool exporters, of which there is now a reasonable prospect,
an accurate return for 1850, will undoubtedly give us not less
than 35,000,000 for the entire Union. There has been a
great increase in the value of the other animals enumerated,
but not in a ratio corresponding with that of sheep. This is
268 AMERICAN AGKICULTURE.
not only manifest in their numbers, but in the gradual and
steady improvement of the species. It may be safely pre-
dicted, that, this improvement will not only be sustained, but
largely increased, for there are some intelligent and spirited
breeders to be found in every section of the country, whose
liberal exertions and powerful examples are doing much for
this object. Wherever intelligence and sound judgment are
to be found, it will be impossible long to resist the effects of
a comparison between animals, which on an equal quantity of
the same food, with the same attention and in the same time,
will return 50, 20, or even a less per cent, more in their in-
trinsic value or marketable product, than the ordinary class.
This improvement has relatively been, most conspicuous in
the western and southern states, not that the present av^erage
of excellence in their animals surpasses or even reaches that
of the north and east ; but the latter have long been pursu-
ing this object, with more or less energy, and they have for
many years had large numbers of excellent specimens of each
variety ; while with few exceptions, if we exclude the blood-
horse or racing nag, the former have till recently, paid com-
paratively little attention to the improvement of their domestic
animals. The spirit for improvement through extensive sec-
tions, is now awakened, and the older settled portions of the
country may hereafter expect competitors, whose success
will be fully commensurate with their own. Before going
into the management of the different varieties, we will give
some general principles and remarks applicable to the treat-
ment of all.
The purpose for which animals are required, is first of con-
sequence to be determined, before selecting such as may be
necessary either for breeding or use. Throughout the north-
eastern states, cows for the dairy, oxen for the yoke, and both
for the butcher, are wanted. In much of the west and south,
beef alone is the principal object, while the dairy is neglected,
and the work of the ox is seldom relied on except for occa-
sional drudgery. Sheep may be wanted almost exclusively
for the fleece, or for the fleece and heavy mutton, or in the
neighborhood of markets, for large, early lambs. The pas-
tures and winter food, climate and other conditions, present
additional circumstances, which should be well considered
before determining on the particular breed, either of cattle
or sheep, that will best promote the interest of the farmer.
The kind of work for which the horse may be wanted,
whether as a roadster, for the saddle, as a heavy team horse
DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 259
or the horse of all work, must be first decided, before select-
ing the form or character of the animal. The range of pig
excellence is more circumscribed, as it is only necessary to
breed such as will yield the greatest amount of valuable car-
cass, within the shortest time, and with the least exjKmse.
PRINCIPLES OF BREEDING.
All breeding is founded on the principle, that like begets
like. This is however liable to some exceptions, and is much
more generally true when breeding doitm than when breeding
up. If two animals which can never be exactly similar in
all respects, are requisite to the perpetuation of the species,
it necessarily results, that the progeny must differ in a more
or less degree from each parent. VVith wild animals and
such of the domestic as are allowed to propagate with-
out the interference of art, and whose habits, treatment
and food are nearly similar to their natural condition, the
change through successive generations is scarcely percepti-
ble. It is only when we attempt to improve their good qua-
lities, that it is essential, carefully to determine and rigidly
to apply what are adopted as the present scientific principles
of breeding. We cannot believe that we have penetrated
beyond the mere threshold of this art. Unless then, we
launch into experiments, which are necessarily attended with
uncertainty, our duty will be, to take for our guide the most
successful practice of modern times, until further discoveries
enable us to modify or add to such as are already known and
adopted. We may lay down then as the present rules for
this art, 1st. That the animals selected for breed, should
unite in themselves all the good qualities we wish to per-
petuate in the ofl^spring. 2d. These qualities, technically
called pointSy should be in-bred in the animals as far as prac-
ticable, by a long line of descent from parents similarly
constituted. The necessity for this rule is evident from the
fact, that in mixing different species, and especially mongrels,
with a long established breed, the latter will most strongly
stamp the issue with its own peculiarities. This is forcibly
illustrated in the case of the Devon cattle, an ancient race,
whose color, form and characteristics are strikingly perpetu-
ated, sometimes to the sixth or even a later generation. So
far is this principle carried by many experienced breeders,
that they will use an animal of indifferent external appear-
ance, but of approved descent, (bloody) in preference to a
decidedly superior one, whose pedigree is imperfect. 3d. All
260 AMERICAN AGRICULTURE.
the conditions of soil, situation, climate, treatment and food
should be favorable to the object sought. 4th. As a general
rule, the female should be relatively, larger than the male.
This gives ample room for the perfect development of the
foetus, easy parturition, and a large supply of milk for the
offspring, at a period in its existence, when food has a greater
influence in perfecting character and form than at any sub-
sequent time. 5th. FLxceptions to this rule may be made,
when greater size is required than can be obtained from the
female, and especially, when more vigor and hardiness of
constitution are desirable. For this purpose, strong mascu-
line development in the sire are proper, and if otherwise
unattainable, something of coarseness may be admitted, as
this may be afterwards corrected, and nothing will atone for
want of constitution and strength. 6th. Pairing should be
with a strict reference to correcting the imperfections of
one animal, by a corresponding excellence in the other.
7th. Breeding in-and-in, or propagating from animals nearly
allied, may be tolerated under certain circumstances, though
seldom; and only in extreme cases between those of the
same generation as brother and sister. When the animal
possesses much stamina and peculiar merit, which it is de-
sired to perpetuate in the breed, it may be done either in the
ascending or descending line, as in breeding the son to the
parent, or the parent to his own progeny. This has been
practised with decided advantage, and in some cases has
even been continued successively as low as the sixth gene-
ration. 8th. it is always better to avoid close relationship,
by the selection of equally meritorious stock-getters of the
same breed, from other sources. 9th. Wholesome, nutri-
tious food, at all times sufficient to keep the animals steadily
advancing, should be provided, but they must never be
allowed to get fat. Of the two evils, starving is preferable
to surfeit. Careful treatment and the absence of disease
must be always fully considered. 10th. Animals should
never be allowed to breed either too early or too late in life.
These periods cannot be arbitrarily laid down, but must
depend on their time of maturity, the longevity of the breed,
and the stamina of the individual. 11th. No violent cross
or mixing of distinct breeds should ever be admitted for the
purposes of perpetuation, as of cattle of diverse sizes; horses
of unlike characters ; the Merino and long wools, or even
Ihe long or short and the middle wools. For carcass and
nOMESnC ANIMAI8. 261
constitution, these crosses are unexceptionable; and it is a
practice very common in this country, and judicious enough
where the whole produce is early destined for the shambles.
But wlien the progeny are designed for breeders, the i)rac-
tice should be branded with unqualified reprehension.
THE GENERAL FORM AND CHARACTERISTICS OF
DOMESTIC ANIMALS.
Within certain limits, these may be reduced to a common
standard. All animals should have a good head, well set up;
a clean fine muzzle, and a bright, clear and full, yet per-
fectly placid eye. With the exception of the dog and cat,
whose original nature is ferocity, and whose whole life,
unless diverted from their natural instincts, is plunder and
prey ; and the jockey race-horse, which is required to take
the purse, at any hazard of life or limb to the groom; a mild
quiet eye is indispensable to the profitable use of the domes-
tic brute. The neck should be well formed, not too long,
tapering to its junction with the head, and gradually enlarging
to a firm, well expanded attachment to the back, shoulders
and breast. The back or chine should be short, straight and
broad ; the ribs springing out from the back bone nearly at
right angles, giving a rounded appearance to the carcass,
and reaching well behind to a close proximity to the hip ;
tail well set on, and full at its junction with the body, yet
gradually tapering to fineness ; thighs, fore-arms and crop,
well developed ; projecting breast or brisket ; the fore-legs
straight, and hind ones properly bent, strong and full where
attached to the carcass, but small and tapering below ; good
and sound joints; dense, strong bones, but not large; plenty of
fine muscle in the right places; and hair or wool fine and soft.
The chest in all animals should be full, for it will be invaria-
bly found, that only such will do the most work, or fatten
easiest on the least food.
The Lungs. — From the above principle, founded on long
experience and observation, Cline inferred, and he has laid
it down as an incontrovertible position, that the lungs should
always be large ; and Youatt expresses the same opinion.
This is undoubtedly correct as to working beasts, the horse
and the ox, which require full and free respiration, to enable
them to sustain great muscular efforts. But later physiolo-
gists, Playfair and others, perhaps from closer and more accu-
rate observations, have assumed that the fattening propensity
is in the ratio of the smallness of the lungs. Earl Spencer
262 AMERICAN AORlCUtTURE.
has observed, that this is fully shown in the pig, the sheep,
the ox and the horse, whose aptitude to fatten and smaliness
of lungs, are in the order enumerated. This position is fur-
ther illustrated, by the different breeds of the same classes of
animals. The Leicester sheep have smaller lungs than the
South Down ; and it was found in an experiment made on
Lord Ducie's example farm, that a number of the former,
on a given quantity of food, and in the same time, reached
28 lbs. a quarter, while the South Downs with a greater
consumption of food, attained in the same period, only
18 lbs. The Chinese pigs have much smaller lungs than
the Irish, and the former will fatten to a given weight on a
much less quantity of food than the latter. {PJayfair.) The
principle would seem to be corroborated by the fact, that
animals generally fatten faster in proportion to the quantity
of food they consume, as they advance towards a certain
stage of maturity ; during all which time, the secretion of
internal fat is gradually compressing the size, by reducing
the room for the action of the lungs. Hence the advantage
of carrying the fattening beast to an advanced point, by
which not only the quality of carcass is improved, but the
quantity is relatively greater for the amount of food con-
sumed. These views are intimately connected and fully
correspond, with the principles of
RESPIRATION IN ANIMALS.
From careful experiments, it has been found, that all ani-
mals daily consume a much larger quantity of food than the
aggregate of what may have been retained in the system,
added to what has been expelled in the foeces and urine, and
what has escaped by perspiration. Boussingault, who com-
bines the characteristics of an ingenious chemist, a vigilant
observer and a practical agriculturist, made an experiment
with a " milch-cow and a full-grown horse, which were pla-
ced in stalls so contrived that the droppings and the urine
could be collected without loss. Before being made the sub-
jects of experiment, the animals were ballasted or fed for a
month with the same ration that was furnished to them, during
the three days and three nights which they passed in the ex-
perimental stalls. During the month, the weight of the ani-
mals did not vary sensibly, a circumstance which happily
enables us to assume that neither did the weight vary during
the seventy-two hours when they were under especial obser-
vation.
DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 263
*' The cow was foddered with after-math, hay and potatoes ;
the horse with the same hay and oats. The quantities of
forage were accurately weighed, and their precise degree of
moistness and tiicir composition were determined from ave-
rage siimples. The water drunk was measured, its saline
and earthy constituents having been previously ascertained.
The excrementitious matters passed were of course collected
with the greatest care ; the excrements, the urine, and the
milk were weighed, and the constitution of the whole estima-
ted from elementary analyses of average specimens of each.
The resuhs of the two experiments are given in the table on
the next page.
'* The t»xygen and hydrogen that are not accounted for in
(he sum of the products have not disappeared in the precise
proportions requisite to form water ; the excess of hydrogen
amounts to as many as from 13 to 15 dvvts. It is probable that
this hydrogen of the food became changed into water by com-
bining during respiration with the oxygen of the air."
264
AMERICAN AGRICULTURE.
FOOD CONSUMED BY THE HORSE IN 24 HOURS.
Weight in
the wet
sUte.
Weight in
the dry
state.
Elements
ry mattet in the food.
Forage.
Carbon-
Hydrogen.
Oxygen. | Azote.
Salts and
■ Earths.
Ill
lbs.
20
6
43
lbs. oz.
17 4
6 3
lbs. oz.
7 11
2 7
lb. oz.dwt.
0 10 7
0 3 18
Ib.oz.dwt. lb. oz.dwt
6 8 8 0 .3 2
1 10 14 0 1 7
lb. oz. dwt.
1 6 14
0 3 10
0 0 8
Total, ....
69
S3 6
10 6
1 3 5
8 7 3I 0 4 9
1 9 13
PRODUCTS VOIDED BY THE HORSE IN 24 HOURS.
Total, - . .
Total matter of
the food, .
Difference, • . .
Weight in
the wet
state.
Weight in
the dry
»tate.
Elemetitary matter in
the proiiHicts.
Carbon.
Hydrogen.
Oxygen.
Azote.
Salts and
Earths.
Ib.oz.dwt.
3 6 15
38 3 2
Ib.oz.dwt.
9 9 14
9 5 6
Ib.oz.dwt.
0 3 10
3 7 17
ib.oz.dwt.
0 0 7
0 5 16
Ib.oz.dwt.
0 1 2
3 6 14
lb. oz.dwt.
0 1 4
0 2 10
lb. oz. dwt.
0 3 10
1 6 10
71 8 17
69 0 0
10 3 0
32 6 0
3 11 7
10 6 0
0 6 2
1 3 5
3 7 16
8 7 2
0 8 14
0 4 9
I 10 0
1 9 13
37 3 3
12 3 0
6 ti 13
0 8 3
4 11 6
0 0 16
0 0 8
WATER CONSUMED BY THE
HORSE IN 24 HOURS.
With the hay,
With the oats,
Taken as drink.
Total consumed,
lbs. oz.
3 3
0 14
36 3
WATER VOIDED BY THE
HORSE IN 24 HOURS.
With the urine,
With the excrements.
Total voided, -
Water consumed,
Water exhaled by pulmonary and cutaneous transpiration.
lbs. oz.
3 6
3:3 8
26 14
38 4
FOOD CONSUMED BY THE COW IN 24 HOURS.
Totatoes, - • •
After matlihay, •
Water, ....
Total. ....
Weight in
the wet
state.
Ih. oz.dwt.
40 2 6
20 1 2
160 0 0
Weight in
the dry
state.
Ib.oz.dwt.
11 3 1
16 11 0
Elementary matter of the food.
Ib.oz.dwt.
4 11 2
7 U 11
Hydrogen. Oxygen.
lb. oz. dwt. I lb. oz. dwt.
0 7 16 4 10 17
0 11 7 5 10 17
13 10 131 1
Ib.oz.dwt.
0 1 12
0 4 17
Salts and
Earths.
b. oz. dwt.
0 6 13
1 8 6
PRODUCTS VOIDED BY THE COW IN 24 HOURS.
Elementary matter in
the products.
Products.
Uie wet
state.
the" dry
state.
Carbon.
Hydrogen.
Oxygen.
Azote.
Salts and
Earths
Excrements, - •
Urine, ....
Milk,
lb. oz.dwt.
76 1 9
21 11 12
22 10 10
Ib.oz.dwt.
10 8 13
3 6 17
3 1 0
Ib.oz.dwt.
4 7 0
0 8 7
1 8 3
Ib.oz.dwt
0 6 13
0 0 16
0 3 3
Ib.oz.dwt.
4 0 9
0 8 3
0 10 6
lb. oz dwt.
0 3 19
0 1 3
0 1 9
111. oz. dwt.
1 3 8
1 0 6
0 1 16
Total, ....
" matteiof food,
130 11 11
220 3 7
6 11 10
13 10 13
0 10 13
1 7 2
6 6 18
10 9 14
9 6 11
0 6 9
3 5 10
3 4 11
Difference, - .
99 3 16
U 8 13
6 11 3
0 8 10
6 3 16
0 0 18
0 0 19
WATER CONSUMED BY THE
COW IN 24 HOURS.
With the potatoes.
With the hay,
Takeu as drink, •
Total consumed,
• •• - 168 5
Water consumed, |168
■Water passed off by pulmonary and cutaneous transpiration.
WATER VOIDED BY THE
COW IN 24 HOURS.
1 lbs.
oz.
With the excrements, - -
- . 53
10
With the urine
. - 16
14
With the milk, ....
. - 16
3
Total Toided,
. . 86
11
DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 265
We here perceive a large loss of water, carbon, hydrogen,
&c. Nearly all this loss of carbon and hydrogen, escaped by
respiration, while most of the water, oxygen, nitrogen and
salt*, passed oft' in perspiration. In furl her illustration of the
subject of respiration, Licbig says, " from the accurate de-
lerminatiiMi of the (juanlity of carbon daily taken into the
system in the li)od, as well as of that proportion of it which
passes out of the body in the lirces and urine, unhurned, that
is, in some form uncombined with oxygen, it a{)pears that an
adult taking mtxlerate exercise, consumes 13.9 oz. of carbon
daily." The foregoing are tacts in the animal economy, ca-
|)able of vast practical l>caring in the management of our
domestic animals. Hut before Ibllowing out these principles
to their application, let us briefly exanune
THE EFFECTS OF RESPIRATION.
'»
We have seen from the experiment of Boussingault, that
there is a loss of G lbs. 6 oz. of carbon, and 8 oz. of hydrogen
in the tbod of the horse, and something less in that of the
cow, every '24 hours, which has not been left in the system,
nor has it escaped by the evacuations. What has become of
so large an amount of solid matter ? It has escaped through
the lungs and been converted into air. The carbon and
hydrogen of the food have undergone those various trans-
formations which are peculiar to the animal economy, diges-
tion, assimilation, &:c., which it is not necessary, nor will
our limits permit us here to explain ; and they appear at last
in the veinous blood, which in the course of its circulation, is
brought into the cells of the lungs. The air inhaled, is sent
through every part of their innumerable meshes, and is there
separated from the blood, only by the delicate tissues or mem-
branes which enclose it. A portion of the carbon and hydro-
gen escape from the blood into the air-cells, and at the instant
of their contact with the air, they effect a chemical union
with its oxygen, forming carbonic acid and the vapor of
water, which is then expired, and a fresh supply of oxygen
is inhaled. This operation is again repeated, through every
successive moment of animal existence. Besides other pur-
poses which it is probably designed to subserve, but which
have hitherto eluded the keenest research of chemical physi-
ology, one obvious result of it is, the elevation of the tempra-
turc of the animal system. By the ever-operating laws of
nature, this chemical union of two bodies in the formation of
a third, disengages latent heat, which taking place in contact
XJ
266 AMERICAN AGRICULTURE.
with the blood, is by it, diffused throughout the whole frame.
The effect is precisely analogous to the combustion of fuel,
oils, &c. in the open air.
Perspiration is the counteracting agent which modifies this
result, and prevents the injurious effects which under exposure
to great external heat, would insure certain destruction. And
this too, it will have been seen, is provided at the expense of
the animal food. When from excessive heat, caused by vio-
lent exercise or otherwise, by which respiration is accelerated
and the animal temperature becomes elevated, the papillae
of the skin pour the limpid fluid through their innumerable
ducts, which in its conversion into vapor, seize upon the ani-
'Mil heat and remove it from the system, producing that de-
icious coolness so grateful to the laboring man and beast in a
sultry summer's day. These two opposing principles, like
the antagonistic operations of the regulator in mechanics,
keep up a perfect balance in the vital machine, and enable
the entire division of the animal creation distinguished as
M'-arm blooded, including man and the brute, all the feathered
tribes, the whale, the seal, the walrus, &,c., to maintain an
equilibrium of temperature, whether under the equator or the
poles, on the peaks of Chimborazo, the burning sands of
Zahara, or plunged in the depths of the Arctic Ocean.
The connexion between the size of the lungs, and the ap-
titude of animals to fatten, will be more apparent from the
iact, that the carbon and hydrogen which are abstracted,
constitute two of the only three elements of fat. The lar-
ger size, the fuller play, and the greater activity of the lungs,
by exhausting more of the materials of fat, must necessarily
diminish its formation in the animal system ; unless it can
I'c shown, which has never yet been done, that the removal of
a porton of the fat-forming principles, accelerates the assimi-
lation of the remainder.
The food which supplies respiration in the herbivorous ani-
mals, afler they are deprived of the milk which furnishes it
in abundance, is the starch, gum, sugar, vegetable fats and
oDs, which exist in the vegetables, grain and roots which
they consume ; and in certain cases where there is a defi-
ciency of other food, it is sparingly furnished in woody and
cellular fibre. All these substances constitute the principal
part of dry vegetable food, and are made up of these elements,
which in starch, gum, cane-sugar and cellular fibre, exist in
precisely the same proportions, viz ; 44 per cent, of carbon,
6.2 of hydrogen and 49.8 of oxygen. Grape sugar, woody
DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 267
fibre, and vegetable and animal fats and oils are made up of
the same elements, but in different proportion?, the last con-
taining much more carbon and hydrogen than those above
specified. In the fattening animals, it is supposed the vegeta-
ble fals and oils arc inunediatcly transferred to the fat colls,
undergoing ojdy such slight modilication as perfectly adapts
liiem to the animal economy, while respiration is supplied by
the other enumeratwl vegetable matters. If these last are taken
into (he stonuich beyond the necessary demand for its object,
they too are converted by the animal tunctions into fat, and
are stored up in the system for future use. But if the supply
of the latter is insuflicient tor respiration, it first appropriates
the vegetable fat contained in the food; if this is deficient, it
draws on the accumulated stores of animal fat already secre-
ted in the system, and when these two are exhausted, it sei-
zes upon what is contained in the tissues and muscle. When
the animal cojumences drawing upon its own resources for
the support of its vital functions, deterioration begins; and if
long continued, great emaciation succeeds, which is soon
followed by starvation and death. The carnivorous animals
are furnished with their respiratory excretions, from the ani-
mal fat and fibre which exist in their food, and which the
herbivoiie had previously abstracted from the vegetable
creation.
Tlic circum stances which augment respiration arc exercise,
cold and an abundant supply of food. Exercise, besides
exhausting the materials of fat, produces a waste of fibre and
tissue, the muscular and nitrogenized parts of the animal
system ; and it is obvious from the foregoing principles, that
cold re(juires a corresponding demand for carbon and hydro-
gen to keep up the vilal warmth. The consumption of food
to the fullest extent required for invigorating the frame, cre-
ates a desire for activity and it insensibly induces full respi-
ration. The well-fed, active man unconsciously draws a
full, strong breath ; while the abstemious and the feeble,
unwittingly use it daintily, as if it were a choice commodity
not to be lavishly expended. If the first be observed when
sleep has effectually arrested volition, the expanded chest
will be seen heaving with the long-drawn sonorous breath ;
while that of the latter will exhibit the gentle repose of the
infant on its mother's breast. The difference between the
food of the inhabitants of the polar and equatorial regions, is
strikingly illustrative of the demands both for breathing and
268 AMERICAN AGRICULTURE.
perspiration. The latter are almost destitute of clothing,
and subsist on their light juicy tropical fruits, which contain
scarcely 12 per cent, of carbon, yet furnish all the elements
for abundant perspiration ; the latter are imbedded in furs,
and devour gallons of train oil or its equivalent of fat, which
contains nearly 80 per cent, of carbon, that is burnt up in
respiration to maintain a necessary warmth. The bear
retires to his den in the beginning of winter, loaded with fat,
which he has accumulated from the rich, oily mast abound-
ing in the woods in autumn. There he lies for months,
snugly coiled and perfectly dormant ; the thickness of his
shaggy coat, his dry bed of leaves and well ])rotected den
eflectualiy guarding him from cold, which in addition to his
want of exercise, draw slightly upon respiration to keep up
the vital heat. When the stores of carbon and hydrogen
contained in the fat are expended, his hunger and cold com-
pel him to leave his winter quarters, again to wander in
pursuit of food. Many of the swallow tribes in like man-
ner, hybernate in large hollow trees, and for months eke out
a torpid, scarcely perceptible existence, independent of food.
Activity and full respiration on the return of spring, demand
a support which is furnished in the myriads of flies they daily
consume. The toad and frog have repeatedly been found in
a torpid state, embedded in lime-stones, sand-stones and the
breccias, where they were probably imprisoned for thou-
sands of years without a morsel of food ; yet when exposed
to the warmth of the vital air and the stimulus of its oxygen,
they have manifested all the activity of their species. This
they are enabled to sustain only by nn enormous consump-
tion of insects. Dr. Playfair states, that in an experiment
made by Lord Ducie, 100 slieep were placed in a shed, and
ate 20 pounds of Swedes turneps each per day ; another 100
were placed in the open air, and ate 25 pounds per day; yet
the former, which had one-fifth less food, weighed, after a
few weeks, three pounds more per head than the latter. He
then fed five sheep in the open air between the21stNovem-
ber and 1st December. They consumed 90 pounds of food
per day, the temperature being at 44 degrees; and at the
end of this time they weighed two pounds less than when
first exposed. Five sheep were then placed under a shed,
and allowed to run about in a temperature of 49 degrees. At
first they consumed 82 pounds per day ; then 70 pounds,
and at the end of the time they had gained 23 pounds.
DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 260
Again, fiveslicep were placed under a shed as before, and
not allowed to take any exercise. They ate at first G4
pounds of food per day, then 58 pounds, and increased in
weight 30 pounds. Lastly, five sheep were kept quiet and
covered, and in the dark. They ale 3-5 pounds per day, and
increased eight pounds.
Mr. Childors states, that 80 Leicester sheep in the open
field, consumed 50 baskets of cut turneps per day, besides
oil-cake. On putting them in a shed, they were immediately
able to consume only 30 baske.s, and soon after but 25,
being only half the quantity required before, and yet
they fattened as rapidly as when eating the largest quantity.
The minimum of food then, required for the support of
animals, is attained when closely confined in a warm, dark
shelter ; and the maximum, when running at large, exposed
to all weathers.
THE FOOD OF ANIMALS
Should be regulated by a variety of considerations. The
young which may be destined for maturity, should be sup-
plied with milk from the dam until weaning time. No food
can be substituted for the well-filled udder of the parent, which
is so safe, healthful and nutritious. If from any cause there
is deficiency or total privation, it must be made up by that
kind of food, meal-gruel, &c., which in composition ap-
proaches nearest in quality to the milk. At a more advanced
age, or the time for weaning, grass, hay, roots or grain
may be substituted, in quantities suflicient to maintain a
steady, but not a forced growth. Stuffing can only be tole-
rated in animals which are speedily destined for the slaugh-
ter. Alternately improving and falling back is injurious to
any animal. An animal should never he fat hid once. Espe-
cially is high feeding bad for breeding animals. Much as
starving is to be deprecated, the prejudicial effects of reple-
tion are still greater. Tlie calf or Iamb intended for the
butcher, may be pushed forward with all possible rapidity.
Horses or colts should never exceed a good working or breed-
ing condition.
Purposes fulfilled by different kinds of food. — The
objects designed to bf3 answered by food, are to a certain
extent the same. All food is intended to meet the demands
of respiration and nutrition, and fattening to a greater or
less degree. But some are better suitted to one object than
270 AMERICAN AGRICULTURE.
Others, and it is for the intelligent farmer to select such as
are best for accomplishing his particular purposes. The
very young animal requires large quantities of the phosphate
of lime for the formation of bone ; and this is yielded in the
milk in laager proportions than from any other food. The
growing animal wants bone, muscle and a certain amount of
fat, and this is procured from the grasses, roots and grain ;
from the former wlien fed alone^ and from tiie two latter
when mixed with hay or grass. Horses, cattle and sheep,
need hay to qualify the too watery nature of the roots, and
the too condensed nutritiveness of the grain. Animals that
are preparing for the shambles, require vegetable oils or fat,
starch, sugar or gum. The first is contained in great abun-
dance in flax and cotton-seed, the sun-flower and many other
of the mucilaginous seeds. Indian corn is the most fatten-
ing grain. The potato contains the greatest proportion of
starch, and the sugar beet has large quantities of sugar, and
both consequently are good for stall-feeding. The ripe sugar-
cane is perhaps the most fattening of vegetables, if we except
the oily seeds and grain. The Swedes turnep is a good food
to commence feeding to cattle and sheep, but where great
ripeness in animals is desired, they should be followed with
beets, carrots or potatoes and grain. The table of the
average composition of the different crops, which we
insert from Johnston, affords another view of the nutri-
tive qualities of various kinds of food, before given from
Boussingault, page 158, and from which it is principally
abridged, and it will be found a valuable reference for their
nutritive and fattening qualities. He says, " in drawing up
this table, I have adopted the proportions of gluten, for the
most part, from Boussingault. Some of them, however,
appear to be very doubtful. The proportions of fatty matter
are also very unceitain. With a few exceptions, those above
given have been taken fromSprengel, and they are, in gene-
ral, stated considerably too low. It is an interesting fact,
that the proportion of fatty matter in and immediately under
the husk of the grains of corn, is generally much greater
than in the substance of the corn itself. Thus I have found
the pollard of wheat to yield more than twice as much oil
as the fine flour obtained from the same sample of grain.
The four portions separated by the miller from a superior
sample of wheat grown in the neighborhood of Durham,
gave of oil respectively : — fine flour, 1 -5 per cent. ; pollard,
DOMESTIC AmMALS. 2tl
2*4; boxings, 3*6; and bran, 3*3 percent. Dumas states
that the husk of oats sometimes yields as much as five or
six per cent, of oil." The columns under starch, &c.,
and fatty matter, denote the value for respiration or sus-
taining life and the fattening qualities ; that under gluten,
the capacity for yielding muscle and supporting labor ; and
saline matter indicates something of the proportions which
are capable of being converted into bones.
Hank or SUrch, Gluten, al-
Wiiter. wcMxty gum,iin() bamrn, le- Fatty Sniine
fibre sucar. gumin, ftr. matter. matter.
Wheat, ... 16 15 5.') 10tol5 2to4J. 20
Barley, . . .15 15 60 12 ? 25 J. 20
Oats,'. ... 16 20 .50 14-5? 56 J. 3-5
Rve, .... 12 10 60 14-5 30 10
Indian corn, .14 15? 50 120 5 to 9 D. 1-5
Buckwheat,. .16? 25? 50 14-5 04? 1-5
Beans, ... 16 10 40 28-0 2+ 30
Peas, .... 13 8 50 240 2-8 ? 2-8
Potatoes, . . 75? 5? 12? 225 0-3 0-8 to 1
Turneps, . . 85 3 10 1-2 ? 0-8 to 1
Carrots, ... 85 3 10 20 0-4 10
Meadow hay, . 14 30 40 71 2to5D. 5 to 10
Clover hay, . . 14 25 40 9-3 3 0 9
Pea straw, . I0tol5 25 45 12-3 1-5 5
Oat, do. . . 12 45 .^5 1-3 0-8 6
Wheat, do. . 12 to 15 .50 30 1-3 0-5 5
Barley, do. . .do. 50 30 1-3 0-8 5
Rye, .... do. 45 38 1-3 0-5 3
Indian corn, do. 12 25 52 30 1-7 4
This table, it will be perceived, is far from settling the
precise relative value of the different enumerated articles.
An absolute, unchanging value can never be assumed of any
one substance, as the quality of each must differ with the
particular variety, the soil upon which it is grown, the cha-
racter of the season, the manner of curing, and other cir-
cumstances. An approximate relative value is all ttiat can
be expected, and this we may hope ere long to obtain, from
the spirit of analytical research which is now developed and
in successful progress. More especially do we need these
investigations with American products, some of which are but
partially cultivated in Europe, whence we derive most of our
analyses. And many which are there reared, differ widely
from those produced here, as these also differ from each
other. What, for instance, is the character of meadow hay 7
272 AMERICAN AGRICULTURE.
W, know that this varies as 4 to 1, according to the parti-
cu'ir kinds grown ; and our Indian corn has certainly a less
range than from 5 to 9.
The changes in the Food of Animals. — Potatoes when
first ripe, are estimated to be worth for feeding purposes,
nearly twice as much as when old ; and we have seen that
the relative value of the different kinds varies greatly at the
same age and under similar conditions of growth. Terrault
ascertained by careful experiment, that hay, clover and
lucern lost much of their nutritive qualities by drying, and
in lucern this loss amounted to about 35 per cent. This is
an important consideration in the feeding of green and dry
forage. Oats are among the best feed, both tor young and
working animals ; but it has been found that they are greatly
improved for the latter, and perhaps for both, by allowing
the new crop to remain till the latter part of winter before
feeding. The improvement by steaming and cooking food
has been alluded to in a previous chapter. Food properly
managed, can never be made worse by cooking for any ani-
mals, although it has not been considered so essential for
working, and generally for ruminating animals, as for swine,
and such as were stall-feeding. But the alteration produced
in cooking, by fitting it for a more ready assimilation, must
as a general rule, add much to the value of the food and the
rapid improvement of the animal. The effect of slight fer-
mentation or souring the food, produces the same result.
Animals accustomed to this acid food, will reject what is un-
prepared when they can get at the former ; and we have no
doubt from our own experience, that there is a saving in
thus preparing it, from 20 to 40 per cent. A mixture of
food should be supplied to all animals. Like man, they tire
of any constant aliment. For such, especially, as are fatten-
ing, and which it is desirable to mature with the greatest
rapidity, a careful indulgence of their appetite should be
studied, and it should be provided with whatever it most
craves, if it be adapted to the secretion of fat. Cutting,
crushing and grinding the food ; cooking, souring and mix-
ing it, are each by themselves an improvement in feeding,
and frequently two or more of these preparations combined,
are of great utility in effecting the object proposed.
The profit of feeding, it is evident, consists in a valua-
ble return from the animal of the food consumed. In the
horse, this can only be received in labor or breeding ; in the
DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 273
OX, from labor and flesh ; in the cow, from the milk, the
flesh and her young. In the sheep, it may be returned in its
fleece, its carcass or its progeny ; and in the swine only by
its progeny and flesh. The manure we expect from all; and
if this be not secured and judiciously used, few animals
about the farm will be found to yield a satisfactory profit for
their food and attention ; though it is evident, it sliould form
but a small part of the return looked for. Animals are only
profitable to the farmer when they yield a daily in'^ome, as
in its milk or labor, or annually, by its young or fleece,
unle^ it be in a course of regular improvement, either in its
ordinary growth or preparation for the butcher. The animal
must consume a certain amount of food merely to keep up
its stationary condition, and to supply the materials for waslv.-,
respiration, perspiration and the evacuations. These mu^t
first be provided for in all cases before the farmer can expect
any thing for the food. Frequent observation has shown,
that an ox will consume about two per cent, of his weight
of hay per day, to maintain his condition. If put to mode-
rate labor, an increase of this quantity, to three per cent.,
will enable him to perform his work and still maintain his
flesh. If to be fattened, he requires about 4:h per cent, of his
weight daily, in nutritious food. A cow to remain stationary
and give no milk eats two per cent, of her weight daily, and
if in milk, she will consume three per cent. If these state-
ments are correct, which it is certain they are in principle,
though they may not be entirely in degree, it will require
the same ipod to keep three yoke of cattle in idleness, as
two at work, and the food of every two that are idle, will
nearly support one under the most rapid condition of fatting.
Two cows may be kept in milk with the same feed that will
keep three without. No practice ie more impolitic, than
barely to sustain the stock through the winter, or a part of
the year, as is the case in too many instances, and allow
them to improve only when turned on grass in summer.
Besides subjecting them to the risk of disease, consequent
upon their privation of food, nearly half the year is lost in
their use, or in maturing them for profitable disposal, when
if one-third of the stock had been sold, the remainder would
have been kept in a rapidly improving condition, and at three
years of age, they would probably be of equal value as other-
wise at five or six. It is true that breed has .much to do with
L*
274 AMERICAN AGRICULTURE.
this rapid advancement, but breed is useless without food to
develop and mature it.
CHAPTER XV.
NEAT OR HORNED CATTLE.
The value of our neat cattle -exceeds that of any other of
the domestic animals in the United States, and they are as
widely disseminated and more generally useful. Like the
sheep and all our domestic brutes, they have been so long
and so entirely subject to the control of man, that their ori-
ginal type is unknown. They have been allowed entire free-
dom from all human direction or restraint for hundreds of
years, on the boundless pampas of South America, California
and elsewhere ; but when permitted to resume that natural
condition, by which both plants and animals approximate in
character to their original head, they have scarcely deviated
in any respect from the domestic herds from which they are
descended. From this it may be inferred, that our present
races do not differ in any of their essential features and cha-
racteristics from the original stock.
VARIOUS DOMESTIC BREEDS.
Cultivation, feed and climate, have much to do in deter-
mining the form, size and character of cattle. In Lithuania,
cattle attain an immense size, with but moderate pretensions
to general excellence, while the Irish Kerry and Scotch
Grampian cows but little exceed the largest sheep ; yet the
last are compact and well-made, and yield a good return for
the food consumed. Every country and almost every district
has its peculiar breeds, which by long association have
become adapted to the food and circumstances of its position,
and when found profitable, they should be exchanged for
NEAT OR HORNED CAl^LE. 275
Others, only ufier the most thorough trial of superior fitness
for the particular location, in those proposed to be introduced.
More attention has been paid to the improvement of the vari-
ous breeds of cattle in England than in any other country;
and it is there tlioy have attained the greatest perfection in
form and character, for the various purposes to which they
are devoted. We have derived directly from Great Britain,
not only the parent stock from which nearly all our cattle are
descended, but also most of those fresh importations, to which
wo have looked for improvement on the present race of ani-
mals. A tew choice Dutch cattle, generally black and white,
and of large size, good forms and good milkers, with a decided
tendency to fatten, have been occasionally introduced among
us, but not in numbers sufficient to keep up a distinct breed ;
and in the iiands of their importers or immediate successors,
their peculiar characteristics have soon become merged in
those herds by which they were surrounded. Some few
French and S()anish cattle, the descendants of those remote
importations, made when the colonies of those kingdoms held
possession of our northern, western and southern frontiers,
still exist in those sections ; and although possessing no
claims to particular superiority, at least in any that have
come within our notice, yet they are so well acclimated, and
adapted to their various localities, as to render it inexpedient
to attempt supplanting them, except with such as are par-
ticularly meritorious.
^p^^Nativk cattlk. — This is a favorite term with Americans,
and comprehends everv thing in the country excepting such
as arc of a pru-e and distinct breed. It embraces some of the
best, some of the worst, and some of almost every variety,
shai)c, color and character of the Bovine race. The desig-
nation has no farther meaning, than that they are indigenous
to the soil, and do not belong to any well defined or distinct
variety. The best native cattle of the Union, are undoubtedly
to be found in the north-eastern states. Most of the early
emigrant cattle in that section, were from the southern part
of England, where the Devon cattle abound, and though not
bearing a clo3e resemblance to that breed, unless it has been
impressed upon them by more recent importations ; yet a
large number have that general approximation in character,
features and color, which entitles them to claim a near kin-
dred with one of the choicest cultivated breeds. They have
the same symmetry, but not in gencml the excessive delicacy
276 AMERICAN AGRICULTURE.
of form which characterizes the Devons ; the same intelli-
gence, activity and vigor in the v^orking cattle, and the same
tendency to fattening; but they arc usually better for the
dairy than their imported ancestors. Some valualjlc inter-
mixtures have occasionally been made among them. There
have been many Ijrindle cattle widely disseminated, of great
merit as workers, and not often surpassed for the dairy and
shambles. The Herefbrds have in a few instances been intro-
duced among the eastern cattle, and apparently with great
improvement. The importation made by Admiral Cotfin, of
four choice Hereford bulls and cows, which were presented
to the State Ag. Soc. of Massachusetts, nearly thirty years
since, is especially to be mentioned, as resulting in decided
benefit wherever they were disseminated. Some of the old
Yorkshire, or as they are sometimes styled, the long-horned
Durhams, have been introduced, though these have been iso-
lated individuals and never perpetuated as a separate breed.
A few small importations have been made of the Short Horns
and Ayrshires, but neither of these have been bred in the New
England states in distinct herds to any extent. Their native
breed has hitherto, and generally with good reason, possessed
claims on the attention of their owners, which (with some
slight exceptions) it has not been in the power of any rivals
to supplant. With entire adaptedness to the soil, climate and
wants of the farmer, an originally good stock has been care-
fully fostered, and the breeding animals selected with a strict
reference to their fitness for perpetuating the most desirable
qualities. As a consequence of this intelligent and persever-
ing policy, widely, but not universally pursued, they have a
race of cattle, though possessing considerable diversity of size
and color, yet coinciding in a remarkable degree in the pos-
session of those utilitarian features, which so justly commend
them to our admiration.
In proceeding south-westvvardly through New York, New
Jersey, and elsewhere, we shall find in this branch of stock, a
greater diversity and less uniform excellence ; though they
have extensive numbers of valuable animals. Here and there
will be found a choice collection of some favorite foreign
breed, which emigrants have brought from their native home,
as did the Pagan colonists, their penates or household gods,
the cherished associates of early days, and the only relics of
their father land. Such are an occasional small herd of polled
or hornless cattle, originally derived from Suffolk or Galloway,
excellent both for the dairy and shambles ; the Kyloe, or West
NEAT on HORNED CATTLE. 277
Highland (Scottish,) a hardy animal, unrivalled for beef; the
VVelsii runt ; the Irish cattle ; the crumpled horn Alderney,
and somo othei*s.
Tin: Dkvon is ainon«^ the oldi^st distinctly cultivated hreods
in this country, as he undoubtedly is of En«riiind, and proba-
biy he is the most universal favorite. This poj)ularity is well
deserved, and it is based upon several substantial considera-
tions. They are beautifidly formed, possessing excessive
fineness and symmetry of frame, yet with sutfieient bone and
muscle to render them perfectly hardy, and they ar(^ among
the most vigorous and active of working cattle. They have
great uniformity of appearance in every feature, size, shape,
horns and color. The cows and bulls app(»ar small, but the
ox is much larger, and both that and the dam, on cutting up,
are found to weigh much beyond the estimates which an eye
accustomed only to oixlinary breeds, would have assigned to
them. The flesh is finely marbled or intersp<;rsed with alter-
nate fat and lean, and is of superior quality and flavor. The
cows invariably yield milk of great richness, and when appro-
priately bred, none surpass them for the quantity of butter and
cheese it yields. Mr. Bloomfield, the manager of the late
Lord Leicester's estate at Holkham, has, by careful attention,
somewhat increased the size without impairing the beauty of
their form, and so successtul has he been in developing their
milking properties, that his average product of butter from
each cow, is 4 lbs. per week for the whole year. He has
challenged England to milk an equal number of cows of any
breed, against 40 pure Devons, to be selected out of his own
herd, without as yet having found a competitor. Although this
is not a test of their merits, and by no means decides their su-
periority, yet it shows the great confidence reposed in them
by their owner. Tlie Devon ox under six years old, has
come up to a nett dead weight of 1,593 lbs., and at three
years 7 months to 1,310 lbs., with 160 lbs. of rough tallow.
Description. — The Devon is of medium size, and so sym-
metrical as to appear small. The color is invariably a deep,
mahogany red, with usually a white udder and strip under the
belly, and the tuft at the end of the tail is red in the calves,
but white in the older animal. The head is small, broad in
the forehead, and somewhat indented. The muzzle is delicate,
and both the nose and the rings around the eye in the pure
breed, are invariably of a bright, clear, orange. The cheeks
and face are thin and fleshless ; the horns clear, smooth, and
of a yellowish w.'iite, handsomely curved upwards. The neck
278 AMERICAN AGRICULTURE.
is small and delicate at its junction with the head, but is well
expanded in its attachment to the breast and shoulders. The
last has the true slant for working, activity and strength, in
which it excels all other breeds of equal weight. The barrel
is round and deep, with a projecting brisket. The back is
broad and level ; the flank full ; narrow hips ; the rumps
long, and the quarters well developed, and capable of holding
a great quantity of the most valuable meat. The tail is on a
level with the back, and gracefully tapers like a drum-stick,
to the tuft on the end. The legs are of peculiar delicacy and
fineness, yet possess great strength. The skin is of medium
thickness, of a rich orange hue, pliable to the touch, and co-
vered with a thick coating of fine, soft curly hair. The Devon
is intelligent, gentle and tractable ; is good for milk, and unsur-
passed for the yoke and for fattening. No animal is better
suited to our scanty or luxuriant hill pastures than the Devon,
and none make a better return for the attention and food re-
ceived. They insure a rapid improvement when mixed with
other cattle, imparting their color and characteristics in an em-
inent degree. Several importations have been made into this
country within the last 30 years, of the choicest animals, and
though not yet numerous in the United States, we possess
some of the best specimens that exist.
The short horns or Dukhams are decidedly the most
showy and taking among the cattle species. They are of all
colors between a full, deep red, and a pure creamy white ; but
generally have both intermixed in larger or smaller patches, or
intimately blended in a beautiful roan. Black, brown or brin-
dled are not recognized among pure bred Short Horns. Their
form is well-spread, symmetrical and imposing, and capable
of sustaining a large weight of valuable carcass. The horn
was originally branching and turned upward^ but now fre-
quently has a downward tendency, with the tips pointing to-
wards each other. They are light and comparatively short,
clear, highly polished and waxy. The head is finely formed,
with a longer fice but not so fine a muzzle as the Devon.
The neck is delicately formed without dewlap; the brisket
projecting, and the great depth and width of the chest giving
short, well-spread fore legs. The crops are good ; back and
loin broad and flat ; ribs projecting ; deep flank and twist ;
tail well set up, strong at the roots and tapering. They have
a thick covering of soft hair, and are mellow to the touch,
technically termed liandling well. They mature early and
rapidly for the quantity of food consumed, yielding largely of
NEAT OR HORNED CATTLE. 279
good boef with little offal. As a breed, they are excellent
milkers, though some families of the short horns surpass
others ill this ([uality. They are inferior to the Devons, in
their value as working oxen and in the richness of their milk.
The Short Horns are assigned a high antiquity, by the oldest
breeders in the counties of Durham and Yorkshire, England,
the place of their origin, and for a long time, of their almost
exclusive breeding. From the marked and decided improve-
ment which they stamp upon other animals, they are evidently
an ancient breed, though much the juniors of the Devon and
Ileieford. Their highly artificial style, form and character
are unquestionably tlie work of deeply studied and long con-
tinued art ; and to the same degree that they have been mould-
ed in umesisting compliance with the dictation of their breed-
ers, have they departed from that light and more agile form
of the Devon, which conclusively and beyond the possibility
of contradiction, mark the more primitive race.
The importation of Short Horns into this country is claimed
to have been previous to 1783. They arc the reputed ances-
tors of many choice animals existing in Virginia, in the latter
part of the last century, and which were known as the milk
breed; and some of these, witli others termed the beef breed,
were taken into Kentucky by Mr. Patton, as early as 1797,
and their descendants, a valuable race of animals, were much
disseminated in the west, and known as the Patton stock.
The first authentic importations we have recorded, are those
of Mr. Ileaton, into Westchester, N. Y., in 1791 and '90,
from the valuable hei-ds of Messrs. Culley and Colling, which
consisted of several choice bulls and cows. These were for
many years bred pure, and their progeny was widely scat-
tered. {American Herd Book,) They were also imported
into New York, by Mr. Cox, in 1816 ; by Mr. Bullock, in
1822; by the late Hon. S. Van Rensselaer in 1823, and
immediately after by Mr Charles Henry Hall, of Harlaem.
Some small importations were made into Massachusetts be-
tween 1817 and '25, by several enterprising agriculturists,
Messrs. Coolidge, Williams, and others; into Connecticut
by Mr. Hall and others ; into Pennsylvania by Mr. Powell;
and into Ohio and some other states, by various individuals
early in the present century. Since the first importations,
larger accessions from the best English herds have been fre-
quently made, and with the nice regard for pedigrees which
the introduction of the herd book, and careful purity in
breeding has produced, the Short Horns have become the
280 AMERICAN AGRICULTURE.
most extensive pure-bred family of cattle in the United
States.
Daring the speculative times of 1835 to 1840, they brought
high prices, frequently from $500 to $1000, and sometimes
more. The following years of pressure, reduced their market
price below their intrinsic value, but the tide is again turning,
and they are now in some demand, but still at prices far
below their utility and merits. They have from the first, been
favorites iu the rich, corn vallies of the West, their early
maturity and great weight giving them a preference ov^er any
other breed. The only drawback to this partiality, is their
inability from their form and weight, to reach remote eastern
markets in good condition ; an inconvenience now in a great
measure remedied, by the recent remission of duties on for-
eign beef in the English market, which makes them of nearly
equal value where fed, to pack for exportation. On light
lands and scanty pastures they will probably never be largely
introduced. All heavy animals require full forage within
a limited compass, so as to fill their stomachs at once, and
quietly compose themselves to their digestion.
The weights reached by the Short Horns in England, as
given by Mr. Berry, have been enormous. Two oxen, six
years old, weighed nett, 1820 lbs. each. A heifer of three
years, and fed on grass and hay alone, weighed 1260 lbs. A
four-year-old steer, fed on hay and turneps only, dressed 1890
lbs. A cow reached the prodigious weight of 1778 lbs. A
heifer, running with her dam, and on pasture alone, weighed
at seven months, 476 lbs. An ox, seven years old, weighed
2362 lbs. From their comparatively small numbers in this
country, most of them have been retained for breeders, and
few have as yet been fattened, and such only as were deci-
dedly inferior. The animals which have been extensively
produced by crossing upon our former stocks, have given
evidimce of great and decided improvement ; and the Short
Horns, and their grade descendants are destined at no
distant day, to occupy a large portion of the richest feeding
grounds in the United States.
Herefords arc the only remaining pure breed, which has
hitherto occupied the attention of graziers in this country.
Like the Devons, they are supposed to be one of the most
ancient races of British cattle. Marshall gives the following
description : " The countenance pleasant, cheerful, open ; the
forehead broad ; eye full and lively ; horns bright, taper, and
spreading ; head small ; chap lean ; neck long and tapering ;
NEAT OR HORNED CATTLE. 281
chest deep ; bosom broad, and projecting forward ; shoulder-
bono thin, flat, no way protuberant in bone (?), but fiiU and
mellow in flesh ; chest full ; loin broad ; hips standing wide,
and level with tho chine ; quarters long, and wide at the
nock ; rump even with the level of the back, and not droop-
ing, nor standing high and sharp above the quarters ; tail
slender and neatly haired ; barrel round and roomy ; the
carcase throughout deep and well s|)read ; ribs broad, stand-
ing flat aiid close on the outer surface, forming a smooth,
even barrel, the hindmost large and full of length ; round
bone small, snug, and not ))romincnt ; thigh clean, and
regularly tapering ; legs upright and short ; bone below the
knee and hock small ; feet of middle size ; flank large ; flesh
everywhere mellow, soft, and yielding pleasantly to the touch,
esjwxially on the chine, the shoulder, and the ribs ; hide
mellow, supple, of a middle thickness, and loose on the neck
and buckle ; coat neatly liaired, bright and silky ; color, a
middle red, with a bald face characteristic of the true
Herefordshire breed."
Youatt further describes them as follows : " They are
usually of a darker red ; some of them are brown, and even
yellow, and a few are brindled ; but they are principally
distinguished by their white faces, throats, and bellies. In a
few the white extends to the shoulders. The old Herefords
were brown or red-brown, with not a spot of white about*
them. It is only within the last fifty or sixty years that it
has been the fashion to breed for white faces. Whatever
may be thought of the change of color, the present breed is
certainly far superior to the old one. The hide is considerably
thicker than that of the Devon, and the beasts are more
hardy. Compared with the Devons, thoy are shorter in the
leg, and also in the carcase; higher, and broader, and
heavier in the chine ; rounder and wider across the hips, and
better covered with fat ; the thigh fuller and more muscular,
and the shoulders larger and coarser. They are not now
much used for husbandry, although their form adapts them
for the heavier work ; and they have all the honesty and
docility of the Devon ox, and greater strength, if not his
activity. The Herefordshire ox fattens speedily at a very
early age, and it is therefore more advantageous to the farmer,
and perhaps to the country, that he should go to market at
three years old, than be kept longer as a beast of draught.
They are not as good milkers as the Devons. This is so
generally acknowledged, that while there are many dairies of
282 AMERICAN AGRICULTURE.
Devon cows in various parts of the country, a dairy of
Herefords is rarely to be found. To compensate for this,
they are even more kindly feeders than the Devons. Their
beef may be objected to by some as being occasionally a
little too large in the bone, and the fore-quarters being coarse
and heavy ; but the meat of the best pieces is often very fine-
grained and beautifully marbled. There are few cattle more
priced in the market than the genuine Herefords."
There have been several importations of the Herefords
into the United States, which by crossing with our native
cattle, have done great good ; but with the exception of a
few fine animals at the South, we are not aware of their
being kept in a state of purity, till the importation of the
splendid herd, within the last six years, by Messrs. Corning
and Sotham of Albany, N. Y. These Herefords are among
the very best which England can produce, and come up fully
to the description of the choicest of the breed. Mr. Sotham,
after an experience of several years, is satisfied with the
cows, for the dairy, and he has given very conclusive pub-
lished statements of the results of their milking qualities,
from which it may be properly inferred, that Youatt drew his
estimates from some herds which were quite indifterent in
this property. They are peculiarly ihe grazier's animal, as
they improve rapidly and mature early on medium feed.
They are excelled for the yoke, if at all, only by the Devons ;
which in some features they strongly resemble. Both are
probably divergent branches of the same original stock.
The Ayrshire is a breed that has been much sought after
of late years, from their reputation for fine dairy qualities.
The milk is good both in quantity and quality, yielding, ac-
cording to a recent statement of Mr. Tennant, of Scotland,
who owns a large herd, 15 quarts per day during the best of
the season, 12 of which made a pound of butter. The pro-
duct of the latter averages about 170 pounds per annum to
each cow. Another authority says, on the best low-land pas-
ture, a good cow yields nearly 4000 quarts per year. This
is a large quantity, and implies good cows and extra feed.
Mr. Cushing, of Masssachusetts, who imported several select
animals, without regard to their cost, informed us after three
or four years trial, that he did not perceive any superiority in
them, over the good native cows of that state, for dairy purpo-
ses. A large number have been imported in detached parcels,
and scattered through the country. They are good animals,
but seem to combine no valuable properties in a higher de-
NEAT OR ROBNED CA.TTLE. 288
grec than arc to be found in our own good cattle, and ospe-
cially such as art^ produrod from a cross of the Short Horn hull
of a good miking family, on our native cows. They mo evi-
dently a recent breed, and do not therefore possess that uni-
lormity of appearance and (juality which atta(dics to one of
long cultivation. Mr. Aiton, of Scotland, givers the following
account of them : "The dairy breed of Scotland have l)cen
formed chiefly by skilful management, within the lasf 50
years; and they are still improving and extending to otluu*
countries. Till after 1770, the cows in C'unningham were
small, ill-fed, ill-shaped, and gave but little milk. Some
cows of a larger breed and of a brown and white color, were
about that time brought to Ayrshire from Teeswater, and from
Holland, by some of the patriotic noblemen of Ayrshire; and
thege Iwing put on good pasture, yielded more milk than the
native breed, and their calves were much sought after by tl^e
farmers."
We may fairly infer from the foregoing, which is deemed
indisputable authority; from the locality of their origin, in
the neighborhood of the Short Horns ; and from their general
resemblance, both externally and in their general characteris-
tics to the grade animals, that they owe their principal excel-
lence to this long established breed.
MANAGEMENT OF CALVES.
The safest and least troublesome manner of raising calves,
is at the udder of the dam ; and whenever the milk is con-
verted into butter and cheese, we believe this to be the most
economical. The milk of one good cow is sutficient, with a
run of fresh, sweet pasture, to the feeding of two calves at the
same time, and if we allow the calves to arrive at three or
four months of age before weaning, we may safely estimate,
that one good cow will yield a quantity of milk in one season,
fully equivalent to bringing up four calves to a weaning age.
By keeping the calf on the fresh milk, whether he take it
directly from the udder, or warm from the pail, all risk of dis-
ordered bowels is avoided. The milk is precisely adapted to
the perfect health and thrift of the young, and whenever we
substitute for it any other food, we must watch carefully that
not the slightest mismanagement produces disorder, lest more
is lost by disease or want of improvement, than is gained by
the milk of which they are robbed.
The first milk of the cow after calving, is slightly purgative,
which is essential to cleanse the stomach of the calf. It is
284 AMERICAN AGRICULTtTiiE.
moreover perfectly worthless, for two or three days, for any
other purpose except for swine. The calf will seldom take
all the milk at first, and whatever is left in the bag should be
thoroughly removed by the hand. If the calf is destined for
the butcher, he must have all the milk he wants for at least
six weeks, and eight or ten is better ; and if the cow does not
furnish enough, he ought to be fed gruel or linseed tea. He
must be closely confined in a snug, but clean and airy stable,
and the darker this is, and the more quiet he is kept, the more
readily he will fatten. If designed to be reared, the safest
and least troublesome method, is to keep the calf ou new milk.
If saving the milk be an object, it is still doubtful whether it
is not better that he should have a part of it fresh from the
cow, and depend for his remaining food on a good grass or
clover pasture, meal or roots. Some farmers never allow the
calf to approach the dam, but take it when first dropped, and
put a handful of salt in its mouth, which is daily repeated till
he is put to grass. This has a purgative effect, similar to
the first milk. Flax-seed is then prepared by boiling a pint
in four to six quarts of water, and diluted with hay tea
till rather thicker than milk, and fed at blood heat. Hay tea
is made, by boiling a pound of sweet, well cured clover, in one
and a half gallons of clean water. As the calf becomes older,
oat, barley, rye or Indian meal m.ay be scalded and added to
the flax seed. A better way when the skim milk is of little
consequence, is to withdraw him from the cow after three or
four days, then scald the milk, adding a little oat meal, and
cool to the natural temperature of the milk, and feed it. Oats,
either crushed or ground, is the best and safest grain for all
young stock. The milk should not stand more than half a
day before feeding to young calves. As they advance in age,
it may be fed rather older, but should never be allowed to
become sour ; nor should it ever be fed cold. Connected
with this feed, should be a good range of short, sweet pasture,
and shelter against both sun and storms. If expedient, at
about 10 weeks olrl, he may be safely weaned, but four
months nursing is better for tlie calf. If allowed too much
milk for several months, it is injurious to the future devel-
opment of the young. It does not distend the stomach pro-
perly, nor call into use its ruminating habits. Calves thus
brought up, have often proved light bellied, indifferent feed-
ers, and decidedly inferior animals. When the calf is remo-
ved from the cow, they should be effectually separated from
sight and hearing, as recognition create uneasiness, and is
NKAT OK IIOKNEI) rATfLE. 28^
an impediment to thrill in hutli. If there be any deficiency
of suitable pasture for the calf, a small rack and trough
should be placed under the shed in his range, and fine hay put
in the former, and wheat bran or oat meal with a little salt, in
tlu^ latter. It is also well to have resin within its reach, and
if inclined to scour, add a little rennet to its footl ; if costive,
administer pork broth. For disordered bowels, mix 2 dr.
rhubarb, 2 oz, castor oil, and i dr. ginger, with a little warm
milk or gruel ; or give 2 oz. castor oil alone, or three oz.
of Kpsom salts. A homely remedy for scours, is to adminis.
tor half a pint of cider, and as much blood taken from the
calfs neck. Calves, like all young stock, should bo allowed
to change their teiH\ gradually, from new milk to skinuncd,
or from the latter to other food. Their stomachs are delicate,
and need gentle, moderate changes, when necessary to make
them at all. Much depends on the care and attention they
receive. A comfortable shelter, with a dry, warm l>ed, suit-
able food, regularly given three times a day at blood heat,
and keeping the stomach in proper order, will do much
to bring them f )rward rapidly, and with a small expenditure
of food. The calf requires to be supplied through the winter
with an abundance of fine, sweet hay and roots, the latter
either chopped or mashed by a roller, with the addition of a
trifle of meal or oats, and a full supply of salt and pure water.
When there are larger animals on the premises, the calves
ought to be kept by themselves. They should be sustained
on their winter Cecd (he following spring, until the grass fur*
nishes a good bite on a well-compacted sod. The change
from hay to grass must be gradual, unless the latter is consi-
derably matured. The extreme relaxation of the bowels from
the sudden change, frequently produces excessive purging.
A slight and temporary relax from the early spring grass, is
not objectionable.
Bkeeding. — The young animals should never be put to
breeding under 15 months old, so as to bring their first calf
at two years old ; nor then, unless they have large size and
good feed. Much depends on the progress towards maturity,,
and the supply of food in selecting the proper time for breed-
ing. Some are as ready for this at a year and a half, as others
are at three. Early breeding gives delicacy and symmetry
to the form of the heifer, but it checks its growth, and when
it is found to put her back too much, she may be allowed to
rest for a few months, or even a year, to bring her up to the
desired standard. These remarks apply principally to choice
286 AMERICAN AGRICULTURE.
breeding, or as it is some times termed fancy stock. For ordi-
nary milch cows which have been moderately fed, three years
is a proper age to come in, after which they must be milked
as regularly, and as late before drying as possible.
Breakinc Steers should be commenced when two or
three years old. Some begin with the calf, accustoming him
to a light yoke and occasional training. This practice will
do as a pastime for trustworthy boys, as it makes them gentle
and manageable afterwards, but is hardly worth a man's
time. If always carefully handled when young, they will be
found tractable. They should at first be placed behind a pair
of well-broke cat(4e, nor should they be put to hard laV)or until
quite grown, strong and perfectly accustomed to the yoke.
If properly managed, cattle may be trained with all the
docility, intelligence and much of the activity of the horse.
That they are not is more frequently the fault of their
masters.
Management of Oxen. — To procure perfect working
cattle, it is necessary to begin with the proper breed. Many
parts of the country will furnish such as are well suited to
this purpose. A strong dash of Devon or Hereford blood
is desirable when it needs to be improved. A well-formed, com-
pact, muscular body; clean sinewy limbs ; strong dense bones ;
large well-formed joints, Avith a mild expressive eye, is essen-
tial for good working oxen. After breaking, they must be
led along gently, and taught before they are required to per-
form their task, and never put to a load which they cannot
readily move, nor dulled by prolonging exertion beyond that
point when it becomes irksome. A generous diet is neces-
sary to keep up the spirit and ability of cattle, when there is
hard work to be done. The horse and mule are fed with their
daily rations of grain when at hard service, and if the spirit
of the ox is to be maintained, he should be equally well fed,
when as fully employed. Great and permanent injury is the
result of niggardly feeding and severe toil, exacted from the
uncomplaining animal. His strength declines, his spirit
flags, and if this treatment be continued, he rapidly becomes
the stupid, moping brute, which is shown off in degrad-
ing contrast to the more spirited horse, that performs, it may
be, one half the labor, on twice his rations. The ox should
be as little abused by threats and whipping, as by stinted feed
and overtasked labor. Loud and repeated halloing, or the
severe use of the lash, is as impolitic, as it is cruel and dis-
graceful. We never witness this barbarity without wishing
NEAT OR IIORNBD CATTLE. 287
the brutes could change places, long enough at least to teach
the biped, that humanity by his own sufferings, which his
reason and sensibility have failed to inspire. Clear and intel-
ligible, \v{ low and gentle words, arc all that are necessary
to guide the well-trained, spirite<l ox. The stick, or whip is
needed rather to indicate the precise movement desired,
than as a stimulant, or means of punishment. The ox under-
stands a moderate tone more perlectly than a boisterous one;
for all sounds become indistinct as they augment. He loses
his sensitiveness as the drivers voice increases, till at last ho
becomes almost as brutal. It is of great advantage to have
oxen well trained to backing. They m.iy soon be taught by
beginning with an empty cart on a descent ; then on a level;
then with an increasing load, or up-hill, till the cattle will
back nearly the same load they will draw. Some oxen have
a bad trick of hauling or trotcding. Changing to opposite
sides, longer or shorter yokes, and more than all, gentle treat-
ment are the only remedies, and those not inifrequently fail.
Cattle will seldom contract this habit, in the hands of a judi-
cious; careful driver. The yokes should be carefully made
and set easy, and the bows fitted to the necks and properly
attached to the yoke. Cattle are liable to sore necks if used
in a storm, and when subject to this exposure, they must be
well rubbed with grease, where the yoke chafes them, and
respite from work should be alowed till the necks heal.
The proper time for turning off cattle, must depend
on their previous feeding and management, the breed, and the
purposes required. The improved breeds and many of their
crosses, will mature for the butcher as fully at three or four, as
inferior cattle at five to seven years old. If pushed rapidly
with proper food, they will of course be ripe much sooner
than if stinted. When cattle have to be purchased for work,
or cows for the dairy, it becomes an object to keep them as
long as they can be made profitable, and yet be turned off for
fattening at a fair price. We have seen active and spririted
oxen in the yoke at 16 or 17 ; but they seldom do as well
'after 12 or even 10 years. Old cattle are liable to more dis-
eases than young, are less hardy, and recover more slowly
when exposed to scanty feed or hard usage. They also fat-
ten with more difficulty, and their meat is inferior. When
they can be sold advantageously to the feeder, and replaced
without inconvenience, it is found to be most profitable to
turn them off at 7 or 8 years. They will by that time have
attained full maturity, they will feed rapidly, and make the
288 AMERICAN AGRICULTUIIE.
largest amount of good beef. If there are extraordinary
milkers among the cows, or first-rate workers among the oxen,
it is better to keep them as long as they maintain their full
vigor.
Fattening Cattle. — Such as are designed for the sham-
bles the ensuing fall or winter, may be allowed to do their
spring's labor; or if cows, they may be milked into summer after
calving, or go farrow during the previous year. They should
early be put on the best summer feed, which is better to be occa-
sionally changed, to give variety and freshness, and keep the
animal in good appetite. Let the fattening animals have the
best, and after they have cropped it a while, give them a fresh
field, and the other animals or sheep, can follow and clear oflf
the remaining herbage, preparatory to shutting it up for anew
growth. Some prefer an extensive range of rich feed, which
is unchanged throughout the season, and when it is not neces-
sary to divide the pasture with the other animals, this is a
good practice.
The selection of animals for stall fattening is a nice point,
and none without a practised eye and touch, can choose
such as will make the best return for the food consumed.
The characteristics of choice animals heretofore enumerated,
are particularly essential in those intended for profitable fat-
tening. But the most important of all is that firm mellowness,
and quick elasticity of touch, which unerringly marks the
kindly feeder and profitable bullock. When other n^eans for
ascertaining fail, it is a safe rule to select the best conditioned
animals, out of a herd of grass-fed; for if all were of equal flesh
and health, when turned out, those which have thriven most on
their summer pasture, will generally fatten quickest on their
fall and winter keep. Only the best should be selected. The
remainder after consuming the coarser forage, may be at once
disposed of for early use. From repeated trials it is found
that the carcass of stall-fed animals will barely return the
value of the materials consumed, and their manure is generally
the only compensation for the time and attention bestowed.
None but choice, thrifty beasts will pay for their food and
attention, and all others will make their best returns, by an
immediate disposal after the surplus fodder is gone.
Stall-feeding ought to be commenced early in the season.
An ox may be fed in a box stall, or if accustomed to a mate,
they do better by tying together with sufficient room, yet not
so near as to allow of injuring each other. The building
should be warm, but not hot ; well ventilated, yet having on
NEAT OR nORNBO CATTLK. 289
current of cold air passing through ; and as dark as possible.
The stall ought to be kept clean and dry, and a deep bed of
clean straw is of decided advantage. The ox should be first
fed the interior and most perishable roots with his grain and
dry forage, and his food should be gradually increased in
richness as he advances towards maturity. The food and
water should be given three times a day, from thoroughly
cleaned mangers or troughs. The animal likes a change ot
food, in which he should be indulged as often as may be neces-
sary. If he refuses his food, a temporary privation, or variety
is essential. When the food is changed, he shouki be mode-
rately fed at first, till he becomes accustomed to it, as there is
otherwise danger of cloying, which is always injurious. The
moment the animal has done feeding, the remainder of the
fowl ought to be at once removed. He then lies down, and
i( undisturbed, rests quietly till the proper hour induces him
again to look for his accustomed rations. Regularity in the
time of feeding, is of the utmost consequence. An animal
soon becomes habituated to a certain hour, and if it be de-
layed beyond this, he is restless and impatient, which are
serious obstacles to speedy fattening.
DISEASES IN CATTLE,
Our limits preclude more than a bare mention of remedies
for some of the most common diseases.
HovEN, OR SWELLING OF THE PAUNCH, is a temporary
ailment, caused by eating too freely of uncut and generally
wet clover, or other succulent food. The animal gorges the
first stomach, with so much food, that its contents cannot be
expelled. Inflammation of the membrane takes place, and
decomposition of the food soon follows. This is known by
the distension of the paunch, and difficulty of breathing, and
unless speedily relieved, suffocation and death will ensue.
Both sheep and cattle are subject to it.
Remedies.* — In its early stages, when not too severe, it
has been removed by administering some one of the following
remedies. A pint of gin poured down the throat ; from one
to two pints of lamp or other oil; strong brine; new milk
with one fiflh its bulk of tar mixed ; an egg shell full of tar
forced down the throat, followed by a second, if the first fails ;
a table spoonful of volatile spirit of ammonia, diluted with
* Besides his own experience, the writer has drawn from the N. E. Farmer, the
Albany Cultivator, the American Agriculturist, and other reliable American and
English works, some of the remedies for diseases herein mentioned.
M
290 AMERICAN AGRICULTtTRE.
water ; a wine-glass full of powder, mixed with cold lard and
forced in balls into the stomach ; a tea spoonful of unslaked
lime dissolved in a pint of warm water, shaken and given
immediately, or a pint of tolerably strong lye. The proper
mode of giving the above remedies, is for a person to hold
the horn and cartilege of the nose, while another seizes
and draws out the tongue as far as possible, when the medi-
cine is thrust below the root of the tongue. If liquid, it must
be inserted by the use of a bottle. The probang is used when
the former remedies are ineffectual. This consists of a tarred
rope, or a flexible whip-stalk three-fourths of an inch diame-
ter, with a swab or bulbous end. Two persons holding the
head of the animal so as to keep the mouth in a line with the
throat, while a third forces it into the stomach, when the gas
finds a passsage out. A stiff leather tube with a lead nozzle
pierced with holes, is best for insertion, through which the gas
will readily escape. Some one of the above purgatives should
be given after the bloat has subsided, and careful feeding for
some days must be observed. Light gruels are best for
allaying inflammation, and restoring the tone of the stomach.
When no other means are available, the paunch may be tap-
ped with a sharp pen-knife, plunging it li inches forward of
the hip bone towards the last rib in the left side. If the hole
fills up, put in a large goose-quill tube, which to prevent slip-
ping into the wound, may remain attached to the feather, and
the air can escape through a large hole in the upper end.
Prevention is vastly better than cure, and may be always
attained, by not allowing hungry cattle to fill themselves with
clover, roots, apples, &c. When first put upon such feed,
it should be when the dew and rain is off, and their stomachs
are already partially filled ; and they should then be with-
drawn before they have gorged themselves.
Choking is frequently relieved by some of the following
expedients. The use of the probang or whip-stock, mentioned
under the head of remedies for Hoven, by which the root is
forced into the stomach. A soft root may be crushed so as
to allow of swallowing, by holding a smooth block against it,
and striking with a mallet on the opposite side. If within
arms length, the root may be removed by hand. It is said
this can be done by tieing up the fore-leg with a small
cord close to the body, and giving the animal a sudden start
with a whip ; or by pulling the fore-leg out forward ; or by
pouring down the throat a pint bottle full of soft soap, mixed
with sufficient hot water to make it run freely. Prevention
NEAT OR HORNED CATTLE. 291
consists in cutting the roots ; not feeding them wlien the ani-
mals are very hungry ; and not disturbing them wliile eating.
Im'LAMmation ok the stomach i.s frequently pro(hiced
by a sudden change from dry to green food, and some other
causes. J*'|)s()m salts, castor oil, sul[)hur and carbonate of
soda, in sullicient (juantity to purge freely, are good remedies.
It may be prevented by changing the food gradually.
iManok or scak. — This is denoted by the animal rubbing
the hair oft' about the eyes and other parts, the skin is scaly
or scabby, sometimes appearing like a large seed-wart.
Remedy. — Rub the spots with sulphur and lard, after scraping
and washing with soap. When the skin is cracked, take
sulphur, 1 lb ; turpentine, 1-4 lb ; unguentum, (or mercurial
ointment,) 2 ounces; linseed oil, 1 pint. Melt the turpentine
and warm the oil, and when partly cooled, stir in the sulphur,
and tvlien cold add the unguentum, mixing all well. Rub this
thoroughly with the hand on the parts affected. We have
no doubt this, like seal) in sheep and itch in the human spe-
cies, will be Ibund, on close investigation, to be caused by
minute insects located in the skin. Salt and water ought in
that case to be a good remedy.
Hollow HORN, or horn ail, is not unfrecpiently Iwllom
stomach, and very often follows stinted fare, hard usage, and
exposure to cold. We have noticed this as most {)rovalent
among oxen that have done a severe winter's work. Symp-
toms,— Bloody urine ; swollen udder ; shaking the head ;
eyes and head swollen ; standing with the head against a fence
or barn ; eyes dull and sunken, and horns cold. Remedies, —
1. Bleed and physic, shelter and ^i^ftA properly. 2. Take a
half pint good vinegar, two table spoonsful of salt, one tea
spoonful of pepper and mix and pour into each ear, holding
the head on one side for two minutes. 3. 15ore with a large
gimblet on the under side of the horn, three or four inches
from the head, and if hollow, bore nearer the head and let out
all the matter, and syringe two or three times a day with salt
and water, or soap suds, or salt and vinegar. 4. Spirits of
turpentine rubbed in around the base of the horns, will arrest
the disease in its incipient stages. 5. Pour a spoonfull
boiling hot brimstone into the cavity between the horns.
6. Pour a tea kettle of boiling water on the horns, holding so as
to prevent injury to the other paits. 7. Soot and pepper
given internally are good.
Jaundice or yellows. — This is owing to gall stones or
calculi, which occasionally accumulate in large numbers,
292 AMERICAN AGRICULTURE.
and is sometimes owing to increased or altered quality of the
bile. It is manifest by the yellowness of the eye and skin,
and high color of the urine, and poor appetite. Remedy. —
Bleeding and purgatives with Epsom salts ; or, if taken in
season, 2 ounces ground mustard, mixed with a liquid, aud
given twice a day. Green food is a good preventive.
Mad Itch. — This disease exists in some of the western
states, and shows itself by jerking of the head and itching
around the nose and base of the horns. They will lick their
sides and backs, and jerk and hiccup till they fill themselves
with wind ; afterwards they froth at the mouth, and in 24
hours, die raving mad. Remedy. — Give as much soot and
salt as the animal will eat ; soon after give 3-4 or I Ib.brim-
stone or sulphur, and 8 hours, after as many salts.
Bloody MuRKAI^, or bed water. — This disease first
shows itself in a cough, then heaving of the flanks, with bloody,
black and foetid faeces, tenderness over the loins, and coldness
of the horns. Tumors and biles sometimes appear. The
animal holds down the head, moans, and is restless and stag-
gers when walking.
We have lost several animals by this fatal disease, and are
not aware of having cured any when severely attacked. In
repeated instances we have seen large flukes taken out of the
liver, strongly resembling the common leech, which abounds
in many of our swampy lands. It is certain that on new, low
swamps and clay lands, cattle are most liable to it ; and when
they have been subject to repeated attacks in such localities,
clearing and draining have checked it. Youatt attributes it
to certain kinds of forage which is peculiar to the above situ-
ations. We are rather inclined to attribute it to exposure, to
excessive dampness, and especially to miasma ; for although
the brute creation are perhaps less sensitive to these influences
than man, yet, as they are governed by the same unvarying
laws of nature, when subjected to conditions totally unsuited to
their economy, they must suffer equally in kind, though prob-
ably not in degree, with the more refined human frame. But
it is evident the disease, its causes, and remedies, are as yet
imperfectly understood. Remedies. — However intelligent men
may differ as to its causes, all agree that the animal should
first be bled and then thoroughly purged. In obstinate cases,
this last is a difficult matter. We have given repeated doses
of powerful cathartics without producing any oflTect; and
whenever the medicine is inoperative, death speedily follows.
Large doses of common salt, or Epsom salts dissolved in wa-
mSAT OR HORNED CATTtE. 208
tor, are good purgatives, and if the animal neglects drinking
at\er taking them, he should be drenched with copious
draughts of water. These should be repeated every few
hours if inetiectual. Injections arc sometimes useful when
medicine fails to act. These may be made of soap and wa-
ter ; or take 2 or .3 gills of oats boiled, 3 drachms salt petro,
li oz. linseed oil, mix and use them when warm. The
0|>ening of the bowels may be followed with a pint of linseed
oil, as an additional and gentle laxative. When the animal
begins to recover, gentle astringents and tonics may be given.
Preventives. — We have more confidence in preventives than
in remedies. Good keep, shelter, dryness, and good
health, will generally prevent attack. The cattle should at
all times be supplied with two or three troughs under cover,
and on the sides and bottoms of which, tar should be plenti-
fully spi*ead. Let equal portions of salt and slacked lime be
in one ; salt and wood ashes in another ; and salt and brim-
stone in a third. Many farmers have entirely avoided this
disease while using one or more of these, when they annually
lost many by it previously.
Hoof ail is indicated by lameness, fever, and a soft
swelling just above the hoof. Remedies. — Carefully wash
the foot in warm soap suds, and while still damp, apply be-
tween the claws on the affected part, from one to three grains
of corrosive sublimate. If it does not fully adhere, it must be
mixed with hogs lard, but it should be so applied as to be out
of the reach of the animal's tongue, as it is a powerful poison,
and the extreme irritability of the feet will induce him to lick
them. The claw is efficiently cleansed by drawing a cord brisk-
ly through it, when either of the above applications, or blue
vitriol put on two or three times a day ; or spirits tui*pentine,
will effect a cure. It is sometimes cured by putting the ani-
mal in the stantials and applying a sharp chisel three fourths
of an inch from the toe, and striking it with a mallet till it is
cut off. If it does not bleed freely, cut off shavings till it does.
If the animal is refractory, let a person hold up the opposite
foot. Keep them in the stable two or three days, and out of
the mud for a week.
Loss x>F CUD is loss of appetite, prostration, and general
ill health. Remedies. — Give a warm bran mash, with good
hay, and warm water with salt. An aloe tincture, made
with brandy and ginger, is good. Afterwards, good, dry,
nourishing food ; and bitter infusions, chamomile flowers,
hoarhound, oak bark, <&c., in beer.
294 ABiEEICAN AGRICULTURE.
Scours, or diarrhoea. — A common remedy is to boil the
bark of white oak, white pine and beech, and give a strong
infusion in bran. If they refuse to eat it, pour it down.
The oak is astringent, and the pine and beech is soothing and
healing.
AVarbles are grubsj the egg of which is deposited in the
back of cattle by tlie gad fly? {CEstnis Jxyvis.) They are dis-
cernable by a protuberance or swelling on the back. They
may be pressed out by the thumb and linger ; or burnt out by
plunging a hot wire in them ; or a few applications of strong
brine will remove them.
Wounds in cattle are readily healed when the animal's
blood is in good order, by applying a salve made of 1 oz.
green copperas, 2 oz. white vitriol, 2 oz. salt, 2 oz. linseed
oil, 8 oz. W. I. molasses. Boil over a slow lire 15 minutes
in a pint of urine, and when almost cold, add 1 oz. oil of
vitriol, and 4 oz. spirits turpentine. A])ply it with a feather
to the wound, and cure soon follows.
Milk, or puerperal ievkr, is a common disease with
cows in Iiigh condition at the time of calving. It may, in
almost every case be avoided, by keeping them in moderate
feed and flesh. Remedy. — Bleed freely, say 6 to 10 quarts,
according to the circulation of the blood; then give 1 to Ih
lbs. of epsom salts, according to the size of the beast, to be
repeated in half lb. doses every six hours, till she purges
freely. Injections should always be given when purgativ^es
are tardy in their operation.
Caked bag may be removed by simmering the bark of
the root of bitter-sweet in lard, till it becomes very yellow.
When cool, apply it to the swollen udder once in 8 or 10
hours ; or wash it several times a day in cold water. A pint
of horse-radish fed once a day, cut up with potatoes or meal,
is useful for the same purpose. It is also a tonic, helps the
appetite, and is good for oxen subject to heat.
Garget is a more intense degree of inflammation than
exists in caked bag, and sore, swollen teats, and shows itself in
hard bunches on the udder. The cow should be l>led and take
a large dose of physic ; then wash the udder as in caked bag.
Repeated doses of sulphur is a good remedy. Garget or
scoke root given of the size of a large finger, grated and fed
in their food, is a general application with farmers. The
garget plant grows from three to six feet high, with a purple
stalk, and strings of berries hanging down between the
branches.
NBAT OR HORNED CATTLE. 20{|
Sorb teats may be healed by rubbing with gooso oil,
civain, new milk ; or the applications for caked bag. Tho
bag and teats should be well cleansed with warm soft water,
if to be followed by any ointment. The following applica-
tion is recommended by Youatt. One ounce of yellow wax
and three of lard ; melt together, and when cooling, rub in
one quarter oz. of sugar of lead, and a drachm of alum finely
powdered.
Warts are of two kinds ; the first, on the outer skin, may
be removed by rubbing with camphorated olive oil. The
others penetrate into the flesh, and may be removed by a lig-
ature of fine twine, or silk, or india rubber drawn into a string,
and tied tightly around the wart, which falls oflT in a few days.
Nitrate of silver, (lunar caustic,) applied to the wart, will
remove it, but it produces a sore ; or, apply a strong wash of
alum ; rub with the juice of milk weed ; poultice with grated
carrot; or cut ofi'the wart with sharp scissors when the cow
is dry. It will bleed little and soon heal.
[Devon Cattle, — In the 6th line, page 278, for narrow^ (a
typographical error,) read wide hips.]
296 AMERICAN AGKICULTURE.
CHAPTER XVI.
THE DAIRY.
Cows FOR THE Dairy. — From what has been said on the
various characteristics of the different breeds of cattle, it
must be evident, that no very definite criteria of excellence
can be given, for all good dairy cows. But there are certain
points in a good milker, that can hardly be mistaken. She
should be descended from the best milking stock ; her head
should be small or of medium size, muzzle fine and nostrils
flexible and expanded ; face long, slender and dishing ; cheeks
thin; eyes full, mild and prominent; horns delicate and
waxy, and they may be either branching, lopped, crumpled,
or hornless ; long, thin, lively ear, and the inside of an
orange color ; neck thin and small at its junction with the
head ; deep chest, but not too heavy before ; back level and
broad ; well ribbed ; belly large ; low flank ; wide thighs,
but thin ; shoi-t legs, and standing w^ell apart ; large milking
veins ; loose, capacious udder, coming well out behind ; good
teats ; loose, mellow skin, of a deep yellow ; and a fine, thick
coat of glossy hair ; and she must be of a good disposition,
and free from tricks. Yet with all the skill of a well practised
taste in the selection of animals, the dairyman will frequently
find his theories and results at sad variance. One may some-
times select a fine animal, with every appearance of good
milking qualities, which is but a medium cow at the pail ;
and another, that hardly seems worthy of notice, and which
sets at defiance many established milking points and all pre-
conceived notions of symmetry, may yet prove a good milker.
A cow that runs to flesh while in milk, is generally an indif-
ferent animal for the dairy. Perfection in a cow, consists in
converting all she eats into milk while yielding it, and when
dry, in turning all she consumes into valuable meat.
Management of Dairy Cows. — A cow may have her
first calf when between 2 and 3 years of age, according to
THE DAIBY. 297
her size and dcvelopmonts. After calving, she should be
stinted in hor food for two or three days, and not fed freely for
a wcok. Avoid Hit in a breeding cow. Too high feeding
is the cause of milk-fever, caked bag, garget, and a host of
evils ; and too poor teed is almost equally objectionable.
The average time of a cow with young, is from 40 to 41
weeks ; but they sometimes go only 34, and occasionally
overrun 44. A dry, unoccupied stall or yard is best for her
to calve in ; and if there is any serious delay or difficulty in
the operation, she may be assisted by placing the foetus in the
right position, and gently pulling it with every throe of the
dam. After the calf has drawn all he wants at morning and
evening, the bag should be thoroughly and quickly emptied
ofa'l the milk. If strong and vigorous, the calf is the best
doctor for garget or caked bag. He may be allowed to suck
the cow or not, at the option of the owner ; there are reasons
for and against the practice, as will be seen under the head
of raising calves, and each person must determine in his own
case, on which side the balance lies.
Milking. — This is an important operation, and on its
proper performance depends much of the success of the dairy-
man. A cow regularly, gently, yet quickly and thoroughly
milked, will give much more than if neglected. If a herd of
cows be separated into two divisions, each yielding the same
quantity of milk, and one is given to a good milker, and the
other to a shiftless or lazy one, the latter will speedily reduce
his milk much below the quantity obtained by the former;
and if the milkers then exchange cows, they will be found to
change quantity too, those before aftbrding the least, soon
giving the most. 'An indifterent milker ought never to be
tolerated in a herd ; good ones are cheaper at double the
price. It is best to milk at intervals of about 12 hours ;
which may be done when pastures are convenient, or cows
are soiled or fed in the yard. But as this is not often the
case, they should be milked early in the morning and turned
into pasture, to fill themselves before the sun is oppressive ;
and if they are to be kept up at night, let them browse in the
pasture as long as possible before they are brought to the
yard.
MILK
Is produced from the females of all the wanii-blooded animals,
which are ennumerated among the mammalia?. The milk
of several animals is employed for domestic purposes, among
M*
298 AMHRICAN AGEICULTUBE.
different nations. That of the camel is used by the Arabs,
the njilk of the ass by the Spaniards, the Maltese, and the in-
habitants of the Levant ; that of the mare by the Cossacks,
the Kirgheez, and other Tartars ; and that of the goat, the
ewe and the cow, by most of the ancient, and with few
exceptions, by every modern European nation. Within the
last century however, the use of all excepting cow's milk, has
been almost entirely discarded among the most highly civili-
zed people. If we except some few Welsh and Swiss, or other
emigrants, who resort to the goat and ewe for their dairy ma-
terials, for the first few years of their residence here, the cow
is the only animal which is employed in America for produ-
cing milk. For this, she is pre-eminently fitted, and the
modern improvement of this invaluable animal, has carried
her product of milk almost as far as can be reasonably looked
for from a given amount of food ; and although this is of
about the average richness of the goat and ewe, and before that
of the ass, the quantity she yields is frequently as 80 to 1 in
favor of the cow over the first two competitors. As a milk-
giving animal, the cow is the best fitted for the purposes of
civilized man, and she is made to contribute, not only to his
health, his comfort and his economy, but to many of his
choicest luxuries. Milk contains every element of nutrition
necessary to animal existence ; and man can subsist with
unimpaired health and strength, if limited to this food alone.
The constituents of milk are butler, which varies from
2 to 6 per cent. ; casein or cheese, usually 4 to 5, but some
times varying from 3 to 15 per cent. ; (the last excessive
quantity, yielded only by the first milk after calving ;) milk-
sugar, 4 to 6 ; salts or saline matter, 0*2 to 0*6 ; and water,
80 to 89.
There is much diversity in the product and quality of milk
from cows of the same breed, the same food, and other circum-
stances and conditions apparently equal. Thus of a herd of
22, chiefly Ayrshire, one gave 84 quarts in one week, which
afforded 3^ lbs. of butter ; two others in the same time gave
86, yielding 5i lbs ; and a fourth gave 88 quarts, making 7
lbs. The amount of butter however, which a given quan-
tity of milk will produce, is not the only criterion of the value
of the milk, except for this purpose alone. Some cows will
yield more butter, others will produce more cheese ; while
for consumption, another may partially compensate, in the
increased quantity of milk-sugar, and the saline matters, for
a deficiency of both the other ingredients. But for dairy
I
THS DAIBT. OW
purposes, butter and cheese, are the only measure of tlie value
uf milk ; and a cow is esteemed good or indifterent, as she
gives one or the other in the greatest abundance.
Circumstances wiii(;ii modify thk quantity and char.
ACTER OF MILK. — Besldes the accidental variation in the
quantity and quality of milk in ditlerent animals before
adverted to, there are many reliable causes which influence
both. Of these, parentage has a most decided and uniform
influence, frequently modified, however, in the particular
individual, by some personal and controlling causes. But a
cow whose maternal ancestry on both sides are choice milker?,
is almost certain to resemble them. Food influences the
quantity rather than the quality. Boussingault tried numer-
ous experiments, with cows fed on various kinds of food, and
found the diflerence hardly appreciable in the quality of milk.
Its true benefit is to be looked for, in the increased quantity,
through which the valuable ingredients are distributed in
nearly the same proportion, as when the product is materi-
ally lessened. By quality we mean to be understood, the
amount of the ingredients, valuable for nutrition only; for it
is certain, that there is a rich aromatic flavor, not only in milk,
but in butter and cheese, which is afforded in various articles
of food, and especially by the fresh green herbage which
abounds in the pastures from spring to autumn. Activity or
rest has a great effect on both quantity and quality. The
less action and the more quiet and rest, the greater the
amount of milk and butter. But exercise is absolutely essen-
tial to the production of cheese. Butter may be made from
cows confined in a stable, but cheese can only be profitably
made by animals at pasture. It is supposed by physiologists,
that the exercise in gathering their food, rather than any
peculiarity in its character, is necessary to convert the nitro-
genized tissues, into the nitrogenized principle of cascum or
cheese. The time from calving, has also its eflfect. The
first milk drawn from a cow af\er calving, has been found to
yield over 15 per cent, of casein, while in its ordinary state
it gives only 3 to5i. As the quantity of milk diminishes in a
farrow cow, the quality improves within certain limits. Preg-
nancy affects the quality injuriously, and especially towards
its latter stages; and a cow that is predisposed to giving milk,
should be dried oflT a few weeks before its expiration, as it is
then unfit for use. Fat cows give poorer milk than such as
are moderately lean ; and young animals do not come up to
the maximum of their quality, till after their third or fourth
300 AMERICAN AGRICtLTURE.
calving. The milk first drawn from the udder, will yield only
an eighth and sometimes even a much less proportion of cream,
than the strippings ; and the milk which is drawn three times
a day, is greatly inferior to such as is taken but once, though
the latter is less abundant. Excitement, or fretfulness ;
change of locality, or to a different herd with new compan-
ions ; separation from her calf; periodical heat ; annoyance
from flies, or worry from dogs ; exposure to storms, severe
cold, or an oppressive sun ; and many similar causes, dimin-
ish the quantity of milk and butter ; but some of these may
reasonably be expected to increase the proportion of its
casein.
Dr. Playfair found that the quantity of butter in the evening
milk, afler the cow had been at pasture all day, was 3.7
per cent., while the casein was 5.4 ; afler lying quietly all
night, the milk from the same cow on the following morning,
contained 5.6. per cent, of butter, and only 3.9. of casein.
In stabling the cow, the butter was invariably in greater pro-
portion than when allowed to ramble in the pasture ; and the
casein with a single exception, was equally diminished.
Cream — If milk be innuediately set away in shallow
vessels, after being taken from the cow, the cream rises to
the surface, and carries with it most of the butter contained
in the milk, and along with it much of its casein. Hence
the great nutritive properties of butter-milk, which retains
the casein in very large proportions, much of it being rejected
by the butter in its separation from the cream. A tempe-
rature below 34% will prevent the cream from rising in any
considerable quantity, and preserve the milk unaltered for
some weeks. Coagulating the milk from any cause, will equally
prevent the separation of the cream. The elevation of tem-
perature within certain limits, hastens the separation. Thus,
at 50% the cream will mostly have risen in 36 hours ; at 55°,
in 24; at 68% in 18 or 20, and at 77% in 10 or 12 hours.
Heating the milk near the boiling point, and then setting it
away and allowing it to remain undisturbed, will soon cause
the cream to rise. In the celebrated Orange dairy, near Bal-
timore, Md., this system was practised, by which, not only
most of the cream was secured for butter, but in consequence
of its rapid separation, the skimmed milk was sent to market
apparently fresh ; and the scalding imparted to it an agreeable
flavor and apparent richness, which it did not really possess.
The celebrated clouted cream of Devonshire, England, and
the butter made from it, contained an unusual quantity of
THE DAIBV. 8(rt
casein, the consequence of heating tlic milk. **It is prepared by
straining the warm milk into large shallow pans into which a
little water has previously been put, allowing these to stand
from 0 to V2 hours, and then caretully heating them over a
slow lire, or on a hot plate, till the milk approaches the boiling
point. The milk, however, must not actually boil, nor must
the skin of the cream be broken. The dishes are now removed
into the dairy, and allowed to cool. In sunmicr the cream
should be churned on the tbilowing day ; in winter it may
stand over two days. The quantity of cream obtained is said
o be one-tburth greater by this method, and the milk which is
eft is proportionably poor.'* — {Johnston.)
BUTTER.
Sour Cream. — "Cream for the purpose of churning is usually
allowed to become sour. It ought to be at least one day old,
but may with advantage be ke|)t several days in cool weather;
if it be previously well freed from milk and be frequently
stirred to keep it from curdling. This sour cream is put into
the churn and worked in the usual way till the butter sepa-
rates. This is collected into lumps, w^ell beat and squeezed
free from the milk, and in some dairies is washed with pure
cold water as long as the water is rendered milky. In other
localities the butter is not washed, but, after being well beat,
is carefully freed from the remaining milk by repeated
squeezings and dryings with a clean cloth. Both methods,
no doubt, have their advantages. In the same circumstances
the washed butter may be more easily preserved in the fresh
state, while the unwashed butter will probably possess a
higher flavor.
Sireef cream may be put into the churn and the butter be
obtained, but in most cases it requires more labor and longer
time, without, in the opinion of good judges, affording in
general a finer quality of butter. In all cases the cream
becomes sour during the agitation and before the butter
l>egins distinctly to form.
Clouted cream. — The churning of the clouted cream of this
and other countries forms an exception to the general rule
just stated, that more time is required in the churning of
sweet creams. Clouted cream may be churned in the morn-
ing after it is made, that is, within 24 hours of the time when
the milk was taken from the cow ; and from such cream it
is well known that the butter separates with very great
ease. But in this case the heating of the cream has already
302 AMERICAN AGBICULTURE.
disposed the oily matter to cohere, an incipient running
together of the globules has ])robabIy taken place before the
cream is removed from the milk, and hence the comparative
ease with \vhich the churning is eifected. There is some-
thing peculiar in butter prepared in this way? as it is known
in other countries by the name of Bohemian butter. It
is said to be very agreeable in flavor, but it must contain
more cheesy matter than the butter from ordinary cream.
Churning the ichole milk is a much more laborious method,
from the difficulty of keeping in motion such large quantities
of fluid. It has the advantage, however, of giving a larger
quantity of butter. At Rennes, in Brittany, the milk of the
previous evening is poured inlo the churn along with the
warm morning's milk, and the mixture is allowed to stand for
some hours, when the whole is churned. In this way it is
said that a larger quantity of butter is obtained, and of a
more delicate flavor. In the neighborhood of Glasgow, ac-
cording to Mr. Ayton, the milk is allowed to stand six, twelve
or twenty.four hours in the dairy, till the whole has cooled,
and the cream has risen to the surface. Two or three milk-
ings, still sweet, are then poured, together with their cream,
into a large vessel, and are left undisturbed till the whole has
become quite sour, and is completely coagulated. The proper
sourness is indicated by the fornjation of a stift" hrat upon the
surface which has become uneven. Great care must be taken
to keep the brat and curd unbroken until the milk is about to
be churned, for if any of the whey be separated the air gains
admission to it and to the curd, and fermentation is induced.
By this fermentation the quality of the butter may or may
not be aftected, but that of the butter-milk is almost sure to
be injured. In Holhmd the practice is a little diflerent. The
cream is not allowed to rise to the surface at all, but the milk
is stirred two or three times a day, till it gets sour, and so
thick that a wooden spoon will stand in it. It is then put
into the churn, and the working or the separation of the but-
ter is assisted by the addition of a quantity of cold water.
By churning the sour milk in one or other of these Ways, the
butter is said to be 'rich, sound, and well-flavored.' If it be
greater in quantity it is, according to Sprengel, because the
fatty matter carries with it from the milk a larger quantity of
casein than it does in most cases from the cream alone.
Sourness of tJie cream. — For the production of the best
butter it is necessary that the cream should be sufliciently
sour before it is put into the churn. Butter made from sweet
THB BAIRT. 303
cream (not clouted,) is neither good in quality nor large in
quantity, and longer time is required in churning. It is an
unprofitable method.
Quickness in churning. — The more (luickly milk or cream
is chmned, the paler, the softer, and the less rich the bultor.
Cream, according to Mr. Ayton, may be safely churned in an
hour and a half, while milk ought to obtain from two to three
hours. The churning ought always to be regular, slower in
warm weather that the butter may not be soft and white, and
quicker in winter that the proper temperature may be kept
up. A barrel-churn, lately introduced into this country,
being placed in a trough of water of the proper temperature,
readily imparts the degree of heat required by the milk or
cream without the necessity of adding warm water to the
milk, and churns tJie whole in ten or licelve minutes. It is said
also to give a larger weight of butter from the same quantity
of milk. If the quality be really as good by this quick
churning, the alleged inferiority in the quality of butter
churned quickly in the common churn can not be due to the
mere rapidity of churning alone.
Over -churning. -Vf hew the process of churning is continued
after the full separation of the butter, it loses its tine yellowish,
waxy appearance, and becomes soft and light colored. The
weight of the butter, however, is considerably increased ; and
hence in Lancashire over-churning is frequently practised
in the manufacture of fresh butter for immediate sale.
Temperature of the milk or cream, — Much also depends
upon the temperature of the milk or cream when the churning
is commenced. Cream when put into the churn should never
be warmer than 55° Farenheit. It rises during the churning
from 4" to 10° F. above its original temperature. When the
whole milk is churned, the temperature should be raised to
65° F., which is best done by pouring in hot water into the
churn while tJie milk is kept in motion. In winter, either of
these temperatures may be easily attained. In cold weather
it is often necessary to add hot water to the cream to raise it
even to 55°. But in summer, and especially in hot weather,
it is difficult, even in cool and well oi-dered dairies, (without
the use of ice,) to keep the cream down to this comparatively
low temperatiu-e. Hence if the cream be then churned, a
second rate butter, at best, is all that can be obtained.
The alleged advantages of churning tJie entire milk may be
thus stated. The proper temperature can be readily obtained
both in winter and summer. A hundred gallons of entire
304 AMERICAN AGRICULTURE.
milk will give in summer five per cent, more butter than the
cream from the same quantity of milk will give. Butter of
the best quality can be obtained without difficulty both in
winter and summer. No special attention to circumstances
or change of method is at any time required. The churning
in winter and summer is alike simple and easy. The butter
is not only of the best quality while fresh, but is also best for
long keeping, when properly cured or salted.
Cleanliness is peculiarly necessary to the manufacture of
good butter. Cream is remarkable for the rapidity with
which it absorbs and becomes tainted by any unpleasant
odors. It is very necessary that the air of the dairy should
sweet, that it should be often renewed, and that it should be
open in no direction from which bad odors can come."
{Johnston and other authorities.)
The statement of J. T. Lansing, who received the first
premi cm for butter from the New- York State Agricultural
Society, is as follows :
1 . The number of cows kept is ten.
2. Keep them stabled through the inclement season ; feed
them from three to four times per day with good hay or green
stalks ; when near coming in, add some oats, barley, or corn
cracked. In summer, good pasture, with living water acces-
sible at all times, and plenty of salt.
3. Treatment of milk and cream before churning. — Strain
the milk in tin pans; place them in a cool cellar for the
cream to rise. When suflSciently risen, separate the cream
from the milk; put in stone jars, well prepared before
churning.
4. The mode of churning in summer. — Rinse the churn
with cold water ; then turn in the cream, and add to each jar
of cream put in the churn, full one-fourth of the same quan-
tity of cold water. The churn used is a patent one, moved
by hand with a crank, having paddles attached, and so con-
structed as to warm the milk, if too cold, with hot water,
without mixing them together. The milk and cream receive
the same treatment in winter as in summer ; and in churn-
ing, use hot instead of cold water, if necessary.
5. The method of freeing the butter from the milk, is to
wash the butter with cold water till it shows no color of the
milk, by the use of a ladle.
6. Salting the butter. — Use the best kind of Liverpool
sack salt ; the quantity varies according to the state in which
the butter is taken from the churn ; if soft, more, if hard,
tHE DAIRY. 305
less, always taking the taste for the surest guide. Add no
saltpetre, nor other substances.
7. The best time lor churning is the morning, in hot wea-
ther, and to keep the butter cool till put dt)wn.
8. The best mode of preserving butter in and through the
summer and winter, is as follows : — The vessel is a stone
jar, clean and sweet. The mode of putting it down is to put
in a churning of butter, and put on strong brine; let it remain
on until the next churning is ready to put down, and so on
till the jar is filled ; then cover it over with fine salt, the same
to remain on till used.
Mr. Mc Williams of Orange county, the celebrity of whose
butter is unsurpassed, thus details his method of butter-
making :
" Our practice is not to churn the milk until it becomes
thick or loppered, the milk and cream is then churned toge-
ther. The temperature of the milk is about 50 degrees. In
warm weather about a quart of cold water is put in each
pan before the milk is strained, so as to keep it sweet as long
as possible. The cellar-floor is brick. This in warm wea-
ther is daily cleansed with cold water. A drain from the
cellar carries off the water thus applied. The churn is filled
about half full with milk, with the addition of two pails of
cold water before starting the churn. In cold weather the
same quantity of warm water is applied. When the churn-
ing is finished, which usually occupies about two hours of
time, there are then two more pails of cold water applied to
raise the butter and cool it. The butter is then taken out of
the churn and put in a largo tray, this is immediately filled
with cold water and tiie butter carefully washed ; after which
the water is thrown off. The butter now undergoes the pro-
cess of salting, it is then placed in a cool situation where it
stands about an hour, and worked carefully over. This
finished it is placed in the same situation as before, where it
stands three or four hours, and is again worked over; again
replaced for five or six hours, when it is worked over for the
third time. It is now replaced, where it stands till the next
morning and worked over for the fourth lime. A small
quantity of nitre is then put in the butter. Thus finished it
is placed in firkins holding about 85 lbs. Previous to pack-
ing, the firkin is scalded with hot water, rinsed and cooled
with cold water, then rubbed all around with fine salt ; this
prevents the butter from adhering to the sides of the firkin.
When the firkin is full, a linen cloth is placed over the top of
306 AMERICAN AGHICTTLTURE.
the butler ; on this cloth a covering of salt is put one inch
deep, and cold water enough added to it to form a brine. It
then stands till it is to be sent to market when the cloth and
salt are removed, the firkin turned down, the top of the but-
ter in the keg washed with cold water and the pickle
drained off. The firkin is now neatly headed up and sent
to market."
The rialt added to the butter should be from l-24th to l-28th
of its weight, or about | of an ounce to a pound, and this must
be of the best quality. All the butter-milk must be tho-
roughly extracted by repeated washings; and when com-
pleted the butter should be immediately packed and not a par-
ticle of air allowed to come in contact with it till opened for
the table.
CHEESE.
The CIRCUMSTANCES AFFECTING THE QUALITY OF CHEESE.
" All cheese consists essentially of the curd mixed with a
certain portion of the fatty matter and of the sugar of milk.
But differences in the quality of the milk, in the proportion
in which the several constituents of milk are mixed together,
or in the general mode of dairy management, give rise to
varieties of cheese almost without number. Nearly every
dairy district produces one or more qualities of cheese pecu-
liar to itself.
Natural differences in the milk. — It is obvious that whatever
gives rise to natural differences in the quality of the milk
must affect also that of the cheese prepared from it. If the
milk be poor in butter, so must the cheese be. If the pasture
be such as to give a milk rich in cream, the cheese will par-
take of the same quality. If the herbage or other food
affect the taste of the milk or cream, it will also modify the
flavor of the cheese.
Milk of different animals. — So the milk of different animals
will give cheese of unlike qualities. The ewe-milk cheeses
of Tuscany, Naples, and Languedoc, and those of goat's
milk made on Mont Dor and elsewhere, are celebrated for
qualities which are not possessed by cheeses prepared from
cow's milk in a similar way. Buffalo milk also gives a
cheese of peculiar qualities, which is manufactured in some
parts of the Neapolitian territory. Other kinds of cheese
again are made from mixtures of the milk of different animals.
Thus the strong tasted cheese of Lecca and the celebrated
Roquefort cheese are prepared from mixtures of goat with
THS DAIBT.
sot
ewe-iuiik, and the cheese of Mont Coiiis from both of these
mixed with tlie milk of the cow.
Creamed or unvreamed milk. — Still further differences arc
protluced accoixliiig to the proportion of cream which is loft in
or is added to the milk. Thus if cream only bo employed, we
have the rich cream-cheese which must 1k^ eaten in a com-
paratively recent state. Or, if the cream of the previous
night's milking lie added to the new milk of the morning, we
may have sucli cheese as the Stilton of England, or the
small, soft, and rich Brie cheeses, so much esteemed in
France. If tlie entire milk only l)e used, we have such
ch(»ese? as the Cheshire^ the Double Gloucester, the Cheddar,
the WdUshire^ and the Dunlop cheeses of Britain, the Kinne-
gad cheese, I believe, of Ireland, and the Gouda and Edam
cheeses of Holland. Even here, however, it makes a difler-
ence whether the warm milk from the cow is curdled alone,
as at Gouda and Edam, or whether it is mixed with the milk
of the evening before, as is genemlly done in Cheshire and
Ayrshire. IVIany persons are of opinion that cream, which
has once been separated, can never be so well mixed again
with the milk, that a portion of the fatty matter shall not flow
out with the whey and render the cheese less rich. If, again,
the cream of the evening's milk be removed, and the skimmed
milk added to the new milk of the next morning, such cheeses
as the Single Gloucester B.re obtained. If the cream be taken
once from all the milk, the better kinds of skimmed-milk
cheese, such as the Dutch cheese of Leyden, are prepared ;
while if the milk be twice skimmed, we have the poorer
cheeses of Friesland and Groningen. If skimmed for three
or four days in succession, we get the hard and horny cheeses
of Essex and Sussex, which often require the axe to break
them up.
BuUer-milfc cJuiese, — But poor or butterless cheese will also
diflerin quality according to the state of them'dk from which
it is extracted. If the new milk be allowed to stand to throw
up its cream, and this be then removed in the usual way,
the ordinary skimmed-milk cheese will be obtained by adding
rennet to the milk. But if, instead of skimming, we allow
tho milk to stand till it begins to sour, and then remove the
butter by churning the whole, we obtain the milk in a sour
ataie (builer-milk,) From this milk the curd separates natu-
rally by gentle heating. But being thus prepared from sour
milk and without the use of rennet, butter-milk cheese dilTers
more or less in quality from that which is made from sweet
308 AMERICAN AGEICULTUKE.
skimmed-milk. The acid in the butter-milk, especially after
it has stood a day or two, is capable of coagulating new milk
also, and thus, by mixing more or less sweet milk with the
butter-milk before it is warmed, several other qualities of
mixed butter and sweet milk cheese may readily be manu-
factured.
Whey-cJteese. — The whey which separates from the curd,
and especially the white whey, which is pressed out towards
the last, contains a portion of curd, and not unfrequently a
considerable quantity of butter also. When the whey is
heated, the curd and butter rise to the surface, and are readily
skimmed off. This curd alone will often yield a cheese of
excellent quality, and so rich in butter, that a very good
imitation of Stilton cheese may sometimes be made with
alternate layers of new milk-curd and this curd of whey.
Mixtures of vegetahle substances imth the milk. — New
varieties of cheese are formed by mixing vegetable substan-
ces witli the curd. A green decoction of two parts of sage
leaves, one of marigold, and a little parsley, gives its color
to the green cJieese of Wiltshire ; some even mix up the
entire leaves with the curd. The celebrated Schabzieger
cheese of Switzerland is made by crushing the skim-milk
cheese after it is several months old to fine powder in a mill,
mixing it then witli one-tenth of its weight of fine salt, and
one-twentieth of the powdered leaves of the mellilot trefoil,
{trifoUum melilotus cerulea,) and afterwards with oil or butter,
M'orking the whole into a paste, which is pressed and care-
fully dried.
Potato cJieeseSy as they are called, are made in various ways.
One pound of sour milk is mixed with five pounds of boiled
potatoes and a little salt, and the whole is beat into a pulp,
which, after standing five or six days, is worked up again,
and then dried in the usual way. Others mix three parts of
dried boiled potatoes with two of fresh curd, or equal weights,
or more curd than potato according to the quality required.
Such cheeses are made in Thuringia, in Saxony, and in other
parts of Germany. In Savoy, an excellent cheese is made
by mixing one of the pulp of potatoes with three of ewe
milk curd, and in Westphalia a potato cheese is made with
skimmed milk.
Preparation of rennet. — Rennet is prepared from the
salted stomach or intestines of the suckling calf, the unweaned
lamb, the young kid, or the young pig. In general, however,
the stomach of the calf is preferred, and there are various
THE HAIRY. 809
ways of curinjv and preserving it. The stomacii of the
Dowly killed animal contains a quantity of curd derived from
the milk on vvliieh it has been fed. In most districts it is
usual to remove by a gentle washing the curd and slimy mat-
ters which are present in the stomach, as they are supposed
to impart a strong taste to the cheese. In Cheshire the curd
is frequently salted separately lor immediate use. In Ayrshire
and Limhurg, on the other iuind, the curd is always left in
the stomach and salted along with it. Some even give the
calf IK copious draught of milk shortly beibre it is killed, in
order that the stomach may contain a larger quantity of the
valuable curd.
Sailing tfw stomach. — In the mode of salting the stomach
similar differences prevail. Some merely put a few handfuls
of salt into and around it, then roll it together, and hang it
near the chimney to dry. Others salt it in a pickle for a
few days, and then hang it up to dry (Gloucester,) while
others again (Cheshire) pack several of them in layers with
much salt both within and without, and preserve them in a
cool place till the cheese-making season of the following
year. They arc then taken out, drained from the brine,
spread u{)on a table, sprinkled with salt which is rolled in
with a wooden roller, and then hung up to dry. In some
foreign countries, again, the recent stomach is minced very
fine, mixed with some spoonfuls of salt and bread-crumb into
a paste, put into a bladder, and then dried. In Lomhardy the
stomach, after being salted and dried, is minced and mixed
• up with salt, pepper, and a little whey or water into a paste,
which is preserved for use. In whatever way the stomach
or intestine of the calf is prepared and preserved, the almost
universal opinion seems to be, that it should be kept for 10 or
12 months before it is capable of yielding the best and
strongest rennet. If newer than 12 months, the rennet is
thought in Gloucestershire to make the cheese heave or swell,
and become full of eyes or holes.
Making the rennet. — In making the rennet difleront customs
also prevail. In some districts, as in Cheshire, a bit of the
dried stomach is put into half a pint of lukewarm water with
as much salt as will lie upon a shilling, is allowed to stand
over night, and in the morning the infusion is poured into the
milk. For a cheese of 60 lbs. weight, a piece of the size of
half-a-crown will often be sufficient, though of some skins
as much as 10 square inches are required to produce the
same effect. It is perhaps more common, however, to take
310 AMERICAN AGRICULTURE.
the entire stomach, and to pour upon them from one to three
quarts of water for each stomach, and to allow them to infuse
for several days. If only one has been infused, and the
rennet is intended for immediate use, the infusion requires
only to be skimmed and strained. But if several be infused,
or, as is the custom in Cheshire, as many as have been pro-
vided for the whole season, about two quarts of water are
taken for each, and, after standing not more than two days,
the infusion is poured off, and is completely saturated with
salt. During the summer it is constantly skimmed, and fresh
salt added from time to time. Or a strong brine may at
once be poured upon the skins, and the infusion, when the
skins are taken out, may be kept for a length of time. Some
even recommend that the liquid rennet should not be used
until it is at least two months old. When thus kept, however,
it is indispensable that the water should be fully saturated
with salt. In Ayrshire, and in some other counties, it is
customary to cut the dried stomach into small pieces, and to
put it, with a handful or two of salt and one or two quarts of
water, into a jar, to allow it to stand for two or three days,
afterwards to pour upon it another pint for a couple of days,
to mix the two decoctions, and, when strained, to bottle the
whole for future use. In this state it may be kcj>t for many
months.
In making rennet, some use jiure water only, others prefer
clear whey, others a decoction of leaves, such as those of the
swectbriar, the dogrosc, and the bramble, or of aromatic
herbs and flowers, while others again, put in lemons, cloves,'
mace, or brandy. These various practices are adopted for
the purpose of making the rennet keep better, of lessening
its unpleasant smell, of preventing any unpleasant taste it
might give to the curd, or finally of directly improving the
flavor of the cheese. The acidity of the lemon will, no
doubt, increase also the coagulating power of any rennet to
which it may be added. The rennet thus prepared .is poured
into the milk previously raised to the temperature of 90° or
95° F., and is intimately mixed with it. The quantity which
it is necessary to add varies with the quality of the rennet,
from a table-spoonful to half a pint for 30 or 40 gallons of
milk. The time necessary for the complete fixing of the
curd varies also from 15 minutes to an hour or even an hour
and a half. The chief causes of this variation are t.'ie tem-
perature of the milk, and the quality and quantity of the
rennet employed.
THE DAIUV. 811
Different (^iialitieb of Cheese. — The teniperaturo of
now or entire milk, when the rennet isndded, should be raised
to about 1)5" R ; that of skimmed milk need not bo quite so
high. If the milk bo warmer the curd is hard and tough, if
colder, it is soft and dillicult to obtain free from tho whey.
When the former happens to be the case, a portion of the first
whey that separates may be taken out into another vessel,
allowed to. cool, and then poured in again. If it prove to
have been too cold, hot milk or water may be added to it; or
a vessel containing hot water may be put into it before the
curdling commences ; or the first portion of whey that sepa-
rates may be heated and poured again upon the curd. The
quality of the cheese, however, will always be more or less
atfecte<i when it haj)pens to be necessary to adopt any of these
remedies. To make the best cheese, the true temperature
should always be attained as nearly as possible, before the
rennet is added.
Mode in which the milk is wanrwd, — If, as is the case in
s«ne daries, the milk be warmed in an iron pot upon the naked
fins great care must be taken that it is not singed or fire-
fanged. A very slight inattention may cause this to be the
case, and the taste of the cheese is sure to be more or less
atlected by it. lu Cheshire the milk is put into a large tin
pail, which is phmged into a boiler of hot water, and frequently
stirred till it is raised to the proper temperature. In large
<lairy e.stablishments, liowever, the safest method is to have a
pot with a double })ottom, consisting of one pot within aim-
tlier, after the mamicr of a glue pot ; the space between the
two being tilled with water. The lire applied beneath thus
acts only upon the water, and can never, by any ordinary
neglect, do injury to the milk. It is desirable in this heating,
not to raise the temperature higher than is necessary, as a
great heat is apt to give an oiliness to the fatty matter of the
milk.
Tlie time during which the curd stands is also of importance.
It should he broken up as soon as the milk is fully coagidated.
The longer it stands after this the harder and tougher it will
become.
The quality of the rennet is of much imjjorlance not ordy in
regard to the certainty of the coagulation, but also to the fla-
vor of the cheese. In some parts of Cheshire, as we have
seen, it is usual to take a piece of the dried membrane and
steep it overnight with a little salt for the ensuing morning's
milk. It is thus sure to be fresh and sweet if the dried maw
312 AMERICAN AGRICULTURE.
be in good preservation. But where it is customary to steep
several skins at a time, and to bottle the rennet for after-use,
it is very necessary to saturate the solution completely with
salt, and to season it with spices, in order that it may be pre-
served in a sweet and wholesome state.
The quantity of rennet added ought to be regulated as care-
fully as the temperature of the milk. Too much renders the
curd tough ; too little causes the loss of much time, and may
permit a larger portion of the butter to separate itself from the
curd. It is to be expected also that when rennet is used in
great excess, a portion of it will remain in the curd, and will
naturally affect the kind and rapidity of the changes it after-
wards undergoes. Thus it is said to cause the cheese to
heave or swell out from fermentation. It is probable also that
it will affect the flavor which the cheese acquires by keeping.
Thus it may be that the agreeable or unpleasant taste of the
cheeses of certain districts or daries may be less due to the
quality of the pastures or of the milk itself, than to the quan-
tity of rennet with which it has there been customary to coa-
^iate the milk.
'^■^he way in which tlie rennet is made, no less than its state
of preservation and the quantity employed, may also influ-
ence the flavor or other qualities of the cheese. For.
instance, in the manufacture of a celebrated French cheese,
that of Epoisse, the rennet is prepared as follows : Four
fresh <sg|^j-skins, with the curd they contain, are well washed
in water^ chopi)ed into small pieces, and digested in a mix-
ture of 5 quarts of brandy with 15 of water, adding at the
same time 2i lbs. of salt, half an ounce of black pepper, and
a quarter of an ounce each of cloves and fennel seeds. At
the end of six weeks the liquor is filtered and preserved in
well corked bottles, while the membrane is put into salt-
water to form a new portion of rennet. For making rich
cheeses, the rennet should always be filtered clear. Again,
on Mont Dor, the rennet is made with Avhite wine and vine-
gar. An ounce of common salt is dissolved in a mixture of
half a pint of vinegar with 2 i pints of white wine, and in
this solution a prepared goat's stomach or apiece of dried
pig's bladder is steeped for a length of time. A single
spoonful of this rennet is said to be sufficient for 45 or 50
quarts of milk. No doubt the acid of the vinegar and of the
wine aid the coagulating power derived from the membrane.
The way in which the curd is treated. — It is usual in our
best cheese districts carefully and slowly to separate the curd
THE DAIRV. 313
irom the whey, not to linsten the separation, lest a larger
oftion of the fatty maltor should bo squeezed out of the
urd and the cheese should thus be rendered poorer than
usual. But in some places the practice prevails of washing
the curd with hot water after the whey has been partially
separated from it. Thus at Gouda in Holland, after tha
greater part of the whey has been gradually removed, o,
(juantity of hot water is added, and allowed to remain upon
it for at least a quarter of an hour. The heat makes the
heese more solid and causes it to keep better. In Italy,
igain, the so-called pear-shaped cacciO'Caiiallo cheeses and
the round palloni cheeses of Gravina, in the Neapolitan ter-
ritory, are made from curd, which, after being scalded with
boiiing whey, is cut into slices, kneaded in boiling water,
n orked with the hand till it is perfectly tenacious and elastic,
nd then made into shapes. The water in which the curd is
washed, after standing 24 hours, throws up much oily mat-
ter, which is skimmed otTand made into butter.
T/ie separation of llie whey is a part of the process upon
which the quality of the cheese in a considerable degree
depends. In Cheshire more time and attention is devoted to
the perfect extraction of the whey than in almost any other
district. Indeed, when it is considered that the whey con-
:ains sugir and lactic acid, which may undergo decomposi-
tion, and a quantity of rennet which may bring on fermenta-
tion, by both of which processes the flavor of the cheeses must
be considerably aflected, it will appear of great importance
that the whey should be as completely removed from the
curd as it can possibly be. To aid in effecting this a curd-
mill, for chopping it fine after the whey is strained off, is in
use in many of the large English daries, and a very ingei-
ious, and I believe eflectuai, pneumatic cheese-press for suck-
ing out the whey was lately invented. But the way in which
the whey is separated is not a matter of indifference, and has
much influence upon the quality of the cheese. Thus in Nor-
folk, according to Marshall, when the curd is fairly set, the
dairy-maid bares lier arm, plunges it into the curd, and with
the help of her wooden ladle breaks up minutely and inti-
mately mixes the curd with the whey. This she does for 10
or 15 minutes, after which the curd is allowed to subside, and
the whey is drawn off. By this agitation the whey must
carry off more of the butter and the cheese must be poorer.
In Cheshire and Ayrshire, again, the curd is cut with a knife,
but is gently used and slowly pressed till it is dry enough to
N
314 AMERICAN AGRICtJITURE.
be chopped fine, and thus more of the oily matter is retained.
On the same principle, in making the Stilton cheese, the curd
is not cut or broken at all, but is pressed gently and with care
till the whey gradually drains out. Thus the butter and the
curd remain intermixed, and the rich cheese of Stilton is the
result. Thus while it is of importance that all the whey
should be extracted from the curd, yet the quickest way
may not be the best. More time and care must be bestowed
in order to effect this object, the richer the cheese we wish to
obtain. The quality of the milk or of the pastures may often
be blamed for the deficiencies in the richness or other quali-
ties of cheese, which are in reality due to slight but material
differences in the mode of manufacturing it. The kind of salt
used is considered by many to have some effect upon the taste
of the cheese. Thus the cheese of Gerome, in the Vosges, is
supposed to derive a peculiar taste from the Lorena salt with
which it is cured. In Holland, also, the efficacy of one kind
of salt over another for the curing of cheese is generally
acknowledged.
The mode in which the salt is applied. — In making the large
Cheshire cheeses the dried curd, for a single cheese of 60
lbs., is broken down fine and divided into three equal por-
tions. One of these is mingled with double the quantity of
salt added to the others, and this is so put into the cheese- vat
as to form the central part of the cheese. By this precau-
tion the after-salting on the surface is sure to penetrate deep
enough to cure effectually the less salted parts. In the
counties of Gloucester and Somerset the curd is pressed
without salt, and the cheese, when formed, is made to absorb
the whole of the salt afterwards through its surface. This
is found to answer well with the small and thin cheeses
made in these counties, but were it adopted for the large
cheeses of Cheshire and Dunlop, or even for the pine-apple
cheeses of Wiltshire, there can be no doubt that their qua-
lity would frequently be injured. It may not be impossible
to cause salt to penetrate into the very heart of a large
cheese, but it cannot be easy in this way to salt the whole
cheese equally, while the care and attention required must
be greatly increased.
Addition of cream or butter to the curd, — Another mode of
improving the quality of cheese is by the addition of cream
or butter Xi the dried and crumbled curd. Much diligence,
however, is required fully to incorporate these, so that the
cheese may be uniform throughout. Still this practice gives
THE DAIRY. 315
a peculiar character to the cheeses of certain districts. In
Italy they make a cheese after the mnnufr of the English^
into which a consitlorablc quantity of butter is worked ; and
the Rfchm cljecse of Belgium is nmdo by adiiiug half an
(Uince c»f butter and the yolk of an Cf^g to every j)ound of
pressed curd.
Size of the chrssc. — From thc! same milk it is obvious that
rhcoscs ufdifU'riMil ^<i/c^i, if treated in the same way, will, at
the end of a ^iven niunlx'r of mouths possess qualities in a
' ou^iderable degree dilferent. Hence, without su[)p<)sing
.'uy iuteriorily, either in the milk or in the general mode of
treatment, the size usually adopted for the cheeses of a par-
itcular district or dairy, may be the cause of a recognized
iiiferiority in some quality which it is desirable that they
shonld possess in a high degree.
The method of airing has very much influence upon the
.ifter-tjualilies of the cheese. The care with which they are
alted, the warmth of the place in which they are kei)t during
ihe first two or three weeks, the temperature and closeness
of the cheese-room in which they are afterwards preserved,
the tVe(iuency of turning, of cleaning from mould, and rubbing
with butter ; all these circumstances exercise a remarkable
influence upon the after-qualities of the cheese. Indeed, in
very many instances the high reputation of a particular dairy
liistrict or dairy ftirm, is derived from some special attention
to one or other or to all of the apparently minor points to
which I have just adverted. In Tuscany, the cheeses, atler
being hung up for some time at a proper distance from the
fire, are put to ripen in an underground, cool and damp cellar ;
and the celebrated French cheeses of Ro(|ucfort are supposed
to owe much of the peculiar estimation in which they are held,
to the cool and uniform temperature of the subterranean
caverns in which the inhabitants of the village have long
l>ecn accnstomed to preserve them.
Afnmoniacat cheese. — The influence of the mode of curing
upon the quality is shown very strikingly in the small ammo-
niacal cheeses of Brie, which are very much esteemed in
Paris. They are soft unpressed cheeses, which are allowed
to ripen in a room the temperature of which is kept between
60" and 70° Farenheit, till they begin to undergo the putrefac-
tive fermentation and emit an ammoniacal odor. They are
generally unctuous, and sometimes so small as not to weigh
more than an ounce.
316 AMERICAN AGRICULTURE.
Inoculating Cheese. — It is said that a cheese, possessed of
no very striking taste of its own, may be inoculated with any
flavor we approve of, by putting into it with a scoop a small
portion of the cheese which we are desirous that it should be
made to resemble. Of course this can apply only to cheeses
otherwise of equal richness, for we could scarcely expect to
give a Gloucester the flavor of a Stilton, by merely putting
into it a small portion of a rich and esteemed Stilton
cheese. — {Johnston and various other authorities.)
The statement of H. P. & G. Allen, and D. Marvin, each
of whom received premiums from the New- York State Soci-
ety is as follows.
Number of cows kept, eleven. Cheese made from two
milkings, in the English manner ; no addition made of
cream. Foji* a cheese cf 20 pounds, a piece of rennet about
two inches square is soal>ed about twelve hours in one pint of
water. As rennets differ much in quality, enough should be
used to coagulate the milk siifficiently in about forty minutes.
No salt is put into the cheese, nor any on the outside during
the first six or eight hours it is being pressed; but a thin coat
of fine Liverpool salt is kept on the outside during the
remainder of the time it remains in press. The cheeses are
pressed forty-eight hours under a weight of seven or eight
cwt. Nothing more is required but to turn the cheeses once
a day on the shelves. — {H. P. <Sf G. Allen.)
The milk is strained in large tubs over night ; the cream
stirred in milk, and in morning strained in same tub ; milk
heated to natural heat; add color and rennet; curd broke
fine and whey ofl', and broke line in hoop with fast bottom,
and put in strainer ; pressed twelve hours ; then taken from
hoop, and salt rubbed on the surface ; then put in hoop,
without strainer, and pressed forty. eight hours ; then put on
tables, and salt rubbed on surface, and remain in salt six
days, for cheese weigliing thirty pounds. The hoops to have
holes in the bottom ; the crushings are saved, and set and
churned, to grease the cheese. The above method is for
making one cheese per day. As in butter-making, the utmost
cleanliness is required in every part of the cheese-making
premises. — ( D. Marvin. )
BIIBEF. 317
(CHAPTER XVII.
S FI E E P .
Willi the exception of the dog, there is no one of the brute
creation which exhibits the diversity of size, color, form,
covering and general appearance which characterises the
sheep, and none which occupies a wider range of climate, or
ijiibsists on a greater variety of food. In every latitude be-
tween the equator and the arctic, he ranges over sterile
mountains, aiid through the fertile vallies. He feeds on
almost every species of edible forage, the cultivated grasses,
clovers, cereals and roots ; he browses on aromatic and bitter
herbs ; he crops the leaves and bark from the stunted forest
shrubs, and the pungent, resinous evergreens. In some parts
of Norway and Sweden, when other resources fail, he sub-
sists on tish or flesh during their long and rigorous winters,
and if reduced to ncicessity, he eats his own wool. He is
diminutive like the Orkney, or massive like the Teeswater.
He is policeratc or many horned ; he has two large or small
spiral horns like the Merino, or is polled or hornless like
tlie mutton sheep. He has a long tail like our own breeds;
a broad tail, like many of the eastern, or a mere button of a
tail, like the fat-rumps, discernible only by the touch. His
coat is sometimes long and coarse, like the Lincolnshire ;
short and hairy, like those of Madagascar ; soft and furry,
like the Angola, or fine and spiral, like the silken Saxon.
Their color, either pure or fancifully mixed, varies from the
white or black of our own country, to every shade of brown,
dium, butf, blue, and 'grey, like the spotted flocks of the
Cape of (iood H«jpe and other parts of Africa and Asia.
This wide diversity is the result of long domestication, under
almost every conceivable variety of condition.
Uses. — Among the antediluvians, sheep were immolated
for sacrificial offerings, and their fleeces probably furnished
them with clothing. Since the deluge, their flesh has with
all nations, been used as a favorite food for man ; and by the
318 AMERICAN AGRICULTURE.
rude, roving nations of the East, they arc employed in carry-
ing burthens. Their milk is generally used by the micivili-
zed, and to some extent, by the refined nations ot' Europe, not
only as a beverage, but for making into cheese, butter and
curds. Job refers to its use, as do Isaiah and other of the
Old Testament writers. Most of the Greek and Roman
writers describe its general use and manufacture. The ewe's
milk scarcely differs in appearance from that of the cow, but
is generally thicker, and yields a pale, yellowish butter, that
is always soft, and soon becomes rancid. Culley remarks,
"The cheese is exceedingly pungent, and for that reason is
preferred by many, to that from the cow." In Wales, it is
mixed with that of the dairy, and makes a tart, palatable
cheese. We have never seen it appropriated for dairy pur-
poses in the United States, except by a few Welsh and High-
land emigrants. The sheep is frequently employed in the
dairy regions of this country, at the tread-mill or horizontal
wheel, to pump the water, churn the milk, or perform other
light domestic work.
The dignity and importance of the shepherd's vocation
have ever been conspicuous. Abel, the supposed twin-brother
of the first-born of the human race, was a "keeper of sheep ;"
and from this it may be fairly inferred, that there is no ani-
mal, which has so long been under the immediate control of
man. Abraham and his descendants, as well as most of the
ancient patriarchs, were shepherds. Job had 14,000 sheep.
It is said of Rachel, the favored mother of the Jewish race,
" she came with her father's sheep, for she kept them." The
seven daughters of the priest of Midian, " came and drew
water for their father's flocks." Moses, the statesman and law-
giver, who " was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians,
kept the flocks of Jethro, his father-in-law ;" and David, the
future monarch of Israel, the hero, poet, and divine, was a
keeper of sheep. It was to shepherds, while " abiding in the
field, keeping watch over their flocks by night,", that the
birth of the Savior was announced. The root of the Hebrew
name for sheep, signifies fruilfulness, abundance, plenty ; as
indicating the blessings they were destined to confer on the
human race. With the sacred writers, they were tho cho-
sen symbol of purity and the gentler virtues ; they were the
victims of propitiatory sacrifices ; and finally they became the
type of redemption to fallen man. These may not be conside-
red accidental allusions in a book, whose every feature is full
of design. Nor has the sheep been less the subject of eulogy
SIIBEP. 316
and attention with profane writers. Among these, Homer
and Hosiod, Virgil and Theocritus, introduced them with
evident delight in their pastoral themes ; while their heroes
and demi-gods, Hercules and Ulysses, JGneas and Numa,
carefully perpetuated them throughout their regal domains.
In niolern times they have commanded the attention of the
most enlightened nations ; and their prosperity has in no in-
stance been independent of those useful animals, wherever wool
nnd its manufactures have been regarded as essential staples.
Spain and Portugal, for more than two centuries, were thd
most enterprizing nations of Europe, and during that period
they excelled in the production and manufacture of wool.
Flanders, for a time, was before England in the perfection of
the arts and the enjoyments of life, and England then sent the
Utile wool she raised to that country to be manufactured. Her
politic sovereigns soon found this a losing game, and offered
large bounties for the importation of artists and machinery.
By a systematic and thorough course of legislation, which
looked to the utmost protection and augmentation of wool and
woolens, she has carried their production beyond anything
the world has ever seen. The small islands of Great Britain
and Ireland, in addition to the support of their 26 000.000 of
people, 15,000,000 of cattle, 2,250,030 horses, 18,00:),000
swine, and innumerable smaller domestic anima's, maintain
50,000 000 sheep, worth $300,000,000 ; and besides manu-
facturing nearly all their fleeces, annually import an equal
amount from abroad. The sumptu iry law for burying the
dead in woolen, still occupies its place in their statute book.
And beyond all question, England is the leading power of the
nineteenth century, in the combination of all those qua'itie^,
which constitute national greatness, civilization and strength.
VARIETIES.
Naturalists have diviled the wild sheep into four varieties.
The Musimon (Ovis J^Iusimon^) inhabiting Corsica, Sardinia
and other islands of ths Mcjditerranean, the mountainous
parts of Spain and Greece and somo other regions bordering
upon that inland sea, have been frequently domesticated and
mixed with the long cultivated breeds. The Argali (O. Am-
mon) ranges over the steppes or elevated p'ains of Central
Asia, northward and eastward to the ocean. They are larger,
more hardy and more untameable than the Musimon. The
Rocky Mountain Sheep (O. Montana,) frequently called the
big-horn by our western hunters, is found on the prairies west
S20 AMERICAN AGRICULTURE.
of the Mississippi, and throughout the wild mountainous
regions, extending through California and Oregon to the
Pacific. They are larger, but in other respects resemble
the Argali, of which they are probably descendants, as they
could cross upon the ice, at Behring's straits, from the noth-
eastern cost of Asia. Like the argali, when caught young
they are easily tamed ; but we are not aware that they have
ever been bred with the domestic sheep. Before the country
was overrun by the white man, they probably inhabited the
region bordering on the Mississippi. Father Hennepin, a
French Jesuit, who wrote nearly two hundred years ago, and
\vho falsely claims to have first discovered that river, often
speaks of meeting with goats, in his travels through what is
now the territory embraced by Illinois and Wisconsin. The
wild, clambering propensities of these animals, occupying
the giddy heights, far beyond the reach of the traveller, and
the outer coating of hair, (supplied underneath however, with
a thick coating of soft wool,) gives to them much of the ap-
pearance of that animal. In summer they are generally
found single ; but when they descend from their isolated
rocky heights in winter, they are gregarious, marching in
flocks under the guidance of leaders. Tlie Bearded Sheep of
Africa (O. Tragelaphus) inhabit the mountains of Barbary
and Egypt. They are covered with a soft, reddish hair, and
liave a mane hanging below the neck, and large locks of hair
at the ancle.
The domesticated sheep (O. Aries) embraces all the
varieties of the subjugated species. Whether they have de-
/scended from any one of the wild races, is a question yet
imdetermined among naturalists ; but however this may be,
many of the varieties apparently differ less from their wild
namesakes than fro u each other. The Fai-ruinped and
jBroad-tailed sheep are much more extensively diffused than
any other. They occupy nearly all the south-eastern part of
Europe, Western and Central Asia, and Northern Afiica.
They are supposed to be the varieties which were propogated
by the patriarchs and their descendants, the Jewish race.
This is inferred from various passages in the Penteteuch,
Exodus, xxix. 22 ; Leviticus, iii. 9 ; viii. 25 ; ix. 19, and
some others, where " the fat and the rump" are spoken of in
connexion with offerings, in which the fiit was always an ac-
ceptible ingredient. Dr. Boothroyd renders one of the fore-
going passages, *' the large fat tail entire, taken clear to the
rump." It is certain this variety gives indisputable evidence
SHEEP. 831
of remote and continued subjugation. Their long, pendant,
drowsy ears, and the highly artificial posterior developments,
are characteristic of no wild or recently domesticated race.
This breed consists of numerous sub-varietios, differing in
all their characteristics of size, fleece, &c., with quite as
many and marked shades of distinction as the modern Euro-
pean varieties. In Madagascar, they are covered with hair ;
in the south of Africa, with coarse wool ; in the Levant, and
along the Mediterranean, the wool is comparatively tine ; and
from tliat of the fat-rumped sheep of Thibet, the exquisite Cash-
mere shawls are manufactured. Both rams and ewes are some-
times bred with horns, and sometimes without, and they ex-
hibit a great diversity of color. Some yield a carcass of
scarcely 30 lbs., while others have weighed 200 lbs. dressed.
The tail or rump varies greatly, according to the purity and
style of breeding; some are less than one eighth, while
others exceed one thii-d the entire dressed weight. The fat of
the rump or tail is considered a great delicacy, and in hot
climates resembles oil, and in colder, suet. The broad-tailed
were brought into this country about 50 years since, by
Commodore Barron and Judge Peters, and bred with the
native flocks. They were called the Tunisian Mountain
sheep. Some of them were subsequently distributed by Col.
Pickering, of Massachusetts, among the farmers of Pennsyl-
vania ; and their mixed descendants were highly prized as
prolific and good nursers, coming early to maturity, attaining
large weights of a superior quality of carcass, and yielding a
heavy fleece of excellent wool. The principal objection
brought against them, was the difficulty of propogation, which
always required the assistance of the shepherd. The lambs
were dropped white, red, tawny, bluish or black ; but all
excepting the black, grew white as they approached maturity,
retaining some spots of the original color on the cheeks and
legs, and sometimes having the entire head tawny or black.
The few which descended from those originally imported
into this country, have become blended with American flocks,
and are now scarcely distinguishable from them.
Native or common Sheep of the United States. —
Strictly speaking, there are no sheep indigenous to North
America, excepting the Ovis Montana^ or Rocky Mountain
sheep. Before the introduction, of the improved European
breeds, during the present century, our sheep consisted gener-
ally of a hardy, long-legged, coarse, open-fleeced animal, which
yielded according to attention and feed, from 1 i to 4 lbs. of
N*
324 AMERICAN AGEICULTURE.
to modern times the unrivalled race of the Merino. The
limited region of Italy, overrmi as it repeatedly was, during
and after the times of the late Emperors, by hordes of barba-
rians, soon lost her pampered flocks, while the extended
regions of Spain, intersected in every direction by almost
impassable mountains, could maintain their more hardy race,
in defiance of revolution or change.* The conquest by the
Moors of a part of those fine provinces, so far from checking,
served rather to encourage the production of fine wool.
They were not only enterprising, but highly skilled in the use-
ful arts, and carried on extensive manufactories of fine woolen
goods, which they exported to diflTerent countries. After
their expulsion in the 15th century, by Fei-dinand and Isabella,
the Spaniards preserved these manufactures in part, and sedu-
lously cherished their fine flocks, and knowing the incompar-
able advantage they had in them, their sovereigns, except in
a few isolated instances, strictly prohibited their exportation.
Exportation of Merinoes from Spain. — History asserts
that Henry VHI of England, by permission of Charles V,
imported 3000 sheep, but of what kind is not mentioned, they
having numerous varieties in Spain. If of the true Merino,
it will explain the superior quality of the English middle-
wools, the Ryeland, South Downs and some others. The
first well authenticated exportation of the Merino, was made
to Sweden in 1723, by Alstroemer, which solved the pro-
blem of their^capacity for sustaining their character, on rough
fare and in a high northern latitude. Lasteyrie, who wrote
50 years after the experiment had been tried, speaks of their
improvement both in carcass and the quality and quantity of
fleece. The next exportation was made to Saxony, in 1765,
and consisted of 105 rams and 114 ewes, but from what
flocks they were taken, history nowhere mentions. A second
exportion to that country, was made in 1778, of 110 that
* Whatever distrust may be attached to these scraps of History, which appa-
rently establish the remote antiquity of the Merino; this much is absolutely cer-
tain, that they are a race whose qualities are inbred to an extent surpassed by no
others. They have been improved in the general weight and evenness of their
fleece, as in the celebrated flock of Rambouillet •, in tiie uniform and excessive
fineness of fibre as injthe Saxons, and in their form and feeding qualities in various
countries ; l)ut there has'never yet been deterioration either in quantity or quality
of fleece or carcass wherever transported, if supplied with suitable food and atten-
tion. Most sheep annually shed their wool if undipped ; while the merino retains
its fleece, sometimes for five years, when allowed to remain unshorn. This we
conceive aflbrds conclusive evidence of long continued breeding among them-
selves, by which the very constitution of the wool-producing organs beneath the
tskin, have become permanently changed, and this property is transmitted to a great
extent even among the crosses, thus marking them as an ancient and peculiar
race.
were variously selected from the best flocks in Spain. From
these have descended the high bred, silken-fleeced Sa\ons,
whoso wool stands confessedly without a rival. In 1775, the
Kmpros.s Maria Theresa imported 300 Merinos into Ger-
many, and placed them on the imperial farm in Hungary. In
1786, an importation was made into Denmark and her provin-
ces; and again, in 1797, another flock of 300 was brought into
the kingdom, and placed at Esserum, about eight leagues
from Copenhagen. In 1786, 100 rams and 200 ewes were
imported into Prussia, most of which were allowed to perish
from disease, but their places were fully made up by later im-
portations. The same year, 400 ewes and rams were selected
from the choicest Spanish flocks, and placed on the Royal
tarm of Rambouillet, in France, which laid the foundation of
the celebrated flock which bears that name. A small flock of
inferior animals was clandestinely procured by George III, of
England, in 1788, which attracted little attention. In 1791,
a small but choice flock, was presented to that monarch, by
the Cortes of Spain, which soon acquired high favor among
many intelligent breeders. A part of these were kept pure,
and their descendants furnished the superb flock of 700 nigret-
tis, which procured for their owner, Mr. Trimmer, in 1829, the
gold medal trom the London Society of Arts Others were
mixed with different flock, in the kingdom, to the evident im-
provement of their fleeces.
The first importation of Merinoes into the United
States which resulted in the propagation of a pure breed,*
was made by Chancellor Livingston, then minister at the
court of Versailles, who sent two choice rams and ewes from
the Rambouillet flock in 1802, to Claremont, his country seat
on the Hudson. In the latter part of the same year. Col.
Humphreys, our minister in Spain, sent out nearly one hun-
dred Merinoes, which were followed by more numerous flocks
from the same and other sources. The largest importations of
the Merino, however, were made through Mr. Jarvis of Ver-
mont, then U. S. Consul in Spain, in 1809, and immediately
thereafter. He first shipped, as he states, "200 Escurial,
afterwards, 1400 Paulars, 1700 Aqueirres, 100 Nigrettis and
about 200 Montarcos. 2700 Montarcos, were sent out by a
Spaniard and Portuguese, and about 300 Guadaloupes by
others ; also 200 to 300 Paulars, by Gen. Downie, to Boston.
* One or more pure Merinoes, were imported into Massachusetts, in the latter
part of the last century, by a citizen of that state, but they were soon mixed
.With other flocks, and resulted ia the perpetuation of no distinct flocks.
324 AMERICAN AGRICULTURE.
to modern times the unrivalled race of the Merino. The
limited region of Italy, overrun as it repeatedly was, during
and after the times of the late Emperors, by hordes of barba-
rians, soon lost her pampered flocks, while the extended
regions of Spain, intersected in every direction by almost
impassable mountains, could maintain their more hardy race,
in defiance of revolution or change.* The conquest by the
Moors of a part of those fine provinces, so far from checking,
sensed rather to encourage the production of fine wool.
They were not only enterprising, but highly skilled in the use-
ful arts, and carried on extensive manufactories of fine woolen
goods, which they exported to different countries. After
their expulsion in the 15th century, by Ferdinand and Isabella,
the Spaniards preserved these manufactures in part, and sedu-
lously cherished their fine flocks, and knowing the incompar-
able advantage they had in them, their sovereigns, except in
a few isolated instances, strictly prohibited their exportation.
Exportation of Merinoes from Spain. — History asserts
that Henry VIII of England, by permission of Charles V,
imported 3000 sheep, but of what kind is not mentioned, they
having numerous varieties in Spain. If of the true Merino,
it will explain the superior quality of the English middle-
wools, the Ryeland, South Downs and some others. The
first well authenticated exportation of the Merino, was made
to Sweden in 1723, by Alstroemer, which solved the pro-
blem of their^capacity for sustaining their character, on rough
fare and in a high northern latitude. Lasteyrie, who wrote
50 years after the experiment had been tried, speaks of their
injprovement both in carcass and the quality and quantity of
fleece. The next exportation was made to Saxony, in 1765,
and consisted of 105 rams and 114 ewes, but from what
flocks they were taken, history nowhere mentions. A second
exportion to that country, was made in 1778, of 110 that
* Whatever distrust may be attached to these scraps of History, which appa-
rently establish the remote antiquity of the Merino-, this much is absolutely cer-
tain, that they are a race whose qualities are inbred to an extent surpassed by no
others. They have been improved in the general weight and evenness of their
fleece, as in the celebrated flock of Rambouilletj in the uniform and excessive
fineness of fibre as injthe Saxons, and in tlieir form and feeding qualities in various
countries -, but there has'never yet been deterioration either in quantity or quality
of fleece or carcass wherever transported, if supplied with suitable food and. atten-
tion. Most sheep annually shed their wool if undipped ; while the merino retains
its fleece, sometimes for five years, when allowed to remain unshorn. This we
conceive aflbrds conclusive evidence of long continued breeding among them-
selves, by which the very constitution of the wool-producing organs beneath the
skin, have become permanently changed, and this property is transmitted to a great
extent even among the crosses, thus marking them as an ancient and peculiar
race.
SHEEP. 325
were variously selected from the best flocks in Spain. From
these have descended the high bred, silken-fleeced Saxons,
whoso wool stands confessedly without a rival. In 1775, the
Kmprcs^ Maria Theresa imported 300 Merinos into Ger-
many, and placed them on the imperial farm in Hungary. In
1786, an importation was made into Denmark and her provin-
ces; and again, in 1797, another flock of 300 was brought into
the kingdom, and placed at Esserum, about eight leagues
from Copenhagen. In 1786, 100 rams and 200 ewes were
imported into Prussia, most of which were allowed to perish
liom disease, but their places were fully made up by later im-
portations. The same year, 400 ewes and rams were selected
from the choicest Spanish flocks, and placed on the Royal
tarm of Rambouillet, in France, which laid the foundation of
the celebrated flock which bears that name. A small flock of
inferior animals was clandestinely procured by George III, of
England, in 1788, which attracted little attention. In 1791,
a small but choice flock, was presented to that monarch, by
the Cortes of Spain, which soon acquired high favor among
many intelligent breeders. A part of these were kept pure,
and their descendants furnished the superb flock of 700 nigret-
tis, which procured for their owner, Mr. Trimmer, in 1829, the
gold medal trom the London Society of Arts Others were
mixed with different flock, in the kingdom, to the evident im-
provement of their fleeces.
The first importation of Mertnoes into the United
States which resulted in the propagation of a pure breed,*
was made by Chancellor Livingston, then minister at the
court of Versailles, who sent two choice rams and ewes from
the Rambouillet flock in 1802, to Claremont, his country seat
on the Hudson. In the latter part of the same year. Col.
Humphreys, our minister in Spain, sent out nearly one hun-
dred Merinoes, which were followed by more numerous flocks
from the same and other sources. The largest importations of
the Merino, however, were made through Mr. Jarvis of Ver-
mont, then U. S. Consul in Spain, in 1809, and immediately
thereafter. He first shipped, as he slates, "200 Escurial,
afterwards, 1400 Paulars, 1700 Aqueirres, 100 Nigrettis and
about 200 Montarcos. 2700 Montarcos, were sent out by a
Spaniard and Portuguese, and about 300 Guadaloupes by
others ; also 200 to 300 Paulars, by Gen. Downie, to Boston.
* One or more pure Merinoes, were imported into Massachusetts, in the latter
part of the last century, by a citizen of that state, but they were soon mixed
with other flocks, and resulted in the perpetuation of no distinct flocks.
326 AMERICAN AGRICULTURE*
Of the Montarco flock shipped by others, about 2500 came to
Boston, Providence, New York, and other ports. All were
imported in the latter part of 1809 and '10, and early in 1811,
and were the only Leonese Transhumantes, if we include
Humphrey's and Livingston's, (which I have no doubt were of
the same stock,) that were ever shipped to the United States."
Varieties of the Spanish Sheep. -^-Besides several other
breeds of sheep in Spain, consisting of long and coarse wool
and that of a medium staple, embraced under the diiferent
na.mes of CJiorinoes, Choaroes or Chunahs, the Merino is dis-
tinguished by two general divisions ; the Transhumantes or
travelling, and the Estantes or stationary iiocks. The for-
mer are subdivided according to the Provinces they occupy,
into Leonese, Segovian and Sorian. Many of the Estantes
were of the best quality in respect to carcass, constitution
and fleece, and such as were highly bred and in the hands of
intelligent breeders, were not surpassed by any of the Span-
ish flocks. There were also many choice sheep among the
Segovian and Sorian Transhumantes, but in general they
were decidedly inferior to those of Leon. These last were
universally regarded as the prime flocka of Spain. They
comprised the Escurial, the Paular, the Nigretti, the
Aqueirres or Muros, the Montarco, the Guadaloupe, Infan-
tado and some others.
There is much contradictory testimony as to the compara-
tive merits of the last mentioned flocks, as they were found
in Spain ; which is owing in part, doubtless, to the diflerence
in the specimens subjected to examination. We subjoin some
of the most reliable authorities' on this subject. M. Lastey-
rie, who investigated this matter closely says, " the Guada-
loupe have the most perfect form, and are likewise cele-
brated for the quantity and quality of their wool. The Pau-
lar bear much wool of a fine quality, but they have a more
evident enlargement behind the ears, and a greater degree
o^ throatiness, and the lambs have a coarse hairy appearance
which is succeeded by excellent wool. The lambs of the
Infantado have the same hairy coat when young. The
Nigretti are the largest and strongest of all the travelling
sheep in Spain." Mr. Livingston says, " The Escurial is the
most perfect of all the travelling flocks in Spain ; the Gua-
daloupe for form, fineness and abundance of the fleece ; the
Paular with similar fleeces are larger bodied. Those of
Castile and Leon have the largest with the finest coat.
Those of Soria are small with very fine wool ; and those
SHEEP. 327
also of Valencia which do not travel, and like the last have
fine wool but of a very short staple." Mr. Jurvis, who spent
many years in Spain under every advantage for studying
them closely, and who imported and has since bred large num-
bers of them on his estate in Vermont, says, " The Paulars
were undoubtedly one of the handsomest Hocks in Spain.
They were of middling height, round bodied, well spread,
straight on the back, the neck of the bucks rising in a mode-
rate curve from the withers to the setting on of the head,
their head handsome, with aquiline curve of the nose, with
short, fine glossy hair on the face, and generally hair on the
legs, the skin pretty smooth, that is, not rolling up or doub-
ling about the neck and body, as in some other flocks ; the
crimp in the wool was not so short as in many other flocks,
the wool was somewhat longer, but it was close and compact,
and was soft and silky to the touch, and the surface was not
so much covered with gum. This flock was originally
owned by the Carthusian triars of Paular, who were the best
agriculturists in Spain, and was sold by that order to the
Prince of Peace when he came into power. The Nigretti
flock were the tallest Merinoes in Spain, but were not hand-
somely formed, being rather flat-sided, roach-back and the
neck inclining to sink down from the withers ; the wool was
somewhat shorter than the Paular and more crimped, the
skin was more loose and inclined to double, and many of
them were wooled on their faces and legs down to their
hoofs. All the loose-skinned sheep had large dewlaps. The
Aqueirres were short-legged, round, broad bodied, with loose
skins, and were more wooled about their faces and legs than
any other flock I ever saw, the wool was more crimped than
Ihe Paular, and less than t-he Nigretti, but was thick and
soft. This flock formerly belong^'d to the Moors of Spain,
and at their expulsion, was bought by the family of Aqueirres,
The wool in England was known as the Muros flock, and
was highly esteemed. All the bucks of these three flocks
had large horns. The Escurials were about as tall as the
Paulars, but not quite so round and broad, being in general
rather more slight in their make ; their wool was crimped,
but not quite so thick as the Paular or Negretti, nor were
their skins so loose as the Nigretti and Aqueirres, nor had
they so much wool on the face and legs. The Montarco
bore a considerable resemblance to the Escurials. The Escu-
rial flock had formerly belonged to the crown, but when
Philip the II built the Escurial palace, he gave them to the
328 AMERICAN AGRICULTURE.
friars, whom he placed in a convent that was attached to the
palace, as a source of revenue. These four flocks were
moderately gummed. The Guadaloupe flock was rather
larger in the bone than the two preceding, about the same
height, but not quite so handsomely formed, their wool was
thick and crimped, their skins loose and doubling, their faces
and legs not materially different from the two latter flocks,
but in general they were more gummed than either of the
other flocks. In point of fineness there was very little dif-
ference between these six flocks, and as I have been told by
well informed persons, there is very little difference in this
respect among the Leonese Transhumantes in general. The
Escurials, the Montarcos and the Guadaloupes were not in
general so heavy-horned as the other three flocks, and about
one in six of the bucks were without horns."
The Saxon, we have before seen, is one of the varieties
of the pure bred Merino, the foundation of which was laid by
an importation of some of the choicest animals into Saxony,
in 1765. The great care and attention bestowed wpon these
sheep by the Elector, the nobility and the most intelligent
farmers, soon carried them to a point of uniformity and
excellence of fleece, never exceeded by the best of the origi-
nal flocks. The breeders were selected with almost exclu-
sive reference to the quality of the fleece. Great care was
taken to prevent exposure throughout the year, and they
were housed on every slight emergency. The consequence
of this course of breeding and treatment has been, to reduce
the size and weight of fleece, and partially to impair that
hardiness and vigor of constitution, which universally cha-
racterised the original Transhumantes. In numerous instan-
ces, this management resulted in permanent injury to the
character of their flocks, which America has severely felt in
several importations of worthless animals, which a too great
eagerness for improvement, induced her flockmasters to use
with the Spanish Merinoes and their descendants, as a means
for this object, but which has resulted in the introduction of
fatal diseases and serious deterioration in their flocks.
Tlie first importation of Saxons into this country was made
in 1823, of four good rams, two of which went to Boston and
the others to Philadelphia. The next was made the follow-
ing year, and consisted of 75 rams and ewes which were
brought to Boston and sold at public auction, and afterwards
were scattered over the country. Another lot of 180 fol-
lowed to the same place, the next year, and was sold in the
SHEEP. 329
same manner, but at an increased price, some selling as high
$450 each. These prices excited the spirit of speculation,
and the following year witnessed the importation of near
3000, many of wiiich were decidedly inferior. These were
all thrown upon the market for the most they would com-
mand, and in many instances, the sales not half covering the
cost of importation, the enterprise was abandoned as a specu-
lation, or commercial operation. The late Henry 1).
Grove, of [loosic, New-York, a native of Germany, and a
highly intelligent and thoroughly bred shepherd, accompa-
nied some of the best early importations to this country. He
selected 105 choice animals for his own breeding, which he
imported in 1827, and 70 more equally good, in 1828, and
with these he formed the flock from which he bred to the
time of his decease, in 1844.*
The Rambouillet flock was founded in 1786, by Louis
XVf, from a selection ot 400 of the best Spanish sheep,
whicii were placed on the royal farm at Rambouillet. These,
like the Saxon, received all the attention which intelligence
and wealth could bestow, and the conseque.nce was soon
manifest in their larger size, and the increased weight and
unifornn'ty in the fineness of their fleece ; the last improve-
ment being particularly evident in the absence of the coarse
wool which in many cases infested the quarters, and the jarr,
or hair which frequently abounds on the flanks, legs and thighs
of the original merino. Besides the crown flocks at Rambou-
illet, they are found in equal perfection on several other of the
royal farms, especially those of Malmaison, Perpignan, Aries,
Clermont, and some others. These flocks have been bred
for hardy constitution, large carcass and heavy fleece, of as
much fineness as consistent with large weights, and as uniform
in quality throughout, as possible. Mr. Gilbert, who was
* The average weight of fleece from the entire flock of Mr. Grove, nearly all of
which were ewes and lambs, aa stated by him to the writer, in 1842, was 2 lbs. 14
ounces, thoroughly washed on the shceps' back. This was realized after a short
-ummi'r and winters' keep, when the quantity of hay or its equivalent, did not
••xcoed by actual weight, 1^ lbs. i)er day, except to the ewes, which received au
additional quantity just before and after lambing. This treatment was attended
with no disease or loss by death, and with an increase of lambs, equalling one
for every ewe.
In a flock of pure Saxony sheep owned by Mr. Smith of Connecticut, as sl.ifcd in
a letter from the owner, published in the American Sheplierd, 104 ewes raised 101
lambs, and yielded 311 11« of wool, which sold at 70 cents per ll». For the 18
months preeerling, he lost but three animals out of 30fl, from ordinary casualties.
Ihil some flocks of pure Saxony, do not, in good condition, average over 2 lbs. per
head. A recent importation (May, \9-[(i) made by Mr. Taintor of Connecticut,
con^iisting of four buf ks and four ewes, from the celebrated Saxon flock of Baron
de Spreck, shew a size and vigor of constitution equal to any of their Merino
progenitors.
33d AMERICAN AGRICULTURE.
particularly familiar with them, says, " almost all the fleeces
of the rams, from two years old and upwards, weigh (un-
washed) from 12 to 13 lbs. ; but the mean weight, taking
the rams and the ewes together, has not quite attained to 8
lbs., after deducting the tags and the wool of the belly." Tho.
French pound is about one-twelfth heavier than the English;
but from the general custom of folding the sheep in France,
feeding them in fallows, and wintering them in houses, the
fleece becomes very dirty. The loss in washing (fit for man-
ufacturing) is abouj 60 per cent., so that the clean fleece of
the ram will average about 6 lbs., and that of the whole
flock, something under 4 lbs.
The first importation of the Rambouillefs to this country, was
in 1801, by M. Dellesert, of Paris, for M. Dupont, then in
New- York, and consisted of 4 choice rams, only one of which,
Don Pedro, reached this country. He was used among the
native ewes near Kingston, N. Y., for three years, and then
transferred to Delaware, where he effected great improvement
among the native flocks. The second was that made by the
late Chancellor Livingston, before alluded to. There was ano-
ther in 1840, by Mr. Collins, of Connecticut, comprising 30
select ewes and 2 rams. All these sheep possessed the cha-
racteristics peculiar to the variety as described. A still more
recent importation has been made by Mr. Taintor, of Con-
necticut, (during the present summer of 1846,) of 23 ewes
and 3 bucks.*
* We subjoin a description of these from the Editor of the American Agricultu-
rist, New-Vorlc. The rams, though young, are the most promising animals of
their breed we ever saw, and when full grown, will weigh at least from 2'15 lo
251) lbs. each. The sire of one was sold the past season for ®500. He slieared
23 lbs. of unwashed wool To give an idea of the ewes, we measured them after
they were shorn, and found they varied from •25.i to 29 inches in height over the
withers; and lest it maybe thought this superior height is attained by extra long
legs, we will add, that the height of the under side of their bodies from the ground,
was from 9^ to 12 inches; which, according to our observation, is no greater in
proportion to their size, than that of good American Merino sheep. Their weights
we took after being shorn. They varied from 124 to 15:) lbs. Some of them were
quite thin in flesh, the largest especially, which, if in tine condition and her fleece
on, would weigh at least 200 lbs. The following is the weight of their fleeces un-
washed. We took them ourselves in the presence of several witnesses, and as fast
as shorn from the ewes' backs The scales we used did not inark less than one
quarter of a pound, which will account for the absence of odd ounces.
No. 17 13 lbs. No. 100 12i lbs.
"27 15 " " 109 17 "
" 64 16| » " 110 17 "
" 71 14i " " 117 16| "
" 84 16| " " 118 1j| "
" 87. 16l " " 133 14? ♦'
" 94 17 " "195 I3i •'
109 107
The fleeces were about fourteen months old, but they had lost some on their
voyage out, and on account of the lateneaa of the season, were not shorn near as
siiREP. nsi
' The progress of the Merino in the United States.
— Though reaching back but half a century, the Merino flocks
of this country have been very fluctuating as to their value, in-
crease and improvement. When first introduced, they were
viewed with distrust by the majority of our farmers ; and it
was not till after several years' experience of their para-
mount merits, that they were generally disseminated. Rut the
ronfidence of our flock-masters having once been secured, it
has never been withdrawn, and they have ever since, been
cherished favorites. The prices for choice Merinos rapidly
increased after a few years, and Livingston states the average
price lor rams, in 1811, at $1000, and some were sold at a
nmch higher rate. This was the period of the embargo,
when our infant manufactures were just starting into life ; and
being followed by war with the greatest commercial nation
of the world, we were thrown entirely on our own resources
for the supply of our woolen and other fabrics, and wool and
sheep maintained their full value till the return of peace, in
1815. The flooding of our country with foreign goods, under
low duties, which succeeded this event, either broke down or
effectually paralyzed our woolen manufactures, and wool, ot
course, felt the full weight of this crushing influence. The
Merino rapidly declined in value, till its price nearly approxi-
mated to that of the native sheep. Their merits had, how-
ever, become so conspicuous, that the low prices produced a
more general diffusion, and they and their crosses were thus
sown broad-cast over the country.
close as it is customary ; besides, on several of them, from half to one pound of
the wool was left on the heads and legs, for the purpose of Riving an idea of their
fleeces to those who may call hereafter to look at them. Taking all these things
into consideration, it was the unanimous opinion of several sheep-masters present,
that the wool clipped from these ewes was not more than would have been equiva-
lent to one year's growth. We shall not compare the weight of these fleeces with
what is generally termed clean washed wool, as it is the most uncertain and
unsatisfactory comparison which can be made, for when it comes to be cleansed
by the manufacturer, it will vary in loss from 20 to 50 per cent, just as the case
may happen. It was the unbiased opinion of several wool dealers present, and our
own, (hat the shearing above would yield at least 3.5 lbs. of cleansed wool, fitted
for manufacturing without further loss, out of every 100 lbs. shorn. The fourteen
ewes yielded 216 lbs. unwashed, which would be equivalent to 75 lbs. 10 oz. tho-
roughly cleansed, or an average of •> lbs. 6 oz. per head. If any of our readers are
desirous to know what this would come up to, clean washed, they may safely add
one-third. This would bring the average as wool growers usually dispose of their
fleeces, to 7 lbs. 3 oz. per head, a yield totally unprecedented in this country. The
usual average weight of good Merino ewes is about half this. The average of the
flocks in Europe from which these sheep were chosen, is, for rams from 15 to 17
lbs. per head; for ewes 11 to 13 lbs., unwashed. The average price of such wool in
its unwashed state, is 26 cents per lb. of our money. These sheep show great vigor
of constitution, and are remarkably well formed, with enormous dewlaps and folds
all over the carcass. Their fleeces are very close, thickly covering the head and
legs as well as the body, and are uncommonly even, the wool being nearly as good
on the flanks as on the shoulders, while its felting properties are unsurpassed. In
fineness of quality it is equal to the best American Merino.
332 AMERICAN AGRiCULtUlilJ.
The introduction of the Saxons, in great numbers, in 1826,
many of which were excessively diminutive and diseased,
and their indiscriminate use with our pure bred Merinos, was
a serious interruption to the career of improvement in many
of our flocks. Their mixture with the best Saxons was no
further detrimental, than to reduce the quantity of fleece, and
to a certain extent, lessen the peculiar hardiness of the ori-
ginal Transhumantes, which had been fully preserved by
their descendants in this country. The use of well selected
Saxon rams with Merino flocks was extensively practised,
and it is still persisted in by intelligent flock-masters, after 20
years' experience, who are satisfied that they find it for their
interest to continue this style of breeding. The animals
being smaller, consume less, and they probably produce a
quantity of wool in proportion to their food, which, from its
improved and uniform quality, commands a higher price in
the market. Wherever they are not suflficiently hardy, they
can be bred back towards the Spanish Merino standard, by
the use of some of the stouter rams. Their natures are intrin.
sically the same. They are only divergent streams from the
same original fountain, and when again united, they readily
coalesce and flow onwards, without violence or disorder.
The Merino, as might reasonably have been anticipated,
when properly managed, has improved from a variety of
causes. Though kept scrupulously pure in Spain, they were
seldom bred with that refinement of taste, or that nice judg-
ment which distinguishes the accomplished modern breeders.
Their management was too entirely entrusted to ignorant
shepherds or careless agents, to secure that close attention
which is essential to improvement. The sheep had to perform
a journey of several hundred miles twice in a year, to and
from their distant Sierras ; and it w^as absolutely essential
that strong animals should be selected for breeding ; and to
secure this object, those were frequently used which were de-
ficient in the most profitable qualities. They were also
closely bred in-and-in, seldom or never departing from a
particular flock to procure a fresh cross. Their wild, noma-
dic life, approaching nearly to that of their natural state, and
their peculiarly healthful pasturage, alone prevented a serious
deterioration from this cause. When brought into the United
States, the flocks were soon mingled with each other, and for
many years past, probably, not an unmixed descendant of any
distinct original flock could be traced. Abundance of appro-
priate food has been given them, without the labor of long
i
SHEEP. 333
and fatiguing journeys ; and lastly, there has been much care
used in the selection of the most profitable animals for breed.
The spirit of improvement has been recently awakened to
this important branch of American husbandry, and if not ar-
rested by any untoward national policy, it will soon result in
giving us numerous flocks of as choice sheep as the world af-
Ibitls, as we have already all the elements within ourselves
for its attainment.
PEt;uLiARiTiEs OF THE Merixo. — The prominent peculi-
arities of the Merino, are the abundance and fineness of its
fleece, the tenacity with which it is held, its crimped or spiral
form, its felting properties, and the excessive quantity of
yolk, giving to it that softness which distinguishes it from all
others. Their large horns are common to several other va-
rieties. Their hoofs are sometimes singularly long, reaching
8 or 10 inches when allowed to grow. The horns, hoofs and
wool scarcely differ in their chemical constituents, and the
j)eculiar development of the two former, is justly considered
as an additional evidence of their wool-bearing properties.
The yolk in most of the sheep, forms, with the dust which
adheres to it, a firm crust on the exterior, and together with
the compactness of the fleece, it offers considerable resistance
to the open hand on being pressed, giving the impression of
rigidity. This outer covering repels the rain, the snow, and
the wind like a coat of mail, thus fitting the Merino to endure
exposure better than any other sheep. On opening the crust,
the wool is found of a brilliant, golden hue, sparkling with
yolk, and firmly held together in masses, hardly distinguisha-
ble from the cocoon of the silk-worm. The wool closely
covers every part of the body, and frequently the entire legs
and head, excepting a part of the face.
Another peculiarity of the Merino is its longevity. They
attain a great age when properly managed, and in healthy
localities, sometimes breed till 20 years of age. The Merino
may be described, generally, as a small-boned, closely made,
medium sized sheep, varying from 80 lbs. of live weight for a
small ewe, to 160 lbs. for good sized wethers and rams, in
ordinary condition. They are light in the shoulders and
chest, and are, altogether, more deficient in form than the
best mutton sheep. This apparent difference is materially
lessened when both are denuded of their fleece ; as the longer
pile of the latter covers defects, which would manifest them-
selves under the closer covering of the Merino. Yet, with
this seeming deficiency, Young found, in feeding, between
334 AMERICAN AGHICULTURE.
the Merino and Bakewell, that the latter ate the most, and
gained the least, in the ratio of two to three. We give the
statement as we find it, though it apparently contravenes a
fundamental principle, which a knowledge of all the circum-
stances of the trial, the peculiarities of the particular animals,
&c., might probably explain satisfactorily. The mutton is
excellent, and it is probably, not surpassed by that of any
other sheep. Lord Somerville claims it as a rule, that the
quality of the flesh in each class of sheep, follows that of the
wool, and that the flesh of the short and line-wooled sheep is
closer in the grain and more highly flavored than the long-
wooled. Sir Joseph Banks says, the London butchers, after
having some of their Merinos, eagerly sought for more, from
its popularity with their best customers ; and it is certain that
the flavor of our mountain fed Merino does not .sufler in com-
parison with the choicest breeds.
Breeding Merinos. — The general principles of breeding
cattle and sheep, as laid down by the most approved authori-
ties, must be taken with some exceptions, when applied to
the Merino. Good form and feeding qualities are desirable
in this breed, but they are not as essential as with the others.
Wool is the great object, and if this be sufficiently fine, even
and abundant, something may be abated in the perfection of
form. Early maturity, so much sought after in the mutton
sheep, cannot be reconciled with the great longevity, and
the prolonged productive powers of the Merino. We must
content ourselves therefore, with slowly engrafting such im-
provements on the breed, as can be effected without prejudice
to his other good qualities, and look to his crosses with others
for such qualities as are irreconcilable with his nature. It
is considered indispensable to the improvement of the Merino,
that it be not bred too young. A vigorous ewe may bring
her first lamb at two years old, but it is better that it be
deferred till three. The ram should never be used till his
second year; and then but sparingly. From 21 to 6 years
old is deemed the most vigorous age, though many may be
safely used till 8 or 10, and occasionally later. Both ewes
and rams have been known to breed till 20 years old.
TJie ram should be large, stout and well made, carrying
his weight as compactly as possible. The nose should be
convex ; the face covered with a soft velvety hair ; the eye
lively and prominent ; the veins near the lachrymal glands,
of a clear red ; the horns rough ; short neck ; pendant dew-
lap not objectionable ; full chest , broad shoulders ; broad,
BHEHF. 335
level back ; large quarters ; tail large and well set up ; good
legs, and sound hoofs ; with a firm, easy, regular gait ; the
head carried higii, with a look of boldness and decision, with-
out ill any degree approaching to wildness or ferocity. Tlie
ciw should possess these characteristics generally, with such
modifications as are suited to the sex. CJreat care should be
taken to breed from such as are most |H;rfect in ail the essen-
tial points of constitution, form and size ; and weight, uni-
formity and fineness of fleece. The closest observation ia
requisite to select the best in all respects.
In-and-in breeding should be avoided where practicable,
which can be done where there is a careful registry of the
sheep, for successive generations. Excessive use of rams
can never be permitted without decided injury to them and
their progeny. In Spain, tour rams are supplied to every
hundred ewes. This limited number is proper enough, where
they undergo so much fatigue in travelling, and kept too, as
they are, entirely on grass. But if moderately grained
before and during their use, and especially if kept up, and
allowed to serve the ewes once only as they come in heat,
the number may be largely increased. A vigorous ram will
suffice for 35 to 40 ewes, when running with the flock ; yet
his powers would not be more taxed by double or even treble
this number, if admitted to each but once. Bread is a con-
venient food for the ram while running with the sheep. If
he is gentle, which he should always be, he will come up
readily and eat from the hand, without exciting the attention
of the other sheep which crowd, and not unfrequently injure
each other when grain is placed before him ; or they may
be stabled at night when they are fed with grain. If young
ewes have stolen lambs, they should be taken away from
them immediately after yeaning, and the nourishment sup-
plied to the lamb from the milk of a cow. The tax of nur-
sing is nearly equal to that of gestation, and farther injury
to the dam may be avoided by this practice. Merino ewes
have had the reputation of being indifterent nurses in Spain.
This is owing to their fatigue in travelling, and frequently to
scanty pasturage, instead of any constitutional deficiency.
It is a frequent practice there, to kill a part of the lambs and
put one on to two ewes. This has never been found neces-
sary in the countries where they have been transplanted, as
generous feed for the dams, has invariably been found entirely
adequate to their support of the young.
336 AMERICAN AGRICULTURE.
The localities in which Merino sheep can be profitably kept
in the United States, arc wherever the pastures are sweet and
dry ; the climate not too hot, and the land not too valuable
for other purposes. Wool is the great object in the sheep
husbandry of this country, and when sheep farms are remote
from the large markets, the Merino will make much the most
profitable returns. In the neighborhood of cities, where
large and fat sheep and early lambs bear a high price, the
mutton sheep may be substituted.
The South-Down. — This valuable sheep has been known
and bred for a long time on the chalky downs of England,
where it has always maintained the character of a hardy
animal, yielding a medium quality of wool, and furnishing
mutton of a superior flavor. It was not however, till within
the last 70 years, that any considerable attention was devoted
to its improvement. Since that period, its line points have
been remarkably developed, which is shown in its improved
size and form, and its early maturity and productiveness.
The late Mr. John Ellman of England, was the first who
took them thoroughly in hand ; and so eminent was his suc-
cess, that he founded a flock which has been the source from
which all the best blood has been since derived. His crite-
rion of a good South-Down is as foUg^ws : — " The head small
and hornless ; the face speckled or grey, and neither too long
nor too short. The lips thin, and the space between the
nose and the eyes narrow. The under jaw, or chap, fine and
thin ; the ears tolerably wide, and well covered with wool,
and the forehead also, and the whole space between the ears
well protected by it, as a defence against the fly. The eye fiill
and bright, but not prominent. The orbits of the eye — the
eye-cap, or bone, — not too projecting, that it may not form
a fatal obstacle in lambing. The neck of a medium length,
thin towards the head, but enlarging towards the shoulders
where it should be broad and high, and straight in its whole
course above and below. The breast should be wide, dee]>,
and projecting forwards between the fore legs, indicating a
good constitution, and a disposition to thrive.- Correspon-
ding with this, the shoulders should be on a level with the
back, and not too wide above; they should i)ow outward from
the top to the breast, indicating a springing rib beneath, and
leaving room for it. The ribs coming out horizontally from
the spine, and extending far backward, and the last rib pro-
jecting more than the others ; the back flat fi-om the shoul-
ders to the setting on of the tail ; the loin broad and flat ;
SHEEP. 337
the rump long siiid broad, aiid the tail set on high and nearly
on a level with the spine. The hips wide ; the space
between them and the last rib on cither side as narrow as
possible, and tiie ribs, generally, presenting a circular form
like a barrel, The belly as straight a& the back. The legs
neither too long nor too short. The forc-legs straight from
the breast to the foot ; not bending inward at the knee, and
standing far apart both before and behind ; the hocks having
a direction rather outward, and the twist, or the meeting of
the thighs behind, being particularly full ; the bones fine, yet
having no appearance of weakness, and of a speckled or
dark color. The belly well defended with wool, and the
wool coining down before and behind to the knee, and to the
hock ; the wool, short, close, curled, and line, and free from
spiry projecting fibres."
Other breeders have commenced where Ellman loll oflj
and have apparently pushed their improvement to its utmost
capacity ; and especially has this been done by Messrs.
Grantham and Webb, the latter of whom, while preserving
all the essential merits of the sheep, has carried the live
weight of breeding rams, to 250 lbs., and well fattened wethers
to 200 lbs. dressed weight. Many of the choicest animals
have been imported into this country, and they are now to
l)e found in limited numbers in almost every State of the
Union. The wool was formerly short and used only for
cloths, flannels, d:c. It has been considerably lengthened
in many of the late flocks, and with the improvements in
the combing machinery, is now much used in England, as
a combing m'ooI. The quantity produced is nearly equal to
that of the Merino flocks when well kept, varying according
to the size and style of breeding, from 3 to 4 lbs. of clean
washed wool, which in quantity, does not differ materially
from half-blood INIcrino, and sometimes rather exceeds it.
The larger animals of course, produce fleeces of much
greater weight, sometimes reaching to 8 or 9 lbs. The South
Down will subsist on short pasture, but well repays full feed-
ing. It attains early maturity, is hardy and prolific, frequently
])roclucing two at a birth. Like all highly improved English
i)reeds, it is not a long-lived sheep. It may be considered in
its prime at three. The wethers may be fattened at 18 to 30
months, and the ewes at 3 to .') years, when first required as
])rccders. The last arc sometimes allowed to come in with
a lamb at a year, but they cannot be sustained in vigor, if put
to breeding before two.
O
338 AMERICAN AaRICULTURE.
The Chevoit is thus described by Blacklock: "They
have a bare head, with a long jaw, and white face, but no
horns. Sometimps they have a shade of grey upon the nose,
approaching to dark at the tip ; at others, a tinge of lemon
color on the face, but these markings scarcely affect their
value. The legs are clean, long, and small-boned, and cov-
ered with wool to the hough ; but there is a sad want of
depth at the .breast, and of breadth both there and on the
chine. A fat carcass weighs fjom 12 lbs. to 18 lbs. per quar-
ter, and a medium ileece about 3 lbs. The purest specimens
of this breed are to be found on the Scotch side of the Che-
voit hills, and on the high and stony mountain farms which
lie between that range and the sources of the Tevoit. These
sheep are a capiial mountain stock, provided the pasture
resembles the Chevoit hills, in containing a good proportion
of rich herbage." They are eminently adapted to high
lands and a severe climate, though less so than the Black-
faced or Heath sheep of Scotland. They have become an
American sheep, by their repeated introduction into this
country. A late importation of several choice sheep was
made by Mr. Carmichael of New-York. The wool on these
is from 5 to 7 inches long, coarse, but well suited to combing.
Like the Downs, it has heretofore been classed among the
middle wools, but these specimens would seem to indicate
that they are verging towards the long wools.
The Bakewell or Leicester, the Cotswold and
Lincolnshire possess several qualities in common, and it is
only a practiced eye that can readily detect the difierence.
This resemblance arises from a recent, common origin. They
are all large and hornless; of a pure wh.te; with long,
coarse and heavy fleeces ; excellent mutton sheep ; coming
early to maturity, and capable of carrying enormous quanti-
ties of fat. There have been from time immemorial, numer-
ous flocks of these large, coarse wooled sheep, existing in
certain parts of England under a variety of names, and par-
taking of some slight peculiariry of features, according to the
district in which they are bred. Thus, besides those above
mentioned, there were the Teeswater, the Romney Marsh,
the Kentish, the Bampton, the Exmoor, &c., all of which were
deficient in form, slow feeders, and late in coming to maturity.
Improvement of the Long Wools. — The late Robert Bakewell
first commenced a decided improvement with the Leicesters,
nearly a century since. He began by selecting the choicest
sheep in England, which possessed the essential qualities ;
BUEEP. 399
and by judicious feeding and management throughout, he soon
brouj^ht thoMi up to a character widely diOuriiig from the ori-
ginal with which ho started. So ciiiiiiciit was his .success,
that iti 17^^7, ho h;t three rams for 1250 pounds, (about
$6;2()l>,) ati<i was olKMvd 1()'>0 pounds, (about $V-^0,) li.r
ViO ewes. Soo!i alior this, ho received the enormous j)rice of
800 guineas, or $1,000, for the use of two thirds of a single
ram lor a season, reserving th(^ other third for himself. He
reduced the bone and olfal or wortidess parts of the carcass,
iiiii increased the weight of the vahial>le parts, and especially
iheir tt ndent y to fatten and early maturity. This was elTec-
tcvl mainly, by a nice discrimination, which has probably
n<'vcr been surpassed, if it has ever been ecjualled. He se-
lecled nu'dium sizes for the breed, with as much eveuness and
perlection of form as possible, for he found that excellence and
prolitable li'eding qualities were seldom connected with extra
size, large bones, or imperfect Ibrm. He also observed the
disposition to fatten in individuals, and used only such as
were conspicuous in this respect. He relied more than all
upon their quality of handling well, depending even more
upon the elastic, mellow touch, than upon the most symmet-
rical figure. He used only the choicest rams, a little under
size, while the ewes were of full medium weight. The pro-
geny were pushed with a full supply of nutritious food, and
systematically brought to early maturity. Connected with
this, was his practice of in- and-in breeding, or breeding the
I'.irent upon the progeny, tor several successive generations,
which had the tendency still further to refine the bone and
oilal, and impress most etiectually, the desirable characteris-
tics of the race. It is even credibly asserted, that he produced
rol in such of his tattening sheep as he wished to nrature
early tor the shambles, as in the first stages of that loathsome
disease, the fat-secreting organs accomplish their ofiice more
rapidly than in a state of perfect health, and it at least secured
them against breeding when they left his own hands. It is
certain, that Bakewell carried his refining system to such an
extent, as partially to destroy the procreative powers; and
he was subsequently obliged to introduce new animals to re-
invigorate and continue his llock. The general system of
Bakewell, however, was attended with complete success.
He produced a race of anitnal?, not only tar beyond what
England had ever before seen, but which, in all the qualities
he endeavored to establish, have not been exceeded since ;
and his improved Leicesters have come down to the present
340 AMERICAN AGRICULTURE.
day as perfect as he left them, showing conclusively, that he
not only formed, but stamped the peculiarities of the breed,
with a permanence which yet bears witness to his genius.
One of these attained the enormous live weight of 368 lbs.,
and dressed, 248 lbs.
The Cotswold and Lincolnshire. — Other breeders were not
slow in following in Bakewell's footsteps with different breeds,
and the Cotswold and Lincolnshire especially, have become
the subjects of an equally decided improvement, while the
errors of iBakewcll were entirely avoided. They possess a
rather more desirable robustness, approaching in some few
specimens, almost to coarseness, as compared with the finest
Leicesters ; but they are more hardy and less liable to dis-
ease. They attain as large a size and yield as great an
amount of wool, of a1)out the same value. These breeds
scarcely differ more from each other, than do flocks of a simi-
lar variety, which have been seprately bred for several
generations. They are prolific, and when well fed, the
ewes will frequently produce two lambs at a birth, for which
they provide liberally from their udder till the time for wean-
ing. The weight of the fleece varies from 4 to 8 lbs. per head.
Peculiarity of long wool and its uses. — The striking
pi^culiarity of the long wools^ is in the production of a fleece,
which is perfectly adapted, by its length and the absence of
tiic felting property, to the manufacture of worsted stuflTs, bom-
bazines, mousseline de laines, d:c. This is a branch of our
manufactiu'cs for wdiich we had little material that was suita-
ble, till the introduction of the long wools ; and its rapid ex-
tension within the past tew years, clearly shows, that a large
and increasing demand for this kind of wool wifl continue at
remunerating prices. Besides its uses for combing, it is ex-
tensively manufactured into blankets, carpeting, and many
other fabrics.
Importation of liONo Woils. — Several of the Bakewells
were imported dining the last century; and many flocks
containing some of the best sp cimens, have been introduced
and scattered over every section of the country. The lar-
gest of any single importation of the long wools, M'as made
by Messrs. Corning & Sotham, in 1842, and immediately
preceding, and consisted of 70 or 80 choice Cotswolds.
Breeding the TiONG Wools. — Some information on this
Fubj'^ct will be found under the head oi" breeding Merinos^ and
improvement of the Loiig Wools. The ram and ewe should be
selected from the best specimens of the breed which is to be
8TI13EP. 341
perfH3tuate(l. There arc peculiarities of form or appearance
in each, which should be carefully observed. Neither should
a violent cross ever be taken for the purpose of perpetuation,
as suggested, under the head of principles of breeding, in a
previous chapter; such as between those |)ossessing totally
opposite pro|)erties, as the Merino and Long Wools; and there
is no conceivable advantage in mixing the middle wools,
South Down.*, tS:c., with either. Lord Western has long
experimented on the blending of the Merino and Long Wools
through several generations, without any success, nor is it
believed to bo attainable. There is no evenness or integrity
of character either in the animal or fleece from such mix-
tures, nor is it possible to foretel the character of progeny
from such bastarti crosses. The general rule, that like be-
gets like, will not hold true here, for the animal comes large
or small, with a long or short fleece, fine or coarse, or inter-
mixed ; and this too is repeated through numerous genera-
tions, when the immediate parents exhibit properties altogether
unlike the offspring, and which it derives from some remote
ancestry. This practice will do to produce lambs for the
butcher, as the consequence of a fresh cross is greater stami-
na and thrift ; and it is found that lambs thus bred, attain an
early and lull development. Thousands of sucli are annually
bred on the banks of the Hudson, Long Island, and around
our large cities, and in the worst possible w^ay ; as the large,
coarse ram is used on the delicate Saxon ewe ; yet the lambs
thrive and command a good price in the market, and the
owner is satisfied to pocket the result. Yet nothing could
be more absurd than to propagate from such progeny for any
other purpose.
The mixture of breeds of similar character, is attended
with the best consequences. Such was the intermingling of
the improved Leiccsters with the Cotswold and Lincolnshire,
by which the latter were refined ; and such was the use of the
latter with the Leicesters, when they became impotent and
almost worthless from over-refinement in breeding. Good
results have followed the mixture of the South and Hampshire
Downs. A marked improvement in the Merino in this coun-
try, has been claimed by Mr. Jarvis, and several others, from
the mixture of the various flocks, which for ages had been ke|)t
distinct in Spain ; and the same result is known to have fol-
lowed a similar course with the Rambouillet and Saxon flocks.
The ewe goes with young about five months, varying from
145 to 162 days. Each flock-master will of course deter-
342 AMERirAN AfiHICULTTTRT:.
mine what is the proper time for his lambs to come. For
early market, or when there are few sheep, and those well
looked alter, they may come while the ewes are in the yards,
and provision can be made for the progeny, by placing such
as are heavy, in warm stalls. Both the dam and young thus
receive a closer attention than they would in the field ; and
after a weeks housing in severe weather, the lamb may be
turned out into the dry yard, where he will suffer no more,
apparently, than the full grown sheep. But with large flocks,
early lambing is attended with much trouble, and it is gene-
rally avoided, by deferring it till the weather has become
more settled, and a iijll bite of grass will afibrd the dam a
plentiful supply of milk. Yet in this case, the young sheep
must daily be under the eye of the shepherd, who should see
that they are well supplied with food, and especially that they
are brought under cover in severe or stormy weather.
A ram will serve from 10 to 100 ewes in a season, accord-
ing to his age, health, feed, and management. A South
Down or Long Wooled lamb of 7 or 8 months, is sometimes
used, and when this is done, he should be well fed, and al-
lowed to run only with a very few ewes. If full grown rams
are turned into a lean pasture to remain with the ewes, not
less than four should be put in for every hundred. But if a
well-fed ram, in full health and vigor, is kept up, and led out
to the ewe as she comes into heat, and allowed to serve her
once only, he will suffice for one hundred, without injury to
himself or progeny. For this purpose, the ram should be
prepared, not by being fat, for this, neither he nor the ewe
should ever bo ; but by being fed with grain for a short time
before and during the continuance of the season. The ewes
are more likely to come quickly into heat, and prove prolific,
if lightly fed with stimulating food at the time. It is reason-
ably enough conjectured, that if procreation, and the first
period of gestation takes place in cold weather, the foetus will
subsequently be fitted for the climate which rules during the
early stages of its existence. If this be so, and it is certainly
in accordance with the laws of natin-e, fine wooled sheep are
most likely to maintain their excellence, by deferring the
connexion of the male, till the commencement of cold weather ;
and in the northern states, this is done about the first of De-
cember, which brings the yeaning time in the last of April
or first of May, when the early grass will afford a good qual-
ity of feed.
SHEEP. 343
Winter Management and Food. — Sheep should be
i)rought into winter quarters soon after the severe frosts oc-
cur, as thesis diminisiii tho feed, and materially impair its nu-
tritious qualities!. Tliey ought also to bo removed from the
grass lands bo (ore they beco c permant'ntly Hoflened by the
rains, as they will injuriously afiect their comibrt and health ;
and it is equally objectionable from their poaching the sod.
If the number be large when brought to the yards, they must
i'^ carefully divided into Hocks of 50 to 100, according to the
i/.e of the yards and sheds. The young and feeble must be
- -parated from the others, and the ailing ones placed by them-
"Ives ; and that no one maysuflbr from the other*, all should
be classed as unitbrmly as possible as to strength. The
yai-ds must be dry, well supplied with a trough of fresh water,
and with comfortable sheds to which they can retire when
they choose.
Shelters in northern climates are indispenable to profita-
ble sheep-raising, and in every latitude north of the Gulf of
Mexico, they would be advantageous. There is policy as
well as humanity in the practice. An animal eats much less
when thus protected ; he is more thrifty, less liable to disease,
and his manure is richer and more abundant. The feeding
may be done in the open yard in clear weather, and under
cover in severe storms. The shelters for sheep are variously
constructed, to suit the taste or circumstances of the fleck-
master. A sheep-barn built upon a side hill w'ill afford two
floors ; one underneath, surrounded by three sides of wall and
opening to the south, with sliding or swinging doors to guard
against storms ; and another overliead, if the floors are made
perfectly tight, with gutters to carry olf the urine ; and suffi-
cient storage for the ftxldcr may be made by scaffolds. Or
they may be con?tructed with 12 or 15 feet posts on level
ground, allowing them to occupy the lower part, with the fod-
dtir stoned above, in all ca^es however, thorough ventilation
should be providedj for of the two evils of ex})Osure to cold
or too gr(;at i)rivation of air, the former is to be preferred.
iShepp cannot long endure close confinement without injury.
In all ordinary woather, a shed closely boarded on three sides,
with a close roof, is sufficient protection, especially if the
open side is shielded from bleak winds, or leads into a well
enclosed yard. If the apartment above is used for storage,
the floors should be made tight, that no hay, chaff or dust can
fall upon the fleece.
344 AMERICAN AGRICULTURE.
Racks or mangers are indispensable to economical feed-
ing. If the hay is fed on the ground, the leaves and seeds,
the most valuable part of the fodder, are almost wholly lost,
and when wet, the sheep in their restlessness while feeding,
will tread much of it into the mud. To make an economical
box or rack, take G light pieces of scantling, say 3 inches
square, one for each corner, and one for the centre of each
side. Boards of pine or hemlock, 12 -or 15 feet long and 12
or 14 inches wide, may then be nailed on to the bottom of the
posts for the sides, which are separated by similar boards at
the ends, 2i feet long. Boards 12 inches wide, raised above
the lower ones by a space of 9 to 12 inches, are nailed on the
sides and ends, which completes the rack. The edges of the
opening should be made perfectly smooth to prevent chafing
the wool. The largest dimensions aljove given are suitable
for the large breeds, and the smallest for the Saxon, and still
smaller are proper for their lambs. These should be set on
dry ground, or under the sheds, and they can easily be remo-
ved wherever necessary. Some prefer the racks made with
slats, or smooth, upright sticks, in the form of the usual horse
rack. There is no objection to this, but it should always be
accompanied by a board trough affixed to the bottom, to catch
the line hay which falls in feeding. These may be attached
to the side of a building, or used double. A small lamb re-
quires 15 inches of space and a large sheep 2 feet, for quiet,
comfortable feeding, and at least this amount of room should
be provided around the racks for every sheep.
Troughs may be variously constructed. The most econo-
mical are made with two boards of any convenient length, 10
to 12 inches wide. Nail the lower side of one upon the edge
of the other, fastening both into a two or three inch plank,
15 inches long and a foot wide, notched in its upper edge in
the form required.
Food. — There is no better food for sheep than ripe, sound,
timothy hay, though the clovers and nearly all the cultivated
grasses may be advantageously fed. Bean and pea straw
are valuable, and especially the former, w^hich if properly
cured, they prefer to the best hay ; and it is well adapted
to the production of wool. All the other straws furnish a
good food, and sheep will thrive on them without hay when
fed with roots or grain. Roots ought to be given them occa-
sionally for a change, and especially to the ewes after lamb-
ing, if this occurs before putting them on to fresh pasture.
They keep the stomach properly distended, the appetite and
SHEEP. 846
general houlth good, and they render their winter forage
nearly equal to their summer feed. Much grain la not suited
to store-shoop. It is too rich, and should be givon sparingly
except to the lambs, the old owes or feeble sheep, or to restore
the rams aftor hard service. For the above purposes, oats
are the bf.st ; and if any other grain, beans or peas are given,
it should be in small quantities. When there is a deficiency
of hay and roots, grain may be used with straw. But the
rtock ought to be so fed as receive the same amount of nour-
ishment throughout every part of the year. The evenness
and value of the fleece depends much upon this. When the
amount of nutrition is great, the wool secreting organs are
distended, and the fibre becomes enlarged ; when limited,
fhey necessarily contract and the fibre is small. This pro-
dticesa want of trueness, which the experienced stapler readily
detects, and does not fail to estimate against the value of the
fleece. Sheep ought to have a full supply of salt, and if
accessible, sulphur, ashes, tar and clay would frequently
lie nibbled by them when their stomach required either. Pine
(»r hemlock boughs are a good substitute for tar, and afford a
most healthful change in the winter-food of sheep. Entire
cleanliness and dryness are also essential to the health of the
Hock. The smaller sizes of the Saxon may be well sustained
on two pounds of hay, but larger sheep will consume from
three and a half to four, or even five pounds per day. Sheep
like all other animals when exposed to cold, will consume
much more than if well protected, or than during a warmer
season.
The care of the ewes wi'h young, is an important consider,
ation, as the lamb is sometimes the only profit yielded by the
flock, for when fodder is high or wool low, the fleece will
barely pay for the food and attention. Pregnant ewes
require the same food as at all other times, but caution is
necessary to prevent injury or abortion, which is often the
result of excessive fat, feebleness or disease. The first may
be remedied by blood-letting and spare diet, and both the last
by restored health and generous fo( d. Sudden fright, as from
dogs or strange objects ; long or severe journeys ; gr^ at exer-
tions ; unwholesome food ; blows in the region of the foetus,
and some other causes produce abortion.
Yeaning. — Most flocks are turned into the pasture before
yeaning time, and the ewe is then lef^ to nature, which is a
good practice if she is healthy and the weather good. But
a larger number of lambs will be reared by a careful over-
O*
346 AMERICAN AGRICULTURE.
sight of the ewes and the use of proper precautions. As their
time approaches, which may be known by the springing of the
udder and the enlargement of the natural parts, they should
be put by themselves at night, in a warm stable or with others
in the same condition, and well looked after, late and early in
the day. They seldom need any assistance, nor should any
be rendered, except in case of wrong presentation, or feeble-
ness in expelling the foetus. In the former case, the shep.
herd may apply his thumb and finger after oiling, and push
back the young, and assist in gently turning it till the nose
and fore-feet appear ; and for the latter, only the slightest
aid should be, rendered, and that to help the throes of the
dam.
Management of lambs.. — When lambing in the field,
only a few should be together, as the young sometimes get
changed, and the dams refuse to own them. This dificulty
is generally obviated by holding the ewe till the lamb has
sucked two or three times ; or they may be shut up together,
and the lamb rubbed with a little fine salt. The lamb does
not require nourishment for some hours ; but if the dam re-
fuse to lick it as soon as it appears, it must becarefully wiped
dry. If the weather be cold and the lamb is dropped in the
field, the shepherd should be furnished with large pockets
or a well-lined basket, in which it must be placed till the
ewe is brought to the shed. After the first day or two, the
udders ought to be completely drained of their m.ilk by the
hand, so as to prevent swollen or caked bag. In case of de-
ficiency of milk, the lamb maybe supplied from a new-milcli
cow, by means of a sucking-bottle with an air vent, or it may
draw a part of its nourishment from another ewe, which
can be held while the lamb is sucking. It is sometime
necessary to substitute a foster-mother, in which case, the
ewe may be made to own the lamb, by milking from her
udder over the lamb and under his tail, rubbing it on xvell; or
rub the adopted lamb with the entrails and contents of the
stomach of the dead lamb, or cover it with the skin. If the
ewe proves a bad nurse, or it is desirable to bring the lambs
forward rapidly, they may be early taught to eat boiled oats or
other grain, cabbage, roots and tender hay. Lambs should
be well fed, as it is important to produce size, constitution and
perfection of form. The ewes and their young ought to be
divided into small flocks, and have a frequent change of
pasture. Some careful shephards adopt the plan of confin-
ing their lambs, and allow them to suck two or thee times a
BHEEP. 347
day, by which they sufler no i'atiguo and thrive much faster.
lUit this is troublejjonic and injurious, as the exercise is cssen-
lial to the healtli and constiTulion of the lamb intended for
rearing. It is admissible only when they are wanted for an
early market, and by those who keep sheep for this purpose, it
is a common practice.
Castrating and docking lambs — At^er selecting enough of
the choicest rams tor stock getters, the castrating may be
perlbrmed at any time between two and six weeks old, when
the lamb is in good health. A cool day should be chosen, or
if warm, it must be done early in the morning. The best
method is for one person to hold the lamb firmly between his
legs, on an inclined plank upon which he rests, while another
with a sharp knife, cuts ofl' about two thirds of the lower part
of the scrotum. The testicles are then drawn out till the
spermatic cord is reached, which is divided by the thumb nail,
or it is pulled out and cut with a sharp knife. It is sometimes
done by simply opening the scrotum, when the testicles and
spermatic cord are jerked out. The wound should then be
rinsed with cold water, after which apply lard. The opera-
tion of docking, is by many deferred till a late perioc], from
apprehension of too much loss of blood ; but if the weather
be favorable and the lamb in good condition, it may be per-
formed at this time with the least trouble and without injury.
The tail should be laid upon the plank, the person holding
him in the same position as before. With one hand he draw\s
the skin towards the body, while the other person with a two-
inch chisel and mallet, strikes it otT at a blow between the
bone joints, leaving it one and a half to two inches long. The
skin immediately slips back over the wound and is soon healed.
Ewe lambs should be docked closer than the rams. To pre-
vent flies and maggots, and assist in healing, it is well to apply
an ointment composed of lard and tar, in the proportions of
four pounds of the former to one quart of the latter. This is
also a good application for the scrotum. The lambs should
be carefully protected from cold and wet till they are perfectly
well.
Tagging or claUingj is the removal of such wool as is lia-
ble to get fouled when the sheep are turned on to the fresh
pastures, and of course it should be done just before leaving
their winter quarters. It is most easily accomplished by
placing the animal on a low table, and then holding it as in
shearing, till the operation is performed. All the wool near
the extremity of the sheath and the scrotum of the males,
348 AMERICAN AGRICULTURE.
from the udder of the ewes, and from the dock, and below it,
the inside of the thighs and from the legs of the sheep, should
be removed.
Summer Management. — As soon as the warm weather
approaches and the grass appears, sheep become restive and
impatient for the pasture. This instinct should be repressed
till the ground has become thoroughly dry, and the grass has
acquired substance. They ought moreover, to be provided
for the change of food, by the daily use of roots for a few
days before turning out. It would also check the tendency
to excessive purging, which is induced by the first spring
feed, if they were housed at night, and fed for the first few
days, with a little sound, sweet hay. They must be provided
with pure water, salt, &c. as in winter, for though they may
sometimes do tolerably well without either, yet thrift and
freedom from disease are cheaply secured by this slight
attention. Dry, sweet pastures, and such as abound in aro-
matic and bitter plants, are best suited for sheep-walks. No
animal with the exception of the goat, crops so great a vari-
ety of plants. They eat many which are rejected by the
horse and the ox, and which are even essential to their own
wants. In this respect, they are valuable assistants to the
husbandman, as they feed greedily on wild mustard, burdocks,
thistles, marsh-mallows, milk- weed and various other offend-
ing plants; and the Merino exceeds the more recent breeds
in the variety of his selections. Many prepare artificial
pastures for their flocks. This may be done with a number
of plants. Winter rye or wheat sown early in the season,
may be fed off in the fall without injury to the crop ; and in
the following spring the rye may be pastured till the stalks
shoot up and begin to form a head. This affords an early
and nutritious food. Corn may be sown broadcast or thickly
in drills, and either fed off in the fields, or cut and carried to
the sheep in their folds. An experiment made with white
mustard for feeding sheep, is detailed on page 216, which
shows it to be a valuable crop for this purpose. To give
sheep sufficient variety, it would be better to divide tTieir
range into smaller ones, and change them as often at least,
as once a week. They seek a favorite resting place, on a
dry, elevated part of the field, which soon becomes soiled. By
removing them from this t'br a few days, rains will cleanse,
or the sun dry it, so as again to make it suitable for them.
More sheep may be kept, and in better condition where this
HHEEP. 340
practice is adopted than where they are confined fo the same
pasture.
Washing Shekp. — In most of that portion of the Union
north of 40", the washing is performed from the middle of
May till the first of June, according to the season and cli-
mate. When the streams are liard, which frequently is the
case in lime-stone regions, it is better to do this immediately
after an abundant rain, by which the lime derived from the
springs is proportionally lessened. The practice of a large
majority of our farmers, is to drive their sheep to the wash-
ing ground, early in the morning of a warm day, leav-
ing the lambs behind. The sheep are confined on the
bank of the stream by a temporary enclosure, from which
they are taken, and if not too heavy, are carried into water
sufficiently deep to prevent their touching bottom. They
are then washed by gently squeezing the fleece with the
hands, after which they are led ashore, and as much of the
water pressed out as possible before letting them go, as the
great weight retained in the wool, frequently staggers and
throws them down. A good practice is to lead the sheep into
the water and saturate the fleece, after which they are taken
ashore. When they commence steaming, they are again led
into the water, and washed clean. This insures thorough
cleansing where the water is pure. Others make use of
a boat, one end of which rests on a bold shore and the other
is in deep water. The operator stands in the boat and
plunges the animal over the side where the washing is per-
formed ; or it is sometimes done by sinking a tight hogshead
or large box in the water, with heavy weights, in which a
man stands, and the sheep are brought or led to and from
him by another person who walks on a plalform reaching
from the bank to tlie hogsliead. Either of the last methods
obviates the necessity of standing for a long time in water,
by which colds, rheumatism, &c. are frequently contracted.
In parts of Germany and sometimes in this country, sheep
are forced to swim across a narrow stream several times, by
which the fleece is tolerably cleaned, if oil the water be
pressed out when they get to the land. The yolk b^ing a
saponaceous compound, not an oily matter as is generally
supposed, it readily combines with the water and passes out
of the wool. An excellent practice when streams are not
convenient, is to lead a small ripple of soft water into a tub.
To this a little soap is added, after which the sheep are im-
mersed and thoroughly cleansed. Perfect whiteness and
350 AMERICAN AGRICULTURE.
purity of the fleece is readily obtained afterwards, by throw-
ing over the sheep a jet of water. This practice has a good
eliect, in preventing or removing cutaneous disorders and
destroying ticks or other vermin. Many judicious farmers
object to washing sheep, from its tendency to produce colds
and catarrhal affections, to which sheep are particularly sub-
ject ; but it cannot well be dispensed with, as the wool is
always more saleable, and if carefully done, need not be
attended with injury. Warm settled weather however, is
indispensable to washing with safety to the general health of
the sheep.
Shearing. — The manner of shearing varies with almost
every district ; but as this is an art to be acquired under a
skilful master, we shall omit particular details on the subject.
First clip all the tags and filth, if any remains or has been
accumulated after the tagging in the spring ; then take ofT
the fleece and spread it with the outside uppermost on a smooth
bench or table, and push the wool carefully together, to render
it more compact; double the sides over to the centre; throw
the clean loose locks into the middle, and roll together from
each end. This makes a smooth, dense package, which is
secured by passing a stout twine one or more times around
the sides and ends. All the wool from the extremities should
be closely sheared and saved by itsell", before dismissing the
the sheep, but never put up with choice fleeces. If wounds
are made, which is sometimes the case with unskilful opera-
tors, a mixture of tar and grease ought to be applied. After
shearing, such horns and hoofs as are likely to be trouble-
some, should be sawed and pared. The branding or mark-
ing is essential to distinguish them from other flocks, and
this is done on the shoulder, side or buttock. A brush or
marking iron is used for this purpose, with paint made of
lamp black, to which a little spirits of turpentine is first
added, and then diluted with linseed or lard oil. If the wea-
ther be cool, and especially if severe storms occur after
washing or shearing, the flock should be housed. If sultry,
they should have a cool, shady retreat, where they will be
shielded from the flies and the heat. Blisters and permanent
injury to the skin and fleece, are frequently the result of such
exposure. Shade-trees in their pastures, contribute much to
the comfort of sheep, when exposed to a blazing sun. A
close examination of the skin, should be made at shearing,
for the detection of disease or vermin. For remedies, see
SLTtich diseases. Smearing or salving sheep, is a custom
snEEP. 351
little practised in this country. For cold, elevated and
exposed situations, it may be necessary, anfi it is generally
adopted in Scotland. The object ia to prevent cutaneous
diseases and vermin, and furnish additional warmth and
protection to the fleeces of such breeds as are deficient in
yolk. It is usually performed the latter part of October,
but is sometimes done immediately after shearing. The
mixture or salve consists of tar and butter or grease, in dif-
ferent proportions ; 1 gall, of the former to 12, or some-
times 20 lbs. of the latter ; the greater proportion of tur
being required for the younger sheep, or for more exposed
situations. The grease is melted over the fire, and the tar
stirred in, and when sufficiently cool, it is applied to the
whole body of the sheep, by carefully parting the wool and
rubbing it on the skin with the fingers. The above quan-
tity is sufficient for 30 or 50 sheep, according to their size
and the character of the wool. This application is not
required for fine-wooled sheep, whose fleeces are more
appropriately protected by a natural secretion of yolk ; and
it is better to omit it in all cases, where the health and com-
fort of the animal do not render it absolutely essential. Mr.
Stewart, an experienced Scotch shepherd, uses only tallow
and train oil mixed in equal proportions. He asserts that
the improvement in the growth and quality of the wool is at
least one-third, and it materially benefits the condition of the
sheep.
Weaning. — The lambs may be weaned from 3 J to 4
months old. They should be put upon rich, sweet feed, but
not too luxuriant ; while the dams are turned upon the
poorest, and so remote from their young, as to be out of sight
and hearing. The ewes ought to be carefully examined
after a day or two, and if necessary, the milk removed with
the hand. If it continues to accumulate, the ewe may be fed
on hay for a few days. When thoroughly dried off, they
should have the best fare to recover condition for subsequent
breeding and wintering. The fall is a critical period to lose
flesh, either for sheep or lambs; and if any are found defi-
cient, they should be at once provided for by extra feed and
attention. If cold weather overtakes them poor or in ill
health, they will scarcely outlive it; or if by chance they
survive, their emaciated carcass, impaired constitution, and
scant fleece will illy repay the food and attention they will
have cost.
352 AMERICAN AGRICULTURE.
The time for taking sheep from the pastures must depend on
the state of the weather and food. Severe frosts destroy
much of the nutriment in the grasses, and they soon after
cease to afford adequate nourishment. Long exposure to
cold storms upon such lands, with such food to sustain them,
will rapidly reduce their condition. The only safe rule is to
transfer them to their winter quarters the first day they cease
to thrive abroad. Drafting the flock for the purpose of rid-
ding it of the supernumeraries, should be done at an earlier
day. Such of the wethers as have attained their prime, and
those ewes that have passed it, ought to be withdrawn soon
after shearing, and provided with the best feed, and rapidly
fitted for the shambles. If they have been properly pushed
on grass, they will be in good flesh by the time they are taken
from it, and if not intended for stall-feeding, the sooner they
are then disposed of the better. Stallfeeding will be lost on
an ill-shaped, unthrifty beast. The perfection of form and
health, and the uniform good condition which characterize
the thrifty one, indicate too plainly to be misunderstood, those
which will best repay the care of their owner. The selection
of any indifl^erent animal for stall-fattening, will inevitably be
attended with loss, and they had better be at once disposed
of when first brought from the pasture, for the most they will
bring.
Management of sheep for the Pkairies. — When des-
tined for the prairies, they ought to commence the journey as
early after shearing as possible. They are then disencum-
bered of their fleece, and do not catch and retain as much
dust as when driven later. Feed is also generally better,
and the roads are dry and hard. Young and healthy sheep
should be selected, with early lambs ; or if the latter are too
young, and the distance great, they should be left and the
ewes dried off*. A large wagon ought to accompany the flock,
to carry such as occasionally give out; or they may be dis-
posed of whenever they become enfeebled. With good care,
a hardy flock may be driven at the rate of 12 or 14 miles a
day. Constant watchfulness is requisite to keep them healthy
and in good plight. One half the expense of driving may be
saved by the use of well-trained shepherd-dogs. When arri-
ved at their destination, they must be thoroughly washed, to
free them from all dirt, and closely examined as to any dis-
eases they may have contracted, which if discovered, should
be promptly removed. A variety of suitable food and good
shelter must be provided, for the autumn, winter, and spring
S SllRFP. !)5d
eiisiiin«j:, and every necessary altention given tlicm. This
would be necessary ifindij^enous to the country ; how much
more so, when they have just undergone a campaign, to which
neither they nor their race iiave been acfuistomed.
Sheep cannot be kept on the prairies without much care,
artificial food, and proper attention ; and in a false system of
economy, hitherto attempted by many, losses have occurred
from disease and mortality in the flocks, sufficient to iiave
made ample provision for the comfort and security of twice
the number saved. More especially do they require |)roper
food and attention, after the first severe frosts set in, which
wither and kill the natural grasses. By nibbling at they^^,
(the frost bitten, dead grass,) they are inevitably subject to
constipation, which a bountiful supply of roots, sulphur, Asc,
are alone sufficient to remove. Roots, grain, and good hay;
straw, or corn-stalks, pea or bean-vines, are essential to the
preservation of their health and thrift during the winter, any
where north of 40". In summer, the natural herbage is suffi-
cient to sustain them in fine condition, till they shall have ac-
quired a denser population of animals, when it will be found
necessary to stock their meadows with the best varieties of
artificial grasses.
The prairies seem adapted to the usual varieties of sheep
introduced into the United States ; and of such are the flocks
made up, according to the taste or judgment of the owners.
Shepherd dogs are invaluable to the owners of flocks, both as
preventives against the small prairie wolf, which prowls
around the flock, but which arc rapidly thinning off by the
settlers ; and also as assistants to the shepherds in driving
and herding their flocks on the open ground.
DISEASES OF SHEEP.
The dry and healthful climate, the rolling surface, and the
sweet and varied herbage which generally prevail in the
United States, insure perfect health to an originally sound
and well-selected flock, uidess peculiarly exposed to disease.
No country is better suited to sheep, than most of the northern
and some of the southern parts of our own. In Europe, and
especially in England, where the system of management is
necessarily, in the highest degree artificial, consisting fre-
quently in early and continued forcing the system, folding on
wet, ploughed grounds, and the excessive use of that watery
food, the Swedes turnip, there are numerous and Hital diseases.
Hence the long list which lumbers the pages of foreign wri-
354 AMERICAN AGRICULTURE.
ters on sheep. The most destructive of these are the rot, and
epidemics, which are scarcely known in America, except by
report. The diseases incident to our flocks, may generally
be considered as casualties, rather than as inbred, or neces-
sarily arising from the quality of food, or from local causes.
It may be safely asserted, that with a dry, rolling pasture,
well stocked with varied and nutritious herbage, a clear, run-
ning stream, sufficient shade and protection against severe
storms, a constant supply of salt, tar, and sulphur in summer ;
good hay, and sometimes roots, with ample shelters in winter ;
that young sheep, originally sound and healthy, will seldom
or never get diseased on American soil. The few which it
may be necessary here to mention, will be treated in the sim-
plest manner. Remedies of general application, to be admi-
nistered, often by the unskilful and ignorant, must neither be
elaborate or complicated ; and if expensive, the lives of most
sheep would be dearly purchased by their application. A
sheep which the owner has reared or purchased at the ordi-
nary price, is thv- only domestic animal which can die without
material loss to its owner. The wool and pelt will iu most
instances repay its cost, while the carcasses of other animals
will be worthless except for manure. The loss of sheep from
occasional disease, will leave the farmer's pocket in a very "
different condition, from the loss of an equal value in horses
or cattle. Yet humanity equally with interest, dictate the use
of such simple remedies for the removal of suffering and dis-
ease, as may be within reach.
DiARRHOBA OR SCOURS, whcH light and not long continued,
calls for no remedy. It is a healthful provision of nature, for
the more rapid expulsion of some offending matter in the sys-
tem, which if retained, might lead to disease. It is generally
owing to improper food, as bad hay or noxious weeds ; to a
sudden change, as from dry food to fresh grass ; or to an ex-
cess, as from overloading the stomach, and sometimes from
cold and wet. The remedies are obvious ; change to suitable
food in the first two cases ; abstinence after repletion, and
warm, dry shelter with light diet in the last, are all that is
necessary. When severe or long continued, a dose of castor
oil maybe given, and after its operation, give 4 grains opium
and one ounce chalk, and put them on dry food. Wheat
bran or shorts and oat-meal or flax-seed gruel, are good both
for lambs and sheep ; as are also ripe oats or wheat fed in the
sheaf, with well cured, sweet hay, and plenty of salt. Fresh
8IIP.KP. .*^55
houghs of (he juniper or pine and hemlock, help to check the
disorder.
Looseness in the larger lambs is prevented by having chalk
within thoir roach, or if ihoy refuse it, administer it in their
lood. Wlien it happens soon after birth, place it with the
ewe in a warm place, aiul feed tlie latter with plenty of oats or
other sound grain. If the milk be deficient, give the lamb
cow's milk scalded, or let it suck the cow. The tail is some-
times glued on to the buttocks wiiile the scours continue.
Separate it immetliately by the use of warm water, and rub
the parts with dry loam or clay.
Dysem'kuv is a dilierent and frequently a fatal disease, but
resembles the former in its general symptoms. It is owing to
prolonged diarrhoea, unwholesome or meagre food, and other
causes. Bleeding and physic should ho. resorted to, after
which give warm, nourishing gruel.
flovEX. — See Jioven in cattle.
]]kaxy is manifested by uneasiness, loathing food, fre-
quent diinking, carrying the head down, drawing the back
up, swollen belly, feverish symptoms, and avoidance of the
flock. It appears mostly in late autumn and spring, and may
be induced by exposure to severe storms, plunging in water
when hot, and especi illy by constipation brought on by feed-
ing on frost-bitten, putrid or indigestible herbage. Remedies
are not ot\en succesful unless promptly applied. Bleed freely,
and to effect this, in consequence of the stagnant state of the
blood, immersion in a tub of hot water may be necessary.
Then give two oz. Epsom salts, dissolved in warm water,
with a handful of common saU. If this is unsuccessful, give
a clyster made with a pipe-full of tobacco, boiled for a few
minutes in a pint of water. Administer half, and if unsuc-
cessful, follow with the remainder. Then bed the animal
in dry straw and cover with blankets, and assist the purga-
tives with warm gruels, followed by laxitive provender till
well. — {Blacklock.) Thousands of sheep have died on the
prairies from braxy, induced by exposure and miserable
forage. Perfect preventive is secured by warm, dry shelters,
and nutritious, digestible food.
CosTivEXEss is removed by giving two table spoonsful of
castor oil every 15 hours, till the difficulty is removed ; or
give one oz. Epsom salts. This may be assisted by an injec-
tion of warm, weak suds and molasses.
Stretches. — Sheep sometimes stretch out their noses on
the ground and around their sides as if in severe pain. This
356 AMERICAN AGRICULTURE.
may be caused by an involution of one part of the intestine
within another. When owing to this cause, the difficulty iy
frequently removed, by jerking the animal by the hind legs
several times, when the pain disappears. But it is generally
occasioned by costiveness, which see abov^. This may be
prevented by using green food, roots, &c., once a week, or
i)y allowing them to browse on the evergreens, pines, &c.
PoixoN from laurel and other plants, is cured by pouring
a gill of melted lard down the throat, or boil for an hour the
twigs of the white ash, and give a i to 1 gill of the strong
liquor immediately; to be repeated if not successful.
Inflammation of the lungs is produced by improper
exposure to cold and wet. The remedy for slight atiec-
ions, is warm, dry shelter, and light food. When severe,
resort must be had to bleeding and purging freely, then
to light bran or linseed mashes.
Rot sometimes causes the death of a million of sheep in
a single year in England, yet it is a disease almost unknown
in this country. Foreign authorities ascribe it entirely to
excessive humidity of climate, wet pastures, or too watery
food. The preventives are therefore obvious. After the use
of dry food and dry bedding, one of the best is the abundant
use of pure salt. In violent attacks, early bleeding, followed
by a dose of 2 oz. Epsom salts, to be repeated if necessary,
with a change of diet and location, is all that can be done.
FooT-ROT is frequently a prevalent disease among Ameri-
can sheep. It is sometimes spontaneous, but more often pro-
duced by contagion. In the former case, it is caused by soft,
rich, or moist pastures. A dry gravelly or rocky range, will
of course be an effectual preventive when owing to this
cause. Contagion is communicated, by the absorbents of
the foot coming in contact with the suppuration, which has
been left on the ground from the diseased part. Absolute
safety against this contagion is secured, only by a a total
avoidance of the w^alks of the Infected animals, till repeated
rains, or what is better, frosts have disarmed the virus of its
mahgnity. Remedies are variously compounded, of blue
vitriol, verdigris, tar, spirits of turpentine, alum, saltpetre,
salt, lime, copperas, white lead, antimony, alcohol, urine
vinegar, &;c., all of which are effectual. The hoof should
first be pared and thoroughly scraped. Then apply a wash
made of three parts of blue vitriol, one of verdigris pulverised
finely, with scalding (not boiling) vinegar; stirring briskly
till it is of the consistence of thin cream, and put it upon the
8HEKP. 357
aft'ected part with a paint brush. It is a good preventive, to
apply this to the sound feot of the atTected animal. Another
remedy is to use spirits of turpentine after scraping ; and if
the disease is of Um^ standint^, add to the (urpelinc a strong
decoction of blue vitriol dissolved in water, 't'lic foot siiould
be examined every week, and the remedy repeated till perfect
soundness is restored. A feather dipped in muriatic or nitric
acid and applied to the parts after scraping and cleansing,
is a good remedy. When put upon the soles oi' footsore
sheep, it hardens the hoofs and enables them to travel better.
Sheep are sometimes cured by keeping tiiem on a dry surface,
arid driving over a barn floor daily, which is well covered
with (juick lime. It may also be cured by dryness and
repeated washing with soap-suds. The above ailment should
not be confounded with a temporary soreness or inflammation
of the hoof, occasioned by the irritation from the Ions: rough
grasses which abound in low situations, which is removed
with the cause; or if it continues, apply white paint or tar,
after thorough washing.
CORROSIOX OF THE FLESH BY FLIES OR MAGGOTS, may
be cured by first removing the vermin, then wash with
Castile soap and warm soft water, after which apply white
lead with linseed oil. Tor put on the festering wound cor-
rodes it ; but this, or spirits of turpentine placed on the sound
parts near it, keep off the flies by their strong effluvia. If
the wound be slight and the weather moderate, apply a little
spirits of turpentine with a strong decoction of elder bark.
Flies on sJieep may be prevented by smearing with a compo-
sition made of two lbs. lard or soft grease, one lb. sulphur,
J pint oil of amber, or oil of tar, or tar alone. A small
spoonful is sufficient for a sheep. — {Genesee Farmer, vol. 7.)
Protection from the gad-fly. — In July, August, and
September, in the northern states, the gad-Jly (CEstiis Ovis)
attacks the nostrils of the sheep, and there deposits its eggs,
which on being hatched, immediately crawl up and make a
lodgment in the head. They are frequently repelled, by lay-
ing a thick coat of tar on the bottom of the troughs, and
sprinkling it with salt. The smell of the tar adhering to
the nose, will drive off* the fly. A more effectual remedy is
to apply it thoroughly with a brush to the external part of
the nose. If a few furrows of loose earth are turned up in
their pastures, the sheep will hold their noses to them and
thus keep off the fly. The symptoms of grubs in the head,
are drooping of the head and ears, discharge of bloody and
338 AMERICAN AGRICULTtJHE.
watery matter from the nostrils, and loss of strength in limbs.
If worms have made a lodgment, take i lb. of good Scotch
snuff, add 2 quarts boiling water, stir and let it stand till cold.
Inject about a table ypoonful of this liquid and sediment up
each nostril with a syringe. Repeat this three or four times
at intervals, from the middle of October till January; tho
grubs are then small and will not have injured the sheep.
The efficacy of the snuff will be increased, by adding h an
oz. asafoetida, pounded in a little water. The effect on the
sheep, is immediate prostration and apparent death, but they
will soon recover. A decoction of tobacco will afford a sub-
stitute for snuff. — (iV. England Farmer.) Blacklock's rem-
edy is to half fill the bowl of a pipe with tobacco, light it
and then hold the sheep, while a person inserts the stem some
distance into the nostrils, and blows a few whifs into the
nose. The operation is then repeated with the other nostril.
Swollen mouth is sometimes fatal. It is said to be cured
by daubing the lips and mouth plentifully with tar. — {Albany
Cultivator, vol. 7.)
Foul Noses. — Dip a small swab into tar, then roll in salt.
Put some on the nose and compel the sheep to swallow a
small quantity. — {American Farmer.)
A disease indicated hy drooping, running at the eyes, weak-
ness in the hack and loins, inability to use the hind legs, was
removed by turning the sheep into a pasture containing Lobe-
lia {Indian tobacco). Dried lobelia was also given, and pro-
duced the same effect. — {Cultivator, vol. 2.)
Scab. — This loathsome disease, to which fine-wooled sheep
are particularly liable, is caused, like itch in the human sub-
ject, by a small insect, a species of the acari. It is first man-
ifest by the rubbing of the sheep, and soon after by one or
more tufts of wool, which is loosened at the rogts. On feel-
ing the skin, a hard dry tumor is perceptible. To prevent
contagion, remove the infected sheep to a separate pasture or
yard as soon as discovered. The Spanish shepherds disolve
a little salt in their mouth and drop it upon the infected part.
When the tumor has become enlarged, the wool should
be removed closely to the skin, the scab scraped with a curry-
comb, then wash with strong soap-suds or ley, and after-
wards rub thoroughly with sulphur or brimstone, mixed with
lard or grease. An effectual remedy is prepared by taking
one pound of tobacco which add to 12 qts. ley from wood
ashes, of sufficient strength for washing, and four quarts
urine ; to this add another mixture of a gill high-wines, \ oz.
SUEEP. 850
camphor, i oz. Spanish brown, and h gill spirits of turpentine.
A small qnantity of this applied to the sore, will never fail.
Immediately afler shearing, scab may readily be cured by
immersing the sheep, (excepting the head,) in a strong decoc-
tion of tobacco liquor, adding a gill of spirits of turpentine
for the fust, and making a slight addition of fresh liquid lor
each sheep immersed, enough to keep up the strength of the
tobacco and. turpentine, and taking care to rub the affected
part thoroughly. For lambs, this liquor should be diluted, but
yet left strong enough to kill ticks in one or two minutes, which
may be ascertained by experiment. For killing ticks this
last is a good remedy. After dipping the sheep or lambs, the
liquor should be pressed out from the wool, upon an inclined
plane, so arranged as again to run into the vessel. Scab is
also removed by using a composition of one pound plug tobacco
to three gallons water, with lime-water and oil of vitriol added
or a decoction of hellebore with vinegar, sulphur and spirits
of turpentine. — (H. D, Grove.) Scab is propagated more by
using the same rubbing posts, than by contact with each other.
Sheep in low condition are more subject to it than others.
Ticks and lice sometimes infest sheep. Good feeding and
shelter is a partial preventive, but when they have made their
lodgement, they must be dipped in a decoction of tobacco
water. The most eff*ectual time for their destruction, is a few
days after shearing, when they will have left the naked bodies
of the old ewes to hide in the fleeces of the iambs. The dip-
ping in tobacco water is an effectual remedy.
Pelt-rot will be recognized as one of the staple diseases
of our native sJieep, described on page 322. The wool in
this case falls off*, leaving the sheep partially or almost wholly
naked ; but it is not accompanied with soreness or apparent
disease. The animal must be provided with a warm stall and
generous feed, and the naked skin should be anointed with
tar and grease. The preventive is good keeping and shelter.
Staggeks ok sturdy, and water in the head, some-
times affect sheep, but more especially lambs under a year
old. The first is caused by the hydatid. It is considered
as an almost incurable disorder, but is sometimes removed by
tre;)anning. Chancellor Livingston carefully supplied two
thus attacked, with food for three months, when nature
effected a cure. Removal to dry lands and purging, is a good
precaution when they are tirst taken. An English kid lately
cured one which had been given up, by boring with a gimblet
into the soft place on the head, when the water rushed out
360 AMERICAN AGRICULTURE.
and the sheep immediately followed the others to the pasture.
A correspondent of the Albany Cultivator asserts, that h a
pint of melted lard poured down the throat, will cure blind
staggers in 10 minutes.
Abortion occurs sometimes, and is usually caused by
excessive fright or exertion, and sometimes by severe expo-
sure and poor feed. It is seldom fatal, except to the lamb.
The uterus is occasionally protruded after lambing. It should
be immediately returned, first \vashing it in warm milk
and water, if any dirt adheres to it. For this, the hand only
should be used. After rubbing it with lard or oil, hold up
the hind legs, and gently replace the protruded parts, then
keep the ewe quiet till fully recovered.
For garget, or caked bag. — Keep the bag thoroughly
drained of milk, for which purpose the lamb is the most
efficient. If it is lost, another may be temporarily substitu-
ted. Purge freely with Epsom salts, and wash the udder
repeatedly with very warm water. If matter forms, it should
be opened with the lancet.
Bleeding. — '* Nothing tends so much to the recovery of
an animal from a disease in which bleeding is required, as
the rapid flow of the blood from a large orifice. Little
impression can be make on an acute disease by the slow
removal of even a large quantity of blood, as the organs
have time to accommodate themselves to the loss, which
might, for any good it will do, as well be dispensed with.
Either bleed rapidly or not at all. The nearer the com-
mencement of an ailment, in which you employ bleeding,
the operation is resorted to, the greater the chance of its
doing good. Bleeding by nicking the under surface of the
tail, does very well where no great deal of blood is required,
but it is not to be thought of if the veins of the face or
neck can possibly be opened. These are to be taken in
preference to a vein on the leg, as they are much more
readily got at. The facial vein commences by small branch-
es on the side of the face, and runs downwards and back-
wards to the base of the jaw, where it may be felt within
two inches of the angle, or opposite the middle grinding
tooth. It is here that the orifice must be made; the thumb
of the left hand being held against the vein, so as to prevent
the flow of blood towards the heart will make it rise. Some
prefer opening the jugular vein, which commences behind
the eye and runs down the side of the neck. This vessel is,
however, more difficult to open that the former, being better
8U£PIIERD DOUS. 361
covered with wool, and not so easily exposed or made to
swell. Stringing is the mode commonly resorted t« tor tliis
end; that is to say, a cord is drawn tightly round the neck
close to the shoulder, so as to stop the circulation thrtmgh
the vein, and render it pcrceptihlo to the tinger. A lancet
is the instrument generally used in bleeding, though a well-
pointed penknife will do at a pinch. The opening nnist
always be made obliquely; but bclbr<; attempting thiy, the
animal must be secured, by placing it between the operator's
legs, with its croup again.^t a wall. The selected vein is
then fixed by the fingers of the operator's left hand, so as to
prevent its rolling or slipping before the lancet. Having
fairly entered the vein, the point of the instrument must bo
elevated at the same time that it is pushed a little forward,
by which motion it will be lifted from or cut its way out of
the vein. A prescribed quantity of blwd should never he
drawn, for the sinjplo reason that this ean never bo precise-
ly stated. If the symptoms are urgent, as in all likelihood
they will, your best plan is not to stop the flow of blood till
the animal fall or is about to fall. When this occurs, run a
pin through the edges of the orifice, and finish by twisting
round it a lock of wool." — {Blackhck.)
Lakge cuts are u baled by first sewing and then cover-
ing with salve. Smaller ones may be secured with an
adhesive plaster or bandage.
To PROTECT LAMBS FROM WOLVES A^'D FOXES, SmCar the
neck plentifully with a mixture of tar and sulphur. Bells
are also said to guard them, as both are excessively wary,
and have a great dislike to any thing artificial. Large dogs
will keep them at bay. A better remedy is to kill the ma-
rauders, which may be done by inserting strychnine in fresh
meat and leaving it in their haunts.
SHEPHERD DOGS.
Of these there are two widely distinct breeds. One
embraces the large Spanish dog and their descendants,
the Mexican, and some other varieties, which are of a
size, strength and courage sullicient to defend the flock
against wolves, or other formidable enemies. They are
frequently inclined to be ferocious, and will sometimes com-
mit depredations on the flocks themselves. They are only
necessary where there is danger from wild beasts and prowl-
ing dogs, against which, if thoroughly trained, they are
always an efficient protection. The smaller kind i« invalua-
P
362 AMERICAN AGRICULTURE.
ble for assisting the shepherd in bringing in his sheep, keep-
ing them within any required compass, driving them from
place to place and giving signal of danger. There are
numerous sub-varieties, of different sizes; some with long
tails, others without any; some smooth-haired, but more
generally shaggy or long-haired. Each of these have a natu-
ral instinct for the management of sheep, and, if properly
educated, will seldom fail to answer every reasonable wish
of their masters. Unless sheep are contined in small pas-
tures, and are so familiar and manageable as to come
readily at call, the use of the sheep-dog will save much of
the shepherd's time. He has the intelligence of a man in
comprehending the wants of the shepherd, and is vastly
more efficient in bringing them together, or driving on the
road and keeping them separate from other flocks. Sheep
soon get accustomed to them, and without being alarmed by
their presence, they learn to regard them as guides, whom
they must implicitly obey. AH the above varieties have
been imported, and the smaller ones are now extensively
bred in this country.
THE HOKSE. 368
CHAPTER XVIII.
THE HORSE.
In nearly all ago- and countries, the horse has been the
devoted servant, and the object of the pride and affection
of man. Among the semi-civilized Tartars of middle and
northern Asia, the Aborigines of our remote western prairies,
reaching even beyond the Rocky Mountains, and some
other rude nations, his flesh is used for food. Many tribes
among the former, use the milk for domestic purposes, and
especially when f'ermented and changed to an unj)leasantly
sour and intoxicating beverage. Hut throughout the civil-
ized world, with some slight exceptions, the horse is useful
only for his labor. For this purpose he is pre-eminently
fitted by his compact, closely knit frame; his sinewy, muscu-
lar limbs; his easy, rapid stride; his general form and entire
structure and habits. He is found in his wild condition in
central Asia, Siberia, and the interior of Africa, and for 800
years he has been turned loose to follow his native instincts
on the illimitable pampas of South America, and the wide-
spread prairies of^ Mexico and California. In all these
regions he closely resembles the medium varieties of the
domesticated horse, but as the natural result of his freedom,
he possesses more fire 'and spirit than any other, except the
blood horse.
x^rabia is generally claimed as the original native locality
of the horse, and as the only source from which he is to be
derived in the requisite jierfcction for the highest improve-
ment of the race. But Strabo, who wrote more than 1800
years ago, asserts that the horse did not then flourish in
Arabia, and it was not till some centuries later, that he
attained any decided superiority there. Great attention,
however, has been paid in that country, since the era of
Mahomet, to the possession of a light, agile and enduring
frame, intelligence and tractability of character, and the
364 AMERICAN AGRICULTURE.
perpetuation of these qualities, by the most scrupulous regard
for the purity of blood. This is equally ^true of the Barb or
pure-bred horse of Morocco, and those of the northern coast
of Africa, in Kgypt, among the Turks, and indeed wherever
the followers of the Prophet are to be found. It is unques-
tionable that the hilluence of the eastern blood among the
choicest animals of modern Europe, has been followed by
great improvements in racing stock. Yet it is equally
certain, that the race horse, both ofEugland and the United
States, has acccomplished what has never been demonstrated
as within the ability of their progenitors; and on repeated
trials with the eastern horses, he has shown himself confess-
edly their superior in speed, strength and endurance. In 1825,
two English horses ran against the two fleetest Cossacks
which could be found throughout the entire region of their
best blood, and in a continued race of 47 miles, the Euro-
pean took the stakes. Sharper, the most successful, perform-
ing the distance in 2 hours and 48 minutes. About the
same time, Recruit, an English horse of moderate reputa-
tion, easily beat Py ramus, the best Arabian on the Bengal
side of India. The Leeds, the Darley and the Godolphin
Arabian; the Lister and D'Arcey's White Turk, and other
noted eastern horses, would not compare in performance with
many of their descendants. But these, with some other
choice Arabians, on the best mares, and with every advan-
tage for obtaining celebrity, have succeeded in establishing
a fame as just as it has been enduring. Yet it must at the
same time be remembered, that oi' the innumerable other pure-
bred horses which have been tried in Europe, a few only
have rescued their names from oblivion.
The experience of eastern blood in this country, in com-
parison M'ith the best English, is decidedly in favor of the lat-
ter. We have had one horse of unsurpassed excellence, which
a tbrtunate accident threw ui)on our shores a short time pre-
vious to 1770. Triis was the white Barb Ranger^ which was
presented by the Etnperor of Morocco as the choice of his
stud, to an English naval olUcer for some distinguished
service. On his route homeward, the animal was set on
shore for exercise at an intermediate port, where in his gam-
bols he broke three of his legs, and thinking him worthless,
his owner gave him to the commander of a New England
merchantman, then present. He was readily accepted, and
placed in slings on board of his vessel, and recovered.
This animal stood for many years in the eastern part of
Connecticut, and on their good mares, produced a numerous
progeny of unrivalled cavalry horses, which rendered inval-
uable services in the troop commanded by that consummate
partisan, Captain (allcrwards (JjMUMal) Lee, of tin' revolution.
It is said the favorite white liehl-horse ol' (General VV^'lshing.
ton, was of the same stock. He was afterwaixls sold to
Captain I-.indsey, as a special favor, and taken to Virginia,
where he produced some good racers. Bussorah, a small
sorrel horse, brought into this coimtry from the head of the
Persian Culf, in 1819, then 5 years old, got many choice
roadsters, though few, if any racers. The Narraganset
pacers, a race belonging to our eastern slates, but for many
years almost extinct, possessed for a long time an unrivalled
reputation lor spirit, endurance and easy, rapid motion
under the saddle; and they are said to have originated from a
Spanish horse, many of which are pure descendants of the
Barb. As an olTset to these isolated examj)les of success
in this country, we have numerous instances of the importa-
tion of the best Orientals, which have been extensively used
on some of our superior mares, without any marked eflect.
We shall refer to three prominent importations only. The
first consisted of two choice Arabians, or Barbs, selected in
Tunis by General Eaton, and sent to his estate in Massa-
chusetts. The second was a present of four choice Barbs
from the Emperor of Morocco to our government, in 1830;
and the third consisted of two Arabians, sent by the Imaum
of Muscat, near the Persian Gulf, to our government in 18.*B9
or '40. These were all claimed to be, and no doubt were,
of the pme Kochlani, the unadulterated line royal; yet none
have earned any distinguished reputation.
It is to England we are mainly indebted for the great
improvement in our blood, road and farm horses. A numer-
ous race of fine horses were reared on that Island, long pre-
vious to any authentic history of it ; for in liis first invasion,
Julius C'lesartook many of them to Rome, where they imme-
diately became gn at favorites, although this mistress of half
the known world, had already plundered every region of some
of their best breeds. What might have been the particular
merit of the English horse at the time of the Norman inva-
sion, is not known, but it is certain that the Saxon cavalry
under Harold, were speedily over-powered by William, at the
battle of Hastings, which at once secured the throne to the
Conqueror. History first informs us of the improvement of
British horses, by importations from abroad during this reign,
3166 AMERICAN AGRICULTURE.
which consisted of a number of Spanish stallions. These
were supposed to be strongly imbued with the Arabian blood,
which had been brought over to that country by the Moors,
who had founded the Saracenic empire in the Peninsula, three
centuries before. More than a century later, John made
some importations from Flanders, to give weight and sub-
stance to their draught and cavalry horses. The improve-
ment of their various breeds, was afterwards pursued with
more or less judgement and zeal, by other British monarchs,
till they reached their highest excellence during the middle
of the last century. Flying Childers, Eclipse, Highflyer, and
others on the course, have probably exceeded in speed any-
thing ever before accomplished ; while the draught-horse, the
roadster, the hackney, the cavalry horse and the hunter,
attained a merit at that time, which some judicious author-
ities claim, has uol been since increased. It is even asserted,
that some of the more serviceable breeds, have been seriously
injured by too great an infusion of the blood ; while the
almost universal absence of longboats on the turf, has tended
to the improvement of speed, rather than bottom in the race
horse.
The improvement of the horse in this country, has not been
a matter of record or history, till within a comparatively recent
period. But it has silently, and with no little rapidity been going
forward, for more than a century, till we have obtained a race
of animals, throughout the eastern and middle states at least,
which probably equal those of any other country for adapted-
ness to draught, the road and the saddle. This improvement
has been mainly brought about, by the importation of some
of the best and stoutest of tJie English blood. In breeding
from these for purposes of utility, particular reference has
been paid to strength, enduringness and speed. No horses
surpass our best four-mile bloods ; none equal our trotters ;
and though much inequality exists in those bred for our vari-
ous other uses, yet for profitable service, it is believed, no equal
number of animals elsewhere, can exceed those in the region
above indicated. It would be a superfluous task to attempt
enumerating all the imported horses that have contributed to
this improvement. Each good animal has done something.
But among the earlier horses which may be named with dis-
tinction, as having effected much for our useful beasts, are
Lath, Wildair, Slender, Sour-krout, Tally-ho, Figure, Bay
Richmond, Expedition, Baronet, and a host of others. Pre-
eminent among these, was imported Messenger. He was
THE H0R81I. 3d7
foaled in 1780, imported in 1788, and died in 1808. He stood
in ditiVrent places in NcwJorsey ; and in Dutchess, West-
chester and Queens counties in New-Yoik ; and upon the
mares derived trom the t^)regoin)nr and other good horses, he
j(ot a numerous pronrony of illustrious descendants. Of
these, we may name those capital stallions, Potomac, Ham-
lintonian. Bay Finjure, Engineer, Manhrino, Tippoo Saib,
Columbus, Gunn's, and Hushe's Messenger, and many others,
which were extensively disseminated over the northern and
middle stales ; and he has the credit of imparting a large
share of his merits to his grandson, that nonpareil of horses,
American Eclipse. His posterity were so numerous and
widely spread, that it may be safely asserted that ot the best
horses bred in the above states, scarcely one can now be tbund,
which does not trace one or more crosses to his distinguished
sire. His success in producing roadsters, besides his blood
qualities of speed and endurance, consisted in his great
strength and the peculiar formation of his limbs, large fore-
hand and deep quarters, in which he excelled any other of the
imported bloods.
As an illustration of what may be accomplished by judi-
cious breeding with the present materials in our hands, we
mention one family of the American roadster, which is strongly
tinctured with blooLl,and which has attained an enviable nota-
riety among the choicest of the northern horses. They are
derived from the Morgan horse of Vermont, that was foaled
in Springfield, Mass., in 1793. He was got by Tru i Britton,
supposed to have been bred by Gen. Delancey of New-York,
and got by imported Wildair, (or one of his son?,) a horse of
such distinguished excellence, as to have been re-exported to
England, for the benefit of his stock. The Morgan horse
stood in Vermont from 1795, till his death, at an advanced
age. From him and the choice mares of Vermont, descended
many excellent colts ; and his merits were inherited in an
eminent degree by three of his sons, which stood in the same
state and continued the career of improvement commenced
by the sire. Trie result has been the production of a family
of roadsters, of much similarity of appearance* and uniformity
of character, unsurpassed by any others tor surviceable quali-
ties. They are of medium size, from 13 J to 15 hands high ;
♦Many of the Morgan horaes have the steep rump and heavy breast and neck,
which indicates a Norman cross on the side of their dams, which has been largely
imported through the French horse in the adjoining Canadian settlements -, but
none of these are said to have characterised the founder of the race.
368 AMEBICAN AGRICULTURE.
with a well-formed head and neck ; high withers ; deep chest ;
round body ; short back ; long quarters ; broad flat legs ;
moderately small feet ; long wavy maue and tail ; presenting
altogether the beau ideal of the road horse. They are
spirited, docile, hardy and easily kept. They have an easy,
rapid trot, and glide along with a good load, without clatter or
apparent effort, at the rate of 10 or 12 miles an hour. This ,
family of horses has not of course been bred long enough
within themselves, to have attained to the eminence of a dis-
tinct breed. They are mentioned, merely as a type of what
the serviceable roadster ought to be, and what he may become
by the use of the proper instrument for breeding. And if
the materials already in our hands are intelligently and
perseveringlv used, we can produce all we require of horse-
flesh.
Besides our usurpassed blood-horses, we have others derived
from various sources, and especially from the different Eng-
lish breeds, all of which are variously compounded, with the
first and with each other. On our north-eastern frontier, the
Canadian prevails, a bastard but not degenerate race, made
up of the French Norman and the English or American
At the extreme south and west, we have the Imrse of Spanish
originy obtained in his domestic state in Florida and Louisi-
ana ; and from another branch of the Spanish, are desended
the wild horses of Mexico and the more northern prairies.
These are diversified in character, and generally possess
medium size and merit. The Conestoga, a heavy roadster, is
principally reared in Pennsylvania, and is used for the team
and truck. He is an amalgamation of several breeds, but
probably owes a share of his character to the Flemish horse,
tor which there was a decided partiality among the numerous
German emigrants of that state. Several varieties o^ ponies
are to be found in different sections, but principally among
the French, the half-breed and the Indians upon the fron-
tiers, who have bred a stunted race from the Canadian or wild
horse, and such others as could survive the hard usage and
the scanty winter food, afforded by nature and their rude hus-
bandry. Many of these have considerable beauty and sym-
metry, and are fleet, hardy and spirited. The modern Nor-
manf or mixture of the old French Norman draught-horse,
(heavy.framed, big-limbed but stout and hardy,) and the Anda-
lusian, a descendant of the Moorish barbs, has been introduced
within a few years, and wifl unquestionably become a very
popular horse for many purposes. He exhibits the qualities
THE nORSE. 369
of both ancestry in the proper proportions lor farm service.
Ho has a thick head ; lively, prick ears ; short, heavy neck ;
large breast and shoiddcr ; strong limbs ; well-knit back ;
largo qdarters with much wavy mane, tail and fetlock. Like
his Trench progenitor, he frequently stands low in the withers,
which enables him to throw great weight into the collar ; and
the diminished, flattened leg, the wind and game derived from
his Moorish blood, give him much of the capacity and endur-
ance of the thorough-bred. The English cart-Jiorse has tor a
long time made up some of the best, heavy dray hor.-fes in the
country, and late importations have refreshed the breed with
additional choice specimens. The Clevclajid bay has been
introduced of late, and promises good carriage horses from
our well-spread, sizeable mares. The Norfolk troUer, Bd-
founder, was imported many years since, and with our high-
bred mares, has produced many choice roadsters and trotters.
The remainder of our horse-flesh deserving of any notice, is
chiefly composed of such as are superior in point of blood and
merit. The improvement in the American horse, is conspic-
uous and decided. Judicious breeders still look for qualities
in the descendants, which they sought for in their imported
sires, and the infusion of some of the stoutest of the blood is
rapidly gaining on ascendancy in the general stock ; and we
are contident our intelligent agriculturists will not permit this
to proceed to an extent, that may be prejudicial to their value
as draught horses, as has been done in some portions of Eng-
land and our Southern states. There is no danger from excess
of blood if it be of the right kind ; but it is seldom found com-
bining that fulness and stoutness, and that docility and tract-
ableness of disposition, wdiich are essential to the gig horse or
the horse of all work. Yorke says truly, that *' the road horse
may possess different degrees of blood, according to the nature
of the country and the work required of him, [he might have
added with j)ropriety, and according to the character of the
hlood.^ His legs will be too slender ; his feet too small ; his
stride too long, and he will rarely be able to trot. Three parts
or half, and for the horse of all work, even less than that,
will make a good and useful animal." For the saddle only,
the high-bred is never objectionable to an enterprising and
accomplished rider, if not diposcd to be vicious. His long
elastic pasterns, giving easy, flexible motions ; his quick and
almost electrical obedience when under thorough discipline ;
his habitual canter and high spirit, always commend him for
this purpose.
P
370 AMERICAN AGKICULTURE.
Some of the prominent exLernal points of a fine saddle or gig
horse are, a moderately small head, free from fleshiness ; fine
muzzle and e'xpansive nostrils ; broad at the throat and wide
between the eyes, which denotes intelligence and courage ;
a dished face indicates high breeding, and sometimes, vicious-
ness ; a convex or Roman nose frequently betokens the
reverse ; the ears rather long, yet so finely formed as to
appear small, and playing quickly like those of a deer ; and
the eyes clear, f Jl, and confident, with a steady forward
look. Glancing them backward or askance with a sinister
expression, and with none or only a slight movement of the
head, is indicative of a mischievous temper. The neck
should be handsomely arched, and fine at the junction with
the head, while the lower extremity must be full and muscu-
cular, and well expanded at the breast and shoulders. The
latter ought to be high and run well back; the withers strong,
firmly knit and smooth ; the breast neither too prominent or
retreating, too wide or too narrow, and supported by a pair of
straight fore-legs, standing well apart. The chest should be
deep, and the girth large ; the body full, and not drawn up
too much in the flank ; the back short, and the hips gath-
ered well towards the withers ; the loins wide and rising
above the spine ; the ribs springing nearly at right angles
from the back, giving roundness to the body. The hips
ought to be long to the root of the tail, and the latter may
approach to near the line of the back, which is a mark of good
breeding. Both the thigh and hock should be large and
muscular ; and between the hock or knee and pastern, the
legs should be broad, flat, and short ; the hind legs properly
bent, and all well placed under the body ; the pasterns of
moderate length, and standing slightly oblique; the hoof
hard, smooth, round before, and wide at the heel ; the frog
large and sound ; and the sole firm and concave. A white
hoof is generally tender, easy to fracture and to lame, and
difficult to hold a shoe. The draught-horse ought to differ
from the foregoing, in possessing a heavier and shorter neck,
a wider and stouter breast and low withers, so as to throw
the utmost weight into the collar ; a heavier body and
quarters, larger legs and feet, and more upright shoulders
and pasterns.
Considerations which affect the value of the horse. — The color
is not material, provided it be not pied or mealy. No better
color for horses can be found than the dark bay or brown,
with black mane, tail and legs. But most of the other colors
THE HOUSE. 871
arc frequently found with the best horses. Hard-mouthed
horses, when acconipanied with great spirits, are objectiona-
ble, as they require peculiar bitting and the utmost vigilance.
Tlie paces and action of a horse are important, ft)r if good,
they give a much greater capacity for performance. Some
of these depend on form and structure, and arc unchangable;
others are tlie result of break iv.g. All horses should be
taught to walk fast, as it is their easiest and most economical
pace, and it will help them over a great deal of ground in a
day, even with a heavy load, and with comparatively little
effort. A horse that steps short and digs his toes into the
ground, is worthless as a traveller, and suited only to a ferry
boat or bark mill. It is important that a horse be good tem-
pered. If inchned to viciousness, he should be gently yet
firmly managed when it is first apparent. A resort to great
severity will be justified, if necessary to conquer him ; for if
once allowed to become a habit, it will be difticult to cure
him. Grooms and mischievous stable-boys frequently do
much injury by their idle tricks with horses, and when
detected, they should be discharged at once. Some horses
are nervous, easily excited, and start at every unusual noise
or object. Others are restive and fretful and ever anxious
to be on the move. Kindness and firm, yet mild treatment,
by which their motions and will are at all times controlled,
and their confidence secured, are the only remedies. Others
are inclined to sluggishness. These should have stimulating-
food, and never be overloaded or overworked, and then kept
well to their paces. Whatever they are capable of perform-
ing, can in this way only be got from them. Habit has
great influence with animals, as with man; and when within
the compass of his ability, he may be habituated to any rea-
sonable physical exertion.
BuEEDiNG. — Agreeably to the general principles before
enumerated, such animals should be selected as most emi-
nently possess those points which it is desired to propagate,
and these they should not only exhibit in themselves, but
should inherit as far as possible from a long line of ances-
try. For the perpetuation of particular points in progeny,
it would be safer to rely on the latter quality than the for-
mer. The selection of a mare, relatively larger than the
horse, is an important rule in breeding, and it is believed
that much of the success of Arabian and other Eastern horses
as stock -getters, has resulted from the application of this
principle. They possess valuable traits, but condensed within
372 AMERICAN AGRICULTURE.
too small a compass. When such an animal is put to a well-
bred, larger mare, the foetus has abundance of room and
nourishment to develop and perfect the circumscribed out-
lines of the male parent, and acquire for itself increased
volume and character. The horse ought not to be less than
four or five, and the mare one year older before being put to
breeding. It would be still better to defer it for two or three
years, or till the frame is fully matured.
The gestation of the mare sometimes varies from 44 to 56
weeks, but she usually goes with young from 47 to 50; and
it is advisable she should take the horse at a time, which will
ensure the foaling when the weather is settled, and there is
a fresh growth of grass. She will be the better for light
working till near the time of foaling, if well, but not too
abundantly fed. In a few days after this, she may resume
moderate labor; and if not in the way or troublesome, the
foal may run with her ; but if she is exposed to heating, it
should be confined till she cools, as suckling them is deci-
dedly injurious to it. The mare is in danger of slinking her
foal from blows and over exertion, the use of smutty grain,
foul hay, or oftensive objects or smell ; and when this has
once occurred, which happens usually in the fourth or fifth
month, she should afterwards be generously fed at that
period, and only moderately worked. When liable to slink-
ing, the mare should be removed from others in foal, lest a
peculiar sympathy should excite an epidemic. The mare
comes in heat from nine to eleven days after foaling, when
she should be put to the horse, if it be desirable to have a
colt the following season. She comes round at intervals of
about nine days each.
Management of the colt. — The colt maybe weaned when
five to seven months old, and preparatory to this, while with
the mare, may be taught to feed on fine hay, meal or oats.
When taken away, he should be confined beyond a hearing
distance of the dam, and plentifully supplied with rowen or
aftermath hay, mashed or ground oats, or wheat shorts. It
is economy to provide a warm shelter through the inclement
season for all animals, and especially for colts, which with
all other young, should have an abundance of nutritious
food. They will thus grow evenly and rapidly, and attain
a size and stamina at two years old, they would not other-
wise have acquired at three.
Castrating. — The colt should be altered at about one year,
but if thin in the neck and light before, the operation may
THE HORSE. 873
be deferred to such time as these requisite developments are
secured. Few of the French diligence and farm horses, and
scarcely any of the Oriental, are ever castrated. They are
thought to be more hardy and enduring; but the slight advan-
tage they may j)Ossibly j)ossess in this respect, would illy
compensate for the trouble and inconvenience arising from
their management. The operation should be performed
late in the spring or early in autumn, while the weather is
mild. If in high condition, the animal must first be bled and
physiced. If large and fractious, he must be cast. Some
back him into the angle of a worm fence, where he is firmly
held by the head with a bridle, and the operator accom-
plishes the object, without any trouble or material restiveness
from the animal while standing. The scrotum should be
opened on both sides and the testicles cut, or rather the cord
scraped otf, which prevents as much bleeding. The wound
may be dressed with a little lard ; then turn him loose in a
pasture which has a shelter from sun, wind or rain. Another
method of castrating is by torsion or twisting. Docking is
practised by many, but merely to gratify an absurd and
cruel caprice, without a single advantage, and the animal is
better in every respect with the tail unmutilated. If done
at all, it should be when young, and with a single stroke of
the knife, or chisel and mallet; and if the weather be favora-
ble, no further attention is necessary. NicJdng, — This in-
human custom is now getting unfashionable, and we omit
any description of it.
Breaking — While feeding in the stable, the colt should
be gently treated, and accustomed to the halter and bit,
which prepares him for breaking. If permitted to run with
the others while at work, he becomes familiarized to it, and
when harnessed by the side of some of his well-trained
mates, he considers his discipline rather a privilege than a
task. The colt may be taken in hand for breaking at three,
and thoroughly broken to light work at four, but should not
be put to hard service till six or eight. A due regard to
humanity and sound judgment, in thus limiting the burthen
in his early years, would save much disease and suffering to
the animal and profit the owner, by his unimpaired strength
and prolonged life. The annual loss from neglecting this
precaution is enormous, which might be entirely avoided, by
less eagerness to grasp the substance, while as yet the shadow
only is within reach. Many animals are thus broken down
at twelve, and are in their dotage at fifteen, while others of
374 AMERICAN AGRICULTURE.
good constitution, il* well treated, perform hard service till
thirty.
Longevity of the Jiorse. — Mr. Percival mentions one that
died at 62. Mr. Mauran of New-York, has a fine gig and
saddle horse, now in his 45th year, sound, spirited and play-
ful as a kitten. He is of a dark brown with a tanned nose.
We never yet saw a horse with a buff or bear muzzle, that
had not great endurance. American Eclipse is still success-
fully covering mares in Kentucky at the age of 31, the result
of late and light service till his sinews became fully matured.
We almost daily see a large, compact, flea-bitten horse, at
work, dragging a heavy load in a single cart, which was for-
merly used as one of Governor Maitland's coach horses, and
though now upwards of 30, is apparently as sound and vigor-
ous as an overtasked colt of seven or eight.
Feeding. — The vigor and duration of the horse depend
much on proper feeding. Like the cow and sheep, he mav
be made to subsist on animal food, lish and almost every spe-
cies of nutritious vegetable. But his natural and proper
aliment is the grasses, grain and roots. In the middle and
northern section of this country, his dry forage is almost
invariably good meadow hay, generally timothy, which is
the richest of the cultivated grasses. At the South, this is
often supplied by the blades of Indian corn. But in all the
states, a great variety of the grasses and clover are used.
When put to hard labor, grain ought always to accompany
hay in some form. Of the different kinds ot grain, oats are
peculiarly the horse's tbod, and they are always safe, digesti-
ble and nutritive. Barley is the best sub.^titute for it. W heat
and Indian corn are sometimes given, but both are unsuita-
ble; the first is too concentrated, and the last too heating.
They ought to be sparingly used, and only when ground.
The offal of wheat is never objectionable. Grain is always
more advantageously fed when ground or crushed, and wet
some time previous to eating ; and it is still better when
cooked. On both sides of the Mediterranean, in the Bar-
bary states, in Spain, France and Italy, much of the food is
given in small baked cakes, and the saving in this way is
much greater than the expense of preparing it. When con-
fined to dry food, roots or apples fed once a day, are always
beneficial. They keep the bowels open, the appetite and
general health good, and contribute largely to the nutriment
of the animal. Carrots are the best of the roots, as besides
giving muscle and working power, they more than any
DISEASES OF HORSES. 875
other, improve tlio vviiul and remove all teiulciicy to heaves.
They have even been ibund eflectual in curing an obstinate
cough. By mmy of the keepers of livery stables, they are
always used, for which purpose they command the same
price as oats. Potatoes, parsneps, beets and Swedes turnepa
in the order mentioned, are next to be preferred. Potatoes
are improved by cooking. Mixtures of food are best, as of
cut hay, meal and roots. Old horses, or such as are put to
hard labor, will do much better if their food be given in the
form easiest of digestion. No inconsiderable part of the
vital power is exhausted by the digestion of dry, raw food.
Horses ought to be fed, and if possible, exercised or worked
regularly, but never on a full stomach. This is a frequent
cause of disease, and especially of broken wind. If their
food is given at the proper time, and the horse be allowed to
finish it at once, without expecting more, he will lie down
quietly and digest it. This will be much more refreshing to
him, than to stand at the rack or trough, nibbling continu-
ally at his hay or oats. What remains after he has done
feeding, should be at once withdrawn. They should have
water in summer three times, and in winter twice a day.
Soft or running water is much the best. While working,
and they are not too warm, they may have it as often as
they desire. Neither should they be fed when heated, as
the stomach is then fatigued and slightly inflamed, and is
not prepared for digestion till the animal is again cool. Salt
should always be within reach, and we have found an occa-
sional handful of clean wood ashes, a preventive of disease
and an assistance to the bowels and appetite.
DISEASES.
The list is long and fearful, and even the brief one subjoined,
will be found sulliciently orreat, to inculcate the utmost caution
in their manao^ement. The horse in his natural condition is
subject to few ailments. It is only in his intensely artificial
state, and when made the slave of man, that he becomes a
prey to disease in almost every shape. A careful and judi-
cious attention to his diet, water, exercise, stable, and gene-
ral management, will prevent many of those to which he is
subject.
Glaxders is one of the most alarming. The first and most
marked symptom is a discharge fn>m the nostrils of a pecu-
liar character. The disease prod»ices infiammation there,
and in the windpipe, and finally, in aggravated cases, passes
3 Yd AMERICAN AGRICULTURE.
down to the lungs, which are soon destroyed. It is propaga-
ted by contagion, by exposure in humid stables, and is indu-
ced by hereditary indisposition and great exhaustion. Youatt
says, there is not a disease which may not lay the founda-
tion for glanders. The poison resides in the nasal discharge,
not in the breath. When exposed to it, the mangers should
be thoroughly scraped, washed with soap and water, and
afterwards with chloride of lime. All the clothing and har-
ness which may have received any of the contagious matter,
must be thoroughly cleansed and baked. The best preven-
tives are dry, clean and well ventilated stables, proper exer-
cise, and green food in summer, and roots in winter. The
disease may be arrested in its early stages, by turning the
animal on a dry pasture, but it is liable to return on subse-
quent confinement. Iodine has lately been announced as a
remedy, but of the certainty of its efiects, we are not aware.
It is generally considered incurable, and when thoroughly
seated, it may be deemed an act both of humanity and
economy, to terminate the existence of its victim at once.
This course becomes a duty, from the fact that many grooms,
by their attendance on glandered horses, have been affected,
and though the disease is in their case more managable, yet
it is frequently fatal. Farcy is intimately connected with
glanders, and the diseases frequently run into each other.
Lampas consist in the swelling of the bars of the mouth to
a level or even above the teeth. It may occur from inflamma-
tion of the gums ; shedding of the teeth ; a febrile tendency,
and from over feeding or want of exercise. It will generally
subside by low dieting and proper exercise ; or it may be at
once relieved, by lancing the bars with a sharp pen-knife.
Poll-evil arises from some contusion or injury to the head,
which produces a swelling that eventually suppurates. The
inflammation may be abated in its earliest stages, by a blister,
and later, by bleeding, physic, and cold lotions applied to the
part. If these are ineffectual, and the swelling continues,
it should be hastened by poultices, and warm, stimulating
lotions ; and when fully formed, the tumor must be opened,
so as to permit all the matter to run out. Repeated applica-
tions of salt will sometimes cure it.
Heaves.— ♦All those affections, distinguished in the Eng-
lish veterinary works, as pnuernonia or inflammation of the
lungs J chronic cough, thick and broken wind, consumption, <^c.,
are popularly designated as heaves. To some or all of these
the horse may have an hereditary or constitutional tendency.
DISEASES OF HORSES. 8T7
Thoir iiicipiont stages are also induced by a sudden transition
from heat (o cold, and Hometiines from cold to close and hot
stables ; and by a chilly wind or danip stables, CHpecinlly after
severe exercise. Feedin<; on musty, dry hay, or on straw,
will produce an irritation which may lead to heaves. Injlam-
motion of tlie lunaa is frequently dangerous, and requires the
immediate and full u>e ofthe lancet. After the inllammation
isdeeidedly allayed by copious bleeding, small doses of aloes
may be given, and trequent injections of warm soap and
water, which should be omitted the moment the fieces be-
comes soft and approaching to the fluid state. Blistering
the sides and brisket, and often repeated if otherwise inefTec-
tual, must be resorted to. Convalescence should be followed
with sedative medicines, and during all the severe stages of
the disease, withhold all food except light gruels after pro-
tracted abstinence. As health returns, put the animal out to
grass. Inflammation ofthe \\\i\gn is sometimes succeeded by
a chronic cough, and the other maladies enumerated. When
firmly seaterj, it is incapable of removal. Its eflects can be
alleviated, and with suitable tbod and treatment, the horse
may be made to do much moderate labor for many years, but
he can never become sound or sustain great exertion. Equal
and proper temperature, moist, stimulating food, and espe-
cially carrots or potatoes, and moderate exercise, but never
on a full stomach, and dry, clean stables, are all the remedies
that can be prescribed.
Catarrh or horse distemper sometimes attacks the
horse in the spring or fall, and is shown by soreness and
swelling in the glands of the throat, a cough, difficulty of
swallowing, discharging at the nose, and general prostration.
It is seldom fatal if properly managed. Give light bran-
mashes, purge thoroughly, and keep warm. If he is violently
attacked, he may be bled while fever exists, and blisters or
seatons may be applied, to reduce the swelling if extreme.
The disease is contagious, and the animal should be at once
placed where he cannot communicate it.
Spasmodic Colic. — " The attack of colic is usually very
sudden. There is often not the slightest warning. The
horse begins to shift his posture, look round at his flanks, paw
violently, strike his belly with his feet, and crouch in a pecu-
liar manner, advancing his hind limbs under him ; he will
then suddenly lie, or rather fall down, and balance himself
upon his back, with his feet resting on his belly. The pain
now seems to cease for a little while, and he gets up, and
dtS AMERICAN AGRTCTTLTURE.
shakes himself, and begins to feed ; the respite, however, is
but short — 'the spasm returns more violently — every indica-
tion of pain is increased — he heaves at the flanks, breaks out
into a profuse perspiration, and throws himself more reck-
lessly about. In the space of an hour or two, either the
spasms begin to relax, and the remissions are of longer dura-
tion, or the torture is augmented at every paroxysm ; the
intervals of ease are fewer and less marked, and inflamma-
tion and death supervene. The pulse is but little affected at
the commencement, but it soon becomes frequent and contrac-
ted, and at length is scarcely tangible.
Among the causes of colic are, the drinking of cold water
when the horse is heated. There is not a surer origin of
violent spasm than this. Hard water is very apt to produce
this eflfect. Colic will sometimes follow the exposure of a
horse to the cold air or a cold wind after strong exercise.
Green meat, although, generally speaking, most beneficial to
the horse, yet, given in too large a quantity, or when he is
hot, will frequently produce gripes. Doses of aloes, both
large and small, are not unfrequent causes of colic. In some
horses there seems to be a constitutional predispositioh to
colic. They cannot be hardly worked, or exposed to unusual
cold, without a fit of it. In many cases, when these horses
have died, calculi have been found in some part of the ali-
mentary canal. Habitual costiveness and the presence of
calculi are frequent causes of spasmodic colic. The seat of
colic is occasionally the duodenum, but oftener the ileum or
the jejunum ; sometimes, however, both the caecum and
colon are affected. Fortunately, we are acquainted with
several medicines that allay these spasms ; and the disease
often ceases as suddenly as it appeared. Turpentine is one of
the most powerful remedies, especially in union with opium,
and in good warm ale. A solution of aloes will be advanta-
geously added to the turpentine and opium. If relief is not
obtained in half-an-hour, it will be prudent to bleed, for the
continuance of violent spasm may produce inflammation.
Some practitioners bleed at first, and it is far from bad prac-
tice ; for although the majority of cases will yield to turpen-
tine, opium, and aloes, an early bleeding may occasionally
prevent the recurrence of inflammation, or at least mitigate
it. If it is clearly a case of colic, half of the first dose may
be repeated, with aloes dissolved in warm water. The stim-
ulus produced on the inner surface of the bowels by the pur-
gative may counteract the irritation that caused the spasm.
DISEASES OF HORSES. 379
The belly sljould be well rublxui with a brush or warm cloth,
but nut brtiist'd ami injured by the Inooni-hundle rubbed over
it, with all their strenirtb, by two great fellows. The horse
should be walked about, or trotted moderately. The motion
thus produced in the bowels, and the friction of one intestine
over the other, may relax the spasm, but the hasty gallop
might speedily cause inflammation to succeed to colic. Clys-
tei*s of warm water, or containing a solution of aloes, should
be injected. The patent syringe will here be exceedingly
useful. A clyster of tobacco-smoke may be thrown up as a
last resort. When relief has been obtained, the clothing of
the horse, saturated with perspiration, should be removed,
and fresh and dry clothes substituted. He should be well
littered down in a warm stable or box, and have bran mashes
and lukewarm water for the two or three next days. Some
persons give gin, or gin and pepper, or even spirit of pimento,
in cases of gripes. This course of proceeding is, however,
exceedingly objectionable. It may be useful, or even suffi-
cient, in ordinary cases of colic ; but if there should be any
inflammation or tendency to inflammation, it cannot fail to be
highly injurious.
Flatulent colio. — This is altogether a different disease
from the former. It is not spasm of the bowels, but inflation of
them from the presence of gas emitted by undigested food.
Whether collected in the stomach, or small or large intestines,
all kinds of vegetable matter are liable to ferment. In con-
sequence of this fermentation, gas is evolved to a greater or
less extent — perhaps to twenty or thirty times the bulk of the
food. This may take place in the stomach ; and if so, the
life of the horse is in immediate danger, for the animal has
no power to expel this dangerous flatus by eructation.
The symptoms, according to Professor Stewart, are, " the
horse suddenly slackening his pace — preparing to lie down,
or falling down as if he were shot. In the stable he paws
the ground with his fore feet, lies down, rolls, starts up all at
once, and throws himself down again with great violence,
looking wistfully at his flanks, and making many fruitless
attempts to void his urine." The treatment is considerably
different from that of spasmodic colic. The spirit of pimento
would be here allowed, or the turpentine and opium drink ;
but if the pain, and especially the swelling, do not abate, the
gas, which is the cause of it, must be got rid of, or the ani-
mal is inevitably lost. This is usually or almost invariably
a combination of hydrogen with some other gas. It has a
380 AMERICAN AGRICULTUKE.
strong affinity for chlorine. Then if some compound of
chlorine — the chloride of lime — dissolved in water, is admin-
istered in the form of a drink, the chlorine separates from the
lime as soon as it comes in contact with the hydro«,'en, and
muriatic gas is formed. This gas having a strong afiinitj'-
for water, is absorbed by any fluid that may be present, and,
quitting its gaseous form, either disappears, or does not retain
a thousandth part of its former bulk. All this may be very
rapidly accomplished, for*the fluid is quickly conveyed from
the mouth to every part of the intestinal canal. Where these
two medicines are not at hand, and the danger is imminent,
the trochar may be used, in order to open a way for the
escape of the gas. The trochar should be small but longer
than that which is used for the cow, and the puncture should
be made in the middle of the right flank, for there the large
intestines are most easily reached. It is only when the prac-
titioner despairs of otherwise saving the life of the animal
that this operation should be attempted. Much of the danger
would be avoided bj^ using a very small trochar, and by with-
drawing it as soon as the gas has escaped. The wonnd in
the intestines will then probably close, from the innate elasti-
city of the parts.
Inflammation of thk bowels. — There are two varieties of
this malady. The first is inflammation of the external coats
of the intestines, accompanied by considerable fever, and
usually costiveness. The second is that of the internal or
mucous coat, and almost invariably connected with purging.
The muscular coat is that which is oftenest affected. Inflam-
mation of the external coats of the stomach, whether the
peritoneal or muscular, or both, is a very frequent and fatal
disease. It speedily runs its course, and it is of great conse-
quence that its early symptoms should be known. If the
horse has been carefully observed, restlessness and fever will
have been seen to precede the attack. In many cases a
direct shivering fit will occur ; the mouth will be hot, and the
nose red. The animal will soon express the most dreadful
pain by pawing, striking at his belly, looking wildly at his
flanks, groaning, and rolling. The pulse will be quickened
and small ; the ears and legs cold ; the belly tender, and
sometimes hot; the breathing quickened; the bowels costive;
and the animal becoming rapidly and fearfully weak.
The causes of this disease are, first of all and most fre-
quently, sudden exposure to cold. If a horse that has been
highly fed, carefully groomed, and kept in a warm stable, is
DIBEASK8 OF HORSES. 881
heated with exercise, and has been during some hours without
food, and in ihis state of exhaustion is suHered to drink freely
of cold water, or is drenched with rain, or have his legs and
belly washed with cold water, an attack of inflammation of
the bowels will oi\cn follow. An overfed horse, subjected to
severe and lung-continued exertion, if his lungs were previ-
ously weak, will probably be attacked by inllammation of
them ; but if the lungs were sound, the bowels will on the
tbllowing day be the seat of disease. Stones in the intes-
tines are an occasional cause of inflammation, and colic
neglected or wrongly treated will terminate in it.
The treatment of inflammation of the bowels, like that of
the lungs, should be prompt and energetic. The first and
most powerful means of cure will be bleeding. From six to
eight or ten quarts of blood, in fact as much as the horse can
bear, should be abstracted as soon as possible ; and the bleed-
ing repeated to the extent of four or hvc quarts more, if the
pain is not relieved and the pulse has not become rounder
and fuller. The speedy weakness that accompanies this
disease should not deter from bleeding largely. That weak-
ness is the consequence of violent inflammation of these
parts ; and if that inflammation is subdued by the loss of
blood, the weakness will disappear. The bleeding should be
ellected on the fust appearance of the disease, for there is no
malady that more quickly runs its course. A strong solution
of aloes should immediately follow the bleeding, but, consid-
ering the irritable state of the intestines at this period, guar-
ded by opium. This should be quickly followed by back-
raking, and injections consisting of warm water, or very thin
gruel, in which Epsom salts or aloes have been dissolved ;
and too much fluid can scarcely be thrown up. The horse
should likewise be encouraged to drink plentifully of warm
water or thin gruel ; and draughts, each containing a couple
of drachms of dissolved aloes, with a little opium, should be
given every six hours, until the bowels are freely opened. It
will now be prudent to endeavor to excite considerable exter-
nal inflannnation as near as possible to the seat of internal
disease, and therefore the whole of the belly should be blis-
tered. In a well-marked case of this disease, no time should
be lost in applying fomentations, but the blister at once resor-
ted to. The tincture of Spanish flies, whether made Avith
spirits of wine or turpentine, should be thoroughly rubbed in.
The legs should be well bandaged in order to restore the cir-
culation in them, and thus lessen the flow of blood to the
2S2' AMERICAN AGRICULTTJBE.
inflamed part; and, for the same reason, the horse should be
warmly clothed, but the air of the stable or box should be
cool. No corn or hay should be allowed during the disease,
but bran mashes, and green meat if it can be procured. The
latter will be the best of all food, and may be given without
the slightest apprehension of danger. When the horse
begins to recover, a handful of grain may be given two or three
times in the day; and, if the weather is warm, he may be
turned into a paddock for a few hours in the middle of the
day. Clysters of gruel should be continued for three or four
days after the inilammation is beginning to subside, and good
hand-rubbing applied to the legs.
The second variety of inilammation of the bowels aflects
the internal or mucous coat, and is generally the consequence
of physic in too great quantity, or of an improper kind. The
purging is more violent and continues longer than was inten-
ded ; the animal shows that he is sutfering great pain ; he
frequently looks round at his flanks; his breathing is labori-
ous, and the pulse is quick and small, and the mouth is hot
and the legs and ears are warm. Unless the purging is
excessive, and the pain and distress great, the surgeon should
hesitate at giving any astringent medicine at first; but he
should plentifully administer gruel or thin starch, or arrow-
root, by the mouth and by clyster, removing all hay and corn,
and particularly green meat. He should thus endeavor to
soothe the irritated surface of the bowels, while he permits
all remains of the purgative to be carried oft'. If, however,
twelve hours have passed, and the purging and the pain
remain undiminished, he should continue the gruel, adding
to it chalk, catechu, and opium, repeated every six hours.
As soon as the purging begins to subside, the astringent med-
icine should be lessened in quantity, and gradually discon-
tinued. Bleeding will rarely be necessary, unless the inflam-
mation is very great, and attended by symptoms of general
fever. The horse should be warmly clothed, and placed in
a comfortable stable, and his legs should be hand-rubbed and
bandaged. Violent purging, and attended with much inflam-
mation and fever, will occur from other causes. Green meat
will frequently purge. A horse worked hard upon green meat
will sometimes scour. The remedy is change of diet, or less
labor. Young horses will often be strongly jjurged, without
any apparent cause. Astringents should be used with much
caution here. It is probably an effort of nature to get rid of
something that offends. A few doses of gruel wiU assist in
DISEASES OF HORSES.
eflectiRg this purpose, and the purging will cease without
astringent medicine. Many horses that arc not wellribbed
home — having too great space between the last rib and the
hip-bone — are subject to purging if more than usual exertion
is required from them. They are recognised by the term of
washj horses. They are otlen free and tiect, but destitute of
continuance. They should have rather more than the usual
allowance of corn, with beans, when at work. A cordial
ball, with catechu and opium, will often be serviceable either
before or at\er a journey.
PiiYsicKiNO. — When a horse comes from grass to hard
meat, or from the cool, open air to a heated stable, a dose
or even two doses of physic may be useful to prevent the
tendency to inflammation which is the necessary consequence
of so sudden and great a change. To a horse that is becom-
ing too fat, or has surfeit, or grease, or mange, or that is out
of condition from inactivity of the digestive organs, a dose of
physic is often most serviceable. A horse should be care-
fully prepared for the action of physic. Two or three bran
mashes given on that or the preceding day are far from suffi-
cient when a horse is about to be physicked, whether to pro-
mote his condition or in obedience to custom. Mashes should
be given until the dung becomes softened. A less quantity
of physic will then suffice, and it will more quickly pass
through the intestines, and be more readily difllised over them.
Five drachms of aloes, given when the dung has thus been
softened, will act more effectually and much more safely than
seven drachms, when the lower intestines are obstructed by-
hardened faeces. On the day on which the physic is given,
the horse should have walking exercise, or may be gently-
trotted for a quarter of an hour twice in the day; but after
the physic begins to work, he should not be moved from his.
stall. Exercise would then produce gripes, irritation, and,,
possibly, dangerous inflammation. A little hay may be put
into the rack. As much mash should be given as the horse
will eat, and as much water, with the coldness of it taken off,,
as he will drink. If, however, he obstinately refuses to drink
warm water, it is better that he should have it cold, than la
continue without taking any fluid; but in such case he should
not be suffered to take more than a quart at a time, with an
interval of at least an hour between each draught. Whem
the purging has ceased, or ilie physic is. set, a mash should be
given once or twice every day until tiie next dose is taken,
between which and the setting of th© first there should be ani
384 AMERICAN AGRICULTURE.
interval of a week. The horse should recover from the Ian-
guor and debility occasioned by the tirst dose, before he is
harrassed by a second. Eight or ten tolerably copious
motions will be perfectly sufficient to answer every good
purpose, although the groom or the carter may not be satisfied
unless double the quantity are procured. The consequence
of too strong purgation will be, that weakness will hang about
the animal for several days or weeks, and inflammation will
often ensue from the over-irritation of the intestinal canal.
Long-continued custom has made aloes the almost invariable
purgative of the horse, and very properly so ; for there is no
other at once so sure and so safe. The Barbadoes aloes,
although sometimes very dear, should alone be used. The
dose, with a horse properly prepared, will vary from four to
seven drachms. Custom has assigned the form of a ball to
physic, but good sense will in due time introduce the solution
of aloes, as acting more speedily, effectually, and safely. The
only other purgative on which dependence can be placed is
the CROTON. The farina or meal of the nut is generally
used ; but from its acrimony it should be given in the form of
ball, with linseed meal. The dose varies from a scruple to
half a drachm. It acts more speedily than the aloes, and
without the nausea which they produce; but it causes more
watery stools, and, consequently, more debility. Linseed-
oil is an uncertain but safe purgative, in doses from a pound
to a pound and a half. Olive-oil is more uncertain, but
safe ; but cAfsroR-oiL, that mild aperient in the human being,
is both uncertain and unsafe. Epsoiai-salts are inefficacious,
except in the immense dose of a pound aifH a half, and then
they are not always safe.
Worms. — The long white worm {liimhricus teres) much
resembles the common earth-worm, and, being from six to
ten inches in length, inhabits the small intestines. It is a
formidable looking animal ; and if there are many of them,
they may consume more than can be spared of the nutritive
part of the food, or the mucus of the bowels. A tight skin,
and rough coat, and tucked -up belly, are sometimes connec-
ted with their })resence. They are then, however, voided in
large quantities. A dose of physic will sometimes bring-
away almost incredible quantities of them. Calomel is fre-
quently given as a vermifuge. The seldomer this drug is
administered to the horse the better. When the horse can
be spared, a strong dose of physic is an excellent vermifuge,
so far as the long round worm is concerned ; but a better
DISEASES OV noRSES. 385
medicine, and not interfering with either the feeding or work
of the horse, is emetic tartar, with ginger, made into a ball
with linseed meal and treacle, and given every morning, half
an hour before the horse is led. A smaller, darker colored
worm, called the needle. worm, or ascaris^ inhabits the larger
intestines. Hundreds of them sometimes descend into the
rectum, and immense quantities have been found in the
cojcum. These are a more serious nuisance than the former,
for they cause a very troublesome irritation about the funda-
ment, which sometimes sadly annoys the Ij^orse. Their exis-
tence can generally be discovered by a small portion of mucus,
which, hardening, is found adhering to the anus. Physic will
sometimes bring away great numbers of these worms ; but
when there is much irritation about the tail, and much of
this mucus, indicating that they have descended into the rec-
tum, an injection of linseed oil, or of aloes dissolved in warm
water, will be a more effectual remedy. The tape-worm is
seldom found in the horse.
BoTs cannot, while they inhabit the stomach of the horse,
give the animal any pain, for they have fastened on the cuti-
cular and insensible coat. They cannot stimulate the stomach
and increase its digestive power, for they are not on the diges-
tive portion of the stomach. They cannot, by their rough-
ness, assist the trituration or rubbing down of the food, for
no such office is performed in that part of the stomach — the
food is sotlened, not rubbed down. They cannot be injurious
to the horse, for he enjoys the most perfect health when the
cuticular part of his stomach is filled with them, and their
presence is not even suspected until they appear at the anus.
They cannot be removed by medicine, because they are not
in that part of the stomach to which medicine is usually con-
veyed ; and if they were, their mouths are too deeply buried
in the mucus for any medicine, that can be safely adminis-
tered, to affect them ; and, last of all, in due course of time
they detach themselves, and come away. Therefore, the
wise man will leave them to themselves, or content himself
with picking them off when they collect under the tail and
annoy the animal.
WiND-GALLs. — In the neighborho'od of the fetlock there
are occasionally found considerable enlargements, oftener on
the hind-leg than the fore-one, which are denominated wirid'-
galls. Between the tendons and other parts, and wherever
the tendons are exposed to pressure or friction, and particu-
larly about their extremeties, little bags or sacs are placed,
Q
3b6 AMERICAN AGRICULTURE.
containing and suffering to ooze slowly from them a mucous
fluid to lubricate the parts. From undue pressure, and that
most frequently caused by violent action and straining of the
tendons, or, often, from some predisposition about the horse,
these little sacs are injured. They take on inflammation,
and sometimes become large and indurated. There are few
horses perfectly free from them. When they first appear,
and until the inflammation subsides, they may be accompa-
nied by some degree of lameness ; but otherwise, except
when they attain a great size, they do not interfere with the
action of the animal, or cause any considerable unsoundness.
The farriers used to suppose that they contained wind — hence
their name, wind-galls ; and hence the practice of opening
them, by which dreadful inflammation was often produced,
and many a valuable horse destroyed. A slight wind-gall
will scarcely be subjected to treatment ; but if these tumors
are numerous and large, and seem to impede the motion of
the limb, they may be attacked first by bandage. The roller
should be of flannel, and soft pads should be placed on each
of the enlargements, and bound down tightly upon them.
The bandage should also be wetted with warm water two or
three times a day for half an hour each time. The wind-
gall will often diminish or disappear by this treatment, but
will too frequently return when the horse is again hardly
worked. A blister is more effectual, but too often temporary
remedy. Wind-galls will return with the renewal of work.
Firing is still more certain, if the tumors are sufficiently large
and annoying to justify our having recource to measures so
severe; for it will not only eftect the immediate absorption
of the fluid, and the reduction of the swelling, but, by con-
tracting the skin, will act as a permanent bandage, and there-
fore prevent the re-appearance of the tumor. The iodine
and mercurial ointments have occasionally been used with
advantage in the proportion of three parts of the former to
two of the latter-
The Fetlock. — The fetlock-joint is a very complicated
one, and from the stress which is laid on u, and its being the
principal seat of motion below the knee, it is particularly
subject to injury. There are not many cases of sprain of
the back-sinew that are not accompanied by inflammation of
the ligaments of this joint ; and uumerous supposed cases of
sprain higher up are simple affections of the fetlock. It
requires a great deal of care, and some experience, to dis'in-
guish the one from the other. The heat abaut the part, and
DI8BABE6 OF HORHB8. 367
the point at which the horse least endures the pressure of the
finger, will be the principal guides. Occasionally, by the
applicatiun of cooling lotions, the inilainniation may be sub.
dued, but at other times, the horse sutlers dreadfully, and is
unable to stand. A serious aflt'ction of the ictlock-joint
demands prompt treatment.
C/UTTiNi; — The inside of the fetlock is often bruised by
the shoe or the hoof of the opposite foot. Many expedients
used to be tried to remove this ; the inside heel has been
raised and lowered, and the outside raised and lowered; and
sometimes one operation has succeeded, and sometimes the
contrary ; and there was no point so involved in obscurity or
so destitute of principles to guide the practitioner. The most
successful remedy, and that which in the great majority of
cases supercedes all others, is Mr. Turner's shoe, of equal
thickness from heel to toe, and having but one nail, and that
near the toe on the inside of the shoe ; care being taken that
the shoe shall not extend beyond the edge of the crust, and
that the crust shall be rasped a little at the quarters.
Si'RAiN OF THE COFFIN-JOINT. — The proof of this is when
the lameness is sudden, and the heat and tenderness are prin-
cipally felt round the coronet. Bleeding at the toe, physic,
fomentation, and blisters are the usual means adopted. This
lameness is not easily removed, even by a blister ; and if
removed, like sprains of the fetlock and of the back sinews,
it is aj)t to return, and finally produce a great deal of disor-
ganization and mischief in the foot. Sprain of the cofbn-
joint sotnetimes becomes a very serious allair. Not being
always attended by any external swelling and being detected
only by heat round the coronet, the seat of the lameness is
often overlooked by the groom and the farrier ; and the dis-
ease is suffered to become contirmed before its nature is
discovered.
Ringbone. — This is a deposit of bony matter in one of
the pasterns, and usually near the joint. It rapidly spreads,
and involves not only the pastern-bones, but the cartilages of
the foot, and spreading around the pasterns and cartilages,
thus derives its name. When the first deposit is on the lower
jiastern, and on both sides of it, and produced by violent
inflammation of the ligaments of the joints, it is recognised
by a slight enlargement, or bony tumor on each side of the
foot, and just above the coronet. Horses with short upright
joints, and with small feet and high action, are olltenest, as
may be supposed, the subjects of this disease, which is the
388 AMERICAN AGRICULTURE.
consequence either of concussion or sprain of the pastern-
joints. It is also more frequent in the hind foot than the
fore, because, from the violent action of the hind legs in
propelling the horse forward, the pasterns are more subject to
iigamcntary injury behind than before ; yet the lameness is
not so great there, because the disease is confined principally
to the ligaments, and the bones have not been injured by con-
cussion ; while from the position of the fore limbs, there will
generally be in them injury of the bones to be added to that
of the ligaments. In its early stage, and when recognised
only by a bony enlargement on both sides of the pastern-joint,
or in some few cases on one side only, the lameness is not
very considerable, and it is not impossible to remove the
disease by active blistering, or by the application of the
cautery ; but there is so much wear and tear in this part of
the animal, that the inflammation and the disposition to the
formation of bone rapidly spread. The pasterns first become
connected together by bone instead of ligament, and thence
results what is called an anchylosed or fixed joint. From
this joint the disease proceeds to the cartilages of the foot,
and to the union between the lower pastern, and the collin
and navicular bones. The motion of these parts likewise is
impeded or lost, and the whole of the foot becomes one mass
of spongy bone.
ENLARGEMENT OF THE iiocK. — First, there is inflamma-
tion, or sprain of the hock-joint generally^ arising from sudden
violent concussion, by some check at speed, or over-weight,
and attended with enlargement of the whole joint, and great
tenderness and lameness. This, however, like all other dif-
fused inflammations, is not so untractable as an intense one
of a more circumscribed nature, and by rest and fomentation,
or, perchance, firing, the limb recovers its action, and the
horse becomes fit for ordinary work. The swelling, how-
ever, does not always subside. Enlargement, spread over
'the whole of the hock-joint, remains. A horse with an
enlarged hock must always be regarded with suspicion. In
truth, he is unsound. The ])arts, altered in structure, must
be to a certain degree weakened. The animal may discharge
his usual work during a long period, without return of lame-
ness ; but if one of those emergencies should occur when all
his energies require to be exerted, the disorganised and wea-
kened part will fail. lie may be ridden or driven moderately
for many a year without inconvenience, yet one extra hard
day's work may lame him for ever.
DISEASES OF HORSES. 380
CuRH. — There arc ollen injuries of particular parts of the
hock-joint. Curb is an aHectioii of this kiiKl. It is an
enlargement at the back of tiie hock, three or four inches
]>elo\v its point. It is either a strain of the rinfr.liko liga-
ment which binds the tendons in their jihice, or of the siieath
of the tendons ; oitener, however, of the ligament than of
the sheath. Any sudden action of the limb of more than
usual violence may produce it, and therefore horses are found
to ' throw out curbs ' alter a hardly-contested race, an extra-
ordinary leap, a severe gallop over heavy ground, or a sudden
check in the gallop. Young horses arc particularly liable to
it, and horses that arc cow-liocked^ — whose hocks and legs
resemble those of the cow, the hocks being turned inward,
and legs forming a considerable angle outwards. This is
intelligible enough ; lor in hocks so formed, the annular liga-
ment must be continually on the stretch, in order to confine
the tendon. Curbs are generally accompanied by considera-
ble lameness at their first appearance, but the swelling is not
always great. They are best detected by observing the leg
sideway. The first object in attempting the cure is to abate
inflammation, and this will be most readily accomplished by
cold evaporating lotions frequently applied to the part. Equal
portions of spirit of wine, water, and vinegar, will aflford an
excellent application. It will be almost impossible to keep a
bandage on. If the heat and lameness are considerable, it
will be prudent to give a dose of physic, and to bleed from
the subcutaneous vein, whose course is near it ; and whether
the injury is of the annular ligament, or the sheath of the
tendon, more active means will be necessary to perfect a
cure. Either a liquid blister should be rubbed on the part,
consisting of a vinus or turpentine tincture of cantharides,
and this daily applied until some considerable swelling takes
place ; or, what is the preferable plan, the hair should be
cut oft*, and the part blistered as soon as the heat has been
subdued. The blister should be repeated until the swelling
has disappeared, and the horse goes sound. In severe cases
it may be necessary to fire ; but a fair trial, however, should
be given to milder measures. If the iron is used, it should
be applied in straight lines. There are few lamenesses in
which absolute and long-continued rest is more requisite. It
leaves the parts materially weakened, and, if the horse is
soon put to work again, the lameness will frequently return.
No horse that has had curbs, should be put even to ordinary
work in less than a month after the apparent cure ; and, even
390 AMERICAN AGRICULTURE.
then, he should very gradually resume his former habits. A
horse with a curb, is manifestly unsound, or generally con-
denmed as unsound. Curb is also an hereditary complaint ;
and therefore a horse that has once suffered from it, should
always be regarded with suspicion, especially if either of the
parents have exhil)itod it.
Bone spavin is an affection of the bones of the hock joint.
Spavined horses are generally capable of slow work. They
are equal to the greater part of the work of the farm, and
therefore they should not always be rejected by the small
farmer, as they may generally be procured at little price.
These horses are not only capable of agricultural work, but
they generally improve under it. The lameness in some
degree abates, and even the bony tumor to a certain degree
lessens. There is sufficient moderate motion and friction of
the limb to rouse the absorbents to action, and cause them to
take up a portion of the bony matter thrown out, but not
enough to renew or prolong inflammation. It cannot be said
that the plough affords a cure for spavin, but the spavined
horse often materially improves while working at it. For
fast work, and for work that must be regularly performed,
spavined horses are not well calculated ; for this lameness
behind produces great difficulty in rising, and the conscious-
ness that he will not be able to rise without painful effort
occasionally prevents the horse from lying down at all ; and
the animal that cannot rest well cannot long travel far or fast.
The treatment of spavin is simple enough, but far from being
always effectual. The owner of the horse will neither con-
sult his own interest, nor the dictates of humanity, if he suffers
the chisel and mallet, or the gimlet, or the pointed iron, or
arsenic, to be used ; yet measures of considerable severity
must be resorted to. Repeated blisters will usually cause
either the absorption of the bony deposit, or the abatement
or removal of the inflammation of the ligaments, or, as a last
resource, the heated iron may be applied.
Swelled legs. — The fore legs, but oftener the hind ones,
and especially in coarse horses, are sometimes subject to con-
siderable enlargement. Occasionally, when the horse does
not seem to labor under any other disease, and sometimes
from an apparent shifting of disease from other parts, the
hind legs suddenly swell to an enormous degree from the
hock and almost from the stifle to the fetlock, attended by a
greater or less degree of heat, and tenderness of the skin, and
sometimes excessive and very peculiar lameness. The pulse
DI8SASES OF HOB8E8. 801
likewise becomes quick and hard, and the horse evidently ^
labors under considerable fever. It is acute inflammation of
the cellular substance of the le«rs, and that most sudden in
its attack, and most violent in its degree, and therefore atten-
ded by the oirusion of a considerable quantity of fluid into
the cellular membrane. It occurs in young horses, and in
those which arc over-fed and little exercised. Fomentation,
diuretics, or purgatives, or, if there is much fever, a moderate
bleeding will often relieve the distention almost as suddenly
as it appeared.
The cure, when the case has not been too long neglected,
is sufliiciently plain. Physic, or diuretics, or both, must be
had recourse to. Mild cases will generally yield to their
influence ; but, if the animal has been negleted, the treat-
ment must be decisive. If the horse is in high condition,
these should be preceded or accompanied by bleeding ; but if
there are any symptoms of debility, bleeding would only
increase the want of tone in the vessels. Horses taken from
grass and brought into close stables very speedily have swelled
legs, because the difference of food and increase of nutriment
rapidly increases the quantity of the circulating fluid, while
the want of exercise takes away the means by which it might
be got rid of. The remedy here is sufficiently plain. Swelled
legs, however, may proceed from general debility. They
may be the consequence of starvation, or disease that has
considerably weakened the animal; and these parts, being
farthest from the center of circulation, are the first to show
the loss of power by the accumulation of fluid in them. Here
the means of cure would be to increase the general strength,
with which the exlremeties would sympathise. Mild diuretics
and tonics would therefore be evidently indicated.
Horses in the spring and fall are subject to swelled legs.
The powers of the constitution are principally employed in
providing a new coat for the animal, and the oxtremeties have
not their share of vital influence. Mingled cordials and diu-
retics are indicated here — the diuretic to lessen the quantity
of the circulating fluid, and the cordial to invigorate the frame.
Grease. — Swelled legs, although distinct from grease, is
a disease that is apt to degenerate into it. Grease is a spe-
cific inflammation of the skin of the heels, sometimes of the
fore-feet, but oftencr of the hinder ones. Bad stable manage-
ment is the true cause of it. Grease is a local complaint.
The heel should be well but gently washed with soap and
water, and as much of the scurf detached as is easily rerao-
392 AMERICAN AGRICULTURE.
vable. An ointment should be applied, to supple, cool, and
heal the part. When cracks appear the mode of treatment
will depend on their extent and depth. If the cracks are
deep, with an ichorous discharge and considerable lameness,
it will be necessary to poultice the heel. A poultice of lin-
seed meal will be generally effective, unless the discharge is ,
thin and offensive, when an ounce of finely-powdered char-
coal should be mixed with the linseed meal; or a poultice of
carrots, boiled soft and mashed. After the chaps or cracks
have healed, the legs will sometimes continue gorged and
swelled. A flannel bandage, evenly applied over the whole
of the swelled part, will be very serviceable ; or, should the
season admit of it, a run at grass, particularly spring grass,
should be allowed.
The feeding should likewise vary with the case, but
with these rules, which admit of no exception, that green
meat should be given, and more especially carrots, when
they are not too expensive, and mashes, if the horse will eat
them, and never the full allowance of grain.
Walking exercise should be resorted to as soon as the
horse is able to bear it, and this by degrees may be increased
to a gentle trot.
From bad stable management at first, and neglect during
the disease, a yet worse kind of grease occasionally appears.
The ulceration extends over the skin of the heel and the
fetlock, and a fungus springs from the surface of both, highly
sensible, bleeding at the slightest touch, and interspersed
with scabs. By degrees portions of the fungus begin to be
covered with a horny substance, protruding in the form of
knobs, and collected together in bunches. These are known
by the name of grapes, A foetid and very peculiar exhuda-
dation proceeds from nearly the whole of the unnatural
substance. The horse evidently suffers much, and is gradu-
ally worn down by the discharge. The assistance of a
veterinary surgeon is here indispensible.
Some horses are more subject to grease than others, par-
ticularly draught-horses, both heavy and light, but particu-
larly the former, and if they have no degree of blood in them.
It was the experience of this which partly contributed to the
gradual change of coach and other draught-hor^os to those
of a lighter breed. In the great majority of cases, grease
arises from mismanagement and neglect.
Everything that has a tendency to excite inflammation in
the skin of the heel is a cause of grease. Therefore want
DI88AIE8 OF HOR8B0. '898
of exercise is a frequent source of tliis disease. When high
feeding is added to irregular or delicient exercise, the disease
is evidently still more likely to be produced. Want of clean,
liness in the stable is a fruitful source of grease. When
the heels are imbedded iu tilth, they are weakened by the
constant moisture surrounding them — irritated by the acri-
mony of the dung and urine, and little prepared to endure
the cold evaporation to which they arc exposed when the
horse is taken out of the stable. The absurd practice of
washing the feet and legs of horses when they come from
their work, and either carelessly sponging them down after-
ward^5, or leaving them to dry as they may, is, however^ the
most common origin of grease.
When the horse is warmed by his work, and the heels
share in the warmth, the momentary cold of washing may
not be injurious, if the animal is immediately rubbed dry;
yet even this would he better avoided : but to wash out the
heels, and then leave them partially dry or perfectly wet,
and suflering from the extreme cold that is produced by
evaporation tiom a moist and wet surface is the most absurd,
dangerous and injurious practice that can be imagined. It is
worse when the post-horse or the plough-horse is plunged up
to his belly in the river or pond immediately after his woik.
There has been some dispute as to the propriety of cutting
the hair from the heels. Custom has very properly retained
the hair on our farm-horses. Nature would not have given
it had it not been useful. It guards the heel from being
injured by the inequalities of the ploughed field, and prevents
the dirt, in which the heels are constantly enveloped, from
reaching and caking on and irritating the skin. When
the horse is carefully tended after his work is over, and his
legs quickly and completely dried, the less hair he has about
them the better, for then both the skin and the hair can
be made perfectly dry before evaporation begins or proceeds
so far as to deprive the legs of their heat. Grease is the
child of negligence and mismanagement.
Setons are pieces of tape or cord, passed, by means of
an instrument resembling a large needle, either through
abscesses, or the base of ulcers with deep sinuses, or between
the skin and the muscular or other substances beneath.
They are retained there by the ends being tied together, or by
a knot at each end. The tape is moved in the wound twice
oi- ihrice in the day, and oci a iionally wetted with spirit of
turpentine, or some aerid fluid, in order to increase the uiflam*
394 AMERICAN AGRICULTURE.
mation which it produces, or the discharge which is intended
to be established.
In abscesses, such as occur in the withers or the poll, and
when passed from the summit to the very bottom of the
the swelling, setons are highly useful by discharging the
purulent fluid and suffering any fresh quantity of it that may
be secreted to flow out; and, by the degree of inflammation
which they excite on the interior of the tumor, stimulating
it to throw out healthy granulations, which gradually occupy
and fill the hollow. In deep fistulous woimds they are indis-
pensable, for except some channel is made through which the
matter may flow from the bottom of the wound,it will continue
to penetrate deeper into the part, and the healing process
will never be accomplished. On these accounts a seton
passes through the base of the ulcer in poll-evil and fistulous
withers is of so much benefit.
Setons are sometimes useful by promoting a discharge in
in the neighborhood of an inflamed part, and thus diverting
and carrying away a portion of the fluids which distend or
overload the vessels of that part; thus, a seton is placed with
considerable advantage in the cheek, when the eyes are
much inflamed." — (Youatt.)
Founder or inflammation of the foot arises from various
causes ; excessive exertion, great heat, and particularly when
followed by drinking cold water or overloading the stomach
in any way, sudden transition from great cold to excessive
heat, and change of inflammation from some other part.
When the attack is severe and confined to the forc-feet, Youatt
recommends removing the shoe and paring the hoof as much
as possible, taking 4 quarts of blood from each toe, placing
the feet in warm water, and afterwards applying soft poulti-
ces of linseed meal to the whole foot, and pastern. If this is
ineffectual, take three quarts of blood from each foot the suc-
ceeding day. It may then be necessary to blister the foot
and coronet. The animal should be kept on green food or
light mashes, and allowed to run on grass without labor. An
effectual cure has been made by taking off the shoe and ap-
plying lard raised to the boiling point, to every part of the
foot.
Poison from weeds, sometimes gives to horses ulcerated
tongues and lips, and swollen legs and sheath. If there be
much inflammation, bleeding should be resorted to, then give
daily bran-mashes, with Glauber salts in doses of Ho H lbs.,
according to the size of the horse, with half a tea-spoon full
DISEASES OF flORSES. 395
of saltpetre. Washing the iilcemtcd parts with warm soap-
suds, copperas and su^ar of lend may lollow.
Infiammation of the eyes. Dr. Campbell, of Ohio, recom-
mends for this, shutting up in a dark stable, and feeding on
fresh-cut grass and bran-mashes. Bh^ed freely from the
mouth, and give li lbs. Glauber salts, 2 drams nitre, and 15
grains tartarized antimony, dissolved in a bucket of water,
which the animal will drink when thirsty. This to be re-
peated daily till purging is efiectcd. If it fails, bleed fron«
the large veins just below the eye, taking 15 to 20 oz. of blood.
The sling of hornets, bees or snakes, may be relieved by
immediate external application of strong spirits of hartshorn ;
salt and vinegar are also good.
For sprains, take a mixture of 1 oz. sweet oil, 4 oz. spirits
hartshorn, h oz. oil of thyme, and rub with'^it frequently.
The remedies mentioned below are also effectual for sprains.
For a bruise or blow., apply hot water a long time with wet
cloths. Beef brine is an excellent lotion for both sprains and
bruises. A veteran among horses, claims that it will almost
set a joint, or heal a fracture. Wormwood or tanzy lotions
arc also good.
Fistula is frequently cured by repeated applications of salt.
Wounds should be washed twice a day with clean, soft
water, or with a little Castile soap added, and then rub with
whale-oil. This answers for all seasons, keeps off flies, re-
stores the httir, and of the original color.
Galls, or wounds on the back from the saddle, are most
effectually removed by white-lead, moistened with sweet. oil
or milk. The saddle ought always to fit easily and be well
padded, and it should be taken off and the animal's back
washed at every baiting.
Shoeing is an importand operation, and should never be at-
tempted but under the supervision of an experienced person ;
nor ought the shoes to remain so long as to produce contrac-
tion of the hoof, which is followed by lameness and corns.
They should be re-set as often as every live or six weeks.
Contraction oftliefoot is also caused by standing on the dry
stable for some days. In this case the hoof should be stop-
ped with fresh cow-manure and clay, or with a thick felt
soaked in water, and cut to suit the foot. This is also a good
application over night, for horses that have accomplished a
hard day's work on a dry road. Litter is not objectionable
to the feet, if clean and not too damp. Some suppose this
the cause of contraction, but it is the reverse. It is besides
896 AMEKICAN AGRICULTURE.
of great benefit when shook out for a bed, by inducing the
horse to rest himself. He is thus enabled to do moTe work,
and with a less expenditure of food.
Corns. — " In the angle between the bais and the quarters,
the horn of the sole has sometimes a red appearance, and is
more spongy and softer than at any other part. The horse
flinches when this portion of the horn is pressed upon, and
occasional or permanent lameness is produced. Tliis disease
of the foot is termed corns : bearing this resemblance to the
corn of the human being, that it is produced by pressure, and
is a cause of lameness, When corns are neglected, so much
inflammation is produced in that part of the sensible sole,
that suppuration follows, and to that, quitter succeeds, and
the matter either undermines the horny sole, or is discharged
at the coronet.
" The cure of old corns is difficult ; for as all shoeing has
some tendency to produce pressure here, the habit of throwing
out this diseased horn is difllcult to get rid of when once con-
tracted ; recent corns, however, will yield to good shoeing.
" The first thing to be done is well to pare out the angle
between the crust and the bars. Two objects arc answered
by this : the extent of the disease will be ascertained, and one
cause of it removed. A very small drawing-knife must be
used for this purpose. The corn must be pared out to the
very bottom, taking caie not to wound the sole. It may then
be discovered whether there is any effusion of blood or mat-
ter underneath. If this is suspected, an opening must be
made through the horn, the matter evacuated, the separated
Iiorn taken away, the course and extent of the sinuses explo-
red, and introduce into them a saturated solution of sulphate
of zinc, by means of a small syringe. Place over this dress-
ing the common cataplasm, or the turpentine ointment, and
renew the application every twenty-four hours. Three or
four such applications complete a cure. Should there be no
collection of fluid, the butyr of antimony should be applied
over the whole extent of the corn, after the horn has been
thinned as closely as possible. The object of this is to stim-
ulate the sole to throw out more healthy horn. In bad cases
a bar-shoe may be put on, so chambered, that there shall be
no pressure on the diseased part. This may be worn for one
or two shoeings, but not constantly, for there are few frogs
that would bear the constant pressure of the bar-shoe ; and
the want of pressure on the heel, generally occasioned by
their use, would produce a softened and bulbous state of the
or HORSKii. a97
heels, that would of itself be an inevitable source of lamenesH.
Turning out to grass, after the horn is a little grown, first
with a l)ar-shoc, and afterwards with the shoo fettered on one
side, or with tips, will often bo serviceable. A horse that
has once had corns to any considera]>le extent should, at every
shoeing, have the seat of corn well pared out, and the butyr
of antimony applied.
'* An ovER-REAf'H is a tread upon the heel of the coronet
of the lore foot by the shoe of the corresponding hind foot,
and either inflicted by the toe, or by the inner edge of the
inside of the shoe. The preventive treatment is the bevel-
ling, or rounding off, of the inside edge or rim of the hind
shoes. The cure is, the cutting away of the loose parts, the
application of Friar's balsam, and protection from the dirt.
" There is a singular species of over-reaching, termed
FORGING or cLicKiNCi. Tlic horso, in the act of trotting,
strikes the toes of the hind shoes against the fore one. This
noise of the clicking is unpleasant, and the trick or habit is
not altogether free from danger. It is most frequent in young
horses, and is attributable to too great activity, or length of
stride in the hind legs. The rider may do something by
keeping the head of the horse well up ; but the smith may
effect more by making the hind shoes of clicking horses
short in the toe, and having the web broad. When they are
too long, they are apt to be torn off* — when too narrow, the
hind foot may bruise the sole of the fore one, or may be locked
fast between the branches of the fore shoe." — (Youatt.)
The bearing rein is a matter of much controversy, some
claiming that it should be entirely abolished, while others as
strenuously contend for its almost universal use. Nimrod,
who is deemed perfectly competent authority, insists on its
use with fast roadsters and coach-horses. With team-horses,
it may generally be dispensed with, and always should be in
ascending hills, as it materially diminishes their c ipacity for
exertion. The fault in its use, is its excessive tightness, and
when standing, the horse ought never to be tormented with it.
The bit is a frequent cause of injury to the mouth of the
horse, fretting and teasing him, and in many cases, inducing
permanent injury and viciousness. It should never be made
annoying to the horse, beyond the absolute necessity for his
proper restraint. An unruly stud may be controlled by passing
the rein from the ring on the oft-side over the head and
through the left ring. This gives a purchase to the groom
which the horse cannot resist. Blinds have for a long time
398 AMERICAN AGRICUtTURE.
been fashionable, but in few cases are necessary, while in
almost all they are decidedly injurious.
The Stable is an important matter connected with the
proper management of horses. These should be as much as
possible, of an uniform temperature, cool in summer, warm in
winter, and always clean, dry, and well ventilated. But no
air must be allowed to blow directly upon the animal. The
horse is a native of a warm climate, and ought to be well
protected against cold. The stable should be neither too
light or too dark, nor must the light ever be admitted before
the eye of the horse. For judicious and extended arrange-
ment of stables, and management of horses, the inquiring
reader is referred to StewarVs Stable Economy.
CHAPTER XIX
THE ASS, THE MULE, AND THE COMPARATIVE LABOR
OF WORKING ANIMALS.
THE ASS
Is a native of Arabia, Persia, and the central parts of Asia
and Africa. Like the horse, he goes in troops and displays
great natural sagacit)', activity and courage. Job says, " he
scorneth the multitude of the city, neither regardeth the cry-
ing of the driver." Like the horse, too, he has from time
immemorial, been tamed, and become the faithful servant of
man ; but unlike him, he is subject to few maladies, is hardy
and enduring, and subsists, and even thrives, on coarse and
scanty forage. Thus Job says of his natural haunts, "Whose
house I have made the wilderness, and the harren land his
dwellings ; the range of the mountains is his pasture, and he
searcheth after eve7'y green thing.^^ And Xenophon, in his
Anabasis, a thousand years later, says of one of the Asiatic
deserts through which he passed with the army of Cyrus,
THE A89. 890
"that it was lull of won n- wood ; if any otiicr kinds of
shrubs or reeds jrrew there, they hud all an aromatic smell ;
but no trees appeared. Of wild creatures, the most numer.
ous are whl asses, which our horses sometimes chased, but
the wild asses exceeded them much in speed."
Varieties. — The difterent breeds of asses, are supposed
to be quite as numerous as those of the horse. Four distinct
races are mentioned in the ancient scriptures. In modern
times we find a similar diversity. There arc two kinds in
Persia, the largest a slow, heavy brute, used only Tor burdens ;
the other smaller and more spirited, and used for the saddle.
In E^ypt, a considerable thf)ugh less marked difference ex-
ists, those near the Doha being inferior to those which are
bred in Upper Egypt and Nubia. In Spain, a difference in
size and spirit prevails, greater even, than in Persia. The
Zebra is nearly allied in size, shape and character, to the
wild ass, but his untameable ferocity has hitherto effectually
bid defiance, alike to the scourges and caresses, the frowns
and the favors of man. Arabia produces some of the most
spirited and hardy asses, but their size, like that of their hor-
ses', is too small for purposes of the greatest utility. The
Maltese Jack is by American breeders, deemed the choicest
animal from which to propagate. He is evidently of Ara-
bian descent, and possesses all the good qualities of his an-
cestry, with considerable additional size. We have several
varieties, all of which are imported, as there are no natives
of the Western Continent. The early importations were
principally made from the Azores and Cape do Verd Islands,
and were mostly of an inferior character. A superior Maltese
Jack was presented to Gen. Washington, in 1787, by La
Fayette, and is believed to be the first ever sent to this coun-
try. Mr. Custis describes him, as of moderate size, clean
limbed, possessing great activity, the fire and ferocity of a
tiger, of a dark brown and nearly black, white belly and
muzzle, and manageable only by one groom, nor then safely.
He lived to a great age. His mules were all active, spirited,
and serviceable, and when from stout mares, attained consid-
erable size. A Spanish Jack and Jennet were also presented
to Washington about the same time, by the King of Spain.
The first is characterized by the same authority, as a huge,
ill-shapen animal, near 10 hands high, very large head,
clumsy limbs, and to all appearance, little calculated for active
service ; he was of a grey color, and not much valued for his
mules, which were unwieldy and dull. From the Maltese
400 AMERICAJf AGRICULTURE.
Jack and Spanish Jennet, which approach the size of the
large Spanish Jack, was bred a valuable animal Compound,
which partook of all the good qualities of the sire, with the
weight of the dam. From him descended many of the best
mules of Mount Vernon. Many other valuable importations
followed these animals, and it is believed, we have for many
years, had as fine specimens of the ass as the world affords.
Jennets or she asses, are used among us principally for breed-
ing Jacks, and of course are not numerous. They are some-
times, though seldom, bred to the horse. It is difficult to
induce the horse to notice them, and the produce, which is
called a hinny, is less hardy and useful than the mule. The
milk of the she-ass is lighter and more digestible than that
of any other animal, and in former times was in great request
for invalids.
The ass is occasionally used in the cart, or as a beast of
burden. Such as are employed for these purposes, are gene-
rally of an inferior kind, and are only used for the lightest
work. They may sometimes be seen among the fish-mongers
and small vegetable dealers about our city markets, but little
larger than a Newoundland dog or Shetland pony, trun-
dling along a light cart with a wheel-barrow load. In an-
cient times they have been, and in foreign countries even at
the present time, they are extensively used. But the moderns
have adopted the mule as the proper and almost exclusive
substitute for the ass ; and it would show a still greater intel-
ligence and economy, if it much more extensively took the
place of the horse.
THE MULE
Is the hybrid produced by the ass with the mare. How early
this animal was bred, is uncertain, but we know he was in
high repute in the reign of David, near 3000 years ago, for
he was rode by Absalom, the favorite prince of Israel, on the
field of battle. They have from time immemorial, been bred
in various parts of the East, on the borders of the Mediterra-
nean, and throughout Spain, Portugal, and other countries,
many of them being of splendid appearance and of fine quali-
ties. In these countries, they are frequently used by the
grandees and nobles, and indeed by royalty itself; and how-
ever much they may be undervalued elsewhere, when they
are finely bred and trained, and richly caparisoned, they ex-
hibit a stateliness and bearing, that few of the highest bred
horses can match.
THE MULE. 401
Bkredini; mules in tiib United Statek, was conunen-
ced with much spirit in some of tlio New Kiigland states,
soon after the American revolution. The ohjcct was not to
hreed them for their own use, hut simply as an article of com-
merce. They were at tirst shipped cxchisively to the West
Indies, and atlerwards to the South and West, for employ-
ment in the sugar mills, and other work on the plantations.
Indirterent animals, hoth as sires and dams, were used at
lirst, as anything which l)orc the name of mule, then com-
mande<l a ready sal<;. These were necessarily interior
brutes, and viewed with almost universal derision ; and being
considered the type of their race, a prejudice was excited
against them, which more than half a century has not been
sufficient to dispel. Among a few thinking men at the
North, they have been adopted and made highly useful in the
various duties of the farm. They have been largely intro-
duced at the south and west, but principally in the slave
states, where the management of the team devolves upon the
ignorant and heedless. It is there, and in other and hotter
climates, that the superior merits of the mule over the horse
as a laboring animal, are peculiarly manifest. In many instan-
ces they are inditierently fed, hardly worked, and gieatly ne-
glected by their drivers, and yet they sustain themselves for
years, in defiance of usage that would annihilate two genera-
tions of horses. Their powers have been largely increased
and their merits improved, by the introduction of some of the
best Maltese and Spanish Jacks, and the use of large, blood
mares. The propriety of this course is seen in the value of
the product ; for while some of the inferior brutes are un-
saleable at $50, others of the sa > e age, and reared under
the same circumstances of keep and condition, could not be
purchased for $150.
The hreedingy rearing and management of mules is similar
to that of colts. They will be found, as much as horses, to
repay generous keep and attention by their increased and
rapid growth. But they should not be pampered by high
feed, as it not only has a tendency to produce disease, but to
form habits of fastidiousness, which materially lessens their
economical feeding in after life. The diseases to which
mules are subjected which are always lev/^ and if properly
managed they will seldom or ever occur, require a treatment
like that of horses. The breeding from mules has sometimes
been questioned, but it has been demonstrated in several
instances. Neither the sexual development or propensities
402 AMERICAN AGRICULTURE.
are wanting, but they are seldom indulged with effect. Mr.
Kilby of Virginia, states in the Farmer's Register, that a
mare mule brought two colts got by a young horse, which
they closely resembled. The first was a male, and died,
apparently with staggers which no treatment could arrest, at
six months old. The second was a female, from the same
parents, 16 months younger than the first, marked like the
sire, being jet black, excepting a white foot and star in the
forehead, and died at a year old, after a two doys illness,
notwithstanding the utmost care was bestowed upon it. Suc-
cessful propagation of this hybrid, however, beyond the first
cross, seems to be incompatible with the fixed laws of nature.
With a view of encouraging the substitution of mules for
a part of the horses now employed in American husbandry,
we give the following testimony from experienced individuals
of great intelligence and careful observation.
ADVANTAGES OF MULE OVER HORSE LABOR.
The official report of an agricultural committee in South
Carolina in 1824, says: — "The annual expense of keeping
a horse is equal to his value ; that a horse at four years old
would not often bring more than his cost ; that two mules
could be raised at less expense than one horse ; is fit for ser-
vice earlier, and if of sufficient size, will perform as much
labor ; and if attended to when first put to work, his gait and
habits may be formed to suit the owner. Mr. Pomeroy, who
used them near Boston for 30 years, and to such an extent
as to have had more labor performed by them probably than
any person in New England, says : — "I am convinced the
small breed of mules will consume less in proportion to the
labor they are capable of performing than the larger race,
but I shall confine myself to the latter in my comparison,
such as stand 14 J to 16 hands, and are capable of perform-
ing any work a horse is usually put to. From repeated
experiments, I have found that three mules of this descrip-
tion, which were constantly at work, consumed about the
same quantity of hay, and only one-fourth the provender
which was given to two middling size coach-horses, only
moderately worked. I am satisfied a. large sized mule will
not consume more than three-fifths to two thirds the food to
keep him in good order, that will be necessary for a horse
performing the same labor. The expenses of shoeing a
mule the year round, does not exceed one-third that of the
horse, his hoofs being harder, more horny, and so slow in
TR« ASS. 403
their growth, that shoes require no removal, and hold on till
worn out ; and the wear from the lightness of the animal is
much less. Mules have been lost by feeding on cut. straw,
and corn meal ; in no other instance have J known disease
in them, except by inflammation of the intestines, caused by
the grossest exposure to cold and wot, and excessive drinking
cold water, after severe labor, and while in a high state of
perspiration. It is not improbable a farmer may work the
same team of mules for 'iO years without having a farrier's
bill presented to him. In my experience of JJO years, I
have never found but one mule inclined to be vicious, and he
might have been easily subdued while young. I have
always found them truer pullers and qui<iker travellers, with
a load, than horses. Their vision and hearing are much
more accurate. I have used ihem in my family carriage, in
a gig, and under the saddle ; and have never known one to
start or run from any object or noise, a fault in the horse that
continually causes the maiming and death of numerous
human beings. The mule is more steady in his draught, and
less likely to waste his strength than the horse, hence more
suitable to work with oxen, and as he walks faster, will
habituate them to a faster gait. In plowing among crops,
his feet being small and following each other so much more
in a line, he seldom treads down the ridgr s or crops. The
facility of instructing him to obey implicitly the voice of the
driver is astonishing. The best plowed tillage land I ever
saw, I have had performed by two mules tandem, without
lines or driver. The mule is capable of enduring labor in a
temperature of heat that would be destructive to a horse.
Although a large mule will consume something over one-
half the food of a horse, yet the saving in shoeing, farrying,
and insurance against diseases and accidents, will amount to
at least one-half. In addition, the owner may rely with
tolerable certainty on the continuance of his mule capital for
30 years ; whereas the horse owner must, at the end of 15
years, look to his crops, his acres, or a bank for the renewal
of his. The longevity of a mule is so proverbial, that a
purchaser seldom inquires his age. Pliny mentions one RO
years old ; and Dr. Rees, two in England, that reached the
age of 70. I saw one performing his labor in a cane- mill
in the West Indies, which the owner assured me was 40
years old. I have now a mare-mule 25 years old, that I
have had in constant work for 21 years. She has often
within a year taken a ton weight in a wagon to Boston, five
404 AMERICAN AGRICULTURE.
miles, and manifests no diminution of her powers. A neigh-
bor has one 2y years old, which he would not exchange for
any horse in the country. One in Maryland, 35 years old,
is now as capable of labor as at any former period."
Mr. Hood of Maryland, in the American Farmer, esti-
mates the annual expense of a horse for 12 months, at 844,
and that of a mule at #22, just half price, and his working
age at more than twice that of the horse, and that too after
30 years' experience in keeping both. A correspondent of
the Baltimore Patriot, asserts that "Col. John E. Howard
had a pair of mules that worked 30 years, after which they
were sold to a carter in the city, and performed hard service
for several years longer. Many mules 25 years old, and
now in this country, ])erform well. Many have been at hard
work for 12 or 15 years, and would now sell for $100 each.
They are not subject to the coh's ailments, the glanders,
heaves, yellow-water, and colic, like horses ; and seldom are
afflicted with spavin, ring-bones, or bots, and they will not
founder." General Shelby says "he has known mules to
travel 10 miles within the hour in light harness, and has
himself driven a pair 40 miles in six hours, stopping an hour
by the way." Major Shelby of Lexington, sold to Mr.
Preston four match mules, for f 1,000. They were of course
very superior animals, and made elegant coach-horses. Mr.
Preston has driven these mules 80 miles in a single day
without injury ; and they proved a first-rate team for many
years. Mr. Ellicott of the Patuxent Furnaces, says : — " Out
of about 100 mules at the works, we have not lost on an
average one in two years. Bleeding at the mouth will cure
them of nearly every disease, and by being turned out on
pasture, they will recover from almost every accident. I do
not recollect we have ever had a wind-broken one. They
are scarcely ever defective in the hoof, and though kept
shod, it is not as important as with the horse. Their skin is
tougher than that of a horse, consequently, they are not as
much worried by flies, nor do they suffer so much with the
heat of summer."
To the foregoing testimony may be added that of the late
Judge Hinckley of Northampton, Massachusetts; a shrewd
and close observer through a long life, reaching to 84 years.
He bred mules at an early day, and always kept a team of
them for his farm work, much preferring them to horses for
this purpose, after an experience of 50 years. He had a pair
nearly 30 years old, which, in light pasturage in summer.
THE A88. 405
and with a moderate supply of hoy and very little grain in
winter, and no grooming, performed all the drudgery, though
he kept his stable full of horses besides. They outlived
several successive generations of horses, and though the lat-
ter were often sick and out of condition, the mules never
were. One from his stock, 45 years old, was sold for the
same price paid for a lot of young mules, he being at that
mature age, perfectly able to perform his full share of
labor.
For the caravans that j)ass over the almost inaccessible
ranges which form the continuation of the Rocky Mountains,
and the extensive arid plains that lie between and west of
tliem, on the route from Sante Fe to California, mules are
the only beasts of burden used in these exhausting and peril-
ous adventures. Their value may be estimated from the
comparative prices of mules and horses ; for while a good
horse may be bought for $10 to $20, a good mule is worth
$50 to $75. Dr. Lyman, who recently passed through
those regions, informs us that their caravan left Santa Fe
with about 150 mules, 15 or 20 horses, all beasts of burden,
and two choice blood horses, belonging to an English gentle-
man, which were led and treated with peculiar care. On the
route, all the working-horses died from exhaustion and suf-
fering ; the two bloods that had been so carefully attended,
but just survived ; yet of the whole lot of mules, but eight or
ten gave out. A mule 36 years of age was as hardy, strong,
enduring, and performed as hard labor, as any one in the
caravan. When thirst compelled them to resort for succes-
sive days to the saline waters, which are the only ones fur-
nished by those dry and sterile plains, the horses were at
once severely, and not unfrequently, fatally affected ; while
the mules, though suffering greatly from the change, yet
seldom were so much injured as to require any remission of
their labor. The mules sent to the Mexican possessions
from our western states, Arkansas, Missouri, Tennessee, and
Kentucky, are considered of much more value than such as
are bred from the native (usually wild) mares. The differ-
ence probably arises, in part, from the Mexicans using Jacks
inferior to those so highly improved of late years by our
western citizens. Mare niules are estimated in those regions
at one-third more than horse mules. The reason assigned
for this is, that after a day's journey of excessive fatigue,
there is a larger quantity of blood secreted in the bladder,
which the female, owing to her larger passage, voids at once
406 AMERICAN AGRICULTURE.
and without much apparent suffering, while tiie male does
not get rid of it, frequently, till after an hour of considerable
pain. The eiiect of this difference is seen in the loss of flesh
and strength in the male, to an extent far beyond that of the
female. The universal method of reducing refractory mules
in the northern Mexican possessions, is Tor the person to
grasp them firmly by the ears, while another whips them
severely on the fore-legs and belly.
Estimated annual saving to the United States from the em-
ployment of mules in the place of horses. — To sum up the
advantages of working m Jes over horses, we shall have as
advantage : 1. They are nnore easily, surely, and cheaply
raised. 2. They are maintained, after commencing work,
for much less than the cost of keeping horses. 3. They are
are not subject to many of the diseases of the horse, and to
others, only in a mitigated degree, and even these are easily
cured in the mule. 4. They attain a greater age, and their
average working years are probably twice that of the
horse.
In 1840, there were reported to be 4,3135,669 horses and
mules in the Union, no discrimination having been made
between them. Suppose the total number at the present
time is 4,650,000, and that of these 650,000 are mules, and
if we deduct or e-fourth supposed to be required fro the pur-
poses of breed, fancy horses, &c., we shall then have
3,000,000 horses, whose places may be equally well supplied
by the same number of mules. We have seen that Mr. Hood
of Maryland, estimates the expense of a working horse at
$44 per annum, (not an over estimate for the Atlantic
states,) while that of the mules is <*|!22. The difference is
$22, which it is proper to reduce to meet the much lower
rate of keeping at the west, if we put the difference at $10,
we shall find the saving in the keep, shoeing, farriery, &c.,
by substituting mules for the 3,000,000 horses that can be
dispensed with, will be $30,000,000 per annum. But this is
not all. The working age of the horse will not exceed an
average of eight years, while that of the mule is probably
over 16. To the difference of keep then, must be added the
annual waste of the capital invested in the animal. A mule
is more cheaply raised to working age than a horse, but
allowing them to cost equally, we shall have the horse
exhausting one-eighth or three-twenty-fourths of his capital
annually for his decay, when the mule is using up but one-
sixteenth ; and if we allow $48 as the first cost of both ani-
I
THE A86. 407
mals, we shall find the horse wasting $6 annually for this
item, while the mule deteriorates but $3, making an addi-
tional item of $9,000,000 more ; and an aggregate of
$39,000,000 as the annual saving to the United States by
substituting good mules for three-fourths of the horses now
used in this country. When will our farmers have the good
sense to make this change? It may bo fairly answered,
when they shall prefer utility, and interp.st. ;<n<i a just taste,
to a diseased fancy ; for though we admit iho £:ui>criority in
appearance of the race of horses over mulrs. we deny that a
bad horse looks belter or even as well as a ^u^d mule ; and
with the same keep and attention, a good mule will outwork
and outlook most horses of any breed.
The comparative economy of horse and ox labor. —
This is a question which has been often discussed, and when
with candor, the conclusion generally has been in favor of ox
labor. The different employments, the variety of situation,
the season and the kind of stock reared on the farm, are all
questions which should be fully considered in arriving at
their true comparative advantages. Most farmers would
find it for their interest to keep teams of each, where there is
employment for more than one ; or if this be not the case,
the preference should be given to that which is best suited in
all respects to their particular position. If work upon the
road is required, a horse team will generally be best. Their
superiority will consist principally in their greater speed, for
even with a heavy load, they will be able to trot occnsion-
ally, and when driven without it, they may increase their
pace to nearly double the natural gait of the ox. This will
amount to a large annual saving in the time of the driver
when steadily employed. The same is true when removing
manure or crops on the farm to remote distances, over a
smooth surface, which admits of trotting with the empty
wagon. Harrowing ought always to be done with a quick
team, as a violent stroke of the teeth, breaks the clods, ahd
pulverizes the earth much better than when slowly dragged
along. But we assume in this comparison, that oxen shall
not only be well adapted to their work by their natural for-
mation like the Hereford, the Devon and others equally good,
but that they be also well broke, well managed, accustomed
to quick movements, and as well fed and looked after as
horses. VVe shall then find their walk equal to a quick
horse team, and that in this case, the horse will have no
advantage over the ox in harrowing. For plowing, the
408 AMERICAN AGRICULTURE.
teams are on a par, as a good ox team will do as much in a
day in cool weather, as horses. Where the loads can be
tipped, as in unloading manure in the field, or roots through
a scuttle, or in heaps, the ox cart, or the single two-wheel
horse-cart is best, as all the labor of throwing out by hand is
avoided.
TJw situation of the farm may materially affect this esti-
mate. In a warm climate, horses, and more especially
mules, would be more serviceable than oxen, as they are
capable of enduring much greater heat with impunity. If
the farm be small and convenient to market, the labor may
in general, be best accomplished by oxen, as little travelling
will be required. So too, if the land be stony or rough, the
plowing and harrowing will be more kindly and patiently
done by oxen than by spirited horses. Other considerations
will suggest themselves as affecting the comparative eco-
nomy of this labor.
The time of work is to be fully considered. If much and
heavy work be required in summer, as is often the case in
plowing extensive wheat farms, horses are to be preferred ;
yet if the ox-team be started at early dawn, and worked
briskly four or five hours, and then turned out to rest with a
supply of suitable food, they may again conmience when the
extreme heat has abated, and accomplish a day's work that
few horses will exceed. During the season of muddy roads,
the horse with his broad, compact foot and longer leg, has a
decided advantage over the ox. If the ox draws by the yoke
(which on the whole is the best mode,) he is liable to a sore
neck when working in wet or snowy weather, and at such
times he is over matched by his competitor. This is par-
tially remedied by applying a decoction of white or yellow oak
bark.
The kind of stock raised on the farm has an important bear-
ing on this question. Some farms ,are devoted to rearing
horses, and some exclusively to rearing cattle. These some-
times remain on hand afler they are fit for market, from the
want of a profitab'e demand. They can then be employed
not only without injury, but in consequence of the thorough
training thus secured, with positive benefit to their future
value. Even if intended for the shambles, the well devel-
oped ox may advantageously be put to light work at three,
after which, it may be gradually increased till he is six or
eight, and during all this time he will be improving, and after
doing an early spring's work, he may then be turned on to
TITE ASS. 40§
good pasture, and if followed with proper stall feeding, he
will in the hitter part of the winter or spring, yield a tender,
better llavored and more profitable carcass, than can bo pro-
cured by any other mode of fattening.
The first cost of oxen is less than that of horses, and they
are at all times cheaply reared on the coarser herbage of the
farm. The expense of working-gear, tackle and shoeing, is
much less than with horses. They are subject to fewer dis-
eases, and these are more within the reach of ordinary medi-
cines. The cost of food is also less, and while the horse
is depreciating, the ox is increasing in value till eight or nine
years old. Accidents are less frequent with oxen, from their
slower movements ; and when they occur, the ox may be
turned out to fatten, and still be worth as much for this pur-
pose as for the yoke. A permanent injury to the horse, is
perhaps a total loss of the beast, with a large farrier's bill in
adddition, for which there is nothing to liquidate it but the
hide. The small farmer can make out a most serviceable
team, by putting a single horse before a yoke of cattle. If
well trained, they will soon accommodate themselves to each
others pace, and work as advantageously together, as an
entire team of either animals would do alone. Bulls are fre-
quently put to the draught, and when they have not other
services that fully test their powers, they cannot be better
employed. Heifers and cows are sometimes worked, but
hitherto they have not been used to any extent in this country.
In the absence of other animals, they might perform light
work to advantage, but severe labor would stint their growth
or impair their milk beyond the benefit derived from it. The
spayed heifer is an exception to the foregoing remark, and by
many, is esteemed even more useful than an ox of equal
weight. We have no definite statements of the comparative
money value of the labor of oxen and horses. But in England,
repeated trials have been made, and while some have found
no advantage in the employment of oxen over horses, others
have proved them decidedly superior. One Anglesey farmer,
found in an experience of three years, with 12 horses and 20
oxen, which accomplished an equal amount of work, that he
had saved by the latter 23G pounds, or nearly $1180. This
result proves the subject to bo one of suflicient importance, to
justify the closest investigation of every farmer to deter-
mine for himself, the comparative value of ox, horse or mule
labor. *-
R
410 AMERICAN AGRICULTURE.
CHAPTER XX.
SWINE
The hog is a cosmopolite of almost every zone, though his
natural haunts, like those of the hippopotamus, the elephant,
the rhinoceros and most of the thick-skinned animals, are
in warm climates. They are most abundant in China, the
East Indies and the immense range of Islands which extend
over the whole Southern and Pacific Oceans ; but they are
also numerous throughout Europe, from its Southern coast to
the Russian dominions within the Arctic. In the United
States, they have been an object of attention since its earliest
settlements, and whenever a profitable market could be found
for pork abroad, it has been exported to the full extent of the
demand. For 20 years following the commencement of the
general European wars, soon after the organization of our
National government, it was a comparatively large article of
export ; but since then, exports to any extent, have not been
justified, till within the last two 3^ears, since which, a mate-
rial reduction in the British import duty on pork, lard, hams,
beef, &c., has again brought it up as a prominent article of
commerce with that country. The recent use which has
been made of the carcass in converting it into lard oil, has
still further increased its consumption. Swine are reared in
every part of the Union, and when properly managed, always
at a fair profit. At the extreme north, in the neighborhood
of large markets, and on such of the southern plantations as
are particularly suited to* sugar or rice, they are not profita-
ble, beyond the number required for the consumption of the
coarse or refuse food produced. While pork remains at a
moderate price, it can only be advantageously raised on a
large scale, on good soils, as it is such only that yield heavy
crops of grain, roots, &c. which are essential to fattening it.
Swine are profitable in connexion with a dairy or orchard, as
with little additional food besides what is thus afforded, they
SWINE. 41t
can be put into good condition for the butcher. It is on the
rich bottoms, and other lands of the west, where Indian corn
is raised in profusion, and at small expense, that they can bo
reared in the the^rcateyt numbers and yield the largest prolit.
The Sciota, Miami, Wabash, Illinois and other vallies ; and
extensive tnicts in Kentucky, Tennessee, Missouri, and
some adjoining states, have for many years, taken the lead in
the production of swine ; and it is probable their climate and
hoil, which is peculiarly suited to their rapid growth, as well
as that of their appropriate food, will enable them forever to
remain the leading pork producers of the North American
continent.
TiiK BRKKDs OF SwiNK Cultivated in this country are numer-
ous, ami like our native cattle, they embrace many of the best,
and a few of the worst to be found among the species. Great
attention has for many years, been paid to their improvement
in the eastern states, and nowhere are there better specimens
than in many of their herds. This spirit has rapidly extended
westward and southward, and among many of the intelli-
gent farmers, who make them a leading object of attention,
on the rich corn grounds of the west, the swine have attained
a considerable degree of excellence. This docs not consist
In the intro<luction and perpetuity of any distinct races, so
much as in the breeding up to a desirable size and aptitude
for fattening, from such meritorious individuals of any breed
or their crosses, as come within their reach. The Byefield
some 30 years ago, was a valuable hog in the Eastern states,
and did much good among the s{)ccies generally. They are
white, with fine curly hair, well made and compact, moderate
in size and length, with broad backs, and at 15 months, attain-
ing some 300 to 350 lbs. nett. The Bedford or Wobuni is a
breed originating with the Duke of Bedford, on his estate at
Woburn, and brought to their perfection probably, by judicious
crosses of the China hog, on some of the best English swine.
A pair was sent by the Duke to this country, as a present to
Gen. Washington, but they wore dishonestly sold by the mes-
senger in Maryland, in which state and Pennsylvania, they
were productive of much good at an early day, by their exten-
sive distribution through dillercnt states. Several other
importations of this breed have been made at various times,
and especially by the spirited masters of the Liverpool packet
ships, in the neighborhood of New-York. They are a large,
spotted animal, well made and inclining to early maturity and
fattening. They are an exceedingly valuable hog, but are
412 AMERICAN AGEICULTURE.
nearly extinct both in England and this country, as a breed.
The Leicesters are a large, white hog, generally coarse in the
bone and hair, great eaters and slow in maturing. Some
varieties of this breed, differ essentially in these particulars,
and mature early on a moderate amount of food. The crosses
with smaller compact breeds, are generally thrifty, desirable
iinimals. OtJier large breeds deserving commendation in this
country, are the large Miami white, the Yorkshire white antl
the Kenilworth, each frequently attaining when dressed, a
weight of 600 to 800 lbs. The Chinese is among the smaller
varieties, and without doubt, is the parent stock of the best
European and American swine. They necessarily vary in
appearance, size, sliape and color, from the diversity in the
style of breeding, and the various regions from which they
are derived. But all the Chinese seem to have these proper-
ties in common. They are fine-boned, short and very com-
pact, with bellies almost touching the ground, light head and
ears, fine muzzle, of great docility and quietness, small feeders
and producing much meat for the quantity of food consumed.
From the rapidity with which generations of this animal arc
multiplied, the variety of other breeds on which they are
crossed, and the treatment to which they are subjected, it is
not surprising that their descendants should rapidly assume
distinct features. From these, we have not only a strong
mixture of blood in the best class of large breeds, but in such
of the smaller as have any pretensions to merit, they consti-
tute the greater part of the improvement. Such are the Nea-
politan, the Essex half-black, the Gi'ass breed and some
others.
The Berkshires are an ancient English breed, formerly of
large size, slow feeders, and late in maturing. Their color
was a buff or sandy ground with large black spots, and the
feet, lower part of the legs and tuft on the tail, buff. The
latter color has given place, in most of the modern race, to
white in the same j)arts. This variation, with the more
important ones of early maturity and good feeding properties,
are by Professor Low, ascribed to a Chinese cross, which
has added the only characteristic in which they were before
deficient. They were first introduced and reared as a dis-
tinct breed in tiiis country, by Mr. Brentnall, of Oranire Co.,
and Mr. Hawes, of Albany, N. Y. In their hands, and
those of other skillful breeders, their merits were widely
promulgated. No other breeds have been so extensively
diffused in the United States, within comparatively so brief
swiTff:. 413
a period, as the Berksliircs, since 1832. Thoy have produced
a marked iinprovoiiKMit in uuiiiy of our former races. Tliey
weigh variou^ily, iVom 250 to 400 lbs. nett, at 16 months,
according to their l'ood,and stylo of breeding; and .-iome full-
grown have dressed to more than 800 lbs. They particu-
larly excel in their hams, which are round, full and heavy,
and contain a large proportion of lean, tender and juicy meat
of the best llavor. None of our improved breeds aflbrd
long, coarse hair or bristles; and it is a gratifying evidence
of our decided improvements in this department of domestic
animals, that our brush-makers are under the necessity of
importing most of what they use from Russia and Northern
Europe. This improvement is manifest not only in the hair
but in the skin, which is soft and mellow to the touch; in the
finer bones, shorter head, with upright ears, dishing face,
delicate muzzle and mild eye; and in the short legs, low
Hanks, deep and wide chest, broad back and early maturity.
Brkedino. — Swine should not be allowed to breed before
12 or 15 months old, unless the animals are large and coarse,
when they may be put to it somewhat younger. Not only
choice individuals, but such as are well descended, should
be selected for the purpose of breeding. The sow should he
in good condition, ])ut not fat, nor approaching to it, and a
proper degree of exercise is essential to the development of
the foitus and the health of the parent; for which reason she
should have an extended range connected with her pen.
The sow goes with young about 114 days. A week licfore
her time comes round, a comfortable, quiet place should be
prepared for her under cover, and well protected from cold,
if the weather be severe, or if warm, a range in a pasture
with an open shed to retire to, is sufficient. Too much
litter for bedding must be avoided, and no change or dis-
turbance of the sow permitted till two or three weeks after
pigging, as the restlessness thereby proiluced may result in
the loss of the pigs. The sow should be fed only with a
small quantity of the lightest food or thin gruel, for two or
three days, nor put on full feed for a week. If inclined to
eat her pigs, she should be fed two or three times with raw
pork or fresh meat. The pigs may be taught to crack oats
or soaked corn afler three weeks, and if provided with a
trough inaccessible to the dam, they will soon learn to feed
on milk and other food, prej)aratory to weauing. This may
take place when they are H or 10 weeks old, and to prevent
injury to the sow, let one or two remain with her a few days
4l4 AMERICAN agriculturf:,
longer, and when finally removed, if her bag appears to be
full, they may be allowed to drain the milk after 20 or 30
hours. The sow should be restricted to a light, dry diet for
a few days.
Raising, feeding and fattening. — There are but two
objects in keeping swine, — for breeding, and for slaughter, —
and their management is consequently simple. Those
designed for breeding should be kept in growing condition,
on light food, and have every advantage for exercise. Such
as are destined exclusively for fattening, ought to be steadily
kept to the object. It is the usual practice in this country,
to let spring pigs run at large for the first 15 months, with
such food as is convenient, and if fed at all, it is only to keep
them in moderate growth till the second autumn. They are
then put up to fatten, and in the course of 00 or 90 days, are
fed ofi' and slaughtered. During this brief period, they gain
from 50 to 100 per cent, more of dressed weight, than in the
15 or 18 months preceding; nor even then do they yield a
greater average weight, than is oflen attained by choice,
thrifty pigs, which have been well fed from weaning to the
age of 7 or 8 months. Three pigs of the Bedford breed,
when precisely 7h months old, dressed 230, 235 and 238 i
lbs. Two of the Berkshire and Leicester breeds, at 9
months, dressed 304 and 310 lbs. Three others of the Berk-
shire and Grass breeds, 7 months and 27 days old, weigiied
240, 250 and 257 lbs. nett. Innumerable instances could be
adduced of similar weights, gained within the same time,
with a good breed of animals under judicious treatment.
We have no one accurate account of the food consumed, so
as to determine the relative profit of short or long feeding.
But that an animal must consume much more in 18 or 20
months to produce the same quantity of dressed meat, which
is made by others of 7 or 8 months, does not admit of a doubt.
We have seen that an ox requires but little more than double
the quantity of food to fatten, that is necessary for supporting
existence. If we apply this principle to swine, and state the
quantity of food which will fatten the pig rapidly, to be three
times as great as for the support of life, we shall faid that
the pig will fatten in 7 months, on the same food he would
consume to keep him alive for 21. This is based on the
supposition that both animals are of equal size. But the pig
that matures and is slaughtered at 7 months, has only a
moderate capacity for eating. During the early stages of
his growth, his size and the consequent incapacity of the
s^vtnt:. 416
digestive organs, prevent the consumption of the same quan-
tity which the larger animal requires; and his .iccumulating
fat, his limited respiration, consecpicnt upon the compression
of his hmgs, and his indisposition to exercise, all conspire to
keep the consumption of food within the smallest possible
limit. This result, in tho absence of any experiment, must
l)e conjectural entirely; but we believe that ex|>eriments will
show that of two thritly pigs from the same litter, one of which
is properly fed to his utmost capacity tor 7 months, and the
other fed with precisely double the quantity of similar food for
21 months, the first will yield more carcass and of a better
and more profitable quality than the latter, which has con-
sumed 100 per cent, the most. The food is only one item
in this calciilation. The oldest requires the most attention,
is liable to more accidents and disease, besides tin* loss of
interest. We are necessarily forced to the conclusion, that
by far the cheapest imxle of wintering pigs is in the pork-
barrel. We can readily anticipate one objection to this
practice, which is the want of food at this season of the year
to fatten them. This can be obviated by reserving enough
of the previous year's grain, to keep the animal in a rapidly
thriving state till the next crop matures sufficiently to leed.
In the rich corn regions, on its beginning to ripen, as it
does in August, the fields are fenced off into suitable lots, and
large herds are successively turned into them, to consume the
grain at their leisure. They waste nothing except the stalks,
which, in that region of plenty, are not considered of much
value, and they are useful as manure for succeeding crops,
and whatever grain is left by them, leaner droves which
follow, will readily glean. Peas, early buckwheat, and
apples, may be fed on the ground in the same way. But we
believe there is an improvement in the character of the
grain from a few months' keeping, which is fully equivalent
to the interest of the money and cost of storage. If fatten-
ed early in the season, they will consume less food to make
an equal amount of flesh that in colder weather, they will
require less attention, and generally early pork will command
the highest price in market.
It is most economical to provide the swine with a fine
clover pasture to run in during the spring and summer, and
they ought also to have access to the orchard, to pick up all
the unripe and superfiuous fruit that falls. They should also
have the wash of the house and the dairy, to which add meal,
and sour in large tubs or barrels. Not less than one-third,
416 AMERICAN AGRICULTURE.
and perhaps more, of the whole grain fed to swine, is saved
by grinding and cooking or souring. Yet care must he
observed that the souring be not carried so far as to injure
the food by putrefaction. A mixture of meal and water,
with the addition of yeast or such remains of a former
fermentation, as adhere to the side or bottom of the vessel,
and exposure to a temperature between 68" and 77 " will
I)roduce immediate fermentation. In this process there are
five stages. The saccharine, by which the starch and gum
are converted into sugar; the vinous, wiiich changes the sugar
into alcohol; the mucilaginous, sometimes taking the place
of the vinous, and occurs when the sugar solution, or fer-
menting principle is weak, producing a slimy, glutinous pro-
duct; the acetic, forming vinegar, and the putrefactive, which
destroys all the nutritive principles and converts them into a
poison. The precise point in fermentation when the food
becomes most profitable for feeding, has not yet been satis-
factorily determined; but that it should stop short of the
putrefactive, and probably the acetic, is certain.
The roots for fattening animals ought to be washed and
steamed or boiled, ancl when not intended to be fermented,
the meal ought always to be scalded with the hot roots. Such
a quantity of salt as will not scour, may be added to every
preparation for swine. Potatos are the best roots for swine;
then parsneps, orange or red carrots, white or Belgian, sugar
beets, mangold wurzel, ruta-bagas, and the white turnips, in
the order mentioned. The nutritive properties of turneps
are diffused through so large a bulk, that we doubt if they
can ever be fed to fattening swine with advantage; and they
will barely sustain life when fed to them uncooked. There
is a great loss in feeding roots to fattening swine, without
cooking. When unprepared grain is fed, it should be on a full
stomach, to prevent imperfect mastication, and the consequent
loss of food. It is better indeed to have it always before
them. The animal machine is an expensive one to keep in
motion, and it should be the object of the farmer, to put his
food in the most available condition, for its immediate con-
version into fat and muscle. Swine ought to be kept per-
fectly dry and clean, and provided with a warm shelter, to
which they can retire at pleasure. This will greatly hasten
the fattening and economize the food. A hog ought to have
three apartments, one each for sleeping, eating, and evacua-
tions, of which the last ought to occupy the lowest, and the
fust the highest level, so that nothing shall be drained, and
SWINE. 419
as little carried into the first two as possible. They must
be regularly fed three times a day, and if there is a surplus,
it must be removed at once. If they are closely confined in
pons, fjivo them as much charcoal twice a week as they will
eat. This corrects any tendency to disorders of the stomach.
Rotten wood is an imperfect substitute for charcoal, (iraves,
scraps or cracklings, as they are variously calle.l, the residuum
of rough lard or tallow atlcr expressing the fat, are a good
change and ati economical food. Some animal food, although
not essential, is always acceptable to swine. When about
to finish them oft*, many feed for a few weeks on hard corn.
This is proper when slops or indifferent food has been
given, and meal cannot be conveniently procured; but when
fattened on sound roots and meal, it is a wasteful practice, as
the animal thus falls behind his accustomed growth. It is
better to give him an occasional feed of the raw grain, for a
change, and to sharpen his appetite.
Tfie jtroducts furnished by the carcass of swine are numer-
ous. Every part of the animal is used for food, and it admits
of a far greater variety of preparation for the table, than any
other flesh. From the remotest antiquity to the present
time, and in every grade of barbarous and civilized life, it
has been esteemed as one of the choicest delicacies of the
epicure. Lard oil has within a few years, given to pork a
new and profitable use, by which the value of the carcass is
greatly increased. At some of the large pork-packing
depots of the west, one- third of the whole quantity has been
thus disposed of. This has withdrawn a large amount of
pork from the market, and prevented the depression which
must otherwise have occurred. Where the oil is required,
the whole carcass, after taking out the hams and shoulders,
is placed in a tub having two bottoms, the upper one perfo-
rated with holes, on which the pork is laid, and then tightly
covered. Steam at a high temperature is then admitted into
the tub, and in a short time, all the fat is extracted and falls
upon the lower bottom. The remaining mass, is bones and
scraps. The last is fed to pigs, poultry or dogs, or affords
the best kind of manure. The bones are either used for
manure, or are converted into animal charcoal, wortii about
three cents per lb., which' is valuable for various purposes in
tlie arts. When the object is to obtain lard of a fine qua-
lity, the animal is first skinned, and the adhering fat care-
fully scraped oflT. The oily, viscid matter of the skin is thus
avoided. When tanned, the skin makes a valuable leather.
R*
418 AMERICAK AGRICULTURE.
An aggregate weight of 1790 lbs. from four well-fattened
animals, after taking out the hams and shoulders, say about
400 lbs., gave within a fraction of 1200 lbs. of the best lard.
Stearine and Oleine. — Lard and all fatty matters consist of
three principles, of which stearine contains the stearic and
margaric acids, both of which when separated, are solid and
used as inferior substitutes for wax or spermaceti candles.
The other, oleine, is fluid at a low temperature, and in Ameri-
can commerce, is known as lard oil. It is very pure and
extensively used for machinery, lamps and most of the pur-
poses for which olive or spermaceti oils are used.
Curing hams and pork. — After dressing, the carcass should
be allowed to hang till perfectly drained and cool, when it may
be cut up and salted. The usual way is to pack the pork in clean
salt, adding brine to the barrel when filled. But it may be
dry salted, by rubbing it in thoroughly on every side of each
piece, with a strong leather rubber, firmly secured to the
palm of the right hand. Tlie pieces are then thrown into
heaps and sprinkled with salt, and occasionally turned till
cured ; or it may at once be packed in dry casks, which are
occasionally rolled to bring the salt into contact with every
part. Hams and shoulders may be cured in the same man-
ner, either dry or in pickle, but with differently arranged
materials. The following is a good pickle for 200 lbs. Take
14 lbs. of Turk Island salt; h Ih. of salt petre ; 2 qts. of
molasses, or 4 lbs. of brown sugar, with water enough to dis-
solve them. Bring the liquor to the scalding point, and skim
off' all the impurities which rise to the top. When cold,
pour it upon the ham, which should be perfectly cool but not
trozen, and closely packed ; and if not sufficient to cover it,
add enough pure water for this purpose. Some extensive
packers in Cincinnati and elsewhere, who send choice hams
to market, add pepper, allspice, cinnamon, nutmegs or mace
and cloves. The hams may remain six to eight weeks in
this pickle, then hung up in the smoke-house, with the small
end down, and smoked from 10 to 20 days, according to the
quantity of smoke. The fire should not be near enough to
heat the hams. In Holland and Westphalia, the fire is made
in the cellar, and the smoke carred by a flue into a cool dry
chamber. This is undoubtedly the ])est method of smoking.
The hams should at all times be dry and cool, or their flavor
will suffer. Green sugar-maple chips, are best for smoke ;
next to them are hickory, sweet birch, corn cobs, white ash,
or beech. The smoke house is the best place to keep hams
8WINB. 419
till wanted. If reinovcxl, they Khould be kept cool, dry and
free from flies. A canvass cover for each, saturated with
lime, which may he put on wilh a white. wasii Ijrush, is a per-
fect protection against flies. When not to be kept long, they
may be packed in dry salt, or even in sweet brine without
injury. A common method is to pack in dry oats, baked
saw-dust, Si,c»
DISEASES OF SWINE.
Mortifying as the fact may be to human pride, it is never-
theless certain, that the internal arragements, the viscera,
digestive organs, omniverous propensities, and the general
physiological structure of the hog and the bear, more nearly
resemble man, than any other animal. Many of their dis-
eases may therefore be expected to be a modification of those
of the human species, and require a similar treatment.
Swine are parculiarly liable to colds, coughs and pulmonary
afieclions ; to cutaneous disorders, and that other frequently
fatal human disease, the measles. Like most other evils,
prevention of disease in swine, is more easy and economical
than cure. A dry warm bed, free from winds or storms, and
suitable food, will most effectually prevent any injuries, or
fatal attacks. The hog has little external covering to protect
him against cold. Nature has provided this immediately
within the skin, in the deep layer of fat, which surrounds the
fidl, plump hog. Fat is one of the best non-conductors of heat,
and the pig which is well fed, bids defiance to the intense cold,
which would produce great suflfering and consequent disease,
in the ill conditioned animal. By the observance of a proper
medium between too much fat or lean, for the store or breed-
ing swine, and providing them with comfortable beds and pro-
per feed, almost all diseases will be avoided.
For rouons axd inflamation of the luncjs, bleeding
shoukl immediately be resorted to, after which give gentle
purges of castor oil, or Epsom salts ; and this should be
followed with a dose of antimonial powders ; 2 grains, mixed
with half a dracham of nitre.
For f;osTiVE>Ess or loss of appetite, sulpher is an excellent
remedy, given in a light mess,
Jtcii may be cured by anointing with equal parts of lard
and brimstone. Rubbing posts, and a running stream to
wallow in are preventives.
The kidney worm is frequently fatal, and always pro-
duces weakness of the loins and hind legs, and generally,
420 AMERICAN AGRICULTURE.
entire prostration. A pig thus far gone, is hardly worth the
trouble of recovering, even where practicable. Preventives
are general thrift, a range, in a good pasture, and a dose of
half a pint of wood ashes every week or fortnight in their
food. A small quantity of salt petre, spirits of turpentine, or
tar will afliect the same object. When attacked, apply spirits
of turpentine to the loins, and administer calomel carefidly ;
or give half a table spoonful of copperas daily for one or two
weeks.
Blind Staggers, generally confined to pigs, manifests
itself in foaming at the mouth, rearing on their hind legs,
champing and grinding their teeth and apparent blindness.
The proper remedies are bleeding and purging freely, and
these frequently fliil. Many nostrums have been suggested,
but few are of any utility. It is important to keep the issues
on the inside of the fore legs, just below the knee, thoroughly
cleansed. The most convenient mode of bleeding, is from an
artery just above the knee, on the inside of the fore-arm.
It may be drawn more copiously from the roof of the mouth.
The flow of blood may usually be stopped, by applying a sponge
or cloth with cold water.
The diseases of swine, though not numerous, are formida-
ble, and many of them soon become fatal. They have not
been the subject of particlar scientific study, and most of the
remedies applied, are rather the result of casual or hap-hazard
suggestion, than of well-digested inference, from long contin-
ued and accurate observation.
rouTiiY. 42 1
CHAPTER XXI
POULTRY.
Choice varieties of fowls, add a pleasant feature to the
farm premises. They engage the attention and sympathy of
the juvenile farmers, and the time bestowed in the poultry
yard, keeps them from mischief, is an agreeable and salutary
relief for toil and study, and elicits the taste, the judgment,
and the kindlier feelings of humanity, whicij are to be ma-
tured in the future accomplished breeder. When j>roporly
managed, poultry are a source of considerable prorit, yielding
more fbrthe food they consume, than any other stock, although
their value is not often considered. The agricultural statis-
tics of the United States, for 1839, give us over $12,000,000
in poultry, and it probably exceeds $15,000,000 at the present
time. It is estimated l)y McQueen, that the poultry of En-
gland exceeds $40,000,000, and yet McCulloch says, she
imports 60,000,000 eggs annually from France, — McQueen
states it at near 70,000,000 ; and from other parts of the
continent, 25,000,000; besides 80,000,000 imported from
Ireland. Poultry then ceases to be an unimportant object of
agricultural attention, and assumes its appropriate place
among the other staples of the farmer.
HENS
Are the most numerous and profitable, and the most gen-
erally useful of the feathered tribe. The hen is peculiarly
an egg.pr(Mlucing bird. She has the same predisposition for
laying, that the cow has for secreting milk. Some breeds
are better adapted for this object than others ; but in all that
have ever come within our notice, the proper food and cir-
cumstances are alone wanting, to produce a reasonable quan-
tity of eggs. The egg consists of three distinct parts ; the
shell, the white, and the yolk. A good-sized egg will weigh
1,000 grains, of which about 107 are shell, 604 are white,
422 AMERICAN AGRICULTURE.
and 289 are yolk. Of the shell, 97 per cent, is carbonate
of lime, 1 per cent, phosphate of lime and magnesia, and 2
per cent, albumen. The white consists of 12 per cent, of
albumen, 2.7 of mucus, 0.3 of salts, and 85 of water. The
yolk has about 17-4 per cent, of albumen, 28.6 of yellow
oil, 54 of water, with a trace of sulphur and phosphorus.
The above are the constituents of eggs, which have been
formed whentthc bird has free access to the various articles,
which constitute her natural food. But they vary with cir-
cumstances. When full fed and denied all access to lime,
she will form an egg without the shell, and deliver it enclosed
in the membrane or sack which always surrounds the white,
when covered by the shell. When scantily fed, they will
frequently lay ; but from a deficiency of nutriment, the egg
will be meagre and watery, and possess but a small portion
of the nutritious qualities peculiar to them. To produce the
largest number of good eggs, several conditions are impor-
tant ; and they must especially have an abundance of the
right kind of food. This is the most readily obtained in part
from animal food. In warm weather, when they have a free
range, they can generally supply their wants in the abun-
dance of insects, earth worms, and other animal matters
within their reach. The large proportion of albumen con-
tained in their eggs, requires that much of their food should
be highly nitrogenized, and when they cannot procure this
in animal matter, it must be given in grains containing it.
If to the usual qualities of hens, a breed of peculiar ele-
gance, of graceful forms, and beautiful j)lumage, be added,
together with entire adaptation to the economical piirposes
required, good layers, and good carcass, we have a combina-
tion of utility, luxury, and taste in this bird, which shotdd
commend them as general favorites. They can evejy where
be kept with advantage, except in dense cities. A hen that
costs a shilling or two, if provided with a suitable range, will
consume 30 or 40 cents worth of food, and produce from 80
to 150 eggs per annum, worth two or three times the cost of
feed and attention.
The food of hens may consist of different kinds of grain,
either Inokeu, ground, or cooked ; roots, and especially boiled
potatoes, are nutritious and economical ; green herbage, as
clover and many of the grains, chickvveed, lettuce, cabbage,
&;c., will supply them witli much of their food, if fresh and
tender. Though not absolutely essential to them, yet nothing
contributes so much to their laying, as unsalted, animal food.
HENS. 423
This is a natural aliinont, as is shown by tlio. avidity witli
which ihcy pounce on every lly, insect, or earth-worm which
conies wilhin their reach. It wouUi not of course pay to
supply them with valuable meat, hut the blood and oilai of the
slaughter houses, refuse meal of all kinds, and especially the
5Kjraps or cracklings to be had at the mclters' shops, after
soaking for a tew hours in warm water, is one of the best and
most economical kinds of food. Such with boiled meal is a
very fattening food. Grain is at all times best for them
when cooked, as they will lay more, fat quicker, and eat
much less when it is fed to them in this state ; and it may be
thus used unground, with the same advantage to the fowls, as
if first crushed, as their digestive organs are certain to extract
the whole nutriment. All grain is food for them, including
millet, rice, the oleaginous seeds, as the sun-flower, flax,
hemp, d:c. It is always better to aflbixl them a variety of
grain, where they can procure them at their option, and select
as their appetite craves.
They are also fond of milk, and indeed scarcely any edible
escapes their notice. They carefully pick up most of the
waste garbage around the premises, and glean much of their
subsistence from what would otherwise become offensive,
and by their destruction of innumerable insects and worms,
they render great assistance to the gardener. Of course
their ever-busy propensity for scratching, is indiscrimi-
nately indulged just after the seeds have been planted and
while the plants are young, which renders it necessary that
they be confined in some close yard for a time ; yet this
should be as capacious as possible. Their food is better
when given to them warm, not hot ; and there should always
be a supply before them to prevent gorging, which is better
to be placed on shelves or suspended boxes or hoppers, which
are variously and cheaply constructed, to keep it clean and
out of the reach of rats. Besides their food, hens ought to
be at all times abundantly supplied with clean water, egg or
pounded oyster shells, old mortar or slaked lime. If not
allowed to run at large, where they can help themselves,
ihey must also be iurnished with gravel to assist their diges-
tion ; and a box or bed of ashes, sand and dust, is equally
essential to roll in for the purpose of ridding themselves
of vermin.
The hen-house may be constructed in various ways to
suit tluj wishes of the owner, and when tastefully built, it is
an ornament to the premises. It should be perfectly dry
424 AMERICAN AGRICULTUKE.
throughout, properly lighted, and capable of being made
tight and warm in winter, yet afford all the ventilation desi-
rable at any season. In this, arrange the nests in boxes on
the sides, in such a manner as to humor the instinct of the
hen for concealment when she resorts to them. When desi-
rable to set the hen, these nests may be so placed as to shut
out the others, yet open into another yard or beyond the
enclosure, so that they can take an occasional stroll and
help themselves to food, &c. This prevents other hens lay-
ing in their nests, while setting, and may be easily managed,
by having their boxes placed on the wall of the building,
with a movable door made to open on either side at pleasure.
Hens will lay equally well without a nest-egg, but when bro-
ken up, they ramble off and form new nests, if they are not
confined. They will lay if kept from the cock, but it is
doubtful if they will thus yield as many eggs. liens dis-
posed to set at improper times, should be dismissed from the
common yard, so as to be out of reach of the nests, and plen-
tifully fed till weaned from this inclination.
Tlie chickens require to be kept warm and dry, for the first
few days after hatching, and they may be fed with hard-
boiled eggs, crumbs of bread or pudding, and milk or water,
and allowed to scratch in the gravel in front of the hen,
which should be confined in a coop for the first three or four
weeks, after which, they may be turned loose, when they
will thrive on any thing the older ones eat. Many use
them for the table when tiiey are but a ^evf weeks old ; but
they are unfit for this purpose, till they have attained full
maturity. The white-legs are preferred by some, from the
whiteness and apparent delicacy of the meat ; but the yellow-
legged are the richest and most highly-flavored. The color
of the feathers, does not seem to affect the quality of the
flesh or their character for laying. If we consider the prin-
ciple of the absorption and retention of heat, we should
assume the white coat to be best, as it is coolest in summer
when exposed to the sun, and warmest in winter. Yet some
of the white breeds are delicate and do not bear rough usage
or exposure.
Varieties. — These differ materially in their sizes, shapes
and colors. The Dorking is esteemed one of the best, being
large, well formed and hardy, good layers and nurses, and
yielding an excellent carcass. They are both white and
speckled, and generally have five toes. The Poland is both
white and black, with a large tuft, generally of white fea-
HVNS. 4t5
them on the head. They are of good size, and excellent
layers, but are seldom inclined to set, which makes them
peculiarly desirable for such as wish eggs only. The
I)omin'u[ue is a speckled fowl, of barely medium siz;o, com-
))act, hardy, good layers, and valuable for the table. The
Bucks* county fowl, heretofore principally reared near Phila-
delphia, possess hut moderate pretensions to notice, except in
their immense size, a brace of them having been fattened to
194 lbs. when dressed. The Bantam is but little larger than
a pigeon, and is usually of a pure white, but is sometimes
speckled. It is generally feathered to the toes, but may be
bred with clean legs. It is very domestic, and a pleasant
little bird around the premises, and is not unprofitable. The
Game cock is of medium weight, and yields good flesh, but is
a poor layer, and an undesirable tenant for the farm yard.
Besides these, there are many fanciful varieties, as the
Creeper^ with excessively short legs ; the Rumpless, without
a tail ; the Frizzled^ with irregular feathers turned towards
the head ; the SUky or Merino fowl, with brown or buff
down, instead of feathers; the iVe^ro, with its black crest,
wattles, skin, legs and feathers ; the Java and Cochin China^
of great size ; several varieties of the Top-knot^ and others.
The diseases of hens are not numerous or complicated,
and may be mostly avoided by proper treatment and food,
which are indicated with sufficient minuteness in the forego-
ing observations.
Gapes or pip is generally owing to drinking unwholesome
or dirty water. Remove the white blister on the tip of the
tongue, and wash with sharp vinegar, diluted with warm
water ; or compel the bird to swallow a large lump of fresh
butter, mixed with Scotch snutf. It has been removed by
opening the mouth and forcing a pigeon feather, with a
tuft of the feathers left on the end, the others being stripped
otr, down the wind-pipe, and gently turning it as withdrawn,
to be repeated the following day if necessary. This detaches
large numbers of a slender red worm, collected in the larynx
of the throat, which impedes respiration and swallowing.
A little spirits of turpentine mixed with the food is a preven-
tive; as are also clean, white-washed premises, and good food.
Feed for a few days with light food, soaked bran and cab-
bage or lettuce chopped fine. Bx)up^ Catarrh or swelled head^
is shown by feverish symptoms, swollen eye-lids, frequently
terminating in blindness, rattling in the throat and tempo-
rary strangulation. These are accompanied by a highly
426 AMERICAN AGRICULTTTRE.
offensive watery discharge, from the mouth and nostrils, loss
of appetite, and much thirst. They should be placed near
the fire ; their head bathed in warm Castile soap-suds, or
milk and water. Stimulating food, as flour or barley-meal,
mustard and grated ginger, mixed and forced down the throat,
Boswell says, has been effectual in their speedy restoration.
This, like many other diseases, is contagious, and when it
appears, the bird should be at once separated from the flock.
Fhix is cured by the yolk of an e^^ boiled hard ; and boiled
barley soaked in wine. Costiveness is removed by giving
bran and water with a little honey ; or give a small dose
of castor oil. Vermin are destroyed by giving them clean
sand and ashes to roll in, adding a little quick lime if
necessary. Entire cleanliness is necessary for the avoidance
of this and other diseases. A perfectly dry range is also
essential, nor should there be too many together, as this is a
fruitful source of disease.
THE TURKEY
Was unknown to the civilized world till the discovery of this
Continent. It was found here both in its wild and do-
mesticated state ; and still occupies the whole range of the
Western Hemisphere, though the wild turkey disappears as
the country becomes settled. The wild is larger than the
domesticated bird, sometimes weighing over 30 lbs. dressed.
The color of the male is generally a greenish brown, ap-
proaching to black, and of a rich, changeable, metallic lustre.
The hen is marked somewhat like the cock, but with duller
hues. Domestication through successive generations, dims
the brilliancy of their plumage, and lessens their size and har-
diness. It also produces a variety of colors, though they are
mostly of a black, buff, pure white, or speckled. They give
evidence of the coniparative recency of their domestication, in
the instinct which frequently impels the cock to brood and
take care of the young. Nothing is more common than for
the male bird to supply the place of the hen, \vhen any acci-
dent befals her, and bring up a family of young chicks with
an equally instinctive regard for their helplessness and safety.
The flesh of this bird, both wild and tame, is exceedingly deli-
cate and palatable ; and though not possessing the high game
flavor of some of the smaller wild fowl, and especially of the
aquatic, as the canvass-back duck, &c., it exceeds them in its
digestibility and healthfulness. The turkey is useful princi-
pally for its flesh, as it seldom lays over a nest-full of eggs in
PEACOCK ANt> OUTNrA HEN. 42t
one season, when they brood on these and bring up their
young, if full-fed, and their first eggs are withdrawn from
them, they frequently lay a second time.
Brkedinc. — ^Those intended for breeders should be com-
jmct, vigorous and large, without being long-legged. They
should be daily, yet lightly fed through the winter, on grain
and roots, and some animal food is always acceptable and
l)eneficial to them. They are small eaters, and without cau-
tion will soon get too fat. One vigorous male will suffice for
a flock of 10 or 1*2 hens, and a single connexion is sufficient
for each. They begin to lay on the approach of warm wea-
ther, laying once a day, or every other day, till they have com-
pleted their litter ; which in the young or indifferently fed, may
be 10 or 12, and in the older ones, sometimes reaches 20.
The hen is sly in secreting her nest, but usually selects a dry,
well-protected place. She is an inveterate sitter, and care-
nUly hatches most of her eggs. The young may be allowed
to remain for 24 hours without eating, then fed with hard-
boileil eggs, made fine, or crumbs of wheat bread. Boiled
milk, curds, butter-milk, &,c, are food for them. As they get
older, oat or barley-meal is suitable, but Indian-meal uncooked,
is hurtful to them when quite young. They are very tender,
and will bear neither cold or wet, and it is of course necessary
to confine the old one for the first few weeks. When able to
shift for themselves, they may wander over the fields at plea-
sure ; and from their great fondness for insects, they will rid
the meadows of innumerable grasshoppers, &c., which often
do incalculable damage to the farmer. Early chickens are
sufficiently grown to fatten the latter part of autumn or the
beginning of winter, which is easily done on any of the grains
or boiled roots. The grain is better for cooking. They re-
quire a higher roosting place than hens, and are impatient of
too close confinement, preferring the ridge of a barn, or a lofty
tree to the circumscribed limits of the ordinary poultry-house.
When rightly managed and fed, turkies are subject to few
maladies, and even these, careful attention will soon remove.
THE PEACOCK AND GUINEA HEN.
The peacock is undoubtedly the most showy of the feathered
race. It is a native of the southern part of Asia, and is still
found wild in the islands of Java and Ceylon, and some parts
of the interior of Africa. They are an ornament to the farm
premises, and are useful in destroying reptiles, insects and
garbage ; but they are quanelsome in the poultry yard, and
428 AMERICAN AGRICTTLTURE.
destructive in the garden. Their flesh is coarse and dark,
and they are worthless as layers. The brilliant silvery green
and their ever-varying colors, gives place to an entire white,
in one of the varieties.
The Guinea hen is a native of Africa and the southern part
of Asia where it abounds in its wild state. Most of them are
beautifully and uniformly speckled; but occasionally, they are
white on the breast, like the Pintados of the W. I. Islands,
and some are entirely white. They are unceasingly garrulous,
and their excessively pugnacious character, renders them un-
comfortable inmates with the other poultry. Their flesh,
though high colored, is delicate and palatable, but like the pea.
cock, they are indifferent layers. Both are natives of a warm
climate, and the young are tender and rather diflicult to rear.
Neither of these birds are general favorites, and we omit fur-
ther notice of them,
THE GOOSE.
There are many varieties of the goose. Main enumerates
twenty-two, most of which are wild ; and the tame are again
variously sub-divided. The common white and grey are the
most numerous and profitable. The white Bremen is much
larger, often weighing over 20 lbs. nett. It is of a bcautifid
snowy plumage, is domestic and reared without difficulty,
though not as prolific and hardy as the former. The China
goose is smaller than the grey, and one of the most beautiful
of the family, possessing much of the gracefulness and gene-
ral appearance of the swan. It is prolific and tolerably hardy,
but has not thus far, been a successful rival with tiie first.
The Guinea or African goose is the largest of the species,
and equals the size of the swan, often dressing over 25 lbs.
It is a majestic and graceful bird, and very ornamental to
water scenery. Several other varieties arc domesticated in
the United States.
Breeding. — Geese pair frequently at one year old, and
rear their young ; but with some kinds, especially of the wild,
this is deferred till two and sometimes three. They require
a warm, dry place for their nests, and when undisturbed, they
will sit steadily ; and if the eggs iiave not been previously
chilled or addled, they will generally hatch them all, if kept
on the nest. To insure this, it is sometimes necessary to
withdraw the first hatched, to prevent the old ones wander-
ing before all are out. They should l)e kept in a warm shel-
tered place till two or three weeks old if the weather be cold
DVCKH. 429
or unsettled. The Ixjst food for the goslings, is barley or oat»
or boiled Indian- meal and bread. Milk is also good for
tlicni. Tlioy rctjuiro green TookI, and are fond of lettuce,
young clover, and fresh tender grass, and after a few weeks,
if they have a free range on this, they will forage for thcni-
selves. Geese are not a pr()fital>le bird to raise, unless in
places where they can procure their own subsistence, or at
least iluring the greater part of the year. This they are ena-
bled to do, whenever there are extensive commons of unpas-
tured lands, or when there are streams or ponds, lakes or
marsiies with shoal sedgy banks. In these, they will live
and fatten throughout the year, if unobstructed by ice.
They may be fattened on all kinds of grain and edible
roots, but it is more economical to give them their food
cooked. The well-fattened gosling affords one of the most
savory dishes for the table. Geese live to a great age.
They have been known to exceed 100 years. When allowed
a free range on good food and clean water, they will seldom
get diseased. When well fed, they yield nearly a pound of
good feathers in a season, at three or four pluckings, and the
largest varieties even exceed this.
DUCKS
Are more hardy and independent of attention than the
goose, and they are generally the most profitable. They are
omnivorous, and greedily devour every thing which will
atlbrd them nourishment, though they seldom forage on the
grasses like the goose, when they can procure other food.
They are peculiarly carniverous, and devour all kinds of meat,
putrid or fresh ; and are especially fond of fish, and such
insects, worms, &;c., as they can find imbedded in the mud
or elsewhere. They will often distend their crop with young
frogs, almost to the ordinary size of their bodies. Their
indiscriminate appetites often render them unfit ibr the table,
unless fattened out of the reach of garbage and oflfensive
matters. An English admiral used to resort to well-fattened
rats for his fresh meat, when at sea, and justified his taste by
saying, they were more cleanly feeders than ducks, which were
general favorites.
The varieties of ducks are almost innumerable. Main
describes 31, and some naturalists number over 100. The
most profitable for domestic use, is undoubtedly the common
black duck. They lay profusely in the spring, when well
fed, often producing 40 or 50 eggs, and sometimes a greater
430 AMERICAN AGRICULTURE.
number, if kept from sitting. They are much larger than
those of the hen, and equally rich and nourishing, but far less
delicate. They are careless in their habits, and generally drop
their eggs wherever they happen to be througii the night,
whether in the water, the road or farm-yard ; and as might
be expected from such prodigality of character, they are indif-
ferent sitters and nurses. The ducklings are better reared,
by setting the eggs under a sedate, experienced hen, as the
longer time necessary for hatching, requires patience in the
foster-mother to develop the young chick. They should be
confined for a few days, and away from the water. At first
they may be fed with bread, or pudding made from boiled
oat, barley, or Indian-meal ; and they soon acquire strength,
and enterprise enough to shift for themselves, if afterwards
supplied with pond or river water. They arc fit for the table
when fully grown, and well fattened on clean grain. This
is more economically accomplished by feeding it cooked.
The light grey, the white duck, and some of the tufted, are
prolific, hardy and profitable. We omit further notice of
other varieties, and of the swan, brant, pigeons, &c., as not
profitable for general rearing, and only suited to ornamental
grounds.
INDEX
A.
Page
AKricultural colleges and schools de-
manded 8
what ihey should be . . 9
Agriculture, defined .... 5
national board of, required . 8
Air, essential to the roots of plants 75
Alluvial soils, how formed and treat-
ed 19
Ammonia, how formed and combin'd 5*2
Ammoniacal liquor, described . 47
for manure .... 47
Animals domestic, reared in the U.S. 257
tlieir number and value . . 257
their improvement . . 258
adaptation to various objects . 258
general form and characteristics 261
the lungs 261
respiration . . . 262—265
effects of 2(a
perspiration .... 266
food which supplies waste in 266
circumstances which augment
respiiation . . . 267—269
f«x»d . . . . • 269
purposes fulfilled by food . .269
nutritive qualities for various
animals .... 271
profit of feeding . . 27'i— 274
See Cattle, Smeep tc.
Apatite, is phosphate of lime . . 42
Apples, situation and soil fur . 16U
planting trees . . . .161
cultivation of . . . 163
pruning 164
grafting and budding . . 165
selection of trees . . . 165
planting the seed . . . 165
gathering and preserving . . Itki
f(»r farm btock and value of 166—167
best varieties of . . . 16^
Apricots, cultivation of . . . 173
Artichoke, the Jerusalem . . 156
its value, product and cultivation 15<J
Arimdo grasH, described . . 90
Ash tree, the white, for shade . 240
Ashes as manure . . . 31—35
defined 31
from various vegetables . .32
quantity required per acre . 33
applied to meadows . . 34
coal, for manure ... 34
Page
Ashes front sea-weeds or marine
plants .... 34
peat, how used on soils . . 35
HKK SOII.8 AND VARIOUS CROPS.
Ass, The .... 398—400
varieties and characteristics 399
breeding in the U. States . 399
as a beast of burthen . 400
Barley, varieties of ... 120
soil and cultivation . . 121
harvesting and uses of . . 122
ashes analyzed ... 32
Barns — see Buildinos.
Beans, nutritive value of . . 138
soil and cultivation . . - 138
harvesting .... 130
varieties of the English field .139
ash of, analy/.cd ... 32
Beets, varieties of . . . .154
planting .... 154
cultivation of . . . . 155
harvesting and uses . . 153
analysis 156
Birds, utility to the fanner . 233
Bermuda grass .... 89
Blood, as manure ... 62
Blood, or thorough-bred— see Animals,
Blue grass, (erronesusly called) • 87
described 88
comparative value and descrip-
tion of 93
Bokhara, or sweet-scented clover 104
Bones, analyzed . . . .41
used as manure ... 41
Breeding, defined .... 6
principles of . . . . 259
See Cattle, Sheep Sec.
Bricks, broken, for manure . . 44
Broom corn, soil and manure . . 177
cultivation and harvesting . 178
value and uses .... 178
Buckwheat, cultivation and uses 135
Buildings for the farm . 247—256
farm-house .... 247
cellar 248
barn 249
sheds 251
carriage-houses, granary, &c. . 252
materials for buildings . . 254
Button-wood trees, for shade . .241
432
INDEX.
Calcareous soils .
Canada thistle, how extirpated
•Cane, sugar, see Sugar,
f-arbon, described .
Carbonic acid, uses
Carrots, ash analysed
soil and varieties .
harvesting and uses .
Castor bean . . . ,
Charcoal, as manure
Cattle, see Animals.
neat or horned .
various domestic breeds
native cattle .
Devons ....
Short-horns .
Page
13
- 228
. 50
. 50, 51
. 32
152
. 133
220
. 45
274, 316
274
275—277
277, 295
278—280
Herefords 280
282
283, 285
285
. 286
286, 288
. 288
289, 295
Ayrshire
management of calves
breeding, see Breeding.
breeding cattle
breaking steers .
management of oxen
fattening and stall-feeding
Diseases ....
hoven ....
choking ....
inflammation of stomach .
mange or scab
horn-ail ....
jaundice
mad-itch ....
bloody-murrain
hoof-ail, loss of cud .
scours or diarrhcu .
warbles or grubs
wounds ....
puerpal or milk fever
caked bags .
garget ....
sore-teats
warts ....
Sec Dairy.
Cows for dairy
management of . ,
milking 297
Comparative value of oxen and
horses 409
spayed-hcifcrs, valuable for
work
Churns, see Dairy.
Chemical, defined . . . ,
Cherries, cultivation and varieties
Chlorine, combined with soda .
Cider, to make
Cisterns, construction .
Clay, useful to sandy soils
Clay-soils, defined
character and treatment
soils, improved . . . .1
products of ... . 17
Clover, red and Avhile, ashes of,
analysed , . . .32
for green manure . 36, 65, 104
common red ... . gs
value and description . 93, 100
cultivation . . . gg 99
growth promoted ... 99
15,
290
292
294
294
294
294 i
294 I
295
295
296
Page
Clover, time for cutting and cur-
ing ... . 99—100
management of fields . . 100
harvesting, the seed . 101—102
southern clover . . .102
white creeping clover . . 102
yellow, hop-trefoil or sham-
rock .... 102—103
crimson or scarlet . . 103
Bockharra or sweet scented 104
Cock's-foot, or orchard grass . 86
Color of soils .... 24
Cotton, its value . . . .189
climate and soil . . 189, 190
harvesting . . . 191, 192
topping .... 192
Sea-Island . . . 192, 195
Cotton-seed, for food ... 195
Corn, Indian, .... 125
quality raised in U. S. . 125
varieties of . . . 126—127
analysis of .... 126
soil and cultivation . . 1*^7
selection of seed . . 127
preparation of seed . . .128
planting 128
harvesting . . . .129
for soiling .... 130
uses of corn . . . .130
broom, see Broom-corn.
Cow-pea, as a fertiliser ... 66
cultivation and value . . 137
Cranberry, soil and cultivation 175—178
Cream, see Dairy.
Crops, large only profitable - . 37
Cultivator, how used ... 83
Currants, cultivation . . .174
Dairy, the 296,310
selection and management of
cows 296
milking 297
properties of milk . . . 297
variations in . . . 2{»8
cream, clouted ditto . . 300
Making butter from sour, sweet
and clouted cream . . 301
from the whole milk . . 302
• sourness of cream . . . 302
quickness in churning . . 3»3
over churning .... 303
temperature of milk and cream 303
advantages ofchurningthe whole 303
cleanliness in churning . . 301
premium butter, how made . 304
Orange county do do . 305
Making cheese, how affected , 306
creamed and uncreamcd . . 307
butter-milk cheese . . 307
whey do . . . 308
vet^etable sul)slanccs added . ."JOS
preparation of rennet . . 308
different qualities of cheese . 311
warming the milk , . .311
quality of rennet . . . 311
quantity of rennet . . . 312
treatment of curd . . . 312
separation of whey . . .313
INDEX.
VA'A
55
Dairy, the— clu'«>8<\Baliiii(! . . 311
adtiitinn orcreaiii . .314
Bi/c of clicow; . . 315
mode of curiiic . . . 315
aiDiiioiiiHcal ciiecso . . 315
iiinociilating do . . . 316
preinitiiM rlieeso, how iiindc • S16
UecoiiiiK>sition, see kkrmentation.
of innnun-H ....
Dew ijeiirrally formed in rich sbadcd
■oils
iH'w-point, when attained .
Diseases, see cattce, shekp, &.C.
Draining [undorl c)ay landn .
manner of and improvements in
great advantages of . .
spring and swamp dcscrihed
Drill-barrow, how made and used
Ducks, see poultry.
E.
Education of the farmer
should be provided for by the
National and State Legisla-
tures ....
Electro-culture considered
Elm trees for shade
Ergot or cock's spur and its effects
described . . . .120
Experiments should be made among
farmers .... 232
F.
Fallow system described . . 68, 221
Farming, variety of knowledge for 6
demands the aid of legislation 7
board of agriculture essential . 8
when profitable ... 37
See AORICl'LTrRE.
Farms, example and experimental,
reconniiended . .- . 9
implements, see tools.
buildings, see builoikos.
Feeding dehned .... 5
i?ee CATTLE, SUEEP, fcC.
Feldspar analysed . . . . '"
useful as manure .
Fences, how avoided .
various kinds, manner of con-
structing . . . 235—238
FermenUition of manure . . 55
cider, vinegar, &c. . . 167
various changes in food from 416
Fescue grass, the tall, meadow,
sheep, &.C. . . . Ri, 92, 93
Fibrous covering, its value for grass 228
suggested reasons for its utility 230
Fiorin grass S7
Fish for manure .... 62
how managed .... 63
Flax, soil 179
c uiti vat ion, harvesting and man-
agement of . . . .180
value of and varieties . . 181
Flesh as manure .... 62
Food, comparative nutritive quali-
ties of 158
how given, purposes fulfilled by
It 269-272
changes in ... . 272
t^e AMMALs, moDocn, &c.
FrinblenoM of soils im(iortant
I'rogH, their utility
Fruits
233
100—176
i;.
74,76
76
247
9
231
241
46
2ai
40
Gama grass 88
Glass, broken, analysed 45
as a manure .... 45
Geese, see Poultry.
Goose-berries, cidtivation, &c. , 174
Cirain and its cultivation . 107 — 135
(Jrama grass 89
Granite, sienite. Sec. as manures 46
(irajx^s, soil and cultivation . . 173
varieties of . . . . 173
Grass, ash analysed ... 32
defined 84
various kinds . . , 84—93
number in England . . 84
numl>er in America ... 65
value of natural in U. S. . 85, 91
order of nutrition and value . 9l
comparative value . . 92
seeds, sowing . . . .94
time for cutting and curing . 97
Gravelly soils, how treated . . IH
Grazing, defined ... 5
Green crops for manures . . 64
advantages of . . . 67
Green-grass, smooth-stalked mead-
ow, s|K.'ar or June . . 87
Guano, its localities, &c. . . 47
analysed, how used . . 47
Guinea-hen, see Poultry.
Gurneyism, see Fibrous covering.
Gypsum, defined ....
as a manure . . . .40
Bee Various Crops,
11.
Hair, hoofs, &c. as manure . . 62
Harrowing, how done . 81
Hedges, from shrubs . . . 237
Hemp, soil for .... 181
cultivation and cutting . . 182
drying and ricking . . 183
dew-rotting .... 18*
shocking and breaking . . 185
water-rotting . . . .186
raising tlie seed . 186—189
Hens, see Poultry. •
Herds grass, red-top or foul mea-
dow . . . . 88, 93
Hinny, see Ass.
Holy-grass, or sweet-scented soft 91, 92
Hops, soil and cultivation . . 217
harvesting and curing . 218 — ^220
diseases in .... 220
Dorse, the .... 363—398
the Arabian and Barb . . 363
the English , . . .365
American .... 366
Arabians in America . . 961
Ranger, the barb ... 364
tiussorah 365
Narraganset pacers . . 365
Messenger, imported . . 366
Morgan horses . . 307
Canadian and Spanish . 36*
434
INDEX.
Page
Horses, Conestoga and Norman , 368
Cart, Cleveland bay, Belfounder 369
Eclipse, American . . .374
points of .... 370
habits . . . . ; 370
breeding .... 371
management of colts . . 512
breaking .... 373
longevity, feeding . . .374
Diseases .... 373—396
glanders 37*
lampas, heaves, &c. . . 376
catarrh or distemper, spasmo-
dic colic .... 377
flatulent colic ... 379
inflammation of bowels . . 380
physicking .... 383
worms 384
bots, wind-galls . . . 385
the fetlock .... 386
cutting, sprain of the cofiin-joint,
ring- bone .... 387
enlargement of the hock . 388
curb 389
bone-spavin, swelled-legs . 390
grease 391
setons 393
founder, poison from weeds . 394
inflammation of the eyes . 393
stingsof hornets, &;c. . . 393
sprain, bruises, fistula . 395
wounds, galls .... 395
shoeing, contraction of the foot 395
corns 396
over-reach, forging or clicking 397
the bearing-rein, the bit . . 397
stables 39s
comparative laboc with oxen . 4(i7
Horse- power .... 253
Horticulture defined ... 6
Humus defined .... 31
Hydrogen described ... 51
its uses for vegetation . . 52
I.
Implements, see Tools.
Indian Corn, see Corn.
Indigo, cultivation of . . . 205
Introduction .... 5
Irrigated lands, value of . . . 71
Irrigation, where necessary . 69
water, best for .... 70
time for applying ... 71
manner and utility of . .72
quality of grass from . . 72
soils suited to . . . .72
Kelp, described
K.
L.
34
Leguminous plants . . 136 — 140
Lightning rods, utility . . . 255
materials for, construction. 255
conductors and non-conductors 256
]Jme, in fertile soils ... 28
as manure . . . 35—38
described .... 35
liow applied .... 37
Page
Lime, magnesian described
37
quantity applied
38
applied to meadows
38
use on the muck-heap
56
See Soils, &c.
Loamy soils defined
12
how treated ....
19
Locust trees for shade .
240
Lucern, ashes analysed
3^
value of . . . .93
103
cultivation . , . .
103
Lupin, as a fertiliser
67
Lye, as manure ....
46
M.
Madder, its uses, soil, &c. . 206-
-208
harvesting and preparation .
208
value of
21a
Magnesian lime defined .
3&
Manures defined ....
3a
organic, described . . 30 — 49
ingredients ....
31
ashes
3]
table of ashes
3'^
value and application of ashes
33;
for meadow lands
34
coal ashes and sea-weed ash
34
peat, lime
35
great value of lime .
36
application of lime
37
marls
39
shell- sand ....
3»
green sand, gypsum .
40
bones
41
phosphate of lime, salt .
42
sulphates, the ...
4*
saltpetre and nitrate of soda .
43
carbonates, nitrates, sulphates,
&c
old plaster, broken brick
44
44
charcoal, broken glass
45
mica, feldspar, l^va, &c.
46
spent-ley
46
ammoniacal liquor
47
guano
47
analysed, how applied .
43
soot
48
organic manures, constituents
of 50
various kinds, management of 53, 68
barn-yard manures ... 53-
important to preserve from
waste 54
long and short ... 55
decomposition of . . .53
liquid, how saved . . 56
applied to the muck-heap . 57
value of 58
analysis of urine . . .59
solid evacuations ... 59
poudrette, urate, night-soil . 60
urine, urea, treatment of night-
soil 61
excrementsof various animals 62
sea-weed, peat ... 63
manuring, with green crops . 04
clover, cow-pea, spurry, &c. 65—66
advantages of green manures . 67
fallow-system, the . . 68
LNDKX.
435
Page
Maple Hugar, we Supar.
Mnple tret'8 for nhmle . . . 210
Maria lor manuro, doflncil . . 38
how analysed .... 30
Brccn $iaiiii described . . 4>»
Marly soila defined .... 13
how treated .... 19
Meadows, preparation of . . 94
means of renovating . . 95
nianagernent of ... 00
Meadow grasses .... 85— 9:>
Median icfU deOned . . .18
Mica, conposition o£ . . . 40
useful as manure ... 40
Milk, see Dairy.
Millet, character and production of 134
cultivation of . . . .131
Mule, the 4(iU
breeding in the U. S. . . 401
rearing and management . 401
«dvanta;,'es over horse labor . 402
valuaMe qualities . . . 403
enduringitessof . . . 401
in California . . . 405
economy of mule labor . . 4'H>
Mustard, varieties and product of 215
value for feeding . . . 210
N.
Nectarine, cultivation
. 173
Night-soil, analysed
60
how treated and applied
. 61
Nitrate of I'otash— see Saltpetre.
Nitrate of soda analysed
. 43
for manure . . . .
43
Nitric acid, composition
. 53
how formed .
S3
Nitrogen, described
. 52
necessary for vegetables
52
O.
Oak trees, for shade .
aio
Oats, ashes analysed
. 32
cultivation
122
varieties of . . .
j>>-)
harvesting
124
uses and analysis .
. 123
Oat grass ....
e7— 93
Orchard and cock's-foot grass
86-93
Oxen— see Cattle.
Oxygen, its uses
. 51
Oleine, how obtained
418
P.
Parsnep, soil and cultivation . 153
harvesting and uses . . 153
ash of, analysed ... 32
Pastures, importance and manage-
ment of . . . .105
See Grasses,
Peas, soils, varieties, cultivation . 136
harvesting ... 137
ash of, analysed ... 32
cow-pea as a fertiliser . 66
cultivation and value of . .137
the ground pea— sec Pindars.
Peaches, where grown . . 172
soil, value and diseases . 172
varieties , ... 173
Pencock—ftce Poultry.
Pears, cultivation of
diseases in trees
gathering and preserving, vari
eties ....
Peat used for manure
Peaty soils defined
described
cultivation of . . .
Perspiration— sec Animals.
Photipliate of liuie for manure .
rho^|>horite, a species of above
Pindars, cultivation of
Planting defined
See various Bouthcrn crops.
Plaster of Paris — see Gypsum.
Piaster, old, useful for manure .
Plowing clay lauds
sandy soils, depth of .
cross-plowing
subsoil ....
See Various Crops.
Plows, various kinds of
shovel, described when and
how used
subsoils, useful to drained lands
Plums, cultivation of
diseases and varieties
Potato ash, analysed
its origin, varieties of
selection of seed
planting and cultivation
harvesting, storing, diseases
preventives of rot
arresting rot, uses
Potato, the sweet, soil, cultivation
varieties ...
Poudrette described .
Poultry
their value
Hens, constituent of eggs
food
general management
the poultry-house
general arrangements and rear-
ing
varieties, the Dorking, Poland
Dominique,Huck'scounty,Ban-
tam. Game cocks Creeper,
Rumpless, Frizzled, Merino
or silky, Negro, Java, Cochin
Cliina, Top-knots
diseases ....
gapes or pip, roup or catarrh
flux, costiveness, vermin
Turkey, The
breeding, rearing and manage-
ment ....
Peacock, The
Goose, The ....
varieties, breeding
feeding and food
DuckH
feeding, varieties
breeding and rearing
Power, horse ....
Prairie grasses described
management of sheep, on .
'age
Vk5
169
57, 63
42
42
14U
6
83
75
171
171
32
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
60
421—126
. 421
. 421
422
. 423
423
421
424
42.5
42.)
425
426
420
427
427
428
428
429
429
429
430
2.53
90
352
486
INDEX.
Page
170
a.
Quinces, cultivation of
R.
Raspberries, cultivation and var. 175
Red-top grass ... 88, 93
Rennet— see Dairy.
Respiration— see Animals.
Ribbon-grass .... 88
Rice, its importance . . 130
varieties and cultivation . 131
value of the crop . 13-2, 134
necessity of water for . . 133
Rollers, how and when used . Si
manner ol constructing . . 82
See various Soils and Crops.
Rotation on grass lands . . 97
of crops, when introduced • 221
its importance . . 222 — 227
in natural meadows . . 223
in forest trees . . . 223
system of ... , 226
Rye, ash of analysed ... 32
cultivation of . . . 118
peculiar aroma in . . .118
soil and cultivation . . 118
■ preparation of soil . . 119
sowing and cull ivation . 119
diseases in, for soiling . . 120
Rye-grasses, varieties of . . 87
value and description of . 93
S.
Sainfoin, ash analysed . . 32
description and value of . .93
cultivation of . . . 104
Salts, constituents of . . 42
as manure ... 42
Saltpetre analysed . . .43
for manure and steeps . 43
Sand useful to clay soils . . 15
Sandy loams defined . . 13
soils — see Soils,
their treatment improved by
the roller ... 17
Screw- grass described . . 89
Sea-weed for manure . . 63
Shade-trees — see Trees.
Sheep, Tlie . . • 317—361
uses of .... 317
importance of ... 318
varieties of wild . • • 319
domesticated . . • 320
native .... 321
The Merino . . . 323—336
history of . . . . 323
exportation from Spain . . 324
importation into the U. States 325
varieties .... 326
' The Saxon ... 328
the Rambouillet . . 329
history of Merino in U. States 331
improvements of . . 332
peculiarities of . . . 333
breeding . . . . 334
localities for rearing . . 336
The South-Down . . . 336
history of .... 337
TheChevoit . . . .335
353—361
354
355
355
Page
The Long Wools . . . a'JS
improvement of the Bakewell 338
improvement of Cotswold and
Lincolnshire . • • 310
peculiarities of the Long Wools 340
importation into the U. States 340
breeding sheep . • • 340
Winter management . • 343
sheep barns and sheds . 343
racks, mangers, and troughs . 344
food 344
management of ewes, yeaning 345
management of lambs . 346
castrating and docking . . 347
tagging or clotting . . 347
Summer management and food . 348
washing .... 349
shearing .... 350
smearing and salving . 350
weaning .... 351
drafting, stall feeding . . 352
management on the prairies . 352
Diseases
diarrhoea or scours .
looseness in lambs, dysentery
hoven, braxy, costiveness,
stretches ....
poison, inflammation of lungs,
rot, foot-rot ....
flies, maggots, gad-fly .
swollen mouth, foul noses,
weakness, scab
ticks, pelt-rot, staggers or sturdy 359
abortion, garzet, bleeding . 360
wounds, to protect from wolves
and foxes .... 361
Shepherd dogs .... 361
Sheds, see Buildings.
Shell-sand for manure ... 39
Shovil plows, how used . . 83
Silicate of potash and soda . . 45
Snakes destroy insects . . 234
Soda ash described . . . .34
Sodium described ... 42
Soils described . . . 11—30
origin and texture . • H
divisions of . . ^ • 11—15
description of varieties" . 11—15
how examined .... 13
ingredients necessary to them 14
clays, characteristics and man-
agement .... 15
gravelly, their management . 18
loamy, marly, calcareous, allu-
vial, peaty .... 19
effect of cultivation upon . 22
additional properties of . 23 — 28
attraction and capacity for vva
356
357
358
ter
24-26
various fertile, analyzed . . 27
much lime in fertile . • 23
changes in . . . .30
Soot as manure .... 48
Spading, advantages of . . .77
Spurry as a fertiliser ... 16
cultivation of . . . . 104
Steaming apparatus, advantages of 253
how constructed . . • 254
IND£Y.
437
Page
Stcariiie and olciiu', liow obtaiiioJ
and used . .418
Stra\vb*rrry, cultivation, varieties 175
Fulisoil plow, useful for «lraitied lands 73
Subiioilii nnd their iiianngcinent . 21
advaiiinjiesof plowinii . 21,80
Sulplmte of lime — see (Jypfium
Sulptinte of soda for manure . . 43
Sulphate of ma^neiia, potash . 43
Sugar cane, its product in the U. S. IIW
cultivation . . . . IWJ
harvestinj,' . . . .197
analysis and fattening proper-
ties of 1»8
varieties of cane . . . IW
cane coverer .... 199
Maple, its quality and protluction 199
rcKion where made . . . 200
process of making . 200—202
Sumach, varieties described . . 214
cultivation, harvesting, uses 214
Swine 410—420
where profitable . . . 410
various breeds . . . 411 — 413
breeding and rearing . . 413
rearing and fattening, large
weights .... 414
economy of early fattening . 415
treatment of food . . . 416
products of the carcass . . 417
laril oil, how made . . 417
stearinc and oleine . . . 418
curing pork and hams . . 418
Diseases .... 419—420
coughs and inflammation of the
lungs, costiveness, itch, kid-
ney-worm .... 419
blind staggers .... 420
Table of analysis of various soils 27
of ash of plants ... 32
of grasses, their characteristics
and value . . . 92—03
explanation of nutritive equi-
valents .... 157
nutritive qualities of food and
forage . . . 158—159
exhaustion of saline manures
by crops ....
loss by respiration, evacuations
perspiration in animals
principles contained in various
animal food
Tanks for holding liquid manure
how constructed and managed
Tares, cultivation and value of
Teasels, uses, cultivation of
Tillage husbandry defined
Timber, best time for cutting
preparation and preserving
Timothy-grass described .
cultivation and value . 8
Toads, their utility
Tobacco, where cultivated
soil and cultivation . . 202
priming, topping, harvesting . 203
quality, analysis, value of . 2«i4
Tools, farming, how made, &.c. $0, 245
222
264
271
56
56
139
215
5
244
. 215
86
86, 93
233
. 202
'•s
Tornillo or acrew-graM dcKribed
Trap-rocks, valuable soils 46
useful as manure . . 46
Trees for shade, their value 23^, 241, 243
their proper position . . 238
various kinds useil . S-W— 241
forest, how managed . 211—244
cutting, best time for . . 344
Tull's theory . . .2:1
Turneps, ashes of, analysed . 32
■oil and cultivation . . 14S
ruta-bagas, cultivation of . 149
enemies and treatment . . 119
harvesting and storing . 15U
feeding value, varieties of . 151
Turkies— see Poultry.
Tussac-grass described . . 90
U.
Under-draining— see Draing.
Urate described, its uses . . 60
Urea analysed . . . 61
Urine of various animals analysed 59
human, analysed . . 61
See Manures.
V.
Vegetable molds described . . 14
Vernal grass, sweet scented . &8, 92
Vetches — see Teires.
Vinegar, to make ... 168
VV.
Walnut tree, the black for shade 210
Water, suited to irrigation . . 70
its uses for ... . 71
rain, contains nutricious gases 74
for cattle yards . . . 25t
Weeds, destroying in grain . . 121
defined, how avoided . . 227
Weld, description and cultivation of 212
Wheat, ash of, analysed . . 33
cultivation of, winter and spring
how produced . . 107
analysis of, value of American 108
preparation of ground and ma-
nures for . . . .103
selection and preparation of seed 110
sowing and after culture . . Ill
enemies of wheat . . . ll'i
smut described and prevented 112
rust, how treated . . . 112
time of harvesting, threshing
stacking . • . .113
value of straw and chaff . 114
varieties of seed . . .114
production of new varieties 116
management of spring and va-
rieties , . . . 117
Willow, the weeping, for shade . 210
Woad, uses, soil and cultivation 210
gathering and preparation . 211
description and cultivation . 212
Wood-lands, how managed 241—214
profits of . . . . 2 12
lands that should remain wood 243
Woolen rags and waste as manure 62
Z.
Zebra, the 39y
i
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