One thousand one hundred and thirteen dollars (one in turnips last year, has ever cost $15 to imand thirty-seven cents, from which I leave the prove it, and that every acre has paid me from reader to make his own deduction for the year's $25 to $50 annually since the lime and manure expense of cultivation and marketing. This much were applied; always doubling or trebling the cost I affirm, that no acre of the above land, except the of improvement the first year.

This is my first improvement with bone manure; excellence of communications, and of the value of and it will be seen that it constitutes the heaviest their contents. It is only when some opinion thereitem of expense in the above table; equal, and in stated requires especially to be noticed, either even greater results might have been secured by

substituting manure made on the farm for the bone for explanation, recommendation, or dissent and manure. The labor, and all other expenses, I reprehension, that we deem it necessary and prohave set down at the highest rates and cash prices, per, and in no manner disrespectful to any other although performed by my own hands and teams of our contributors or readers, to offer comments so that in fact, the lime and plaster constitute the of our own. On this occasion we cannot refrain only absolute cash expenditure to which the farm

er is subjected in improving his land about here. from calling attention to the uncommon and valuI have made various applications of the bone able facts stated above-and still more to the cirmanure to grass and grain seeded last fall, and shall cumstances under which the improvements were continue them through spring. If I am spared to made; because these circumstances, even more see the results, they shall be communicated to you than the results, prove that hundreds of thousands

in due time.

Two hundred and fifty-two dollars and five of acres in Virginia, may be highly improved, and cents, the net proceed of one acre of land in a sin- with great profit, which have served merely as gle crop, in return for $23 75 laid out in manure. places of temporary sojourn for individuals or famThe cash expended was not sixty days out of pocket.ilies, until they had spent their estates, and taken It is proper here to remark, that owing to the unprecedented drought, turnips were very scarce the next movement, to the western wilderness. in market, and were consequently unusually high. We allude more especially to the country which From the same cause, however, my crop was not surrounds each of our towns, and is near enough to half of an average one in quantity. I have made supply their markets. Commodore Jones' farm in a very good season 600 bushels per acre, and 450 might be considered an average crop; which, is so far removed from one of these, that few indiat 374 cents per bushel, a fair average price, form viduals so situated would have thought of using it data by which the turnip crop in this vicinity as a vegetable market; and still fewer as a source may be correctly estimated. of supply for manures as heavy as lime. Yet who, among the most sanguine, could have hoped for more improvement of soil? Or who, among the most avaricious, could have required more clear [It is seldom our usage to accompany the com-profit in farming, than he has achieved? If the posimunications of correspondents with a commentary tion of our correspondent should be even considered of encomium; and never merely for the purpose as on the utmost verge of the territory improveable of paying personal compliments to the writers. by vicinity to towns, still the circle around each However well deserved such praises may be, and would be 18 miles in diameter, and the whole much as our feelings may urge the expression of space so improved would yield net agricultural approbation of such articles, and of thanks for the profits surpassing those now derived from oneservice to our publication thereby conveyed, still, third of the state. Besides, in each of these cir. for several and obvious reasons, we have deemed cles, half the proprietors would have means and it best, and have throughout so acted, to leave our facilities far better than those of our correspondent, readers to judge for themselves of the degree at either in closer vicinity to the market for sale of

THOS. AP C. JONES. Sharon, near Prospect Hill, Fairfax Co. Va. Feb. 12th, 1839.

It would be one of the greatest of blessings to Virginia if her other own native-born sons would generally do as this one has done; but if not, it would be the next in value if some hundreds of the more industrious, prudent, and economical Yankees would come and colonize the agricultural wastes which are to be found within a few miles of each of our towns, and profit fully by the resources which the present proprietors neglect, and suffer to be totally lost.-ED. F. R.]

From the Franklin Farmer.

products, and the source of supply of putrescent | manures-of water carriage-or of beds of marl, on the spot, which would save the most costly, and yet the most profitable expenditure which he has incurred, for the purchase of lime. Yet these parts of our country surrounding the towns, so susceptible of profitable improvement, are, with a few rare exceptions in particular farms, among the poorest in the state. Especially around this one, Petersburg, and even within the distance of the farm of our correspondent from his market, there are lands having ten-fold advantages for improvement, and which would now sell for $6 the acre, and which bring no real profit to the present EXPERIMENTS OF GEN. JAS. GARRARD WITH cultivators even at that price of purchase, or valuation of capital. Yet there is marl either on, or not distant from these lands, and the richest of putrescent manures in the town, which may be bought for 25 cents per load of 20 bushels; and of which nine-tenths rot in the town, and serve only to poison its air, because the neighboring farmers will not move them away at that low price, or even if given to them. There might be secured, within six miles of this town, independent fortunes for one hundred improvers like our correspondent, on tracts of land which now yield little or nothing to their cultivators.

VARIOUS GRASSES.

To the Editor of the Franklin Farmer:

Sir-Upon the subject of grass, I have found no such essay or notes as you suggest, was left by my farther; he may have left such essay or notes, and should I in future find any, you shall have the full benefit of the same. As to my being able to treat the subject with that justice which its importance demands, I feel myself quite incompetent to the task; and not knowing the manner or design of the committee, I am unable to communicate what little knowledge I have upon the subject, so as to be of much use to them. Some of my father's experiments with grass, were made before I was of an age to notice or feel any inteBut to all this the answer is ready, from every rest upon the subject. He tried several varieties one who is thus neglectful of the means proposed: of grasses, among which were timothy, blue grass, "If all within six miles of Petersburg, or even of clover, (three varieties,) orchard grass, red-top, meadow-oat and rye-grass, the last of which grew the more populous town of Richmond, were to only from spring until winter and was killed by pursue this course, the markets would be soon the frost, from which I conclude it could be of but glutted with supplies from the land; and the now little use in this country although held in high esplentiful and cheap sources of manure would be timation among the farmers of England, from `used up, without supplying half the demand." Red-top is suited only to low, wet, marshy land, whom he procured the seed when on a visit there. So it might be, if all were at once to adopt the and having but a small portion of such on his same course of reform and improvement. But farm, he made but a partial trial as to its qualities. no such fortunate and general and simultaneous It yields very abundantly and is a good hay when change is to be expected, or hoped for; and for any lands it will not do so well as low, wet marshy put upon land that suits its growth. Upon high number who will take the course recommended, lands-this, I think, from the trials I have myself there is no danger of their wanting either the pro- seen made in Kentucky and Ohio. Meadow-oat per supply of manure, or the demand failing for he tried and thought well of as a grass to make their products. And if, in the earliest possible hay; the greatest objection was to the time when it needed cutting, which was when the corn-crop time, every farmer within ten miles of Washing-needed undivided attention. It has the advanton, Richmond, Fredericksburg, Petersburg, and Norfolk, should improve his land and increase his products as much and as rapidly as Com. Jones has done, there can be but little question that their markets, both for sales and purchases, would grow as fast as their own improvements. The very poverty and unproductiveness of the adjacent country, and the consequent scarcity and high price of supplies to the markets, is one cause that retards the growth of the towns; and even though a better supply of the markets might reduce prices somewhat, yet by making the demand larger and always certain, the suppliers would, on the whole, be better rewarded than now.

tage of being cut the second time of good seasons, with a good yield, and answers very well to be mixed with red clover-both ripening at the cellent food for cattle and horses. Red clover he same time, and being well saved, makes an extried as a hay grass; he admired the hay, but owing to the difficulty of saving, together with the disadvantageous time of saving, he abandoned is well known, and is interior to the red, for the the use of it for that purpose. The white clover various uses of that grass. The scarlet was a variety which he procured in France, while on a visit to that country; it was the prettiest grass I ever saw, but the winter killed it as it did the ryegrass. Orchard-grass he did not like for a meadow-grass for several reasons; it was equally objectionable with the meadow-oat and clover, as

pulled up by the roots by the stock in grazing. The last is the cause of the general failure in putting our hill-lands in grass, as a remedy for which, I would suggest two means-1st, Sow your grass as soon as you save the seed, say in July or August; at that time the leaves of the former year are sufficiently rotted for the seed to germinate and grow; the trees likewise furnish shelter for the seed, and by fall, your grass has begun to take root, and then the falling of the leaves furnishes a protection to the young grass during the winter, and enables the grass to take root sufficient to keep the stock from pulling up the sods in grazing. All stock should be kept off until your grass seed is ripe, and then turn on as much as the grass will support for two or three weeks, which is as long as it should be grazed the first season, or at any rate until late in the fall. We generally sow some timothy and clover seed the spring following the sowing of the blue-grass, but I think the fall would be best for sowing the timothy, for the same reason advanced in relation to the blue grass.

Let those who doubt the philosophy of the above remarks relative to sowing grass, try it for themselves. Should you, or the committee, be able to glean any thing from the above remarks, that they or you may think, could be of any benefit to the country, I shall feel myself amply paid for the little trouble it may have put me to, in the reflection that I have thus been instrumental in communicating such information.

I remain, your ob't, serv't.,

CHAS. T. GARRARD. Bourbon County, Ky., Jan. 15, 1839.

to the time of cutting-it grows too much in detached sods and does not sod completely the ground -the hay is too coarse and rough-cattle and horses are not as fond of it as clover or timothy; but for a pasture grass he admired it particularly when sown with other grass. It is much earlier than blue grass, timothy or clover, and affords grazing at a season when it is most needed, and upon the whole he thought it a valuable grass. Timothy he preferred as a meadow-grass to either of the others which he tried. He tried sowing at two different seasons, and on different kinds of land. He objected to spring sowing on two accounts; one was the difficulty of getting the ground in a suitable order to receive the seed; and another was, if any weeds were in the ground, they grew up faster than the grass and injured the meadow. He preferred old land for meadow, it being less liable to have weeds, and the grass not so liable to fall; and from the different trials he made, was of the opinion that one season with another yielded a better crop, and furthermore, you were improving land that most needed it. He also tried fall sowing in different ways, with and without grain, with grain, (usually wheat,) he first prepared the ground very nicely by ploughing and harrowing, and, sowing the grain and leaving the ground as level as possible, sowed the timothy seed and did nothing more. The objections to this mode of making meadows are two-fold-1st, It is one season before you get any benefit of the grass, and another is, the timothy goes to seed before the wheat is cut and the heads of the grass are cut off in cutting the wheat which usually causes your grass to be too thin; likewise the stubble is very much in the way in mowing the next year. He preferred preparing the ground well in the month of Sep- THE ADVANTAGE OF STEAMING FOOD tember and sowing the seed and then rolling the ground, which broke all the clods and leveled the ground, which is an advantage in mowing. He preferred sowing it much thicker than is common King William, February 1839. among farmers. A gallon to the acre is what is I have been using the root-steamer described in generally used; a peck is nearer what should be the Cultivator, of January 1838, for the last 12 used. By sowing in the fall, and sowing thick, months, and am sa much pleased with it, that I you at once sod your land and are enabled to derive cannot refrain from adding my testimony in its full benefit from it the next season, and in addition, favor, and recommending it to my brother farmers. it keeps the weeds from growing up in your mea- Mine was made by directions given in the Cultidow; whereas the usual idea is, sow thin and let vator and has fully answered my expectations. your grass-seed get ripe before cutting, in order My method of using it this winter, when, from to set your meadow more effectually; by so doing, the dry summer and fall, we had so few vegetaall the vacant spots of ground most certainly bles, has been as follows. When fattening my grow up in weeds, thereby injuring your grass, hogs, all the corn they consumed was steamed and finally your meadow. The primary object of until it became perfectly soft upon the ear, which, grass in this country is for grazing purposes; for of course, saved the trouble of shelling and the this purpose we wish to put two kinds of land in toll of grinding. Upon this food almost exclusivegrass-our new or wood-land, and our old worn out ly, with the addition of a few vegetables which lands. Our old lands we usually sowed in wheat we could spare from the garden, steamed with or rye, and then in March, when the ground is the corn, I fattened my hogs, and never had as fat thrown up by the frost, we sowed a mixture of hogs before, or as cheap pork. The corn, in timothy, blue grass and clover, and of late mix-steaming, increases nearly double in quantity, and ed some orchard-grass, which is, I think, very I think a saving of at least one-third may be caladvantageous. In this way the grain protects the culated on. After my hogs were killed, we begrass from the heat of the sun, and by the time gan to steam for beeves, milch-cows, hogs, and you wish to turn upon your stubble, you reap horses. My plan is to put a sufficient quantity of the benefit of the stubble, and at the same shattered corn for my hogs in the bottom of the time knock the seed off your grass and more ef- boiler, then ears of corn for my horses, short corn, fectually set your ground. Some difficulty is ex-cotton seed, vegetables, &c., for my cows and perienced by Kentucky farmers in getting their Wood-lands set in grass, and it arises from two eauses the time of sowing, and the grass being

STOCK. CULTIVATION OF CORN.

To the Editor of the Farmers' Register.

FOR

beeves, and then fill up with shucks, or any other coarse provender for the oxen. The shucks, from steaming, become very soft, and are greedily

From the Maine Farmer.

BREED OF SWINE.

Messrs. Editors :-I have been for many years engaged in raising hogs and making pork, and

eaten by cows and steers. The shattered corn, | framed together in a square, braced in the corners, together with the liquor in the bottom of the boil- and has teeth only on the circumference; they run er, I have found excellent food for sows with young deeper, and consequently pulverize the land better pigs. I would recommend the use of steamed- than those having teeth in the middle, or in every corn for horses as the most economical mode of cross bar. EDWARD HILL. preparing it, I have tried it particularly for old horses, and have no doubt from an experiment I have made in fattening a very poor horse, that it is equal to any food for that purpose. The trouble of shelling and sending to mill, as also the toll for grinding, is saved on this also, while the quantity of food is increased by the cobs which are all eaten by the horse. I believe a saving of one-am fully convinced that much of the profit of that third or one-half may be made in feeding horses on steamed-corn, as well as hogs. Some farmers will say this steaming is too troublesome; but I can assure all such, they will be amply paid for all trouble and the small expense attending it. The consumption of wood is very inconsiderable; and with the attention of a small boy, I am enabled to save one-third of my provender, increase my milk and butter, and keep my horses, oxen and hogs, in good order. We use the boiler or steamer also to heat water to kill hogs, and other purposes; mine holds about 35 gallons.

After seeing your remarks upon the Chinese corn humbug, I took the trouble to count the grains upon one stalk of my Maryland twin-corn. The product was 3500 grains from one; 1400 more than the Chinese, if I recollect it aright. I would be glad if I had an opportunity to send the stalk to Mr. Thorburn, of New York. I am still pleased with this variety of corn, and shall plant no other this year.

business depends on the breed. "The old fashioned, thin, long legged, long nosed, gaunt bodied" kind, are hardly worth keeping. They are continually uneasy and squealing, feed them as much as you will. This kind, however, is fast disappearing and their place being supplied by those that are better; among which the Bedford will take the first rank. This breed was introduced into Massachusetts, several years ago, and Oliver Fiske, of Worcester, who has much experience in the business of raising pork, says "experience has proved to my satisfaction that the Bedford breed is far the best that has been introduced into our country. They are quiet in their nature, fat easily, and with little expense or trouble. İ have had them at 12 months old weigh 340 lbs. and a considerable number at 18 months old 400 lbs."

Levi Lincoln, late Governor of Massachusetts and President of Worcester Co. Ag. Society, has given his opinion of this breed of hogs, in the following language:

"I have great pleasure in voluntarily offering myself as your compurgator in the representations with which you have recently favored the public, of the Bedford breed of swine. The care and perseverence which have marked your attention to the prospects and value of these animals, and the success which has followed your exertions to introduce them to the favor of practical farmers, require, at least, an acknowledgement of obligation from all those who have been particularly benefited by your liberality, and from no one more than from myself. This breed of swine has taken the place of a long legged, long nosed, flat sided, thriftless race, called by some the Irish breed, by others the Russian, which would barely pay by their weight for ordinary keeping, and never for one half the expense of fattening, if, indeed, grain would make them fat.

My present method of cultivating corn, is the following: The 11 feet old wheat beds are broken up in the fall by reversing them with a double plough, well harrowed, and sometimes re-ploughed in the spring. With a small plough we run one furrow on each side of this bed, say two and a half feet from the centre, so as to have the two rows upon the double bed five feet apart, and allow six feet in which to have the water furrow. In these furrows the corn is dropped, say 18 inches on rich or manured land, and two feet on the poorest parts, and cover with a double-horse harrow. The cultivators are immediately started and continued until the corn is large enough to thin, when we run the same double-horse harrow with the front and hind tooth taken out immediately upon the corn. I believe this to be more beneficial than any other working given the crop, it breaking and pulverizing the hard ridge of land between the hills effectually, which no other im- "I had three pigs butchered from the same litplement could do by horse-power. The hands fol- ter, precisely seven and a half months old. Their low immediately and thin, which is very easily weights, when dressed, were 230, 235, and 238 done, and set up the stalks which may be mashed lbs. One sold in Boston for 64 cts. per lb.; the down. Then cultivators again until just before others were put up here for the family use. The harvest, when the dirt is thrown to the corn with expense of keeping and fattening these pigs, I am small ploughs. Some of the advantages of this satisfied, was less than with any other breed I system are these: It is easier to reverse eleven ever raised, and the proportion of bone and offal feet beds than to list upon them, as you always to the valuable parts, was surprisingly small. I have a furrow ready to receive the land. The have fifteen more on my farm, part designed for corn-rows are uniformly high, whereas, when list-the market in the spring, and part to be kept over ed, you have a high and a low bed alternately as store swine, and their appearance will furnish through the field. The harrow works much bet- ocular satisfaction of the propriety of all which ter on 11 feet than on a 5 feet bed. We save all has been said in favor of the breed." hoe-work, I did not hand-hoe a single row last year, and made something like 60 barrels to the hand, on land of medium quality. The harrow we use is very simple, consisting of four pieces

A pair of these pigs was first sent to this county by the duke of Bedford as a present to General Washington, by a farmer by the name of Parkinson, who resided near Baltimore. Instead of

From the London Gardeners' Magazine.

delivering them to the General, he sold them. The first that came into Massachusetts were sent WEEDS AS MANURE, AND VARIOUS REMARKS. by Gen. Ridgly of Pennsylvania, to Col. Pickering of Salem, who has taken great pains to preserve the breed pure, and introduce them among the farmers of that state. Mr. John Reed of Roxbury, obtained them from Col. Pickering, and Mr. Fiske of Worcester, had them from Mr. Reed. In 1835 Mr. Sandford Howard, who then lived in Hallowell, purchased a sow and I purchased a boar from Mr. Rowland Howard of Easton, Mass. who had them from Oliver Fisk. All the hands through which they passed, from their first introduction into this country until they were brought to this town, are careful breeders of pure stock, and much pains has been taken to preserve this breed pure, and avoid breeding in-and-in. That is, propogating offspring among the same litter. No reasonable doubt can therefore exist but that the breed was introduced into this state in its purity.

Since I have had them, I have found them to fully sustain the reputation given to them by the breeders in Massachusetts. They are very small boned, in proportion to the size. Quiet, easily fatted, do much better on raw food than any other kind, and obtain a good size at an early age.

he says,

Sir,-From reading the review of Cruikshank's Practical Planter in your vol. p. 448, I am led to make a few straggling observations. The system I advocate is equally applicable to horticulture as to agriculture. Cruikshank says, as quoted by the review, (p. 453,) "It n.ay seem a very paradoxical fact, but it is nevertheless true, that wood, instead of impoverishing the ground on which it is produced, nourishes it." (To be sure it does.) "There is very little of our waste land, that if trenched or ploughed will carry even a moderate crop of grain, unless it receive a considerable quantity of manure. After bearing timber, however, the contrary is found to be true." So the old vague, unphilosophical, unmeaning, foolish theory of rest is demolished at last, or rather explained. His subsequent reasoning is bad. Farther on, (p. 454,) "That the soil should be enriched by the production of wood, when the experience of ages has proved that it is always exhausted by other crops, will seem to them a paradox of the most extravagant kind." By this statement it does. But other crops are carried off annually by man or beast, root and branch. This I shall explain. I have crossed the pure Bedford with the Cruikshank's theory is not confined to wood; it Bedford and half Macky, making the progeny includes all vegetation. This is a truth as palpaBedford and Macky, but found very little ad-ble to every one, when pointed out, as the rotunvantage from the crossing. One of these pigs dity of this globe, or the simple act of Columbus' I wintered last winter on 8 lbs. of raw mangel making the egg stand on end; yet it is no less lawurtzels per day, and she kept in good condition, mented than true, that notwithstanding all the and brought a litter of 10 pigs in April, a few splendid talent which has been exhibited, from weeks previous to which, I fed her on the slops Tull to the present day, this very obvious fact from the house. Nine of the pigs lived, and made should not have been long ago adopted as a fixed fine hogs. During the summer she lived princi- and leading principle in all agricultural and hortipally on grass with a few raw potatoes, and in Octo-cultural operations. It stares us in the face in the ber she had another litter of 13 pigs, four of which, forests and prairies of this country, the pampas of however, owing to an accident, died. She was Buenos Ayres, the dirty summer fallows of Engthen kept on boiled pumpkins, oats and peas, and land, and every where and in every thing. The barley-meal. Since then, she has lived entirely on principle of a clean naked fallow (fortunately a rare raw ruta baga and mangel wurtzels, at the rate of occurrence,) is utter annihilation. Had farmers and about 12 pounds per day with an opportunity to gardeners been able to eradicate weeds as they are burrow on the manure heap, and is now in good called, the soil would have been a caput mortuum I killed one of the pigs which was Bedford long ago. But weeds-like the principles of liberand Mackay, when nine months old, that weigh-rise again in due time, not to injure, but to fertalty-destroy, hack, hew, and persecute as we may, ed 302 pounds. He was fed on the slops from the ize and benefit. We must follow nature; all other house, during the summer, and the last two months guides are fatal ignes fatui. "He that made the was fed on meal and corn. When I first com-earth gave it laws that 'tis not good to break." menced feeding him on meal he ate about two After much steady observation, thought and pracquarts per day, but after 5 or 6 weeks he would tice, for some years past, I am perfectly convincnot eat more than one quart. He gave the most ed that all applications, no matter how large, of meat in proportion to the bones, of any hog I ever animal manures, animal substances, and minerals, killed, and I think was the cheapest raised. Others who keep this breed have made the same state-plies of vegetables and their roots; and I am not are comparatively nugatory, without profuse supment. There was one of the pure Bedford breed killed in the neighborhood 14 months old, that weighed 385 and another 18 months old, that weighed 420 lbs. neither of which had any extra keeping.

condition.

Between the 20th of March and last of May, I shall have 14 litters of pigs, two of which will be the pure Bedford, and two will be Bedford and Mackay, with which I can supply any persons who may be in want.

Any persons who are desirous of examining this breed of hogs can do so by calling at my farm, about 2 miles from Hallowell Vilage. J. WINGATE HAINES.

Hallowell, Feb. 13, 1839.

flour, Indian corn-meal, &c. would not be the most sure that an occasional liberal dressing of wheat profitable manure of all. Lions and tigers prey on flesh; and the vegetable monarchs of our forests in due time, return again to the soil, to produce inattain their highest majesty on vegetable food, and creased fertility. This is very obvious on the banks of the Ohio and Mississippi; and vast masses too, of drift wood are carried into the ocean every flood. Does all this timber grow and die to no purpose? What is the man's religion who says it does?

The second extract from Cruikshanks is by no means a correct statement. If wood-lands were kept clean, and all the leaves and dead branches car