"Bean-porridge hot, bean-porridge cold, used in the family of five, and we have used them twelve hours in tepid soft water; then boil slowly freely, all we wanted, till time to gather the win- from three to six hours in the same water, with ter apples. plenty more added from time to time with great I have a yard in front of my house about forty care to prevent burning. Do not salt while cookfeet square, in front of which are two of the ing as that, or hard water will harden the corn. balm of Gilead trees before mentioned, which are So it will peas or beins, green or dry, and rice now large trees, and I have left them outside of also. When done, add butter and salt; or a bet the front fence; but inside of the fence I set out ter way is to let each season to suit their taste. about ten years ago, three pear trees of the com- It may be eaten with meat in lieu of vegetables, mon summer pear, which now give us all the or with sugar or syrup. It is good hot or cold, pears we want, for they have borne well for about and the more frequently it is warmed over, like four years. From the pear trees to the house, I the old-fashioned pot of filled the space with flower-beds, and have had many varieties, say twenty kinds of roses, and nearly one hundred kinds of flowers; I have planted on the south side of my buildings, next So is hominy-it is good always, and wholeto the passage to the barn, plums, peaches and some, and, like tomatoes, only requires to be eaten grapes. The peaches have not succeeded well, once or twice to fix the taste in its favor:- Journor the plums, so I cut the plum trees off and nal of Health. grafted them with the green and purple gage, only three or four years ago, and now I have plenty of the finest plums I ever saw, so that I have had to prop the small branches. My grapes began to Small birds chase each other about in play, bear last year; I had about a bushel, and I should but perhaps the conduct of the crane and the think I might get double the quantity this year. trumpeter (Posphia crepitans) is the most extraI have set out some quinces but they do not bear ordinary. The latter stands on one leg, hops yet. about in the most eccentric manner, and throws Beside the trees and grape vines, I have annu- somersets. The Americans call it the mad bird, ally raised about ten or fifteen bushels of potatoes, on account of these singularities. The crane exsix or seven bushels beets and carrots, some En-pands its wings, runs round in circles, leaps, and glish turnips and ruta-bagas, and a few cabbages throwing little stones and pieces of wood in the and onions, as many as our folks wanted to use. air, endeavors to catch them again, or pretend to We have also had beans, peas and corn, what we avoid them, as if afraid. Water-birds, such as wanted to use green, and I have annually had ducks and geese, dive after each other, and about three or four bushels of dry corn, say two cleave the surface of the water with outstretched bushels common yellow corn, one bushel of pop neck and flapping wings, throwing an abundant corn and sweet corn enough to plant myself and spray around. PLAYFULNESS OF ANIMALS. supply all my neighbors. Also, I have annually Deer often engage in a sham battle or a trial raised cucumbers, water and muskmelons, summer of strength, by twisting their horns together and and winter squashes, one or two hundred pounds pushing for the mastery. All animals that preof each eight hundred or one thousand pounds tend violence in their play stop short of exercising pumpkins. All this has been raised on less than it; the dog takes the greatest precaution not to half an acre of ground, including buildings and injure by his bite; and the ourang outang, in drive-way, and I have had more vegetables for wrestling with his keeper, attempts to throw him years in my family, than some men that cultivate and makes feints of biting him. Some animals one hundred acres, and all on poor, gravelly New carry out in their play the semblence of catching Hampshire land, without any help but my girls in their prey; young cats, for instance, leap after the flower department. And as Goldsmith says, every small and moving object, even to the leaves "we make every rood of ground support its man.' "strewed by the autumn wind; they crouch and Fitzwilliam, August, 1854. HOMINY. D. 8. steal forward ready for the spring; the body quivering and the tail vibrating with emotion, they bound on the moving leaf, and again spring forward at another. Rengger saw young jaguar and cugars playing with round substances like kittens. In point of economy, as human food one bushel of beans or hominy is equal to ten of potatoes. Hominy, too, is a dish almost as universally liked Young lambs collect together on the little hilas potatoes, and at the South about as freely eat- locks and eminences in the pastures, racing and en, while at the North it is seldom seen. In fact, sporting with each other in the most interesting it is an unknown food except to a few persons in manner. cities. By hominy. we do not mean a sort of Birds of the Pie kind are the analogues of coarse meal, but grains of white corn, from which monkeys, full of mischief, play and mimicry. the hull and chit or eye has been removed, by There is a story told of a tame magpie which was moistening and pounding in a wooden mortar, seen busily employed in a garden gathering pebleaving the grains almost whole, and composed of bles, and with much solemnity and a studied air little else but starch. It has been said that not dropping them in a hole about eighteen inches one cook in ten knows how to boil a potato. We deep made to receive a post. After dropping may add another cipher when speaking of the very each stone, it cried currack! triumphantly, and simple process of cooking hominy. We give the set off for another. On examining the spot, a formula from our own experience and instructions poor toad was found in the hole, which the magreceived in a land where "hog and hominy" are well pie was stoning for his amusement. understood. Wash slightly in cold water, and soak SOUTH DOWN SHEEP. way into the finer cloths-it now has become a The South Down sheep, according to one of the combing wool. It is valuable in carpets, flannels, best judges as well as extensive breeders of them, and worsted goods of every description. It has Mr. Ellman, should have the head small and horn-changed its character. It is more extensively useless, the face speckeled or grey, the under jaw ful; and, considering the increased weight of the fine and thin, and the whole space between the fleece, and that of the carcass, and, more especialears well fortified with wool; the eye full and ly the early maturity of the animal, the South bright; the neck thin towards the head, but en-down sheep is progressively and decidedly improvlarging towards the shoulders, and then broad and ing. These sheep have been bred for ages past on the high; the chest wide, deep, and projecting between the fore legs; the shoulders level with the chalky soil of South Downs, in Sussex, England, back, bowing outwards from the top to the breast, and on such short pasture, and in such exposed leaving room for a springing rib beneath; the rib situations, they are perhaps the most valuable coming out horizontally from the spine, and the breed in the kingdom; but they are spreading last projecting from the rest; the back flat from fast, not only into similar districts, but into counthe shoulders to the tail; the loin broad and flat; tries better calculated for long-wooled and larger the hips wide; the belly as straight as the back; sheep. TOMATO FIGS. the legs neither too long nor too short, fine without weakness, and of a speckled or dark color; the We have seen and tasted those delightful figs belly well defended with wool; the wool coming referred to in the following article from Hovey's down before and behind to the knee; and short, excellent Horticultural Magazine; and endorse all close, curled, fine, and free from spiry projecting which he says in their favor. We hope that those fibres; the flesh fine grained and of excellent fla- who raise abundance of tomatoes will save this Fat weathers used to average about eighteen recipe, and try the experiment, if only on a small pounds per quarter; but this has been considera-scale. bly increased by late attempts to improve the size of the carcass. vor. Recipe for Tomato Figs.-Pour boiling water over the tomatoes, in order to remove the skin; Three sheep were exhibited at the Smithfield then weigh them and place them in a stone jar, with as much sugar as you have tomatoes, and let them Cattle Show England, in 1835, the largest of which stand two days; then pour off the syrup, and boil weighed 294 pounds, and the smallest 283 pounds. and skim it until no scum rises. Then pour it over With the increased weight of carcass, the wool the tomatoes, and let them stand two days as behas also increased in weight and length of fibre. fore; then boil and skim again. After the third It rarely used to be more than two inches in time they are fit to dry if the weather is good; if not, let them stand in the syrup until drying length-it may now be averaged at three inches weather. Then place on large earthen plates or and a half. It used to be employed in the coarse dishes, and put them in the sun to dry, which will cloths, and perhaps a small portion of it found its take about a week, after which pack them down in small wooden boxes, with fine white sugar between every layer. Tomatoes prepared in this manner will keep for years. A few apples cut up and boiled in the remainder of this syrup make a very nice sauce.-Mrs. Eliza Marsh. EXTRACTS AND REPLIES. LEACHED ASHES-WHEAT. MR. EDITOR-As you are liberal in answering the inquiries of the inexperienced, I should be very glad to be told through the columns of your It is only necessary for us to add, that the Com-land Farmer, whether leached ashes can be used truly interesting and useful paper, the New Engmittee of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society with profit as a top-dressing on grass lands; if so, awarded Mrs. Marsh the Society's Silver Medal when and how they be applied? I should be for excellent specimens exhibited November 29.- pleased, and I presume many of your readers They were tested by the Committee, and pronounc- would be pleased, to hear from your field of "Blue ed to be superlor to any they had ever seen. They Stem Wheat as handsome as ever stood on the were put up in small boxes, and to our taste were ground," and a little instruction on the subject of far better than two-thirds of what are sold in our raising wheat would be gratefully received, as I market for the best Smyrna figs.-Ed. Horticul- should like to sow a little this fall. tural Magazine. For the New England Farmer. SONG OF THE FARMER. BY THE "PEASANT BARD." Give to the lord his palace grand, And halls of splendid pride; A fig for all his dignities, And all his pomp beside! Give me the FARMER's peaceful home, Where Nature's warblers wake the song, The citizen may love the town, The brilliant pageanty of Art May please the eye, I know; But NATURE's charms delight the heart, What though the bronze is on our cheek, With honest pride we stand erect, For "patriot TRUTH," that spirit bright, Then here's to him who tills the soil, The true, the strong, the brave! Raynham, Aug., 1854. INQUIRER. REMARKS.-Leached ashes are excellent as a top dressing for grass lands. Apply them in the fall, if convenient, if not, at any other time. The field of Winter Blue Stem wheat alluded to will turn out about twenty bushels to the acre; the drought affected it materially. The day on which it ought to have been cut was the 25th of July, and on that day it rained and continued sultry for nearly a week, during which time the straw rusted a little, and the kernel undoubtedly received no benefit from it after that took place. We have given in several recent numbers of the Farmer all that seems necessary to be said at present upon the cultivation of the wheat crop. MR. BROWN:-Last season I noticed that some of the buds I had set commenced growing. As an experiment (with me) I tied down the buds that had started by passing some matting around the stock and directly over the growing buds. This stopped their growth. This spring they started equally as well as those that did not start prematurely. This season (rather early) I inserted six buds of the Queen of the Prairie Rose into one stock of another rose; they all commenced to grow. I tied down five of the buds, as above; these from pressure remain dormant, while the one not tied, has grown some six or seven inches. Windsor, Vt. E. W. SMITH. HOW TO GET RID OF RATS.-Prof. Dascom, of Oberlin, in a letter to the Ohio Farmer, says: "Would it not be well to call the attention of your readers to the ease and certainty with which they may be relieved from the annoyance of the large brown rat. This impudent intruder often visits my laboratory and other premises. As they come singly, I take off' each, the night after I discover signs of his presence, in this wise: I take of Kentucky oats, plucked green, and "many such Enclosed I send you a head from my field half a tea spoonful of dry flour or Indian meal on might have been seen. On it I find 160 pods of KENTUCKY OATS. a plate or piece of board, and sprinkle over it the kernels nearly all of which contain two perfect fraction of a grain of strichnine. This is set in a kernels. The head measures 16 inches, conseconvenient place, and I invariably find the cul- quently when fully ripe would have contained not prit near the spot dead in the morning. The pe- less than 240 perfect seeds of its own kind. I have culiar advantage of this poison is, it produces seen ten heads from one seed, the smallest of which muscular spasms, which prevent the animal from contained 56 pods and the largest 189. The others reaching his hole to die and decompose. It is need-ranged between these two extremes. In extra less to add that such a violent poison should be seasons I have weighed them at 494 lbs. per bushel used with care." -average, say, about 43 lbs. I have this year on in 3 or 4 inches deep, or even a little more, imhand for seed, about 400 bushels, which I shall be mediately before sowing the wheat. Sow early ready to distribute among farmers in a few weeks, in September. But you must look well to the as soon as they can be thrashed. They grow on all sides of the stem, in the same kinds of soil, drainage, and see that there are no hollows where and yield per No. bhls., about the same as com- surface water will collect and freeze. Indeed, the GEO. F. NUTTING. land should be underdrained, if at all springy. If you take this course, please give us the result. mon oats. Randolph, Vt., 1854. TO PREVENT FOWLS FROM SCRATCHING. CHIP DIRT. A simple, cheap, and effective method of pre- I wish to inquire how chip dirt will do to put venting fowls from scratching in the garden or into the pig pen with meadow muck, for the pigs field. Take strips of sheep or calf skin, soft and to work over? The chip dirt has been accumulatpliable, cut a slot in each end and noose it around ing for two or three years, is composed chiefly of their ancles, so that the step may be about 4 inches rotten pine, and is pretty well pulverized. My long and no more. As all fowls necessarily spread land is clay loam; I generally dung my corn in their feet to the utmost when they scratch for the hill, as the ground is new, and I can get betseed or insects, it will be seen at once that these ter crops by so doing. operations must be effectually curtailed. Those West Danville, Aug., 1854. G. D. 8. REMARKS. The fine portions of the chip dirt coarser parts make a good mulch for young trees. are many who have not such contrivances, and to may be used to advantage in the pig pen. The them I would reccommend its trial. While it prevents the injury they can do, it also permits them to roam for their food, &c., without the cost of feeding, &c. After suffering several dollars damage the present season, this plan came to my mind and I cheerfully recommend it to others. MANURE FOR WHEAT. G. F. N. IS FARMING PROFITABLE? We often hear the affirmative of this decided, and by persons, too, whose opinions are entitled to credit. We do not prefer to discuss this subject, but to give practical illustration of it, and let our readers make the application. MR. EDITOR:-A few weeks since one of your agents persuaded me, somewhat against my own Deacon Brooks Shattuck, of Bedford, bought judgment, to become a subscriber for the "New and moved upon his farm eleven years since. It England Farmer." Against my judgment I say, was a rough farm, for which he paid $2300. not because I had any doubts with regard to the He was a manufacturer, and had shattered his value of your excellent paper, but I felt that I health in a mill at Lowell. He paid in cash $900, had already as much capital invested in newspa- leaving a debt to be paid from the farm of $1400. pers as I could well afford. But I have not for a During that eleven years he has supported a large moment regretted that I concluded to take it, and family, educated his children, having one son in I hope I shall never be deprived of its welcome college: has contributed liberally to the charities weekly visits while I am engaged in agricultural of the day; has been a liberal supporter and patron pursuits. (a.) of Agricultural Societies, spending time and money My object in this communication is to ask of freely, to further these objects; in a word, he has yourself or some of your correspondents a word of been an active, and industrious, book farmer. advice that I have not yet been able satisfactorily Now mark the result. He has sold from his farm to glean from any papers that I have yet seen. $100 of land and $300 worth of wood, timber, &c., I have a piece of land that geologists would call a standing upon the same, which may not be reckclayey loam, situated where it cannot convenient- oned as the result of agricultural labor. He has ly be manured in the ordinary way. I have plowed paid the $1400, and a few weeks since sold his & part of it on which I design to sow winter farm for $3700. Giving a ballance on his farm wheat. Now what kind of fertilizer would you of $1500, for improvements and rise in value of think best to use, taking into the account its cost, its effect upon the wheat crop, and also upon the land for some years after? And should it be applied in the fall or spring? (b.) Fairlee, Vt., 1854. JOHN STRATTON. REMARKS. (a.) That is the true way to test any paper-take it and try it. If you are satisfied that you do not get three or four times the value of its cost, why then discontinue it. (b.) If you wish to manure this land in the most profitable manner, apply to the acre, Mexican Guano....... ..... Lime ..........300 pounds. 15 bushels. 66 .....6 lands. a To recapitulate, receipts from farm, Land, wood and timber sold....... Leaving the snug little sum of......... .$400 ...1800 ..1500 .$3700 for the receipts on the purchase and carrying on farm for eleven years, besides the support of a large family. In addition he has recovered his health, so as to labor daily upon his farm. Is there profit or not in books?-Granite Far mer. EXTENSIVE CORN FIELD.-The beautiful farm belonging to Wm. S. Sullivant, Esq., containing 1,200 acres, adjoining the town of Franklinton, has been rented to Messrs. Dixon, Merrick and Stitt, The land should be plowed not less than 8 of this city, and from the manner in which it has inches deep; 12 inches would be better; should been worked this season, they may well claim to be thoroughly pulverized, and fertilizers worked be classed among the model farmers of the day. Notwithstanding the continual wet weather about tween the nominal and actual reward which the planting time, they succeeded in putting in six laborer receives for his services. hundred acres of corn, and by constant care and We do not say that there would be throughattention, they can show the tallest corn in the out as great a difference as shown by the foregoneighborhood. Fifteen shovel plows and three ing table, because all commodities would not vary cultivators, worked by eighteen men and twenty- perhaps as much within a short period as those five horses, are kept in constant requisition; and we have selected. Rent and some other charges the result is that scarcely a weed can be seen in which the laborer must incur, would not perhaps the well plowed furrows. Twenty-five German be as much affected by fluctuations in prices, yet girls follow the plow, and do the hoeing, for which the foregoing undoubtedly affords an approximathey receive 62 cents per day. The men receive tion to the general fact, and is sufficient not only $20 a month. The view of the mound upon which to establish our principle, but to prove that the the "log cabin" stands, is exceedingly beautiful. subject is worthy the attention of political econoFar as the eye can reach, as you look down towards mists as well as laborers. the "sunny banks" of the Scioto, the summer breezes stir the waving corn.-Columbus (Ohio) State Journal. WAGES. Another obvious difference between nominal and real wages arises from a mere change of location. For example, a carpenter who could obtain but $1,25 in Vermont, might by going to New York city get $2, or to New Orleans $2,50; yet it would be found, perhaps, that if all things were [The Hon. Amasa Walker, late Secretary of the taken into the account, if the expenses of mainState of Massachusetts, has delivered a lecture be-taining himself and family in health and comfort fore the Commercial and Nautical Institute of were well considered, the wages obtained in VerBoston, upon the subject of Wages. We take mont might be greater than in New York or New Orleans. pleasure in extracting some portions of it into our columns : ] NOMINAL AND REAL WAGES. PROPORTIONATE RISE AND FALL OF WAGES. Although wages rise and fall with the general rise and fall of commodities, they do not do so in There is often a considerable difference between equal proportion. The fact is one of common obnominal and real wages, or between the wages of servation; but the reason of this variation we the employee when reckoned in money, or when re- don't recollect to have seen stated. It is, howalized in such commodities as his wants require. ever, apparent on a little reflection. For all maMan does not work for money, but for that terial products, there is both an actual and a specwhich money will buy. It may happen that with ulative demand-for labor there is only an actual high money wages he may get very low merchan- demand. When business begins to be particular-dise wages; nay more, it may be true that when ly prosperous, and there is a general demand for he has the largest nominal, he will generally have all kinds of merchandise, prices will gradually the smallest real wages. begin to improve. This give rise at once to As this question is one of fact, I have taken the a speculative demand, for to buy will be to reapains to ascertain the wages of labor at three dif-lize and advance; the larger the purchases, the ferent periods, and also the prices of ten different greater the profits; for every operation pays. commodities, such as the labor would naturally The speculative demand goes on until every artipurchase at the same periods, and the result is as cle bought and sold as merchandise goes up to its follows: highest limit. Wages. 1,62 Wages. Wages. 1,80 bbl. pork, 14 lbs. coffee, 12}, 28 lbs. rice, 1 bushel corn meal, 1 do. rye meal, 30 lbs. butter, 22c But no one speculates in wages. No one can, if he would, purchase a hundred thousand dollars' worth of labor and hold it for an advance as he can of every article that the laborer consumes. Of course, labor has no advautage of this kind of demand which affects other things, but must rely entirely on that which is immediate and actual. Therefore, a general rise of prices must always operate against the laborer or person employed on salary or wages. But wages not only never rise so much as other Such are the wages of a common laborer in Bos- commodities, but never rise so soon. The reason ton in the years mentioned above, and such the is that the rise of commodities is greatly acceleraprices of the commodities specified. ted by the speculative demand, while labor is not It appears then that in 1836 it required the la- as before stated, affected by that kind of demand bor of 344 days (omitting in all cases unimpor- at all. Hence, it does not rise until speculation tant fractions) to pay for the above commodities; has engendered a spirit of extravagance and inwhile in 1840 it required only the labor of 29 days, creased consumption, and then wages take an adand in 1843 that of only 234 days to pay for the vantage about half as great on an average as that same: and thus the important fact is disclosed of merchandise and other things. that while the nominal rate of wages was higher Wages fall sooner, because merchandise may be by 25 per cent. in 1836 than in 1840 or in 1843, and is held for high prices, if need be. Its fall is yet real wages were 22 per cent. in 1840, and 29 per cent. in 1843, higher than in 1836. This affords a striking illustration of the difference between money wages and corn wages, as they are sometimes called; or in other words, be broken by the disposition and ability of the own- |