Full text of "The New England farmer"

See other formats

nDDaaDnDDDDnDDDDnDDanDDDDDDDDDnD

° H

D 9

D jC ^ ^o D

□ ^ ^iJM^ '^ Q

D □

g UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS g

g LIBRARY g

D □

° 9
° __^^^-^_^^^-^^_ 9

o 9

° 9

B SPECIAL COLLECTIONS g

D a ARCHIVES D

° 9

■=■ 9

° 9

o 9

° 9

□ □

D □

DDDnnnnDaaanDDnnnnnDanDnDnnDDDaD

THE

iH . K •

A MONTHLY JOURNAL,

DEVOTED TO

AGRICULTURE, HORTICULTURE,

AND THEIR KINDRED

ARTS AND SCIENCES;

AND ILLUSTRATED WITH NUMEROUS BEAUTIFUL ENGRAVINGS.

"■Wliat may not enlightened citizens accomplish, who have discarded the false, bustling pleasures of
towns, and, carrying into the country the knowledge they may have acquired, apply to Agriculture the rich
and varied assistance of the physical sciences ? " — FoURCRor.

SIMON BROWN, EDITOR.

FREDERICK HOLBROOK AND HENRY F. FRENCH, ASSOCIATE EDITORS.

VOLUME XII.

BOSTON:
PUBLISHED BY NOURSE, EATON & TOLMAN,
3 4 ]SI E R C H A N T S ' ROW.

1 8 G 0 .

Per

lr444

\^^hr^'

INDEX TO THE TWELFTH VOLUME.

Page.
Acre, product of an, 42 ; nine and a half, . 114
Address, Dr. Loring's, 82 ; Mr. Gregory's, Essex

County, ' . . 162

Advice, good, ...... 96

Agriculture, Mass. State Board of, 37, 129; in
Tuscany, 48 ; profits of, 86 ; Maine State Board
of, 142; at Yale, 163; increasing interest in,
312; scliools of, 341 ; view of, in Ohio, . 406
Allen, Farmer, lioniestead of, . . . 348
Americans, health of, . . . . . 323

Ammonia, ....... 386

Animals, dosing, 44 ; food consumed by, 300 ;

fattening, 4.56 ; doctoring domestic, . 457

Anonymous communications, . . . 127
Apple, orchard, how to set, 78; worms in the,
164, 184, 248; trees, pruning, 186, 247,324;
trees, diseased, 234 ; another recommendation
for the, 347 ; for feeding to stock, 403 ; barrel,
ventilation of, 539 ; as food, 542, 552 ; baked,
553 ; Vermont, 572 ; for cows, . . 572

April, calendar for, 153 ; work for, . . 194
Apricots, a group of, .... . 464

Ashes, coal, 143, 365 ; and muck, 214 ; as a ma-
nure, 239 ; wood, 365

Asparagus, 256, 561

August, calendar for, 345

Axe to grind, 339 ; is ground, . . . 365

Barley, 504 ; a good yield of, . . . 549
Bark, tan, for potatoes, 294 ; tanners, . 446

Barometer, a fiirmer's, 159, 232,427,457; and

its uses, 470

Barn, warming the, and cooking food, 23 ; cellar,
82 ; tight, and sick cattle, 262, 287 ; the old,

468 ; iiill-side, 472

Barley, varieties of, .... . 569
Beans, how they climb the poles, . . . 571
Bear, tame, old Marco, .... 440

Bee, about the, 84; feeding the, 127, 142, 168,
277, 324; purchasing stocks, 210; new, 251 ;
keepers, caution to, 255, 264 ; catching, 349 ;
a morning with the, 382 ; Italian, 433 ; sting-
less, 448 ; and matliematicians, 479 ; and cats,
' 512; natural life of the honey, . . . 548
Beer, corn, . . . . ' . . 287, 378
Birds, winter residence of, 112 ; of New England,
422, 449, 492, 510, 533, 536 ; sea, where do
they slake their thirst, 457 ; the whip-poor-will,
486 ; of New England, .... 570
Black leg, remedy for, .... 231

Blackberry, Lawton, 45, 66, 94, 147, 230; bushes, 276
Bcu:ly, the human, ..... 544

Books : The Free Speaker, 35 ; Dadd, on Dis-
eases of Cattle, 40 ; Grasses and Forage Plants,
55 ; Smithsonian Report, 55 ; Agricultural Ad-
dress at Greene County, N. Y., 55; American
Stock Journal, 118 ; Historical Account of Ad-

dison County, Vt., 160 ; Milch Cows and Dairy
Farming, 336 ; The Young Farmer's Manual,
352 ; The Homestead, 3.54; Knowledge against
Practice, 372 ; Natural History, etc., . 420

Boots and harness, oil for, . . . . 511
Bone meal for cows, ..... 374
Borer, wash for apple tree, 277 ; remedy for the,
295 ; how to stop the, . . '. . 375

Boundary, curious, 148

Boy, education of the, 70 ; department of the,

101 ; a little, and the baby, . . . 440
Brain, softening of the, .... 434

Bread, stale, and what it is, ... 56

Brick, one wrong, 363

Brine poisonous to animals, . . . 11

Brov.n, Simon, letters from, 376, 453, 514, 535

Buildings, farm, necessary, ... 52

Buckwheat, corn after, 351 ; and corn, . 375

Buttercup, or tall crowfoot, . . . 112

Butter, in winter, 45, 73, 76, 77, 86, 100, 113,
160; coloring matter for, 118, 147, 213, 224;
and milk, comparative value of, 120, 146, 150,
151; how to cut in cold Aveather, 177; and

churns, 325, 446

Butternut tree, 460, 478

Cabbage, club-footed, 93, 141, 189; large drnm-
head, 189 ; how to raise large, 225, 283 ; calcu-
lation about, 291 ; and grubs, 350, 472 ; cul-
ture of the, 506 ; keeping through the winter, 548
Calf, a fine, 127 ; a large, .... 573
Cakes, the poor man's, .... 31

Calendar, for January, 9 ; February, 57 ; March,
105; April, 153; May, 201 ; June, 249; Jul}%
297; August, 345; September, 393; October,
441 ; November, 489 ; December, . . 537
Camomile, curious effect of, . . 343, 497

Camp, lumbermen's, . . . . . 188
Camphor and mosquitoes, .... 439
Carrot, crop, 16; for hogs, 151; soil for, 214, 283

the wild, 400, 423

Cap, hay, 351

Carriage, patent, a ride on, . . . 543

Cat, wonderful instinct of, 356; and bees, 512;

free from headache, ..... 538
Cattle, cure for wens on, 69; feeding, 71,310;
to kill vermin on, 175; fiital disease among,
and preventives, 101, 142, 189, 198, 232, 239,
241, 242, 267, 277, 289, 292, 307, 318,321,
329, 331, 342, 352, 357, 358, 385,408,412,
420,426, 472, 484; horn ail in, 118; a fine
pair of, 223 ; foot ail, or foul foot in, 231 ;
cure for black leg in, 231 ; garget in, 189, 203,
231 ; to cure ringworm in, 256, 327 ; destroyer
of, 326; in winter, 351 ; native, 405 ; hornless,
431 ; Jerseys and Ayrshires, 444, remedy for
choked, 552 ; how to relieve choked, 572, 573

Cellar, barn, 82

Celibacv, alarming increase of, . . . 344

INDEX

Census, facts from the,
Charcoal as a fertilizer,
Character, test of,
Cheese, Goslien, .
Chicory, or succory,
Cliill)iaius, cure for.

Page.
436
31
411
509
215
100, 127

Children, a l)attalion of, 93 ; the country for,

401 ; rcarinj,' of, 536 ; finding fault with, 488

China, af^riculturc in, .... 27

Chinaman, Jolin, as an agriculturist, . . 13

Cholera, 499

Cliurn dash, improvement in, . . . 208
Cider, how to jjrcscrve, 551 ; making in Conn., 559

Cistern, water, 499

Clay land, 223

Cleanliness, 248

Climate, our changing, .... 576

Clover, value of, 203 ; as a fertilizer, 255 ; and
oats, 328 ; seed, in the fall, 463 ; northern and

southern, 479

Cloth, black, sewing on, .... 296
Club, Concord farmer's, 23, 261 ; farmer's, no-
tice to, 30, 49 ; at North Heading, 60; farmer's,
subjects for discussion at a, 62; at Franklin,
139; and agricultural fairs, 140; Groton

farmer's, 226

Coal beds, will they last? .... 295
Coffee, how to make good, . . . 190, 244
Colt, about, 100; wart on a, 101 ; to kill lice on
a, 127, 175 ; splint on a, 150 ; on a hard floor,

175 ; growth of a, 520

Compost, alkaline, 462

Corn, and other crops, 64, 66 ; large ears of, 91 ;
for fodder, 231 ; transplanting, 245 ; and jiota-
tocs, cost of raising, 274 ; and buckwheat,
375; Indian, how to preserve, 375; wind
power for grinding, 391 ; fields, southern and
northern, 379 ; the sound of growing, 431 ;
muck and wire worms in, 435; and squashes,
452; after ruta bagas, 471; suckers among,
472 ; stooking, 475 ; Egyptian, 524, 540, 549,
563 ; fields, plowing in the fall, 526 ; value of,
561; Egyptian, 574; and cotton, . . 575

Correspondents, to, 180

Cow, what one can do, 38, 96 ; loss and gain in,
43; suckling a lamb, 48; points of a, 51 ;
profits of, 60 ; turning to grass, and cost of
keeping, 63 ; feeding, 88 ; clover hay for, 166 ;
experiments in feeding roots to a, 171 ; how a
Jerseyman treats his, 251 ; and her cud, 265;
paying of a, 275, 359 ; dysentery in, 287 ; good
milch, 304 ; stripping to'prevent sucking, 327 ;
a sick, 375; sucks herself, . . . 406

Cranberry, culture of the, 76, 77, 139, 167, 174,
214, 282, 478 ; book about the, . 354, 365

Cream, bitter, 223

Cress, water, how to grow, 118; garden, . 263
Crop, on black loam, 69; in olden times, 177;
modes of getting, 222 ; corn, exact cost of a,
226; of 1860, 395; in Conn., 406; in Ver-
mont, 426. 451, 463 ; in Iowa, 448; and sea-
son, 475 ; in Minnesota, 487 ; in New Hamp-
shire, 487 ; rotation in, .... 518
Crow, the, 311 ; a plea for the, . , . 523
(.'uctimbcr, to get early, .... 264

Cud, loss of the, ...... 404

Culture, hill and flat, 385

Curculio, the 290, 418

Currant bushes, transplanting, 231 ; bush, as a
tree, 256 ; cherry, 277

Dairy, profits of the, 218,284; temperature of

the, 288

Daisy, oK-eyc, 401

Dates, important, 447

Daugliter, a farmer's, on farming, 503 ; a farm-
er's, and wife, 515

December, calendar for, .... 537
Dow, honey, ...... 482

Doctors, rough, 79

Dogs, and sheep, 89 ; to prevent going mad,

284; an excellent use for, ... . 414

Drainage, French's farm, 14 ; about, 19, 29, 31 ;
tools for, 46 ; pipe for, 60 ; in Ohio, 70, 79,
111, 151 ; distance for, 175 ; machine for oi)en-
ing drains, 232 ; advantages of, 258 ; of a muck
swamp, 266 ; of a pear orchard, 273, 302, 346;
advantages of, 546 ; tile for, . . . 549
Dress, non-inflaniniable fabrics, . . . 248
Dust, saw, as a fertilizer, ... 85, 135

Dwellings, warming our, .... 277

Ear, human, onion in, .... 208

Earth, central beat of the, .... 516
Education, agricultural, 121, 154, 173, 409, 428

Eggs, vitality of, destroyed on railroads, . 90

I'ilm tree, a large one, .... 421

Engrafting, 213

Entomology, ...... 463

Estimates, "false, 299

Evenings, winter, employment for, and stormy

days, 29

Eyes, care of, in horses and cattle, . . 166
Exhibition, agricultural, 521, 525; a sensible

movement at an, 528 ; at Needham, . 530

Experiments by members of farmer's clubs, 218

Fair, Rutland County, Vt., 479 ; mechanics', at
Bostoii, 507,516; perversion of agricultural, 546
addresses at, ..... . 559

Fairbanks, Gov., address of, . . . . 558

Farm, of nine and a half acres, 69, 114; prob-
lem about a, 117; record, 268; rented, ma-
nure on, 277 ; products and prices of, 278 ;
benefit of a, 327 ; neatness on the, 336 ; hints
and facts about the, 354, 389, 500, 530 ; and
figures, 403 ; machinery, 405 ; small, advan-
tages of, 438 ; topics of the, 482 ; work for the
autumn, 483 ; a profitable, 492 ; a day on
two, 514 ; a profitable grass, 546 ; houses and
equijiments, ...... 576

Farmer, nothing but a, 134 ; English, 136 ; New
England, review of the, 158, 182, 210, 263,
306, 313, 415, 460, 500, 564 ; to the readers of
the New England, 453 ; wife and daughters of
the, 471 ; a poor, f;icts for, 480 ; marrying a,
485 ; home of the, and children, . . 309
Farming, is it profitable ? 12, 15, 18, 22, 24, 34, 53,
64, 68, 74, 86, 90, 95, 108, 122, 135, 139, 148,
149, 186,^211, 225, 256, 315, 332,353,360,
387, 389, 406, 484 ; changes in, since Revolu-
tionary War, 39 ; fancy, 72 ; in Claremont,
New Hampshire, 131; profits of dairy, 139;
advice about, 185; the true object of, 206;
seventy years' experience in, 207 ; in Vermont,
283; a good example in, 326; indoors, 361,
466 ; systematic, 373 ; division of labor in,
396 ; operations in Essex County, 405 ; and
bootmaking, 424 ; as a vocation, 425 ; and wo-
men, 447

February, calendar for, .... 57

Felon, sure remedy for a, . . . . 561
Fencing, about, l'6 ; farm, 190, 254,301; rail,
how to lay it up, 326, 456 ; self-fastening,
hook-and-eye, portable, 512 ; in Ohio, . 551
Fertilizers, ai'tiliciai, . . . 242, 258, 284
Figure, human, proportions of, . . . 91

INDEX.

Page.
Fir, European, and silver, .... 385
Fire .among the ancients, .... 390
Fish, as a manure, 223 ; keeping in tanks, . 372
Flax, cultivation of, .... 282,289

Fleshy, but not fat, 574

Floriculture, curious discovery in, . . 432

Flowages, ....... 67

Flowers, for a nortliern climate, 375, 458, 472,

492, 514; love of, 547

Fly clotiis, 384

Fodder, corn, iiow to secure, .... 31

Food, cooking for cattle, 23; animal, 18G ;

cooked, for hogs, 302 ; adulteration of, . 324
Forests, immense, . . . . . 101

Fowls, for cold weather, 86 ; how to feed, 80 ;
French pheasant, 117; Leghorn, 118, IGC,

304 ; about 250, 205

Freezin," and thawing, ..... 205

French, B. V., 302

Fritters, squash, how to make, . . . 549
Frost, effect of, on plants, 177 ; in the full of the

moon, 487 ; in Fraid^lin County, Me., . 487
Froth ho])pers, or frog hoppers, . . . 374
Fruit, culture, 38; in Michigan, 72, 367 ; pros-
pects for, 328; samples of, 462; in winter,
488 ; barrels for, 502 ; preservation of, . 513
Furniture, kitchen, sink and utensils, . . 200

.S8,

212

350

189,

203

0, 181 ;

256

394

392

to cut,

427,

439

;rowing

Garden, the, ....

Gardening, landscape, .

Garget, cure for.

Geese, and goslings, 100 ; how to raise, 181 ;
raising and fattening, 199 ; Bremen, .

Gold, influx of, 252 ; diffusion of.

Gray, Lady Jane, character of,

Grain, too much, 47 ; and grass, time
318 ; cutting and curing, 397 ; crops,

Grapes, for open culture in Maine, 17 ;

in Northern Ohio, 41 ; wild, 60 ; best four, 143 ;
new, 274 ; an early hard}', 280 ; cause of bar-
ren vines, 331, 478, 524 ; native, cultivation
of, 367 ; white, 375 ; culture of the, in Ohio,
407; to raise by horse power, 419; ciiltur.',
452; August, pioneer, 488; white and red,
520; Draeut amber, 529 ; pruning the.

Grass, fowl meadow, 16, 85, 106, 427, 452, 472 ;
Hungarian, 69, 150, 174, 20_', 355 ; red top,
86 ; about varieties, 100 ; four of the, 144, 192 ;
seed, orchard, 215, 223 ; plowing in, 221 ; p;is-
ture, 232 ; and grain, time to cut, 318 ; seed,
406 ; a fine crop of,

Grounds, laying out near the house.

Guano, 75,' 120; for rye, 215; profit of, 215;
American, 332,

5:50

427
573

522

142
511

Page.
Highways, ....... 567

Hills, on the, 535

Hippopotamus, rearing the, . . . 388

Hogs, two large, 215; cattle and pump, 215;
fattening of, ...... 561

Holdfast, 375 ; to cure a, . . . 406, 435
Homestead, a pleasant, and convenient, 81 ; the, 97
Horn ail, in cattle, . . . . . 118

Horse, !iow to make an obstinate, draw, 16 ;
scratches in, 63, 130, 189,287,327; to man-
age a refractorv, 81 ; pin worms in, 118, 175,
258, 287 ; walking, 127, 343 ; foundered, 151 ;
ciiiel treatment of the, 167; sand crack in
hoof of, 186; disease among, 216; cure for
1 ingbone in, 242, 265 ; cribbing in, 279 ;
power, as a measure of force, 333; air and
light for, 334 ; sweeney in, 349 ; in a fire, how
to get out the, 355, 542 ; thrush in, 375 ; about
shoeing the, 388; colic in, 394; how much
hay for the, 397 ; what constitutes legal un-
soundness in, 421 ; e3-e of the, 449 ; secret of
S])ccd in, 455 ; and carrots, 456 ; feed the,
too much, 475; dead, value of, 544; English,
554 ; legs and feet, 569 ; beds, sand for, .
Iliit-bcds, leaves for, .....

Houses, sunlight iu.

Hardback, meadow,

Harness and boots, oil for, ....

Harrow, Bucklin's improve^,

Hay, measurement of, 26 ; spontaneous cond)us-
tion in, 27, 215 ; cutting and curing, 148,394,
413; required per head for cattle, 216 ; caps
for, 276, 351, 366 ; value of a load of, 288 ;
how much for a horse, 397 ; getting the value
of, 406 ; theory of curing, 413 ; for one sheep,
437 ; and stock in Vermont, . . . 442

Hedge, hawthorn, 487

Heifer, a good, 315 ; a queer, . . . 364

Hens, disease among, 242, 265 ; number to keep,
and time to sell, 266 ; look out for the, 295 ;
lice on, 299 ; and chickens, 304 ; dead, 350 ;
Leghorn, 350 ; shoeing 359

Herbs, pulverized, culinary 119

IIunLrarian grass

574
569
476
69, 150, 174, 202, 355

Ice water, 424

Illinois, crojjs in, 143; nortliern, letter from, 259

Implements, American agricultural, . . 443
Insect life, in Ceylon, 40, 146; froth, or frog-

lioppcr, 374 ; unknown, 462 ; a new, . 46.3

Iowa, the season in, ..... 305

Iron rust, ....... 77

Islands, Sandwich, letters from the, 300, 334,

397; Long, lands in, . 172, 226, 253, 443

Itch, barn, 508

Ivy, poison from, how cured, . . . 175

Tanuarv, calendar for, .
Japan, smoking in.
Jay, blue, and cornfields,
Journal, American, stock,
July, calendar for.

155

544

297

Kansas, prairie breaking in, 89 ; letters from,
217.319,339; weather and farming in, . 250

Katydid, the, 265

Kerosene for lice and ticks, . . . . 150
Kctchni), tomato, 482, 504

Lamb, a fine merino, 189 ; raising a, by hand, 275
Land, three acres to sujjport a small family, 20 ;
on Long Island, 172, 226, 253, 443 ; "grass,
top dressing, 175 ; worn out, renovation of,
235 ; san<ly, 276 ; grass, seeding of, 279, 287 ;
how to measure, 396 ; and manure, 418 ; pas-
ture, 403

Lectures, agricultural, ..... 340
Leech, the, as a weather glass, . . . 490
Legislative agricultural meetings, 98, 114, 123,

131, 150, 169, 178, 195, 204, 219, 228
Lichens, or mosses, ..... 477
Lime, superphosphate of, 374 ; for turnips, 406,

444 ; gas, value of, 548

Lockjaw, cure for, ..... 559

Lunar influences upon temperature, . 74, 129, 349

INDEX

Page.
Machine, mowing, 69, 224, 280, 338, 374, 381,
425, 427 ; advantages of a, 487 ; figures about
a mowing, ...... 494

Maine, Aroostook Cou.nty in, . . . 313
Manure, experiments in, 10; mineral, tlieory of,
41; saving of, 02; tVu-n tanneries, 100; un-
liealtliiness of arliiieiai, 126; bones for, 143;
green crops for, 214; for tlie surface, 21.5 ; use
and application of, 230 ; li(iuid, 285, 435; fer-
mentation of, 306 ; seaweed for, 387 ; best,

426 ; siiecp, 496

March, calendar for 105

Market-day in Essex County, . . 13, 271

Marsh, salt, icclaiming, .... 107

Matrimony sans patrimony, .... 391

Mattress, "wood, 520

May, calendar for, 201 ; about, ... 488
Meadow, a wet, 11; a reclaimed, 27 ; Concord

River, 260

Meal, oil, 174; bone, for cows, . , . 374
Melon, to get early, 264 ; seeds, to save pure, 278
Men, wise, of the east, 27 ; great, who rose from

the ranks, 102

Meteorology, agi-iciiltural. .... 575
Mill, cast iron grist, 142 ; cider, . . . 472

Milking, regularity in, 225

Milk, condensed, 47: sweet, how to kceji, 101 ;
room, how to build, 127 ; quality of, 143 ;
scalding, 147; and butter, 150; production
and sale of, 191 ; selling compared with value
of butter, 197 ; il'yi^r, how to cure, 231 ; pure,
331 ; its uses, 547 ; skim, .... 572
Milk weed, good properties of, . . . 350
Minnesota, drought in, ..... 545
Mineral matter essential to plants, . . 217
Missouri, a trip into, ..... 377
Months, weather of the autumn, ... 82
Monument, national, at Wasiiington, . . 423
Mother, obedience to, 104 ; a word to, . 439
Moths, to keep from clothes, . . . 344
Mountains, musing among the, 360, 466 ; fertil-
ity of, 480, 496

Muck, and meadowland, 70 ; fi'om Otter Creek,
127 ; uses and value of, 137, 233, 370, 423 ; as
a top dressing, 150; and ashes, 214, 435;
value of, 223 ; substitute for, . . . 351-
Mules, in Central America, .... 237
Murrain, head, cure for, .... 435

Needlework, 248

New England, ...... 369

Newspaper, what we find in an English, . 540
North Groton, N. II., .... 162, 566

Norfolk County agricultural fair, . . . 508
November, calendar for 489

Oak tree, disease in, . . . . . 120
Oats, quantity of seed, per acre, 266 ; and clover,

328 ; for fodder 463

Observations, useful, ..... 48

October, calendar for, 441

Oil, meal, 174 ; springs of, in Pennsylvania, 395

Okra plant, the, 232, 476

Onion, in the human ear, 134 ; maggot, 1.50, 174,

234, 251, 255, 351

Orchard, sugar, 87, 146; an old, 207; pear,

drainage of land for, 273 ; pruning the, . 327

Order is economy, 236

Ornithology, 112, 422, 449, 492, 510, 533, 556, 570
Oxen,' how to drive, 35 ; cost of keeping per

Ox, tumor on, 258 ; a diseased.
Oyster beds, natural, . .

Page.
520
147

Paint, a valuable, 310

Papers, agricultural, influence of, . 84, 437

Parsnips and cabbages, 283

Pasture, reclaiming a, 256 ; land, 463 ; improve-
ment of an old, 473

Peach, in pots, 64 ; mixing with apple trees, 64 ;
trees, cultivation of, 278 ; how to get a crop
every year, 305 ; the Howell, . . . 353

Peacock, raising the, 359

Pear trees, four, history of, 73 ; Beurre Bosc,
75; Jaminette, 159; Beurre Kennes, 161;
for orchard culture, 189; on the thorn, 232 ;
trees, decay in, 271 ; manuring, etc., 459 ; new
seedling, 488 ; a Bartlett, .... 520
Peas, Canada, 46; cultivation of, 223, 326;

buggy, 304 ; and beans, old, . . . 404
Peat, muck, and manure, . ■ . . 48, 77

Pliosphorus, source and nature of, . . 496

riano versus washtub, .... 497, .534

Picture, rustic 498

Pine, jiruning the, 76, 119, 210 ; trees, culture of,

165, 247, 255; thinning out the, 175; about, 421
Pig, a large, 31 ; Essex, 232 ; how to raise a, 420 ;

cinders for, 569

Pipe, drain, capacity of, 60; for conveying water,
136, 150, 166, 184, 189, 193, 230,239,258,

259, 327, 390, 402, 406, 434
Pitchfork, the horse, . . 150, 218, 224, 327
Pitcher, silver, presented to a former, . . 110
I'lants, new, 308 ; origin of, 407 ; food for, at sur-
face of the soil 461

Plow, the new, 25; ditching with the. 111 ; sub-
soil, 143

Plowing, time and manner of, 148 ; deep, . 478
Plum, culture of the, 363 ; Coe's Golden Drop, 428
Poison, how to neutralize, .... 508
Poles, bean, preserving of, . . . . 231

Pork, raising of, 162

Post, inverted, 357; fence, and salt, 465, 539,

549, 505; fence, 561

Potato, experiments with the, 21 ; vines black,
43, 46 ; blast in, 68 ; from the ball, 71 ; blight
and rot, 120, 284; sprouts for planting, 127;
cause of rot in, 181, 299, 315, 356, 375,
377, 495, 550; seed, 214, 365; on grass land,
222, 238 ; new way of raising, 259 ; how to
get a great crop of the, 270 ; how to keep,
305 ; about the, 418 ; remedy for disease in, 528
Poultry, Leghorn, 60; plucking each other, . 189
Poverty not so great a curse, . . . 495

Prairie breaking, in Kansas 89

Premiums, for monsters, 53; fancy, . 72, 336

Profit, practical proofs of, in farming, 203 ; and

cost in farm products, .... 208
Progress, advance or retreat, . . . 433

Pruning, and transplanting apple trees, 95, 186 ;
pines, 76, 119, 210; with the thumb and

finger, 338

Pump, bow to thaw out a, . . • 167, 215
Pumpkins, for cows, 31, 281 ; to preserve, . 564

Quails, use of.

499

Radish, horse, seed of, . . . . 224, 236

Railroad, cheap, 491

Rain, snow, hail, causes of, 332 ; fall, gradual

diminution of, in England and Scotland, 405, 526

INDEX.

Page.
Rats, how to cateli, 54 ; a monkey's affection for,
151 ; how to drive away, .... 553

Rawliide, use of, 490

Reading, power of, 343

Recipes, domestic, 104; washing fluid, 151;
snow corn cakes, 152; blowing out a candle,
152; rich, nice pudding, 200; potted beef,
200 ; mince pie without meat, 200 ; fruit cake
Avithout eggs, 200 ; to save frozen house plants,
200 ; valuable, 352 ; to put up tomatoes,
melons, etc., to make rhubarb wine, soups,
veal cutlet, destroy flies, cure for corns, 392 ;
for washing fine and elegant colors, 419;
peach preserve, compote of peach, blackber-
ries, blackberry syrup, blackberry wine, black-
berry cordial, 440 ; apple pufl's, jelly cake,
pumpkin sauce, steamed Indian pudding,
Johnny cake, mince pies, imitation ajjple
pie, tomato pie, squash pie, . . 465, 536
Reports, agricultural, prizes for, . . . 512
Rhubarb, wine from, 255 ; analysis of, . 319

Ringbone, cure i'or, 242, 265 ; about, . . 339
Ringworm, or tetter, in cattle, . . . 215
Roofs, preserving shingles on, 344 ; slated, and
lightning, 452 ; shingles on, to prevent from
taking fire, ...... 494

Roller and grass seed, 469

Roots, value and uses of, 183 ; their effect on the

soil, 298

Ruins, exhumation of, . . . . . 320
Rural scenes, occupations and pleasures, . 47

Rye, perpetual crops of, 203; guano for, 215;
with buckwheat, .... 215,256

Salve, a valuable,

Sandy River, notes from, 87 ; land, 223, 276 ;
pillars of sand, ......

Sawdust, pine, use of, . . . . 31,

Sewage, value of, .....

Scalds and burns, to cure, ....

School, first agricultural, 239, 383 ; agriculture in
a boys', .......

Science of common things, 138 ; natural,

Scraps, pork and beef, as manure,

Season in Newbury, Vt., 27 ; and crops in Iowa,
51 ; review of the, 257 ; and crops, 306, 327 ;
and crops, faith and practice, 361 ; and crops
in N. Y.,

Seed, timothy, 63 ; Hubbard squash, 223 ; of
Chinese sugar cane, 231 ; quantity to an acre,
241 ; effect of soaking, 314 ; from' Syria, 420 ;
and cuttings from Syria, 461; Hungarian
grass, 463, 479 ; clover, sown in the fall, 463 ;
grass, and roller, 469 ; clover, .

Sedative, a new,

September, calendar for, ....

Shark, the arctic, ......

Sheep, husbandry, 50, 58, 166; and the buck,
77 ; warts on, 86 ; and doo-s, 89 ; creeper breed
of, 117, 168, 247, 276, 326; breacliy, 146;
work on, 231 ; Southdown and Leicester,
277, 305 ; foot rot in, 409 ; hay for one, 437 ;
numbering, 451 ; in Texas, 469 ; and wool,
472, 504; fall and early winter care of, 543 ;
Kansas for,

Shingles, laying new over old ones, 174; rapid
decay of, 504 ; to make them last, 523 ; shin-
gling,

Shoes, copper-soled,

Show, autumnal,

Silver, ........

Skating, a word about, ....

Skins, tanning with the fur on,

Slates and lightning,

Sleep, 439^

Smut in corn and other crrain,

304

564
232
513
118

264

477
294

427

479
518
393
149

561

538
511
542
96
104
347
484
498
532

Society, Middlesex Agricultural, 46, 194 ; United
States Agricultural, 71, 101, 417; Essex Hor-
ticultural, 95, 119; New Hampshire State Ag-
ricultural, 111 ; Massachusetts State Agricul-
tural, 237 ; and Horticultural, 244 ; Worces-
ter South East, 261 ; Norfolk County, 287 ;
Horticultural at Needliam, 344 : American Po-
mological, 362 ; Town and County Agricultu-
ral, 382 ; North Franklin, Me., 401 ; Rutland
County, Vt., 479 ; Maine State, 491 ; Martha's
Vineyard Agricultural, .... 547
Soil, studies of the, 94, 269 ; how I improve the,
130; advantages of a heavy, 161 ; inilverizing
the, 501 ; to secure tiie fertility of the, 526 ;
action of frost upon the, 546 ; sub, and drought, 556

Spider, thread of the, 376

Squash, the Hubbard, 19, 223; Potter's, 151 ; to
get early, 264; seeds, liow to save fine, 278 ;
and coi'n, 452 ; squashing out, . . . 520
Stakes, to preserve in the ground, . . 59

Steam, cultivation, 172 ; for farmers, . . 568
Stock, raising colts, calves, sheep, 58, 221 ; and
farms in Kentucky, 74; wintering, 141 ; cook-
ing food for, 227 ; Ayrshire, 479 ; economy in

feeding, . 555

Stomach, let it have its cravings, . . . 245

Stoves, 77

Strawberry, Cutter's seedling, 209 ; new mode of

raising the, 258 ; how to set, . . . 375
Sugar, orchards, 87; from beets, 166, 304; ma-
ple, 245, 276

Swamp muck, drainage of, 266 ; land, 408 ; and

meadows, 505

Swine, rearing and fattening of, . . . 462

400, 477,
85, 111, 168, 232, 256,

Table, a valuable, ,

Taxes, .

Tea plant, the,

Teacher, the true,

Texas and sheep, ......

Things I love to see and read.

Thinking, the art of, .... .

Tiiistles,

Tile, drain, 549 ; new style of, .

Times, relics of old fighting, 369 ; ancient and
modern, .......

Tobacco, the use of, 93; culture of, 118,347;
the bane of Virginia husbandry,

Tomato ketchup, where it comes from, .

Tools, lending and borrowing.

Tour, our, .......

Toys, where they come from, 343 ; vulcanite.

Travel, sketches of, .... .

Trees, care of old apple, 15 ; apple, lice on, 26 ;
peach, 40, 514; of North America, 45; apple,
at Woodside, 54 ; ornamental, 60 ; bones for
fruit, 68 ; pear, four, history of, 73 ; loose bark
on apple, 75; apple, diseased, 76,234 ; apple,
pruning and transplanting, 95, 101, 186, 247,
324, 370, 437 ; how to set tops of fruit, 117 ;
oak, disease in, 120 ; pine, pruning of tiie, 76,
119, 210; pear, 258. 271, 459; a petrified,
419 ; elm, a large one, 421 ; pine, 421 ; butter-
nut, 400, 478 ; planting a, 493 ; pear, soil for,
504; planting, 519 ; culture of.

Trough, hog, crack in,

Tumor on an ox, ......

Turkey, bronze, how to raise, 12 ; about the,

Turnip, mixed with straw, 46 ; crop, in England,
77; their value in feeding stock, 163; a big,
287 ; superphosphate for, 365 ; wild,

Varnish, India rubber, water proof,

486
.346
294
252
554
94
479
346
556

570

364
146
513
539
570
562

531
559
258
362

504

559

INDEX

Page.
Vcf^ctable, 215 ; improvement of the, . . 202
Velvet, diima<^ed, to restore, . . , 296

Vermin, to kill on fowls, or cattle, 214; in the

])Oultry house, 405 ; on cattle, . . 435
Vermont, droiitli in, 408 ; crops iu eastern, . 516
Vine, j::rape, cause oC barren, . . 331, 478
Virginia, letter from western, ... 36

Volume, a new, 576

Walls and ceilings, deadening, , . . 412
"Warts, on cattle, 143 ; how to cure, . . 151
"Washing thud, recipe for, .... 151
Washington as an agriculturist, ... 55
Watci-, wliat makes it bad, 467 ; rain, not ab-
sorbed by leaves, 563

Weather of 1859, 108

AVclls, self-acting, 76, 90; artesian, 79, 428; pu-
trid water in, 491

Wens, cure for, 69, 406

Weed, sea, for wadding, 46 ; abundance of, 58 ;

sea, uses of, 138; weeding time, . . 353
Wheat, washing seed, 165; crops of, in New
Hampshire, 234; growth of, 256 ; crop, 365 ;
culture of, 386, 426 ; winter, 431, 449, 451 ;

spring and winter, 480, 504 ; crop in Maine,
487 ; beardless, 498 ; crop of, in the country,
502 ; sj)ring, a good cro]), 520 ; crop, impor-
tance of the, 554; in AVarwiek, Mass., . 572
Wheels, to keep tires tight on, . . . 330
Whitewash and whitewashing, . . . 268

Wife, 344

Will, a remarkable, ..... 401

Willow, weeping, 265 ; culture of the, . 384, 544
Wine, effects of, upon the habits of a people,

173; rhubarb, 255, 392, 435 ; elderberry, 536

Wire and hoops, ...... 274

Wood, i)h()t()graphing on, 55 ; (ires in the, . 244
Wool, season of 1860, 378; fine at the south,
414 ; trade in Michigan, .... 431

Women, and farming, 21 ; swimming for, 103;
their employment changed, 296 ; good, never
grow old, 488 ; courage of, 536 ; and hard

work, 572

Workshop, . 45

Worms, pin, cure for, 46 ; cut, 365 ; silk, galvan-
izinir, 523

Year, close of the, ..... 573

ILLUSTRATIONS

J. M. Fawke's Steam Plowing Machine, . 17

The Canada Tiiistle 28

Design for a Small Farmhouse and Barn, . 32

Initial Letter, 13 41

A Pair of Crested Ducks, .... 49

The Beurrc Bosc Pear, .... 65
liesidcnce of C. Chamberlain, Esq., Foxcroft,

Maine, 80

Initial Letter, A, 88

Durham Heifer — Jubilee of Albion, . . 97

Tall Crowfoot, or Buttercups, . . . 112

Tiie White Spruce Fir, . . . . 121

A New American Style for Cottages and Villas, 128

Initial Letter, A, 137

Four of the Grasses — Red Top, Orchard Grass,

White Clover, Red Clover, . . 144, 145

Bcuire Kcnnes Pear, 161

Wetherslield Seed Sower, . , . . 168

Design for a Complete Farmhouse, . . 176
Meadow Fescue, Meadow Foxtail, June and

Herds Grass 192, 193

Cutter's Seedling Strawberry, . . . 209

The Chiccorv, or Succory Plant, . . . 216

The Wood Duck, 224

Initial Letter, T, 233

A Suburban Residence, . . . 240, 241

Sawyer's Improved Cultivator, . . . 257
The' Katy-did, and Pigeon Tremex, . 265,266

Design for a Suburban Villa,

Bradley's Revolving Horse Rake,

The Striped Porter Apple, .

The Common Milkweed,

Durham Bull — Chicago Duke,

Blossoms of Grape-Vines,

The Dragon Fly, and Thistle Buttei-fly<

The Howell Pear, . . . '

A Complete Farmhouse anrV Stable,

Froth-Hoppers, or Frog-Hoppers,

The European Silver Fir,

The Wild Carrot,

The Ox-Eyc Daisy,

Apples — Western, Bethlehemite, Bullock

pin, .....
Design for a Tudor Cottage,
The Guinea Hen, .
Initial Letter, T, .
The Common, or Smooth Sumach,
A Group of Apricots, .
Bates' Stump and Rock Lifter,
Garden Chamomile,
Self-fastening l^ortable Fence,
The Dracut Amber Grape, .
The Fi izzlcd Fowl,
Remedy for Choked Cattle, .
A Suburban Residence,

368,

l's Pip-
408.

272
281
288
305
320
331
337
353
369
374
385
400
401

409
416
432
436
448
464
481
497
512
529
545
552
560

POETRY,

The Country Child,

America's Noblemen, .

Live Bravely,

Jemmy's Wooing,

The Winters,

A Winter Sunset,

Little Willie and the Apple,

Sounds of Industry,

Will Wood of theFarm,

The Old Farmhouse,

Sjiring, . . . .

The Bird that Sung in May,

A SpritiLT Rain,

The OJd Farmhouse, .

Spring, . . . .

A Good-Night,

31
35

103

119

190

236

202

274

289

302

328

344

Every Man a King, ,

The She])lierd's Sabbath Song,

Our Farmers,

The Idyl of a Western Wife,

On finding a Dead Young Bird

field,

Hymn of the Harvesters,

The Faniilv,

The Old Barn,

Tiic Old Grist Mill,

A Harvest Song,

The Old Yankee Farmer,

To Ikittic, ....

The Indian Summer, .

Pr()j)hecies of the Season,

in the Corn-

356
360
376
404

414
418
433
468
476
502
506
524
533
565

DEVOTED TO AG-RICULTUBE AND ITS KINDRED AETS AND SCIENCES.

VOL. XII.

BOSTON, JANUARY, 1860.

NO. 1.

NOURSE, EATON & TOLMAN, Peoprietors. cnvroTj uTjn-wnvr -pnTTn-R
n^vrrv '^A Alt- pr„ avts' Rnw SIMON BROWN, EDITOR.

Office 34 Merchants' Row.

FRED'K HOLBROOK, ) Associatb
HENRY F. FRENCH, \ Editors.

CALENDAR FOR JANUARY.

•'How dead the vegetable kingdom lies."

, OURNEYING along

its silent course,
another Year has
gone, with its joys
and sorrows, plea-
sures and pains,
successes and fail-
ures. The begin-
ning of each month
may afibrd us an opportuni-
ty to review that which has
passed, and the beginning
of a New Year affords a
good opportunity to look
back over the reports of the
several months, and take a
general review of the entire
year. The merchant and man of
business now foot up their books,
and ascertain the results of the
labors and speculations of the
year. It is well for us, that the journey of life is
divided by stations and stopping-places, at which
we may pause and take a retrospect of the ground
over which we have passed. We may recall the
difficulties we have often met, the dangers we have
encountered, the pleasant passages we have had,
the agi-eeable scenes by which we have been en-
tertained, the cheerful companions who have ac-
companied us, the aids we have received — all the
various incidents that have occurred to us. We
may bring before our minds the instances in
which we have done or felt wrong — have been
hasty, or inconsiderate, or unwise, or have injured
the feelings or interests of others. We may enjoy
the satisfaction of reflection on what we have done
that is kind, or benevolent, or good. We may
ook forward to the journey that is before us, and
see how we mav avoid the mistakes we have

made, and the difficulties we have met with, and
thus by a wise consideration, be enabled to pur-
sue our future course with more pleasure and sat-
isfaction than we have the past.

"Know thyself," is a maxim of so much im-
portance to our happiness and success in life, thai
the ancients ascribed its origin to the gods. We
cannot know ourselves without frequent and
searching examinations of our outward and in-
ward life — of our actions, and motives, and feel-
ings. And when is there a better time for such ,
examination than the present, Avlien another year
has passed away, and a new year is commencing ?

When the mariner has completed his voyage,
he takes his chart, and retraces his course to the
point from which he sailed. He marks the course
of the winds and currents, and observes the break-
ers and sunken rocks that he found in his way,
and thus the experience of the past assists him
in the future. Thus should we all do, both in our
business affairs, and in our social and moral cul-
ture.

K we have failed in any of our plans, let us
review the whole ground, and ascertain, if possi-
ble, to what circumstances the failure was due,
that we may avoid a failure in future. If we have
been successful, let us know to what circumstances
success was owing, that we may achieve the same
success hereafter. It is only in this way, that we
can profit from our experience. For want of this
retrospection, many hard-working men fail to learn
anything from their experience. After many years
of toil — of success and want of success, they have
no more definite knowledge that may avail them
as a guide, than they had when they commenced.
It has been truly said that a man's experience
does not depend upon the years he has lived, but
upon the accurate observation he has made. A
young man may have more experience than a man
with grey hairs, — certainly he may have acquired
more of that knowledge that will be of value to
him in after life.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

Jan.

One great reason why farming is so uncertain
in its results, is because men profit so little by
their experience, — because they can make so few
observations, — because they observe with so little
accuracy, — and fail to record the results of their
observations. Thus the experience of the past
affords but little aid in the future.

The chemist has the records of the past before
him. He records his own experiments, and their
results, with the nicest accuracy, and can repeat
them at his pleasure.

The astronomer records not only the results of
his measurements and calculations, but every step
of the calculations themselves, that they may be
verified by others.

The physician records his observations upon
diseases and remedies, and thus the physician of
to-day has at his command, not only his own ex-
perience, but the experience of those who have
lived before him. Man is the only being upon
earth that profits by the experience of others.
Animals of the present generation are no wiser
than those of the past. They exhibit no more
skill, no more sagacity, but blindly follow the same
instincts that guided their predecessors.

Since the art of printing was invented, and the
records of experience have been thereby greatly
multiplied, men have rapidly improved in the
Knowledge of material things, and in the ability
to use them for their advantage and conve-
nience. What makes the difference between the
educated and the uneducated man ? The for-
mer adds to the knowledge acquired by the ex-
ercise of his own faculties, the knowledge pos-
sessed by those Avho lived before him, while the
latter relies chiefly upon his own observations.
But the educated man has not accomplished his
whole mission until he has added his mite to the
accumulated treasures of knowledge. Every good
thought, every well-defined fact, adds something
to the common stock, from which every one may
draw according to his necessities and convenience.

If all the farm experience of the past season
could be collected, and collated, and all that is
valuable could be recorded, it would make a book
of reference of great value. If the same thing
could be done for a series of years, we should ar-
rive at facts of inestimable value. The experience
of years and generations past would be converted
into guides and aids for the present. This would
be a work of great labor and perseverance. But we
will not despau" — something is done towards its
completion every year.

When Lieut. Maury wished to determine the
winds prevailing at any season in any direction
of the ocean, he collated the log-books of hun-
Ireds of navigators, who, during a succession of
years, had sailed over that section, and thus by
immense labor, learned in what dii-cction the winds

blew, and on what days in the year, and thus, at
length, arrived at the result, that certain winds
prevailed in certain sections at certain seasons of
the year. Thus facts were established of essential
importance to commerce. The experience of the
past was made to contribute to the advantage of
the present. But if navigators had traversed the
ocean without recording the course of the winds,
the present generation of seamen would be no
wiser in this respect than their predecessors, and
would have continued to encounter the storms,
and beat against the head winds at unfavorable
seasons, as they did, all of which they are now
able to avoid.

When the log-books of our farmers for a suc-
cession of years and seasons shall be carefully
collated, and facts, established by the experience
of hundreds, be placed on record, future agricultu-
rists will be able to lay out their course with more
confidence, and with more certainty of reaching
the results at which they aim. Our agricultural
papers, the books of our coimty and State socie-
ties, and our boards of agriculture, afford the means
of making the record, and Ave may hope that some
Maury will one day arise, and condense from the
experience of the past a book of wisdom, that
shall be of as much value to agriculture as the
charts of the Avinds are to navigation.

Something like this, it seems to us, should oc-
casionally be the current of the farmer's thoughts
during the month of January. And if it is so,
it will not fail to be of more substantial benefit
to him, and to secure more favorable results in
the item of profits, than many daj's of anxious
toil, guided less by wisdom and the light of ex-
perience.

AW EXPERIMENT FOR THE COUNTY SO-
CIETIES.

COMMONAVEAI.TH OF MASSACHUSETTS— AGRICUI^
TURAL DEPAUTJIKNT.

Boston, December 5, 1859.

At a meeting of the State Board of Agriculture,
held on the 1st inst., it Avas

" Voted, That the several Agricultural Societies
receiving the bounty of the State be required to
offer three premiums for the most thorovigh, exact
and reliable experiments upon the ])roper depth of
applying manures, payable in the fall of 1862, as
folloAvs : —

"Select a level piece of land of any convenient
size, from tAventy square rods up to as many acres
or more, Avhich should be as nearly equal in its
character and conditions as possible. Divide it
into five equal parts, numbering them 1, 2, 3, 4
and 5, for a rotation of three years.

"Divide the manure Avhich it is proposed to ap-
ply, and AA'hich should be of a uniform character,
into four equal parts. At the time of first plow-
ing in the spring, spread evenly one-fourth of the
manure upon ])lot No. 1, and then plow the AA'hole
field of an equal depth. Apply another fourth
part of the manure to plot No. 2, and then cross

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

plow the whole field to about half the depth of
the first plowing. Spread another fourth of the
manure upon plot No. 3, and harrow or cultivate
the whole field ; after which som' or plant the whole
evenly, with any crop preferred. Finally, spread
the remaining quarter-part of the manure upon
plot No. 4.

"Observe that by pursuing this course, each of
the five lots will receive equally, a deep plow-
ing, a shallow plov\'ing, and a harrowing or cul-
tivating, the only difference in them being that in
No. 1 the- manure is buried deep, in No. 2 shal-
low, in No, 3 buried only slightly, but coated with
loam, and in No. 4 left exposed upon the surface ;
while No. 5 gets no manure. The manure is to be
spread broadcast and as evenly as possible. The
after cultivation should be the same on each of
the lots, and the harvest of each should take place
at the same time.

"Let a statement of the character of the soil,
whether light or heavy, dry or moist, leachy or
retentive of manures, the crop of 1859, kind and
amount and mode of application of manure in
1859, size of field covered by the experiment,
depth of first plownig, kind and amount of ma-
nure used in 1860, kind of crop, when and how
sown, number of times and manner cultivated, and
weight of product on an average rod of eac'"" plot,
be made in 1860, and returned in the annual re-
port of each Society.

"If there is a double product, as grain and straw,
corn and stover, let the weight of the secondary
product be given on each plot.

"If the competitor weigh the whole crop instead
of estimating it by an average rod, there will be
no objection to such a course.

"A brief synopsis of the weather for each of the
following months, by dividing each month into
three parts, and using the terms dry, moist, and
■wet, to indicate the general character of the weath-
er, will also be expected.

Middle Third.

Last Third.

First Third.
May,
June,
July,
August,
September,

"A similar report of all the above items, except
the nature of the soil, will be made in 1861, and
in 1862, when the premiums v/ill be awarded. No
manure is to be applied to the second and thii-d
crop."

" Voted, That the Secretary of the Board be re-
quested to offer premiums which will secure an
adequate comsensation for the time and labor con-
sumed in the experiment."

I hereby notify your Society of the above vote.
Evidence of a compliance with it will be required
before I shall feel authorized to draw a certificate
for the bounty to any Society.

One of the greatest obstacles in the way of ag-
ricultural progress is the difficulty of obtaining re-
liable facts and statistics as a basis upon which to
establish principles and construct theories. As a
general rule, theories are first advanced, and then
isolated facts are brought forward for the pui'pose
of proving their truthfulness. It is true that ag-
riculture is not, in the usual sense of the term,
and probably never will become, one of the exact
sciences ; yet there are many things connected
with it which ouirht to bo taken nut of tho rpo-ion

of conjecture, and placed, by repeated and multi-
plied experiments, upon a more substantial basis.
A single fact or experiment may be of only trifling
value in itself considered, but when added to
scores or hundreds of others, the whole collective-
ly may elucidate a doubtful point, or settle a vexed
question.

With these considerations in view, the Board
asks and requu-es the attention of every Society in
the State, to render any aid in the solution of the
question here considered, and to act in concert
with it, and with each other, in such a way as
to give to the result the greatest possible practical
and scientific value. I would suggest that the ro-
tation be limited to corn, grain and grass.

Allow me to call your attention to the Act of
1859, ch. 232, sections 1, 2 and 3, and especially
to sections 4 and 5, authorizing the Board to make
the above requirement, and the penalty of a disre-
gard of, or a failure to comply with it.

I would simply suggest that premiums of $25,
.$20, and $15, have been offered by some of the
Societies, and that it is desirable that no offers
should be smaller than these amounts, as the ob-
ject above indicated is to induce a multiplicity of
expermients. Chakles L. Flint,

Sec. State Board of Agriculture.

For the. Xew England Farmer.
A "WET MEADOW.

I wish to ask through the Farmer in regard to
a bay meadow that I have. It contains about five
acres, and the muck, ten feet from the shore, is
about eight feet deep ; in the centre I have never
found any bottom. I have dug down eight feet,
and then run a pole down ten feet, and not founcl
the bottom. I have dug a ditch through the cen-
tre of it, and several side ditches, five feet Avide
and eight feet deep. But on account of a meadow
below, I cannot* drain it but about eight inches
from the top, where the water stands all the time.

About three years ago, I took a piece of it, and
cut the top all off", and put on sand, two inclies
deep, and then put on a top-dressing, and sowed
on herds grass seed in August, and since I have
had great grass. But the bogs are growing uji
again, and I don't know what to do with it. The
muck is the finest I ever saw. I had to wheel on
all the sand, as no team can go on to it. Will
some one tell me, through the Farmer, hoAv to
manage this meadow ? How will cranberries do
on it ? How shall I fix it for them ?

West Tuwnsend, Mass., 1859.

Remarks. — You must di-ain more thoroughly,
and then you can make a garden of such a mead-
ow. If those owning land below, prevent your
draining, call the laws of the CommonAvealth to
your aid. See Act on Draining, chapter 104, 1855,
entitled an Act to authorize the making of Roads
and Drains, in certain cases.

Brine Poisonous to Animals. — The Ken-
tuchj Turf ^e</(>!'(??- says a gentleman at Lawrence-
burg, Indiana, recently emptied brine from a pork
barrel into the yard. A number of hogs and one
horse partook of it. In less than six hours the
hnrsc find seven b'^r's wot" f!p."'1

NEW ENGLAND FARINIER.

Jan.

For the Neiv England Farmer.
IS FARMHXTG PROFITABLE ?

It is not always considered the province of a
"farmer's paper" to afl'ord amusement as Avell as
instruction. Thei'e is a sort of gravity in the rec-
ord of cro])s and the manner of producing them,
which, if it does not absoUitely preckide the idea
of a joke, leaves us very uncertain as to the prop-
er place for it to come in. But your correspon-
dent "Pinkham," of Chelmsford, has ])ut to rest
all doubt upon the subject, so far as he is con-
cerned. That gentleman, in the Farmer of No-
vember 12, undertakes to show that the business of
farming- some branches of it, at least — don't pay ;
and by an array of figures, apparently satisfies
himself, at least, that his jiosition is a true one.
He first takes up the good old crop of Indian corn,
and insists that it brings the farmer who raises it
into debt at the rate of ten dollars per acre ; and
very naturally wishes to know how long at that
rate, it will take the farmer to get rich. I have
known cases of this kind of arithmetic before. I
knew a farmer once who insisted that he could buy
his pork a great deal cheaper than he could fatten
it ; that he could purchase his corn a great deal
cheaper than he could raise it ; that all his crops,
in fact, cost a great deal more than they came to.
It did not take many years for the sheriff to set his
stakes around that man's farm.

But let us examine some of Mr. Pinkham's fig-
ures. All his items, for the mere labor of cultiva-
ting an acre of corn, count up to $2G. and besides
he adds $3 for interest and taxes on land, $3 for
fencing, &c., $5 for shelling and marketing, and
•SIO for the manure; making in all .$47 per acre.
He then credits 30 bushels of market corn, $2
worth of soft corn, and .t?.3 for pumpkins and sto-
ver, and strikes a balance of -9 10 against the crop.

Now I undertake to say that the farmer who ex-
pends more than $]o worth of labor on an acre of
corn, reckoning the use of his teams and imple-
ments of all kinds, don't know anything about
farming. The value of the manure is ])erhaps set
.ow enough at $10 per acre ; but then it ought to
be considered that not more than half of this ma-
nure becomes exhausted in a single year, and that
at least $5 ought to be credited toAlards the ma-
nuring of the next year's croj). I admit that the
labor and manure for an acre of corn may with
safety be put down at $20 to .$25. As to the" shell-
ing and marketing, the good farmer ought to
shell his corn during the winter evenings, instead
of playing checkers at the nearest grocery ; and
so far from being obliged to go to market with his
corn, his neighbors will take it at his door, at good
prices, and thank him besides. Good northern
yellow corn is not one of the articles which go a
begjging.

Then let us look at the crop itself. Mr. P. puts
it down at 30 bushels to the acre. I undertake to
say that any land, which, taking one season with
another, under the pressure of ten loads of ma-
nui'e, will not average 40 bushels to the acre, is
very ])oor corn land, and not worth $40 per acre,
or anything like it. I do not consider 50 bushels
to the acre a great crop. The best acre of corn I
ever saw, was in Castleton, Vt., some 35 years
ago, whi/;h drew a premium at the agricultural
fair on the basis of 131 bushels to the acre. But
»11 40 bushels a fair average, and we have, ac-

cording to Mr. P.'s figm-es, $40 for the crop. Then
the stover and pumpkins which he sets down at
$5, I call worth at least $10. The stover of an
acre of good corn is worth as much for cattle in
the winter as a ton of good hay — to say nothing
of the pumpkins, which, I admit, are usually of no
very great account, though in some seasons they
add something to the general value of the crop.

Now it is plain that Mr. Pinkham and myself
do not agree. He makes the corn crop $10 worse
than nothing per acre, while I figure out a profit
of $25 ; a difference of $35 per acre. It is hardly
necessary to say that both of these estimates can-
not be correct. But I honestly believe, that, at the
Avorst aspect of the case, the tiiith cannot go back
from my estimate so as to meet his, half v.ay. I
have long considered the corn crop as not only
one of the most profitable, but an indispensable
one for Ncav England. It is a crop that does not fail,
on an average, once in twenty years. It leaves the
soil in better condition for future tilth than any
other crop. It adds largely to the former's means
of keeping stock. It forms one of the cheapest
and healthiest portions of our food. It may be
used in more forms and for more purposes tlian
any other grain. Such being its importance in all
its aspects, I regret to see amthing in print cal-
culated to discourage the farmers of New England
in raising it.

I may hereafter have something to say about
Mr. Pinkham's estimate of the cost of raising
stock. I only wait to see Avhether he has found
any item of fanning that is profitable.

Somerville. e. c. p.

For the Xeio EngUmd Farmer
HOW I RAISE BRONZE TURKEYS.

My fii"st object is to secure large, strong ana
well-formed bii-ds. I prefer a male bird that has
seen two winters, and weighs not less than 30
pounds. The last season I used one of 39 pounds.
I prefer old hens ; for although the young hens lay
earlier, yet the young of the old hens are larger
and stronger. I prefer hens of from 15 to 20
pounds in weight ; when the time for laying ap-
proaches, I take flour baiTels with one head out,
lay them on the side, prepare a nest in the barrel
composed of leaves, with a few tobacco stems to
keep the lice away, cover the baiTcls with a few
brush, put a hen's egg in each nest, and leave the
turkeys to deposite their own, which they usually
do. I remove the eggs each day uiitil the turkey
inclines to set, when I give her 20 eggs, from
AA'hich I usually get from IS to 20 young. Close
the barrel each night with a piece of lattice work
made of laths, to prevent the entrance of night-
walkers.

The first day of hatching I do not allow the moth-
er to leave the nest, or feed the young. On the
second day, instead of cooping the mother, I pre-
pare a pen for the yoimg, by nailing boards on to
four short pieces of slit work, so as to make a pen
about 15 feet square and 18 inches high; this can
be easily moved to a new spot, as it should be in
Avarm Aveather, as often as once a Avcek, or the
turkeys Avill become sickly. For the first Aveek I
feed mostly on boiled egs;, boiled hard and chopped
fine enough for them to SAvalloAv, Avith noAV and
then a meal of fish Avorras, cut or broken into
small pieces. Nothing gives them more strength,

1860.

NEW ENGLAND PAEJVIER

or makes them grow so fast, as fish worms. After
the first week, I feed on curd, made of thick, sour
milk, and on corn meal, ground coarse as for hom-
iny, and wot with thick, sour milk, to which I add
a very little coarse sand, to prevent crop-bake,
with -which many joinig turkeys die when fed on
meal without it.

As soon as the young ones ai-e able to fly over
the side of their pen, I allow them, in good weath-
er, to range with the mother, and feed on insects,
— if these are scarce, I feed a little, night and
morning, until they are more plenty — but grass-
hoj)pers give most bone. Buckwheat I have found
the best grain to give size. If the v,-cather is
stormy while turkeys are young, I dri^'c them un-
der a shed, or into the barn cellar, the floor of
which is covered with fine litter. If any get chilled,
cover them with cotton and place them by the
stove, and put down a few fish worms, and they
are soon .smart again. With this method I have
succeeded in raisMig turkeys, while others have lost
theu's — even duri^ig the last cold and wet season.
With this treatment, an old Java hen, at one brood,
gave me ,17 fine turkeys, but a hen turkey did bet-
ter still. I have never had a turkey have the gapes,
or any other disease. H. "S. Ramsdixl.

Went Thom])SO)i, Conn., Nov., 1S59.

JOHN CHINAMAN AS AN AGKICULTURIST.

In the eyes of the Chinese, human excrements
constitute the true substance of the soil, (so Da-
vis, Fortune, Hedde, and others tell us,) and it is
principally to this most energetic agent that they
ascribe the activity and fertility of the earth.

Except the trade in grain, and in articles of
food, generally, there is none so extensively car-
ried on in China as that in human excrements.
Long, clumsy boats, which traverse the street ca-
nals, collect these matters every day, and distrib-
ute them over the country. Every Coolie, who
has brought his ])roducc to market in the morn-
ing, carries liome at night two pails full of this
manure on a bamboo pole.

The estimation in which it is held is so great,
that everybody knows the amount of excrements
voided per man, in a day, month or year ; and a
Chinese would regard as a gi'oss breach of man-
ners the departure from his house of a guest, who
neglects to let him have that advantage, to which
he deems himself justly entitled, in return for his
hospitality.

In the vicinity of large towns, these excrements
are converted into poudrette, which is then sent
to the most distant places, in the shape of square
cakes, like bricks. For use, these cakes are soaked
in water, and a])plied in the fluid form. With the
exception of his rice fields, the Chinese does not
manure the field, but the plant.

Every substance derived from plants and ani-
mals is carefully collected by the Chinese, and
converted into manure. Oil cakes, horn and bones
are highly valued ; and so is soot, and more es-
pecially ashes. To give some notions of the val-
ue set by them on human offal, it will be sufficient
to mention that the barbers most carefully collect
and sell, as an article of trade, the somewhat con-
sideral)le amount of hair of the beards and heads
of the hundreds of millions of customers, whom
they daily shave. The Chinese know the action
of gypsum and lir.e; and it often hapi)ens that

they renew the piastering of the kitchens, for the
purpose of making use of the old matter for ma-
nure.

No Chinese farmer ever sows a seed of corn
before it has been soaked in liquid manure diluted
with water, and has begun to germinate ; and ex-
perience has taught him, (so he asserts,) that this
operation not only tends to promote the growth
and development of the plant, but also to protect
the seed ft-om the insects hidden in the ground.

During the summer months, all kinds of vege-
table refuse are mixed with turf, straAV, grass, peat,
weeds and earth, collected into heaps, and when
quite diy, sc;; on fire ; after several days of slow
combustion the entire mass is converted into a
kind of black earth. This compost is only em-
])loyed for the manuring of seeds. When seed
time arrives, one man makes holes in the ground ;
another follows with the seed, which he places in
the holes ; and a third adds the black earth. The
young seed, planted in this manner, grows with
such extraordinary vigor that it is thereby enabled
to push its rootlets through the hard, solid soil,
and to collect its mineral constituents.

The Chinese farmer sows his wheat, after the
grains have been soaked in liquid manure, quite
close, in seed beds, and afterwards transplants it.
Occasionally, also, the soaked grains are immedi-
ately sown in the field properly prepared for their
reception, at an interval of four inches from each
other. The time of transplanting is towards the
month of December. In March the seed sends
up from seven to nine stalks with ears, but the
straw is shorter than with us. I have been told
that wheat yields 120 fold more, which amply re-
pays the care and labor bestowed upon it.

It is quite true that what suits one people may
not on that account suit all countries and all na-
tions ; but one great and incontrovertible truth
may, at all events, be learned from Chinese agri-
culture, viz., that the fields of the Chinese culti-
vator have preserved their fertility unimpaired
and in continued vigor ever since the days of Abra-
ham, and of the building of the first pyramid in
Egypt.* This result, we also learn, has been at-
tained solely and simply by the restitution to the
soil of the mineral constituents removed in the
produce ; or what amounts to the same thing, that
this has been effected by the aid of a manure, of
which the greater portion is lost to the land in the
system of European (and American ?) cultivation.
— Liehig^s Modern Agriculture.

* Vessels of Chinese poreelaiu are found in tlie pyra-
mids, of the same shape, and with tlie same cliarac-tcrs
of writing on tliem, as on modern China at the present
day.

For the Xeic England Farvier.

MARKET DAY IN ESSEX COUNTY.

Messrs. Editors : — The last "market day" of
the season came off" yesterday, with good success,
if a multitude of animals and a multitude of far-
mers, gathered together, are to be taken as evi-
dence of the fact. How many bought, and how
many sold, I cannot say ; but this I can say, there
was a good opportunity to do both, and so far as
I understood the murmm-s of the crowd, it was
done to a considerable extent. The great oxen
from New Hampshire were there. Every one Avho
examined them, expressed their admiration of the

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

Jan.

symmetry of their forms, and the brightness of
their looks. The one partly Durham uas most ad-
mired. Whether their weight -was G.300 or 7000
pounds, I cannot say ; their keeper was rather sliy
of scales. At all events, they were big enough,
and fat enough, to rejoice the hearts of many on a
Thanksgiving day, provided all the turkeys had run
off, and there should be no extended liquor around,
and no liitle man to extend it.

As "line upon line" and "precept upon precept"
have ever been helpers in a good cause, I send
you such views as have occurred to my mind in
relation to underdraining — in the course of some-
what extended observations, on some of the best
conducted farms in our county the past season.
The motto of our farmers is, "Make the best of
what you have." If a man can, by an expenditure
of fifty dollars per acre, make his lands produce
two, three, or four times as much, as without such
expenditiu'e, this I reckon good economy. I can
point out many instances, within a few miles dis-
tance, where this has been done, and I trust there
are many other fields where it will be done.

Truly yours, j. \v. P.

South Danvers, Nov. 16, 1859.

For the New England Farmer
FRENCH'S FARM DRAINAGE.

With a simple "please accept," I received some
time since a copy of this work from the editor of
the Farmer. It was an acceptable present ; al-
though it suggested the thought that I was in-
debted for the gift rather to Gov. Brown's personal
knowledge of the "thorough drainage" of my
])urse, than to any successful experiments in the
application of the system to my laud.

I have read the book carefully ; "road, not to
contradict and refute, nor to believe and take for
granted, but to weigh and consider." I do not
propose to attempt a "review" of the Avork. This
has been done by abler pens. I wish simply to
give expression to a few thoughts which its j^erusal
has suggested to my mind. And if, in doing so,
I shall indulge in a little fault-finding, I think it
will be gratifying to the author, by way of variety ;
for, so far as I have seen, the numerous "notices"
of his book have been of unmixed commendation
and praise.

As I have not the vanity to suppose that my
opinions are entitled to a very conspicuous posi-
tion among the practical suggestions of your cor-
respondents, I propose to v,rite a few short arti-
cles, that may be put into any spai-e corner of your
pages, on some of the many topics discussed m
the "Farm Drainage ;" and will begin with the

ANTIQUITY OF DRAINAGE.

After a brief introductory chapter, our author
enters upon the "History of the Art of Draining"
with the following opening sentence :

"The art of removing superfluous water from land must
be as ancient as the art of cultivation ; and from the time
when Noah and his family anxiously watched the subsid-
ing of the waters into their appropriate channels, to the
present, men must have felt the ill effects of too much
water, and adopted means more or less effective to remove
it." p. 24.

I must confess to great veneration for antiquity.
I believe 'there is much truth in the declaration
that "there is nothing new under the sun," not-

withstanding the many "new" inventions of our
progressive age. The question of the antiquity of
drainage is, therefore, to my mind, a most impor-
tant one. For if farmers in other times, and in
circumstances similar to our own, have found
draining necessary, then miay we reasonably con-
clude that eventually we shall be obliged to pur-
sue the same course.

The Bible contains frequent allusions to agri-
culture, during some four thousand years of man's
occupation of the soil, in countries where "thou
sowest thy seed, and waterest it with thy foot," as
well as in those "of hills and valleys that drinketh
water of the rain of heaven," and as a part of that
history, which is philosophy teaching by example,
is, I think, very properly alluded to by our author in
this connection ; however some may be disposed to
smile at the idea of a Bible argument on draining.

His specific allusion to the Flood naturally di-
rected mv attention to the ^Mosaic account of that
event. \Ve are told that on the first day of the
first month of the 601st year of Noah's age, he
removed the covering of the ark, and looked, and
l)ehold Xhcfuce of the gi-ound was dry. Nearly two
months longer did the "anxious" voyagers remain
in the ark. The "water of ckainage" was still in
the soil. Impatiently may we suppose they watched
the sloM' process of its removal. Finally, in the
second month, on the seven-and-twentietli day of
the month, was the eurtli dried — "thoroughly
drained." Noah came forth from the ark, and the
Almighty covenanted with him, "neither shall there
any more be a flood to destroy the earth."

Turning over a single leaf of the sacred record,
we find, in the account of Lot's separation from
Abram, that the plain of Jordan was chosen — not
because it was thoroughly drained, not because the
ill effects of too much water did not happen to he
felt there, but simply because "itica-sicell umtered
everywhere." And from Genesis to the parable of
our Saviour, in which the seed of the sower "with-
ered away because it lacked moisture." frequent
references are made to ill effects of drouth, Init,
so far as I am aware, not a solitary one to "the
ill effects of too much water."

As a curse, it is said "the rebellious dwell in a
dry land;" and as a reward to the righteous, "he
shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water."
It is promised that "he that watereth. shall him-
self bo Avatered ;" but nowhere except in some
new translaVon that I have not seen, is it said,
"he that draincth, shall himself be drained."

In relation to the writings of "Cato, Columella
and Pliny," Avho, otu- author informs us, mention
draining, I can say nothing, because I haA~e never
seen tlieir -works. In this connection, hoAvever, I
Avill allude to a statement, Avhich I saw not long
since in a neAvspaper, to the etlect that the Em-
peror Napoleon had rettu-ned from his Italian cam-
paign an enthusiastic advocate of uTigation.

That the agriculture of the Chinese furnishes
little evidence of the antiquitj- of draiiiing may be
inferred from the fact that, among a set of models
of Chinese agricultural implements noAV in the
Museum of this State, there is not a single one
adapted to any of tho processes of draining, Avhile
tAvo of the most ex])ensive and complicated are
machines for irrigation.

But all this argument Avas scarcely necessary, on
my part. The chapter Avhich thus opens Avith the
assertion that draining must be as old as the art

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

of cultivation, is only half wi'itten when the con-
fesion is made that James Smith, who "came into
general notice about 1S32, seems to be in fact,
the fii-st ach'ocate of any system ^yo^thy the name
of thorough drainage." (p. 37.)

This leaves the subject of drainage -where, in my
opinion, it belongs — among the unsettled theories
of our own peculiarly theoretic age. s. F.

Winchester, Nov., 1859.

CARE OF OLD APPLE TREES.

Many farmers who have old apple orchards are
neglecting them, and in many cases cutting them
down, to make room for young trees. This is poor
policy, to say the least. Old trees, by the exercise
of a little care and skill in managing them, may
be made almost as pi'oductive as young ones, and
in a much shorter time. All that is essentially
requisite to ensm-e this result, is to trim them>
carefully cutting away all the diseased and broken
limbs, and to free the trunks and larger limbs of
the "scurf" and moss, and after%vards to insert
girafts — care at the same time being taken to light-
en the soil, and make it rich, especially in the vi-
cinity of the roots. In renewing an old orchard
something like the following course may be ad-
vantageously pursued — the proprietor having first
examined the trees, and decided whether they have
sufficient vitality to renew their former energy
under pi'oper treatment.

In April or May we should remove the rough
bark from the body and large limbs of the trees
with a scraper, an implement like those used by
boat-builders in removing the rosin from the seams
of boats and vessels, and afterwards scour the en-
tire surface with a mixture of sharp sand and ash-
es, mixed with soap and water. Every limb should
be treated in the same way, whether large or small,
that can be come at conveniently, and care taken
that all the moss and rough bark is removed.

The trimming should not he undertaken until
about the middle of June, Avhen all crooked and
diseased wood shoidd be removed with the sharp-
est tools, reserving only such shoots and small
limbs as are of suitable size to gi-aft. If the trees
ai-e old and very much decayed, the number re-
tained for this purpose should be small, as there
may possibly not be enough energy or vital pow-
er in the system to sustain a large number, and
as too dense a top will necessarily tend to abridge
the recuperative action by producing too much
shade.

The soil should also be thoroughly loosened
around the roots, and filled with strong and invig-
orating manure, and kept entirely free from weeds
and grass. The best stimulus, probably, that can
be applied, is a compost made of forest leaves,
well decomposed, house ashes, lime, gypsum and
common stable manure. From fifteen to twenty
bushels of this should be allowed to every large

tree, and so worked into and incorporated with
the soil as to ensure its coming in close contact
with the roots. If the soil be of a light arena-
ceous, or sandy texture, a load of fine clay should
be spread over the surface, above the manure.

In removing the limbs, all the stumps should
be coated with wax or tar softened with tallow, or
what is equally cheap and more easily applied,
gum shellac dissolved in alcohol. The reason why
so many old trees perish after the abscission of the
larger limbs, is, that no care is taken to ensure
the healing of the Avounds, which let out the life-
blood and energy of the system during the ascent
of the sap, leaving long, black lines of decaying
bark as a perpetual reproach to the unskilful or
perverse manager.

The second year the trees may be grafted, and
if the tops promise not to be thick enough, new
branches may be permitted to start, to be engraft-
ed subsequently, and in such places as will ensure
a symmetrical and desirable form to the tops.
The most eligible shape for an apple tree is that
of an umbrella reversed ; but this must be a mat-
ter of taste with most persons.

So far as working the soil and manuring is con-
cerned, our method refers to trees standing by
themselves ; where they are regularly set in or-
chard form, the best way would be to plow the
whole surface carefully and manure broadcast.

This course may seem too precise and expen-
sive to some persons, — ^but if so, let them try the
cleansing, pruning and manuring process on a sin-
gle declining tree that they have long valued, and
see what a wonderful restoration will be efi'ected.

For the New England Farmer

PROFIT OP FARMING.

I notice a piece in your paper of Nov. 12th,
18o9, headed, "How to reckon the Cost of Farm
Products," and signed T. J. Pinkham, Chelmsford,
1S.j9. Mr. P. gives us a very particular state-
ment of the cost of raising, and the value of one
acre of corn in dollars and cents, which statement
I am not disposed to find fault with ; but am dis-
posed to take it as it stands. I would only sim-
ply remark, that in Chelmsford, and its surround •
ing towns, where it is known that a farmer has
any corn of his own raising to sell, instead of so-
liciting purchasers, he will have five times as many
call on him as he can supply ; this shows that a
shilling a bushel is rather a high price to charge
for shelling and selling corn ; but still I am will-
ing to take all his figures, just as they are, and
thank friend Pi'.ikham for his close and fair calcu-
lation. It is just what I have been hoping some
one would do, and hope we will still have more
statements of the same nature, from those who
are disposed to believe there is no profit in farm-
ing. But I think his story will leave this subject
as it is. I think it would have a tendency to lead
young men who are now thinking what they shall
do for a living into a great error. There are two

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

Jan.

sides to every thing. His estimated cost of plow-
ing is fair, and sufficient for plowing an acre of
old pasture, trodden by the cows for years. If
this was the kind of land, I will still add a little
more experience to it. At the last hoeing of the
corn, charge fifty cents for a half-bushel of rye,
seventy-five cents for a bushel of red top seed, and
twenty-five cents for sowing it over the ground,
thus increasing the loss to $11,50.

After having been cultivated through the sea-
son, according to the writer's account, what farm-
er, who has his senses, when the sun shines on this
acre of land in 1860, with the grass and rye then
growing upon it, will not say that this acre of land
is worth double what it was on the morning of the
tenth day of May, 18o9, before the plow broke the
sod ? I Avill suppose this acre of land to be an
acre of hay land, run down so as to need plowing,
which we cannot suppose bore more than ten hun-
dred to the acre. Is it not reasonable to suppose
if this ground is sown down to barley and grass
seed, that it will, for years, produce one ton to the
acre ? And cannot any man buj'ing standing
grass, afford to pay as much for one ton of grass
standing on an acre of ground, lately plowed, as
he can for a ton and a half, where he has to swing
the scythe and the rake over tln-ee acres of ground
to collect the hay of a poorer quality ?

Whether the acre of land the writer speaks of
was intended to be improved for pasture or mowing
land, it is ])lain to be seen that the cultivation of
the ground, while the corn crop was growing, ren-
dered it capable of producing double its former
value of grass for years to come. And this gives
the profits in farming.

Although lie did not tell us in words, that there
was a profit in farming, he came so near it, he un-
locked the door, and made it very easy to swing
open and let us look in. Go on, friend Pinkham ;
give us moi-e statements, remembering that agi-i-
culture is so much like ])ure old gold and silver,
that it will continue to shine as long as you con-
tinue to scour it, and a long time after. But if
you shoidd ever be able to convince me that there
is no profit in farming, you will give me more
anxiety, and cause in me more alarm, fearing that
the world will come to an end by starvation, than
Miller's preaching, and all his followers, ever did !
Asa G. Sheldon.

Wilmington, Mass., Nov. 14.

EXTRACTS AND REPLIES.
HOW TO MAKE AN OBSTINATE HORSE DRAW.

In looking over the last number of your paper,
(Nov. 12,) my eye fell upon an article taken from
the Cofton Planter, entitled "To make an obstinate
horse ])ull." In reading it, it brought to my mind
an instance of Yankee ingenuity vised for the same
purpose, although of a diff"erent kind or contri-
vance, and of vvhich a friend of mine Avas an eye-
witness, winter before last, in Northern Vei'mont.
As it is fully as infallible a method to make such
a horse pull, as the other, and as it may be of use
to many of your subscribers in a similar case, I
give it to you, as follows.

As my friend was riding along one day on
horseback, he saw two men, each with a heavy
load of wood upon his sled. One of the horses of
the team1)ehind becoming very obstinate, avarie-
tv of ways were tried to make him di-aw, but with-

out avail. He would pull backwards so as to pre-
vent the other horse from drawing. After coaxing,
whipping, &c., in vain, the following method was
very successfully tried. A stout rope was made
fast to the obstinate animal's tail, and then passed
under his belly in such a way as to jjass between
both the hind and the fore legs, and the other end
was made fast to the front team. When all was
ready,' the horses of the front team were started,
and no horse, I will venture to say, ever pulled
better. Let others try the same method, and they
may be assured, that if it does not work success-
fully, it is because the animal does not care enough
for his tail, to follow it. A Vermonter.

Burlington, Vt., 1859.

FOWE meadow grass.

Messrs. Editors : — When I was a boy, in my
native town, Lancaster, Worcester County, there
was a tract of land lying on both sides of the
Nashua River, which had never been cleared, of-
fered for sale, which my father bought. A large
portion of the estate was pine plain. He hired
help to cut oif the Imnber, and to clear tlie alders
from the interval. There were large pieces of na-
tive grass he mowed. He did not know the name.
I remember one of his hands said it was the same
as a kind he mowed in "Fowl Meadow." They
called it Fowl Meadow grass, so named from a
very remarkable bird found dead there. None
knew its name, or place, or kind. I never knew it
cultivated till I reai)ed oft' the heads and sowed some
fifty-six years ago, which I have often done since,
sometimes quite successfully. I have never had it
do well, mixed with other kinds of grass seed, or
sown in spring or ujjland. Rut sown on the sur-
face of a burnt dam]) soil, it does admirably. It
will not run out, if cut late. I will not say that
early cutiing kills it, or that it requires the annu-
al dropping of ripe seed, but, as requested, give
my experience. Benjamin Wielard.

Ilolijoke, Nov. 14, 1859.

A CARROT CROP.

1 have cultivated this year a small piece of land
to carrots which has lieen sown to the same crop
for the two years previous. It is three rods wide,
and seven rods long, making 21 rods of ground.
The carrots were sown about the middle of May,
and where the carrots missed, I set turnips, thinned
and hoed three times, at the cost of about three
dollars, and on the 24th and 25th of October, dug
and housed 102 bushels of carrots and 20 bushels
of turnips. H. H.

Clarendon, Vt., Nov., 1859.

must an owner fence his eand ?

A reader of the Farmer would like to inquire
through its columns, if there is any law he can
enforce so as to make a neighbor build half of the
fence against his woodland ? Inquirer.

Milford, Mass., 1859.

Remarks. — An owner must keep up his half of
the fence as long as he improves the land. If he
desires to let it lie in common, he must give six
months notice to all adjoining occupants. See Re-
vised Statutes, Chap. 19, Sect. 2, and same chap-
ter, latter part of Section 15.

18G0.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

J. M. FA^WKES'S STEAM PLO"WI]SrG MAOHIiraS.

We present the reader, to-day, -with an engrav-
ing of the &-st Steam Plow, we believe, that has
been put into practical operation in this country.
We do this, more with a view to keep the reader
acquainted with what is going on in the world of
agricultural machinery, than with any expectation
that it will be adopted in New England during the
present century. It is probable that its use can-
not be made profitable except on extensive tracts
of clear and pretty level land, or on large estates
owned by individuals, that have been brought un-
der a high state of cultivation.

In the recent trial at the U. S. Fair in Illinois,
it was said that its ease of motion, the facility
with which it may be turned, and the manner in
which the plows may be controlled, all commend
it to the consideration of a discriminating public,
and its successful and extraordinary performance
upon proper soils have elicited the highest com-
mendation and praise. It wili not answer upon
stumpy ground, or in any other in which the
plows will be constantly meeting obstructions
which require them to yield or break. On a large
portion of our farming-lands, especially on our
western prairies, however, this machine seems des-
tined to be of very important and immense ser-
vice, furnishing, according to the estimate of the

committee of the Illinois State Fair, the means of
doing this work for one-fourth of its present ex-
pense.

The illustration of this machine, given above,
was kindly furnished us by Mr. Fawkes, the in-
ventor. We hope it will meet his own expecta-
tir'-ns, and prove a machine of value to the world.

For the Neio England Farmer.
GRAPES FOK OPEET CULTTJilE IM" MAIIXTE.

Mr. Brown : — The cultivation of grapes in
Maine is yet in its infancy ; but I am hapjiy to say
a lively interest, in some portions of our State, is
beginning to be awakened, from the fact that it is
found they ])ay as well as other desirable fruits,
and are at least as reliable. We have our full
share in Bangor, of grapes cultivated under glass,
but it cannot be expected that many persons in
our country towns v/ill afford the expense.

It is important for us to find those varieties
i which are hardy, early, of good flavor and produc-
' tire. All these qualities are indispensable for our
success in Maine, for open culture.

Several of our pomological gentlemen are en-
gaged in originating new varieties of grapes, and
it is whispere^l one of the distinguished horticul-
turists is about bringing out several new varieties
v.-hich may be valuable acquisitions to our present
stock.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

Jan.

"W' e especially need varieties that will ripen in
favo'-able locations every season. This has been,
for r^anj- years, the great desideratum with us in
Maire, and someAvhat shared throughout New
England. Therefore, the person who will furnish
it, will be a public benefactor, and will be deserv-
ing a rich reward, and doubtless will obtain it.

So far as I can learn in !Maine, the Catawba is
so late it is entirely out of the question, and also
even in New England. The Isabella is a little bet-
ter, but nearly useless for Elaine. The AVhite
Sweetwater, on the Penobscot, has done better
than any of the older varieties, notwithstanding
its unpopularity in other States. This variety, for
the last 15 years, at Bangor, has been very profita-
ble. The vines are productive and the grapes sell
readily. The vines also are older and stronger,
and thus have the advantage of young vines of
new varieties.

So far as I can learn, the Black Cluster, (also
an old variety,) flourishes in Montreal and other
parts of Canada, and Avhere it has been planted in
Bangor it has ripened well in good locations. But
of the newer varieties which have ripened with us
are the following, naming the earliest first, and then
in succession : Hartford Prolific, Concord. Diana.
Each of the above I consider good, and are salea-
ble. These will increase in value with us, as the
vines become strong with age. I have some vines
of the Early Muscadine, but they are not called for,
though it is early. I have many Delaware and Re-
becca vines, but they have not yet shown fruit with
us, and till they are "proved and tried,'' few will
venture to make the trial of them.

You will confer a great favor on the people of
the Penobscot country, if you will advise them
when valuable new varieties that are very early,
hardy and good flavored, are ofi'ered in the market,
which you would recommend.

Bangor, xVoy., 1859. Henry Little.

P. S. — The Clinton is an early grape of good
color, but is so acid as to be generally expelled
from the gardens on this river. H. L.

IS FARMING- PROFIT ABLE ?

No one thing operates more injuriously to the
interests of agriculture than the widely-spread and
popular idea, that farming is not profitable. It is
almost a work of supererogation to reply to the
charge, that the cultivation of the land, as an oc-
cupation for the mass of the people, is not a prof-
itable employment, because it is evident to all who
will look, that it is from this source that all sup-
plies for the sustenance of man and beast are
mainly drawn. The art of agi'iculture underlies
all other arts, and sustains them all. Cease the
cultivation of the soil, and commerce, manufac-
tures, all sciences, and mechanic arts, and even
breath itself, would soon cease.

The pursuit of agriculture as an occupation,
may not be as profitable inidcr all cu'cumstances,
as some other pursuit. It may be better for the peo-
ple of a sandy tract of country on the sea-shore, to
tm-n thear attention to fishing, than to raising
grain or grass, or for those in a mountainous and

rocky country to make the water of the valleys tm-n
their wheels to transform forests into various ar-
ticles for household use. There may be reasons
why individuals in all our towns should find em-
ployment in agriculture less profitable than some
others in which they might engage. But with an
average price of labor, land and implements, and
with that degree of skill which the land demands
of all, we do not believe that many acres of land
are ever cultivated at a loss, when the crop is not
injured by blight, frost, or some other casualty.

In the Farmer of Nov. 12, Mr. T. J. Pinkiiam,
of Chelmsford, Mass., sent us an article entitled,
"i/oio to lleckon the Cost of Farm Produce,'" in
which he intended to show, by a single illustration
of the culture of an acre of corn, that the farmer
loses, rather than makes, money, by his farming
operations. We did not then, nor do we noAv,
think that his premises or conclusions were cor-
I'ect, but gladly published his bold article for the
pvu-pose of arousing public attention to this mat-
ter, and, if possible, of establishing a more correct
opinion in the public mind. In this, we are hap-
py to say, there is now a fair prospect of succeed-
ing. As we then supposed would be the case, men
of great exjjerience in farming matters have taken
up the glove thrown down by Mr. Pinkham, are
criticising his positions sharply, and reversing the
picture he drew.

The past season has been an unfavorable one in
which to obtain a good crop of Indian corn, — too
much cold and wet weather prevailing early, and
it being too cold and di"y in the latter part of the
season ; and yet, by exercising the proper care in
selecting the land, in manuring so as to give the
young plants an early and vigorous growth, as well
as to sustain the corn during its time of maturing,
we have never harvested a sounder or better crop
of corn in any season. It has given us sixty-Jive
bushels to the acre, most of which is suitable to
be sent to the stores to be sold for seed corn.

We have not kept the precise cost of this crop,
but near enough to show that it was not over sev-
entv-five cents per bushel. Let us see — corn is
worth now one dollar a bushel,

Si.xty-five busTiols, at $1,00, la $(;o,00

Cost of 65 bushels, .at 75 cents, Is 48,75

Profit $10,25

Stover, equal to one ton of best hay $10,00

100 bushels turnips on same land 10,00

$42,25

Such is the present year's result with us, and

under the same mode of treatment, we have nc

doubt similar results would follow nine times in

ten. We believe that the work of a good farmer

for twenty days, will bring a crop of corn on an

average of our New England land, that shall range

along from forty to sixty bushels to the acre. He

must be a man of judgment ; must not spend five

1880.

XEW ENGLAND FAiniER.

or six claj's in getting out the witch grass, from an
acre at the first hoeing, instead of destroying it by
very late fall, and very early spring, plowing. If
he makes this mistake, or some other as great, he
labors at a loss, and adds five or six dollars to the
cost of his crop ! And so with regard to several
other points which it is scarcely necessary to enu-
merate.

For the Xcw Eiiriland Farmer.
THE HUBBARD SQUASH.

WHAT IT HAS DON'IC THIS SKASOX, WHEN TO IlItlNO IT
TO THii TAr.I,i:, ETC.

In many localities this has been a hard squash
year. Correspondents from northern New Eng-
land, central New Yorlv, several of the western
States, and a portion of Pennsylvania, make men-
tion of frosts fatal to vines, while the drought
which late in the season prevailed in north-west-
ern New England, a ])ortion of the west, and in
some sections of our own State, was almost equal-
ly fatal. These, with the usual casualties from
bug and borer to M'hich vines are subject, have
disap]>ointed the anticipations of hundreds of en-
terprising men, who with the close of the season
have reaped but their troul)le for their pains. In
an old town from which this now somewhat cele-
brated squash first went forth, with two exceptions,
the yield has been very satisfactory, the average
yield having been not far from six tons to the
acre. My friend, Mr. Looney, from 15,200 feet of
land (about one-third of an acre) obtained 7000
pounds of fine specimens, or at the rate of about
ten tons to the acre ; on the other hand, a friend
whose land was but poorly drained, obtained from
his half acre hardly sufficient squashes to pay for
his seed. Neither extreme is a guide to the sensi-
ble cultivator. For my own ])art, I have so much
faith in the public appreciation of this squash,
founded on a personal acquaintance of its good
qualities of fifteen years standing, that I have nov/
seventy-two tons in store, and permit me, Mr. Ed-
itor, to refer any of our friends, who from una-
voidable causes have failed in their attempts to
raise it, to an advertisement in this paper. I am
afraid that many experimenters are making a mis-
take in determining the quality of the Hubbard
squash. It is not claimed of the Hubbard that it
is the best of fall squashes ; those who like a fine
grained, dry meated squash will find nothing to
excel the Hubbard in the early fall, but it does
not gain its highest quality, its sweet and rich,
nutty flavor, till winter opens.

A word about the purity of the Hubbard squash.
Literally, any variety of squash is pure only M'hcn
it is entirely free from any admixture with any
other variety ; but practical/ [/, no squash (the
crook-neck perhaps, excepted) is found pure to
this degree. For practical purposes, and in an
honest use of the term "pure," a squash may be
so called after two or three years of entirely iso-
lated culture, gi-eat care in the meanwhile being
exercised in the selection of seed. When the
Hubbard becomes crossed with the autumnal Mar-
row, the fact becomes very conspicuous from the
strong contrast in color ; while the Marrow, when
crossed with the African or South American vari-
eties, may so conceal the fact as to make it evi-
dent to the critical eye only. jSIaking a fair allow-

ance for the difference, and the fact that what are
sometimes termed crosses, are but the product of
seed of various varieties that were smuggled in
the manure, and I think we may infer that the
Hubbard has, by careful culture, now attained a
high degree of purity. The presence of the two
varieties, the blue and green, indicate of necessity
no want of ])urity, the difi'erence being only in
color, while the various shades in these two colors
for the most part but indicate different degi-ees of
ripeness. AVhether my theory as regards the de-
gree of purity possible to be attained by this
squash be correct or incorrect, (and I would con-
fine my remarks to the seed of last s])ring's plant-
ing,) the public may rest assured that whatever
progress it is possible to make in this direction by
isolated culture, will be as carefully attended to in
the future as it has been for the two seasons past
In conclusion, Mr. Editor, permit me to invite any
of our farmer friends who may like the not'ion of
looking on seventy-two tons of Hubbard squashes,
to take a trip this way, where I will he happy to
play the part of exhibitor, and answer any Yan-
kee questions to the extent of mv ability.

3farblehcad, Mass. ^'^^^^^ ^'- ^- Gkkgoky.

For the New Enr/lnnd Farmer
A LITTLE MORS ABOUT DRAIKTAGE.
BY JUDGE FRENCH.

My Dear Brown : — My table is loaded with
letters and papers about drainage, and I know not
what to do with them better than to give them, or
some notice of them, to our readers. And first,
here is a letter from Edmund Ruffin, of old Vir-
ginia, and a volume, published l)y him in 18ou, of
"Essays and Notes on Agriculture." The writer
is described on the title page, as "A practical farm-
er of Virginia, from 1812, founder and sole editor
of the Farmer\<i Iteglster, meml^er and secretary
of the former State Board of Agriculture ; for-
merly agricultural surveyor of the St.^te of South
Carolina, and the first chosen president of the Vir-
ginia State Agricultural Society." The volume
contains, among the rest, an Essay on Draining,
one on Clover Culture, one on the Management
of Wheat Harvest, one on the Weevil, one on "Em-
banked Tide-marshes and Mill-ponds, as Causes
of Disease," and one on the "Usefulness of Snakes !"

Mr. RufRn was a farmer, it seems, in 1812, be-
fore I was born, and he has diligently served the
cause of agriculture ever since. In 18:38, he re
published Elkington's System of Drainage, by
Johnstone, and he probably better understands
that system than any other man in this country.
Now, for one, I love to honor a man like this, one
who through evil report and good report, stands
by the cause of agriculture. He may advocate
slavery, if he will, and we will take no offence
when he sends us pro-slavery documents. Such
"incendiary publications" do us no harm. Eli
Thayer and his emigrants, with free labor and New
England thrift, will argue these questions on Vir-

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

Jan.

ginia soil, and show that free men can live where
slaves and their masters starve, and the ballot-
box, by-and-by, will peaceably settle the vexed
question.

Such another man was Isaac Hill, of New Hamp-
shu-e. No matter how politics boiled and bub-
bled, thoup:h he was in the hottest of it, Gov.
Hill had a heart and hand for the farmer. These
men. Avhercver they are. North or South, are the
prophets of agriculture, who have been for a half
century telling this generation the things which
we begin but just now to believe and practice. If
Mr. RufRn will pardon me, I will send a part of
his letter, v.-hich is too valuable to be kept private,
for publication.

Old Church P. 0., Va., June 13, 1859.

Dear Sir: — I return you my thanks for your
interesting and instructive volume on "Farm
iJrainage." which you were so kind as to send to
mc by mail. I have just finished reading it. It
]Hits in a still stronger light than I had before un-
derstood and admitted, the great benefits of thor-
ough chaining, and especially by means of tile
pi])es. The ])lates (showing ])lans of executed
drainings,) are illustrations admirable for their
clearness. I also find, and greatly apjirove, in
your directions, what has seemed to me a great
and cul]mble omission in all the elaborate Euro-
])ean directions that I have read ; i. e., sufi[icient
warnings of the numerous dangers of failure of
operation of covered drains, because of omitting
some one or other of the necessary precautions.
1 am very sure that if a new beginner were to con-
struct drains by following precisely the directions
given by Stephens, Thaer, or any of the numerous
didactic treatises on this subject, that not one
would o])erate well for a year, and probably not j
tm'ough the first heavy rain. j

But while }ou give proofs of greater rewards
for such works, when effective, I have also learned |
from you to fear more for the imperfection of such |
labors, by the inexperienced, even when most care I
shall be used. If I could have obtained tile pipes
at a reasonable cost. I would gladly have used them
years ago. But I am now convinced that if I had
done so, every drain would have been a failure,
from some imperfection then not fully appreciated.
To start the work successfully in a new locality,
(or anywhere in Virginia,) two things are needed,
neither of which we have. First, The pipes to
be bought at fair ])ricos, or to be made on the farm
where needed ; and second, a capable, scientific
drainer to lay off' the plan of drainage, and to di
rect the general constructions. I am no longer a
practical farmer, or personally concerned in the
o])erations — having transferred my farm, and
business, and the bulk of my property, to my
children. But for the pu])lic interest, I should be
very glad if such skill and knowledge as you have,
or can avail yourself of, for these ends, could be
brought to our country.

As soon as I can convey the necessary order
to the bookseller. I shall direct to be sent to you
by mail a co])y of my "Essays and Notes on Ag-
riculture." which I infer has not fallen under your
notice. 'It contains an earlier publication on
draining than the communications to which you

refer. These earlier directions were published
when I had but a contracted and dim perception
of the remarkable natural feature of an underly-
ing, water-glutted sand bed, which is the founda-
tion of my theory and plan of drainage, and
which is both the cause of the gi-eat evil (of ex-
cessive wetness) of a vast extent of our country,
and the great facility for removing that evil.
Wheii the earlier article was written, I had in-
deed lately discovered, and ])rofited by that natu-
ral feature, in my own operations. But I did
not know that the same character extended be-
yond the limits of my own farm. But by subse-
quent investigations, I found that the same char-
acter belonged to a connected region of immense
extent — and infen-ed that the like existed also
under the bottom lands of many rivers far be-
yond the bounds of the region referred to. If I
were now to write a second edition of the fii'st
piece, it would be very much altered from its pre-
sent form, as well as much extended.

With this, I shall also send to you my last pub-
lished pamphlet, on another subject — on one of
the many branches of the great subject of negro
slavery — on which, (from your locality,) we prob-
ably diflfer in o])inion. If so, I beg you to under-
stand that nothing therein was designed to offend
such readers as yourself, or scarcely expected to
meet their eyes. Very respectfully,

Edmund RuFi' IN.

"WOMEN" AND FAIIMI]>7G.

What follows, below, is a portion of the re-
marks made by the Rev. A. L. Stone, of Boston,
at the annual dinner of the Norfolk County Agri-
cultural Society, in September last. No man
knows better than Col. Wilder, the President of
the society, what kind of men to call around him
on such occasions, — and well was his careful at-
tention to this point repaid ; for at no similar gatn-
ering have we ever known so much said that Avas
practical and encouraging, and at the same time
so eloquent and beautiful.

President Wilder introduced his distinguished
guest to the multitude before him, and after a few
pleasant introductory remarks, Mr. S. said :

It is a pleasant surprise to me to find the agri-
cultural interest represented by so many of the
gentle and more domestic sex. And yet their
presence on such an occasion I believe to be in
every respect legitimate and wholesome. For their
proper connection with this interest is intimate
and vital. The original description or definition
of a wife is that she is a helpmeet to man. Just
in what way, or in what variety of ways, this fitting
help is to be reiidcrcd, that original document
does not set forth. The practical answer exliibits
its diversities so varied as never to repeat them-
selves. Sometimes this sphere of helpful fellow-
ship is very much restricted, and again almost in-
definitely broadened. The wife of the German far-
mer limits this sphere only with the boundaries
of his estate. Her nursery is out of doors in the
open field. Its canopy is the leafy shade. Its car-
pet the green turf or the soft brown mould. There
her little ones roll, and tumble and sleep all day,
while she keeps even stroke with her husband in

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

the day's toil. On a day's ride in the diligence
through a pleasant portion of Bavaria, I amused
myself by jotting down the occupation of a dozen
or so of ladies, as I met then in succession. The
first two were equipped v/ith the deep, unwieldy
hoes of the country, and were hoeing potatoes on
a hillside ; the third was plodding along on the
road barefoot, bare armed, dire., with a burden on
her head that would have broken the back of a
moderate sized mvde ; the fourth and fifth were
swinging scythes with the regular action of the
practiced farmer, one of them leading the proces-
sion and keeping well ahead. Of the succeeding
three, one was raking hay, one was pitching, and
one sat on the top of a load, loading, Avhile the
only man of the group was ckiving the oxen. The
next four were attendants upon house masons,
and were carrying bricks and mortar on their heads
up tall ladders, with an ease of step and balance
that argued them experts at their trade. I have
seen women in that same country holding a plow,
and in some instances assisting a dumb ally — I
mean a four legged one — to draw the same agri-
cultural implement.

I su])poso that some of us should not exactly
covet this style of female co-operation, even in
the stress of harvest season. But the question oc-
ciu-red to me here, whether there were not some
sort of co-operation the wives and daughters of
our farmers could render their lords in that calling,
and if so, what. Now I take it, it is the desire of
every true wife to have at least an intelligent
sympathy with her husband's calling. There is
liere and there perhaps one sustaining the relation
of a vtife, to whom it is enough to share her hus-
band's revenue, leaving out his cares and toils as
trifles not worthy her regard. There may be here
and there a husband whose ambition is to keep
his more delicate half in l^lissful ignorance of all
his out-of-door work, whether plowing or finan-
ciering. But I suppose the old fashioned and bet-
ter notion is that of reciprocal sympathy between
these fellow-pilgrims.

I never would marry a couple, if I knew it, who
had any other idea of the tie, no matter what the
fee might be. And perhaps I may be permitted
to add, that with right viev.s on this point, I am
ready to join any number of couples together with
a trilling pecuniary pro /iso.

But if the sympathy jf which I have spoken be
an intelligent sympnth} , it should take some pains
to be informed. 1 belijve that an agricultural lit-
erature— and we may say with just exultation that
we have now an agricultural literature — is quite as
healtliful and stimulating a literature in the di'aw-
ing-room as that which deals in fashion plates and
love-sick heroines. I don't think it would be un-
womanly, in short, for the wives and daughters
of our farmers to be able to converse wisely and
wittily upon agricultural topics, Avith their hus-
bands and fathers, or with gentlemen visitors.
Such a conversation might easily vindicate itself
in contrast yrdh. the vapid frivolities making so
much of the staple of drawing-room chat.

It would do no harm either for these ladies to
have a general familiarity with the out-of-door
pnrsuits of those to whom they are thus allied,
even if that were gained by an occasional walk
afield, instead of a shopping excursion.

A visit now and then to the stable and the farm-
yard might save the fair explorer from such a

blunder as happened once to a metropolitan friend

of mine of the same sex. Being in the country,
and smitten deeply with rural tastes, it occurrecl
to her one morning that it Avould be quite roman-
tic to play milkmaid. So she took a pail and went
forth, but not meeting with any great success in
the operation, it was discovered that she had made
a slight mistake in regard to the sex of the animal
she waited upon.

But let the ladies of our agricultural homes
make those homes centres of intelligence, culture
and refinement ; let them feel and shoAV a just and
generous pride in the calling to which they are
thus allied, and a disposition and an ability to
vindicate its true honor as compared with any
other ; let them give their rejoicing and sympa-
thetic presence on such occasions as this ; let the
younger rank of these ladies place their delicate,
soft hands for life as readily in the large, brown
hand of the practical farmer as in the soft and
whiter palm of a merchant's clerk or a professional
aspirant.

The speaker said he could not look upon the
farmer without regarding him as a heroic wrestler
with nature. With him every season was a cam-
paign, and every harvest a victory; and may God
crov.n you all Avith a blessing, as you are already
crov.ncd with honors.

A sentiment in honor of the Judiciary was re-
sponded to by Judge Rockwell, of the Superior
Court.

For the Xcw E»f/ktnd F^trmer.

EXPERIMENTS TN CULTIVATIIMG
POTATOES.

Mr. Editor : — I wish to give a few facts in my
experience of several things that have shov/n them-
selves during the season, on a piece of land culti-
vated by myself and family. In the first place, I
will give the lay of the land, as it m.ay have some-
thing to do with some of the phenomena.

The general lay of the land descends to the east
from G to 10 degrees, v/ith a hill west, or a con-
tinual rise westward for 100 rods, Avherc the emi-
nence is more than loO feet above the fi.eld, and it
descends to the east more or less for nearly a half
mile, when it begins to rise, and v\'ithin a mile it
rises several hundred feet above the field. The
field is 25 rods long by 8 wide.

Potatoes planted the last days of May, on a mel-
low soil, a part of which wa\s planted with potatoes
last year, and a part sowed to oats, on green-
sv,'ard. ^Manured the present yeai' v/ith a small
shovel full of compost in the hill, made of horse-
manure, two parts, and one each of loam and
meadow mud. A deep, moist, alluvial soil in the
valleys, and inclining more to gravelly and stony
on the eminences. Planted the north part with
Peach-blossoms, and the south with Davis' Seed-
lings ; cut two pieces in a hill ; hoed well the last
days of June. They grew well, and all looked fine
until the 31st day of August, when at 2 o'clock,
P. M., Ave had a shower from the west, with some
thunder and lightning at a distance ; rained smart
for nearly half an horn-, the water very cold, but
no hail that I discovered. At 6, P. M., as I was
passing the piece, there was a strong smell of de-
caying vegetation met my olfactory nerves, and in
a day or two the vines turned black, and in a week
another strip was seen to begin to turn ; the first

NEW ENGLAND FAEMER.

Jan.

being- in the Peach-blossoms and the latter Davis'
Seedlings, and spreading each vray to the walls,
north and south, in the course of two or three
weeks, while the top vines remained green until
October IG, when they were killed by frost. The
potatoes on the low land were nearly one-third af-
fected with rot. In the Peach-blossoms, a very
few, while among the Davis' Seedlings none were
diseased. The best of the Peach-blossoms yield-
ed a bushel on a square rod, containing 24 hills,
or 1(50 bushels to the acre, while the poorest were
less than 100 bushels to the acre.

The best of the Davis' Seedlings Avere a bushel
on three-quarters of a rod, containing 18 hills, or
about 210 bushels per acre, while the poorest
yielded less than 150 per acre.

The land rose nearly 20 feet higher in the
centre than at the valleys, while at the north and
south ends it was from 5 to 10 feet higher.

One other thing I noticed. The land was old
pasture, broken up in the fall of 18o7, and had
been plowed and harrowed several times ; in most
places it was fi-ee from grass, but as the land was
natural to red top, in some hills it was found quite
strongly rooted Avhen I dug the potatoes, and
where the grass was, whether in the whole or a
part of the hill, nearly all of the large potatoes had
begun to decay.

I have given a statement of things as I found
them at various times, and hope that some of the
wise ones among your numerous readers Avill give
a scientific demonstration thereof for my benefit,
and others interested in the raising of the potato
"crop. Hervey Barber.

Wanvicl; Oct. 24, 1859.

For the New Enrjland Farmer.
IS FAKMIWG- PROFITABLE ?

Mr. Editor : — I have just read in the N. E.
Farmer of Nov. 12, the article signed "T. J. Pink-
ham, Chelmsford," on the profits of farming, or
rather on the losses of farming. I am surjn'ised
that any one living in the counties of Middlesex
and Worcester, Mass., or Hillsborough, N. H.,
should Avrite such an article, when the farmers in
these counties are the most wealthy of any part of
the population.

There are 40 to 50 farmers in the town of Hol-
lis, N. H., worth from $13,000 to $15,000, or more,
and I have known most of them from the time
they took possession of their farms, either by pur-
chase or from their fathers. I think at least two-
thirds of them either ovred, or had to pay out to
heirs or support the old folks, to at least two-thirds
of the value of their farms at the time they took
possession of them.

In almost every case where a young man has
bought a farm, and has ])een temperate and indus-
trious, and had tolerable health, he has made
money. Nor have these farmers been miserly or
mean, either with themselves, their families or the
public. They have most of them good, comforta-
ble dwellings, well painted inside and out, for their
families, good barns for their stock, and sheds, &c.,
for .wood, carriages, grain, &c., most of which they
have either built or repaired since they came into
possession. They educate their children, and
spend mosney for proper purposes as freely as any
other class of citizens. If farmins: is such noor

business, how have these men supported their
families, paid their debts, repaired their hous-
es and barns, or built new ones, and lent money,
taken stocks, &c. ? Could they do it by raising
corn at a loss of $10 each acre, or calves at a loss
of $16 on each calf?

Let us look at his estimate below on the cost of
raising an acre of corn, viz. :

One Acre of Corn. Dr.

May ;0, Two mon, two yoke oxen <aufl plow one clay .$4,25
" i5, Olio man, four oxen and cart one day haul-
ing manure 3,25

:5Iny l."), Ten loads manure 10,00

" Id, One man one day, yoke oxen and harrow

half day, spreading- manure and harrowing. 1,75

3Iay 17, Man, horse and boy \ day furrowing- 75

" IS, Man and boy one day planting, Sl,50, seed 25. 1,75
" 10, To putting up line, &e 25

June 0, Two men, horse and plow cultivating and

hoeing 2,50

June G, To replanting and ash'ing 2,00

" 25, To hoeing and cultivating 2,50

.Tuly 10, To pulling weeds 50

Sept. 10, To two men cutting stalks and stooking do.. 2,00
" 25, To carting stalks to barn, &c 50

Oct. 12, To harvesting 2,00

" 13, To husking and taking care of butts 2,00

" 13, To interest on land, capital and taxes 3,00

" 13, To fencing and rents of barn and corn-house. 3,00

Dec. 15, To shelling and marketing corn 5,00

$47,00

Acre of Corx. Cr.

Dec. 15, By 30 bush, shelled corn sold $30,00

" 15, By 6 bush, ears soft corn sold 2,00

" 15, By stover and pumpkins 5,00

$37,00

Net loss on crop $10,00

Now, our land, (upland,) must be broken up,
whether we raise corn or lay down immediately to
gi-ass.

Not over one-third of the cost of breaking up
should be charged to the first crop. The manure,
'if spread, not over one-fourth should be charged
to the corn.

Few replant or ash, and as to pulling weeds, you
had better let them alone than pull them in a dry
time. A boy Avill cut the stalks for half the price,
and your men will husk it out in an evening, if
good corn. Shelling the corn is much too high.
I have had 50 bushels threshed out in a day by
one man several times. Now let us see :

1 of the cost of first plowing to the first crop $'-,42

.\ of the manure and hauling 3,31

Harrowing, &c 1,75

Furrowing, planting, seed and line 2,75

First and second hoeing 5,00

Cutting stalks and transplanting 4,50

Husking corn 1,00

Interest, &c 3,00

Thrashing out corn 1,00

$22,73

All this help has been called one dollar per day.
Help hired by the month, for 8 months, does not
average over 58 cents per day, and this help, be-
sides doing the work set down in the above list, is
expected to get up in the morning, make the fires,
feed the hogs, milk the cows, feed what stock may
be at the barn, and cut wood, or work in the gar-
den the rest of the time till breakfast, and milk
and do the other chores at night — well nigh enough
to pay the board. Put call it 75 cents per day —
three-quarters of $22,73 is $17,05. Allowing his
estimate of $37,00 sold, the cost that should be
charged to the corn is $17,05. Profit, $19,95.

T consider corn one of the best co'is raised ;

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FARIVIER.

wheat, oats and grass follow it better than they do
23otatoes.

1 asked how our farmers had contrived to pay
for their farms, build, paint and blind their houses,
have money to let, and stock in corporations ? I
should answer the question by the above estimate.
If "T. J. P." can account for it in any other way, I
should like to have him.

Ilollis, Nov. 14, 1859. Ed. EjfERSON.

Remarks. — Thank you, Mr. Emerson, we have
no doubt great good will come out of this discus-
sion. Mr. Emerson's name will be recognized by
many readers as that of a frequent correspondent
to these columns, — but for the gratification of those
who do not know him, we will say that he is quite
largely engaged in farming, working with his own
hands and directing his affairs in person. No one
can justly charge him with being a fancy farmer,
or of giving undue credence to books.

COlsrCOBD FARMBS.S' CLUB.

The Annual Meeting of the Concord Farmers'
Club took place on the evening of the 10th inst.,
when the foUoM'ing persons were elected as its of-
ficers for the ensuing year, viz. :

MiNOT Pratt, President.

Abiel H. Wheeler, Vice President.

Joseph Reynolds, Secretary.

Elijah Wood, Treasurer.
The subjects prepared and adopted for the sev-
eral evenings during the winter are as follows :
Corn ; Sheep Husbandry ; Subjects for Premiums
at Agricultural Exhibitions ; Rotation of Crops ;
Preservatioii of Meats ; Vegetable Food other
than Hay ; New Plants ; Soiling Cows ; Experi-
mental Farming ; Manures and their Application
to Different Soils ; Draining ; Root Crops and
their Comparative Value ; Preparation of, and
Marketing Produce ; Best Breeds of Cows ; Fruit
Trees and their Culture ; ^Market Fairs ; Grass
and Grass Lands ; Culture of Flowers ; Small
Fruits ; Articles of Food for the Family, and their
Preparation ; Forest Trees.

It required much care to select topics that had
not already been under discussion, perhaps more
than once, and to express them, so as to require
a somewhat different turn of thought from what
they had heretofore received. It was thought that
some of the old subjects, such as the corn or hay
crops, seeding, reclaiming or draining, might be
presented in such a light as to give them a new
interest and value.

The first meeting of the season was o])ened
with a manifestly increased sense of the import-
ance of the object of the association. If we can
have access to their records, we shall find plea-
sure in laying an occasional account of their do-
ings before the reader.

For the Keio England Farmer.

"WARMING THE EAKISr AND COOKING
THE FOOD.

Mr. Editor : — While reading Mr. Flint's admi-
rable work on Dairies and Milch Cows, the ques-
tion arose in my mind, can New England farmers
profitably adopt the custom of warming their sta-
bles, and steaming, or in any way cooking the
food for their cattle ? With the present style of
barns, it seems to mo an impossibility. AVitli a
properly constructed stable, and a well devised
heating and ventilating apparatus, I think this ob-
ject can be readily attained. I therefore propose
to suggest a plan of heating and ventilating for
the consideration of the readers of the New Eng-
land Farmer.

In the outset, I wish to lay down certain con-
ditions, which I regard as essential to cheap and
effectual ventilation and heating.

1. No apartment can be properly heated and
ventilated, into which the pure, warm air is ad-
mitted at the bottom, and has a ventilator at its
top. With such an arrangement, the pure air be-
ing lighter just in proportion as it is warmer,
rises to the top and passes directly out, carrying
Avith it most of the heat, and leaving in the room
the cold, impure air, save the trifle which mixed
with the pure air in passing upwards.

2. The air within the room should be influenced
as little as possible by external currents.

3. There should be a constant and uniform sup-
ply of pure warm air furnished, to take the place
of what is withdrawn.

4. The warm and pure air should be agitated
and mixed as little as possible with the impure
cold air.

5. Either a heated flue, or some mechanical
power, must bs introduced to draw out the impure
air.

6. The apparatus should be so simple as to
work uniformly, and not get out of order.

A proper construction of the stable is of the
first importance. Wherever it is practicable, it
should be built on a side hill, and the whole space
in tb^e basement appropriated to the cattle, an
apartment for cooking their food, one for dry
muck, or other absorbents, and itie root cellar.
The walls, Avhere built against the earth, if not
laid in mortar, should be faithfully pointed, and
have the earth well compacted on the outside.
Where exposed to the weather, a small space o
confined air should be left in the interior, and it
would be well to have double windows. Over
head, the room should be plastered or ceiled with
jointed and matched boards, and the space be-
tween the joists filled with chaff or cut straw. It is
evident that a stable constructed in this manner,
and filled with a stock of cattle, would require but
little artificial heat, and that could be readily sup-
plied by the fire which cooked their food. In this
apartment all the excrements of the cattle should
be faithfully mixed with absorbents, and, at least
once a day, carefully removed. A thrifty farmer
would of course see that a proper receptacle was
provided for them.

The cooking-room should be provided with a
chimney two feet square on the outside. It should
be built in the most substantial manner, smoothly
plastered on the inner side, and rise above the
highest part of the barn. In the interior of the

NEAV ENGLAND FARMER.

Jan.

chimney, a stove pipe of stout sheet iron or cast
iron should be carried up to a few inches above the
top of the brick chimney, it being securely fastened
to the brick work so as to be held firmh- in the
centre of the brick, flue. The iron Hue should have
a close fitting accessible door, near the bottom,
for the purpose of clearing out the soot, and a
stove pipe inserted near the top of the room, and
extending through the brick chimney, to receive the
smoke pipe from the fire. The brick chimney, in
addition to the hole for the smoke pipe, should
have a lai-ge register to let off the heat, when not
required in the stable, and the nearer the top of
the room it is, the more efficient it will be ; also,
an opening at the very bottom, to receive the
foul air from the stable. This last should be so
placed as to afford access to the door in the iron
pipe. The partition between the cooking-room
and stable should be made M^ith several good sized
openings, both at the top and bottom, and the
floor of the former should be raised so as to af-
ford a free passage to the foul air of the stable,
through the lov^"er openings in the partition, and,
thence, under the floor, to the opening near the
bottom of the brick chimney. The space under the
floor should be made light, so as to keep out all
vermin, as well as currents of air from all sources
except the stables. The openings at the bottom
of the partition should be protected by wire screens,
to exclude vermin, or any combustible material
M'hich might be drawn into them, and those at the
top should have board shutters to shut off' the heat
■when not needed in the stable.

To supply the stable with pure air, there should
be a ventiduct running the whole length or Avidth
of the building, as most convenient, with an opening
at each extremity. It would be well to make this
ventiduct at least four times as large as the exter-
nal openings, so as to lessen the current when a
strong wind was blowing directly into it. It should
be made rat-proof, and have the ends ])rotccted by
wire screens. On the side of the ventiduct, an air
chamber should be made extending under the fire.
The air chamber should have an opening into the
ventiduct large enough to ensure a full supply of
pure air inider all circiimstances. With an appa-
ratus on the principle of the common ventilating
stove or furnace, with suitable cooking utensils at-
tached, a large amount of air might be warmed
while preparing the food for the cattle. This, to-
gether Mith what could be obtained by carrying
the stove pipe around the top of the room before
entering the chimney, would heat the air to a high
degree, and it having no means of escape but by
the apertures at the top of the partition, it must
flow into the stable and diffuse itself over the top
of that apartment. "VVliile this is going on, the
hot air and gases escaping from the fire, tlu'ough
the iron flue in the brick chimney, would give a
strong upward movement to the surrounding air,
and a constant flow would take place from the
bottom of the stable, through the space under the
floor of the cooking-room.

I leave the arrangement of the cooking appara-
tus to the wants and the ingenuity of the farmer,
or the skill of the stove-maker, only stipulating
that every thing around the fire, and air-chamber
below it, should be fire-proof, to guard against
danger from reflex currents of hot air when doors
or AvindovvS are opened on the windward side of
the stable. I would moreover suggest that it

might be well to connect the iron flue with the
moist earth, by one or more iron rods to carry off
any electricity that might happen to travel by that
route.

It is evident that the plan I have suggested has
no intricate system of valves and dampers to be
regulated by the attendants on the cattle. The
stove-maker would of course construct his part of
the apparatus with the means of regulating the
fire.

The question now comes up, will it pay ? I have
no hesitation in saying, that it will much more
than pay, unless the advantages of warming the
stable and cooking the food for cattle have been
much overrated. In the first place, there will be a
saving of food and increase of milk, a greater ten-
dency to fatten, and a better condition of the whole
stock in the spring. Besides these, a great many
other things may be profitably done with a warm
room of this kind. In a a pen in the corner, the
February and ^larch pigs may be di-opped with
safety, and thus be ready for the best market. The
hens may have their allotment of space, and set at
defiance the coldest storms, while they fill the fam-
ily or market basket. The early potatoes may be
started in a part of the cooking-room, and so of
the cabbage plants, tomatoes, 8:c.

The cost of fitting up a stable of this kind, 52
I by 40 feet, I think, could not be more than .$150
to $200 over that of a common barn cellar of the
same size. This extra outlay could easily be saved
on the rest of the building. A barn of the above
dimensions would accomm.odate about as mucn
stock, and afford as much storage room, as one of
the common learns 75 by 38, with a floor way
through the whole length. From its greater com-
pactness, there Avould be much less outside to fin-
ish, and from the upper part being only required
for storage, the finish might be much cheaper in
kind. H. Lincoln.

Lancaster, llass., Noi\, 1859.

For the. Ifew England Farmer.

"HOW TO RBCKOjNT THE COST OF FABM
PRODUCTS." *

In a late number you repeat the question pro-
pounded by the Massachusetts Agricultural So-
ciety in 1800, "How many days' labor are needed
to cultivate and harvest an acre of corn," and state
that the average of the answer v.'as 17§ days, ana
say that with our improved implements, the time
should be tv\-o or three days less now. In this
opinion I think you are correct. But friend Pink-
ham, in his remarks upon the subject at the head
of this article, makes out that 24 days' labor of a
man, and 1} days of a boy, besides 4$ days of a
yoke of oxen, and some hours of a horse, are re-
quired. I wonder if he has followed carefully
his own directions, and kept an accurate account
of the labor expended on an acre of corn ? LCe
writes like a man of intelligence. But his account
looks to me as though it was made up by estima-
tion, rather than by the record. In either case, I
would advise him to quit farming immediately.
For, in the first place, farming must be to him a
very discouraging business. He goes to his la-
bor, day by day, imder the conviction that he is
losing money, and he cannot labor cheerfully and
willingly ; and secondly, by imparting hh feelings

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FAEMER.

to others, he must discourage them ; and lastly, I will fail, from frost, or drouth, or blight. But he
his own record proves him to be a very poor far- -will not have his eggs all in one basket, and some
mer. The man who spends 24 days' labor on an ! of his crops will be good, whatever the season may
acre of corn, and gets but thirty bushels at that, | be. This season, the corn and ap])le crops are
should not attempt to raise corn, neither should i staall. But the small grains, and potatoes and
the man who jjuts but 10 loads of manure on an j hay, have been good, and the farmers have a good
acre. It costs no more labor, except for hauling ' supply, and arc ha])]n- and contented, and are inl-

and spreading, to put on 20 loads, than 10, and
with 20 loads on an acre fit for corn, mcU cultiva-
ted, he v.ould obtain 50 bushels, and 200 bushels
of turnips, worth 10 cents a bushel, making the
result as follows :

Corn. 50 bushels, vrortli $50

Stover 10

Turnips 'JO— S80

proving this fine November weather in making

Dments to trv aj

and whv should tht

arrang

not ? Who does not make losses and meet with
discouragements in his business, be it what it may ':'
The mechanic sometimes cainiot get work, or fails
to get his pay when his work is done. How is it
with the shoe business nov>-, to which Mr. P. refers ?
I'understand that both manufacturers and laborers
are working for small profit. The farmer has a«
To the debtor side add .'MO for manure maknig , f^,^. ^^^^^ ^^^^ j^^^.^^^ .^^ ^^^^^ ^^^ ^^.^ engaged in

Then deduct 6 davs labor and halt the i ^^^. ^^^^^ business whatever. I think there has

it $0

value of the manure, and we have $41. Now de-
duct this from the product of the acre, and we
have $39 profit, and observe that we have allowed
the man 81 per day for his labor. If, then, a
farmer can get a dollar a day for his IS days'
labor, and a dollar a day for his oxen, and .$o9
besides. I ask if it is not a good business ? What

been no time Mitliin the last 5 years, when corn
would not bring $1 a bushel, or butter 25 cents,
and certainly hay and ])otatoes are sufficiently high.
Brother farmers, go on and make ample prepara-
tions for a wider breadth of crops and deej)er and
more thorough tillage next year, with the full as-
surance that von are engaged in the best, the

right has any farmer who can^do^this, to croak | ^^^^^^^ ^j^^ ^^^^^ healthful and the most moral bus

?ss of any class of men i
Concurd, Nov. 15, 1850.

over farming as poor busniess .-'_ Or to say that j^^^^^ ^f ^^^^. ^.j.^..^. ^^ ^^^^^^ -j^ ^j^^, communitv
the farmers are weann'r out then- lives and their

J. R.

For the Kew England Farmer

THE NEW PLOW.

Messrs. Editors : — Having heard that a new
Look around upon your neighbors, i implement of the plow kind was to be tried up(m

farms, and coming to want ?

Manv farmers are doing the very thing I have
stated, only, they get 60 bushels of corn and 300
bushels of turnips.

Friend Pinkham must turn over a new leaf in
liis account book, and look at matters with a more j
cheerful spirit.

who have pursued farming with industry and | the intervale at Charlestown, N. H., four miles
skill for 20 or 30 vears. Have not their farms im- i from my residence, on the 11th inst., I availed
proved ? Have they not better stock, and more I myself of the o])portunity to see it tested. I
of it. better carriages and tools, better orchards, j found the plow in full operation, my old friend,
better buildings, better furniture, better clothing, I Mr. Holbrook, of Brattleljoro", guiding its course,
more books and papers ? Do they not educate j though without much eflbrt, for the plow, when
their children better, and are they not more in- j gaged properly, would almost keep its place in the
telligent than they were when they began to be j furrow without guiding. I saw several different
farmers P How many farmers do you know who i sized mould-boards and land-sides, with a skim
began life poor, or in debt, and who have paid I share of cast iron and steel, some of each kind
off their debts, and are now the owners of good i of metal, lying about upon the grass near the
farms, and occupy a respectable standing in so- 1 scene of operations.

cietv? How many farmers within the circle ofj This was rather a novelty to see so many plows
vour observation have failed, in proportion to the i in one. The o])eration was Avatched closely by
"number of merchants who have gone through the I several of the best farmers of the neighl)orhood :
same operation ? ^ and it was really a new thing under the sun to see

I know very well, that the farmer's life is not an j hov,- rapidly one plow could be changed to anoth-
idle life. He must improve all his time, must be j er, all, and each one, doing its ajjpropriate work
up with the lark, and make his arrangements with j in the best possible manner.

care and skill. He must shell his corn in the j There was the deep tiller, without the forward
evening, or on rainy days, v.hen he cannot work ] or skim share, going to the depth of twelve inch-
out of doors. He must do everything in its ap- I es, with a proportional width of furrow slice, per-
jiriate time. He must learn to kill two birds with I fectly inverted, flat furrow, and so along upby a
one stone. For instance, he Avants to prepare } change of moidd-board, to eight, six and five inch-
a ])iece of land to yield a good crop of grass. He | es, the cbaft, of course, lessening as the change
plows it thoroughly, puts on 25 loads of manure i was made to less depth. The forward shart*. oi'
to the acre, and thus gets 50 bushels of corn and ! skim, was put on with a short land-side and mould-

beans, the land in a good state to be seeded down,
with a dressing of ashes or plaster, or Superphos-
phate, to wheat and grass. He thus gets a good
crop of corn, 24 bushels of wheat, worth .$48, and
th^ straw, worth $12 more, and three or four good
crops of grass, before it needs plowing up again.
He must look ahead, and make his arrangements,

board, and the implement again slioAved itself to
be very earthly-minded, for it Avent doAvn to the
depth of tAvelve or fourteen inches, throAving the
earth up four to six inches above the level of the
inverted flat furroAv sod Avhich had just been turned,
leaving it in the finest condition for a pulveriza-
tion Avith the harroAv or cultivator. This Avas the

not for one year only, but for a series of years. He i kind of ploAving that struck _my fancy as being the
A¥ill occasionally meet with losses. His crops I very best of the best. I tried holding the ploAv,

xVEW ENGLAND FARMER.

Jan.

as did several others of the lookers-on ; it was
remarked with v.hat ease it held, particularly when
operating in this double form.

I learned from Mr. H., who I think Avas instru-
mental in getting up the models or designs for the
various combinations of this plow, that there were
thirteen different changes, by merely a shift of
mould-boards, and in some of them a shift of la-id-
side : designed to do all kinds of plowing in the
most thorough manner, with the same standard
and wood-work, from bog-meadow, thi'ough all the
grades of surface and soil, down to the smooth
and level intervale. The land where this trial was
made, had apparently never been plowed more
than five inches deep, and, though intervale, below
this shallow depth it was tenacious and hard, and
of course the plow could not show so easy a draft
as on similar soils that had been broken and
stirred to a greater depth.

The last work of this plow was on stubble land,
single share, short mould-board and land-side,
with a single pair of horses. It worked admira-
bly, leaving a fine tilth, so nicely rolled together
and mixed that the furrows could not be distin-
guished or counted, having the appearance of a
finely harrowed or cultivated surface. From the
peculiar manner of the curve of mould-board,
and roll of the lifted soil in this stubble plowing,
with the height of standard, I have no doubt of
its turning under without clogging almost any
amount of green crop, mould, or coarse, strawy
manure.

1 doul)t Avhether there has ever been presented
to tlie farmer any one improved implement better
adapted to his wants, as to economy, convenience
and thoroughness of work, than this universal plow.
It is a dozen ])lows in one. My acquaintance with
it is yet limited ; I intend to extend it, for I regard
it as the plow of plows. J. w. C.

Springfield, Vt., Nov. 14, 1859.

EXTRACTS AND REPLIES.
LICE ON APPLE TREES.

Please inform me what will kill lice on apple
trees ? C. Robinson.

Weston, Mass.

Remarks. — Keep them in a vigorous, but not
too rapid, growth, by cultivating the ground where
they are growing ; prune them projjerly, late in
June, if they need it, and wash them annually with
common soft soap diluted with water luitil it is
about the thickness of cream. Lice don't like a
perfectly healthy tree half as well as they do one
stunted and struggling for existence. There may
be other ways to kill lice on trees, but we consid-
er a perfectly healthy growth better than all drugs.

mi;asxtremext of hay.

Can you, or some of your readers, inform me
how many square feet of English hay, in a mow,
will make one ton of 2000 pounds by weight ? Al-
so, how m.uch meadow hay in feet to a ton ?

Billcrica, Mass., Nov., 1859. A Reader.

Rejljlrks. — We copied an article into the Far-
mer in 1857, from the New Jersey Farmer, which

stated that "the top of a mow, say about one-third,
would require 800 cubic feet to the ton ; the mid-
dle 700 feet, and the bottom 600 feet." "A Sub-
scriber" in Reading? Vt., states that at the bottom
of a mow 400 feet will make a ton, and that a
whole barn full weighed out, averaged a little less
than 500 feet to the ton. Mr. M. J. Perkins, anoth-
er of our correspondents, states that farmers in his
region estimate that from four to five hundred cu-
bic feet to the ton, according to the position in
which it lies, is sufficient. Meadow hay is usually
lighter, will not pack so closely, and more feet
must be allowed for it.

three acres of land to support a sjull

FAMILY !

A clergyman, Avho is compelled to abandon his
profession l\v ill health, is desirous to know ho-w
he may cultivate three acres of rich land, so as to
support a small family ? Liformation will be thank^
fully received.

West Springfield, 1859.

Remarks. — Plere is an interesting problem. —
who Avill solve it for our unfortunate friend ? He
who can do it, and will do it, will confer a sub-
stantial blessing upon mankind generally, as well
as to a "clergyman in ill health." But the ques-
tion has its difficulties, because there are so many
contingent circumstances surrounding it, such as
locality, the nature of the soil, markets, &c. &c.
We once knew a person whose sole business Avas
upon less than one acre of land, and he hired a
man to Avork tAvo or three months of each year
Avith him, upon the same spot, and Ave suppose he
supported his family Avell. But this land Avas lo-
cated Avithin the limits of a city, and a considera-
ble portion of the sales Avere green-house floAA'ers,
though the Avhole grounds Avere croAvded Avith va-
rious fruits.

While Ave hardly dare to venture any sugges-
tions upon this question, Ave hope some of our at-
tentive and able correspondents — and Ave haA^e
many such — Avill. We Avill suggest, however, that
three acres of land is a pretty large tract to take
care of — there are a great many productive farms
in the Avorld, not half so large. It Avill require a
great deal of hard and persistent labor to tend
such a farm, — and to make it profitable, its posses-
sor should have an ample capital in a stern will,
in strong and Avell inured muscles, and in Avell
versed horticultural skill. He must also be a good
deal of a merchant, as well as gardener and labor-
er, and take advantage of the markets, and pro-
duce his s])inach and peas, his straAA'berries and
asparagus, his caulifloAver, cabbages and celery, so
that they shall be in the market at the instant the
faslnnjiahle appetite demands them !

It Avill be no child's play to manage three acres
so that its profits shall keep back the Avolf from

1860.

KEW EXGLAKD FARMER.

the door ! It can be done, but only tlu-ough un-
remitting skill and toil. "Livelihoods are hard to
get," but they are as easily acquired in farming or
gardening, as in most other callings, and farming
and gardening demand, as well as other callings,
skill and capital to ensure successful results. The
idea, so widely extended, is entirely erroneous,
that any body can at once be a farmer or a garden-
er. They may just about as appropriately be a
xa'WTer or a minister. Any man can ploM' ; so any
man can preach or give advice. We sincerely hope
some gentleman of genius and experience will
show our correspondent "how he may cultivate
three acres of rich land so as to support a small
family."

THE SEASON — CROPS — COIIX LAND — STOCK AND
H.\Y.

The past summer has been a very uncommon
one. There has been a killing frost every month
of the past season. It has been dry as well as cold.
After the equinoctial storm of September loth,
tnere was a great change in the weather. It has
oeen remarked, "If it clears off warm after the
equinoctial storm, every after storm will clear off
warm." And such appears to have been the case
the past fall. Although Ave have had many frosty
nights, and quite a number of snow squalls, it has
been rather a pleasant fall thus far. The ground
is still open, and the pastures ai-e quite as green
as they Avere some of the time last summer. Wa-
ter is very low yet; but few springs or v^-clls have
started, that were dry. We have had but one
good shower of rain for five weeks.

The lesson of the past season teaches us, that,
as far as raising corn is concerned, the high, hilly
xand is best. Most corn on such land about here
has ripened, while that on low lands has? been a
failure. Corn that was planted deep, stood the
spring frosts better than shallow planting.

There is quite a panic about here just noAV, on
account of the loAvness of stock, and a supposed
scarcity of hay ; the latter has sold at auction as
high as fifteen dollars per ton ; about double the
usual price. Auctions are getting to be rather
plenty. Many are selling their farms ; many
more are selling stock and hay, and others are
selling stock, and keeping their hay for a better
price. There is, in reality, no scarcity of hay ; but
stock is rather cheap and poor. City folks must
expect poor beef this Avinter. Hekkit.

Cedar Valley Place, Newbury, Vt.

SPONT.iJNEOUS COMBUSTION IN IL\Y.

Can you give me any information concerning
the combustibility of salt hay stored in a barn ?

Tavo barns of ours have been burned, one last
year, and one this year, each of Avhich had several
tons of this kind of hay, and nothing else stored
in it. My OAvn opinion uoav is, that each of these
fires originated in s])ontaneous combustion : the
hay in each case had been stored there two or three
months previous to the fire. It is Avell knoAvn that
English hay stored in a green state, Avill thus
catch fii-e, but salt hay, even if put in green, 1 have
hvays before considered safe in this respect. Sev-
eral of my neighbors Avish for a little more light

upon this subject. I hope they may have a more
satisfactory liyJd than I have had. Information of
this kind, I see, is frequently elicited by like pub-
lications in your valuable paper. Omega.
lioxhury, Mass., Nov. 15, 1859.

Remarks. — We are sorry not to be able to shed
profitable liyht upon the question propounded by
our correspondent. No doubt some one caa, and
Ave hope Avill, give it attention.

WISE MEN OF THE EAST.

I have noticed, of late, several communications
on important points of culture, under the signa-
ture of experienced cultivators, in this vicinity. I
am glad to see these ; Wit at the same time, can-
not but think, that they Avould do avcU to remem-
ber, that others may knoAv something as well as
themselves. For instance, I believe the late Dr.
Harris, of Cambridge, kncAV something about "in-
sects injurious to vegetation." But Avhen I see
his vicAvs controverted and denounced, by young
men Avhose beards are not yet fully groAvn, excejjt
a little on the upper lip, perhaps, I think such
young ones Avould do avcU to keep in the shade a
spell longer. Essex.

Nov. 20, 18J9. _

RECLAIMED MEADOWS.

I have knoAvn many specimens of these ; but the
question often recurs, hoAV long will they stay re-
claimed ? My ansAver is, just so long as the cold,
stagnant waters are kept entirely aAvay from the
fibrous roots of the vegetable groAvth. When a
damper is thrown upon those fibres, by accumulat-
ed Avaters, then the perfect reclamation of the
meadoAvs gives Avay. As Avell might avc expect a
reclaimed drunkard to stay reclaimed by taking a
small "horn" each day, as a reclaimed meadoAv to
produce SAveet products, Avithout more than ordi-
nary care applied. What is bred in the bone, can-
not be beaten from the fiesh. p.

Nov. 24, 18.39.

AG-KICULTUBE IN CHIITA.

Every substance derived from plants and ani-
mals is carefully collected by the Chinese, and
converted into manure. Oil cakes, horn and bones
are highly valued ; and so is soot, and more es-
pecially ashes. To give some notions of the val-
ue set by them on human offal, it Avill be sufficient
to mention that the barbers most carefully collect
and sell, as an article of trade, the somewhat con-
siderable amount of hair of the beards and heads
of the hundreds of millions of customers, AA'hom
they daily shave. The Chinese knoAv the action
of gypsum and lime ; and it often happens that
they rencAV the plastering of the kitchens, for the
purpose of making use of the old matter for ma-
nure.

Xo Chinese farmer ever sows a seed of corrh
before it has been soaked in liquid manure diluted
Avith Avater, and has begun to germinate ; and ex-
perience has taught him, (so Iil^ asserts.) that this
operation not only tends to ])romote the groAvth
and development of the ])laut, but also to protect
the seed from the insects Iiidden in the gi-ound.

During the summer months, all kinds of vege-
table refuse are mixed Avith turf, straAV. gi'ass. pe'ii

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

Jan.

<ve2ds and earth, collected into heaps, and when
;uito dry, sot on fire ; after several days of slow
:ombustion the entire mass is converted into a
:ind of black earth. This compost is only em-
ployed for the manuring of seeds. When seed
time arrives, one man makes holes in the ground ;
another follows with the seed, Avhich he ])!aces in
the holes ; and a third adds the black earth. The
young seed, planted in this manner, grows with
such extraordinary vigor that it is thereby enabled
to push its rootlets through the hard, solid soil,
and to collect its mineral constituents.

The Chinese farmer sows his vidieat, after the
grains have been soaked in liquid manure, quits
close, in seed beds, and afterwards transplants it.
Occasionally, also, the soaked grains are immedi-
ately sov>-n in the field properly prejmred for their
reccptii^n, at an interval of four inches from each
other. The time of trans])lanting is towards the
month of December. In ^March the seed sends
up from seven to nine stalks with ears, but the
straw is shorter than with us. I have been told
that wheat yields 120 fold more, which amply re-
pays the care and labor bestowed upon it.

it is quite true that what suits one people may
not on that account suit all countries and all na-
tions ; but one great and incontrovertible truth
may, at all events, be learned from Chinese agri-
culture, viz., that the fields of the Chinese culti-
vator have preserved their fertility unimpaired
and in continued vigor ever since the days of Abra-
ham, and of the building of the first pjTamid in
Egypt.* This result, we also learn, has been at-
tained solely and simply by the restitution to the
soil of the mineral constituents removed in the
produce ; or \\hat amounts to the same thing, that
this has been effected by the aid of a manure, of
which the greater portion is lost to the land in the
system of European (and American ?) cultivation.
— Liebig's Modern Agricidture.

* Vessels of Chinese porcelain are found in the pyra-
mids, of the same shape, and with the same cliaraotors
of writing on them, as on modern China at the present

^'"•ly-

For the New England Farmer.

THE HYDBAULIG RAM.

I notice in the November number of the Monfli-
lij Farmer a call for information concerning the
above machine. I have one in operation on my
farm, which is situated in the extreme southerly
part of this town, adjoining the Great Bay of the
Piscataqua river. It has been in operation about
twenty months, and works far beyond my expec-
tations, the water being driven up a rise of about
eighty feet, and thirty-five rods distance. It fur-
nishes an ample supply of water for all purposes,
of both house and barn. The fountain, or spring,
affords about five gallons of water per minute ;
the drive pipe is of iron gas pipe, one inch cali-
bre, and forty-five feet in length ; the conducting
pi))e from machine to house is lead pipe, § inch
calibre, and thirty-five rods in length, laid three
feet beneath the surface of the ground, and from
a reservoir in the house the water is conducted
under ground in a h ii^ch lead pipe five rods to
the barnyard. The fall from the spring to the
machine is eight feet six inches, and the rise from
:he machine to the house is about eighty feet, and
ho distance thirty-five rods. The quantity of

water received at the house can be varied by means
of an adjuster attached to the machine, but in this
case there is ten times the quantity of water driv-
en up that is needed. The ram is from the man-
ufactory of W. B. Douglas, Middletown, Conn.,
and size, No. 3 ; cost, six dollars.

The farm has generally been occupied by a ten-
ant, but during the few months of very cold weath-
er last winter, some days of which were most se-
vere freezing weather, no one occupied the house,
and there was no fii-e in it for some time, yet the
stream into the reservoir, and the reservoir itself,
were not in the least afi"ected by frost, and the wa-
ter floAved the same as it did in the month of Ju-
ly, and of the same tcmperatm-e. The expense
of labor and material in the whole operation did
not exceed seventy-five dollars. I procured a di-
agram from ]Mr. Douglas, and directed the whole
business in person, without the least inconvenience
or mistake. Any further and more particular in-
formation will be given with pleasure, if desired.

Durliavi, N. II. , Nov., 1859. V. Smith, Jn.

THE CANADA THISTLE.

This is a very troublesome production. It is
said to have been introduced originally as an or
namental appendage to the flower garden. The
root is perennial, creeping, and remarkably tena-
cious of life. It is also wonderfully prolific, prop-
agating itself from the filaments of the roots, as
well as from the seed.

When lands have become foul with this plant,
thf best plan, probably, that can be adopted for

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

its speedy and thorough eradication, is to plow
them in narrow fuiTows — say six inches in width,
with a sharp plow. In this way every root Avill be
cut off or detached, and if the soil be immediately
and thoroughly harrowed and laid down to grass,
the thistles will soon disappear. When thistles
spring up in vacant lots, by the road-side, and in
fence corners about the premises, mowing at the
period of inflorescence, or when most of the plants
are in full bloom, for several seasons in succes-
sion, will be quite likely to destroy them.

When the thistle obtains footing in pastm-e
lands, and when plowing to effect their eradication
is impracticable, the scythe must be put in use as
suggested above, and as a goncrai thing, may be
employed with good success if faithfully persevered
in. If, after mowing the tops — which, if possible,
should be done when the thistle is in full bloom —
salt be sprinkled upon the stumps, and the enclo-
siu-e left free for sheep, the labor of eradication
will be more speedy and complete. This is a much
more economical method than extracting by hand,
which is tedious, and not always a successful pro-
cess. On clayey loam, the thistle floiu'ishes with
greater vigor, and appears to l)e much more tena-
cious of life, than on soils of an arenaceous, or
sandy texture. Although it takes root as readily
on the latter as on the former, and attains, ordi-
narily, a full development, yet it yields more read-
ily to cleansing operations, and appears to be in
a great measure destitute of that vigorous hardi-
hood of constitution, which characterizes it when
gi'ov/ing on soils that are more clayey.

The beautiful illustration of the thistle Avhich we
present above, is copied by permission from
^'■Daritngtoii^s Weeds and Useful Plants," one of
the pleasantest books in our knowledge. Pub
lished by Saxton, Barker & Co., N. Y.

For the Xeiv England Former.
AI«" EXAMPLE IN UNDEEDRAIITIIirG.

Mr. Brown : — In a brief note of Nov. 16, pub-
lished in your paper of to-day, I spoke of my ob-
servations on processes of underdraining, that I
had seen the present season, on farms in this vi-
cinity. The minutes I then had in mind have
since passed into other hands. But as it may in-
terest some of your many readers to know vrhat is
doing in this impoi-tant branch of husbandry, I
will endeavor to sketch briefly what I then con-
tem])lated.

The most extensive experiment I have seen was
on the Pickman farm, (so called,) in South Salem.
It exte'ided over more than five acres of flat, swam-
jiy land, situated between the Mansion House and
the Forest River road. Various i:ttenipts have been
made, in years past, to bring this land into condi-
tion for culture, by throwing it into beds of 30 or
40 feet in width, and excavating a main ditch
through the centre — all of which very imperfectly
relieved it. The present proprietor determined to

try what could be done by tile draiv^s ; accordingly
he ]n-ocured an accurate survey and level of the
field, and employed experts to lay his drains,
chiefly of threc-iiicli tile, at distances varying from
twenty to forty feet. This has been thoroughly
done over the whole field. It was so early done,
that the field was planted with the various kinds
of vegetables cultivated in this vicinity. The in-
crease of cro]), over anything before pro(iuced on
the same land, has fully paid the expense of the
draining process in all its parts, leaving the land
worth, at least, tliree hiinih-ed dollars \)cv acre — be-
ing more than double what it Avould have before
been estimated at. A specific account of the entire
opcrati ^n will soon appear in the Essex Transac-
tions, now in press, and for which the first premi-
um on underdraining was awarded by the trustees.

Other experiments were examined, of drains
made of stones gathered from the land, but as
these are not worthy to be named, where tile can
be obtained, I forbear to speak of them in detail.

Our whole community are under great obliga-
tions to your brother French, for the very valuable
instruction he has condensed on "Farm Drainage."
If I do not mistake, he has pointed out the mode
of increasing the value of Massachusetts farms
more than any other single operation that has been
named. I would give more for his underdraining
process, than for all the "specific fertilizers" that
were ever thought of. J. w. P.

Soidh Danvers, i\"or. 26, 1859.

For the Xezo England Farmer.

EMPLOYMENT FOR WINTER EVENINGS
AND STORMY DAYS.

FARMERS' OPPORTUNITY FOR JIKNT.VI, I.MPROVEJIENT.

With the majority of laboring farmers there is
but little time left for intellectual improvement,
after the weekly papers are read, during a large
portion of the year, ]>erhaps from April to October
or November ; but the long evenings of the re-
maining part of the year, and the stormy and
severely cold days of Winter, when out-door la-
bor is im])ossiblc or exceedingly unpleasant, af-
ford opportunities for mental culture to every far-
mer, that should not be neglected. The value o.
these opportunities, if well improved, can hardly
be over-estimated ; yet, I fear their utility is poor-
ly ap])reciated by many of our farmers. They are
too often whiled away listlessly, resulting in no
good, if not in positive evil, from habits acquired
by idleness. I wish, simply, to remind those of my
brother farmers who may need it, of the impor-
tance of these golden moments of leisure, and of
what may be gained by a proper use of them. To
yovmg farmers, and to farmers' sons, would I es-
pecially direct the few words I have to say.

Seneca has remarked : "As the soil, however
rich it may be, cannot be productive without cul-
ture, so the mind, without cultivation, can never
produce good fruit." And if the soil will not pro-
duce good returns without some sort of cultivation,
upon what known princijjle can we expect thai
the mind will come into that state of improvement
that will enable us to act intelligently in all the
matters of our every-day business, without some
kind of cultivation, without effort on our part to
fliat end ? While we labor in cultivating the soil
the greater part of the year, that we may reap

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

Jan.

abundant harvests, during which time we neces-
sarily find but a limited amount of time for study
and reading, though excellent opportunities for re-
flecting upon what we may have already learned,
and for putting the same to practical uses, Avhy
should we not eagerly seek, during the compara-
tive leisure of the remainder of the year, for op-
portunities to improve the mind, the guide and di-
rector 01 all our operations ?

Fro(/ress now seems to be the order of the day,
in everything. We live in an age of inventions ;
in the age of steam and electricity ; in an age
when every one must be u]) and .sfirriiuj, to keep
up with his generation ; and finally in an age when
great improvements are made in every department
of the arts, in a single generation. Improvements
are made, and great improvements are to be made,
in Agriculture ; and the farmer, to keep up with
his time, must keep thinking, as well as stirring.
Agriculture is a vast subject, to which nearly all
the Sciences minister. It is not merely to plow,
and plant, and hoe, as our fathers planted, and
plowed, and hoed, and to gather what chances to
grow from such a course. Our lands in New Eng-
land, by exhausting methods of culture, are becom-
ing ]ioorer, the virgin soils, in a great many in-
stances, have been cro])t to excess, and it is oin-
business, then, to study methods whereby Ave may
not make them hold their present ccnidition merely,
but improve them. To this end I would counsel
the study of standard agricultural books, in these
spare moments ; take and read, perhaps, another
agricultural newspaper during these months, and
think, and devise experiments to be put into ex-
ecution the ensuing summer ; not to any ruinous
extent, however, should they prove of no econom-
ical value, but moderately, and persi'veriiujhi, and
so add your mite to the general cause. Agricul-
tural reports of States and counties are of great
interest and importance, and should not be omitted
in agricultural reading. I need not remind you
of vour duties and i')rhn.legcs in the "Farmers'
Clubs."

Several of the natural sciences are so interwoven
with agriculture, as geology, botany, and chemis-
try, and perhaps I might add meteorology and
mineralogy, that some knowledge of them is of
great importance to every agriculturlist ; and this
knowledge is more easily acquired than is imag-
ined by many. It is not above the capacity of any ;
and every farmer's son who has improved the op-
portunities for a good, common-school education,
should not rest satisfied till he has devoted the
leisure he may find in one winter at least, to the
careful perusal and study of works on one, or more,
of these sciences, which, in all probability, must
create a thirst for higher attainments. Some
knowledge of these sciences is quite necessary to
read understandingly some of our agricultural
books and reports ; and ten dollars cannot be bet-
ter expended yearly, by the farmer, than in the
purchase of agricultural books, and papers, and
scientific text-books. Take botany, for instance,
the present winter, and make that a speciality,
procure "Wood's Class-book of Botany," or some
of Prof. Gray's botanical works, and in your leis-
ure, master as many of its principles and terms
as you can ; then as spring opens seize the fii-st
flowers a'iid ajiply them ; in the few spare moments
that you can find in summer, make a collection of
plants for a herharium, and my word for it, if

your nature is in any wise like that of the mass of
people, the pleasures you will derive from the
science will amply repay you for all the hours of
patient study, and serve as an incitement to fur-
ther exertion. But do not be too hasty in your
anticipations ; if in two or three years, with the
time you would naturally get, you can seize upon
any wild flower of the field, and readily analyze
the same, you have accomplished not a little.

And in geology, also, careful reading, from time
to time, will put you in possession of much valua-
ble information, and bo a source of great profit and
pleasure to you. And so Avith chemistry ; time
and perscvcruiice Avill put you on easy terms with
its elements and techiiicalities. Much time, how-
ever, will be required to accomplish all this, and a
good deal of perseverance. But the advice I have
given I knoAV to be wholly practicable ; and the
attainments I have mentioned I know to be within
the reach of almost any fanner, young or middle
aged, Avho wills to possess them ; and, in time,
even much more than this may be accomplished.

And just here let me say, do not spend too much
time over a certain New York"story paper," or sim-
ilar publications — much Avorse than Avasting time
— Avhen Nature is ready to reveal to her votaries
truths so much stranger than fiction, and ])roduc-
tive of such high and ixoblc pleasures, and Avhich
may be rendered of much practical benefit.

History, biography, books of travels, and other
departments of literature, as Avell as the topics of
the day, should receive a share of the farmer's at-
tention in this season of leisure. In our farming
population there are not a fcAV noble minds —
min.ds that can appreciate Avhatever is beautiful that
surrounds them, and are not insensible to the poetic
charms of nature, that they come into contact Avith
in their daily avocations ; and I Avould say, every
former's library should contain the AA'ritings of sev-
eral of our best poets, and let those volumes, too,
be Avell read.

Indeed, let not these long evenings go unim-
proved ; they are the seed time of the mind, to
NcAV England farmers ; and around their glowing
hearths let refinement and intellectual culture find
a place, and receive encouragement, as Avell as in
the mansions of the anxious merchant and manu-
focturer. Let farmers' sons and daughters be ed-
ucated, at academies and other public institutions
of learning, if not too inconsistent with the far-
mer's circumstances, but at all events, let not the
Jiome advantages go unimproved. J. A. A.

Springfield, Mass., Nov. 11, 1859.

FARMERS' CLUBS.

The oflScers and members of Farmers' Clubs in
this State, should be aAvai-e that the Common-
wealth, by an act of 1859, proposes to assist, to
some extent, such clubs already established, and
to encourage the establishment of them where
they do not yet exist. To avail themselves of this
assistance, immediate oflScial notice should be
given to the Secretary of the State Board of Ag-
riculture, in case of clubs noAV in operation, fur-
nishing himwith a copy of their Const itiition, the
number of members and times of meeting. In case
there are individuals in any town, who are dis-

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

posed to form such a dub, notice of the same
should be sent to the Secretary of the Board, with
a request, if there is any desire for it, to have the
aid of some person familiar with the modes of es-
tablishin<ij such oro;anizations. Such a person will
then be furnished by the Board, and his expenses
paid from the appropriation referred to in the
Act mentioned above.

EXTRACTS AlfD REPLIES.
USE OF PINE SAW-DUST.

I wish to know if ])ine saw-dust is of any use
for bedding cattle at this time of the year ? Is
it an}- damage to manure thrown from the stable
daily ? Can it be composted to advantage ? If
so, how ? Farmers here do not make any use of
it ; many say it is poor ; some say, worse than
nothing. It seems to me it is worth something.

Nortli Orange, Mass., 1859. J. A. French.

Remarks. — Where pine saw-dust can be readi-
ily obtained, we have no doubt but that it may
be profitably used as an absorbent on manure
heaps. We do not know that its precise value
has been ascertained, and cannot, therefore, sug-
gest how far it will do to team it in order to use
it profital)ly. If Ave could procure it by hauling
it one mile, we should not hesitate to use it freely.

PUMPKINS FOR cows.

I will give you my experience in feeding com's
with pumpkins. First, I fed my cows one week
with one large or two small pumpkins to each
cow twice a daj'. Their milk decreased two or
three, quarts to each cow a day, frflm what they
gave the first week previous.

I then fed them one week with the same quan-
tity of ])umpkins as before, and took out the seeds.
They increased in a greater proportion of milk
than they decreased the week previous.

I then fed them alternately, three or four weeks,
and they varied in their milk very much as the
first weeks. A. Clary.

Hartford County, Conn., 1859.

CHARCOAL — CORN FODDER.

Mr. Editor : — The first question asked in all
business pursuits in these days is, Will it pay ?
If onco decided in the affirmative, then go ahead,
and do it with a will ; for in farm work, like all
other work, what is worth doing at all, is worth
doing well. Will it pay to haul pine charcoal,
the burning of a large lot of pine lumber, four
miles, to be used on the farm as a fertilizer ? If
80, in what manner can it be most advantageously
applied H Can it be used in a compost with good
swamp muck ?

I have seen several articles in the Farmer in
regard to harvesting corn. Some are for topping
it, others for cutting it up by the ground. I have
some years topped it, and other years cut it by the
ground. This year I have done both ways, and
can see no perceptible difference in the filling or
shrinking of either ; but I think the fodder on
that cut by the ground worth more than double
the same quantity left to stand and bleach. Oth-

ers may do as ex])erience teaches them best ; but
I think that no farmer, who gets his living by the
sweat of his brow, can afford to lose so large a
quantity of good feed. J. K. Buri.ingame.
North Proindtnce, It. I., Nov. 17, 1859.

Remarks. — Charcoal dust, usually found at the
bottom of, and about coal pits, is valuable as an
absorl)ent. A portion of it scattered over the ma-
nure heap twice or three times a week during the
winter, would keep the barn sweet, and save val-
uable fertilizing agents that would otherwise float
or flow away. Such dust is richly worth carting
four miles.

IS DRAINING AN UNSETTLED THEORY?

Your somewhat witty correspondent in Win-
chester, "S. F.," concludes his strictures u])ou
drainage by saying that the "subject of drainage"
is, in his opinion, among the unsettled theories of
the age. Now if S. F. will consult the Re])ort of
the Commissioners of Patents for 1858, Agricul-
ture, under Improvement of Land, page 273, he
will find a detailed account well worth reading.

Harvard, Mass., 1859. C. T. Savage.

THE POOR M.\N's CAKES.

I take buttermilk, add a little saleratus and salt,
stir in Indian meal, and a small pro])ortion of
wheat flour, so as to make it rather thick. I then
fry them in fat, rather hot, and after making a
sauce of cider and molasses, pass them over to
my family, who eat them with a very good relish.

Sujjield, Conn., 1859. Miis. Beebe.

A LARGE PIG.

Mr. Daniel Howard, of West Bridgewater, fat-
ted a spring pig which he killed on Monday, Nov.
28th, it then being eight months and twenty-seven
days old, weighing, when dressed off, 420 pounds,
beside sixteen pounds of fat taken from the caul !

THE COUNTRY CHILD.

Child of the country ! free as air
Art thou, and as the sunshine fair ;
Born like the lily, where the dew
Lies odorous when the day is new ;
Fed 'mid the May flowers like the bee,
Nursed to sweet music on the knee,
Lulled on the breast to that sweet tune
Which winds make 'monj^ the trees of June;
I sing' of thee ; — 'tis sweet to siny
Of such a fair and gladsome thing-.

American Stock Journal. — This popular jour-
nal is devoted to the Improvement of our Domes-
tic Animals throughout the United States. It is
printed on large, clear type, and fine, white pa-
per, and filled with articles valuable to those who
are engaged in rearing stock, or for those who de-
sire to know more in regard to the management
of stock. D. C. Linsley, is the Editor and Pro-
prietor ; Dr. Dadd, of Boston, attending to the
Veterinary Department.

NEW ENGLAND FAEMER.

Jan.

^€

--'« ^^;'^-^:-cv^.-^

DESIGN FOB, A SMALL FAKM-HOUSE AND BARN.

We take great pleasure in presenting the read-
ers of the Farmer with another of the just and
beautiful designs of our accomplished artist, Mr.
G. E. Hahney. We have had it executed espe-
cially for these columns, and cannot doubt that its
appreciation by our readers will amply compen-
sate us for the considerable sum which it has cost.

What can be more truthful and attractive than
this picture ! How delightfully everything is ar-
ranged. How easy of access, how unpretending,
and yet how many of the wants of a home, those
little things that go so far to make up the sub-
stantial comforts of life, are supplied ! How soft

is the drapery of leaves and spray that shades and
partially hides the buildings in the summer, or
shelters them from the winter winds ! The beau-
tiful has much to do with our happiness, after ai.,
and the beautiful home, the dwellings and their
suiToundings, must always have an important in-
fluence upon the family. Such a home will be re-
membered, and cherished, and visited by those
whom business or other causes have compelled or
induced to leave it, when a common and uninvit-
ing homestead would be utterly forgotten. This,
that we present to-day, is one of the loveliest ru-
ral pictures we have ever seen.

IiMirr

PLAN OF GROUND ILOOR,

1860.

KEW ENGLAND FARMER.

The artist gives us the following description :

The accompanying designs are intended to af-
ford complete accommodation for a small New
England farm — say from 15 to 20 acres in extent.

Tlie plan comprises house and barn, with wood-
shed and pig-sty all connected in one range, and
having sheltered communication.

No. 1, is the front entry, G feet square ; it opens
into the parlor, No. 2, 14 feet by 15, and into a
bed-room. No. 4, 12 feet by 15. No. 3, is the
kitchen, 14 feet by 15, opening into the bed-room,
back entry, and through a passage into the parlor.
No. 5, is "the back entry, 6 feet by 16, containing
stairs to cellar and chambers. No. 6, is a pan-
try, 5 feet 6 inches by 8 feet, opening into the
yard. No. 7, is a store-room, and No. 9 a scul-
lery or back kitchen, 12 feet square. No. 8, is a
porch over the rear entrance. No. 10, is a wood-
shed, connecting directly Avith the barn. '

The barn is 40 feet square, and contains two
horse and three cow stalls, No. 11, with a pas-
sage behind, and an oj)ening to throw manure into
the pig-sty, No. 13. No. 14 is a carriage-room,
with double doors, opening into the yard, and No.
15 barn room for storage, 24 feet by 39. Room
for hay is in the second story, which is well venti-
lated at the top. The stairs to the hay-loft are at
the side of the carriage-room, and under them is
a harness closet.

The second story of the house contains three
bed-rooms, with a large closet to each, besides a
large clothes' press in the entry.

Constrnrtion. — This design may be built of
wood, and covered either in the vertical and bat-
tened manner, or in the horizontal manner, with
narrow clapboards — the usual New England style.

The lower story windows, with the exception of
the one in front, are all mullioned windows,
shielded i^y hoods supported on brackets.

The dotted line on the ])lan repi-esents the divi-
sion betv.'ecn the main bo'dy of the house and the
one-story addition.

Cost. — This range of buildings could be built
for about $1500. G. E. II.

HOW TO DRIVE OXEI3".
The liural New-Yorker contains a very sensil)le
article from the pen of Mr. S. E. Todd, of Lake
Ridge, N. Y., on the important subject of driving
oxen. He says that a good whip is the only proper
thing to drive oxen with, and that neither a cud-
gel, a hand-spike, nor a pitchfork, should ever be
used. The stock of the whip he wants not less
tlian seven or eight feet long, with a small light
lash of not more than two feet in length. Such a
whip can only be used to guide the oxen by its
light touches and skilful motions, and never to
flagellate them. The following minute directions
contain the philosophy of di'iving, and may be
adopted in practice with decided benefit.

When driving a yoke of oxen straight forward,
let the driver stand by the side of the near ox, say
three or four feet from him, with his whip erect,
so that both the oxen can see. Now, as the word
come along is given, in a plain, open sound, just

touch them both with the lash, on their rumps,
'ibuch the slowest ox first. Now, keep the whip
erect, as a soldier carries his musket when march-
ing. When the word whua is announced, let the
(h'iver stop short and speak distinctly, whoa. If
he is not able to bring out this Yankeeism, in u
round, full tone, let him speak the letter O, M'ith
an open, round sound — not drawl it out, nor snap
it off, like the yelp of a v/olf — and at the same
time raise his Avhi]) and let the lash foil on the
forehead cff the ox that is least inclined to stop. It
may be necessary, in some instances, to give an
ox a blow with the lash, so that it will smart alii-
tie ; but it is much the best to try a light touch
Avith the lash first. Never keep the whip swinging
over the oxen, and around their heads, when they
are moving forward. In driving oxen that arc very
spirited, when they are going straight forward,
and are inclined to go too rapidly, the driver
should stand about even with the yoke, and ])ut
his whip forward of the heads, touch them lightly,
and try to check their rapid pace with light blows.
If they become too impetuous, give them the word
whoa, and stop, and then start onward again for a
short distance. But spare all the hard blows whh
the lash until there seems to be no efficacy in gen-
tle touches with it. Never keep up an incessant
lOitoa, tvlioa, whoa, in order to make any team
walk more steadily, and with less ra])idity.

When it is desired to have oxen (/ee around, let
the lash drop on the buttock of the near ox, im-
mediately after the word is given to t/ee around,
and let the driver step forward, near the head of
the near ox, and make a motion to the oft' ox to
back. If the off ox is not inclined to yee, touch
him with the whip, on the left shoulder. If the off
ox dashes ahead too much, touch him lightly on
the head, and touch up the near ox, behind, with
the lash. To haw them around, let the driver step
back opposite the tails of the oxen, and give them
one word, haw around, and at the same time touch
the near ox v.'ilh the lash on the forehead, and the
off ox on his rump. If the near ox does not haw
as much as he ought to, by touching on the head,
give him a l)low Vvith the lash over the shoulders,
so that the lash will strike on the right shoulder.
As soon as oxen have become accustomed to the
■^■ords of command, and touches of the whip, they
will obey very promptly, with only the motion of
the whip, without touching them. Oxen will no-
tice the motions of a whip, and the motions and
Avords of the driver ; and if they are ahvays made
intelligently and understandingly. oxen v.-ill very
soon learn to step to the mark with all desirable
promptness. A swing of the whip from, near the
rumps towards the heads of oxen, Avhen the driver
is standing by the side of the near ox, they will
very quickly learn means to go forward. But if
the driver drops back, as they are going forAvard,
and SAvings his Avhip over the oxen in a diagonal
direction, from over the rump of the off ox, to-
Avards the head of the near ox, Avell trained oxen
Avill immediately haw, if not a Avord is uttered to
them.

When a driver walks or rides behind his oxen,
a swing of the Avhij), over the oxen, i'rom right to
left, or a touch on the forehead, or right shoulder
of the near ox, and a touch Avith the lash on the
buttock of the off ox, Avill ahvays make them haiv ;
Avhile a touch on the forehead and left shoulder of
the off ox, and a touch at the same time on the

NEW ENGLAND FAEMER.

Jan.

buttock of the near ox, will make them gee. But
the words of command should always precede the
motions and touches of the Avliij). It is very seldom
necessary to strike good oxen a smart blow with
a whij) ; and raw hands should always be very
careful how they touch their oxen, and above all,
how they strike them. It is always attended with
no good consequences to whip any oxen, unless
we know they are in the fault, and know how to
obey better ; and when oxen are verv spirited,
they will always obey infinitely better with a gen-
tle touch of the lash, and a good round word of
command, than with all the whippin.g and yelling
that a boisterous teamster is able to bring out on
the occasion. Whipping obedience into spirited
oxen, is not unlike Aunt Chloe's whipping her re-
fractory boys ; '"while she whip])ed out one devil,
she whi])ped seven more in." Let young ox-drivers
always be taught to spare the whip, and to give
the v.ords of command correctly, and the jn-oper
touches of the whip. — Homestead.

For the New Enr/lmul Farmer.
"IS THERE ANY PROFIT IIxT FARMING?"

Mr. Editor: — It will, without doubt, be recol-
lected by many of your readers that I wrote an ar-
ticle, which you were kind enough to publish in the
Farmer of Aug. '2()th, with the above ca])tion. The
position M-hich I took in that article will also be
recollected, viz., that farming in New England is
not a paying business ; that the public, and even
> the farmers themselves, to a large extent, are de-
ceived in the matter. This I undertook to show
with what logic I ])ossessed ; also, I gave some
statistics, and a few quotations from what I deemed
good authority, to ])rove my position.

Now, I must in candor say, that when I ])enncd
that article, I su])i)osed it would be replied to, if
at all, by just that class of farmers of whom I
spoke in the article, who, having "money to spend,"
&c. &c., consider this as a good business.

It will, ]K'rhaps, be as well for me to state in the
outset, that I intend in this article to reply to my
"Sjjringfield" friend, who undertook, in the Far-
mer of Oct. 2'2d, to review the article to which I
have above referred, and to show that farming is
profitable.

It is an old saying, and a very good one, that
"circumstances alter cases." As this is one of the
"cases" that '"circumstances" have altered, and as
but a very small proportion of the farmers can bo
located in a thrifty and growing city, comfortably,
pleasantly, and, for the sake of the argument, and
for nothing else, profitably if you please, at farm-
ing. Springfield is situated on the banks of the
Connecticut Piiver, in Ham])den County, in this
State. It is a city of some 15,000 inhabitants, and
is at this day making great ])rogress in wealth
and population. The Western Hailroad passes
through this place ; the United States Armory is
here located, which adds largely to the thrift of
tlie city, also factories of various kinds are in suc-
cessful operation. Further, the soil on the banks
of this river is well adapted to the growing of to-
bacco, and large quantities of it is put to this n,se.
Here, also, land is sold by the foot. Is it neces-
sary for me to look any further for the solution of
the argument of my friend J. A. A. ? What say
you, brother farmers, all over New England ? If

your ancestors had left you the broad acres in a
great and ])opulous city, how^ monstrously "prof-
itable" farming would seem. Do store and other
bills accumulate, and the crops come in light ?
Have you become worn out by hard toil, and the
doctor's bill looks you in the face P Have the wife
or the little ones been on the sick list, too ? Or,
is it necessary to send the boy to college ? A few
corner lots Avill harmonize the whole. What a
beautiful thing farming is.

Now, Mr. Editor, I suppose I must take up
your correspondent's article, somewhat system-
atically, and treat of it as he goes along. In the
first ]3aragra])h, he says the writer "must be lo-
cated in a very ill-favored portion of the coun-
try." In the old town of Chelmsford, joining Low-
ell, the second city in New England in wealth,
population and enterprise, (saving tobacco — we
don't grow the weed here, we profess to be a mor-
al people,) is the M-riter's residence. Of the capa-
bilities of the town in the agricultural line, per-
haps I can give it in no better way than in the
language of one of its most distinguished citizens.
Dr. Bartlett, in a lecture before the Agricidtural
Society of this town, said, "that in his o])inion,
not a farmer in town was getting a living, witliout
he had either fruit or wood to sell." Now. although
Chelmsford produces a large su])ply of both of
these articles, and there are but few farmers who
have neither to sell, so that oil the whole, this may
compare favorably with most farming town.s, yet,
with all the jn-ivileges that this has over most ])la-
ces, even here it is uji-hill work. The truth of
the matter is just here — that no farmer could, for
any considerable length of time, sustain his ])osi-
tion, were it not for the outside helps that lie is
constantly obliged to resort to. lie must have
capital, and it is folly to think to f\irm without it.
Then, this capital is dead ])roi)erty, for with this,
he has to combine a larger amount of labor and
economy than would give him a better living at
many of the trades that are in vogue, that are much
more easily attained than to know how to farm.
One of two things is true ; the farmer has to re-
linquish all ho])es of any per cent, on his ca])ital,
or throw away his labor to get a fair per cent, on
his investment. Does any one believe that a man
can take a fiarm and its ap])endages entirely on
credit, and jiay his interest, and in the course of
time, free himself from his liabilities, and retain
the farm ? This is Avhat a large ])rojK)ition of those
engaged in other pursuits are constantly doing.

If my friend "J. A. A." will be kind enough to
stop guessing, and go into the figures, the facts,
as they actually exist, and from these obtain or
arrive at his conclusions, he will be quite as likely
to be correct. This guess work should be aban-
doned, and facts and figures should take its ])lace.
Now if "J. A. A." has made a fortune at farming,
or any considerable portion of one, he has the
ability to tell how it was done. This would do
much to establish his ])osition. In this State, there
are 3j,()()0 farms, and allowing two men to each
farm, Avould give 70,000 farmers, equalling in
numbers all other trades. If "J. A. A." will find
one solitary individual (Springfield included,) out
of this army of farmers who has for a series of
years made fair mechanic's wages over and above
a reasonable per cent, on his investment, at farm-
ing, then I shall learn something that I never be-
fore have seen. And, unless he can do this, and

I860.

NEW ENGLAND FAR^VIER.

much more, then his whole argument falls to the
ground.

Pcrluips I can illustrate the position I take, in
no better vray than by relating an anecdote, Avhich
was recently told me. A friend of mine who takes
a similar view of the matter with me, said "he had
been several times opposed in his view by a stout
and rugged old farmer Vv'ho instanced his own case
to prove that the business was lucrative." "Well,"
says my friend, "you have made money, have
you ?" "Yes, I have done well, and I know it is
a good business. But, what are you figuring
about P" "I was merely reckoning up to see hov.'
much you have made." "I guess I know how much
I have made without your figuring." "Well, well,
I merely wanted to see ; figures, you know, won't
lie." "Well, how do you make it ?" "Do you
want I should tell you ?" "Certainly, you can't
alter it." "Well, then, if I have got it rigiit, you
lack -SGO.OOO of having made a living." "How do
you make that out ?" "You say you had so mudi
(showing him the figures) left you P" "Yes."
"You are now worth zo much ?" "Yes." "Well,
then, if you had put j-our mDuey at interest when
you came into possession of it, and kept it there,
and got your own living since, you would have
been worth what I told you."

Now if my Springfield friend will furnish the
evidence of what he says, and v/ill truthfully make
it appear that this is "profitable, and that farmers
are the most independent people in the world," it
is all I ask for. I think, however, that where we
mainly differ is in this — he has one class of far-
mers in view, and I another. It is the poor far-
mer whose position I am speaking of, and not
these city folks who farm for amusement, without
regard to the cost.

Again, friend "A" says ; "I suspect that Mr. P.
having probably been employed in other pursuits
before engaging in agriculture 'some seven or
eight years' since, may possibly be lacking in ag-
ricultural experience, so necessary to success, and
has had the misfortune to locate in a bad situa-
tion, both combining, perhaps, to render him sick
of his new vocation, and consequently he looks
upon the dark side." Here is more guess work, at
Avhich friend "A. "has been about as successful as
he is in guessing at the "profit" of farming. The
truth is, I am not "sick" of farming, nor have I
"located in a bad situation." All that I want, is,
that the truth and right may prevail. When I see
all other classes of men making a living by their
business, and generally much more, (which I do
not object to,) I am led to inquire how is it with
the business that sustains all others ? I would not
say a word, did not I believe that there is a remedy
for the Avrongs that I am speaking of. But, it is
no use to say a woi-d about a remedy till we un-
derstand our position, and if things are all right,
then let them remain.

Again, "a good cow should give four quarts at
early milliing, at least, or eight quarts per day,
through the greater part of the year, and even
more than this, a considerable portion of the
time." ^I believe a cow may be kept well, in most
localities for about forty-five dollars per year, and
should yield an average of six quarts of milk per
day. "The milkmen generally get from four to
six cents a quart for milk, and, consequently, the
farmer should not receive less than three or three
and a half cents for his mUk, at his door." Now

this is all guess work again, and you have not giv.en
a single fact to substantiate a word of what you
have said. A cow that gives milk, requires 2A per
cent, on her live weight i)er day of good English
hay or its equivalent to sustain her position. Is
this keeping her for forty-five dollars per year ?
The farmers have been selling their milk for eigh-
teen cents per can in this county, and in New
Hampshire on the line of the railroads, this last
summer. The cans hold, Massachusetts measure,
from nine to eleven quarts. Is this "from three to
three and a half cents per quart ?'" No sup])osi-
tion, or guess work here. Now, if friend "A," can
put these items together, and figure up a "profit,"
I am thinking it would take a larger city than
Springfield to hold him.

Chelmsford, Mass., Nov. 7, 1859.

T. J. PlNKIIAM.

AMERICA'S NOBLEMEN".

The noblest men I know on curtli.
Are men whose hands are brown with toil ;

Who, backed by no ancestral graves,
Hew down the woods and till the soil,

And win thereby a prouder fame

Than follows king or warrior's name.

The workingmen, what e'er their task,
To cnrve the stone or bear the hod —

Tlicy wear upon their honest brows
The royal stamp and seal of God I

And brighter are the drops of sweat

Than diamonds in a coronet !

God bless the noble working-men.
Who rear the cities of the plain,

AVho dig the mines and build the ships,
And drive the commerce of the main —

God bless them, for their swarthy hands

Have wrought the glory of all lands !

K"E"W PUBLICATIONS.

The FiiEE Speaker ; A New Collection of Pieces for
Declamation ; Original n» v.'cll as Selected, intended as
a Companion to "Tiie Hundred Dialogues." By Wil-
liam Bcutley Fowle. Published by the Author. 1S59.

This book is intended for our common schools,
and ought to be in use in every one of them. The
pieces of which it is made up, as compositions, or
examples of terse and vigorous English, are, as a
whole, scarcely equalled by those of any school-
books now in use ; while their sentiments incul-
cate that love of justice, of freedom and country,
which no other school-book has ever yet dared to
do. They also everywhere urge that no earthly
power should ever, for a moment, be inter])osed
to alienate or compromise our direct, personal du-
ty to God. All profit, pledge and expediency, must
yield to duty to the great Head and Source of all.

Our school-books are, most of them, tame and
savorless things. They exhaust the strength and
patience of the pupil in obtaining a fluent and me-
lodious elocution, v»hile they ought to press home
upon the heart those sentiments of justice and du-
ty which will make even the unlettered person el-
oquent. The "Free Speaker" has the happiest
combination of both. While it breathes the spir-

KEW ENGLAND FARMER.

Jan.

it of philantlii-opy and love on excrj i)agc, it also
utters that Puritan sternness for right that never
compromises with wrong.

In its ap]H'0])riate branch of learning, the school-
book should not only teach the child how to de-
claim, but at the same time something of the na-
ture of the laws and government under which he
lives, — of agriculture, of the sciences and arts, —
and especiall)-, of those principles which impel
and make prosperous a free and virtuous people !
A mercenary thought underlies the i)ublication of
too many of our books : the question being, how
will it sell, and tvhere Avill it sell, so that the larg-
er half of our population, who are right, have no
book yet that speaks for them.

The Free S])eaker has two or three features of
importance. One is, that the pieces are all new,
and not the hackneyed ones that have been worn
threadbare for the last half century. This is a
matter of consequence to those who speak in our
schools. The other peculiarity of the book is, that
about one-quarter of the pieces are original. The
pieces are all single. We hope the "Free Speak-
er" will have a widely-extended use ; and if so,
good men and good women will be greatly multi-
plied in the land.

LETTER FHOM -WESTEBOT VIRGINIA.

Farmers aud Faniiinj;- — Great Products of Corn, Pota-
toes, &C-. — Tlie "iiiatitution" lading away — Yankee In-
fluence— Soil and Climate — Progress in Ceredo.

Ccredo, Va., Oct 24, 18u9.

Since I have been here, two years and above,
and taken some pains to jnake observations on the
subject, 1 am able to offer some testimony as to
the productiveness of the soil in this section. I
find the efi'ects of the "institution" here, where
there is no slavery comparatively. The most in-
telligent residents themselves will tell us, that
they do nothing at farming, because they do not
try— they are too lazy, and have l^een taught from
childhood that only slaves should labor industri-
ously and constantly ; so if they wish to produce
any crops, they hii-e some one to cultivate the land
for them, or rent it out to some one poorer than
themselves, and neither of them make a living.
Tliis is the case with a majority of landholders in
this county. So that when a stranger rides along
the highways, he will see only a few attractive
farming operations, and would not be favorably
Im])ressed with the quality of the soil.

The neglect to cultivate the soil, and in fact the
neglect to do anything in season, or as well as it
should be done, is so generally the practice, that
farming makes a poor show. However, there is
here and there a farmer who does the best that
can be done for profit and for his land. A farmer,
two miles from this, who this year cultivated about
one hundred and fifty acres of land, shows what
cait be done in the M-ay of large products.

On a ]ncce of hill lan.d where his predecessor
could not get a living, he raised corn at the rate
of eighty-five bushels to the acre. I saw some of
it before jt was cut. 1 could not reach the ears on
the stallis, and many of the ears ai-e more than

one foot in length, I heard of stocks seventeen
feet high, and ears of corn sixteen inches long,
but did not see them. The same farmer, however,
has one piece of corn of fifty-six acres, on which
he has raised fifty-six huncb^ed bushels of corn.
He is a systematic, energetic farmer, and goes in
for improved machinery, and all the best farming
tools, and so he makes four times as much as his
neighbors, who attribute his success to the use of
capital !

I was going to tell what I had seen of the pro-
ducts of the soil. I saw an acre ])atch of melons,
from which the proprietor had sold $200 worth of
melons, and there were three to five hundred yet
on the ground. The ground was scratched up once,
and the seed put in — that's all. In sjnte of such
bad treatment, the ground produced enormously.
The same man had sAveet potatoes groAving on an
adjoining jiiece of land, and they turned out at the
rate of more than 2.30 bushels to the acre — or if
you Avish to have me exact, the ground Avhich I
measured Avas five feet long, and tAvo feet Avide,
and the ]n'oduct Avas more than a bushel and a
half. Some of them Avere very large, and all very
good — the best I have ever eaten.

Apples and peaches groAV Avithout care or culti-
vation, of the best quality, and very large. ^lany
orchards bear the Rome Beauties, as they are
called, year after year, the trees yielding from five
to eleven barrels each. These apples are very fine
flavored, mature about Christmas time, and are a
general favorite in the Ohio Valley. Thousands of
barrels go doAvn the river every year. Another very
excellent apple, ripe noAv, and not good to keep,
is Avhat is called the "Blue Pearmain." The spec-
imens I saAV — a lot of thii'ty bushels — Avould more
than half of them measure tAvelve inches in cir-
cumference. They are very rich flavored. But lit-
tle fancy fruit, cultivated Avith the greatest care,
could be better. There is a peach orchard on the
mountain side, thirteen miles from here, Avhere the
trees have borne every year Avithout fail for tAven-
ty-four years. They have had little care, and have
never been trimmed out.

It Avould not be Avorth Avhile, perhaps, to partic-
ularize the mammoth turnips, beets, SAveet pota-
toes, Hzc, for you have such things at your agri-
cultural fairs ; but they are so common as not to
excite admiration, and they groAv Avitbout the ex-
pense of cultivation required in a different climate.

Wherever a Yankee has cultivated the ground,
he has got such returns as excited his special Avon-
der, and fixed him here for good. One Avho pur-
chased a farm six miles from here tAvo years ago,
for foiu" dollars and fifty cents per acre, was
laughed at for ])aying so much for tlie "Avorn out"
fiirm. I could see that he kncAv Avhat he Avas about
he kncAv a farm Avhich Avas never cultivated could
not be Avorn out ; and now, the men Avho laughed
at liim begin to think he knoAvs something ; and
that same Yankee has noAv as much influence, and
his advice is sought as often as that of any other
man in the neighborhood. He had only been at
Avork eighteen months, Avhen his nearest neighbor,
an old man and a slaveholder, made up his mind
to sell his best "cash niggers." So five t)f them
Avere at once disposed of, and he has only little
nigs, and feeble, or females, for hel]) in the house.
He "reckons" lie can cultivate his farm as cheap
by free labor, and has not anything to say against
Yankees, as he did at fu-st, sui)posing they Avere

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

all abolitionifits, as he said. The Yankees who
coolly go to -work in their o-\vn -vvay, without re-
gard to custom or precedent, are a puzzle to the
Virginians. They soon see the advantage of cer-
tain modes of doing things, however, and are not
long in adopting what appears to be the best
method of managing a farm.

Such is the influence already exerted upon the
most intelligent of our neighbors. WithouL any
design or desire to influence them or meddle in
the afiairs of others in any way, the Yankee fcu'-
mers went to work in their own way, and the re-
sult of their lal)ors was sufficient to convince any
but a fool, that the soil had been trilled with, and
that a climate that would furnish green beans five
months in the year, was good enough for anybody
with brains. — Boston Journul.

THE STATE BOARD OF AGBICULTUE.E.
This Board met at the State House Nov. 29th,
and continued its sittings three days, Hon. Mak-
sriALL P. Wilder presided over its deliberations.
The subject of the formation of farmers' clubs,
and the act of 1859, was taken up and discussed
at some length, when a committee was appointed
to consider the act in relation to the formation of
said clubs. This committee, consisting of Messrs.
Bartlett, Fisher, Brown and Grennell, sub-
sequently reported : That the chief, perhaps the
only object, attempted at this time, should be the
establishment of farmers' clubs, and the aid of
those already established. They did not recom-
mend details, but advised the appointment of a
committee to carry out the provisions of the act,
and recommended that the plans, constitutions and
by-laws of the various farmers' clubs already or-
ganized, should be as much in uniformity as pos-
sible with those hereafter formed. They also ad-
vised that each member of the Board should give
notice in the several towns within the limits of
his society, of the desire of the Board to estal>lish
farmers' clubs, and of the benefits to be derived
from them.

Reports of the delegates to the county societies
were then read and discussed.

SECOND DAY.

Reports of delegates Avere continued. Upon
the motion to accept one of these reports an ani-
mated discussion ensued, which assumed a very
interesting character.

Mr. Davis, of Plymouth, moved that the re-
ports be 7ioi printed. He thought much that was
seen and said would have no public interest, and
while they might be important in repeating details
to the Board for their information, yet a delegate
would not wish to utter it, if it were to go out
before the public.

Mr. Grennell, of Greenfield, thought it best
t--^ administer reproof, Avhen needed, in private,
by way of suggestions to the officers of the soci-

eties, where it would ordinarily do more good
than through the medium of a public printed re-
port.

Prof. Clark, of Amherst, expressed the opinion
that the report of a delegate, if properly prepared,
was a document of permanent value as a means
of comparison and reference in future, and, as
such, worthy of publication.

Mr. Broavn, of Concord, thought it well that
the delegate should give his ideas aiul recommend-
ations with reference to the exhibition he had wit-
nessed, but that the Board itself should ex-
press some decided opinion upon the practices
and customs criticised or commended, in the form
of a resolution, or some other mode of expression,
so that the farmers of the State may learn what
opinions the Board entertain Avith regard to the
modes of conducting the exhibitions in the sev-
eral counties.

^Ir. Brooks, of Princeton, hoped the printing
of the reports would be discontinued, unless the
Board should adopt the plan of discussing them.
Dr. Fisher, of Fitchburg, was in favor of print-
ing.

Mr. Lewis, of Framingham, said the reports
occupied on an average only about a ninth part
of the whole volume. They are its most valuable
parts, and are wanted as a means of comparison.
Messrs. Bartlett, Clark, Davis, Atwater,
Felton, and others, continued the debate at some
length, and then the motion not to print was laid
upon the table.

The subject of holding a secoiul State Fair Avas
committed to a committee of five, Avho subsequent-
ly reported that a fair be held in September next,
at such place as will furnish the best accommoda-
tions and the necessary guarantee fund.

Messrs. Bartlett, Clark and Bull were
elected a committee to carry out the provisions
of the act in relation to the establishment and en-
couragement of farmers' clubs. See chapter 203,
Massachusetts laws, 1859.

Messrs. Wilder, Brooks, Bull, Sutton and
Atwater were elected delegates to attend the
annual meeting of the United States Agricultural
Society at Washington, on the second Wednesday
of January next.

THIRD DAY.

Board met at ten o'clock. The subject of the
returns of circulars, and the reports upon them
by the several committees, was discussed, and it
Avas ruled that the answers of the circulars should
be compiled by the respective committees, and
their contents reported at the annual meeting of
the Board in January next.

Nearly all the members of the Board were pres-
ent, and they manifested a deep interest in th«
subjects presented for consideration.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

Jan.

For the New England Farmer.

WHAT A COW CAW" DO.

Mr. Editor : — Having seen various statements,
for several years, in your joiu'ual, of the quantity
of milk given by different cows at stated periods,
I am induced to send the statement of two years'
doings of one that I have owned for the last five
years, but lost in calving a few weeks since. She
was said to be one-half Native and one-half Dur-
ham, or Short-horn. Her ap])earance warranted
the latter, at least. Living in the city, I could
make no dependence on pasture, but have had to
depend on what I gave her in the barn. You will
see, she gave the most milk the first year. I ac-
count for this in two ways. I milked and fed her
myself, and I am satisfied I can make more milk,
(with the pasture /had,) to have my cow calve in
the winter or fall, when I can feed cut feed, roots,
rowen and oil meal, alias flax seed, than I can on
grass, when I cannot add the former. I am not
one of the fortunate ones who are able to make
large quantities of milk on grass alone. I could not
obtain the latter, and therefore had to find substi-
tutes, or rather auxiliaries, and plenty of them. I
have often heard it advanced that cows giving
large quantities, could not give good milk. Li
answer to this, I will say, — one season when she
was farrow. I took the cow into the country where
my family were staying, from July to October,
when she was giving, on an average, nine quarts
daily ; after using all we wanted in the family of
seven persons, my wife made over seven pounds
of butter ])er week for fourteen successive weeks,
which I think is proof positive that her milk was
A 1. The most she ever gave me in twenty-four
hours, milked 6 A. >L and 6 P. M., was twenty-
three quarts, one and a half pints. Thus :

185fi.— Took calf away Feb. 1st. Qts.

Amount of milk, Feb. 1st to Auf»-. 1st 2459

" Aug. 1st to Feb. 1st 1928

Xumber quarts one year 43S7

4387 quarts, at 5 cents per qu.art $219,35

1858.— Took calf away July 1st. Qfx.

mount of milk, .luly 1st to Jan. 1st 2239-2

'• " Jan. 1st to July 1, 1859 1083

Number quarts one year 3922-2

3922-2 quarts, at 5 cents per quart S190,12

$415,4:

All the milk not used in the family was sold at
a store, at o cents per quart the year round ; many
carts selling at G cents through the year.

H. R.' CONGDON.

Providence, R. I., Nov., 1859.

THE GAKDETJ-.

The garden is a bound volume *f agricultural
life, written in poetry. In it the farmer and his
family set the great industries of the plow, spade
and hoe, in rhyme. Every flower or fruit-bearing
tree is a green syllable after the graceful type of
Eden. Every bed of flowers is an acrostic to na-
ture, written in the illustrated capitals of her own
alphabet. Every bed of beets, celery or savory
roots, or bulbs, is a page of blank verse, full of
belles lettres of agriculture. The farmer may be
seen in his garden. It contains the synopsis of
his character in letters that maybe read across the
road. The barometer hung by his door will indi-

cate certain facts about the Aveather, but the gar-
den, laying on the sunny side of the house, marks
with greater precision the degree of the mind and
heart culture which he has reached. It will em-
body and reflect his tastes, the bent and bias of
his ])erceptions of grace and beauty. In it he holds
up the mirror of his inner life to all who pass ;
and, with an observant eye, they may see all the
features of his intellectual being in it. In that
choice rood of earth he records his progress in
mental cultivation and professional experience. In
it he marks, by some intelligent sign, his scienti-
fic and successful economies in the corn field. In
it you may see the germs of his reading, and can
almost tell the number and nature of his books.
In it he will reproduce the seed-thought he has
culled from the printed pages of his library. In
it he will post an answer to the question whether
he has any taste for reading at all. Many a nom-
inal farmer's house has been passed by the book-
agent without a call, because he saw a blunt neg-
aV.ve to the question in the garden yard. — Elihu
Buvritt.

For the Xew England Farmer.
FKUIT CULTURE.

Messrs. Editors: — In Hovey's Magazine for
November, the editor, speaking of Fruit Culture,
says: "It has been remarked by some horticultu-
ral write that all fruits succeed best in the local-
ities where they originated." This I am not willing
to admit. I am not aware of any writer who as-
serts that ^^aU fruits so succeed best," &c. But as
regards apples and pears, particularly the former,
this is affirmed by many ; thus, in a report which
appeared some years since in the Essex Agiicultu-
ral Transactions, upon the apple, the Avriter re-
commends the cultivation of those varieties which
are indigenous, or have been first grown upon our
soils, having for many years observed, that the
best apples in our markets were generally those
sorts which were first produced in New England.

Henry Ward Beecher, writing from the West a
short time after, in corroboration of this, remarked
that the best apples in the West were those vari-
eties which originated in the "Great Valley."
With us, the Hubbardston Nonsuch, Baldwin,
Roxliury Russett, Mother, Porter, R. I. Greening,
Minister, Danvers Winter Sweet and Hurlbut,
are among our best fruits, while the Newton Pip-
pin, Esopus Spitzenberg, Red Doctor, Pennock's
Winter and Red Gilliflower, fruits which are
first-rate when grown in their native habitats, are
inferior when grown here. It has been said that
the Porter and Baldwin are nowhere so good as
in Massachusetts ; while the Newton Pip])in is
best on Long Island, and the Spitzenberg in West-
ern New York. Mr. Van Buren, of Georgia, says
"I have in my orchard the Spitzenberg, Newton
Pippin, Minister, Peck's Pleasant, Vandevere and
the Swaar ; these northern varieties, although
making a good growth, yet for twelve or fourteen
years producing not more than a dozen, or half a
dozen specimens to each tree, annually, while all
our native varieties, bear good and abundant crops
in from three to five years after transplanting."

The same may be said of our imported kinds
generally, with the exception of the Graven stein,
of Germany, and the Ribstone Pippin, of England ; ^

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

the former succeeding as well as many of our va-
rieties, and the latter, if in a rich and moist soil.

With regard to the pear, he says, "The history
of pear culture docs not confirm this," adducing
the Bartlctt as an exam])le. I admit that the Bart-
lett pear tree will assimilate to itself materials for
an abundant crop in almost all good soils ; in fact,
I hear of its successful culture throughout the
country, more so than in any variety of the apple,
while "the St. Michael, St. Germaine, and some
other varieties of the pear, cannot be grown here
successfully. That the cultivation of this fruit "is
yet in its infancy," as said by this editor, I admit,
— hence it is impossilile to say, as yet, how much
this idea of locality, as said of the ap])le, will ap-
ply to the pear. ' J. M, IVES.

Salem, November, 1859.

For the New England Farmer.

MISCELLAlSrEOUS OBSERVATION'S

On Farmers and Farming-, and Changes of Custom
since the Kevolutionary War.

^Iessrs. Editors : — My first lessons at farming
were taken while with my father ;* he was the pro-
prietor of three or four hundred acres of land. He
emerged from the revolutionary war, like many
othei- revolutionary officers, as destitute of money
as the gambler who has lost his last dollar. He
was a member of the Provincial Congress in the
years 1774 and 1775 ; he was in the Concord fight,
and held the commissions of major and colonel of
the 7th regiment of the State forces during the
whole war. He sold part of his farm, and finally
had to take his pay in the paper currencj-, which
had depreciated so much, that the purchaser boast-
ed that one load of wood sold from the lot, dis-
charged the whole debt for the land. After peace
was declared, he began to apply himself to farm-
ing operations like one awakened from a dreamy
maze. His fences were poor, bushes and bram-
bles were trespassing upon his tillage land, taxes
high, a scarcity of money, and the gloom from the
reaction -which took place consequent to the long
continued war excitement, were obstacles which
must be met without flinching, or all must be lost.
The poverty of formers at that period was distress-
ing ; men possessing good farms, who had been
engaged in the war, were necessitated to neglect
their farms for the want of help to do the labor.
The owner of a good farm, and a worthy man,
came to my father in distress for bread for his nu-
merc^ds small children, and asked his advice what
he should do, and said he was afraid they should
all starve.

These times were soon followed by Shays's in-
surrection, caused by government oppression to
force people to pay taxes and debts, who had noth-
ing. I can distinctly remember that gloomy time.
Those peo])le who were not able to make their
own candles, collected pine knots and made splin-
ters for illuminating their unpapered, unpainted,
and almost unlighted rooms, which were the dark-
er for the nightly fumigation of the burning
torches. AVhat little clothing the country people
wore consisted of cloth of home manufacture,
produced from ai'ticles raised on the farm, or from
cloth of home facture, bartered for foreign goods.
If there was a man in town who wore broadcloth,

* Jonathan Brown, Esq., of Tewksbury.

he was a subject of genei'al remark, accused of
extravagance, and an object of envy. The young
ladies of the best families turned out to meeting
with their home-spun linen gowns, and many of
the young men with patches on the knees of their
pants. I have known the mothers of blooming
young ladies strap on to their horses' saddles cloth
of their own manufacture, and ride fifteen or twen-
ty miles to Charles' Ferry, and leave their horses
at Charlestown, and pass over to Boston in a fer-
ry boat Avith their merchandise within their arms,
and then traffic it away for a little calico, or oth-
er gewgaws to decorate their fascinating daughters.
The period from the close of the revolutionary
war to the commencement of the revolution in
France, was a gloomy, distressing one to farmers,
which "tried men's souls." The revolution and
wars in France and the rest of Europe caused a
sudden impulse in the business part of the com-
munity in this country, which revived the despond-
ing farmers. Every article of farm production
took a sudden rise, and the demand was such, that
from a kind of despairing lethargy, the farmers
waked into new life, and in a few years paid their
taxes and other debts, and began to buy land to
enlarge their farms, which caused a rise that even-
tually led to disastrous land speculations.

The period from the French revolution to the
British "orders in council," Bonaparte's paper
blockade and the embargo, was a very prosperous
one to farmers. Foreign goods began to be im-
ported in abundance, people began to dress better,
and a broadcloth coat was not of such singular oc-
currence as to excite all kinds of feeling but good
ones.

The period from the embargo to the end of Mr.
Madison's administration was anything but a
pleasant one, especially for the inhabitants of our
cities. The complaints of the people all along the
sea-coast were really distressing. Tne ladies re-
treated back to manufacturing their go-to-meeting
plaid gowns from factorj--spun yarn, and other
branches of economy were substituted, in contri-
tion for former extravagance.

The period from the treaty of Ghent to the pres-
ent time, has been one big with astounding events.
Steam navigation, the sudden mushroom growth
of manufacturing cities and railroads, the inven-
tion and improvement of all kinds of agricultural
implements, will equal the periods of any age, or
the improvements of any nation. But the extrava-
gances, swindling operations and various other
rascalities will defy the enormities of all Christen-
dom, the heathen lands and the cheats of the whole
world.

1 stated above, that my first lessons at farming

were taken Avhile with my father, and of course in

the last century. His home farm contained about

200 acres of undulating land, and not stones

enough on the whole to make a rod of wall. He

kept about tvt'enty head of horned cattle, two horse^,

a flock of sheep, and more or less swine. Pie cov-

i ered his barn-yard six or eight inches deep, with

! rich loam, and 'rye straw for the cattle to sleep np-

: on during the summer, which he plowed occasion-

f ally, to have it well mixed. In the month of No-

: veinber, this compost Avas carted and s])read upon

his runs, or SAvales, where he obtained the most

i of his English hay. His Avinter manure Avas mostly

I applied to his potatoes and hoi)s, and the residue

I spread nnon his corn fields. This land Avas Avarm

NEW ENGLAND FARIMER.

Jan

and dry, and he saldom put dung in the hill for
corn. He obtained the most of his grain from the
natural strength of the soil. He planted his pota-
toes on the damp land, and manured in the hill,
and I have helped to dig potatoes there, that pro-
duced a peck to the hill, Avhcre novv it will take
twenty or thirty hills to fill a bushel. Thus my
father went on, he growing richer, while his land
was growing poorer, and in a few years he doubled
his property, as v;e supposed, and bought other
farms for the sons that remained at home. This
is a specimen of farming of the last century.

Many of our city friends, unaccustomed to coun-
try life, form erroneous opinions of farmers and
farming; they judge according to a]:)pearances, and,
therefore, do not judge a righteous judgment.
They judge the farmer l)y the cloth he wears, and
tlie starch he does not wear, and conclude that
farming has rather a degrading tendency. It is
true that some clownish characters are engaged at
farming, but not more in proportion to the num-
ber than we shall find in all other professions and
occupations, when we come to look under, per-
haps, the better cloth that covers them. Farmers
worthy of the name take the "pa]:)ers," and arc
well posted up on the interesting affairs of Church
and State. The farmer has the whole horizon for
his office ; he is not confined by bricks and mor-
tar to a narrow compass to the injury of his health
and contraction of his mind. Farmers in country
towns are generally the rulers of the towns ; they
pay the most of the taxes to support the poor, to
build school-houses and to pay teachers for in-
structing their own children, and the children of
those who do little else than help, vote away the
farmers' money for their own benefit.

The most of this piece was v.-ritten on the day
that cora])leted my eighty years of experience in
this world of sin and sulTering, good and evil, hope
and despair. If you find any soft spots in it, ex-
ercise that charity which the aged naturally claim.

Silas Brown.

North Wilminffton, Mans., Nov. 11, 1859.

IIemakks. — An exceedingly interesting letter,
and a wonderful p3rformance for that age.

NEW PTJBLICATIOMTS.

Dado, ou the Natnrtt anrl Treatvnout of the Diseases of
Cattle, with Descriptions and Illustrations of the vari-
ous Orivaiis and Functions of the Animal Economy.
Containing, also, Useful and Praetical hiformation on
Breeding-, ventilation, and Diet. By (Joorge II. Dadd,
Veterinary Surgeon. Boston: John P. .lewett & Co.

33r. Dadd thinks the common inquiry among
farmers has heretofore been, "Hoav shall we pro-
tect om- property [stock] against the ravages of
diseases ?" But that the mors important question
is, "HoAv shall disease be prevented ?" The lat-
ter is, certainly, the view for us all to take. A
proper care of stock will prevent most diseases ;
asd even v>dien it has invaded the system, nature,
left to herself, will ordinarily do more to effect a
cure than all the nostrums of the shops. Dixon
expresses it ])otter than wc have ; he says — "Na-
ture is ever busy, by the silent operation of her
own forces, in curing disease ; her medicines are
air, food, water and rest." That is, food that tlie

natural appetite desires, and rest. Warmth and
repose, with the recuperative action which the an-
imal inherently possesses, Avill usually bring health,
unless the system has been grossly abused.

This work treats of the following subjects: Dis-
eas&s of the Organs of Respiration ; and of the Di-
gestive Organs ; on the Principle of Breeding ;
Parturition, or Labor- T»iseases of the Generative
and Urinary Organs ; the Heart — its Functions
and Diseases ; Diseases of the Eye and its Mem-
branes ; Ruptures ; Diseases of the Bones ; Rheu-
matism, Acute and Chronic ; Diseases of the Liver,
Brain and Skin, &:c. These topics are treated,
generally, in an understandable manner, though
we think if there were less of the technicalities of
the profession, the book would be more valuable.
The Doctor's mode of treatment is moderate and
consistent, compared with some of the "fire and
brimstone" treatises that have preceded it. The
book is finely printed, thus showing a proper re-
gard for human ej'es as well as the health of stock,
and ought to be owned by every person keeping a
dozen head of cattle.

IlXrSECT LIFE 113" CBYLOU".

Owing to the combination of heat, moisture,
and vegetation, the mpiads of insects in Ceylon
form one of the characteristic features of the is-
land. In the solitude of the forests, there is a per-
petual music fr®m their soothing and melodious
hum, which frequently swells to a startling sound
as the cicada trills his sonorous drum on the sun-
ny bark ef some tall tree. At morning, the dew
hangs in diamond drops on the threads and gos-
samer which the spiders suspend across every
pathway ; and above the pools, dragon-flies, of
more than metallic lustre, flash in the early sun-
beams. The eai'th teems with countless ants, which
emerge from beneath its surface, or make their
devious highways t® ascend to their nests in the
branches. Lustrous beetles, with their golden ely-
tra, bask on the leaves, whilst minuter species
dash through the air in circles, which the ear can
follow by the booming of their tiny wings. But-
terflies of large size and gorgeous coloring, flutter
over the endless expanse of flowers ; and frequent-
ly the extraordinary sight presents itself of flights
of those delicate creatures, generally of a white or
pale hue, apparently miles in breadth, and of such
jirodigious extension as to occupy hours, and even
days, uninterruptedly, in their passage — whence
coming, no one knows ; whither going, no one can
tell. As day declines, the moths issue from their
retreats, the crickets add their shrill voices to swell
the din ; and when darkness descends, the eye is
charmed with the millions of emerald lamps
lighted up by the fire-flies amidst the surrounding
gloom. — TaincmVs Ceylon.

Planting Peach Trees. — A correspondent of
the Ohio Vcdley Farmer says, peach trees should
be set rather deep, because "the peach cannot,
like the pear, apple or quince, put out new roots
above the old Mies."

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER,

THE MINERAL MANURE THEORY.

ARON LlEBiG some-
what astonished the
agricultural world,
several years since,
by the enunciation of
his theories in regard
to mineral manures.
By some, a few only,
thinking and inquir-
ing minds, these were
received not merely
with a cordial appro-
bation, but with ma-
ny expressions of de-
light. The Baron's
name soon became
familiar in all agri-
cultural circles, and
his theories were
adopted by many as the wonderful elixir that, like
the touch of Midas, was to turn all baser things
into gold ! They saw, prospectively, waving fields,
golden sheaves, and bursting granaries, with low-
ing herds and bleating sheep upon a thousand
hills, in the little snuff-box full of mineral matters
that were to be sprinkled upon the land ! And as
discussions and illustrations, which they fancied
were founded upon a substantial basis, increased
the value of these minerals in their minds, the
true foundation of all success in husbandry — the
permanent manure heaps of the farm — depreciated
in importance, and thus a vital bloAV was struck to
the cause of sound progress and success. Had it
not been for the influence of another element,
more conservative and scrutinizing, an error of
grave character might have been fallen into ; one
that would have arrested the progress of agricul-
ture, rather than have advanced it.

This other class, distrustfuFand cautious, doubt-
ing every thing that bore an impress of ihe "pro-
fession" or the "shop," received these theories
with many discounts, and they inquired every
where, "What manner of doctrine is th;>5, that this
man teacheth ?" They did not believe that bulk
in manure was unimportant, though the quality
were concentrated in the highest drgrer>, and the
idea was too preposterous for consideration, that
potash, lime, and magnesia, with otlier matters
valuable or indispensable to plants, were a part of
the rucks Avhich they so cordially hated. They had
not inquired as to what materials soils are com-
posed of, or how much of these minerals are con-
stantly added to the soil by the abrasion or disin-
tegration of the rocks, or how little difficulty there
would be in determining the character of any soil,
had we only to consider the constitution of the
rock from Avhich it was originally derived. They

had not looked upon this theory in its incipieat
stages, seen it grow up step by step, as its jjrojec-
tor had done, but looked upon it for the first time
as full grown, and launched upon the world as a
new and unattested doctrine.

Thus the zealots and the doubters contested
every advanced point with each other, while more
practical and discriminating men searched for, and
found the Truth, between the extremes, and made
it subserve the good cause. So the Baron's theo-
ries, modified by himself and others, have awakened
a new interest and inquirj^ into the subject of
cliemistnj as connected loitli agriculture, from which
will certainly flow more ample rewards for labor
upon the soil than have heretofore been gained.
All men now regard chemistry in the cause of ag-
riculture not only with complacency, but with en-
tu'e confidence that it is an ally in the great work
indispensable to the highest success.

If there was an error in Liebig's theory, it was
in giving it a too sweeping character, whereby
common persons got the idea that mineral manures
would more than supply the deficiency of vegeta-
ble and animal combined, and that a profitable
succession of crops could be obtained by the for-
mer alone. Whoever adopted this as a rule, soon
found his error in the depreciated products of his
fields. They must go together, — and without this
combination, it is improbable that remunerating
crops can for any length of time be harvested
from the same soil.

In his recent "Letters on Modern Agriculture,"
Liebig touches the point upon which rests all our
success in farming. With each crop, each plant,
or portion of a plant, he says, taken away from a
field, the soil loses a portion of the conditions of
its fertility ; that is, it loses the power of again
producing this crop, plant, or portion of a plant,
after the expiration of a number of years of culti-
vation. A thousand grains of corn require from
the soil a thousand times as much phosphoric acid
as one grain ; and a thousand strav/s a thousand
times as much silicic acid as one straw ; if, there-
fore, there is a deficiency of a thousandth part of
the phosphoric or silicic acid in the soil, then the
thousandth grain and straw will not be formed.
A single straw removed from a corn-field, makes
this field bear one corn straw less. This must be
so — and this single fact, ever present with the cul-
tivator, should lead him to such practices as would
always recuperate, rather than depreciate his soils;
so that, at the end of a hundred years of cultiva-
tion, the soil is better able to produce a paying
crop than it was the first year it was taken in
hand.

Chemists inform us that iron floats in the blood
that courses through our bodies, that p/^os/j/ionc
acid is a constituent of the brain and of the nerves,
that alkaline pJiosphaies and alkaline earths exkt

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

Jan.

in the flesh of all animals, and that a warm blood-
ed animal without a large proportion of the phos-
phate of lime Avrapt up in his skin, would be in-
conceivable to us.

We have been led to these remarks by running
over Liebig's '^Letters on Modern Agriculture,'"
recently published, and will close them for the
present with a single idea more from the Baron's
luminous mind, showing the importance of miner-
al matters to animals as well as plants.

Were it possible, he says, for a plant to grow,
flower, and bear seed without the co-operation of
mineral matters, it would be utterly valueless to
man and animals. A dog will die of hunger in the
presence of a dish full of raw or boiled white and
yolk of eggs, in which is wanting one of the sub-
stances most important for the formation of blood.
The first trial teaches him that such food is as in-
eflicient as a stone for the purposes of nutrition.

To those who find pleasure in this class of in-
vestigation, we earnestly commend the perusal of
this book.

For the New Eyigland Farmer.
PRODUCT OF AN ACRE.

Your article in the paper of ])ecember 3d,
headed "Three acres of land to support a small
family," reminded me of some statements which I
had laid aside for your paper, and which will show
that a little land, well cultivated, may be made to
go some ways in the support of a small family.
The experiment was made by Hiram Damon, of
this place, inider rather unfavorable chcumstan-
ces, as will be seen.

He cultivated, this last summer, about one acre
of land, but in three several lots, some of it two
miles from his house. From this one acre he
raised the following vegetables, (the prices annex-
ed are such as he obtained in the village here :)

Potatoes, 35 bushels $10,00

Corn, 5 busliels 5,00

Peas, 5 bushels 10,00

Carrots, 10 bushels 5,00

Beets, 4 bushels 4,00

Turnips, 20 bushels 10,00

Onions, 1 bushel 1,00

Squashes, 50 iu number 12,00

Pumpkins, 20 in number 2,00

Melons 5,00

Wheat, ~ bushels, (very nice,) 14,00

$84,00

The above quantity he sold, besides using from
this acre all the vegetables Avhich he needed for a
family of six persons.

Aside from the mere market value of his pro-
ducts, he has taken great pains to select and pre-
serve his seeds, so that were there sufficient de-
mand for tht'se, he could realize, at medium prices,
fifty dollars more.

He has twenty varieties of potatoes, raised by
himself, this year, being the fourth from the ball.
Some of these were planted the first of June, are
remarkable for size, very mealy and finely flavored.

He has also a variety of squashes, raised hither-
to only by himself, and which, in grain and flavor,
surpass the famous Hubbard.

He has eighteen varieties of peas, and as many

of turnips ; his object in having such a variety, is
to select the choicest seeds.

We had a severe and prolonged ch'ought this
summer, which injured our crops, and made our
gardens less profitable than usual.

But I thouglit a little statement of his garden-
ing, with many difficulties to contend against,
might be of some of some value. A. E. p.

bpringjield, Vt.

Remarks. — Our friend, "A clergy-man in ill
health," with whom we strongly sympathize, will
find encouragement in the details given above. In
our recent remarks upon the note of the clergy-
man, there was a material point to which we did
not allude — that of health. If he should enter up-
on his tlii'ee acres, and labor judiciously, he would
probably find himself a vigorous man again in
three years, able to resume his profession, and
wield the sword of the Spirit with renewed power
and effect.

Let us see:— Mr. Damon sold $84,00 Avorth
from one acre — that acre divided into three parts,
and a portion of it two miles from his house !
Then, at medium prices, he had

$50,00 worth of seeds $50,00

For other products 84,00

Clergyman's 3 acres $402,00

The prospect really brightens ; the clergyman's
land is rich, and lies all together, so that taking the
$402, with all the garden stuff added that the
family would requu-e, together with an occasional
marriage fee, and the preaching of a sermon prompt-
ed by the texts in the garden, we think, after all,
he could do very well. And how delightful the oc-
cupation, with an interesting wife interested in
the employment, and cheering it with her pres-
ence, her suggestions, and perhaps her fingers
among the flowers ! We have always supposed
there were other Edens than that on the ancient
river, and shall anxiously await a call to sec this
new one, under the supervision of "A clergyman
in ill health."

Grape-growing in Northern Oino. — Much
has been said of the vineyards in the vicinity of
Cincinnati. By a letter published in the Cleve-
land Farmer, we learn that there are one hundred
and eighty acres planted with grapes on a small
island in Lake Erie, knoAvn as Cunningham's or
Kelley's Island, some twelve miles north of San-
dusky. The business has been growing up, grad-
ually, since 185L Eight vineyards were also com-
menced, this spring, on Fut-in-Bay Island, and
several on the Peninsula.

Bronze Turkeys. — The gentleman who gave
an account recently of these turkeys, in the Farm-
er, resides in West Thompson, Conn.

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

For the Xew Enrjland Farmer.

A PLAIN QUESTION" IN AKITHMETIC.

Mr. Editor : — Suppose a farmer buys a cow-
on the first day of April, weighing 1000 pounds,
and six* years old, for fifty dollars. On the next
day after the purchase she dro])s a calf, which
takes all the milk she gives during this month,
but one quart, per day, say twenty-five quarts,
which is sold for two cents per quart. During
this month she consumes two per cent, on her
weight of English haj', which is worth fifteen dol-
lars per ton, and two quarts of Indian meal per
day, at one dollar ]ier bushel. On the first day of
May, her calf is sold for six dollars. During this
month, May, she gives nine quarts of milk per
day, which is sold for two cents per quart, and con-
sumes hay and meal same as last month. On the
first day of June, she is turned to pasture, which
is worth eight cents per day, and increases her
milk to ten quarts per day, which is sold same as
last month.

On the next month, July, the same facts exist
as last month, except she falls off" in her milk one
quart per day. August she falls off" two quarts of
milk per day from last month, July, and consumes
twenty-five pounds of corn fodder daily at five dol-
lars per ton, in addition to her pasturage. The
next month, September, her corn fodder is in-
creased to fifty pounds daily, and her milk is re-
duced to six quarts each day ; her pasturage is also
reduced half. ])uring October she runs in fall
feed, or mowing fields, has nothing else, and her
milk is reduced to four quarts per day, which is
sold for four cents per quart. The cost of feed
this month, October, the same as pasturage, eight
cents per day. In November she still runs in the
field, but is put up nights and fed with ten pounds
of good hay and two quarts fine feed, at eighty
cents per bushel, each day. Her pasturage is re-
duced to four cents daily this month, November,
milk selling for the same as last month and re-
duced to three quarts daily. From the first of
December to the first of April, she is fed wholly
at the barn, and consumes ten pounds of good hay,
one peck roots, at twenty cents per bushel, and
twenty pounds of meadow hay, or corn fodder, at
five dollars per ton, daily. In this month, Decem-
ber she gives two quarts milk per day, and in Jan-
uary, one quart, and dries up entirely the first of
February. All her milk from the first of October
has been sold, for four cents per quart.

This, in my judgment, is a fair sam])le of milk
laising in this vicinity. Now I should like to have
your correspondents in diff'erent milk-raising dis-
tricts reckon this up, and let us know whether the
farmer has made or lost by the operation, and how
much. Also, how this corresponds with the bus-
iness in their locality. Evidently, there are some
minor considerations which I have purposely left
out of the account, in order to see how people
reckon in this im])ortant branch of human indus-
try. Although milk, to some extent, is one of the
necessaries of life, yet, if it is sold below its cost,
the evil that is done to the community is far greater
than the good. At some future time I intend to
answer this, (with your permission, Mr. Editor,)
myself. In the meantime I should like to hear
from some of your correspondents on the subject.

Perhaps I ought to state here that I have
avoided in this calculation the fractions of a cent

which often go into the prices of this article, but
they will not vary the account much ; at any rate,
will not make it any more favorable to the raiser
of milk in this section than I have given it.
For instance, one farmer told me that he sold his
milk through the first or spring and summer sea-
son for two and an eighth cents per quart, and
had contracted this fall and winter, at three and a
fourth cents. However, I prefer to have the cal-
culation made as I have reckoned it ; holding that
it is not very material whether Ave make a very
large or a smaller loss in the business, as it in the
end has about the same effect, whether we dwindle
along a Avhole lifetime to waste our effects or find
the bottom of the hill at an earlier period.

Many ])eople seem to apprehend, that it is of
but a little consequence Avhether they make a loss
in the sale of their products or not, inasmuch as
they can go ahead and appear to be doing some-
thing ; as one man remarked, "somebody Avill get
the benefit of it." But let me say to my friend,
and all who take this view of the matter, that you
forget about those poor neighbors and their fami-
lies who have been less fortunate than you, and
Avho depend on their own efforts for a livelihood,
but cannot go into this branch of human industry,
except at a loss, on account of the ruinous compe-
tition, which only can be prosecuted by those who
have an income equal to this drain u]ion their re-
sources. T. J. PlNKIIAM.

Chelmsford, Mass., Nov., 1859.

Re^l^rks. — Our correspondent is determined
to probe this business of farming, as a business on
which loss and gain is concerned, to the quick.
He is doing the farmers a good service, and is Avel-
come to our columns.

For the Aciw England Farmer.

MR. BARBER'S POTATOES.

Mr. Broavx : — Your correspondent, ]\Ir. Bar-
ber, of Warwick, Avishes some explanation vliy
his "potato vines" suddenly "turned black, in a
a day or two after the thunder shoAver the 31st of
August ?" There Avas a pre-disposing cause, u] ^n
AA'hich the rain and sudden change of atmospliLra
acted. Mr. Barber did not find corn, tomatoes,
beans and other vegetables and crops "turning
black" in "a day or tAvo" after the "cold" rain.
Why not ? Because there Avere not at the roots of
these various crops, enemies in myriad numbers,
subsisting on the sa]), the same as are found on the
roots and loAver joints of the potato plant. If ]\Ir.
Barber had made a thorough and carefid micro-
scopic examination of his seed potatoes before or
after planted, he Avould have found perforations,
small Avarts and slimy looking brown spots on the
surface, on Avhich are hibernated eggs of insects.
After the potatoes are planted the same genial tem-
perature Avhich Avarras the earth and sprouts the
potato, soon starts to life, from their nidus, m\Ti-
ads of minute larva insects. For many Aveeks,
these enemies suck or pump out the sap, thus en-
feebling the plant. It is a consumption, acting
upon, and spreading from the very vital part to the
stalks and to the tuliers. . This derangement and
poison may be compared to consumption acting
upon the vital part of the human system. The

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

Jan.

sudden changes of weather caused by thunder and
•old rains, simultaneously produced action, from
'leat to cold and subsequently cold to heat foUow-
ng, and ])roduced the same sudden change and
death-like appearance in the pre-disposed enfeebled
plants, that over-exertion, sudden changes ot weath-
er and unusual exposure produced vi])on the con-
sumptive patient. He dro])s away, dies suddenly,
being the efl'ect, mainly, of the pre-disposed cause.
And is not the change so simultaneously noticed in
the potato plant analogous ? Every effect residts
from a definite cause, and I have explained to Mr.
Barber what he will more fully understand when
he makes a careful research with the microscope in-
to the botanical condition and entomological con-
nection Avhich are developed and clearly revealed in
the potato plant, from the attentive study of these
three sciences combined. The former lays before
us in clear vision the wonders of the two latter.
Dec. 6, 1859. Tiu: F.\kmeu Boy.

DOSING ANIMALS.

The practice of daily or weekly dosing and
drugging domestic animals is pregnant with good
or evil results. Hence, it is an important subject
— one that should interest every one who keeps only
a cow or a pig. So, too, is proper treatment, in
health and in sickness, important.

Every one who is at all conversant with the cur-
rent literature of the day, often — very often —
sees, "going the rounds," such recipes as this :
"Salt every day, and salt, ashes and sulphur once
or twice a week ; salt, ashes, and hen manure
once or twice a week," &c., &c., varied somewhat
in their proportions, and all for the benefit of an-
imals that are already in the enjoyment of good
health, and have been for a long or short time,
and are likely to continue so, for aught that is
known. Now, in short, I am opposed to ail such
routine courses. This feet'lng salt, ashes, sulphur
or charcoal to animals as much as they can be in-
duced to eat of them, or giving condition powders,
corrosive sublimate, or any of the et cotcras daily,
weekly or monthly, is, I believe, almost always
sooner or later injurious, in each and in every in-
stance, where the patient or patients are in a good
healthy condition. As an illustration, I will give
one out of many, that might be adduced if it were
at all necessary.

A friend — a physician — in commencing busi-
ness, bought a fine roadster, and naturally — and
rightly, too — wishing to keep him sound, and
looking sleek as he then did, M'as led to road some
irjjon the proper care and treatment of the horse.
Reading, I think he told me, in "Youatt on the
Horse," the beautiful effects of corrosive subli-
mate, he commenced giving it, as directed, to him,
and there was a gloss that "was a gloss" easily to
be seen on that doomed horse, for a while. But
stop, or rather v/atch him for a v.hile !

Before a year he coughed. The corrosive sub-
limate was changed for cough medicine, condition
powders, carrots, a]i]>les, potatoes, &c., but with
his favorite drug in the interim ; yet still he would
cough just when he wished to, and that was quite
often, while that hitherto beautiful coat began to
fade, and look sickly. •

About this time, he rode with me a few miles
with my little nag. He wished to know what I

gave her to keep her in such sound health, and
fine condition. I told him that she had no medi-
cine of any kind, and never had, except once when
she had a severe attack of the "horseail," before
one year old, ^nd even this she almost ^entirely
refused. He continued to change his tactics, and
dose, dose away for some six months longer, with
but little improvement, and then went into anoth-
er county, and exchanged him for a fresh one.
But whether he has learned, in this his first voyage,
to let well enough alone, I know not, because he
is now in Aroostook county.

Finally, I have seen somewhere, with pleasure,
that Dr. G. H. Dadd, has raised a warning voice
against this contiimal dosing, which is extolled
to be so necessary and valuable hy some. Why
should we give man or beast a ])oisonous drug
Avhen in health, to keep him in health P Does not
the undue action of the system to rid itself of
this deadly foe, at once produce a deteriorated or
loAvered condition of the original healthy system ?
Is there not, then, an injury inflicted that we are
not able accurately to estimate, or repair entirely,
notwithstanding it is often said, when a sick man
has seemingly recovered, "he is good as new,"
and so of the horse or ox ? — O. W. True, in
American Stock Journal.

LIVE BEAVELY".

The world ia half darkoned with croakers

WIiosc burdens are weig^hing them down ;
Tliey croak of their stars and ill-usage,

And grope in the ditch for a crown.
Why talk to the wind of thy fortune,

Or clutch at distinction and gold ?
If thou canst not reach high ou the ladder,

Thou canst steady its base by thy hold.

For the flower thou hidst in the corner

"Will as faultlessly finisli its bloom,
Will reach for a sparkle of sunshine.

That clouds have not chanced to consume.
And wouldst thou be less than a flower —

AVith thought, and a brain, and a hand.''
Wilt wait for the dribbles of fortune,

When there's something that these may command.'

There is food to be won from the furrow,

And forests that wait to be hewn,
There is marble untouched by the chisel !

Days that break not on the forehead of June.
Will you let the plow rnst in the furrow —

Unbuilded a house or a hall ?
Kor bid the stones wake from their silence,

And fret as if fretting were all ?

Go, learn of the blossoms and ant-hill ;

There's something tliy labor must give,
Like the beacon that pierces the tempest,

Str'.ice the clod from thy footing, and live.
Live — not trail with thy face in tlie dross heap.

In the track of the brainless and proud,
Lift tlio cerements away from thy manhood.

Thou ai-t robbing the dead of a shroud.

There are words and pens to be wielded,

There are thoughts that must die if unsaid ;
Wouldst thou saunter and pine amid roses,

Or sepulchre dreams that are dead ?
No, drag the hope to the pyre,

Dreams dead from the ashes will rise ;
Look not down ou earth for its shadow.

There is sunlight for thee in the skies.

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

THE TREES OF NORTH AMERICA.
The officers of the Smithsonian Institute, some
time ago, engaged the services of Dr. J. G. Coop-
er, to prepare an essay upon the Sylva of the
North American Continent. The result of his la-
bors has been published in pamphlet form by the
Institute, and the following facts are taken from
the document :

There are no less than one hundred and thirty-
four different species of trees on the continent of
North America, including a vast variety from the
rich tropical sylvan products of the Mexican dis-
tricts, to the stunted pines that pass their unseen
sturdy lives among the snows of Labrador. The
tallest trees are found in California, where is the
giant redwood — Sequoia gigantea ofTorrey, or the
WelUngtonia gigantea oi' Hooker — which attains
the prodigious height of four hundred and ilfty
feet from the ground, about half as high again as
Trinity church steeple. The yellow fir, or Abies
grandis, which grows in Oregon, is also a very re-
spectable tree, often reaching the height of two
hundred and fifty feet. In Massachusetts they have
the whitewood poplar, of one hundred and forty
feet in height, and the same State also possesses a
Zanthoxyliun Americaaum, which is more famili-
arly known as the tooth-ache tree. In New Jersey
there may be found a species of white beech one
hundred and twenty feet high. After these it is
quite a contrast to descend to a prickly pear tree
of Mexico, which, though rejoicing in the gorge-
ous title of Opuntia Athanthocarpa, is but six feet
high. The Primus Subcordia, a kind of plum tree,
is another sylvan dwarf, and the Juniper its Pacli-
ypoloea is also an arboreous pigmy, neither of
those Mexican trees being over ten feet in height.

The Gulf of Mexico has an important effect up-
on the forest growth in the United States. It is
from the gulf that many rain storms proceed, and
they are blown easterly by westerly winds, until
they fall generally before reaching the Ohio. Thus,
as they do not reach the Illinois region, that dis-
trict is deprived of its fair share of rain. Without
moisture, there can be no trees, and that is the
reason that Illinois and Michigan abound in tree-
less prairies that ai-e not to be found in places
where the rain storms from the gulf fall. In Tex-
as, where these gulf storms do not travel, the mois-
ture and consequent vegetation and sylva grow
less and less as we proceed westward, until we
come into the great deserts that exist in the Da-
cotah regions.

For the New England Farmer.
COMMON SENSE.
I have often heard the observation that common
sense is the best of all sense. I was reminded
of this on reading the remarks of your HoUis
correspondent, "On the profits of farming." Like
views have often occurred to me, on looking about
among the farmers whom I have known for the
last fifty years. Generally speaking, those who
have been industrious, limiting their attentions
to their own business, letting alone all manner of
speculation, have succeeded well in the world.
The great secret of success is, to have something
as useful to be done, at all times, in winter, as well
in the other seasons of the year. Never hire oth-

ers to do what can be well enough done by your-
self.

Every farmer needs a workshop, well supplied
with tools. All his boys should be instructed in
the use of them. He should know how to mend
his own carts, plows and carriages, and do this at
times when he cannot advantageously work in the
field. He should have "a place for everything,
and everything in its place." This motto, I re-
member to have seen conspicuously posted about
the buildings of one of the best conducted farms
I ever saw. This was well, thus to remind all of
their rule of action, if it could not otherwise be
impressed on their memory ; it would seem better
to make it a part, of tlieu' nature.

"■As to pulling weeds, you had better let them
alone, in a dry time ;" I do not accord entirely
with this rule laid down by friend Emerson. I
would sooner say, let there be no weeds to be
pulled ; or, if there be any, let them be removed
at earliest opportunity, in the most careful man-
ner. Weeds, like vices, even the very common
vice of smoking tobacco, pollute all around. They
can not be too soon eradicated. P.

December 3, 1859.

EXTRACTS AND REPLIES.

BUTTER IN WINTER.

I would like to inquire through the Farmer the
mode of making butter in cold weather. I have
not made butter since the middle of last month —
the last that I churned I kept the dasher going 14
hours, and had to give it up. In warm weather it
comes in from 5 to 15 minutes. I have put the
churn in hot and cold Avater, alternately, and have
tried it in a Avarm room and cold room, but all to
no purpose. The cream, after churning so long,
is so rancid that it cannot be used for any pur-
pose whatever. My cows are fed on the best of
hay, have potatoes once a day, and occasionally a
few ears of corn. If you or any of your corres-
pondents can inform me how to make the butter
come, you Avill confer a favor not only on me, but
on many of my neighbors. E. Leonard.

New Bedford, 11 mo., 21th, 1859.

PtEMARKS. — Butter was made in our family
through the whole of last winter from the milk
which five or six cows gave. The milk and cream
stood in a cellar where the temperature was uni-
formly at about 62° ; and when the cream was re-
moved in order to churn it, it was kept at as near
62° as possible. Ten to fifteen minutes would
bring the butter, which sold in market for thirty
cents a pound. Cream should not be kept more
than three days, we think, and it seems to us that
its temperature should be nearly uniform all the
time it is being gathered. We hope those who arc
successful will help brother Leonard out of his
difficulty.

THE LAWTON BLACKBERRY.
Your subscriber from New Bedford is no doiibt
correct in his belief that the Lawton BlackberrA
can be successfully cultivated in Massachusetts. 1
have this last season, within three miles of your
place in Concord, from three-fourths of an acre,

NEW ENGI>AND FARMER.

Jan.

gathered eighty bushels ; my crop avouIcI have
amounted to fully Uvo hundred bushels, had not
one acre of plants been winter-killed ; they are
more liable to be killed by a very severe winter,
like the last two, than the native vine.

In any part of Massachusetts where the native
blackberry flourishes, upon land that will grow
seventy-live bushels of corn to the acre, one
hundred bushels of I^awtons will be no more than
an average crop. With some experience in the
cultivation and sale of the berries, were I to set
two acres, one would be Lawton and the other
Dorchester. Among the vines which I set three
years ago, were one hundred Xewman's Thorn-
less, and, so far as I have proved them, they are
utterly worthless.

The Dorchester, unless the Lawton is fully
ripened, is much the best berry, but for a table
berry and for cooking purposes, when fully ma-
tured, the Lawton has no su])erior. s. H. I.

Lincoln, Mass., Nov., ISod.

Remarks. — We are glad to learn that the Law-
ton succeeds so near us, and should be glad to
know whether any of S. H. L's ripened so that
those who only eat sweet fruit would have rel-
ished them ? We have not, nor have our neigh-
bors, been able to accomplish this.

LAND PLANTED WITH POTATOES THAT ILVD BEEN
PASTURED WITH HOGS.

Have any of your readers planted land v/ith po-
tatoes which had been pastured with hogs the pre-
vious season ? What was the result ? I have
about two acres upon which a large number of
hogs have run this summer, and I should like to
know what crop I can raise next year to the best
advantage (corn excepted, it being too much shad-
ed by trees for that crop.) Any reply to the above
will be very thankfully received by a

Worcester, Nov., 1859. Young Farmer.

TOOLS FOR draining — TURNIPS AND POTATOES

FOR CATTLE, MIXED WITH WHEAT AND

CUT STRAW.

I have been draining this fall, and have con-
cluded there should be some easier wa}' to make a
ditch, than with a shovel and spade, and my ob-
'ect now is, to inquire if there is an implement in
use that will, with horse or steam power, make
and clean a ditch, two and a half feet deep, by
once passing over the ground ?

A few winters ago, I fed four oxen and four
cows on wheat and oat strav,-, from December to
April ; at the same time I gave the oxen one bush-
el of English turnips, divided among the four, and
one bushel of potatoes to the four cows. They all
went through the winter as well as I ever had any
on good ha)'. The oxen Avent through on the tur-
nips as well as the cows did on the potatoes, and
I consider the turnips and potatoes as good as can
be provided for winter feed — say one bushel to
eight young cattle each day.

Horace Holliston.

North Montpelier, Vt., 1859.

Remarks. — Prof. Mapes, Editor of the Work-
ing Farmer, N. Y., invented and constructed a
ditching machine several years since, and Mr. J.

J. Thomas, one of the editors of the Country Oen-
tleman, also devised and constructed one, but we
have not seen either of them in operation. We
learn that there is a new machine about to be in-
troduced for this purpose which will be cheap
and effective, and that a machine for making pipe
for draining purposes, will soon be forthcoming.
The pipe-making machine, we understand, will be
so compact and portable as to be easily removed
from farm to farm where clay is found, while at
the same time the price will be so moderate as L^
make it an object for a person having ten to twen-
ty acres to drain to purchase one.

CANADA PEAS — PIN WORMS.

Messrs. Editors : — Will you allow me to irv-
quire through the Farmer the value of Canada
peas, as compared v/ith corn, for feetl for cattiJe,
horses and swine ? Would they do well ground
and fed with cut hay or straw ? I wish to say, for
the benefit of all interested, that Lidia wheat is
the best remedy for pin worms in horses that I
have ever tried. Adin Bugbee.

Snow's Store, Vt., Nov. 25, 1859.

For the Xew Enf/land Farmer.

TRAWSACTIOlSrS OF THE MIDDLESEX AG-

BICULTUSAL SOCIETY

For the Year 1850.

By the kindness of an unknown hand, am I fa-
vored with this neatly ])rinted pamphlet of 40 pa-
ges. It is indeed "mvlbnn in j>a'.vo." What is
wanting in extended detail of culture, such as is
found in many other society publications, is made
up by condensed general views of culture, and
keenness of wit. I rejoice to find a voice from the
pulpit in aid of the farmer. I have long been of
the opinion, that if our clergymen would appro-
j)riatc one-half the time now wasted on antique
theology, in familiarizing themselves with the cul-
ture of the garden and the field, and teaching their
supporters hov/ this can be most advantageously
done, they would do a good service in their day
and generation.

I was particularly pleased with the remarks on
education in our schools, contained in this pam-
])hlet. I hope the intelligent President of this So-
ciety will endeavor to have this preaching devel-
oped in practice. I know of no one who can do
more or better than he, if he should undertake it.

December, 1859. Essex.

Sea Weed for Wadding. — The Paris papers
speak of a new industry that has arisen in France
from the exigencies of the times, and one which is
destined to supply one of the necessities of that
rage for destruction which is becoming so appa-
rent. Government has ordered the systematic
gathering of the sea weed which is washed on the
rocks of the coasts of Normandy and Brittany to
serve as wadding for artillery — it being found to
answer the purpose admirably — keeping the iron
cool, and not liable to ignition — like the cotton
wad hitherto in use.

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

For the New England Farmer.

KURAL SCENES, OCCUPATIONS AND
PLEASURES.

Mr. Editor : — I am well a-\varo, that I cannot
do justice to this interesting subject in the brief
space allowed in the crowded columns of a news-
paper ; yet, without taking up too much of your
valuable room, I would like to ofl'er a few remarks
upon this subject for the consideration of those
who are anxious to leave their paternal homes in
the country for a residence in the city.

It is freely admitted, at the outset, that city life
has sbme advantages which country life has not.
These need not be particularly pointed out, as they
will readily occur to every one. Yet, after all, city
life runs quick, is giddy, intoxicated, high-minded,
and under contiiuial excitement. ]\Iuch is con-
densed into little time and space. Men live, as it
were, under a high-pressure system. The candle
of life is kept in a continual blaze ; and it frequent-
ly goes out at a very early period.

But country life, on the other hand, has its own
])eculiar advantages, and its scenes, its occupa-
tions, and its pleasures, are favorable to health
and reflection, to long life and true enjoyment. It
is no part of my present object to set up city and
country as rivals ; they are both, perhaps, neces-
sary to make human existence pleasurable. This
is almost self-evident. Whence come the motives
to change from city to country, and from country
to city, among those whose circumstances or oc-
cupations do not bind them to one locality ? Yet,
I would ask all those who are so anxious to leave
the paternal roof in the country for some garret-
loft in the city, to tell me, how they account for
that rush of cooped-up men and women — mechan-
ics, artisans and merchants — to the green fields of
the country, to the mountains, hills and valleys,
and wild woodland scenes, which invariably takes
place when a holiday is proclaimed ? It is instinct
fleeing to the balmy breath and soothing influen-
ces of country scenes, to revive the powers that
have been impaired, and heal the bruises that have
been inflicted by the artificial mode of city life.

The scenes, occupations and pleasures of rural
life are too well known to need a particular de-
scription. It is suflScient to say, they are the
scenes of every day life, and of every day pleas-
ures ; such as fill the mind with joy and gladness,
and lift the soul to God. They are the scenes, oc-
cupations and pleasures which all parts of the
country present, and from which thousands of our
city friends yearly drink in delicious, untainted
pleasure. For they leave the scenes of their busi-
ness and of profit behind them, to ramble where
the breezes blow, and amid the bracing mountain
air, where many an invalid has picked u]) health,
and received, as it were, a new lease of life. But,
as they do not engage in the occu])ations of coun-
tiy life, they cannot enjoy all its pleasures. There
is a real pleasure in rural occupations and pursuits,
which city life, with its competitions, anxieties
and continual excitements, cannot yield. There is
a real satisfaction of mind in beholding the fruits
and productions of one's own industry and labor,
and in Avitnessing the blessings and bounties of
Divine Providence. The scenes, occupations and
pleasures of rural life, are all alike healthful to the
body, and invigorating to the mind, and conducive
to human happiness.

The country may be said to be one great book,
which is open to the eye of every one Avho can
read and understand it. It has a language of its
own, peculiar to itself. There are passages in it
of exquisite beauty and unjiSrallelcd grandeur. Wo
read its beautiful passages when we gaze iipon the
fair landscape, reposing under the sunny sky of a
summer day ; when Ave listen to the sighing breeze
among the leaves of the forest ; Avhen we hear the
warbling of the songsters of the grove, making
the air vocal with their music ; Avhen Ave listen to
the gentle murmurings of the running stream, as
its limpid avuvcs ripple over their pelibled banks,
the SAveetest of all nature's music. The scanning
of such passages imparts a pleasure to every
thoughtful mind. And yet many, very many, in
their hot haste to become rich, and anxiety to cut
a figure in the Avorld, are Avilling to relinquish all
these pleasant and quiet and healthful scenes and
employments for the busy mart of trade and traf-
fic ; to be covered all over Avith the dust, and to
be surrounded by the hubbub, the pcri)lexities and
the temptations of city life ! And all this for the
sake of acquiring riches and honorable distinction
in the Avorld, Avhich nineteen-tAventieths fail of ob-
taining. John Goldsbuey,

Warwick, Mass., 1859.

CONDENSED MILK.

The Hartford, Ct., Homestead, gives a detailed
description of a "milk-factory," which a Mr. Bor-
den, has put in operrtion "in one of the wildest
gorges of the Litchfield hills."

"The long and short of the whole process is,
that fresh milk is received night and morning, and
condensed to one-fourth its original bulk by evap-
oration, and in this shape, that is, looking like
very thick cream, it is sent to market, requiring
only to be diluted Avith as much Avater as has been
removed from it, to be as perfect and excellent
milk as it was at first, and in fact, a little better,
as Ave Avill explain : The cost in market is 2.5 cents
per quart, or 6j cents for a half ])int, Avhich by the
addition of three half pints of Avater Avill make a
quart of milk decidedly better, more healthy, and
less Avatered than the milk bought of milkmen in
our cities ; and capable, after being diluted prop-
erly, of ansAvering all the piu-poses of the best
miik. The cream Avill rise as usual, and butter
may be made, and the milk Avill shoAv itself pos-
sessed of all the properties of fresh milk."

The Avriter regards it as a most valuable discov-
ery,— a saving of three-fourths of the expense of
transportation is made, and the milk thus prepared
remains sAveet so long that it may be sent from
Connecticut to New York or Boston, and arrive in
a condition to keep longer than milk fresh from
the coAv.

Too Much Grain. — Such is the heading of an
article in the California Farmer, m Avhich the
editor, after admitting that they "have an abund-
ant harvest the present year — tAvice, and thrice,
perhaps, the Avants of the State," says it is un-
manlv for the farmers to murmur, as they do, be-

NEW ENGLAND FARINIER.

Jan.

cause of too much food. Grain-growers are ad-
vised to ship their supplies abroad, and at such
prices as they can get. The same paper describes
the "First Woolen Factory in California," just
completed in San Francisco. The factory is one
hundred and twent3'-five feet long, fifty feet wide,
and two stories high, and "in all its arrangements
for working-power is equal in excellence to any
factory in the Atlantic States." The machinery,
and the operatives of such establishments will
make a better market for the farmers' surplus than
can be furnished by the exporting merchant.

USEFUL OBSERVATIONS.

He that has eyes to see, may perceive an immense
amount of useful knowledge scattered all along his
pathway through life, and if notes or memoranda
were made of such observations, and sent to such
papers as the Arfiscoi, thousands would be grate-
ful for the instruction.

As an example, see how few machinists know
the proper method of adjusting leather belting.
The common method is to place the flesh side of
the leather upon the pulleys ; for what reason we
know not, unless it is supposed to look neater, or
to increase its traction.

But in cither case a great mistake is the result,
and leather belting sliould never be so worked.

Always place the tlesh side of the belt outward,
because it is the strongest, and should not be
worn away upon the pulleys. It is estimated, by
those who have tried the experiment,that the belt-
ing thus run will last twice as long, and perform
quite as efficiently.

Another example we might give, which thous-
ands of workmen, who use the necessary article of
glue, may think valuable. All that is necessary to
keep glue sweet and free from that offensive smell
which good glue will acquire when left to stand,
from time to time, in the pot, is to use a stirrer
of zinc in ])lace of Avood, or to keep a small piece
of zinc in the bottom of the pot, or, when steam
is used for heating it, to make the pot of zinc.

Millions of such items can be given by men of
observation, and we shall take great pleasure in
re-writing them, giving the punctuation, etc., as
well as publishing them, if we are furnished with
the facts.

Books and papers are sometimes very instruc-
tive, but few of these give this kind of informa-
tion, and this is what artisans most desii'e. — Cin-
cinnati Artisan.

A CoAV SucKTJNG Lambs. — A cow belonging to
Mr. Thomas Hislop, of" West Oxford, calved last
spring. Iler calf was taken from her at five weeks
old. A fortnight afterwards an ewe died, leaving
three lambs. As there M'as danger of the lambs al-
so dying, the owner took one of them, and held it
to the cow's teats. Next morning on going to milk
the cows, all three lambs were found sucking the
cow. Another lamb was placed with the cow, and
she has suckled all four ever since. They follow
her wherever she goes, and she protects them from
dogs and other animals that attempt to molest
them, s^iowing the same affection for them as if
they were her own progeny.

PEAT, MUCK, AND COMMERCIAL MA-
NURES.

We have before us a copy of the reports made to
the Connecticut State Agricultural Society, in
1857-8, by Prof. Samuel W. Johnson, Chemist
to the Society, and Professor of Analytical and
Agricultural Chemistry in Yale College. We have
been greatly interested in these excellent reports.
The analyses of various fertilizers, made by a per-
son of eminent ability for the task, and who un-
doubtedly stands beyond the influences sometimes
thrown over the analytical chemist, must be of
considerable importance to our progressive far-
mers. The Essays on Manures are critical and
exact, noticing nearly all the forms in Avhich ma-
nures are used in this country. That which treats
of Peat and Muck is of special value, as oiu' peo-
ple do not yet properly appreciate muck as a ma-
nure, and so long as this material is so abundant
and accessible, it is important that its true value
should be every where known. Below are some
of the heads discussed in the Essay : What is
Peat ? The condition under which Peat is formed.
The different kinds of Peat. The chemical com-
position of Peat.

After these Prof. Johnson notices the charac-
acters that adapt peat to agricultural purposes —

1. Its remarkable power of absorbing and re-
taining water, both as a liquid and as vapor :

2. Its power of absorbing ammonia :

3. Its action in modifying the decay of organic
(that is animal and i^egefable) bodies :

4. Its effect in promoting the disintegration and
solution of mineral matters, (that is, the stony mat-
ters of the soil :) and

5. Its influence on the temperature of the soil.
When these points are well understood, most

farmers will have the means at command of greatly
increasing the productive power of their soils.
Prof. Johnson has our sincere thanks for this new
acquisition to our knowledge in regard to manures.

Agriculture in Tuscant. — The correspondent
of the Neioark Advertiser gives the following ac-
count of the mode of gathering the harvest in Cen-
tral Italy :

To-day — in this nineteenth century ! — one sees
here sunbaked women and girls, cutting, or hack-
ing, rather, the grain with ill-shaped, twelve-inch
sickles, and beating it out, sheaf by sheaf, on a
stone, with the hand, aided only by a rough stick.
Threshing instruments are almost unknown in
Tuscany : and then, what a winnowing, without
machines, follows the reaping ! It is done in this
wise : The grain heaped up on the ground in one
place, is thrown by shovelfuls through the air to
another place, the wind being winnower, and sup-
posed to blow away the chaff as it passes. One
watches this behind-the-times operation with his
teeth on edge M'ith the sense of gritty bread, and
the prospect of eating his "peck of dirt" in Italy
before him.

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FAEIMEH.

A PAIK OF CRESTED DTJCKS.

Mr. Be:ment, of Albany, author of the American
Poulterer's Companion, says these ducks are a
beautiful and ornamental variety. They are of all
colors, having in fact no other common features.
He has had them pure white, black, and mixed,
black and white, with large turbans or top-knots.
The white are considered the most beautiful, as
they have yellow legs and bills.

In speaking of this duck, Mr. Latham says —
"This inhabitant of the extremity of America is
of the size of the wild duck, but is much longer,
for it measures twenty-five inches in length ; a
tuft adorns its head ; a straw yellow, mixed with
neatly colored spots, is spread over the throat and
front of the neck ; the wing blue beneath, edged
■with white ; the bill, wing, and tail are black ;
irides red, and all the rest of the body ashy
gray."

Cranberry Culture. — Obed Brooks, Esq., of
Harwich, has carefully compiled a statement of
the cranberry crop of the towns of Harwich,
Brewster and Dennis, for 1859. An aggregate
value of $23,622 is no small income to the fami-
lies owning these cranberry meadows. We can
give no estimate of Barnstable. A large number
of persons severally own small lots ; but the ag-
gregate must be a number of thousands of dollars
worth. Mr. Solomon Hinckley, residing in our
immediate vicinity, sold to the amount of $740 j

and Dr. Jenkins, of West Barnstable, $600. The
cranberry culture is now attracting much at-
tention in most of the Cape towns, and very nu-
merous lots of ground are being prepared for the
vines. — Barnstable Patriot.

COMMONWEALTH OP MASSACHUSETTS.
AGRICULTURAL DEPARTMENT.

State House, Boston, Dec. 7, 1859.

Dear Sir: — The Legislature, by the Act oi
1859, chap. 203, proposed to ofl'er some encour-
agement for the establishment of Farmers' Clubs
in the various towns of this Commonwealth, and,
to some extent, to aid those already established.
The Committee of the Board appointed to make
provision for carrying the aforesaid Act into effect
have instructed me to say that if there is any de-
sire among the farmers of your town to establish
such a club, and to have the aid of any sugges-
tions that might be offered by an agent employed
by the State Board of Agriculture, it would be
])roper for them to hold a preliminary meeting and
decide upon some definite time and place when
and where they would lilce to have such an agent ;
will you please inform me of it at an early day,
stating the time fixed upon, which should be suffi-
ciently long after the date of your letter to give
time for the necessary preliminary arrangements.

In cases where a Farmers' Club is ah'eady es-
tablished, and is in operation at the present time,
and desii-es to avail itself of the aid offered by the
State, a copy of the constitution or form of organ

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

Jan.

ization, the number of members, the general course
pursued, whether it be by discussions, lectures,
town shows, or otherwise, the nature of the assis-
tance which would be most acceptable to the mem-
bers of the club, and all other necessary informa-
tion, should be forwarded to me, when, if it is
practicable, th» club may be furnished with copies
of the Reports of the Board, and with one or more
agents to take part in the discussions or lecture,
according to circumstances.

Please state explicitly, therefore, if it is pro-
posed to ask any aid, what is wanted and on what
special subject it is desirable the agent should
speak, the time when the meetings will be held, &c.

Any club which maybe formed, or any club now
in existence which may wish to avail itself of the
provisions of the above named Act, Avill be expect-
ed to conform to said Act by making the required
returns at the time specified, and to aid the Board
in collecting facts and statistics relating to agri-
culture if it should hereafter be desired.
Very truly, your obedient servant,

Charles L. Flint,
Sec. of the State Board of Agricullure.

SHEEP HUSBANDRY.

At the weekly meeting of the Concord Farmers'
Club, Dec. 1, 1859, an interesting discussion oc-
curred on Sheep Husbandry. But few of the mem-
bers of the club have had experience in this de-
partment of farming. The subject, however, is ar-
resting the attention of farmers in the eastern
parts of the State. It is believed that sheep may
be profitably raised for their mutton, and that in
connection with this they maybe made the means of
renovating our exhausted and bush-covered pas-
tures. AVe are glad to learn that the Trustees of
the Middlesex Agricultural Society have offered a
premium of fifteen dollars for the best flock of not
less than twenty sheep, that shall have been oAvned
in the county six months. We hope the enterpris-
ing farmers in that county will test the profit of
raising sheep, whether for wool or mutton, and
the offset of keeping them u])on their pastures.
Through the kindness of Dr. Joseph Reynolds,
the able Secretary and Reporter of the club, we
nave obtained from the records some of the re-
marks which we give below. The first four per-
sons who speak are appointed as leaders at a pre-
vious meeting, so that delay never occurs in open-
ing the discussions.

Mr. Simon Bro\vtv remarked that he was fa-
miliar with the care of sheep in his youth. He had
been obliged to sit up night after night, in cold
weather, to take care of lambs, because they were
dropped too early. The first broadcloth he ever
wore, was made from the wool of sheep which he
had assisted to raise. Sheep raising was formerly
profitable, but it had been discontinued among us,
chiefly on account of the losses occasioned by dogs.
He had been informed that in the adjoining coun-
"■y of Essex, there were only 500 sheep, but there

were 3,500 dogs ! A good many persons are now
entering upon the business, A new spirit has been
awakened upon the subject. Sheep have been im-
proved in size and productiveness, as much as, and
perhaps more than, cattle. Fifty years ago, a
quarter of mutton in England, that weighed 15 or
20 pounds, was thought large. Now a quarter oi
mutton is frequently seen weighing 50 or 60
pounds. One weighing 60 povmds was recently
exhibited in Boston market. If there is a demand
for mutton, sheep raising must be profitable. He
had no doubt that there would be a demand for all
the good mutton that might be raised. He spoke
of the effect of keeping sheep in reclaiming pas-
tures. He knew a tract of land in Plymouth Coun-
ty, that was formerly so covered with briars and
rose bushes, that it was almost impossible to walk
through it. He saw it last fall, and it was a beau-
tiful green pasture, Avith a smooth surface, and
not a bush or briar upon it. It had been reclaimed
by the use of sheep alone. If he were going to
keep sheep, he should select good, healthy, well-
favored animals, and would never confine them to
one place, in doors or out. They should be al-
lowed to run in and out of the barn at will, all
Avinter. In clear, cold weather, when the thermom-
eter was below zero, they would lie on the litter
in the yard. When it was damp, even if warm,
they Avould lie in the barn. They should be al-
loAved to follow their instincts in this respect. His
father's barn had racks all around the walls on the
inside. The hay, mostly clover, Avas let doAvn from
above, and troughs Avere furnished vuider the racks
for roots and beans, and to catch the clover heads
if any fell through the racks. Diseased sheep
must be immediately removed from the flock.

Mr. E. Wood, Jr., remarked that he had no ex-
perience upon the subject, but he thought it as de-
sirable to keep a variety of stock, as to raise a va-
riety of crops. The profit Avould depend upon cir-
cumstances. Sheep might be profitable on lands
that AACre easily fenced, and not upon other lands.
He has a large pasture, much grown over, Avhere
he has been mowing and burning the bushes. He
has moAved over 50 acres the past year. This pas-
ture is fenced on two sides Avith heavy stone Avails.
These Avails he proposes to top either Avith poles
or vines, and to put on sheep the next season. He
thinks, from Avhat he has seen, that he can keep 50
sheep, and after tAvo years, as many cows as he
now does, with the sheep, and expects to find
sheep that may be kept by common fences. He
has seen a fiock of one hundred, that yield five
pounds of wool to a sheep, that do not get over a
three foot rail. They are destroying the bushes
and weeds, and bringing in the Avhite clover. This
is the effect Ave most need.

Mr. James B. Elliot, from Keene, N. H., Avas
present, and favored the club with some interest-

i860.

NEW ENGLAND EAEMEE.

ing remarks. He is engaged in sheep husbandry,
and has been for five years. His sheep had be-
come breachy. When this is the case, the best
way is to change the entire flock. He had recent-
ly been looking among the sheep in Vermont, and
h id purchased a hundred, at the average price of
five dollars. He expects they will yield from five
to six pounds of wool each. He has been to Al-
bany, and seen the long-wooled sheep. They do
best, as he is informed, in small flocks. He wishes
to keep a pretty large flock ; has one pasture that
will carry 300, and another that will carry from
loO to 200. Sheep require about one acre each.
If the land is very rocky, they require more. Large
sheep require more. He has concluded to keep
fine wooled sheep. Many of the farmers on the
Connecticut are now feeding all the corn they can
raise to their sheep. They buy wethers, and put
them up about the 1st of December, and give them
cob meal, and oats, all they wUl eat. In March
they shear them, and send to market in the cars,
alive. They will weigh from 150 to 170 pounds,
live weight, and bring from five and a half to seven
cents per pound. In "Walpole, N. H., they are
feeding 4,000 this Avinter. The farmer may fat two
sets in the fall and winter. Mr. Johnson, of New
York, fats all the year round. The manure from
sheep is better than that from cows. From 21
sheep, he made 10 loads of the best manure he
ever saw. Leaves, or some proper absorbent,
should be placed on the bottom of the yard, and
litter used as required. This manure is excellent
to mix with muck. It costs about forty cents, in
New Hampshire, to pasture a sheep from the 10th
of April till the 20th of November, or till they
are "snowed up," and about $1,10 in the winter.
A sheep requires about two pounds of hay, daily.
He feeds with hay twice a day, and once with
roots. Sheep require a plenty of fresh air, and
running water. Some keep them without water,
but it is not so well. Sheep will destroy almost
every kind of bushes, except pines and alders.
Some sheep are easily kept within ordinary fences.
Others will learn to jump over almost every fence.
He related an anecdote of one man Avho had kept
a flock of sheep 29 years, and never knew but one
get out of the pasture. Mr. E. thought small mut-
ton quite as good as large, but that, as most far-
mers in this section would keep only small flocks,
tlie long wooled sheep might be the most profita-
ble here. The Cotswold and South Downs would
yield from five to six pounds of wool. This wool,
although it does not fetch quite as much as fine
wool, is in demand for certain kinds of manufac-
ture. He said that a man of his acquaintance in
Vermont realizes $1000 per year from 200 sheep.
We think these statements from an intelligent,
practical man, who is himself engaged in the busi-
ness, will not be without interest to many of our

readers. Several other gentlemen of the club
spoke upon the subject, and were listened to Avith
interest.

Fo?- the Kew England Farme7.
SEASON AND CROPS IN IOWA.

Onr western autumn is departing as quietly as
a lamb. Early in November, we had a severe at-
tack of winter of two or three days' continuance ;
Avith this exception, it has been mild and dry
throughout.

The sharp frost, September 1, together Avith the
severe drought preceding and following, reduced
the corn crop nearly one-half from Avhat it prom-
ised early in the season. The cob is of the usual
size ; but the kernel is shi'unk so much that it re-
quires tAvo full bushels of ears to make one of
corn. One and a half of ears to one of corn, is, I
believe, the usual proportion.

The Avheat also failed to realize the expectation
of farmers, in amount, by about one-third ; though
of very good quality.

Potatoes are very small, and not very numer-
ovis, but entirely free from rot, and of very good
quality, even the smallest.

BuckAvheat Avas completely ruined by the frost,
and the sorghum greatly damaged, both in quan-
tity and quality. There Avas a large amount of
the latter planted ; but it does not prove a very
profitable crop, as yet.

While our friends at the East are rejoicing in
the full tide of prosperity, Ave are still obliged to
Avait for the "good time" to come. Many of our
farmers, AA'ho Avere badly in debt, are not only un-
able to extricate themselves, but scarcely able to
pay their interest, from the in-gatherings of the

Nevertheless, Ave kept Thanksgiving with you,
and the other tAventy-five States, on the 24th inst.
And very much do Ave find to be thankful for, al-
though still depressed Avith debt and short crops.
We still continue to have excellent health. Dis-
ease, Avhat little there is, assumes a very mild
form, more so, I think, than in Massachusetts.
The scarlet fever, Avhich has lingered around us
for months, is so mild and tractable as to be man-
aged in most cases Avithout medicine. Very fcAv
have died of it ; none, I believe, Avho trusted to
Avater applications and good care. M. R. C.

Tipton, Iowa, Nov. 30, 1859.

Points of Cows. — Mr. A. L. Fish, a dairyman
of Herkimer County, N. Y., gives in the Little
Falls Bairi/man's Record, some observations on
this subject. He says :

"I have never known a cow, Avith soft, fur-like
hair and melloAV skin, appearing yelloAv and gum-
my at the roots of the hair Avhen parted Avith the
hands, that Avas not a good butter coav, and Avhen
fattened, Avould mix talloAV Avell Avith flesh. In-
stead of heavy head, horns, neck and shoulders,
and comparatively light hind quarters, Avhich is
characteristic of the opposite sex, she should shoAV
an opposite design, by a feminine countenance,
light head, neck, and shoulders, Avidening back-
Avard from her chest to the loin and hind-quarters."

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

Jan.

For the New England Farmer.

"WHAT BUILDINGS ARE KTECESSARY FOR
A FARM OP ONE HUNDRED ACRES ?

This is a standing question with the farmers of
the country, and with your permission, I will give
an outline ])lau of Avliat I consider an appropriate
block of buildings, with some notes upon the man-
ufacture of manure for the cultivation of one hun-
dred acres, and the restoration of an exhausted
soil, to a state of primitive fertility.

The size and style of the house should corres-
pond to the size of his family, and the taste of the
farmer. Whether it be built high or low, I would
so arrange the house as to bring the living-room
to front the south and east, to secure the delight-
ful influence of the sun in the room in the short
days of winter ; it promotes happy influences in
the family, and cheers up the little birds and flow-
ers, of which no house should be void. To ex-
tend this influence, I would build a bay window
upon the south side of the room for the cultiva-
tion of flowers inside, with climbing roses upon
the outside ; say the Queen of Prairies on one side,
and the Baltimore Belle upon the other ; trained
upon a neat little trellis to the roof, so as not to
obscure the windows. This arrangement would
unite pleasure and beauty to labor, one of the
great ends of rural life, and which can only be
attained by the union of these happy associations.
It is folly to select the pleasantest room in the
house to decorate and cultivate flowers in for your
friends and neighbors when they call to see you,
and consign the family to an obscure apartment
as a necessity. Should you construct an ell to
connect the house with the barn, be sure to not
disarrange the above.

The barn should be 44 by 70, 18 feet posts, with
a good cellar under the whole, for the manufacture
of manure. For the latter purpose, haul together
near the leanto door, a large heap of leaf mould
from the forest, muck from the svv^amp, (keep a
sufficient supply dug two years in advance.) leaves,
straw, brakes, and other vegetable material for the
filling of the trench behind the cows daily. In
this trench commences the great work of redeem-
ing an exhausted soil back to a state of normal
fertility. In a barn of this size, we have a bay
upon one side, the entire length, 14 feet wide ; a
driveway, 12 ; IJ for crib in front of cows ; lean-
to floor under cows, o^, running back to the trench,
with a descent of ,2 inches, to carry off" liquid
manures into the trench ; 5 for trench and walk
behind the cows, and a space 6 feet wide, to be
partitioned off" into pens for calves, and hospitals
for cows at calving. The trench should be 20
, inches wide, and 5 deep, level, and running the
entire length of the leanto. Cows may be tied
by stanchions, or with straps and chains ; I prefer
the latter, as it gives them more opportunity to
rest. Reserve at one end of the leanto as much
room as is necessary for stables for horses — de-
pending upon the number used or Avanted upon
the farm. Hogs should be kept upon the manure
in the cellar, to prevent fire-fang, or heating by
rapid decomposition. Several weeks before slaugh-
tering for pork, the hogs should bs removed to
small, clean pens, as they will take on fat more
readily than when left to roam at large, and work
in the jpanure.

Every practical, observing tiller of the soil, well

understands that no guano, superphosphate, or
other nitrogenous, or highly concentrated manures,
can restore to the soil the lost carbon, which has
supplied a succession of crops with the essential
materials which enter into the 14 elements of grain,
fruit and gi-ass. The true principle of agricultu-
ral science introduces another system, natural,
plain, and altogether dissimilar. The forest must
give up her store of carbon, (and she manufac-
tures a large surplus annually,) so nicely elabor-
ated by nature's laws as to fix its ammonia, and
yet fitted for a powerful absorbent of liquid
manures, with power to resist decomposition until
brought in contact with the roots of plants. The
swamps must yield up their store of vegetable
wealth, the rich inorganic materials of surround-
ing hills and forests, to re-unite with the mineral
salts too firmly fixed in the soil to be washed away
by the annual rains. The organic laws of the
universe established by the Creator, for the gov-
ernment of all the changes and formal conditions
of properties of matter, Avhether in a crude min-
eral, organized or detached condition, are as uni-
form and Tuierring as the physical laws that gov-
ern the rising and setting of the sun. As the de-
mand for carbon to form fat, muscle, cellular tis-
sue, bone, brain, hair, and other portions of the
human body, and at the same time keep up an an-
imal heat of 98° night and day, is very great, we
readily see why starch is so abundant in all plants
used as food for man or beast. Starch contains
a large amount of carbon, and the forests and
swamps of the old States are holding the great
bulk of carbon in store, to-day. We must in-
crease the productiveness of rural labor by intro-
ducing into the present mode of farming more
system in the science of vegetable physiology.

Every one knows that new land, land never sub-
jected to cultivation, will produce, in abundance,
all the cro])s which that country or district is sus-
ceptible of producing. Hence we are advised
that the forests and swamps of any hilly country
hold its vegetable wealth. Science now comes
to our aid, and teaches us how to change a cold
subsoil, into a warm, pliable, productive, surface
soil. Practical experience has taught us that a
good soil which produces 100 ])ounds of ripe wheat
plants, loses but 15 pounds of its weight and sub-
stance by the operation, 85 pounds coming from
the atmosphere. Science reveals to us why it is
that in combustion, respiration and decomposition,
an immense amount of organized matter is dis-
sipated through the air — infused into the plants
by atmospheric pressure, or gathered up by the
falling dews, rains and snows, returned to the
earth and the roots of ])lants, and thence by ca-
pillary attraction drawn into the kernel and elabo-
rated as food for man and beast. It also gives
the agriculturist poAver over heat, light, electrici-
ty, (positive and negative,) chemical action, air,
earth and water, and enables him to grapple with
repulsive elements — cold, subsoil water (corrected
by drainage,) malaria, and other negative influen-
ces which have baffled the unskilfvd farmer for
years past. Now that the soil, in the old States,
has lost its natural productiveness, a thorough
knowledge of vegetable science is indisputably
necessary to enable the tiller of the soil to com-
pete with those who till the rich fields of the vir-
gin West.

A short time since a cargo of guano arrived in

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FARIMER.

New York, valued at $60,000. Here is sixty
thousand dollars' worth of phosphorus and nitro-
gen, (ammonia,) which stands in the same relation
to the soil as $60,000 v/orth of alcohol does to the
tillers of the same, to stimulate them to more la-
bor in changing the vegetable material around
them into bread, meat and clothing. The soil
should not be stimulated by phospliorus and am-
monia, until it has been well supplied with all the
inorganic elements necessary to furnish an in-
creased amount of grain, any more than a man
should cb'ink alcohol upon an empty stomach. If
a person v.ill drink alcohol, drink it immediately
after eating. Ground bones will furnish phospho-
rus, and copperas iron. The urine and hard ex-
crements of the human species contain those for-
ces in great abundance, and careless agriculturists
are unaware of the enormous amount of these
powerful fertilizers daily going to waste about the
privies and slaughtering houses in large villages
and cities. To make these more available, build
a vat or cistern, immcdiatelj' under one end of the
cow-leanto, in the barn cellar, where they can be
diluted in several times their bulk of water, and
turned upon the manure-heap made as first men-
tioned. This collecting and compounding of car-
bonaceous and nitrogenous manures is practically
agricultural science, and will supersede the neces-
sity of purchasing commercial manures, at reck-
less prices, and rebut the charge that "farming is
unprofitable." Add to this manure heap lime and
ashes, and you have all the fourteen elements that
enter into a kernel of wheat or corn.

Lewis L. Pierce.
East Jaffreij, N. H., Nov., IHod.

Por the New England Farmer.

PRACTICAL PROOFS OF PROFIT ITJ"

FARMING.

Mr. Editor : — I have noticed in your paper of
late, discussions on "the Profits of Farming," by
correspondents from difi'erent sections of the Com-
monwealth, in which they profess to give their own
experience. Having no particular knowledge of
these writers or their locations, I cannot judge of
their statements. But I can tell you what I have
witnessed in my own town, and will leave to you
and your readers to judge whether or not farm-
ing is profitable here i'

We have a neighborhood in which are situated
thirty or more individuals, v.ho own the lands
they cultivate, say from five to twenty acres
each, and so have owned them for twenty years
or more. These men have convenient houses,
with suitable buildings around, and families at
home well cared for. Their only means of acquir-
ing property is by the application of their indus-
try to their land. Most of them have so managed
as to lay up, besides maintaining themselves and
their families, several hundred dollars a year. I
cannot say how many hundred — because they are
rather shy of informing the assessors on this
point — but this I do know, there is no class of
citizens among us more reliable than these culti-
vators of the soil.

We have others who branch out in manufac-
tures, an trade — build large houses, and high
work-shops — drive fast horses — and figure for a
time as Directors of Banks, and they wind up

with a per centage — some thirty, some fifty, and
some nothing. Now, Sir, my conclusion is, that
the culture of the soil, in these diggings, is the
most profitable. *. *.

South Danvers, Dec. 10, 1859.

For the New England Farmer.
PREMIUMS FOR MONSTERS.
BY JUDGE FRENCn.

\^^lat is the object of agricultural societies in
ofiering premiums ? It is Avell, occasionally, to go
back and try our conduct by first principles. We
should ofi"er these inducements v.ith some definite
and commendable aim. - Because a thing has long
been done is not conclusive evidence, especially in
this new and changing country, that it should al-
ways be done. Many a proposition is admitted as
conclusive that a slight examination may show to
be powerless. There Avas good sense in the reply
of the simple gentleman, in a novel of Dickens,
to the suggestion that his room was too small, not
large enough to sv/ing a cat by the tail. "Why,"
said he, "I don't want to swing a cat by the tail."

If we go on to the grounds of a so-called cattle-
show, the most prominent objects that meet our
eyes may, probably, be a balloon, a military com-
pany, a half dozen fire-engines v/ith their men, and
a race-course. Among the lesser attractions, may
be noticed tents with the fat woman and small
boy, the two-headed calf, and the learned pig,
while the cattle and such every-day affairs occu-
py modest and retired positions in the rear. All
this makes a very attractive show for the factory
girls, and the horse fanciers and the children, and
l)rings money to our purse, which, to be sure,
must somehow be had.

Whether it encourages or discourages the far-
mer, is not the question now to be discussed.

If we look at the premium lists, we shall find
the stereotyped off"er of a premium for the largest
crop to the acre of Indian corn, the largest
crop of oats, and so on. No conditions are im-
posed as to the quantity of manure to be used, or
the amount of labor expended. The premium is
for the man who shall by any means produce the
greatest quantity to the acre.

Now there may be various objects in off"ering
premiums. If it is thought advisable to encour-
age experiments in the culture of some new crop,
as of silk, or of beets for sugar, it may1)e well to
give premiums by v/ay of bounty to help defray
the cost of the first attempts, and thus afford
means of deciding whether the particular product
can be cultivated with advantage in the particu-
lar locality. And the same encouragement may
be properly given to the introduction of new
breeds of stock.

Again, in a new country, there may be advan-
tage in testing the capacity of the soil and climate

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

Jan.

to produce large crops. It may satisfy the doubt-
ful new settler, to prove to him that a hundred
bushels of corn may be made to grow on an acre
of land. But of what advantage is it to a Massa-
chusetts or New Hampshire farmer to have it
proved for fifty years in succession, that one hun-
dred bushels of corn or thereabouts may be grown
on an acre? The 2)ossibilities have been shown
again and again, and whether the extreme limit be
ten bushels more or less, seems of no importance.

The legitimate object of premiums in our old so-
cieties is the promotion of good husbandi-j\ The
true idea of good husbandry is the increasing the
permanent income of our farms. It is not good hus-
bandry to raise an enormous crop upon one acre, at
an extravagant outlay of manure and labor. It is
not good husbandry to produce a large crop for a
single year, by a process exhausting to the soil.
Good husbandry implies a system which may be
permanent, a system which shall, through a whole
rotation, through a series of years, produce crops
sufficient to repay labor and the interest of capital,
without depreciating the land.

We are speaking now of the old States. In new
States good husbandry may be quite another mat-
ter. It certainly must be good husbandry for the
pioneer to keep off starvation, and so to get his
first crops with the least labor, even at the ex-
pense of his soil. He frequently borrows his pur-
chase money, and must pay off the mortgage in
two or three years, or lose his land ; and if, in so
doing, he plunders his soil, and sends away to
market its elements of fertility in the shape of
wheat and corn, he has a good excuse for his
course.

This, however, is not, in fact, husbandry, good
or bad. It is rather milling — digging up and sell-
ing the wealth which Nature has buried in the
earth. Our forefathers have thoroughly performed
this operation over most of New England. They
took what the natural fertility of the soil, enriched
by the ashes of the noble forests, could give them,
and bequeathed to us the old heritage of bread
for labor. «

Is it not time to inquire for what purpose do we
continue annually to offer and pay these premi-
ums for monster crops of our standard grains
ftom a single acre ? Is it not a waste of money,
and often worse ? Do we know that the acre was,
on the whole, judiciously cultivated ? Do we in-
quire whether the rest of the farm Avas . robbed,
to manure this premium crop ? Should not the
award be to him who shows the best average of
crops for a year, or for a series of years ? Or to
him who shows the largest profit, on the whole, of
his farm accounts ?

How is it as to animals ? Is it really useful to
encoura":e a breed of horses for the race-courso or
the trotting-course ? Is the horse that can trot

"inside of 2.40" usually a valuable horse for any
service ? It may be profitable to produce enough
of such horses to supply the demand of the "fan-
cy" men who have money to thi-ow away for the
gratification of a low taste, but a 2.40 horse is a
monster, not a regular product.

Some societies offer premiums for the quickest
and best plowing by oxen, of a given tract. Now
every farmer knows that oxen may be driven to
plow a quarter acre, in much less than half the
time they can be properly or profitably made to
do the same work. You might as well award the
premium to those which should walk farthest on
their hind legs, as for this unnatural speed.

Again, Ave offer prizes often for animals and
crops known to be unsuited to the locality. It
would not promote good husbandry to award a
premium for the best elephant or the best crop of
cotton groAvn in New England. If the prize Avere
large enough, Barnum, or somebody else, would
carry it away in great triumph. Clearly we should
not encourage by premiums the production of an-
imals or crops unsuited to our soil and climate.
"N^Hien Ave become satisfied that a mode of culture
of a given crop is and must be, unprofitable, let us
drop the premium for it from our list. If, for in-
stance, we are convinced that cranberries cannot be
profitably cultivated on upland, let us discourage
and not encourage the attempt. Perhaps that ex-
periment has not been often enough repeated. By
all means encourage its repetition, till the question
is fairly settled.

These hints are tlu'OAvn out to set other men
thinking on the subject.

The principles upon Avhich premium lists should
be constructed in om- old States are plain. They
are —

1st. To encourage the product of crops and an-
imals, of kinds and by methods Avhich Avill prove
profitable in the long run.

2. To encourage experiments in ncAv products
and methods, until reliable conclusions may be
formed, and no longer.

3. To encourage exhibitions that shall tend tx)
dignify agriculture in all its departments.

An Apple Tree at Woodside, San Mateo coun-
ty, California, is described as follows : Height of
tree from the ground to topmost limb, 10 feet 6
inches ; circumference of trunk (two feet from the
ground,) 6|inches ; 269 apples on the tree at pres
ent, some 15 or 20 having fallen off. A fair av
erage of the circumference of the apples is 9|
inches. On another tro*^, one apple measured 14
inches round. — California Farmer.

HoAV TO Catph Rats. — Rats are not the onl
species of tenants that outAvit their landlords ,
they Avill sometimes shun all baits and traps. As
many modes of getting rid of them cause them to

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

die on the premises, and taint the atmosphere, or
are dangerous to human life, it may be well to re-
member that if the centre of a cage is sprinkled
with a few drops of the oil of rhodium, (a species
of convolvulus from the Canary Isles, fifty pounds
of the root of -\\ hicli yield one pound of the essen-
tial oil, according to Lindley,) multitudes are ir-
resistibly attracted to the spot, to be disposed of
at will. — Hairs Jmtrnal of Health.

JIMMY'S M^OOTNG.

The wind came blowing out of the west,

And Jimmy mowed the hay ;
The wind came blowing out of the west —
It stirred the green leaves out of their rest,
And rocked the blue-bird, up in his nest,

And Jimmy mowed the hay.

The swallows skimmed along the ground.

And Jimmy mowed the hay ;
The swallows skimmed along the ground.
And rustling leaves made pleasant sound,
Like children baljbling all around —

As Jimmy mowed the hay.

Milly came with her bucket by.

As Jimmy mowed the hay ;
Milly came with her bucket by.
With her light foot so trim and sly.
And sunburnt cheek, and laughing eye —

And Jimmy mowed the hay.

A rustic Ruth in linsey gown —

And Jimmy mowed the hay ;
A rustic Ruth in linsey gown.
He watched her soft cheeks, changing brown
And the long, dark lash that trembled down.

Whenever he looked that way.

0 ! Milly's heart was good as gold —

And Jimmy mowed the hay ;
0 ! ililly's heart was good as gold —
But Jimmy thought her shy and cold.
And more he thought than ere he told —

As Jimmy mowed the hay.

The rain came pattering down amain.

And Jimmy mowed the hay :
The rain came pattering down amain.
And under the thatch of the laden train,
Jimmy and Milly a cunning twain.

Sat sheltered by the hay.

The merry rain-drops hurried in.

Under the thatch of hay ;
The merry rain-drops hurried in.
And laughed and pattered in a din,
Over that which they saw within.

Under the thatch of hay.

For Milly nestled to Jimmy's breast,

Under the thatch of hay ;
For Milly nestled to Jimmy's breast
Like a wild bird fluttering to its nest —
And then I'll svrear she looked her best.

Under the thatch of hay.

And when the sun came laughing out.

Over the ruined haj- ;
And when the sun came laughing out,
Milly had ceased to pet and pout.
And twittering birds began to shout,

As if for a wedding daj'.

crayon, has at last been accomplished. It has cost
nearly as much to get the animal or article drawn
upon'the block, as to engrave it afterward. This
is no longer the case. Any artist with a camera
can now transfer a likeness to the wood prepared
by a process recently invented and patented byR.
Price, of Nev,- York 'city. It will be of great ser-
vice to all classes having machinery, buildings or
animals, which they desire engraved. There can
no inaccuracy result. A prepared block of the size
desired can be forwarded to any daguerrean artist,
and he can take a photograph after the animal or
implement upon the block, which, returned to the
engraver, insures an accurate representation of
said article or animal.

Photographing on Wood. — The power to se-
cure a likeness of a person, animal, landscape,
fruit or machine, upon an engraver's block, in an
instant, without the tedious process of pencil and

NEW PUBLICATIONS.

Grasses and Koka<;e Plants. A Practical Treatise,
comprising- tlioir Natural History ; Comparative Nutri-
tive Value ; Methods of Cultivating, Cutting and Cur-
incr ; and the ^Manngeinent of Grass Lands iu the Unit-
ed'States and P>ritisli Provinces. By Charlks L. Flint,
Secretary of tlic ^Massachusetts State Board of Agricul-
ture. Fourth edition, with one hundred and seventy
Illustrations. Boston.

We have spoken favorably of this wovk before ;
the copy before us is one of a new edition, revised
and enlarged, and beautifully printed. It is a val-
uable work, and ought to be owned by every far-
mer who means to make progress in his profession,
and get his crops at a profit.

Smithsonian Report for 1858. — This volume
contains 438 pages, mostly made up of scientific
matter. The articles are : — Lectures on Astrono-
my ; Memoir of Priestley ; the Grasshoppers and
Locusts of America ; the Means of Destroying the
Grasshopper ; Vegetable Colonization of the Brit-
ish Isles of Shetland, Faroe and Iceland ; on the
Causes which limit Vegetable Species towards the
North, in Europe, and similar regions ; on the
Distribution of the Forest Trees of North Ameri-
ca ; List of Birds of Nova, Scotia ; List of Birds
of Bermuda ; Report on Atmospheric Electricity.
There are several minor articles of interest. The
work is printed in Government style, and is alto-
gether too mean a dress in which to clothe the
productions of some of our most learned and use-
ful men. If the power that controls this matter
wiirsend the manuscripts to Boston, they can be
printed in a style that certainly will not be a re-
proach to the nation, for about one-half what such
printing usually costs in Washington.

Greene County, N. Y., Agricultural Soci-
ety.— Before us we have the Address of the Rev.
Henry J. Fox, before this Society, in September
last. His topic was, "Agriculture as a Necessity, as
an Amusement, and as an Art," and he handled it
well. Clergymen are our esteemed and valuable
co-laborers in the great Art, and we feel under
personal obligations to them for their timely and
sound teachings. This address is an especially
good one, and ought to be read everyAvhere.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

Jan.

LADIES' DEPARTMENT.

STALE BREAD, AND WHAT IT IS.
I don't like very stale bread — do you ? My rea-
son for disliking it is very much like the reason
why I don't like Dr. Fell ; your reason is really
the same, but you probably cheat yourself into the
belief that it is something else, namely, because
the bread is so dry. Allow me to undeceive you.
No bread is dry ;' bread just baked is nearly half
■water ; and the stales* of stale loaves has not lost
more than a hundredth part of this water.

The fact that bread contains nearly half its
•weight of water is surprising ; but not so surpris-
ing as that your body contains a considerably
larger portion — nearly three-fourths. It is "wa-
ter, Avater everywhere, and (often) not a drop to
drink." The flour from which broad is made, is
dry enough, containing not more than sixteen per
cent, of water ; but it has a great tendency to ab-
sorb water, and in the process of baking it, ab-
sorbs it rapidly. The gum, which is produced
from the starch of the flour in baking, holds this
water firmly, and the gluten which forms a coating
round every little hollow in the bread, steadily re-
sists evaporation. Thus bread becomes moist and
keeps moist, let it be never so stale.

But if stale bread be not dry bread, what is it ?
What makes that familiar diftercnce between the
soft, plastic, spongy crumb, and the harsh, crumb-
ling morsel of six days old ? That it is no diff"er-
ence of moisture has been experimentally verified ;
every cook or baker could have told us that there
is no use in placing bread in a moist cellar to pre-
vent the evaporation of its water, since the bread
will assin-edly become stale as the hours roll on.
On the other hand, every baker and every cook
could tell us, that if a stale loaf be placed in the
oven again for a few minutes, it will come out
having (for a time at least) all the characters of
new bread. Yet in the oven it must necessarily
have lost some of its water, and comes out dryer
than it Avent in — dryer, but not by any means so
stale. Further : who does not know the eff'ect of
toasting a slice of stale bread ? The fire scorches
the outside layers, and renders them completely
dry, but, especially, if the slice be not too thin,
we find the interior layers deliciously soft, plastic
and palatable.

An experiment made by the eminent French
chemist, jM. Eoussingault, proves in a convincing
manner, that the amount of water in the broad has
nothing to do with its newness. He took a loaf
six days old, weighing three kilogrammes, 690
grammes, (a kilogramme is something more than
two pounds, a gramme is about 15^ grains.) The
loaf was placed in the oven for an hour ; on re-
moving it, a loss of 120 grammes of water was
found to have taken place ; yet, in spite of this
loss, amounting to three-fourths per cent., the
bread was as new as tlxat just made.

It is the water in the bread which prevents the
loaf becoming all crust. In an oven with a tem-
perature of 500 degrees Fahrenheit, the loaf gets
roasted outside, and the crust is formed ; but the
inside crumb never ha;- a temperature above 100
degrees ; the water which is there, and which can-
not eva]iorate through the crust, keeping the tem-
peratu^-e dov.-n. If this crumb is thus slow to heat,
it is also slow to cool. Every one knows how

long the crumb of a roll continues warm, even on
a cold -winter morning ; and the loaf which was
taken from the oven at three in the morning,
comes warm to the breakfast table at ten. He
placed a loaf, hot from the oven, in a room, the
temperature of which was 66 degrees. The law of
equilibrium, by which a hot body loses heat until
it is no hotter than the surrounding objects, in-
stantly came into operation ; but, although all
bodies give oft' their heat to bodies that are colder,
they do so with varying degrees of rapidity — -some
being very tenacious of the heat they have got
hold of, and others being the most jirodigal of
spendthrifts ; and thus the loaf, although it began
to cool as soon as taken from the oven, did not
reach the temperature of the surrounding air till
twenty-four hours had elapsed — and then it was
stale.

Does it not seem, then, that the difi'erence be-
tween new bread and stale bread is only the dif-
ference between hot bread and cold bread ? It does
seem so, when we reflect that we have only to Avarm
the stale bread in an oven to make it ' new again.
But there is this fact Avhich stands in the way of
such an ex])lanation ; the bread which has been
r«-bakod, although undistinguishable from bread
which has been recently baked, is only so for a
short time — it rapidly becomes stale again. Were
this not the case, Ave need never have to complain
of stale bread ; it could always be made noAV again
in a foAV minutes. The conclusion draAvn- by M.
Boussingault from his experiments is that the
stalcness depends on a peculiar molecular condi-
tion of the bread ; and this condition is itself de-
pendent on a fall of temperature.

But new bread, if more palatable, is very un-
Avholesome, because very indigestible to those
Avhose pc])tics are imperfect. The peculiarity of
new bread, that it forms itself into a paste, is an
obstacle to its digestion. But this is only true of
the lumpish, pasty, doughy, obstinate, irrational
bread baked in our favored island. No dyspeptic
trembles at the noAV bread of Paris or Vienna. In
Vienna they bake — or used to bake Avhen I lived
there — three times a day, and perfectly fresh rolls
Avcre served up Avith each meal. No one com-
plained ; every one ate those rolls so alarming to
the dyspeptic mind, and Avould have stormed at
an unhappy Avaiter Avho should by accident, or
philanthrophy, have brought yesterday's roll. But
lot the Aveak and strong boAvare hoAV they trifle Avith
the noAV half quartern, Avhich, in unshapely, unin-
viting, and Avoll founded modesty, stands on the
breakfast table of the British mother. The hot
bread may tempt her inconsiderate boy — perhaps
the more so because he is assured it is "bad for
him." Boys have a very natural suspicion, founded
on am])lo experience, that Avhat parents and guar-
dians declare to be "good for them," is certain to
be odious. They are birched for their good, they
are bloussed for their good, they are hurriecl
off' to bed for their good, and of course they like
to try the bad, because it isn't for their good. But,
except these young gentlemen, no one Avith a stom-
ach more delicate than that of a ploAvman or a fox
hunter should venture on hot bread in England.
— Once a Week.

^^ A French Avriter says that the greatest bless-
ing a Avoman can receive on earth is the continu-
ance of the aff"ection of her husband after marriage.

DEVOTED TO AGKICDTiTUHE AWD ITS KINDRED ARTS AND SCIENCES.

VOL. XII.

BOSTON, FEBRUARY, 1860.

NO. 2.

XOlTtSE, EATO>r & TOLMAX, Proprietors. cT«^r,-Kr -o-or^-fT^T Tr-r^rTr^-o FRED'K HOLBROOK, ) Associate

Office.... 3i .Merchants' Row bimUN HiiOWN, BDllOR. HENRY F. FRENCH, ( Editors.

A TALK ABOUT PEBRUAKY.

"The wintry West extends his blast,

And hail and rain does blaw ,
Or the stormy North sends driving forth

The blinding sleet and snaw."

EBRUARY has come
round again, and
although the world
is still locked in
its icy "sepulchre,"
and "winter keeps the
kej," we know that, in
a few weeks, winter
must give his last dy-
I ,,ing wail, and make way
that other month, which,
bleak enough in itself, puts
tlie world in a state of pre])a-
ration for something better.
But Ave miist not represent
winter as altogether desolate.
Provided our bodies are
first made comfortable, there
is something in a scene such as greets
our eyes on some bright February
morning, that Is fitted to call up emo-
tions by no means unpoetic. You look out
through the frosted window panes, and the east
is lighted up with a cinnamon glow that waxes
deeper and warmer every minute, till the gi"eat
round sun comes up, and the roofs of the hous-
es, and the trees laden with a light snow, are
tinged with a delicate pink, and all the land-
scape blushes beneath the ardent gaze of the sun.
Soon the elms and maples begin to stir in the wind,
and shake off theu* burden, th?ir blossoms of
snow, — but the hackmatack, the pine and the fir,
presenting a broader surface, may keep theirs for
many days yet. How cheerful looks the face of
our next neighbor, as he comes out with his shov-
el to clear away the snow from his door, and how

clear is the ring of his voice, as he shouts his
"good morning" across the street.

Is Avinter altogether desolate ? Why, look at
those little urchins playing on the slope before
the door. Now they stretch themselves full length
in the snow, and laugh to see the Impression of a
boy they have left there. Then they snow-ball
each other awhile, or test then- strength In a AVTCst-
ling match, and anon they take a turn at coast-
ing, their joyful cries testifying that the pleasure
of drawing the sled up the hill, Is scarcely less
than b'jing carried down by it. We should find
it pretty hard to conA-ert than to the belief that
Avinter is an innovation, and ought not to be tol-
erated.

But some young lady says, perhaps, "Your Avinter
sunrise may be a A'ery fine thing, but I ncA'er saw
It." Is It possible — and you not passed the age
of romance — is it possible that you find glories
I in a feather bed Avhich you cannot find In a sun-
I rise ! Yet, doubtless, you have often thought it
I very romantic Avhen you have read In some deli-
! clous novel of a Beatrice, or Amanda, Avho, trav-
elling among the mountains of SAvitzerland, took
a long Avalk before breakfast to see this same sun-
rise Avhich you may see any morning from your
parlor windoAv. Besides, you knoAv the old coup-
let—

"Early to bed and early to rise," &c.

But the mornings are groAvdng longer noAV, and
there is quite a perceptible evening twilight, —
that hour so pleasant to those at leisvire, and sur-
rounded by good company. Hear Avhat Mrs.
StoAve says about the tAvilight that used to come
in the old NeAv England kitchens : "Hoav dreamy
the Avinter tAvillght came in there — as yet the can-
dles Avere not lighted — when the crickets chirped
around the dark stone hearth, and shifting tongue s
of flame flickered, and cast dancing shadoAvs v.v.d
elfish lights on the Avails, Avhile grandmother nod-
ded over her knitting-Avork, and puss purred, and

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

Feb,

old Rover lay dreamily opening now one eye and
then the other on the family group."

That era has indeed, passed away ,^ and save in
a few of our isolated country towns, so have the
peculiarities she describes in the farm-house kitch-
en ; but the sun still shines and sets, and the twi-
light falls as softly, and family gi-oups gather just
as lovingly together, as they did in the days of
Dr. Hopkins and the widow Scudder !

New England life is still calm, and peaceful,
and homelike, and probably much more comfort-
able than then. There are some things which
Mrs. Stowe, with all her remarkable fidelity to
nature, must have seen through the medium of
her own poetic temperament. For instance, when
she describes the woman who does work enough
for three stout Irish girls — more than three Irish
men could do — as having hands "small and Avhite ;"
— and when she describes a kitchen as never bo»-
ing thrown out of its composure by the events of
washing, baking, &c., &c., we appeal to any man
(who is not an old bachelor.) if his experience
has not led him to a different view of the subject.
We assert, then, that New Englanders'have taken
a step into higher regions of comfort, inasmuch
as they have advanced, rather more into the front
of their dwellings, and assigned to certain phases
of household life the precise place to which they
belong, as works of necessity which minister to
our comfort and repose, but which are not by any
means to be regarded as the object of life.

To change the words of an old aphorism, we
should not live to ivork, but work to live, and all
the beautiful fancies which we can throw about
life, without interfering with its practical useful-
ness, are an advance. Yes, the time has gone by
when the good matron was obliged to begin Avith
the very wool on the sheep's back, and provide
the family with winter clothing; Steam fac-
tories and sewing machines, washing machines
and apple-parers ! We hail you as so many be-
neficent hands held out to lift a burden from our
wives and daughters, so that forever and always
they need not be the mere household drudges
who wait upon our pleasure. Society being now
arranged upon a somewhat different principle,
^ere is a better chance for our young women to
get that out-of-door exercise of which they stand
in as much need as our young men. Now we see
them out skating on the pond, meadow or river,
presenting a picture of grace and health pleasant
to look upon. Now we see them crossing through
snow-drifts or mud, as the case may be, and we are
sorry for the delicate foot which must walk in
such rough ways, but flowing skirts are slightly
lifted, and behold, a pair of India-rubber boots or
snow-shoes removes all our apprehensions for the
safety bf the wearer. Our great-grandmothers nev-
er saw an Tndin rublier sho^", and when thev went

to church, all the fire they had was in the little tin
foot-stoves they cari'ied in their hands — that "sa-
cred fire," which they guarded like so many priest-
esses in the temple of Vesta. As to clothing, we
would not seek to penetrate too far into the mys-
teries of the feminine toilet, but any one who will,
in confidence, consult some good old lady on the
subject, and compai-e the revelation with what may
have come imder his own observation, cannot fail
to be sti'uck with the improvement that has been
made in this matter ; nay, he will wonder that the
women of sixty years ago did not become pillars
of ice in the streets, as we deserve to become
"pillars of salt," if we look back with envy upon
the past generation, and whine about the "good
old days" of our ancestors, instead of being thank-
ful for our improved condition. (Eccl. 7 : 10.)

It was well towards the last of Februaiy, one
hundred and twenty-eight years ago, but in a lat-
itude some six or seven degrees lower than ours,
so that perhaps the apricots were in flower, and
the crocuses were thrusting their yellov/ heads out
of the damp earth, that a child was bom. Doubt-
less some one came to the father and announced,
"It is a boy" — and there was joy in the household,
and the mother looked tenderly on her little babe,
and prayed that God would be his guide ; but she
did not know, and no one else knew, that she had,
on that 22d of Febi-uary, 1732, achieved the Amer-
ican Independence ! She knew that she was a
happy young mother, but she never thought that
she was "Mart/, the mother of Washington !" She
knew that it was a great, important era in her life,
but she never thought what an era it was in the
Nation's life — the nation which was then no na-
tion, but a colony. She little dreamed, that,
through her, the Twenty-Second of February had
become immortal forever.

But God accepted the charge she committed to
Him, and so we, up to this February, 1860, have
been able to pursue our various callings in peace
and quietness, cultivating the arts and sciences,
and drinking our tea without paying an outrageous
tax!

Abundance of Weeds. — An English botanist
discovered, by careful examination, 7600 weed
se-eds in a pint of clover seed, 12,000 in a pint of
congress seed, 39,440 in a pint of broad clover,
and 25,000 of Dutch clover seed. In a single plant
of black mustard he counted over 8000 seeds, and
in a specimen of charlock 4000 ; the seed of a sin-
gle plant of common dock produced 4700 little
docks. The white daisy has over 400 seeds in each
flower, and sometimes 50 flowers from one root.

Forms of Expression. — People say that they
shell peas, when they ?<n-shell them ; that they
husk corn, when they lai-husk it ; that they dust
the furniture, when they M?i-dust it, or take the

dust from it : thnt thev ■'<k!n a calf, wh':'n tlv^v >';?-

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FARRIER.

skin it ; and that thej^cale fishes, when they tm-
scale them. I have heard many men say they were
going to weed their gardens, when I thought their
gardens were weedy enough ab-eady.

Far the Netc England Farmer.
IS STOCK-TLAISING PROFITABLE.

This is a suhject which should interest all farm-
ers, as all are more or less engaged in the busi-
ness. Let us see how much it costs to raise dif-
ferent kinds of stock, and the net profit on it.

A colt, for instance, taken as an average, 4
months old, is worth $20 ; the use of horse and
mare and other expenses is worth $12 ; leaving
$8 net profit. It will cost about $8 for forage
the first winter, and 10 cents a week for pasturing
26 weeks, making the whole cost, $2,60-f$8+$12
=$22,60. The colt is now worth $30. The second
winter it will not cost much more for forage than
the first ; as the colt will eat a great deal that oth-
er cattle leave, say $10; pasturing, 15 cents a
week, $3,90. Cost, $36,50. Worth $45. Third
winter, $15 ; pasturing, 20 cents a week, $5.
Colt is worth $65, Cost $56,50. Fourth winter,
$20. Pasturing, 25 cents a week, $6,50. Cost $83.
Worth $90. Here we have a net profit of $7 on a
colt 4 years and 4 months old ; which is one dollar
less than the profit on the same colt at 4 months
old. The prices which I have set may be called
small, but there are more sold under those sums
than over them.

If the colt has been worked in this time, which
should not be done, it probably has not done any
more than enough to pay for breakage and the
interest on $20, which will amount to over $5.

COST AND PROFIT ON SHEEP.

A good lamb 6 months old is worth $2. Let
us keep the sheep four years, with

Dr. Cr.

First investment $2,00

Cost of wiutering, $1,50 ; pasturing, 50 cts 2,00

Income, or gain, 5 pounds wool at 35 cts $1,75

Second year ; cost of keeping 2,00

Income one lamb, $2, 3 pounds wool, $1,05 3,05

Third year, Dr. to keeping sheep and lamb 4,00

Cr. by 8 pounds wool, 35 cts 2,80

Cr. by one lamb 2,00

Fourth year, Dr. to keeping 3 sheep 6,00

Cr. by21ambs, $2 each 4,00

Cr. by 11 pounds wool, at 35 cts 3,85

Income of one sheep for 4 years $17,45

First cost, and cost of keeping same time $16,00

Net profit $1 ,45

The old sheep is worth as much as when bought. 2,00

The yearlings, or 2 years old, 50c each extra. . . 1,00

■yvhich leaves, after paying all expenses $4,45

A calf one month old, if well fatted, is worth $4.
Now let us see how much profit there is on a
"fatted calf." Perhaps I may be wrong, but I
should say, it should have 8 or 10 quarts of new
milk a day. 8 quarts at 2 cents a quart for 31
days will amount to $4,96.

If I am right in my estimate, there is no profit
in fatting calves, at the prices we get here. If the
calf is to be raised, it may be fed on part skim-
milk, and will then cost all it will be worth at
six mouths old, viz. : $5. It will cost as much
as a ton of hay is worth to winter the calf well, $8.
It is worth 8 o"nts n week for pasturing. $2,08.

Second winter same as the first, $8. Pasturing,
12 cents a week, $3,12. Cost, at 2 years and 6
months old, $26,20. The usual price at this age
is $20. As another year's keeping and growth
would not materially alter the relation of cost and
profit, and as there are more cattle — heifers es-
pecially— sold at this age than at any other, I shall
not follow this subject any farther. It has always
been conceded by farmers that it costs as much to
winter a calf as it does a yeai-ling ; and if any one
can make the figures count up any difi'erent, or in
any way make both ends meet, I should be glad
to "have it done. T. B. Bailey.

Newbury, Vt, Jan., 1860.

TO PRESERVE STAKES, &c., IINT THE
GROUND.

Q,uite recently, while walking in the garden with
the Hon. J. W. Fairfield, Hudson, N. Y., he called
my attention to the small stakes which supported
the raspberry canes. The end in the ground, as
well as the part above, was as sound and bright
as if lately made, but he informed me that they
had been in constant use for twelve years ! Said
I, "Of course they are kyanizcd ?" "Yes," he re-
plied, "and the process is so simple and cheap that
it deserves to be universally known, and it is simply
this : One pound of blue vitriol to twont}- quarts
of water. Dissolve the vitriol with boiling water,
and then add the remainder.

"The end of the stick is then dropped into the
solution, and left to stand four or five days ; for
shingles thi"ee days v,'iil answer, and for posts six
inches square, ten days. Care is to be taken that
the saturation takes place in a metal vesspl or
keyed box, for the reason that any barrel will be
shrunk by the operation so as to leak. Instead
of expanding an old cask as other liquids do, this
shrinks them. Chloride of zmc, I am told, will
answer the same purpose, but the blue vitriol is,
or was formerly, very cheap, viz. : three to six
cents per pound."

Mr. Fairfield informed me that the French gov-
ernment are pursuing a similar process with ev-
ery item of timber now used in siiip-building, and
that they have a way of forcing it into the ti'et's
in the forest as soon as cut, ejecting the sap and
kyanizing it all on the spot. I have not experi-
mented with it, but Mr. Fairfield's success seemed
to be complete.

The process is so simple and cheap as to be
within the convenience of every farmer, and gar-
dener, even, and I therefore thought it so valiir.-
ble as to warrant a special notice of it. — U. G.
Pardee.

The Country Gentleman. — The enterprising
publishers of this excellent journal have made
some typographical changes in it at the opening
year, omitting the benign countenance v/hich had
long stood as a vignette, but introducing a larger
tjTje as a compensation. The larger t\\^e is a de-
cided improvement. The doctrines of the Coun-
try Gentlctnan are sound, and its conductors gen-
tlemen of ability and the highest sense of honor.
The Old Gentleman makes his mark wherever he
travels.

NEW ENGLAND FAHMEE.

Feb.

EXTRACTS AND KESPLIES.
ORNAMENTAL TREES.

Permit me to ask you and your correspondents
a few questions in regard to ornamental shade
trees. I propose to set some in a hard, clayey
soil, and I wish to know what are the best kinds
adapted to the soil, and Avhich is the best season ?
Also, the manner of transplanting.

I would ask is there any difficulty in growing
the rock maple in the described soil ?

Dover, N. H., Dec. 19, 1859. G. F. s.

Remarks. — The same care that is bestowed up-
on a well set apple tree, is all that is necessary for
shade trees. Any shade tree will grow in a "hard,
clayey soil," if that soil be rich and is not drowned
with water. The trees, however, would grow
vastly better if the land were drained. The rock
maple often grows luxuriantly on such lands.

WILD GRAPES.

Can the wild grape be domesticated ? Will it
result in an improvement in the size and quality
of the fruit ? It grows by the river side, has a
sharp, acid taste and is about the size of a large
pea. I think of transplanting several of the vines
the coming spring, with a view of enlarging and
improving the fruit, if possible. I will report the
result of the experiment. Any suggestions will
be thankfully received. I. W. Sanborn.

Lyndon, Vt.

Remarks. — It is doubtful whether the wild
grape root or vine can be materially improved.
We have tried to do so, and have known others
make the attempt, but with little success. The
effect Avould be much like that of attempting to
improve the common crab apple tree. Cultivation
would undoubtedly increase the size of the tree
and the fruit, but the natural sharpness of the
fruit Avould remain, despite all your fostering care.

NORTH READING FARMERS' CLUB.

This Society has proved a very interesting and
profitable one ; its members meet every fortnight
to discuss subjects pertaining to agriculture, hor-
ticulture, &c. Its meetings are attended by all
our best and most intelligent farmers, and many
valuable thoughts and suggestions are elicited at
every meeting. During the last winter, lectures
were delivered before the club by practical men,
among whom J. M. Ives, Asa G. Sheldon, J. G.
Needham and Rev. F. N. Jones. A course of
lertures has been commenced this winter, to con-
tinue thi'ough the season. G. F. F.

PROFITS OF COWS.

Your correspondent, Mr. Pinkham, appears de-
termined to look upon the worst side of the pic-
ture. I hardly think his is the true one — at least,
it is very strange that thousands of farmers should
have been growing poorer for the last fifty years,
a-nd not have discernment enough to see it. I
think Mr. Pinkham must be rather a poor farmer,
not to be able to get but a trifle over 1800 quarts
of milk from his fifty dollar cow. A good cov/ will
give seven quarts (wine measure) per day the

year through, making 700 quarts more than that
cow. Now millv is worth two cents and a half,
year in and year out, either for sale or to make
butter, making sixty-thi-ee dollars. The cost of
keeping a cow one year varies in different places.
In Chelmsford, I presume it would be about $40,
leaving clear $23, which is, all things considered,
(such as in that way finding a ready market for
his hay, roots, &c.,) very fau*.
L])nn, 18-59. Young Dairyman.

THE HYDRAULIC RAM.
I have a ram that has been running for the last
eleven years, supplying Avater for house and sta-
ble, with only two feet eight inches fall, and twen-
ty feet rise, with scarcely any trouble, and for
aught I can see, with but very little wear of the
machine.

LEGHORN FOWLS.

I wish to inquire if any of your readers have
tried the Leghorn fowls ; if so, what is their opin-
ion of them P I have kept them the past year, and
they have given better satisfaction as layers than
any others wo have ever kept, although we thought
the Black Spanish very good. Ours are mostly of
the white variety, and for beauty or utility are
unsui'passed by any fowls within my knowledge.

THE NATIA'E GRAPE.

I have tlu-ee kinds of native grape which I have
cultivated for the last fifteen years or more, and
which have been called superior by all who have
eaten of them. The red grape, purple grape, and
what we call the white grape. They are all hardy,
and ripen in season to be out of the way of Jack
Frost. L. R. Hewins.

Foxboro', Dec. 16, 1859.

For the Neiv England Fanner.
CAPACITY OF DKAIW PIPE.

Prepared bt Messe3. Shedd & Edson, Aoricultdral
Engineers.

The tables here given were prepared for private
use, in the practice of agricultui'al drainage, and
have been of great benefit.

Tables of discharge, without the length of pipe
that may be used, were contributed to French's
Farm Drainage, but beyond that, it is believed
no tables suited to the purpose for which these
were designed, and based upon actual, careful ex-
periment, have ever been published. It is hoped
these will contribute somewhat towards establish-
ing a more exact method of determining the size
of pipe required, than has heretofore been used.

Mr. Smeaton's experiments form the basis of
the tables of discharge, and the results have been
verified by comparison with other tables, and by
the rules of Weisback and D'Aubuisson.

There are many reasons for a difference in the
quantity of water discharged from drains of the
same area, and at the same inclination, when pij^es
are taken from different kilns and laid by differ-
ent persons ; but it is believed that the quantity
of discharge, due to the size and fall, is here given
with accuracy for a well laid drain formed of good
pipe ; it is, certainly, with sufficient accuracy for
our purpose.

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FARRIER.

Nothing appertaining to drainage has been
done so blindly, either in England or in this coun-
try, as the selection of the size of pipe for sub-
main and main drains.

The result of an error in the size of pipe re-
quired is sometimes only extravagant, at other
times it is mischievous, for the destruction of the
work may be caused by it. If the size of pipe
used is larger than is requu'ed, the extra cost is
thrown away — but if smaller, then the pressure of
water, accumulated from lateral drains, and flow-
ing into a submain or main drain too small to
convey it away, may cause the pipe to "blow," or
burst.

We are liable to have, at any time in New Eng-
land, a rainfall of 3 inches vertical depth.

It has been found, from various long and care-
ful observations, that 50 per cent, of this rainfall
is water of drainage, from land in ordinary con-
dition in the northern States.

From a thoroughly drained field, the percentage
of water of drainage will bo greater than this, but
not over 661 per cent., except under extraordina-
ry circumstances. We have, therefore, assumed,
in making up these tables, that it is necessary to
provide for the discharge of water falling upon a
strip of land forty feet in width, to the depth of
two inches, and running off in forty-eight hours.

The quantity of discharge is given for a straight
pipe running full, but a full pipe cannot perform
the office of drainage and an allowance of 15 per
cent, of the area has been made, to allow of the
entrance of water all along the line of the drain.
All drains are liable to curvature, and a greater
part of the drains in ever)' system must be curved,
to some extent, at their confluence with other
drains. A well laid drain, turning by a gentle
curve to flow at right angles with its former course,
will discharge about 10 per cent, less water than
when running straight, — an allowance has there-
fore been made for this.

In a thoroughly pulverized soil, the space occu-
pied by air is about 25 per cent, of the entire bulk,
80 that such a soil, di-ained to the depth of 3 or 4
feet, would receive the largest rainfall of which
we have any record, without filling the soil, and
running ofl" over the surface. Such pulverization
can only occur under the most constant cultiva-
tion and thorough drainage ; but most soils, well
drained and subsoiled, Avill, after the drains have
acted for two or thi-ee years, receive the largest
rainfall without surface-washing.

The tables can only be used to provide for
water falling on the surface occupied by the drains.
If the drained field occupies such a position that
surface water flows from other fields into it, the
size of pipes must be sufficiently increased to pro-
vide for it, and if the water of springs would find
outlet through the drains, a similar provision must
be made for it., Of the necessary increase in size
for these conditions, only an experienced and
competent person can judge ; but the tables are
still very useful under these circumstances, for
the relative size of pipe required remains as be-
fore, and the proper place to make a change from
the size of pipe being used to the next larger, can
be accurately determined from them.

The areas used in these tables, and given under
each size of pipe, are taken by actual measure-
ment from pipe manufactured in New England.
The Ih, 2, 3, 4, and 5 inch sizes, are common sole-

tile pattern. The 8 inch size is round bore, 8
inches in diameter.

The left hand or first cohimn, shows the fall in
one hundred feet given in feet and inches. The
second gives the number of gallons of water the
pipe would dischai'ge in twenty-four hours if laid
at that inclination. The third shows what length
of pipe of that size may be used to convey water
of rainfall, before it will be necessary to take the
next larger size.

In seeking the necessary size of pipe for a cer-
tain position, the aggregate length of all the di-ains
above it, from which water would flow into the pipe
at this point, must be taken from the length allowed
by the table, and the remainder will show what
length of pipe may be used from that point for-
ward, as far as the fall continues the same.

11 INCH DRAIN PIPE AREA, 1.77 INCHES.

Fall,
ft. in.
0.3
0.6
0.9
1.0
1.3
1.6
1.9
2.0
2.3
2.6
2.9
3.0
3.3
3.6
3.9
4.0
4.3
4.6
4.9
5.0

Discliarge.
5631
8248
10231
12055
13800
15148
16655
17924
19113
20303
21334
22444
23151
24268
25061
26013
26806
27441
28234
28947

Length.
169
247
307
362
414
454
500
538
573
609
640
673
694
728
752
780
804
823
847
868

Fall,
ft. in.
5.3
5.6
5.9
6.0
6.3
6.6
6.9
7.0
7.3
7.6
7.9
8.0
8.3
8.6
8.9
9.0
9.3
9.6
9.9

10.0

Discharge.
29705
30454
31168
31723
32516
33151
33706
34340
34975
35609
36154
36878
37354
37989
38464
38940
39495
39971
40447
40923

Length.

891

913

935

952

975

995
1011
1030
1049
1068
1085
1106
1121
1140
1154
1168
1185
1200
1213
1228

2 INCH DRAIN PIPE AREA, 2.98 INCHES.

Fall,
ft. in.
0.3
0.6
0.9
1.0
1.3
1.6
1.9
2.0
2.3
2.6
2.9
3.0
3.3
3.6
3.9
4.0
4.3
4.6
4.9
5.0

Discharge.
10575
15528
20080
■ 22891
25970
28915
31459
33868
36010
37884
39758
41632
43373
44979
46585
48058
49531
50869
52342
53814

Length.
317
465
602
687
780
867
944
1016
lOSO
1137
- 1193
1249
1301
1349
1398
1442
1486
1526
1570
1614

Fall,
ft. in.
5.3
5.6
5.9
6.0
6.3
6.6
6.9
7.0
7.3
7.6
7.9
8.0
8.3
8.6
8.9
9.0
9.3
9.6
9.9

10.0

Discharge.
55019
56492
57696
5S901
60106
61310
62382
63453
64667
65728
66799
67870
68941
70012
71083
72020
73091
74028
74965
75902

Length.
1650
1695
1731
1767
1803
1839
1872
1904
1940
1973
2004,
2036
2068
2100
2132
2160
2193
2221
2249
2277

3 INCH DR.4IN PIPE AREA, 6.11 INCHES.

Fall,
ft. in.
0.3
0.6
0.9
1.0
1.3
1.6
1.9
2.0
2.3
2.6
2.9
3.0
3.3
3.6
3.9
4.0
4.3
4.6
4.9
5.0

Discharge.

24687

36482

45534

53215

60072

66606

72142

77628

82291

86680

90794

95183

98749
102589
106155
109447
112738
116030
119047
122339

Length.
740
1094
1366
1596
1S02
2000
2164
2329
2469
2G00
2724
2855
2962
3078
3184
3283
3382
3481
3571
3670

Fall.

ft. in.
5.3
5.6
5.9
6.0
6.3
6.6
6.9
7.0
7.3
7.6
7.9
8.0
8.3
8.6
8.9
9.0
9.3
9.6
9.9

10.0

Discharge.

Length,

125356

3760

12S374

3850

131117

3933

134134

4024

136603

4098

139346

4180

142089

4263

144557

4336

147306

4419

150069

4502

15223S

4567

154706

4641

157175

4715

159644

4789

162113

4863

164313

4929

166502

4995

168970

5069

171165

5135

173359

5201

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

Feb.

4 INCH DRAIN PIPE ABEA, 9.01 INCHES.

Fall,
ft. in.
0.3
0.6
0.9
1.0
1.3
1.6
1.9
2.0
2.3
2.6
2.9
3.0
3.3
3.6
3.9
4.0
4.3
4.6

Discharge.
43698
60691
74043
86181
96297
105603
113695
121382
129090
135948
142827
148896
154560
160225
165889
171554
170814
182074
186928
192189

Length.
1311
1821
2221

2585
2SS9
3168
3U1
3641
3873
4078
4285
4467
4637
4807
4977
5147
5304
5462
5608
5766

Fall.
ft. in.
5.3
5.6
5.9
6.0
6.3
6.6
6.9
7.0
7.3
7.6
7JJ
8.0
8.3
8.6
8.9
9.0
9.3
9.6
9.9

10.0

Discharge.
196639
201090
205945
210396
214442
21SS93
222939
225985
231032
235077
239123
243169
240311
250452
254093
257735
260972
264603
268255
271492

Length.
5899
6033
6178
6312
6433
6567
6688
6810
6931
7052
7174
7295
7404
7514
7623
7732
7829
7938
8048
8145

5 INCH DRAIN PIPE AREA, 19.64 INCHES.

Fall,
ft. in.
0.3
0.0
0.9
1.0
1.3
1.6
1.9
2.0
2.3
2.6
2.9
3.0
3.3
3.6
3.9
4.0 .
4.3
4.6
4.9
5.0

Discharge.
99584
138302
1674'12
193S81
215913
237945
255570
273100
280D40
304922
320785
334385
348975
362205
375424
3S7762
398338
410875
421251
430825

Length.

23^7

4151

5023

5816

6477

7138

7667

8196

86.18

9148

9624
10146
10409
10806
11263
11633
11950
12320
12633
12925

Fall,
ft. in.
5.3
5.6
5.9
6.0
6.8
6.6
6.9
7.0
7.3
7.6
7.9
8.0
8.3
8.6
8.9
9.0
9.3
9.6
9.9

10.0

Discharge.
442401
452977
462671
473246
483820
493515
502327
611140
520052
528767
537579
546392
555205
564017
571948
579880
586930
594861
602793
610723

Length.

13272

13589

13880

14197

14515

14805

15070

15334

15602

15863

16127

16392

16656

16320

17158

17390

17003

17846

18084

18322

8 INCH DR.ilN PIPE AREA, 50.26 INCHES.

Fall,
ft. in.
0.3
0.6
0.9
1.0
1.3
1.6
1.9
2.0
2.3
2.6
2.9
3.0
3.3
3.6
3.9
4.0
4.3
4.6
4.9
5.0

Discharge.
277488
372210
453456
525648
586560
642959
694S4S
744-i79
789600
844720
877584
9136S0
949776
971659
1021974
1055551
1080135
1116719
1140047
1177631

Length.
8324
11167
13604
15769
17597
19289
20345
22334
23688
25342
26327
27410
28493
29149
30059
31667
32584
33501
343S1
35329

Fall,
ft. in.
5.3
5.6
5.9
6.0
6.3
6.6
6.9
7.0
7.3
7.6
7.9
8.0
8.3
8.6
8.9
9.0
9.3
9.6
9.9

10.0

Discharge.
1200959
1234031
1261103
12SS175
1315247
1343S39
1369391
1391951
1414531
1441583
1466399
1488959
1511539
1534099
1556658
1579199
1601759
1624319
1644622
1664927

Length.

36209

37021

37833

3S645

39457

40315

41082

41759

42436

43247

43392

44069

45346

46023

46700

47376

48053

48730

49339

49948

The solid and liquid droppings of a v.'ell-fed cow
are estimated by the editor at nearly a ton a month,
to which three tons of muck may be added ; thus
producing full four times as much as that made
in the common practice ; and if the quality is at
all inferior, he has not been able to discover it in
a close observation of six years.

Saving Manure. — On re-publishing Mr. Hol-
brook's plan of a gutter in the stable, immediate-
ly beliind the cattle, to be filled with absorbents
for the liquid portion of the manure, the editor
of the Homestead expresses preference for a meth-
od which he practices, of keeping the entire sta-
ble covered with a thick layer of dry muck, or
other absorbent. The parts of this bed that be-
come saturated, and the solid feces, are removed
as occasion requires, and the whole is replaced
once in two weeks, and should be kept covered
with litter, which furnishes a comfortable bed for
the stock, whose animal heat is supposed to pro-
duce very beneficial effects upon these materials.

For the New England Farmer.

SUBJECTS FOE. DISCUSSIO]>T TN
FARMEKS' CLUBS.

Mr. Editor : — As I see that an effort is being
make by the State to institute and promote Agi"i-
cultural Clubs tln-oughout the Commonwealth;
and as I have known such clubs to be at a loss
to find subjects promotive of their interest and
the general good to discuss, I thought I would
send you for publication in the Farmer a few of
the many questions in Avhich the farmers should
take deep thought, and consult together at the
present time.

Has a man a right to follow a losing business ?

Are any of the "Statute Laws" of this State op-
pressive and degi'ading to the farmer ?

Is the common system of marketing promotive
of the farmer's interests ?

Have the farmers a right to combine, or act in
unison, to promote their interest ?

Is selling farm products below their cost, a pub-
lic benefit ?

Is New England farming at the present time
conducive to health ?

Would a change of thought and eflbrt among
agriculturists, from how to obtain a large surplus,
to the idea of a sure profit, result in universal
good to ail classes ?

Can most of the evils of society be traced di-
rectly to the unprofitableness of farming ?

I want to say at some time, and perhaps I
might as well say it now, and in this connection as
well as in any other, that, as a citizen of Massa-
chusetts, and a farmer, and my interests and
rights being inseparable from those of my brother
farmers, I am opposed novr and forever, to all
State effort or State aid. to promote, as it is
thought by some, the farming interest. I can see
nothing in it but "euiZ, and that continually." "Let
every tub stand upon its own bottom," is perhaps
not a very genteel expression, yet is it not appli-
cable in this case ? For half a century our good
and ever indulgent mother, the State, has fondled
and caressed the farming ifttercsts, till she has
made fools of one portion of the people, and neai-
ly bankrupted another.

Repeal all laws that are antagonistic to the far-
mer's good, and dry up the pap which has fioAvsd
from the treasury of the State for a quarter of a
century, and in five years, if the farmers of the Old
Bay State don't show signs of life and prosperity,
which they never before dreamed of, then write
me down as incomjjetent to judge of the natural
course of cause and effect. "Where tlie carrion
is, there also will be found the vulture." Let the
course which is fast gaining ground in the State,
be continued for another quarter of a century, and
if a "c7(iM"that is not easy to manage, but will be
extremely troublesome, is not fasteiied upon us,
then I am no judge. If the State has got any

I860.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

stray change in its huge pocket, that it can find
no better use for, let it pay its debts, and wean her
offspring before it has the power to kick her over.

Let the fai'mers put on and M'car a clean dicky,
become more familiar with the slate and pencil,
and learn the difference between profit and the
prime cost of an article, and in five years not a
man among them could ha found who would be
willing to acknowledge that they were ever under
guardiansliip to the State. Further, let the law-
yers, doctors, preachers and the soft-hand gentry
generallj', observe the familiar adage, "shoemak-
er, stick to thy last," and if they happen to feel
the need of any thing in our line, and have got any
loose change in the their trov.'sers pocket, and will
call around and be civil about it, they can bo ac-
commodated. T. J. PlNKHAM.

Chehnsford, Mass., Dec. 19, 1859.

Fur the Nozv EttgSmid Fanrwr.

TUKNIWO- CO"WS TO GRASS— COST OF
KEEPING.

Mr. Editor f— Looking over your con-espond-
ent T. J. Pinkham's article on raising milk, I no-
tice he does not propose to turn out his cow to
grass till the fh-st of June. This is not the time
of ycai" to talk about turning out cattle, but as it
brought the subject to my mind, I will Avrite a few
lines on it.

I consider it best to turn out stock early. From
the 10th of May to the 10th of June is usually the
best feed month in the year. I turn out just as
early as I can, or as soon as the grass gets started,
for two reasons ; that the stock does better, and
the pasture does better. I know that many good
fai-mers say, let the pasture get a good start. I
have found by experiment that if I kept my cattle
up late, till the feed got rank, they were sure to
scour badly, while if I turned out early, they would
not scour at all, and after a few days would eat
hay again.

By turning out early, the cattle go into the low
places, where the grass starts fu-st, and eat them
down ; whereas, if you turn in late, they do not
go into the low places, and that grass, not being
as good, is sufiered to go to seed. If the low
ground is fed down early, it starts up fresh again,
and they will keep it fed all the year.

I have known many cows injured, and some
spoiled by turning them from hay into rank clover.

Hollis, Dec. 17, 1859. Ed. Eaierson.

P. S. — As I do not think much of selling milk
at 2 cents per quart, I will not go into the profit
or loss, but should like to keep 40 or 50 of Mr.
P.'s cows at 8 cents a day, or 56 cents per week.
On most of the inilk farms out of the villages,
from 3 to 4 cents is as high as is paid per day.
Two and a half tons of hay and five bushels of
meal, looks large. His cow may eat it, mine will
not in one winter.

Timothy Seed. — In Lee county, Illinois, this
seed is grown successfully on the prairies. In
one case six hundred bushels were harvested on
eighty acres. Three successive crops are recom-
mended, producing some fifteen dollars per acre.
With reapers and threshing-machines the crop is
cheaply hai-vested.

For the New England Farmer.
SCRATCHES IN" HORSES.

Wlrat are "scratches" in horses, and what will
the most speedily and assuredly effect their cure ?
The first portion of the question, it is well to an-
swer, although seldom advanced. But the remain-
der is so often placed as an inquiry in your col-
umns, Messrs. Editors, that if one knows a reme-
dy, I hold he should make it public, as indeed he
ought all knowledge that he thinks may be of
value to his fellow-man.

. "Scratches" or "selenders" is a cutaneous dis-
order, exhibiting itself between the hinder postern
joints and hoofs of the horse, consisting of cracks,
soreness, and at times attended with suppuration.
They are generally most troublesome in winter
and spring, while the roads are muddy, (which ob-
structs the perspiration of the parts,) together with
snow water, which is very unfavorable. They are
a source of great irritation to the animal, and even
of acute pain ; and if long neglected, ultimate in-
to lameness, and almost an entire loss of the ser-
vices of many a fine horse. Such are scratches or
selenders.

Now as to their cure. Being strictly of a cuta-
neous disorder, cutaneous remedies are most ap-
propriate ; still other alleviators are desirable, if
not needed. First, the afl^jcted parts ought to be
thoroughly cleansed, and well washed in warm cas-
tilc soap-suds, and thoroughly dried with a clean
cloth ; then a decoction made from the plant I
will hereafter designate, and all parts bathed, say
twice a day, for a few minutes, allowing the same
to cb-y well in, untjl a cure be effected. In some
conditions of the ailment, it may a little keenly ir-
ritate, but this is mere momentary, and should not
be regarded. The diet of the animal ought to be
cool and loosening, but no internal medicines are
required. In fact, the dosing with salts, nitre,
brimstone, and very many other articles, are seri-
ously pernicious, tending to debilitate the animal,
and thus weaken the recuperative powers, so
greatly needed in all healing processes. Potatoes
fed raw, are most useful, their efl'ect being not on-
ly laxative, but "anti-scorbutic." So with various
other vegetables in a degree.

The wash, (before alluded to,) is made by ob-
taining the twigs, leaves and blossoms of the plant
known as "lamb kill," growing so abundantly in
most of our fields, and steeping a quantity of the
same in clear water, that is boiling and simmer-
ing it, and suffering the same to stand and cool,
but making the decoction quite strong. This in
fusion, applied, as before directed, (paying some
measure of regard to the diet of the animal, as be-
fore given,) is a speedy, sure and effectual cura-
tive of scratches or selenders in horses. In no in-
stance, wherever applied, have I learned of its fail-
ure or cure. At least, the whole process is a harm-
less one, and worthy the trial of any regarding the
goodly condition of the suffering beast. It would
be well, that this valuable "plant" be gathered in
its appropriate season, and carefully marked, as if
taken by any one inwardly by mistake, its effects
w"ould be most dangerous That all may under-
stand fully what this product is, I copy from
"Thatcher's Dispensatory." "Lamb kill, is an
evergreen common on cold, wet land. Blossoms
reddish, variegated, June and July. The leaves
prove fatal to sleep. From an inaugural experi-

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

Feb.

mental dissertation published in Philadelphia,
1<S02, by Dr. Thomas, upon the species of lamb
kill, botanically called ^Kalmia Latefolia,'' it ap-
pears that the leaves abound with resin, and are
most active as a mercurial agent. From the same
dissertation we find that a decoction prepared by
putting one ounce of the leaves into eight ounces
of water, and boiling it down to four ounces,
cured a 'diarrhoea' of eight Aveeks' continuance.
The dose, at first, was thirty drops, six times a
day, but producing vertigo, it was diminished to
four times a day. The itch was speedily cured, by
Avashing the parts with the decoction. The 'scald
head' or '■Tinea Capitis,' was also cured by an-
ointing the head with an ointment made of the
leaves and hog's lard. Dr.Barton bears testimony
of the eiTect of this ointment in ^ Tinea.' A satu-
rated tincture of the leaves of the plant in proof
spirit, is an active remedy. Some kinds of 'herpes'
and warty excrescences have been known to yield
to the repeated application of an infusion of 'A'aZ-
7nia' leaves."

This is the description given by the celebrated
Dr. Thatcher, in his valuable dispensatory, on the
virtues of 'Kalmia,' or lamb kill. It will thus be
seen, he values it highly as a remedial agent in
cutaneous affections, by reason of its determined
action on diseases of the skin. And such are
scratches or selenders in horses, being merely a
local disorder of the skin, connected with the limbs
of the animal. To any one who will apply this
easily obtained and sure curative, following close-
ly the directions we have laid down, we promise a
speedy, safe and perfect cure of that most aggi-a-
ting ailment in horses, scratches or selenders.

December 15, 1859. Oak Hill.

For the New England Farmer.
THE CORIyr AND OTHER CROPS. ,

You say, in your last paper, that the critics ai'e
after Mr. Pinkham with a sharp stick, relative to
his communication of Nov. 12th. I have read,
with interest, what Mr. P. said, and I think his
estimate nearest to the cost of producing an acre
of corn than those cute men who have as yet crit-
icised his estimate ; take, for instance, Mr. Em-
erson, who hires his men so that the cost of the
day's work is but fifty-eight cents per day. I would
like to give more than one-half of that sum to
board my hired help ; I should think I was evading
some of the commands of the good Book, Avhere
it says, "the laborer is worthy of his hire," if I
paid him only one dollar for husking sixty-six
bushel ears of corn. Now for Mr. P.'s estimate ;
he only charged ten dollars for ten loads of ma-
imre, wTiich four oxen hauled out ; these oxen will
draw out, easily, one-half cord that is worth five
dollars per cord, in any farmer's yard ; therefore,
if as some say, one-half of the value of the ma-
nure is left in the ground, he has not charged too
much for it. Mr. E. objects to the charge of plow-
ing, and seems to intimate that part of it should
be reckoned as improvement of the land, if the
land was well laid down to grass ; for mysplf, I
should rather have it, than to have it plowed ; for
the amount of manure usually put on by farmers,
will do more good as top-dressing, than otherwise
applied. ^

In answer to the question put by those who at-

tempt to show up Mr. P., by asking how do the
farmers pay for their farms, paint their buildings,
&c., I Avill say, on most farms, tliere are either
wood, rock, or something else, which the farmer
in the winter carries to market, which will bring
the cash ; if not, how does he do it ? Five acres
of corn will take the time of the entire season to
cultivate, so the best judges say, viz., 100 days;
and he gets in ]n-ofit, eighty-five dollars to do all
these things with, according to the estimates of
the other writers. How many years would it take
to pay the interest, taxes, and for the farm, if he
paid $2000 for it, at the last estimate ? s.

Cape Elizabeth, Dec., 1859.

Rejiarks. — We meant no disparagement ■ to
Mr. P. or. his ai-ticle by our remai-ks.

For the New England Farmer.
AN OLD MAN'S OPINION" OF FARMING.

Messrs. Editors : — I am glad to see the dis-
cussion going on in regard to the profit of farm-
ing ; if no one had replied to Mr. Pinkham, I
think I should have tried ; but I am glad that abler
pens are engaged upon the subject. That there
is a secret blessing attends the labors of the hon-
est, industrious farmer, I have no doubt, from my
own experience ; for I am located on one of the
hardest spots of New England, and had very small
means to work with, but have gradually been
gaining, until now, I have as nmch property as I
desu-e ; all I wish for is that those who do the la-
bor upon the farm may be well paid, and have a
comfortable living, without spending the real es-
tate. I think it is one of the mistakes of farm-
ers, after they have got into years, and have enough
to support them comfortably, to keep addijtg to
their real estate, rather than to let their sons, or
some other industi'ious young men, do the labor,
and have what income there is more than they
need for their own actual support. Farming is
my delight, and if I cannot perform the labor now,
I will try to encourage others to do it, and be con-
tent with the returns.

Some luiknown friend has sent rae a copy of
the Middlesex County Agricultural Report, for
which they have my hearty thanks.

Gloucester, Mass., 1859. Thomas Haskell.

Peaches in Pots. — ^In the orchard house of D.
T. Coit, Norwich, Conn., says the Homestead,
peaches are cultivated in sixteen-inch pots, or in
boxes about the same size, kept in the grapery
during winter, and removed to the open ground in
June. Of course the trees are severely headed-in,
and kept within small compass. They will bear
about two dozen peaches each, and when thus
managed are as sure a crop as any other fruit. In
this sized pot they are easily managed, and a large
number may be wintered in a small house.

Mixing Peach and Apple Trees. — This prac-
tice is condemned by a writer in the Prairie Far-
mer, because the peach trees will die out sooner
or later, and leave the borer and the old roots to
bother for years.

1860.

KEW ENGLAND FARMER.

THE BEURRE BOSC PEAR.

Caiebasse Bosc.
Makianne Nouvelle.

Some of our most intelligent pear cultivators
pronounce this as among the best varieties, and
occasionally one among them becomes quite elo-
quent in its praise. We give, below, Downing's
opinion of it, and that, with the beautiful illustra-
tion which we now present the reader, will remove
all question as to whether it is a variety worthy of
cultivation.

"The Beurre Bosc is a pear to which we give
our unqualified praise. It is large, handsome, a
regular bearer, always perfect, and of the highest
flavor. It bears singly, and not in clusters, look-
ing as if thinned on the tree, whence it is always
of fine size. It was raised in 1807 by Van Mons,
and named Caiebasse Bosc in honor of M. Bosc,
a distinguished Belgian cultivator. Having also

BOSC'S FLASCETENBIRirE.

Beurre d'Yelle, of some.

been received at the garden of the Horticultural
Society of London under the name of BeuiTC Bosc,
Mr. Thompson thought it best to retain this name,
as less likely to lead to a confusion with the Caie-
basse, a distinct fruit. The tree grows vigorous-
ly ; shoots long, brownish olive.

"Fruit large, pyriform, a little uneven, tapering
long and gradually into the stalk. Skin pretty
smooth, dark yellow, a good deal covered with
streaks and dots of cinnamon russet, and slightly
touched with red on one side. Stalk one to two
inches long, rather slender, curved. Calj'x short,
set in a very shallow basin. Flesh Avhite, melting,
very buttery, with a rich, delicious and slightly
perfumed flavor. Ripens gi-adually, from the last
of September to the last of October."

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

Feb.

For the New England Farmer.
THE COKTiT CHOP.

Mr. Editor : — Disparity of statements and es-
timates amonrj your practical famring correspon-
dents in relation to the "cost" of the "corn crop,"
has doubtless attracted the attention of many.
Mr. Piukham, of Chelmsford, throws down the
gauntlet, and labors at length with figures, (as the
politicians say,) "that can't lie." Mr. Sheldon, of
Wilmington, and J. R., of Concord, by another
showing of figures, make a more hopeful case. We
much prefer the latter shoAving, as it results in
round profits, while the other ends in serious loss.
Huskings, and red ears of corn, with their pleas-
ant associations, would come to an end. Sad and
discouraging is the picture of our friend P., which
would not particularly promote the public weal.
New England farmers need the home incentive.
Unhappily, they too often sigh for a home in the
West, and when obtained, they too soon begin to
pine and sigh again for the old ho^nc of their
youth, with its once cheering comforts, its hal-
lowed associations, its consecrated hearth-stone,
so dearly remembered.

But I was about to give you a little of my own
corn experience, and in so doing, I think it not
amiss to state, that in 1845 or 6, I applied for a
premium at the Essex Agricultural Show, having
by careful measurement, raised ninety-two bushels
to the acre. I supposed iiiyself sure of the premi-
um, but the Byfield Alms-house presented their
claim for 116 bushels, so I took the premium that
I felt Avas scarcely second best. About that time,
Rev. Mr. Allen, (I think it was him,) of Plymouth
County, presented a claim of some 12.5 to 130
bushels or more to the acre, out of which arose
quite an acrimonious debate between himself and
Mr. Buckminster of the Plou(jliman, the latter per-
tinaciously doubting the quantity.

1 name the above three cases of corn growing,
(to say nothing of "some pumpkins" that went out
of my field in cart loads) to show that in good
seasons, no farmer should be content wdth 30 or
even 60 bushels to the acre. Why haul manure
half to three-fom-ths of a mile, to put on sliallow
soil, say ten loads to the acre, and obtain 100
bushels of corn from four to five acres ? Because
it "hoes easy." Why not plow up deep, and pul-
verize one good acre nearer home, and put in with
the plow the forty loads of manure, and get as
much from the one acre as from the four or five on
poorly cultivated land ? It costs no more to cul-
tivate the one acre that will give the 100 bushels,
than it does one out of the five that shall give you
but 20 bushels. It is a labor crop, very unlike a
graiti crop ; once planted, then to wait patiently
till it matures. The fatal errors of the day are, the
too much cultivation, or breadth of land, for the
manure to be applied. H. p. p.

Brooklyn, New York, 1859.

To Correspondents. — We have received sev-
eral seasonable and valuable articles, which we
shall soon find room for ; and while we express
our obligations to the attentive and intelligent
correspondents of the Farmer, for their numerous
favors, we would say that their circle is constantly
increasing, and that in order to give a hearing to

all, it becomes necessary for each to be as concise
as the nature and importance of his subject will
permit. The critics are after Mr. Pinkham with a
sharp stick ; he has sent us other important que-
ries, and Avill not be alarmed at any fair treatment,
though it may be a little severe.

We are sometimes requested by correspondents
to have an article appear in the Monthly Farmer,
that is then next to be issued, but are rarely able
to accommodate them. The Monthly is made up of
the agricultural matter of the weekly papers, and
is printed and stereotyped as fast as matter enough
accumulates to cover a sheet, and the whole num-
ber is got out ten days in advance of its date, in
order to enable us to mail it so that it may be re-
ceived by tho first of the month on which it is
dated.

For the New England Fanner.

THE NATIVE BLACKBERBT— THE
LAWTOlSr.

Mr. Editor : — We have in this vicinity what
appear to be throe varities of the blackberry.

1. Theti'ailing variety, withberries nearly round,
often imperfect, each seed enclosed in a larger en-
velope of pulp and juice than the high-bush ber-
ries, and the surface usiuilly rather uneven. This
variety is quite acid, and ri])ens immediately after
the common red raspberry — is very acceptable for
pies, but worthless for the dessert.

2. A variety which seems to be intermediate
between the trailing and the high-bush. The bush
sometimes grows to a considerable bight, but is of
a pendant or drooping form. The fruit, in form
and size, very nearly resembles the trailing varie-
ty, but is much less acid, and when well ripened,
is quite palatable — not generally very productive,
but sometimes specimens may be found bearing
very large crops.

3. The high bush, which grows much taller and
more erect than the last, usually producing fruit
much more elongated, seeds less prominent, but
little acid, even before fully ripe, and the quality
much superior to either of the others in all re-
spects.

These three varieties are, I think, sufficiently
distinct to be classed separately, although, by mix-
ing, specimens are produced of all grades from one
to the other. These last, however are not nearly
so abundant.

The Lawton or New Rochelle, which I have tried
to cultivate to a small extent for a few years past,
evidently belongs to the intermediate variety, al-
though I have found it considerably more acid than
the wild berries of its class, and so far as my ex-
perience goes, this acidity is retained to such an
extent as to make the fruit unfit for the dessert even
when allowed to remain on the bushes until per-
fectly ripe. Add to this the w-ant of hardiness —
the plants having been almost invariably killed to
the snow line — and you have my opinion of the
value of this fruit for Massachusetts, at least.

The Lawton is certainly very large, and probably
quite productive when not winter-killed, and for
aught I know, may, in a milder climate, be all it
is recommended, but is it not possible, Mr. Editor,

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

that many who prize it so highly have never seen
or tasted thereat high-bush blackberry ? I ought to
add, perhaps, that my berries were raised on land
which has produced eighty bushels to the acre,
good sound shelled corn, and that seedlings from
the wild blackberry within a few rods of them
have stood the winter perfectly.

The Dorchester I have never tasted, but the
general appearance of the fruit, as I have seen it
in your city, is like the high-bush, except that it
is not so long as most of the wild berries.

The blackberry, when in perfection, is a most
delicious fruit for the dessert and for pies, and by
the aid of preserving cans, may be had all the year ;
its introduction to the fruit garden is, however,
quite recent, and the cultivated varieties are con-
sequently few in number. I would suggest that
those who live in districts where this fruit grows
in abundance and perfection, would do well to
mark those bushes which produce most abundantly
of the largest sized and best flavored fruit, and at
the proper time transplant them to their gardens.
By a little attention to the time of ripening, too,
varieties might be obtained which would yield us
an abundance of this most wholesome fruit, from
the usual raspberry season vuitil the weather be-
comes too cold for them to ripen.

Ashfield, Bee. 19, 1859. Wm. F. Bassett,

FLOliVAa-ES.

The committee appointed by the last Legisla-
ture to inquire into the causes of the flowage and
destruction of lands in the valley of the Concord
and Sudbury rivers, recently had another hearing
at the State House, which continued several days.
The counsel for the Petitioners present, were
Judge Mellen, Judge H. F. French and D. L.
Child, Esq. For the Respondents, Judge Ab-
bott, B. F. BuTLEK, Esq., and Messrs. Somerby
and Preston. The questions at issue in this
hearing are questions of grave importance to the
farmers of the Commonwealth, as they are, virtu-
ally, whether their lands shall be taken from them,
and devoted to other purposes than those of agri-
culture, contrary to their will, and without leaving
them any remedy or means of redress. Such, we
understand, is the condition in which this vast
tract of land now lies — wrested from the occupa-
tion of.its owners by the gradual encroachments
of water, under the sanction of laws, perhaps,
passed in an age when manufactures were deemed
of more importance than raw agricultural pro-
ducts, and what is worse than all, passed Avithout
giving the person whose lands were destroyed any
reasonable remedy for the injury inflicted upon
him.

This land lies in one of the most fertile and
beautiful of our New England valleys, and is
skirted with what were once rich and verdant pas-
tures, and thrifty forests of valuable fuel and
timber. Chilled Avith the accumulation of cold
water that is backed up by the flooded meadows,
these pastures are covered with innutritious wa-

ter grasses and other worthless plants, while the
trees that once stood clothed in thrifty verdure
at their bases, are now stunted in their growth,
and hung with gloomy lichens and mosses, the
fitting funereal drapery of their dead or dying
condition.

If this land were remote from railroads, or in-
accessible to large village-s and towns, its destruc-
tion would be comparatively unimportant. But
such is not the fact. It lies in the very heart of
the most dense population of New England. Nu-
merous county roads of the best character trav-
erse its outlines arnd cross it in every direction ;
railroads pass over it and skirt its borders, while
the best markets in the country surround it on
every side, so that from its centre to its circum-
ference the products of this once fertile valley can
be brought to a ready market within the space of
six hours !

Formerly the river that flows through this land
teemed with fish that periodically came up from
the ocean, and thus formed an important article
of food to the people. Blue-joint, red-top and
other rich grasses covered the meadows, upon
which the farmer mainly depended for the winter
feed of his cattle, so that the English or high
land grasses could be spared for market, in order
to raise cash for the payment of taxes, ancl articles
for family use, which could not be produced upon
the farm. Thousands of dollars were also annu-
ally received for cranberries which grew in spon-
taneous luxuriance upon these meadows, which,
added to the fish in the river and the grass grow-
ing upon its banks, gave these lands a value
equal to the best uplands of the farm.

Under the present, influence of water upon
them, these meadows are gi-adually becoming a
vast tract of pestilential swamp. Those that would
command $75 per acre forty years ago, cannot be
sold at any price now, — their possession being
considered a curse, instead of a blessing. Hun-
dreds of tons of hay — poor in quality now — rot
upon their surface annually, while the miasma and
pestiferous vapors arising from such vast quanti-
tities of decomposing vegetable matter, together
with their inability to cultivate or in any waj' im-
prove the soil, has driven families from their
homesteads to seek a living in more favored re-
gions. Dwellings which Avere once the abodes of
thrift and competence, now stand as gloomy mon-
uments of the fatal march of the invader ; no feet
go in and out at their doors, as they were wont ;
no hopeful industry scatters the seed, nor grateful
hearts beat over an ingathering harvest ; no smoke
curls from their chimneys, no herds low on the
hills or feed in the stalls where once they sought
their accustomed food ! The land lias become a
prey to suffering, disease and death, through th©
mistaken legislation of a former age t

€8

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

Feb.

This state of things ought not, cannot continue.
It must be clear to all, that any legislation that
confers special favors upon one to the detriment
of another, cannot promote the best interests of
society. It creates dissatisfaction with the laws,
encourages litigations and hatreds, and checks the
prosperity and happiness of the people of the
Commonwealth. The evil of which we have been
speaking, is not confined to the valley of the Con-
cord and Sudbury rivers alone — it is felt in near-
ly every portion^ of the State, as is made evident
from the sympathy and encouragement which has
been extended to the petitioners in this case from
almost every quarter. And while they do not
mean to desist now, or in the future, to seek a
lawful remedy for the grievous burdens they have
so long borne, and still continue to bear, they
have another object to pursue, which is as patri-
otic and honorable as it is just. This object is to
arouse the public attention to the injustice and
pernicious tendencies of some of our laws in re-
gard to the flowing of another person's land with-
out his consent, and to secure such legislation as
to restore natural rights which have been taken
away, and protect property from such aggressions
in the future. In this laudable object the peti.
tioners ask — and no doubt will receive — the
hearty co-operation of the whole agricultural
community.

That laws of such an unjust and oppressive
character remain in force at this day shows the
forbearing and law-abiding character of our peo-
ple. For forty years they have diligently sought
a remedy in the Courts, and have been turned out
of them all, because, forsooth, somebody's great-
grandfather had a vested rigid to throw a dam
across the river and flow ten thousand acres of the
best lands in the State, at a time when a single
grist mill was worth a whole township of land.
Now that the circumstances are reversed, when
grist-mills are found on every stream, reached by
every road, and are driven by wind, steam and ca-
loric, all over the country, it is time that these
vested rights should yield to the public good.

Through a long series of years there Avere two
things that would arouse the English people to
desperate resistance, more than anything else.
One of 1;hese was oppressive taxation, and the
other unjust and odious monopolies. These were
granted, more or less, through the reigns of Hen-
ry VIII., Elizabeth and James. One favorite had
the monopoly of selling all the salt, another all
the wines, and so of various articles. So it is in
Italy at this day. One family has the monopoly
of furnishing all the grey horses, another of the
article of tobacco, until so many articles were
farmed out to corrupt sycophants and favorites,
and l^e prices demanded for them Avere so extrav-
agant and oppressive, that these and other exac-

tions became so intolerable in Italy as to cause
the bloody outbreak of 1848.

We do not mean to intimate that any pecuniary
considerations accrue to the government in the
monopolies that exist in our State, under the
sanction of law — but only that they are relics of
an oppressive age, and that their influence up-
on the people has the same tendencies that they
had upon our trans-atlantic brethren.

This great question is abeady before the people
of the State, in counti'y, town and legislature, and
Ave ask our friends to give it careful considera-
tion.

For the Netc Ensland Farmer.
POTATO BLAST IN A CEBTAIKT CASE.

Mr. BnoAVN : — In a late number "Farmer's Boy"
labors to prove the cause of decay upon my pota-
to vines a foAV days after the shower mentioned by
me in my statement of facts published in a previa
ous number of the Farmer.

He says, "there Avas a predisposing cause, upon
Avhich the rain and sudden change of the atmos-
phere acted," and gives Avhat he supposes to be
that cause. Now if his theory is correct, I am un-
able to see Avhy the vines Avithin a few rods from
those first turning black, and only on eight or ten
feet higher ground, should remain green until the
middle of October, Avhen they Avcre killed by frost.

In both locations the potatoes Avere taken from
the same basket of seed, and the manure Avas laid
from the same load ; therefore, if the seed Avas pre-
viously infected in one case, it must have been in
the other. While in the first mentioned location the
vines Avere nearly decayed and the potatoes badly
rotten, in the last the vines Avere green until late
in the fall, and the potatoes all sound, except in
some hills AA-here the grass was not all destroyed
by cultivation.

Your correspondent has given but one cause,
Avhile many others acted thercAvith to bring about
the mentioned results, tAVO of Avhich I Avill men-
tion, location and soil. H. Bakber.

Warwick, Dec. 19, 1859.

Something Worth Knowing. — One day Avhile
purchasing a lot of dried fruit, Ave discovered small
pieces of sassafras bark mixed among it, and, up-
on inquiry, Avere informed that it Avas a preventive
against the Avorm. It is said that dried fruit put
away Avith a little bark, (say a large handful to
the bushel,) Avill save for years, unmolested by
those troublesome little insects, Avhich so often de-
stroy hundreds of bushels in a single season. The
remedy is cheap and simple, and Ave venture to say
a good one. — Lexington Flag.

Bones for Fruit Trees. — There is nothing
like decaying bones for all sorts of fruit trees.
They ai'e perha])s best for pear trees, next for a])-
ples, and then for quinces ; but are good for any
kind of fruit unless it be cranberries, Avhich seem
to live and grow on little but air and Avater. If it
is not convenient to reduce the bones in sulphuric
acid, break them up small and place them about
the roots of the tree.

1S60.

NEW ENGLAND FABMER.

EXTHACTS AND KEPLIES.

IS FARMING A PROFITABLE PURSUIT ?

"Facta are stubborn tilings."

Is farming prcrfilahle ?

Mr. Pinkham says not ; I would not say it is
the most profitable business, but a man can live at
it, if so disposed. I was bred a mechanic, but left
my trade and took hold of farming, and when I
commenced was not worth one dollar. I paid
$4030 for my farm, tlien had all my stock and
tools to buy. I have had the good luck to pay for
the farm, stock and tools, and have put on above
$3000 worth of buildings since, and do not owe
one dollar to any man. I have made it all from
my farm, although farm fences, buildings and in-
terest, have cost mo over ^10,000. Let it be worth
what it ma}, I have j^aid so much, and made it
from the farm itself. I have never been in any
speculation but farming.

I consider the great secret in farming is, to take
hold of one string and pull that steadily when the
wind and tide are against you. Keep beating, and
you will gain some, — and when the wind shifts in
your favor, you are all ready to sail ; then comes
a good harvest. But the man that shifts every
time the wind does, is always beating against wind
and tide, therefore he condemns the business he
is in, and complains of hard times. I do not brag
of being rich, or that our New England farmers
can be venj rich by mere farming, but I do argue
that they may make a good living and lay up a
little against a wet day. A. B.

Barre, Vermont, 1859.

A FARM OF NINE AND ONE-H.\LF ACRES.

I think of buying a small farm of only nine and
one-half acres, all under a high state of cultiva-
tion. The buildings are small, but very comfort-
able and in good order. The price is $2200. Can
I make it jn'ofitablo to buy that farm, and set half
of it with a])ple and pear trees, and make a part
or the whole of the rest into a garden ?

I should like to have ]Mr. Ed. Emerson, of Hol-
lis, N. H., answer this. c. l. w.

Westboro', Mass., Dec, 1859.

R.EMARKS. — ^Ir. E. is always ready to do good,
and we hope he will make it convenient to reply
to our young, friend. We can readily see the dif-
ficulties that lie in the way of replying where sur-
rounding circumstances must have so much to do
with ultimate success.

CURE FOR WENS ON CATTLE.

Can you inform me of a certain cure for a wen ?
If so, by so doing you will confer a favor on my-
self and others. E. A. MoRSE.

Townsend, Vt., Dec, 18o9.

Remarks. — We give below two remedies sent
to us and published in the Monthly Farmer for
1857.

"I take a tin cup, large enough to cover the wen,
fill it about half full of unslaked lime, then nearly
fill it up with soft soap, bind it on the wen tight,
Avith strips of cloth or straps so that it will not
come off. As the lime slacks, it oats the wen com-
pletely off. I tie the cow, or ox, to a hook in tlic

beam in the centre of the stable, to prevent their
rubbing off the cup. Let them stand tied four or
five hours, and the work is done."

"One year ago, last fall, I had a cow which, from
all appearances had a wen growing on her neck ;
I at first administered a plaster of salt and tar, and
drew it to a head, and in the spring I procured
fresh green cicuta leaves, and boiled them up and
bathed the wen in the solution, leaving the leaves
in ; it wholly dried up in four weeks, so that she
fatted sufficiently for beef. I have known others
in this vicinity to cure them with the same reme-
dy and keep them for years. Should you consid-
er this of sufficient worth, you are at liberty to in-
sert it in your valuable paper."

MOWING MACHINES.

Is there a movring machine that is suitable for
common farm use — if so, which is it? There must
be one possessing advantage over the others.
Will any machine work over our rough land, if it
is tolerably clear from stone ? L. B. Smith.

Exeter, iV. //., Dec 20, 1859.

Remarks. — There are several moAving ma-
chines, one of which we think a large farmer may
profitably purchase and use ; and there is no one,
perhaps, that has not some good quality. < Which
is the best one, all things considered, we are not
able to say, because we have not used them all,
and feel unwilling to give an opinion of a machine
unless we have used it under our own hands long
enough to understand it.

Large stones on a field are an impediment, but
they do not preclude the use of a machine, imless
they lie very thick. We annually mow orchard
land with a machine, where the trees stand only
thirty feet apart.

HUNGARIAN GRASS OR HONEY BLADE.

I have raised some Hungarian grass this year
and it is as good as the papers stated it to be last
spring. I sowed some pasture land with it last
spring, and it yielded at the rate of 3^ tons to the
acre, and at the rate of 32 bushels of seed to the
acre. The seed weighs 50 pounds to the bushel ;
it wants to be sowed soon after planting corn, a
half bushel of seed to the acre. It is good to sow
when you wish to seed with Timothy. My horse
and cattle eat it as readily as the best of hay. I
sowed some the 22d of June, Avhich did well.

PainesviUe, 17., 1859. Harrison Griffin.

REM.VRKS. — A head from the seed, sowed June
29, came with this note, which Avas large and well
filled. _

CROPS ON BLACK LOAM.

Will land that is of a fine black loam, be suita-
ble to raise onions and other garden vegetables,
and how should it be manured ? M. W.

WestFairlee, Vt., 1859.

Remarks. — We presume to plow in plenty of
gieen manure in the fall, cross plow in the spring,
and if to be soAved Avith onions, apply unleached
ashes plentifully.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

Feb.

For the New England Farmer,

TILE DKAIHIKra IN OHIO.

Hon. II. F. French -.—-Dear Sir :— I have just
finished reading your valuable v.'ork upon "Farm
Draining ;" more valuable on account of the par-
ticular information in regard to tile draining. I
have been experimenting some little in this branch
of agriculture. I own a farm in this place of about
150 acres. I have often thought that it could be
much improved by a system of thorough draining.
The soil varies ; some clay and some sand ; but
the subsoil of most of it is a stiff, red clay ; it is
what most of our Western farmers would call an
exceedingly dry farm ; but I am convinced that it
can be improved, and I have begun my improve-
ments by laying tile. I have often seen notices
of tile draining, and their benefits, in most of our
agricultural papers, but as yet, have been unable
(until the receipt of your book) to gain any satis-
factory information in regard to laying tile. I
began last spring by "going ahead," instead of
being "all right." I laid most of my drains from
eighteen inches to two feet, the latter being my max-
imum ; but since reading your work, I am 'afraid
it will be like "Love's labor lost." I am at prcs-
est draining a springy ,side-hill, the upland surface
of which is a sand ridge, and very full of water.
The hill, 1 find to be of various soils, interspersed
very frequently with a ridge of claj^, holding wa-
ter in check. I intended making a main drain
through the centre of the piece, of four inch tile,
and then running two inches into this diagonally ;
but fortunately, your chapter upon that subject
wholly changed my mind on that point, and I am
now convinced that my drains would have been
of little or no use had I followed my former in-
tentions. I have a drain along the " foot of this
hill to the stream, some sixty rods ; this is of five
inch tile. I shall nov/ drain with two inch, down
the hill, putting them fifteen feet apart, and three
feet deep. I intend making a vineyard of the hill,
which faces the east.

As to the cost of my beginnings, I am not able
to give a fair estimate, my ditching being mostly
done by myself and man, and the tile manufac-
tm-ed upon my own farm. The price of ditching,
here, is from fifteen to twenty-five cents per rod ;
but I think it can be done cheaper, as all the ditch-
ers v/ill persist in claiming that they cannot dig
without a wide top and bottom ; but I find that I
can work very well with sixteen inches top and four
bottom. I have, as yet, no very good tools, not be-
ing able to get them ; for tiling, here, is in its in-
fancy, most of our farmers not even knowing what
they are for, and those who do, are afraid they won't
work, or.,won't pay. I shall recommend them to
buy your work, and I hope we shall hear from you
often on this subject. As to the price of tile, we
are some cheaper than in your neighborhood. I
have one of Penfields & Mattice's machines. The
grinding and_ pressing is all done by horses, and
at the same time the tile run upon boards about
three feet long — one man puts in the boards, cuts
off"_the tile, and takes away the boards again —
whilst another feeds the mill. Two men will make
about 3000 two inch tile per day ; larger ones in
less proportion. We make both horse-shoe and
sole tile ; we sell by the rod, IG pieces to the rod ;
2 inch, 16 cts. per rod ; $10 per 1000 ; 3 inch,

50 cts., or 831 ; 6 inch, 15 cts., or $46 per 1000.
A deduction of 10 per cent, will be made on $100,
and all orders over $10, delivered at the cars free
of charge. We shall make pipe tile next season,
and think we can sell them at 25 cents per rod,
with collars ; that is two inch. You speak of soft
tile. I am a new beginner, and would not like to
sell or use anything which would not be good.
It is impossible to burn all the tile red, or so that
they have a clear ring ; but where they will stand
a good soaking, and then a severe fi-ost, do you
think it will be safe to lay them ?* I intend drain-
ing a piece of 26 acres next season, and shall fol-
low your plan as nearly as possible ; and any fur-
ther information which you can give me, or refei
me to any works upon the subject, Vvill be thank-
fully received. Hoping to hear from you private-
ly, at some of your leisure moments, and public-
ly, as often as you get anything new,

I am yours, truly, D. D. Benedict.
Norwalk, Huron Co., Ohio, Nov. 21, 1859.
To THE Hon. H. F. French, Exeter, N. H.

* Color is not the only criterion of the burning of clay. Soma
clay takes a much higher color than other clay, and some will
never become red by burning. Tiles that will not crumble bj
wet and frost are usually hard burnt enough.

We are glad to hear that draining is going on at the West.

n. F. P.

For the New England Farmer.
EDUCATION" OF BOYS.

Mr. Editor : — I have two sons, one aged six-
teen, the other fourteen ; both active and intelli
gent as other boys of their age. Their time ha
hitherto been taken up at school, and they hav
attended the best school in our town, even a ful
term at v.'hat is called the high school. I havi
not the means of putting them through a college,
and they have no desire to enter one, with a view
to engage in either of the learned professions, be-
cause they have an impression that a greater part
of those who do thus study derive very little ben-
efit from their studies. They are willing to be
farmers, if they can be substantial and respecta-
ble farmers. They have the means of purchasing
a moderate sized farm for each. What will you
advise to be done with them ? "Wlien the project
of an agricultural school was fii'st started in the
State of New York, I had serious thoughts of send-
ing one or both of them there, to try whether a
good farmer could be bred at a school ; but I have
lately seen that the college founded in Michigan,
under the most favorable auspices, has slumped
through, which raises a doubt of the success of
the New York college, notwithstanding it is fa-
vored with the untiring vigilance of one of the
best of supervisors, in Mr. Secretary Johnson.

December 25, 1859. p.

Remarks. — Put your sons on a good farm for
two or three summers, where they will earn their
living, and at the same time gain such a practical
knowledge of their business as the boy does who
enters as an apprentice upon any of the mechanic
arts. The owner of the farm upon which they
reside should be able to direct their operations in-
telligentl}', and to call their attention to the theo-
ries of the gi-owth of plants and animals, to the

„,T,-„.,^^^^ rP r.-•U^^-f•'^>-, ^.^r,,-, .;-,.. „.,,! I,;.,!-, ^^

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

the principle of draining, irrigation, subsoiling,
fallowing, tree raising, training of plants for or-
nament or use, or whatever else will beautify or
replenish the earth, and at the same time bless
mankind.

The second summer the boys might obtain wa-
ges, and then earn something with their own hands
to aid in stocking their farm. For one or two
winters that succeed their summer labor, they
might pursue such studies as would have a dhect
bearing upon the cultivation of the soil, and make
themselves familiar with the theories or experien-
ces of those supposed to understand the matter bet-
ter than themselves. One v.-inter, however, should
be spent upon the farm where a good stock of
cattle is kept, so that a thorough knowledge of
the modes of winter feeding and tending of the
various kinds of stock should be gained.

With a proper reading iip of the subject, as the
lawyer or the physician reads, and the experience
which we have already suggested, we believe a
young man may be better qualified to enter upon
and manage a farm, than by any other pracess
within our knowledge.

UNITED STATES AGRICULTUIlAIi
SOCIETY.

The Eighth Annual Meeting of the United
States Agricultural Society will be held in Wash-
ington city, at the Smithsonian Institute, Wednes-
day, the eleventh day of January, 1860. Other ag-
ricultural societies are invited to send delegates.

Important agricultural topics will be publicly
discussed, among them "The Establishment of a
Department of Agriculture ;" "The Steam Plow;"
"Physical Geography, in its relation to Agricul-
ture ;" "Agricultural Statistics of the next Cen-
sus ;" "The Sorgho and Imphee ;" "Under-di'ain-
ing ;" and "Forest Trees."

Gentlemen who may wish to beeomc Life Mem-
bers of the Society, can do so by paying or remit-
ting ten dollars to the Treasurer, Hon. B. B.
French, Washington City. This will entitle them,
without any further payments, to the full privi-
leges of membership — among these are : free ad-
mission to all exhibitions of the Society, the an-
nual volumes of published Transactions, \h.e Jour-
nal of Agriculture, and the large and elegant Diplo-
ma. The fee for Annual Membership is two dol-
lars, which ensures the receipt of the Journal oj
Agriculture,

Potatoes from the Ball. — ^Ir. Sa^muel
Guild, of West Medway, informs us that in the
spring of 1858 he planted several potato balls,
and procured from them one pint of potatoes,
which he planted in the spring of 1859, the yield
from which was one bushel of large, and fine po-
tatoes.

For the New England Farmer,
FEEDING CATTLE.

Mr. Editor : — I observe that a great diversity
of habits obtains among farmers, in relation to
feeding cattle, hogs, &c. There are some who
feed hogs twice each day, others three times, and
others more. There are some who seem to pay
their porkers for squealing, as they seem not to
think of them except when they hear they.- music ;
but they pay them for every piece of squealing,
as promptly as concert-singers are paid for their
performances. Now will the editors and contrib-
utors of the Fanner please to inform us which
of these habits, in common circumstances, will
make the best return for provender ? I caught
up my pen to inquhe about cattle ; but it pushed
off after the pigs.

It is of more consequence than the price of a
poll-tax, to any man who owns a single cow, to
know how to feed that cow in the best manner
to secure her health, or growth, or quantity and
value of milk. I would confine my inquiry tc the
question. How often should she be fed, supposing
her common food to be good, dry hay. Is it the
case, or not, that frequent feeding, of a little at a
time, is unfavorable to a proper digestion of what
is eaten ? Is the constant imeasiness of cattle,
which are thus kept between hunger and fullness,
a drawback on their growth of flesh or fat ?

I think a man who appeals to the laws of chem-
istry^ and physiology, as generally understood and
applied, without consulting the man at the barn,
will be quick to answer. But what Avill "the old
man at the barn" say ? I do not mean old Mr.
Skinflint, who thinks it a saving to make his cat-
tle eat up their hay so close that they would al-
most eat pea-brush, to fill their vacant stomachs ;
I mean the man who raises as good, and large and
healthy cattle as can be found, and does it by plain
feeding. I want to get the opinion of that old
barn-taught cattle-grower, on this important topic.

It looks quite to me as though a good, satisfac-
tory meal, with full time to digest it before feed-
ing again, would do best ; and I am not satisfied
without the opinion of "the old man at the barn;"
for nature itself is the only correct chemist and
physiologist ; and the old cattlc-gi'ower has had
such an opportunity of seeing results following
her experiments, as many of us would like to prof-
it by.

Mr. Editor, if you will put the question to that
old stable-physiologist, and return us an answer
through the columns of the Farmer, j'ou will very
much assist some inquirers. In the meantime,
will you give us your opinion upon the point ?

Lee, N. H., Dec, 1859. c.

Re:marks. — This is the kind of agricultural
knowledge that should be well understood. We
have no doubt, v/hatever, that regular feeding of
three or forir times in twenty-four hours is the
best. Begin in the morning with a feed of the
poorest hay that you must use, and continue with
better hay until the appetite is nearly satisfied.
Then leave them clean mangers until noon, feed
again, and so at night. We gain this opinion
from an actual experience in various ways of feed-

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

Feb.

For the New England Farmer.
FAjSTCY PAIlMII>rG,

Mr. Editor : — Your Chelmsford correspondent
lias made use of an expression in his last commu-
nication, which I propose to make the text of a
few remarks. I have nothing to do with his no-
tions about the unprofitableness, the unhoalthful-
ness, or the demoralizing influence of New Eng-
land farming.

He verj' kindly advises "the lawyers, the doc-
tors, the preachers, and the soft-hand gentry gen-
erally, to observe the familiar adage, 'Shoemaker,
stick to thy last.' "

I think "he has intimated that farmers cannot
live by their legitimate occupation, but are obliged
to resort to trading, and other occupations, to eke
out a living. Now, v.hy may not men of other
vocations enjoy the same privilege. If they find
it a matter of necessity to resort to a little farm-
ing to eke out the deficiencies in their business,
why should the farmers complain ? And if they
should, at times, talk a little about their "little
farming," why should anybody object to this ?
Farming is a business in which an earnest, sim-
ple-hearted man may become very deeply interest-
ed, and if he should write his thoughts about it,
or seek to obtain more knowledge about it, why
should he be told to "mind his own business ?"

The farmer, when he wishes to know anything
about law, or medicine, or theology, very natural-
ly consults the lawyer, the doctor, or the preacher,
and when they wish to know anything about farm-
ing, they very'naturally consult the farmer. Whom
else should they consult ? Does not friend Pink-
ham claim the right to know anything about law,
medicine or religion P Does he confine his atten-
tion exclusively to his farming ? Perhaps he has
done so, and this is the reason why he is so much
in advance of other men in agricultural knowledge.
But if he were prohibited from attending to law,
medicine, religion or politics, I think I am safe in
making the inference, from the spirit of indepen-
dence he shows, that he would be amon^ the first
to join "a tea-party" or even the "Continental ar-
my." The farmers are not bound to follow as au-
thority the crude speculations of inexperinced
men, and I trust they generally have discrimina-
tion enough to select the good, and cast the bad
away. But why other men have no right to inter-
est themselves in farming matters, I confess that
I, a New England man, cannot understand. The
attempt, in the same connection, to cast a slur
upon professional men, and diminish their influ-
ence by calling them "soft-hand gentry," is, to
say the best of it, indicative of a sad want of
taste. Why should he, of all men, reproach oth-
ers for not)» making their hands hard with labor,
when he is striving to show that laboring upon
the soil is both unprofitable and demoralizing ?
But seriously, who are the "soft-hand gentry" to
whom your correspondent refers ? Are they not,
for the most part, the sons of New England far-
mers, brought up upon the farm, and accustomed
to till the soil in their early days, and still bear-
ing in their hands the marks of youthful toil ?
DkI not many of them leave their paternal acres,
that younger brothers might occupy them ? Have
not many sought other occupations through the
influence of just such ideas as Mr. P. is advanc-
ing, \ii.: that farming is a hard and unprofitable

business ? These are old ideas that have been re-
peated over and over. If any have sought other
occupations from such influences, it seems to mc
peculiarly unfair now to reproach them for being
soft-handed, which, I take it, means, not working
for their living.

If there is any class of men in New England
who are hard-working men, it is the professional
men. They labor hard to acquire the prej^aration
for their professions, and they labor in the prac-
tice of them more hours than do fai'mers or me-
chanics, and their labor, too, is of a kind which is
more exhausting both to mind and body. From
various reasons, many professional men, as avcII as
mechanics and merchants, engage more or less in
agricultural pursuits. Some from want of suceess
in other pursuits ; others, because they find as
they advance in life, a taste for the pursuits of
their early youth reviving within them. But more,
because the cultivation of the soil is the natural
em])loyment of intelligent men, an employment in
which "thev can indulge their tastes and find an in-
nocent occupation, at the same time promotive of
health and enjoyment. Why should not such men
bring into exercise in their agricultural pursuits
the intelligence and the careful habits of observa-
tion Avhich they have acquired in their previous
occupations ? If any of them have acquired
wealth, and arc disposed to make experiments, and
see fit to pu])lish the results, Avhy should practical
farmers comjflain ? Are they injured by it ?

j\Iay not the unfavorable result of an experi-
ment, made by some one who can afford the loss,
deter them from a ruinous expenditure ? All the
slang about "gentlemen farm'^rs," "soft-hand gen-
try," "book-fiirmers," and assertions that most of
the agricultural books and essays are written by
men who are not "practical," "mere theorists," is
simply contemptible. It is mostly used either by
very ignorant men, or by men who are very con-
ceited, and wish to set themselves up by pulling
down others. Some who have acquired a good
deal of information by conversing with scientific
men, vrith men who have read and thought much,
and given them the results of their studies, under-
take to ridicvile science and books. These men,
who have thus acquired all they know from books
at second-nand, who are really indebted to the re-
searches and experiments of science for all their
own success, ought to take a higher position, and
exert a better influence upon the rising genera-
tion of farmers.

Who is the practical man ? Is no man practi-
cal except he who labors the whole time with his
own hands ? Is not he a practical man who tests
opinions and theories by experience ; who refuses
to accept theories until they have been confirmed
by experiments made by himself, or by otiiers on
whom he can rely ? May not a man be eminently
practical, and not labor Avith his hands at all ?
May he not have a practical mind, and be a care-
ful observer and a close thinker, and his opinions
and judgment be worth vastly more than those of
the mere routine laborer ? Some men learn noth-
ing by experience. They have not learned how to
learn. Other men by making the facts which they
observe the subject of thought and study, rapidly
acquire wisdom by experience. The experience of
a few years is worth more to them than the ex-
perience of a life-time is to others; and just in
proportion to their ability to draw accurate re-

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

suits from the facts they observe, is the value of
their opiuions, whether they are soft-handed or
hard. The farmers in Massachusetts are more in-
debted than they are aware, to the efforts of the
preachers, doctors, lawyers and commercial men,
for all the improvements in agriculture, and for
the development of the agricultural capacities of
the State. This might bo abundantly proved by
a sketch of the history of agriculture in this
State. But I have akeady occupied too much of
your space, and must bid you adieu. ii. s.

For the New England Farmer.

"COSTS MORE THAN IT COMES TO."

This phrase has much meaning in it, and is worthy
of being borne in mind in most enterprises. In
none more than in the labors of the farm.

We see persons expending large sums in clear-
ing stones, building walls, filling quagmires, lev-
eling J^nolls, &c. &c., without once computing
how the account is to be balanced. We hear of pre-
miums offered for the largest products upon an
acre, without regard to the use of means by which
they are produced. All such enterprises are vis-
ionary and discreditable. The only sure mode of
proceeding is to contemplate the end from the be-
ginning ; and to take into view, as far as practi-
cable, all intervening incidents.

Fancy farmers may derive benefit from these
considerations. Those who drive fast horses, or
magnify their oxen beyond reason, will find in the
end, it Mould have been better to count the cost
before they started. The same may be said of
those who attempt to force all their products out
of a single acre. I have often doubted Avhcther
the attempts of those, who look upon themselves
as the guides of others, were not mistaken in
these matters. Instance, when premiums are of-
fered for the greatest quantity of Indian corn,
grown upon an acre, not less than one hundred
bushels ; is such an ofi'er wise ? I think not. Be-
cause, under extraordinary circumstances, one
hundred bushels of corn may have been produced
upon a single acre (though I have never witnessed
such product,) it is no good reason why this amount
should be fixed as the minimum crop, for which a
premium should be awarded. All the circum-
stances of the case, the quality of the land, the ap-
pliances made, the variety grown, the peculiarities
of the season, are to be taken into view, and
when these are considered, that experiment which
presents a result most worthy of imitation and
commendation, is the one for which a premium
should be awarded. p.

December 26, 1859.

Fruit in Michigan. — "\^Tiile the rich soil and
bleak winds of the AVestern prairies appear rather
unfavorable to the growth of fruit, Michigan pre-
sents unusual inducements to the fruit grower. A
single firm have this season purchased near five
thousand barrels of apples in the village of Clin-
ton, Lenamee county, and some fifteen hundred in
Tecumseh. A correspondent of the Midi igan Far-
mer says fruits mature at Detroit nearly or quite
as early as in central Ohio, two degi-ees further
south.

For the New England Farmer.
HISTOBY OF FOUR PEAB. TREES.

I sent you a little history of my flower garden,
some two or three years ago, which was so favor-
ably received, I now send you the history of four
pear trees. I wi'ite the account, partly for my ownri
amusement, but more to add another word to the
many already said and written on the subject of
setting out trees.

Forty years ago, the person now owning and
living on the farm from which I write, set in his
garden four small pear trees. The soil was favor-
able ; they throve finely, with no extraordinary
care, and were in full bearing in a few years, af-
fording two varieties of good pears ; one ripen-
ing the last of August, the other about four Meeks
later ; thus aff'ording fruit in abundance for a large
family, besides mucli to dispense in a friendly v,-dj
to friends and neighbors ; but the great good I'e-
sulting from two hours' labor is yet to be told.

Hunch-eds of seedlings have sprung from the
seeds, from imperfect fruit decaying under those
trees ; those seedlings, being removed to favorable
situations, have since been grafted with all the va-
rieties of pears that flourish in this latitude, and
there are many of a delicious quality ; the Bart-
lett growing in great perfection here'; the Seckel,
the Flemish Beauty, and many others which I will
not take time to name.

The seedlings springing from those noble pear
trees have been sent in all dbections, and rare
plants for the flower border, fine young fruit trees,
choice grape vines, and much that is desirable, have
been received in return ; not only has a double
benefit arisen from that two hours labor forty years
ago, but a kindliness of feeling has been promot-
ed between persons hitherto unknown ; and an in-
terest exists relating to the success of each oth-
er in gardening, increasing the taste for the same,
v.-hich is so promotive of good health, and which
so adorns and beautifies, m^ny of our New Eng-
land homes.

North Hartland, Vt, Dec. 29, 1859.

For the New England Farmer.
BUTTER MAKING IN WINTER.

Mr. Brown : — I will merely mention my ex-
perience in making l)utter in Avinter, hoping it may
be an advantage to Mr. Leonard, for I should
think it would be a real trouble to lose, or about
lose, the use of his cows. I set my milk, after
being strained through a cloth strainer into a ket-
tle of hot water, occasionally stirring it in order
that the cream or scum shall not rise until it is
nearly scalding hot. Then It is set in a cupboard
in the room Avhere we live, Avhich proves about the
right temperature, and the cream will rise in, about
thirty-six hours. It Is then taken off and set in a
cold room, and so repeated until enough is gath-
ered for a churning. The cream is then set in a
warm room until It is the right temperature to
churn. I only churn from five to fifteen minutes,
and never have lost but one churning in ten yeare'
experience. Two years ago I made in the same
manner one hundred pounds, which sold in our
village at the highest prices. Carrot juice is an
advantage to both taste and looks.

Reading, Vt., 1859. A Subscriber.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

Feb.

For the New England Farmer.

A ]SrE"W TRIAL TO BE MADE IN
FARMING.

Mr. Editor : — I have been amused as well as
edified by the several pieces which have appeared
in the Farmer lately concerning the "profits of
farming." I notice a wide difference of opinion
betwixt some of your correspondents, and am in-
clined to believe that either one is nearer right
than the other thinks him to be. The fact is, farm-
ing is some like the United States Constitution,
it can be made to read either ^;>?'o or con. Being
a constant reader of the Farmer, I think I glean
a great deal of valuable information from its col-
umns, but perhaps a little practice will do me
some good ; people will often learn something by
expressing their own opinions, that they would
not while listening to others.

About a year ago, wishing to settle in some
business, and having a capital of about $800, af-
ter careful deliberation I concluded to enter the
list of farmers ; accordingly I purchased an old
worn-out farm of one hundred acres, up here
amongst the Green Mountains, for which I paid
$1200, and after buying necessary tools, a *' un
and some other stock, 1 find myself in debt about
$800. Now, I think, Mr. Editor, that if farming
cannot be made profitable by me, at lease, I shall
soon find it out, and you shall be duly apprised of
*the fact. It is evident to me, however, that farm-
ing in this section is not made to pay, at present.
The land generally is uneven and stony, and is
better adapted to the dairy business, raising stock
and fruit, than to raising grain. The most of the
farms about here were bequeathed to the present
owners by their ancestors, and they, in turn, will
leave them to their children, the land continually
growing poor, and each succeeding tenant poorer.
How long they will last in this way I don't know,
for they were worn tln-eadbare years ago, each
generation doing their best to rob those who may
come after them. I suppose this is the kind of
farming friend Pinkham refers to that don't pay.
I believe he does not say farming won't pay — but
we will see. I am going to know, and I believe
some of my neighbors are thinking about it for
the first time, too.

We are about forming a farmers' club in this
town, but it is rather dull work ; the most of the
farmers either think they know enough, or they
don't care ; there is not much of a revival yet, but
wo have some hopes of one. I will add, by way
of general information, that I believe this to be
poorest section for farming in the State. It is lo-
cated about twenty-one miles west of Connecticut
river. Springfield, our nearest city, is about thir-
ty miles, and Northampton, the nearest town of
any importance, is twenty miles distant ; the near-
est railroad station is sixteen miles.

Geeen Mountain Boy.
Gummington, Mass., Dec, 1859.

Bourbon County, two-year old mules brought from
$80 to $125 75, Two hundred Mexican mules
bought $80 20 per head. One auctioneer sold 14
horses at an average of $13i 85. In Scott, 50
mules sold for $155 each. In Madison Cotmty,
250 hogs on foot, averaging 434 pounds, were
bought at $4 per 100, gross.

For tJie New England Farmer.

LirWAR IN"FLUE]SrCE UPOlsT THE
TEMPERATURE.

Mr. Editor : — In compliance with the request
of your able and gentlemanly contributor, "N. T.
T.," of Bethel, Me., in a communication in the
November number of the monthly Fanner, p,
52(5, in which, in refen-ing to myself, he says, "I
wish your correspondent would give us the aver-
age of the temperature of high and low^ moon for
a number of years past in September and October.
Also, answer this question : Do we seldom have a
frost till the full moon, or two or three days after
in September ? And do we not almost invaria-
bly have a frost at this time ?" I give in answer
the date of all the frosts that have occurred in
September in Springfield, (in latitude 42 degi-ees,
and elevation above the sea about 225 feet,) accord-
ing to my record for the last four years ; and for
the convenience of the reader, put the date of new
and full moon in connection. I also give the "av-
erage temperature of high and low moon" in Sep-
tember and October, for the same length of time.

1 will first, however, correct a mistake by which
"N. T. T." was led to say — "His obsei'vations,
seventy-four in numlier, on the mean temperature
of high and low moon giving almost three degrees
colder in high than low moon, is as Vv'ide a differ-
ence as I should expect," &c. Instead of saying
.29° (twenty-nine one-hundredths of a degi-ee) as I
intended, I Avas made by the t}q)es to say 2.9°
(two degrees and nine-tenths,) varying the state-
ment quite essentially ; but the figures in the ta-
ble were correctly given, and consequently contra-
dicted the error. I was also, by a similar accident,
made to say "I find the average of the observa-
tions to be 22° (twenty-two degi-ees) lower when
the moon was high," &c., instead of .22° (twenty-
two one-hundredths of a degree.) as I intended —
simply by the misplacement, in one instance, and
omission in the other, of the decimal point.

The dates of all the frosts that have occuiTed in
September in the last four years, their extent in
regard to severity, and the minimum temperature
of the day on which they occurred, and the date of
new and full moon in the same month, for the
same length of time, are given, as follows :

Prices of Farms and Stock in Kentucky.
— We copy a few items of recent sales. A farm
three miles from Shelbyville, of 234 acres, sold for
$74 40 per acre ; an unimproved farm of 108 acres
in the same county, for $50 per acre ; a farm one
mile fr^omMt. Sterling of 330 acres at $93 15 per
acre ; another of 100 acres at $125 per acre. In

Date. Extent.

1856, Sept. 25.... very light.

1857, " 8.... " " ..
" " 19 •• "
« " 30

1858,

25..
26..
27..
2S..
29..

7..

S..

9..
15..
IG..

Min,
Memp
...3S\
...38'

. " " 30'

.ice formed 30

. " » 30't

.heavy white frost.. 32' I
. " " " ••32' *
. « " " ..34' f

.light ?>'' I

.ice formed 2S' J

.very light 30° "|

.light 37'

.vei-y light 40' )■

.severe 34' |

. " 34 J

New Full
Moon. yioon.
..28th 14th.

8' J

0°> ...ISth.

0')

.4th.

rth 22d.

18R0,

NEW ENGLAND FAEMER.

In the above statement your correspondent may
be hardly able to trace a semblance of connection
between the occurrence of frosts and full moon,
but with the limited period of observations 1 am
able to give, I am stiil slow to adopt the idea of a
greater tendency to frost, at or near full moon than
at other times. It would be more interesting and
satisfactory to4iave more extended data from which
to judge.

The following table gives an average of the
mean temperature of three days at each "high and
iow moon" in September and October for the last
four years, according to your correspondent's re-
quest :

Years. High Moon, Low Moon.

1S56 55.94' 62.04'

1857 55.16' .47.17''

1858 51.19' 53.09°

1859 51.50' 49.95°

Mean .53.67° 53.14°

It will be seen from the statement above that
the mean temperature is fifty-three one-hundredths
of a degree higher at high moon than iow — against
the opinion advanced by your respected corres-
pondent, "N. T. T. ;" yet I would not have any
one conclude that this brief number of observa-
tions settles the matter either for or against the
theory. I have given these figures at the gentle-
manly solicitations of "N. T. T.," who is, however,
personally unknown to me ; but I would say that
my suspicions in the matter — that the influence
of the moon upon atmospheric temperature is so
slight that no connection can be traced between
it and the occurrence of frosts, either in spring or
autumn, or at any season of the year — have been
rather strengthened than weakened.

In another place in his communication your
correspondent remarks, "I wish he would make his
average for the five successive summer months for
a series of years, commencing with May, and let
me have the result." Here it is ; and not know-
ing which would be preferred, high and Iom^ moon,
or new and full moon, I give both, for reasons
given in my former article, as follows :

Years. Hi^h. Low, New. Full.

' 1857 60.01° 65.42' 63.89° 63.91°

1858 63.31° 62.73' 66.55° 60.71°

1859 G 5.09° 61.91° 60.65° 65.34°

Mean 62.83°. 63.35° 63.67' 62.92°

My preconceived opinion, I must confess, was
against this theory, but as I commenced my re-
search merely for the sake of truth, let it favor
which side it might, I will now review the state-
ments I have faithfully deduced. In the observa-
tions on high and low moon for three years, given
in my former communication on this subject, (p.
494 of monthly Farmer,) the result was .22° in fa-
vor of the theory ; and the result of observations
on new and full moon, given in the same article,
jvas also .29° in favor of it ; the table of frosts in
this article, may be construed to favor it, or con-
flict with it, while the result of observations on
this subject in September and October, for four
years, gives .53° against it ; and the result of ob-
servations on high and low moon for the five
warm months for three years, also gives .52°
against it, and the same on new and full moon, for
the same length of time, .75° against it.

I am not yet prepared to hazard any settled
conclusion on this subject that would conflict with

general public opinion ; for I find that the opin-
ion advanced by your correspondent is also more
or less prevalent in this region. Yet, from the
record I have studied, I see no particular evidence
in its favoi-. I can but hope, however, that some
one, who has the means to do so, will continue
the investigation and, if convenient, report.

The reason why I have given observations on
new and full moon, and also on high and low
moon, is, that they do not often occur in conjunc-
tion, or at the same time, and that public opinion
upon new and full moon, in this connection, re-
gards it synonomous with high and low moon,
whereas the contrary obtains. It is evident that
the moon must exert her greatest influence upon
our atmosphere at the time she passes nearest the
zenith, unless it can be proved that heat is reflect-
ed from her surface as well as light ; which, if it
be the case, would conflict with the popular notion
of its being colder at full moon. j. a. a.

Springfield, Mass., Nov. 25, 1859.

For the Ncic England Farmer.
LOOSE BARK ON" APPLE TREES.

Mr. Editor : — In a late number of the Farmer
your correspondent informs us that the bark on
the south side of his apple trees became black, and
ultimately was disengaged from the body of the
tree. He asks for the cause and remedy. Th e
first cause, perhaps, is in consequence of the high
state of cultivation of his lands, which renders the
trees very thrifty, and consequently more tender.
Then, after a tight and severe frost, the weather
becomes very warm, which, in his case, starts the
sap on the south side of his trees, then a sudden
change of the weather from warm to severe cold
and frost chills the sap, and consequently disen-
gages the bark from the trees, and produces the
result complained of.

In 1830, in January, the weather became very
warm, the frost all came out of the ground, and
also out of the trees. The wind suddenly change .1
to the north, and the frost became very sudden
and severe, the result of which was, the loss of
many, very many apple trees in the same manner
as represented by your correspondent. The most
thrifty trees sufi'ered the most.

Yours, Oliver M. Whipple.

Lowell, Dec, 1859.

The Beurre Bosc Pear. — The original of the
beautiful illustration of this pear, which we gave
last week, we forgot to mention, was furnished by
the Hon. Marshall P. Wilder — being one of a
crop produced in his orchard at Dorchester. Our
thanks are due him for this and other similar fa-

GUAXO. — According to Official Returns pub-
lished in the Mark Lane Express, there were im-
ported into the British "United Kingdom," in the
nine months ending September 30, 1859, 64,984
tons of guano ; dm'ing the corresponding period
of the year 1858, there Avere imported 269,878
tons. More than four times a^ much last year as
this year.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

Feb-

For the New England Farmer.

DISEASED APPLE TREES— SELF-AOTIKTG
WELLS.

Mr. Editor : — HaAdng been in the situation
represented by your correspondent of Still Hiv-
er respecting "diseased apple trees," I have sym-
pathy with him, and will tell him that I planted
an orchard of trees from western New York in the
spring of 'ob, and in the spring of 'bQ found thera
in the condition represented by him. I lost some
of them, but could have saved nearly all, had I
been in possession of the information that I have
since acquired. Expei-ience I had but little, but
believing it to be the effect of exposure to cold,
being in an exposed position, I set about for re-
pairs. My first step was to make a batch of graft-
ing wax, which may be made as follows : One
pound tallow, two pounds bees-wax, four pounds
rosin ; all pure and clean articles : put the whole
into an iron pot and heat thera till they come to
a foam ; then turn the heated wax into a tub of
water ; then with greasy hands work thoroughly.
With a sharp knife cut off the dead bark, and ap~
])ly the wax, and put about the roots of the trees
a bushel or more of chip manure, and when you
find a tree-top cannot be saved, cut it off near the
ground where the wood is green ; cover the stub
with wax, and protect the first sprout that comes
of a thrifty appearance, and cut off all others. Cut
off all dead branches, and wax over the end of the
limb next the tree. In this way I saved eighty of
an hundred, many of them in the condition spoken
of by "Still River." The manure should be ap-
plied immediately, and the waxing in a warm day ;
in the spring I apply to each tree a small handful
of unleached wood ashes. The ground should be
])ut to a hoed crop for four or five years at least.
Care and anxious attention by him, will save his
trees. O. w. D,

Ooshen, Vt., 18j9.

Remarks. — We have no means at hand of re-
f.'cring you to the Proprietor of the Self- Acting
Well.

For the New England Farmer.
BUTTER IN WINTER.

In my reply to your "New Bedford coiTespon-
dent," I, last week, gave some views on this sub-
ject, and promised soon to render other informa-
tion. This I could not acquire until I saw the
result of this morning's churning.

Here, the churning is done once a week, and
from cream obtained by feeding "meadow hay"
only. Better feed, sure, ought to give better
cream ! The milk of night and morning, during
winter months, (as before said,) is thoroughly
scalded immediately after milking, and straining.
The past week, during sudden changes of weather,
the milk after scalding and being placed away in the
pans, accidentally became frozen solid. The cream,
however, (partially at least,) had risen. But it was
so solidly frozen, it had to be scraped off with a
spoon, and in such state, was placed away, think-
ing it worthless. This morning, however, it was
thawed out by putting the cans holding it into
hot water. This was the condition of all the
creani" churned this day. The result was, most ex-
cellent butter in thirtv minutes churning, and the

"butter-milk" remaining could not be distinguish-
ed from new milk from the cow. I would also say,
the cream from milk that has been scalded never
has a bitter taste, as is generally the case with
cream from milk not scalded. This, sure, is a
gain. Let, therefore, no one object to a little
' "pains-taking" in the scalding of milk, as it surely
saves so much labor in churning, "and ofttimes
saves the whole week's product of cream from be-
ing lost.

Now, Messrs, Editors, for all this rendering,
can any one give me any information as to the
churn advertised with you the past summer, that
would produce good butter from "butter-milk" in
five or ten minutes churning ? As the Scripture
says, "Come over and help us." Oak Hill,

'Dec. 23, 1859,

EXTRACTS AND REPLIES.
CULTURE OF CRANBERRIES,

I have a cranberry bed about nine feet square,
from which I picked twelve quarts of handsome
berries, although the grass is a» thick as the vines ;
the soil is wet and springy, but not boggy ; I would
like to know the best way to increase the size of
the bed, and whether it should be flowed or not j
if flowed, at what time, and how long ?

George Eddy,

JSTorih Providence, B. I., 1859,

Remarks. — ^Increase your cranbeiry patch by
covering a square rod by the side of the old bed
with gravel, so as to cover all the grass, and in
April next set it with vines within six or eight
inches of each other. The vines may be taken
from the meadow with a little tuft attached to
them. Pull out all the gi-ass when you set them,
and never allow that, or weeds, to gi-ow among
them afterwards. Put up a board, edgewise,
around the bed so as to rise three or four inches
above it, and then, outside of the board dig a lit-
tle trench a foot wide and four inches deep, to
prevent the grass growing into the bed. Give uk
the result.

We do not think flowage necessary, unless to
kill wonns or prevent damage by frost.

vegetable mould for meadow LAND,

Will it answer to draw a rich mould on to a
piece of old meadow, broke up last fall, without
making a compost of it ? The mould appears to
be decayed vegetable deposit, out of which I
drained the water last fall. A, D, Holt,

Salisbmy, 1859,

Remarks. — Peat, or muck meadow land would
ndt be materially benefited by the application of
vegetable mould. Such land abounds in vegeta-
ble matter, and needs sand in some form. Would
it not be better to apply the mould to the high
lands and a dressing of sand to the meadow ?

PRUNING pines.

I have about thirty acres covered with a thick
growth of pines, from twelve to fifteen years old.

1860,

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

If any of your readers have had experience in thin-
ning out and trimming up such trees, I wish they
would tell me whether it is better to trim and thin
out, or to let "nature take its course."

N. B. S AFFORD.
White River Junction, Vt,, 1859.

Remarks. — This is a matter not well settled.
We know of some experiments in pruning that
have resulted favorably. Shall be glad to hear
from others in relation to the inquiry.

CRANBERRY CULTURE.

I learn from the Plougliman that the experi-
enced editor had four rows of plants twelve rods
long, which continued to do well and improve for
three years, so long as he kept the grass and weeds
away from the plants; but the fourth year, when
no attention was given to them, they failed to do
well. I should like to inquire of the veteran en-
thusiast, if he knows any other variety of plant
that would not fail under such circumstances ?

I have known the cranberry cultivated five years
successively on the same ground, yielding a boun-
tiful crop of superior berries each year, always
liaving been watched with vigilance that no extra-
neous substance should check its growth. I can-
not think that any valid argument can be brought
against the culture and growth of the cranberry,
from the facts stated in the Plougliman, any more
than there could from the failure of a field of corn
that was neglected to be hoed. Crops are ever
the reward of vigilant attention ; and no crops the
contrary. *.

IMcember, 1859,

WINTER BUTTER.

In answer to friend Leonard's inquii-y how to
make butter in cold weather, I will tell him how I
practice. I heat my milk by putting it into a
■strainer pail, and set it into a kettle of hot water ;
heat until nearly scalding hot ; set it in a cupboard
with a cloth hung in front, in a room where there
is a fire kept through the day ; it will keep from
two to three days. I am careful to skim it before
it sours ; keep the cream in the same room, and as
near summer heat as I can. I never heat the
cream before churning, but scald the churn before
putting the cream into it. I add a little carrot
juice to the cream when I churn it. It will puzzle
the best judges to tell the butter that I am mak-
ing this winter from that made in September.

Dec. 22, 1859. Butter Maker.

STOVES — PK4T — IRON-RUST.

Can a cast iron box be made with front and bot-
tom grating to put into a wood-stove, so as to
burn coal in it?

What is the comparative value of the best peat
and wood or coal .►*

Is there some kind of cement or solder, that can
be put on the inside of a tin wash-boiler, to pre-
vent the clothes from iron-rusting ?

Georgetown, Mass., 1860. N.

Remarks. — You can get a stove with a lining
calculated to burn either wood or coal; or if you
have a stove the top to which can be taken off to
give room to put in the grate, you can fit it up

yourself. We have not the information at hand
in relation to value of different fuels, but a ton of
hard coal is considered equal to two cords of the
best wood.

BUTTER and CHRYSANTHEMUMS.

In reply to E. Leonard's inquiry about "but-
ter-making in winter," I will give my own meth-
od, which may, perhaps, be of some use to him. I
scald the milk in a kettle used for the purpose,
— being very careful that it does not burn, — then
place it in a cool closet. In three or four days,
skim. Scald the chum before putting in the
cream. The butter will come in from ten min-
utes to au hour, at longest.

Will some one please inform us thi-ough the
Farmer how to bring chrysanthemums to the
greatest perfection. b.

Somerset, Dec. 16, 1859.

COST OF KEEPING OXEN PER WEEK.

Will you or some of your readers please inform
me what would be a fair price a week for keeping
a yoke of oxen through the v^inter, on good hay —
the oxen not to be worked — the keeper to have
the manure. Ought they to have meal, to be i.i
good working order in the spring — if so, how-
much meal a day — and price a week on hay and
meal. A Reader.

P. S. — If the oxen are worked — but not by tlio
keeper — what feed should they have, and what is
a fair price for keeping them a week.

Billerica, Mass,, Dec, 1859.

Remarks. — We leave a reply for some of our
readers better informed. Of course, the age and
size of the oxen would have much to do with it.
As a general rule, v/e suppose that cattle eat about
three per cent, of their live weight, so that an ox
weighing 1500 pounds would require 45 pounds of
hay per day.

SHEEP.

Sheep highly fed with meal or other good prov-
ender, about the time the buck is with them in the
fall, will almost invariably have two lambs apiece.
So says one of the greatest sheep-breeders. The
lambs, also, may nearly all be raised by proper at-
tention to the mothers. The great mistake in re-
gard to sheep is in not keeping them well enough.
If you wish them to be prolific or profitable, give
them plenty of the best hay through the winter,
meal daily, and for shelter, a warm barn-cellar
wherein is an open tank of pure water. p.

Colebrook, N. IL, Dec. 5, 1859,

The Turnip Crop in England. — We find
considerable complaint in our English papers of
the failure, this year and last, of this important
root. Caterpillars that attacked the blade, gi-ubs
that mined into the root, blight that checked its
growth, and finally, a frost that occurred on the
22d of October, are among the casualties enumer-
ated, this season. At some of the late meetings
of farmers, the opinion has been freely expressed,
that some substitute must be found for the Swedes.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

Feb.

SETTIBTG AN APPLE OHCHABD.

The setting of an orchard by any one, young or
old, is a -work of too much importance to be done
indifferently, or without that careful consideration
which any work demands that is to remain for fif-
ty or a hundred years, and that is to stand both
as a work of utility and beauty. Few persons who
})lant an orchard can reasonably expect that all its
profits will accrue to themselves ; for if it is well
done, it should last seventy-five years, at least,
and if it is poorly done, there will be no profit
from it. They work, therefore, for another gener-
ation, and that work ought to be done so as to el-
evate, beautify and make profitable, — that in the
end, the earth shall be so fruitful, and all material
things so blending and co-operating ■« ith it, that
the mind itself shall be drawn into harmony, and
this fair land of ours tmly become the garden of
of the Lord.

It is with this view of the matter that we shall
reply to the inquiries of oiu- respected correspon-
dent in the following letter :

Dear Sir : — I wish to put out an orchard the fol-
lowing sprmg on the soil here described ; a pino siu--
face soil from six to fifteen inches in depth, imdcr-
n?ath which is a subsoil of gray and red clay,
termed in this section, "hemlock soil," compact, and
very retentive of water. I wish you, throiigh youi-
columns, to give adxicein regard to setting the trees,
and answer the following questions.

1. How far apart should the trees be put ?

2. "Wliat method is best in making the root bed ?

3. Would you fill in the bottom Avith small stones ?
An early answer through your colmnns will

oblige greatly an old reader and subscriber.

Colchester, Vt., Jan., 1860. A. a.

As the wi'iter is evidently going to work con-
siderately in his enterprise, and desires to do all
things well, we will allude to one or two things
before making a direct reply to his first question.

The thrift, continued prosperity and profit of
an orchard, like other crops, will depend, mainly,
we think, upon the condition of the soil upon
which it stands. If the soil is "compact, and very
retentive of water," little profit will be likely to
a ccrue from it, whether devoted to an orchard or
any other crop. The fii'st step should be to drain
it, and if the labor to do this is found too
heavy and expensive, commence upon one edge
of the piece'*to be appropriated to trees, and drain
the water off to the depth of three or four feet, if
it is practicable. After this, plow a foot deep, or
two if you can, manure highly, and work it in in-
timately with the soil. When this has been done,
the field is ready for the reception of the trees.
Now comes the question as to the distance apart
which they should be set. This depends much up-
on circumstances. If one is a young man, has a
large farm and plenty of team to do a good deal
of plowipg, with manure to cover many acres, forti/
feet apart is not too much for the ti-ees. Under the

most favorable circumstances, the branches of
these trees would never meet so as to obstruct
their growth, or in any manner to interfere with
each other. If the land under them is kept prop-
erly cultivated and manured, they would proba-
bly cover its whole surface, and the results Avould
be all that ought to be expected from a good or-
chai'd. If, on the other hand, it is desii-ed to plant
an orchard on hiily and rocky land — where apple
trees often thrive the best — and where plowing
and the application of manvu-e v.'ould be quite ex-
pensive, we should certainly advise to occupy a
less breadth of soil, and place the trees thirty feet
apart, or even thirty feet one way and only tweii-
ty-five the other, with the view of shortening them
in a little after the lapse of t^venty years, if theu*
brancHes should meet, rather than encounter a
soil so expensive to work. In the case, also, where
a person has a decided taste for the cultivation of
apple trees, and wishes to occupy a considerable
portion of his time in that particular item of farm
industry — and where he does not keep a strong
team of oxen or horses, and is limited in his ma-
nurial agents, — ^but still wanting a considerable
number of trees, avc should advise to set them
within thirty feet of each other.

The second question of om- correspondent, —
'^What method is best iji making the root bed']"
has been pretty nearly answered in what we have
already said about the prepai-ation of the land.
But, briefly, we would suggest to lay out the field
at whatever distance is thought best, then dig the
holes five or six feet in diameter and eighteen
inches to two feet deep, thi-owing the black soil
on one side, and the yellow or subsoil on the oth-
er. When this is don3, return the black soil to the
bottom of the hole with any old, well-decomposed
manure, and the bed for the tree is ready. The
centre of this hole should be the exact Ime in both
directions, and while one person holds the tree
steadily in its proper position, another should
carefully single out ail the small as well as the
leading roots, making them radiate in every di-
rection, and cover them with fine and rich black
earth. The space under the base of the tree
should also be filled with soD, so that no roots be
left to gather mould and then decay. The tree
should be set at the same depth in which it grew,
and some excellent orchardists say with the same
side to the sun. The black earth may now all be
returned to the hole, and then the subsoil, which
completes the work. A good tree set in this care-
ful manner will make more growth in six years,
than one of the same quality indifferently set will
in ten years, and the probability is that in the
course of fifteen years it will many times repay
the cost of the extra care it had received.

In reply to the third inquiry, we would say, that
if the surface abounds with small stones, and the

i860.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

land is not well drained, it certainly would afford
some scope and protection for the roots if under-
laid with a liberal bed of stones ; they would tend
to a more rapid drainage immediately about the
tree, and if the spaces between them were filled
with loam, the roots would travel and find supplies
there. We cannot see that they would be injiu-i-
ous under any circumstances.

THE ■WITTTEB.S.

BY FRASCES BEOWNE.

We did not fear them once — the dull gray mornings

No cheerless burden on our spirits laid ;
The long night-^vatches did not bring us warnings

That we were tenants of a house decayed ;
The early snows like dreams to us descended ;

The frost did fairy -worli on pave and bough ;
Beauty, and power, and wonder have not unded —

How is it that we fear the winters now?

Their house-fires fall as bright on hearth and chambers ;

Their nortlicrn starlight shines as coldly clear ;
The woods still keep their holly for December ;

The world a welcome yet for the new year,
And far away in old remembered places

The snow-drop rises and the ro!)in sings ;
The sun and moon look out with loving faces —

Why have our days forgot such goodly things ?

Is it now the north wind finds us shaken

By tempests fiercer than its bitter blast,
Which fair beliefs and friendships, too, have taken

Away like summer foliage as they passed,
Aad made life leafless In its pleasant valleys,

War.ing the liglit of promise from our day,
Fell mists meet even iu the inward palace —

A dimness not like theii's to pass away ?

It was not thus when dreams of love and laurels

Gave sunshine to the winters of our youth.
Before its hopes had fallen in fortune's quarrels.

Or Time had bowed them with its heavj- truth —
Ere yet the twilights found us strange and lonely.

With shadows coming when the fire burns low.
To tell of distant graves and losses only —

The past that cannot change and will not go.

Alas ! dear friends, the winter is within us.

Hard is the ice that grows about the heart ;
For petty cares and vain regrets have won us

From life's true heritage and better part.
Seasons and skies rejoice, yea, worship rather ;

But nations toil and tremble even as we,
Hoping for harvests they will never gather.

Fearing the winter which they may not see.

Place for the Address. — The California
Farmer, in commenting on the late State Fair,
makes the following remarks on this subject :

"A very great error, we think, was made in hav-
ing the address delivered in the Hall of Exhibi-
tion. It is impossible to keep an audience of such
magnitude still. All do not come to hear speak-
ing ; they come to see the fair. They pay their
money to see the exhibition ; and it is not possi-
ble to keep such an audience quiet. Far better to
have speaking in another place. Then, all who
wish to liear can go ; and those who wish to see
can enjoy what they pay for."

Pride is a wild beast, which requires costly food
— the happiness of its keeper and all around him.

HOUGH DOCTORS.

"WTiile on this subject, may I be allowed to ad-
vert to the sad, harsh manner in which some med-
ical men address their patients, cliildi'en especial-
ly. They are too apt to speak to the invalids
roughly — too often frightening them. Children
are laid hold of in any thing but a gentle manner ;
their pulses are felt as if by force ; their mouths
forcibly opened for the purpose of examining the
tongue, till the child is so alarmed, that it is al-
most impossible to judge of the real state of the
case, owing to the excitement and crying. Now,
surely, this is very wrong. Instead of having, Avith
much difficulty, to coax the little one to go to the
doctor's, or to allow him to see it at home, it is
only right for the medical man to employ all his
soothing powers to induce the child to place con-
fidence in him ; or, at any rate, he should, by his
gentle manner, try to abate fear. It has been, and
is at the present day, lamentably common for
physicians and surgeons to adopt what is called
"the Abernethy manner." Never was there a
worse or more injudicious plan. I am not, for a
moment, wishing to throw the least slight on so
deservedly great and so skilful a surgeon as the
late Mr. Abernethy ; but I wish to condemn, and
that most strongly, the rough system adopted by
so many practitioners, as if rough, coarse beha-
vior or manners constituted ability. — My Note-
Book ,• or the Sayings and Doings of a London
Physician.

For the New England Fanner.
UNDEBDRAINING— THE RESULT.

Mr. Editor: — In the fall of 1858, I under-
drained about two acres of cold, stony upland, at
a cost of about $30 per acre. A part of tlie drains
were made of stone, which were plenty upon the
ground, and a part of drain tile manufactured in
our town. The crop of 1858 consisted of two
small loads of brakes, with a little grass, and
would hardly pay for cutting and taxes. I do not
mention interest, as land that pays nothing is
worth nothing.

This spring, I broke it, manured lightly, and
planted to potatoes, corn and beans. The crops
did well, and at harvest were worth, in our mar-
ket, about $100, which paid the $60 invested for
draining, and $40 for labor. The land is now
worth, at least, $50 per acre. I close by saying
that mv experience in farming does not coincide
with that of J. T. P.'s. J. R. w.

Springfield, Ft., Dec. 12, 1859.

Remarks. — This short story will probably lead
to the draining of scores of acres.

Artesian Wells. — Many of these wells have
been made in California, to procure water for ir-
rigation. By an article in the California Farmer,
it appears that these wells are charged with pro-
ducing very serious injury by causing the drying
up of mountain streams and other bodies of wa-
ter. The editor says, after mentioning by name
quite a number of streams, ponds and lakes that
have disappeared, "there are scores of mountain
streams and lagoons that in the last few years
have dried up, and with them the loss of herbage
and the pasturage of tens of thousands of stock."

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

Feb.

18G0.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

A PLEASAOTT AND COIyTVElSTENT HOME-
STEAD.

There are few things that more truly indicate
the degree of civilization and refinement that a
people have attained than the style and an-ange-
ment of the buildings in -which they live. These
stand as memorials of the age, and mark its char-
acter as distinctly as does its literature, or any de-
partment of the arts.

When we see a house constructed in true archi-
tectural taste, all its parts harmoniously combin-
ing with each other, and the grounds about it so
laid out as to blend with and heighten the effect
of the v/hole, Ave expect to find within its doors a
family of intelligent persons, with cultivated minds
in most things, possessing attractive manners
and adorning the society in which they move, as
their house and lands adorn the natural world
about them.

The tendency of this condition of things has
an important influence upon the state of the mind,
other things being equal. It soothes it when agi-
tated— tranquillizes grief — furnishes pleasant ob-
jects for contemplation in sickness or sorrow, and
fills the mind with a class of delightful associa-
tions that give it color and tone through life.

Is it not important, then, that when we build, it
should bo done in accordance with true rules, and
so as to avail ourselves of all the advantages of
location, style, health, convenience of arrange-
ment, and to secure such an aspect about us as
shall always suggest pleasant and kindly emo-
tions ?

It is not always more costly to get those things,
than it is to forego them. It maybe even cheaper.
The man who kiwrvs hoiv to construct a building
upon true rules, will do it with less material than
he who guesses at it, and at the same time give
you a house furnishing the conveniences you re-
quire.

Another person might have expended $500
more upon the buildings which are illustrated
above, v/ithout obtaining their accommodations.
It is best, therefore, for every one, before build-
ing, to advise with others in regard to location,
arrangement of the interior, construction, and lay-
ing out of the grounds ; and no house should be
erected in the country without regard to laying
out the grounds around it. A mere cabin, remote
from all other buildings, Avith its bit of lawn in
front, a little rude ti'ellis-Avork here and there,
with its creeping plants over the door, or their
blossoms looking in at the windows and exhaling
their fragrance there, is a thousand times more at-
tractive than many a costly and presuming man-
sion. And this is attainable by all who build in
the covmtry.

The engi-aving which we present to-day repre-
sents the farm buildings of Calvin Chamber-

lain, Esq., of Foxcroft, Maine, and it illustrates
far better than we can by words, the idea Avhich
we should be glad to impress upon the mind of
the reader.

Mere shelter is not all we want ; a cultivated
mind will never be contented with that alone — it
yearns for something to please, as Avell as protect,
and even in poverty and privation, will surround
itself with such objects as will excite pleasant and
healthful thoughts.

Wo intended to say something of the an-ange-
ment of these buildings, of the octagon barn, and
the grounds about them, but our preface has ex-
hausted all the space we can spare, and we must
leave the reader to examine for himself, and post-
pone giving another train of thought, which this
cut had excited, luitil another opportunity.

TO MANAGE A KE3FRACT03Y HORSE.

Mr. Euitou: — In the Farmer of the Ijthinst,
appeared an item, copied from the Coiion Planter,
at which I was not a little surprised. Knowing the
uniform humane proclivities of that journal, (the
Farmer,) I wondered that it should seem to give
countenance to such a barbarous experiment, as
tying a cord — a plow-line was suggested — to the
nether jav/ of a balky or contrary horse or mule,
and going forward of the poor brute with the oth-
er entf, and -pulling till it would come f n'ward
with its load. Now such a spectacle as that might,
perhaps, be witnessed with approval, where ail
labor is coerced ; but shame should and would
mantle the cheek of your readers, most of them,
certainly, at the thought of such a cruel op-
eration. The time was Avhen, among us, it was
customary to Avhip all refractory brutes into sub-
mission, and many a valuable horse has been ren-
dered worthless by such barbarity. But, thanks
to the intelligence of the age, such practices, in
NcAV England, are being done avv^ay with, and
more gentle and reasonable means substituted for
correcting the follies to which brutes, as well as
m 'U, are liable, especially through the inilueuce
of early mismanagement.

It has been pretty well demonstrated, that a
horse, as well as a man, is the creature of educa-
tion, and when the Cotton Planter comes to learn
this fact, and act upon this ])rinciple, it will have
attained a higher civilization than that Avhich ad-
mits of drawing horses or mules by the under jaAV,
to extort work from them.

Having said thus much on the article alluded to,
let me suggest a better way to overcome the no-
tion— for it is only that — of refractory beasts. The
law of kindness has never yet failed to produce
a salutary effect, in a greater or less degree,
when properly applied ; nor will it, in its applica-
tion to a balky horse. It may require an immense
patience and considerable time, with many efforts,
to make a thoroughly contrary horse lift upon his
collar, at a heavy load, in all places, but never-
theless, it may be done, and perhaps somewhat
after this Avisc : Put him into the hands of some
man fit to manage a horse, and Avho can control
his temper under any circumstances, and Avithhim
let the horse become thoroughly acquainted,

KEW ENGLAND FARMER.

Feb.

(brutes, as well as men, make acquaintances,) af-
ter Avhich, let him be used by such master only,
hitching- him to such loads as he can easily draw ;
allow him any time he may require to get ready
to start, without much urging or any whipping,
or loud talk. Smooth out his foretop and mane,
caress his head and neck, and blow gently on his
nostrils, and talk soothingly to him, and ere long
his countenance and nerves will be seen to relax,
and his eye to assume a mild and subdued look,
Avheu the driver may take him by the bit and ask
him to go forward, and he will do it ; or if he still
refuses, allow him more time, and continue the
above process till success comes, as it surely will
come, without fail. Afterward, when the present
load is drawn without reluctance, add more and
more, and continue the same process, and event-
ually vou may have as tame a horse as you can ask.
Try it.

And are not such means more congenial to a
mind of sensibility than that prescribed in the ar-
ticle referred to ? Cruelty to animals, is always
attended with pecuniary loss, and a brutalizing
and debasing effect upon him who inflicts it. Bet-
ter that the ox be sent to the shambles, and the
horse sold to the jockey at any price, than that
a man's sensibdities be blunted, his temper excit-
ed and his better nature outraged, in attempts to
subdue them. E. i.

Springfield, Vt, 1860.

BARN CELLARS.

This subject was recently discussed by the Far-
mers' Club of West Cornwall, Ct. The Home-
stead reports that —

"All the club were agreed upon the value of
such a place for depositing manure, where it may
be composted and ferment, even during extreme
w^eather.

It was the universal opinion of all who had tried
it, that hay kept perfectly Vv-ell in a deep bay, go-
ing below the surface, if it was well drained so
that water would not rise ; it should be well cured,
and then it will preserve its color and fragrance
better than upon open mows or scaffolds .

There was a division of opinion upon the point
whether horses and cattle did as well, kept in un
derground apartments. The truth a])pears to be,
that with proper light, ventilation, and cleanliness,
there is no better stabling ; but if the animals
wallow in filth, or a reeking dung-heap occupies
half the stable, and ventilation is only secured by
doors sometimes open and producing currents of
air, the natural consequence will be coughs and
colds, an^ other diseases resulting from impure
air and sudden changes of temperature."

Dr. Loring's Address. — We received, some
time since, a copy of the "Address of Dr. George
B. Loring, before the Barnstable Agricultural So-
ciety, Oct. 6th, 1859," printed in the Salem Ad-
vocate. The topic discussed by Mr. Loring is
Agricultural Education — ^Elevated Labor. His ar-
guments are based not on the mere exjiediency
of desirableness of such education, but upon its
imperative necessity for the maintenance of our

social and civil organizations. "That equality of
citizenship which makes us a free people," says
he, "requires this elevated condition of labor,
without which we should be free no longer." We
hope to see this address in a more convenient and,
to our poor eyes, more readable form.

For tlie Neio England Farmer.

THE WEATHEB OF THE AUTUMISr
MOISTTHS, 1859.

The first half of September was very dry, less
than half an inch of rain falling during the first
sixteen days ; and the springs and streams, there
being a scanty supply of rain during the latter
part of August, became unusually low. Yet, strong
indications of rain were not wanting, for several
times storms lingered and threatened heavily for
several days, but finally deposited only a trifling
amount of moistiu'e. A heavy, cold, north-east
rain storm, however, set in at daylight on the
I7th, and during the twelve hours of its continu-
ance, deposited 1.94 inches of water on a level. A
heavy, very cold north-east storm also prevailed
during the 21st, 22d and 23d, in which two inches
of water fell ; and though there v/as but little rain
during the remainder of the month, there was the
usual supply of water for the month — 4.24 inches.

The month, with the exception of a very few
days, was remarkably cool throughout, and during
the first sixteen days, the sunrise temperature Avas
more frequently below 45° than above that point.
Light frosts occurred on the 7th, 8th, and 9th,
and severe frosts on the loth and IGth. No frosts
occurred during the remainder of the month, and
generally the last half of the month was somewhat
warmer than the first half. There Avere three very
warm days about the 12th, but on the whole corn
matured slowly ; but very little had been cut pre-
vious to the loth, and only a fair commencement
had been made when the heavy frosts occurred on
the 15th and 16th, greatly injuring the fodder, and
almost spoiling the crop on late ])ieces. Generally
the corn had not become sufficiently ripened to
prevent serious damage ; yet, at husking time the
farmers found a larger proportion of souiid corn
than they had anticipated. On the 18th, from a
point in this vicinity, nearly one hundred acres of
corn could be seen, of which but a very small per
cent, had been cut ; the remainder was standing,
dead and whitened from the effects of the frosts
of the 15th and 16th. A large part of the corn,
hereabouts, Avas in the milk at the time of the
frosts ; but little Avas glazed, and only here and
there a piece matured enough to harvest.

The mean temperature of the month Avas 57.15°;
of the first seventeen days, 56.44°; of the last thir-
teen, 58.69°, the last part of the month being tv/o
and a quarter degrees AA'arraer than the first part.
The mean temperature of September, 1859, A'aried
but little from that of September, 1858, but Avhile
the Avhole month Avas very cool the present year,
in 1858 the fore part of the month Avas extremely
Avarm — no frosts occurring till the 23d ; and the
remainder of the month Avas remarkably cold, ice
forming several times, but on the whole, very fa-
vorable to vegetation, and there Avas no loss from
frosts.

The highest temperature in September Avas 75°,

18G0.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

on the 12th ; the lowest was 34°, on the 15th and
16th. The extremes of September, 1858, were
82° and 28°. The warmest day was the 11th, hav-
ing a mean temperature of 70.33°; the coldest was
the 14th, with a mean temperature of 47°, Avhen
the weather was severely cold, with a heavy gale
of north-west wind, rain squalls at 9, A. M., and
snow squalls occurred in some of the towns of
Western Massachusetts.

There were a few fine days during the first part
of October, but generally tlie month was cold,
quite cloudy, and dry, and unpleasant winds pre-
vailed during the greater part of the time. North-
west wind was very predominant, forming a char-
acteristic of the month, there being fifteen days of
wind from that quarter, generally strong, and of-
ten a heavy gale. The north-west wind was unin-
terrupted during the last seven days of the month,
and in the last thirteen days there were eleven of
north-west wind. Dark, heavy cumulose clouds
generally attended, presenting a gloomy, Novem-
ber aspect ; and on the whole the month was quite
November-like, being much rougher than October
usually is, and far from what October is expected
to be.

The scarcity of rain was a marked feature in the
weather, only two inches of rain fiiUing in the
whole month, and only eighteen one-hundredths
of an inch fell after the 8th, or during the last
twenfij-fhree days. More or less rain, however,
fell on six days, the greatest fall at one time being-
one inch and forty-four one-himdredths, on the
8th. There was heavy thunder and sharp lightning
during the afternoon and evening of the 8th, and
occurring in the midst of a long, cold, north-east
rain storm, with the thermometer at 45° to 42°,
was quite a novelty. It was the only thunder
storm of the month.

The mean temperature of October was 45.63°,
being 3.66° colder than October, 1858, and 3.1°
colder than October 1857. The warmest day was
the 4th, with a mean temperature of 63.33°; the
coldest was the 26th, having a mean temperature
of 31.83°. The highest temperature of the month
was 75°, at three, P. M., of the 4th ; the lowest
was 23°, at sunrise on the 26th. There were fly-
ing snow-flakes on the 31st.

The first ten days of November were quite fine
and warm, even Indian summer-like, but on the
12th a heavy storm set in, commencing with snow
and sleet during the morning of the 12th, but the
temperature rising, and the wind becoming strong
from the south-west, the air was warm and humid,
with mist, till the morning of the 13th, when pow-
erful rain set in, with thunder and lightning oc-
casionally. The rain continued through the day,
with sleet again in the evening, the wind having
changed to north-west at one P. M., and between
noon and sunset the temperature fell from 62° to
35°. During the storm, 1.13 inches of rain fell,
the first that had fallen for twenty days, or since
the 22d of October ; and during the thirty-three
days between the 8th of October and the 12th of
November, less than two-tenths of an inch of wa-
ter fell. In consequence of this long continued
drought, and from a scarcitj' of rain during sever-
al months previous, the streams and springs had
become lower than at any time previous during
the year, the Connecticut standing within a few-
inches of low water mark ; and mills and fiictories
were incommoded by the lowness of the streams.

Many fine days occui-red during the remainder
of the month ; and generally the weather was
quite mild, even rather Avarmer than usual, and
the whole month was much more agreeable than
the month of October. On the 22d, there was a
storm of rain, preceded by an inch of snow ; and
during the stoi-m, eighty-eight one-hunch-edths of
an inch of rain fell. The ground Avas also Avhitc
with snow on the morning of the 26th, but the
storm having changed to rain, it soon disappeared.
Not more than two inches of snow fell, in this
part of the Connecticut Valley, in the Avhole month,
but some of the hill towns of western Hampden
and Hampshire counties continued Avhite with
snow from the 22d till the end of the month. The
whole amount of Avatcr that fell dmung the month,
was two and three-fourths inches.

The mean temperature of November, was 41.3°,
being only 4.33° colder than October, and 8.35°
warmer than November, 1858. The warmest day
was the 18th, the mean temperature of the day be-
ing 47.17°; the coldest day was the 25th, having
a mean temperature of 30.33°, being but 1.5°
warmer than the coldest day of October. The
highest temperature Avas 66°, at 2^, P. M., on
the 5th ; and the loAvest temperature Avas 23°, on
the 21st, being the same as the minimum temper-
ature of October. ,

In short, the season as a AA'hole Avas exceeding-
ly unpleasant, though the fine Aveather of Novem-
ber somCAvhat redeemed its general character. The
unseasonably cold weather of the first half of Sep-
tember came near accomplishing what had been
often threatened in the summer months — the de-
struction of crops by frost ; and the corn crop did
not escape material injury ; and the rough, Avindy
Aveather of the following months rendered the
gathering of the fall products very disagreeable.

The mean tem]3erature of the three autumn
months Avas 48.03°, and taken together, Avere 0.57°
Avarmer than the autumn months of 1858. The
mean temperature of the same at sunrise Avas
40.68°; at noon, 53.25°; at sunset, 49.75°; and the
mean maximum for the same time Avas 55.42°.
(Ordinarily the maximum, or highest temperature
of the day, occurs at not far from three, P. M.)
The mean temperature of September, at sunrise,
Avas 48.43°; at noon, 63.57°; at sunset, 57.87°;
Avhile the mean maximum of the month was 64.93°.
Of October, the mean temperature Avas, at sunrise,
38.35°; at noon, 51.09°; and at sunset, 47.61°;
mean maximum, 53.39°. Of November, at sun-
rise, 35.27°; at noon, 45-1°, and at sunset, 42.77°;
mean maximum, 47.83°.

There was more or less rain on tAventy-three
days, the Avhole amount equalling 6.19 inches, or
tAvo-tenths of an inch less than fell in the month
of June. Rain fell on eleven days in September,
on six in October, and on the same number of
days in November. The first snoAA'-flakes were ob-
served here on the 31st of October, and the ground
Avas barely AA-hitened with suoav on the 12th, 22d
and 26th of November.

During the three fall months, (ninety-one days,)
there Avere tAventy-two clear days, and six-
teen cloudy, and of the remaining days clouds
Avere rather predominant in tAventy-three, and
thirty Avere tolerably clear. In September there
Avere seven clear days, four cloudy, eleven tolera-
bly clear, and eight others in which the clouds
predominated. In October, eight clear days, six

NEW ENGLAND FARIMER.

Feb.

cloudy, seven much so, and ten tolerably clear.
In November, seven clear days, six cloudy, nine
tolerably clear, and eight in. which clouds -were
very prevalent.

The tciiid was from the north-icest thirty-six
days, or forty per cent of the time ; from the
south-west, twenty-five days ; from the north-east,
twelve ; from the south, eight ; from the north, two
and a half; from the south-east, one and a half;
and there were six days in which the air was calm,
or without a regular current. Total number of
days of wind from a northerly quarter, fifty and
one-half; same from a southerly quarter, forty
and one-half, distributed as follows : In Septem-
ber, 1 i from the north-west, 6 from the north-east,
9 from the south-west, 1 from tlie south, and 3 of
calm ; in October, lo from the north-west, 3 from
the north-east, 1 from the north, 10 from the south-
west, 1 from the south, and 1 of calm ; in Novem-
ber, 10 from the north-west, 3 from the north-
east, \h from the north, G from the south, 6 from
the south-west, 1.^ of south-east, and 2 of calm.

Among the miscellaneous phenomena, I ob-
served eight haloes, five of which were solar and
three lunar.

I also observed eleven auroras. Five occurred
in September — on the 1st, 2d, 24th, 27th and
28th — the two first of which were very bril-
liant disphiys of ])olar light, and exceedingly in-
teresting. Five exhibitions of the aurora borea-
lis were also observed in October — on the 2d,
18th, 20th, 21st and 29th— mostly quite feeble,
however, as Avas the one on the 14th of November,
and attracted but little notice. In a period of a
little more than two months, ending with October,
there were fourteen or more auroras seen ; an
unusually large number to be visible in so short
a space of time in this latitude. And doubtless
many others occurred that were rendered invisible,
either by clouds or bright moon-light. Such grand
auroral displays as were witnessed on the nights
of the ist and 2d of September, and also on the
28th of August, are worthy of more than a passing
notice. Their powerful electrical influence, as
manifested in the working of the telegraph Hues
during these magnetic storms, has already been
spoken of at length by the newspapers, and need
not be commented on here. The whole sky was
strongly illumined in every quarter during the
last part of the night of the 1st, with crimson and
various prismatic hues, auroral clouds appearing
in various quarters, with splendid, ever-changing
streamers, shooting up towards a point near the
zenith. From the electrical disturbances in the
working of the telegraph wires, it was evident
that the same auroral storm continued during the
forenoon of-^the following day, being rendered in-
visible by the shining of the sun, and probably
continued through the day with varying degrees
of intensity, becoming visible again on the even-
ing of the 2d, as soon as the twilight would per-
mit, and continued till a little past midnight.
Though this display was less in intensity and viv-
idness, and variety of colors, than that on the
night preceding, it was still hardly less interest-
ing. Soon after sunset, it appeared as a faint blaze
of light a little above the northern horizon, in-
creasing and fluctuating as the evening advanced,
and before eight o'clock became an imposing spec-
tacle.^ The dark segment Avas quite characteristic,
bounded above by the bright, luminous arch, from

which proceeded the brilliant streamers. At eleven
o'clock, I particularly noticed flashes of yellow
light constantly darting upward from the arch
near the horizon, chiefly from the north, north-
east, and a point east by north-east, leaping and
flickering like tongues of fire, towards a point a
little south of the zenith. At times there were
arches of light arranged like curtains, from which
the streamers darted in rapid, constant flashes, or
coruscations which seemed to be but a few yards
above the tree-tops. Certainly I never saw auro-
ral light apparently so near the earth.

A low temperature occurred generally during
these displays of polar light, frosts occurring even
in August and the first part of September ; and
according to the popular notion, that cold weath-
er is indicated by auroras, a cold winter may well
be anticipated.

The fall migration of the birds generally occurred
from one to two weeks earlier than usual. The
snow-birds came down from the north about the
middle of October, in company with other north-
ern sparrows. The blue birds and robins depart-
ed during the last days of the same month. Wild
geese passed over on their southward journey
about the 12th of November. On the 12th, I ob-
served ten flocks in about three hours, passing in
a breadth of two miles, in the aggregate there
must have been 700 individuals — a remarkably
large number to be seen here in so short a space
of time.

Errata. — In my remai-ks upon the weather of
the summer months, (p. 482 and 483 of monthly
Fanner, vol. 11,) the types caused me to say that
July, 1859, was 42° colder than July, 18^8, in-
stead of 4.2° as intended. Also that the summer
of 1859 was 16° warmer than the summer of 1857,
instead of 0.1G°. J. A. A.

Springfield, Dec. 2, 1859.

Influence of Agricultural Papers. — The
Rev. Mr. Choules, in an address delivered some
years since, before the American Institute, said :

"He once undertook to tell, in passing through
a town, what farmers took agricultural papers,
from the appearance of their farms, and missed
but once in thirteen times.

"I was lately in the company of a son of a bank
president — a young man accomplished in his way
— who inquired what neat cattle meant, and how
many years it took wheat to come to maturity. I
earnestly believe that agricultural papers, gener-
ally circulated in our cities, would be productive
of the greatest benefit."

Ten Thousand Dollars made in a Year
FROM Eighteen Swarms of Bees. — We have,
from reliable authority, the following account of
rcmai'kable success (pecuniarily) in raising bees
in this State. A gentleman in one of the valleys
near the Bay, last year purchased eighteen hives
of bees, for which he paid eighteen hundred dol-
lars. From these eighteen hives he had one hun-
dred and one swarms, and he has sold one hun-
dred of the swarms for one hundred dollars each,
thus realizing the snug sum of ten thousand dol-
lars in one year. He still has on hand nineteen
swarms, one more than he commenced with ! So
much for bees. — California Farmer.

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

FOWL MEADOW.

On re-publishing from our paper an article on
this grass, the editor of the Wisconsin Farmer
asked for information of its growth in that State.
From a communication in reply to this request
we take the following statement, made by a gen-
tleman who found a strange weed in his strawber-
ry patch, which he preserved out of curiosity, and
which a friend while eating some of the strawber-
ries, recognized as the Fowl Meadow grass :

A fcAV weeks afterwards, I took the handful of
seed (all there Avas) and sowed it on the edge of
my marsh where I had burned a few heaps of wil-
loAV bushes in the spring, and put nothing on the
ground. The next season I did not make hay un-
til after harvest, and found tliis grass mostly all
rotten, as it had grown too rank, and fell or lodged
down. There was nothing done to the strawberry
bed that year, and the few bunches left there were
down and the seed wasted, as I thought. But in
1854 the strawberries had run out, and a fine
patch of this grass was cut, and the seed saved ;
which was sown with some clover seed in the
spring of 1855 on a small piece of ground with rye
near the river, and about five feet above its level.
In 1856 I had a very good crop of clover, and
here and there a few spears of this grass. In 1857
the clover was badly killed out by the previous
severe winter, and I did not cut it until quite ripe,
and it being a very wet time, did not get much,
nor very good hay. In 1858 I had as heavy a crop
of hay as could be Avished for, as the clover and
gi-ass had both shelled and seeded it perfectly in
1857. And this year,' 1859,) I had a full crop of
fowl meadow grass, the clover having been com-
pletely killed out last winter ; there was about
four tons (six loads) on two and one-eighth acres
of land ; this I have saved for seed, and shall sow
all my marsh and lowland with it in the spring,
as the fire has burned over most of my marsh
lands, and they require seeding again.

The few little willow patches sown with it at
first had spread all over the driest parts of the
marsh, and made a very good mixture of marsh
hay.

For the Neio England Farmer.

SAW-DUST AS A PEBTILIZER.

To a notice rendered some weeks since, in your
valued journal, Messrs. Editors, asking the Avorth
of "Saw-Dust as a Fertilizer," I respond as far as
able, through your columns. Since then, further
inquiries have been made, to which I am unable
to answer, until a coming year. But in looking
over some books of "clippings" from newspapers
(the gathering of Avhich I commenced some twenty
years ago, until they have swelled to many large
folio volumes,) I find the following, Avhich, if of any
use, I shall amply be repaid for looking it up. Un-
fortunately, I do not find from Avhat pajier I took
it, or of what date it Avas. But I copy it exactly
as I find it. Let me hope if it does no good, like
the stick in the old Avoman's porridge, "it Avill do
no harm." In using "SaAA'-Dust as a Fertilizer,"
I presume it is not needed for me to say if used on
dry soil, it must be Avell rotted or dampened. But
I have found it to Avork best generally on soft or

moist ground. I give the extract herewith as re-
ferred to.

"SAAV-DUST FOR ORCHATtDS.

"A year last fall, I hauled a load of old rotten
'saAA'-dust,' and threw it around my young apple
trees. My neighbor over the Avay is one of those
characters Avho plods on, in the same old track
that his father and gi'and-fathor did before him,
believing that they kneAV all, and more too. My
neighbor said, if I put saw-dust around my trees
I should surely kill them ! I told him I Avould
risk it, 'any hoAV.' I put fresh stable manure
around one row, and saAV-dust, around the next.
Around another roAV I put leached ashes. And
the remainder of the orchard I manured Avith rot-
ten barn-yard manure, and in the spring spread
it, and Avell planted the ground with corn and
potatoes. The result was, many trees grew very
luxuriantly, but the trees Avhere the saAv-dust
Avas grew the best, the bark being smoother, and
the trees had a healthier appearance. I Avill state,
also, that that part of the orchard planted to po-
tatoes grCAV greatly better than that part planted
Avith corn. The soil Avas clay loam."

December 15, 1859. Oak Hill.

For the New Enshmd Farmer.
TAXES.

Me. Editor : — As a new Legislature is soon
to assemble, and as you Avill have the honor of a
scat in that branch Avhere farmers most do con-
gregate, I Avish to call your attention, and that of
your readers, to the laAvs of Massachusetts for the
assessment of taxes. Ever since the time of Cit-
sar Augustus, and I knoAV not hoAv long before,
the decree has gone forth that all the Avorld
shall be taxed, and in this countr}', the coiTCct
principle of taxation is generally admitted to be
in proportion to property. Ability to pay, how-
ever, is far from being in that ratio. For in-
stance, Mr. A, Avith a familv to support, is Avorth
but §1000, and is taxed '$7. ^Ir. B is AVfulh
$2000, and is taxed $14. Noav it is plain to see
that Mr. B, Avitli an equally expensive family can
pay $14 much easier than Mr. A can pay $7. Yet
no one supposes that any plan can be adopted
Avhich Avould make it equally easy for every man
to pay. The principle of taxing in proportion to
property, I think, is right and practical ; but you
Avill see that our laAvs need a radical alteration to
make them conform to this rule.

To illustrate, suppose two young farmers Avish
to purchase homes for themselves and families.
They go to the same neighborhood, and buy farms
of equal value, say $3000. One has the cash,
probably left him by his fixther, to pay for his, and
$1000 left for stock and tools. The other, by six
A'ears of economy and hard labor, has saved $1000.
He pays this, gives his note for the balance, $2000.
and secures .by a mortgage on the farm, and
buys his stock and tools on credit. Noav he is
Avorth but one-fourth as much as the first ; but by
our laAvs they must be taxed equally. Again, sup-
pose tAvo merchants or mechanics commence busi-
ness in the same place, and require an equal amount
of capital to carry on their business, perhajis
$3000 ; one has cash to pay for his Avhole stock,
and begin clear of debt ; the other has nothing
but a character for honestv and inte^iritv, and ke

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

Feb.

gets trusted for the whole, and our laws tax them
alike ! Now these arc not solitai-y cases, but they
abound in every village and neighborhood in the
Comnnonwealth. Is this right ? Is it just ? Does
i^ot the law bear oppressively on those least able
to sustain the burden ? I think you will answer,
yes.

But this is not all. Our laws are not only un-
just and oppressive, but their tendency is to dis-
courage young men from having a home of their
own, and especially from engaging in agricultu-
ral pursuits. P'arms and stock, cannot like cash
and notes of hand, be concealed. The assessors
will find them, and they cannot escape the tax,
though they owe for the whole. The result is, of
two evils, they choose the least ; rent a house or
farm, move from year to year, till furniture is
spoiled, wife discouraged, habits of negligence ac-
quired, local improvements disregarded, and the
end is poverty and ruin !

Many more reasons might be added, but I will
now merely suggest the remedy. And first, let
the assessor be required to take a true and perfect
invoice of all personal property, notes secured by
mortgage excepted, deduct debts and tax the bal-
ance ; or in other words, apply the same principle
to all personal property, that is, by law, now ap-
plied to cash and notes of hand.

Secondly, let all taxes on mortgaged real estate
be set to the mortgagee in proportion to the notes
thus secured.

Let this be done at the next session of the
Legislature, and the young men of the Common-
wealth will remember you with gratitude, and you
will be welcome to your $4 per day for all actual
attendance. r. m.

Westboro', Dec, 29, 1859.

EXTRACTS AND REPLIES.
MAKING WINTER BUTTER.

In reply to Mr. Leonard, of New Bedford, I
would say :

Immediately after milking, strain your milk in-
to tin pans, and put it into or on your cooking
stove until the milk is quite scalding hot, then
remove it to a shelf or cupboard adjoining your
kitchen with a temperature of from 60° to 70°.
Skim it within three days. You may keep the
cream, if necessary, two weeks or more. To a
quantity of cream sufficient for ten pounds of but-
ter, put in the juice of two or three fair sized
orange carrots. Then churn from ten to twenty
minutes, with your cream at a temperature of 55°
to G0°, and if you do not succeed in making good,
sweet, yellow butter, worth 25 to 30 cents per
pound, I wHl pay for your copy of the Neio Eng-
land Farmer for the year 1860.

For rnany years I have made butter through the
entire winter, of as rich fragrance and aroma as
can well be made in June or September. Try it,
brother Leonard. Joshua T. Everett.

Everettvillc, Princeton, Mass., Dec. 28, 1859.

warts on sheep.

Will some one of your readers inform me what
the cause is of sores on the sides of the mouth of
my sheep ? They look like clusters of warts. The
shee'^) are othei'wise in good condition.

East New Sharon, 1860. A. R. Hall.

winter butter.

Friend Leonard inquires through the Farmer
how he can be relieved from the wear of fourteen
hours' churning ? I will give him the benefit of
my experience, as that is what we have a farmers'
paper for, and inquiries, "Extracts and Replies,"
stand prominent in its good features.

Strain the milk and set it over a kettle of hot
water until it skims freely, or is as hot as you can
bear the finger in it ; then set it in a pantry or
cupboard near the kitchen where the temperature
is not below 60° through the day, and does not go
down to freezing in the night ; let it remain forty-
eight hours, then skim with as little milk as pos-
sible. Do not keep the cream more than from five
to seven days, if you want good sweet butter. Be
careful not to commence churning when your
cream is too cold, as in that case it becomes
frothy, and the butter-making is retarded. I have
made good, firm, sweet bvittcr up to the present
weelc, with from fifteen to thirty minutes churn-
ing. I think very favorably of the plan of giving
a few carrots daily to milch cows, as it improves
both quantity and quality of the butter.

The thermometer this morning at 2 o'clock was
at 21° below zero, and now, 2 P. M., it is 6° below.

Roijahton, Vt., Dec. 28, 1859. A. P. F.

FOWLS FOR COLD WEATHER.

Will any of your correspondents inform me
through the paper which breed of fowls stand cold
weather best ? I have kept the Spanish, which
are good layers, but are not very hardy. I wish
to get the hardiest kind, and at the same time get
good layers. P.

Woburn, Dec. 2, 1859.

HOW TO FEED FOWLS.

When my chickens are quite young I give them
Indian meal five times a day, and when old enough
to lay, about a table spoonful of cayenne pepper
with their meal once a week, for twelve hens. This,
with plenty of lime and gravel, enables them to
give near twenty dollars a year for their products.
A. R. H.

RED-TOP.

I would inquire through your paper hoAV much
red-top seed I should sow per acre, and what
ground is the l)est to sow it on ? Also, if it does
well mixed with other seed, and if so, what kind is
best? w. H.

Remarks. — Red-top is one of the best grasses
we have, and its seed is usually mingled with one
or more other varieties in seeding our lands. The
quantity usually employed per acre is one peck of
herdsgrass, three or four pecks of red-top, and six
to ten pounds of clover ; the latter being sowed in
April.

PROFITS IN AGRICULTURE.

To learn Avhcther there are profits in farming or
not, the true way seems to me to be as follows :
reckon the interest on the stock, tools and farm,
and add to the labor ; then get the value of the
proceeds, and strike the dift'erence, and you will
see at once the true result.

JericJw Centre, 1860. Harrison Webster. .

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

For the New England Farmer,

NOTES FROM SANDY KIVER.

And here comes the New England Farmer —
the very one that I have desired so long to make
an acquaintance with ; the friend, counsellor,
and encourager of the sons of toil. The very one
that I have seen so many gems of useful thought
attributed to, hy its co-laborers, in aid of agricul-
ture. Yes, it has just come, and with it its IJecem-
ber companion. O, that I could have the eleven
volumes of your compend — the monthly ! Come,
some gontlc zephyr, and waft them to my rural
home, so that, while the Sandy, in its icy fetters,
goes murmuring by, in hushed tones, I may

"From labor's cares awhile forbear,"

and feast upon the full supply of milk and honey
therein contained.

Some of your contributors, I am soiTy to see,
still hold a threatening wand against the robin-
red-breast. A noble, sprightly, diligent bird is
he. I would rather never taste a cherry, dam-
son, or plum, however delicious they may be,
than that he should forsake my home, so that I
could not see him Iniild his nest in some favorite
tree, some cosy corner, upon some beam or board,
and from thence, through his season, go forth,
"from early morn till dewy eve," so faithfully
performing his allotted rounds. Speak for the
robins ; plead for the birds, so that their chorus
songs may continue to be heard upon all the land
in sweet, free, melodious strains.

Frosts. — The past season here has not been an
exception to what your correspondents report it
to have been in many other places, as far as re-
gards frosts. May was an uncommonly favorable
month for the farmers. Fodder was unusually
scarce, but the early grass started up remarkably
well set, and relieved not only the poor, but many
of the well-to-live farmers, as well as being a time-
ly supply to many starving beasts.

But the "frost story" commences with June,
w^hich gave killing ones on the 6th, lOth and 12th.
July oth, white frost. August 30th, one which
killed corn in some places. September 7th, 8th,
9th and 16th, still severer.

Snow. — We are having snow storms in bounti-
ful profusion. Already (in December) there have
accumulated three feet of snow, notwithstanding
the rains, upon tho high lands. The first snow
for the season, on Mounts Saddleback and Abram,
was seen on the morning of September 14th ; and
followed by a severe snow squall down the river
on the same day between 11, A. M., and 2, P. M.

I interrogated every old resident that came with-
in my circle, to know when, if ever before, they
had seen the like, and their united response was,

"Only this, and nothing more,
Never before !"

So then this is worthy of record as being unusu-
ally early, at least, and to be put with the minor
incidents that go to make up an uncommon chain
of events for 1859, long to be remembered as such
by many.

The drought is broken, then, after the sun's
scorching rays are withdrawn ; and that Avhich
seemed to be so desirable to have in "vernal show-
ers," is now descending in fleecy snows of velvety
softness, covering the fields before they are frozen
to any amount.

Yet the New England pleasures, amid these
frequent snows, are nearly as numerous as ever,
although the boys and girls have Ijcen deprived of
some of their accustomed skating parties, because
the lakes and rivers refused to hide their faces be-
neath their icy veils, to give them a play-ground
to enjoy their health-giving and innocent sports
upon.

Come, then. New England Farmer, with thy
Avell-filled budget of gems—

"Diflfused, yet terse, poetical though plain,"

to the beautiful Sandy River Valley, and receive a
thrice welcome. O. W. True.

Elm Tree Farm, Avon, Me.

For the New England Farmer.
PLANT SUGAR ORCHARDS.

Mr. Editor : — I have been thinking for a num-
ber of years, and with a good deal of interest, on
the importance of the sugar maple to the inhabi-
tants of Vermont, and to the northern States in
general. Sugar will always be deemed a necessi-
ty, and if we have the means of producing a good
article with little labor, it would be the height of
folly to let the chance slip, through indolence or
miscalculation. Twenty and thirty years ago, I re-
gretted, very much, to see the maple trees of the
primitive forests disappearing before the axe for
fuel and other purposes, but I have since learned
that they may more than be replaced, and that the
day of maple sugar has but just begun, if the far-
mers will only have it so.

Sugar orchards of second growth trees are far
better, and more profitable, than old ones. From
one to three accrs of land is all the farmer now
needs to sup])ly his family with this necessary and
agreeable article. Some rocky or stony side-hill,
(not too steep,) having an aspect to the east or
south, well planted with sugar maples, will, in ten
years, be worth more for the above indicated pur-
poses, than any other three acres on his farm ;
besides, it may at the same time produce a fair
crop of feed.

The outfit for fitting up good sugar works of
lasting materials, cannot be very expensive, and
when once done, and well taken care of, will be
an excellent investment. If our fathers could find
it profitable to manufacture sugar, when they were
compelled to dig out troughs from pine logs, and
boil in five-pail kettles against logs in the Avoods,
we, certainly, with our present appliances and im-
provements, have no excuse for neglecting the
means so obviously within our reach. A good
share of neatness, and a little skill, will enable
us to produce as good an article as can be ob-
tained from the cane or the bee. These consider-
ations, and many more that might be adduced,
should stimulate us to make the most of our own
resources, and I much regret that I have not the
power to arouse the attention of the land owners
of this northern section of country to the great
importance of this subject. But I will do what I
can, and hope that some abler pen will take up
the subject, and pursue it in a manner commen-
surate with its importance. A. PlXLEY.

Enosburgh Falls, Vt., Dec. 13, 1859.

Remarks. — Capital suggestions. We have no
doubt they will 1)0 acted upon.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

Feb.

FEEDING COWS.

^^' CORRESPONDENT in

quires how much
hay a good -sized
milch cow should
eat per day, fed on
hay alone ? How
much, without
roots, and how
much when not

e^M^^^W&S^'-^'^S n^ilk? A
common guide is,
we believe, that
animals require
about three per
cent, of their live
weight. But no
fixed rules, we
think, are reliable.
Two cows standing
side by side, of
nearly equal Aveight, and fed precisely alike, will
vary materially in the amount of milk, which they
will yield ; or in fatting, one will gain a half or a
third more than the other, on precisely the same
kind and quality of food.

Horses should be confined to limited quantities,
as, if supplied with the fodder, they will eat more
than is healthful or economical. Milch cows may
be allowed all the hay they will eat with a good
appetite, and to that may be added with economy
a little grain, or occasional messes of oats. Of
course, a cow that gives no milk, will not require
80 much feed as one that has that constant
draught upon her.

The whole matter of feeding stock requires ex-
perience, and then the exercise of a sound judg-
ment, in order to economize the fodder, and get a
profit from the animals fed.

A sufficient number of reliable experiments
have not yet been instituted, to show those feed-
ing stock whether it is best to feed hay, grain and
roots in a raw state, or to incur the expense of
CQoking it. From the experiments instituted, and
which have come to our knowledge, we are in-
clined to the belief that an economical arrange-
ment for ste!lming, soaking, or partially cooking
food for all farm stock, will be found, in the end,
the most profitable course to take with it.

Mr. C. H. Waters, of Groton, Mass., a gentle-
man who has an inherent love for agricultural
pursuits, and who is willing to expend a portion
of his means to promote the interests of the far-
mer, recently informed us that he had been
cooking hay for a herd of twelve cows, and
had continued his experiments through several
consecutive months. His first trial Avas by steam-
m^ the hay, supposing that by subjecting it to a

pressure of some ten or fifteen pounds of steam,
he should so affect the fibres of the hay as to
make it soft and palatable, and commence, for the
animal that is to consume the food, the first
process of digestion. To his surprise, however,
he found the steam would not accomplish this
desired result ; the hay came out about as hard
and wiry as before it was immersed, and without
receiving any evident advantage from the process.

His next experiment was to heat water and
pour it upon the hay, covering the box, and allow-
ing the hay to soak in the water twelve hours, and
feeding only twice a day. Under this process his
cattle gained flesh, and the milch cows gave an
increased quantity of milk, upon an amount of
hay a little less than two i^er cent, of' their Use
iceir/ht.

j\Ir. C. M. Davis, a milkman, in Cincinnati, re-
cently communicated some facts to the New Or-
leans Price Current which are applicable here.
He says,

"I commenced the use of your steam-boiler on
the 7th inst., at which time my ten cows gave 60^-
quarts. My daily feed was ten buckets of mid-
dlings, and corn and cob meal about equal parts.

Cows gave in the commencement 60' quarts.

On the 8th they gave 66" "

Oih (reclacea feed two buckets) 60.^ "

inih thor gave , 71 "

11th " " 73 «

12th " " 73.1 »

13th " " 76' «

14th " " 77i- "

My milk has improved in quality, and my cows
in appearance. I shall make further experiments
in feeding the corn and cob meal separate, as also
with clear cob meal, and report again in about ten
days."

From this it appears that the gain in seven
days was 1 7 quarts, being 28 per cent, gain in
milk, with a saving of 20 per cent, in food.

Rolling Snow on Wheat Fields. — ^A cor-
respondent of the Toronto Glohe (C. W.,) ad-
vances the opinion that rolling the snow on the
autumn wheat in winter would be an eff"cctive
means of preventing winter-kill, by rendering
the snow less liable to melt on every sudden thaw
that occurs. He says the practice is extensively
followed in Sweden. A good deal of discussion is
taking place in the columns of that paper, on this
subject, from which we gather that it yet requires
the test of actual experiment to decide whether
any benefit is to be derived from the operation or
not.

Making Cheese in Winter. — ^A correspon-
dent of the Eural Neiv-Yorker regards the pres-
ent practice of making it in the summer both ab-
surd and expensive. The winter, he says, is by
far the best time to make cheese, because the milk
is richer, more easily managed, and there is no
danger from flies, or souring of vessels. There is
also more time, and milk can be produced cheap-
er, and of a better quality than in summer.

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FAEMER.

For the Neic England Farmer.
PKAHHE BREAKING IN" KANSAS.

Letter from a Ladj' — A Professional Man Turns Plowman — \e\v
Models his Plow — His Success as a Prairie Breaker — Distilleries
and Public Schools — Hard Plowing — Buffalo and Wild Horses.

Kansas is now taking a resting spell, prepara-
tory to asserting her right as a Free State, and
claiming her privilege to enter into the circle of
the States, the coming session of Congress. Em-
igration is slow, business is stagnant just now,
and my husband, a professional man, finding too
much time to spare, and having imbibed quite a
fancy for farming, through the influence of your
paper, has concluded to gratify it. But he took
hold of the most laborious part, as his first at-
tempt— that of prairie-breaking, it being the most
profitable just now. Of course, as this is a coun-
try which promises but little business to "rock-
lifters" and "stump-pullers," he "pitched in" with
the confidence and energy of an old farmer, sure
of success. So he purchased three yokes of oxen
and a fifteen inch plow of vrcstern manufacture.
1 think it was manufactured in St. Joseph, Mo.,
the place which supports two distilleries, that turn
out each ouc hundj-ed bogheads of whiskey daily,
but cannot support one public school, and has
a population of 10,000 inhabitants !

Of course, a description of a breaking up plow
will bo interesting, and perhaps amusing to many
of your readers, especially to the steam-plow ad-
vocates.

He made two standards, perforated with holes,
an inch apart, and mortised them into the beam of
the plow. One standard was placed six inches,
perhaps, back of the clevis, and the other eight
jjoches from the end of the beam, between the plow
handles. Then he made two Avheels, one ten inch-
es and the other twenty inches in diameter ; said
wheels were cut from logs of that size, and were
six inches thick. He connected the wheels by an
axletree. He then mortised two upright standards
into the axletree, leaving a space between the up-
rights to introduce the end of the ploAv beam which
rests upon the axletree. Making a lever of suffi-
cient strength, he connected one end of it, by a
wooden pin, with the standard next to the clevis.
Mortising a hole through the other end of the lever,
he then introduced the standard between the plow-
handles through this mortise, and behold ! the
self-controling, non-holding plow was ready for
action ! The reason why one wheel is made larger
than the other is, the large wheel runs in the fur-
row and tlic small Avheel upon the sod, thus mak-
ing the plow run even.

Now the theory of this simple affair is, that it
makes the plowing of uniform depth, and also dis-
penses with the laborious task of holding the
plow, needing only a man to guide the oxen. In
commencing to plow, at the beginning of the fur-
row, my husband raises the lover which puts the
point of the plow in the ground. The end of the
lever is then made fast by a wooden pin, to the
standard Avhich is between the plow-handles. The
furrov.-s were half a mile long, and the plow thus
adjusted would run the whole length upon the
wheels, without guidance, or making any "balks,"
tlie ploAvman's plague. At the end of the furrow
he takes out the pin and lowers the lever, which
throws the point of the plow out of the ground.
Then it runs upon the wheels, and needs no tip-

ping. He then drives to the other side of the
land, raises the lever again, and goes ahead.

Breaking this way is certainly easier, as every
one will acknowledge, who has held the plow all
day. The labor of breaking the green sward in New
England is nothing in comparison to breaking
the virgin soil of the western prairies, which has
been rendered hard and tough by the unobstruct-
ed rays of the sun and centuries of trampling of
bufi'aloes, horses, and other wild animals.

When the gi-ound is moist, a good team will
break two acres per day. Experience has i)roved
to us, that the lighter the sod is broken, the soon-
er it decays. The ground depth is two inches.
The price for breaking prairie is from three dol-
lars and a half to five dollars per acre, according
to the quaHty of the soil, and its froeness from
grubs and roots. So a good heavy team will net
the owner a fair profit, and the cattle need no oth-
er sustenance but the prairie grass, upon which
they will grow sleek and fat, in spite of their con-
tinual hard work.

Of course, there are many discomforts with all
this profitable labor. When the strong wind aris-
es— and Kansas is provcrlnal for its high breezes
— the dust rises so thickly as to nearly choke the
plowman, and compelling' him to wear "goggles."
Then, perhaps, "Bright" or "Broad" -will break a
bow or snap a chain, and one must go two, three,
and sometimes ten miles, to get it repaired, which
is rather provoking to the time-saving, money-
loving farmer. Then, in this country, the cabins
are, as yet, "few and far between," and the prai-
rie-breaker must camp out in his wagon, cook his
own food, and be altogether his own servant. An
occasional "shake" is pleasant, if one does not
shake his clothes off", as it relieves the monotony
of his time, and teaches him how to appreciate the
philosophy of suffering. He must rise before the
sun, and search through the tall prairie grass —
most cattle wear bells — for his oxen. Rubber
boots and rubber leggings are indispensable, if on©
does not wish to go the whole day with wet gar-
ments ; for in the morning, the grass is as wet aa
if a shower had passed over it.

But there_ is one good thing in breaking up
prairie, for if one does not Hue his pockets, he
certainly is richer in experience, and knows how-
to appreciate the domestic and social qualities of
home. Another good thing; my husband has
worn out all his old clothes, of which every one
in Kansas has a surplus. If any of your readers
have any old clothes to spare, please send them to
Kansas, for good clothes are not worn here.

Yours, from the prairies, SusiE V.

Sumner, K. T., Oct, 1859.

SHEEP AND DOGS.
;Mr. Powers, of the Wisconsin Farmer, after
publishing the statement that, in only eleven of
the nearly one hundred counties of the State of
Ohio, the assessors return over 7000 sheep killed
and nearly 8000 injured, in the year 1858, by dogs,
at a cost to the owners of over $25,000, says :

"Is it not a shame and disgrace that the United
States, with all its various and unequalled facilitie*
for wool-growing, should, through its love of dogs
and hydrophobia, buy some twenty to thirty mil-

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

Feb.

lions of pounds of wool from foreign countries,
because its farmers dare not and cannot safely
keep sheep ?

Wc have sold oiu-last sheep this fall, and a fine
flock at that, and for a low price, because we dare
not keep them, through fear of dogs. That many
others are abandoning the business within tlie
range of our acquaintance for tiae same reason we
know. How long shall this condition of things
last ?"

For the New England Farmer.

COST AND PROFIT IN" FABMIJNTG-.

Mr. Editor : — In a late Farmer you call at-
tentio)! to an article published in the same paper
with regard to the cost and profit, or rather no
profit, of farm productions. Witli your permis-
sion, I propose to revicAV some of the statements
of that communication, believing that a more
hopeful view of the subject can truthfully be pre-
sented. By his figures an acre of corn has cost
$10 more than the crop has brought in market.
I propose to trace out the probable future crops
of that acre of land, assuming the figures all cor-
rect, though I think some of them migh!: bo
changed, and not stopping to argue that more
manure would have paid, or that the crop might
have found a better home market. I will lay the
land down to grass with barley, entering it in

debt.

Dr.

One acre of barley $10,00

To interest on the debt one year 60

To plowing, one man, a well trained yoke of oxen and

plow one day 2,25

To boy, horse, harrowand roller one day 1,50

To seed barley, 1^ bushels 1,50

To man sowing barley and grass seed, ,'j day 25

To one man mowing, raking and getting in barley, to

the amount of one day 1,25

To a boy one day, and yoke of oxen \ day 1,00

To threshing ar.d winnowing 4,00

To all other expenses, consisting of taxes, interest on

capital, labor, &c 4,00

Crop $26,35

Cr.

By 18 bushels barley $1S,00

By straw $5,00

$23,00
The debt is now reduced to $3,35

One Acre in Grass. Dr.

To previous cultivation $3,35

To interest on the debt 10

To labor amounting to one man two days, and one yoke

of oxen \ day, mowing, raking, and getting in hay 3,25

To other expenses, consisting of storage, fences, taxes, &c. .6,00
To herds grass, red-top and clover seed 4,00

$16,79
Cr.

By 1 ' tons of hay, which finds a home market $18,00

Nut profit 1,21

Second Year in Grass. Dr.

To three days' labor in consequence of dull weather, cut-
ting and curing hay $'lj25

To one yoke of oxen, cart and wheels, \ day 50

To another incidental expenses 6,00

$10,75

Cr.

BylUonsofhay $18,00

By amount brought forward from last year 1,21

By interest 07

$10,23
Net profit $S,53

N<)w we have got the balance on the rigid side
of the ledger, and propose to ex])end $15 in to])-

dressing, when we may safely calculate on three
more crops as'good as the last two have been.
No farmer should expect to be paid by the first
crop, after breaking up land exhausted by repeat-
ed cropping, but should lay it down to gi-ass in an
improved condition. Mr. Piukham seems to have
run into this error, though T find much to approve
of in his communication. I have for a long time,
been aware that some farm productions are often
sold below cost, but I have looked upon corn and
stock-raising as among the paying operations of
the farm, when judiciously managed.

In farming, as in everything else, many persons
form too hasty opinions, and are too easily dis-
couraged. Intelligent and persistent cultivation
on a farm of no more than average facilities, is
sure to succeed. There are many men engaged
in farming who have no taste for, and no real in-
terest in the occupation.

When a man finds out the business best suited
to his capacity, his fortune is more than half
made, and his happiness very much promoted. I
would then say to every young man, search dili-
gently to find out your capacity ; and if your mind
leads you into agriculture, take hold of it with a
will that is an earnest of success ; and let no
trifles nor apparent failures discourage you. Cul-
tivate the mind as well as the gi'ound, brin^jing
all the information you possess, or can gain, to
bear upon your chosen occupation, and before
many years pass you will be proud of your choice.

If time and the editor permit, I will review Mr.
Pinkham's figures on calf-raising in a future ar-
ticle. H. Kimball.

Kennehunk, Me., Nov. 19, 1859.

Re:\iarks. — We cannot decline your kind prop-
osition, as no question connected with agriculture
is of more vital importance than this. The oft-
repeated tale, that farming is unprofitable, and un-
fashionable, crushes the occupation more than all
things else.

We observe that you have allowed the farmer
one dollar per day for his labor upon his farm ;
is there not, also, a profit on that labor, as well as
to any other person who works by the day ? If so,
there is an increase of profit of even more than
you have presented. There certainly is a pi'ofit
in the labor of any person who eanis more than
a frugal subsistence costs.

Vitality of Eggs Destroyed on Rail-
roads.— Eggs carried by railroad cannot be de-
pended upon for hatching — the continued jar
shaking the life out of them. The N. Y. Tribune
relates the experience of a man, who said that he
had found on trial that eggs could not be carried
twenty-five miles safely unless special precautions
were adopted. Packed carefully in a small basket,
and this held constantly in the hand, thoy v/ill
ride without jar and without injury to their vitality.

Self-Acting F.\rm Well. — Persons desirous
of learning more about Ayefs Patent Self-Acting
Farm Well, may do so on application to Mr. Al-
VAN Ward, of Ashburnham, Mass.

I860.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

■WINTER SUNSET.

By graceful scrolls of ice like, pearly blue,
And streaks of violet-red, like new-born flame,
Damp heaps of gathered stubble leaping through,
Pale gold in lengthening bars, and many a hue,
Shifting too suddenly for eye to mark,
On leaden-colored wave-clouds, thick and dark,
As nearer still the hastening sunset drew,
I knew when dreary, wild November came.

■With musing heart I watched the beautiful sight,

While the coal brightened, while the young fire blazed,

Till all had vanished, twilight sunk to night,

And star by sta,r hung out its lonely light

O'er fields of dark to stretch a raonarcli ray.

Like beacon -light across the mariner's way ;

But ere the evening glory took its flight,

Some peaceful thoughts breathed on me as I gased.

Dread not of earthly change the wintry night ;
Be faith in God thy bosom's constant guest ;
Go not self-panoplied to stormy figlit,
Xor stay encastled in presumptuous might ;
Thy God's pavilion stretches o'er thee still ;
lu coming darkness he will work Ws will ;
"With lifted eye behold the clouds now bright
Witli hues that harbinger the pilgrim's rest.

Warm-housed, with curtains down and fresh-trimmed light,

Or liurrying home with mantle-shielded eyes.

Shivering and chattering, we miss the sight

Of beauty in tlie wintry sky, more bright

Than in the spring or summer-time we see ;

And as a vision came these thoughts to me

In the fair eve of that November night.

When looking on that sheen of numberless dyes.

Montldy RcUghtis Magazine for January,

PBOPOETIONS OF THE HUMAJST FIGURE.

The proportions of the human figure are strict-
ly mathematical. The whole figure is six times
the length of the foot. Whether the form be slen-
der or plump, this rule holds good. Any devia-
tion from it is a departure from the highest beau-
ty of proportion. The Greeks make all their stat-
ues according to this rule. The face, from the
highest point of the forehead where tlie hair be-
gins, to the end of the chin, is one-tenth of the
whole stature. The hand, from the wrist to the
end of the middle finger, is the same. The chest
is a fourth, and from the nipples to the top of the
head is the same. From the top of the chest to
the highest point of the forehead is a seventh. If
the length of the face, from the roots of the hair
to the chin, be divided into three equal parts, the
first division determines the point where the eye-
brows meet, and the second, the place of the nos-
trils. The navel is the central point of the human
body, and if a man should lie on his back with his
arms extended, the periphery of the circle which
might be described around him, with the navel
for its centre, v/ould touch the extremities of his
hands and feet. The height from the feet to the
top of the head, is the same as the distance from
the extremities of the other when the arms are ex-
tended. These are the general measures of the
species.

Large Eaks of Corn. — A correspondent of
the Ohio Fanner says : "I shelled several ears,
and they produced as follows : One lOGO grains ;
another" 11 00 ; another 1100 ; and another 1164. I
have heard old farmers say that a paper, wrapped

around an ear of corn, the ear then taken out, will
not contain the shelled corn of that ear. I tried
it with two. ears, and the paper would not hold th6
corn ; one of those ears had 9o6 grains on it, of
which 535 filled a pint cup. At this rate, it would
take 34,540 grains to make a bushel."

Far the New England Farmer.
STUDIES OF THE SOIL— No. 1.
BY WILLI.AM EDSON.

The two sciences, as such, geology and chemis-
try, from which must arise in a more or less direct
manner all theory in relation to the formation and
treatment of soils, are but little understood among
practical men, and are commonly treated by them
as subjects entirely aloof from their duties; yet
every intelligent working man, and especially the
farmer, is both a chemist and a geologist, and de-
pends, in a degi'ee, for his success, upon his prac-
tical knowledge of these sciences.

Aside from the merely business view of this
knowledge, there is another in which its value is
greatly enhanced, — I refer to its efi'ect upon the
mind of the recipient. We all live in two worlds,
the world of mind and the world of matter. It is
the lot of most to labor in one or both of these. Ne-
cessity requires us to labor in one, the world of
matter, which is the labor of the hands. Manli-
ness and Christianity urge us to labor in the oth-
er, which is the work of the mind. Life cannot be
truly enjoyed independent of either health of
mind or health of body, and as health of body de-
pends directly upon bodily exercise, so health of
mind depends directly upon mental exercise.

All agree that, in the duties of the intelligent
farmer, the labors of the hand and brain are most
harmoniously blended, and that it is for him to
enjoy that rarest of all blessings, a "sound mind
in a sound body."

The farmer, as he follows the plow, may not be
wholly engrossed in mere manual labor — every
clod that the plow turns up, will give him a lesson
in geology, and every rootlet a lesson in botany ;
let him be ever so indiflerent, nature Mill insif t
upon his learning some one of her many secrets ;
she will give him something to treasure up for his
future use or pleasure. By this almost involunta-
ry study has the farmer's storehouse of knowl-
edge l)een filled, by it the rude chance farming of
the ancients has advanced to the present state of
intelligence and certainty.

Until quite recently, the term "scientific farm-
ing" was not used, and we now hear it oftener as
a term of reproach than otherwise ; but it cannot
be denied that science, even as put forth by the
most impractical, has done the agriculturist great
good, and is destined to do still more. Perhaps
one of its greatest benefits, up to the present time,
is that arising from the strong feeling of emula-
tion among farmers of the old school, to prove by
their crops and profits that they can excel the
theorist ; urged by this feeling, they have eagerly
sought for improvements, and applied them with
a skill which only the good old-fashioned farmer
is capable of. It has also caused discussions, and
excited a thirst for experiment and inquiry which
cannot result otherwise than in good for all.
These are only some of the incidental benefits
arising fi'om the ap])lication of science to agricul-

NEW ENGLAND FARMER,

Fes,

ture ; the true value of this department of scien- 1
tific knowledge cannot be estimated, since much
more is now known than has yet been .generally
and skilfully applied ; and, again, there is much
of agricultural chemistry which is yet in so vague \
and uncertain a state as to be almost, if not quite
worthless, as far as practical farming is concerned.

If it Avere true, as some have the hardihood to
assert, that no practical good, as far as crops and
])rofits are concerned, arises from scientific re-
search in this department, yet its benefits upon
the mind of the fanner would be incalculable, as
it raises his thoughts to the contemplation of the
laws of nature, giving him one of the most stable
of all pleasures, and in health of mind, the crown
of "green old age."

Assuming that every farmer is both a practical
chemist and geologist, since the most common
duties of the farm require a knowledge of these
sciences, I wish to call attention to the chemis-
try and geology of the surface stratification.

For the sake of simplicity in the treatment of
the subject, I will divide the varieties of soil into
three classes, namely, 1, mechanical ; 2, chemical ;
3, vegetable. This general classification may strike
the geological I'eader as novel and perhaps inade-
quate, but for the ordinary discussions of practi-
cal men. I think it will b2 found not inappropri-
ate, if we boar in mind that the terms used are
not intended to indicate by what agency the ma-
tjrials of which the soils are composed Avcre
brought into their present positions, but simply
to express the present condition of the soil itself.
Thus, by mechanical, I would designate all earths
v;hich bear evidence of not having undergone any
great chemical or vegetable change since being
deposited in their present position ; that is, the
tnixture of the different materials of which they
are composed is simply a mechanical one ; by
chemical, all that indicate by their strata and com-
jjositlon that some important change in their qual-
ities has taken place since their deposition ; and
by the last term, all that are principally made up
or' vegetable matter.

The first of these formations, or classes of for-
mations, to which I give the name mechanical,
may be found in nearly all positions, though per-
haps oftener in low than high grounds. Under
this head will be classed moraines, sand-hills and
bars, ancient river-beds, and all such surface stra-
ta as bear evidence of having been deposited by
some violent mechanical action.

Upon examination of the strata of this class, we
find tliem sometimes composed of regular layers
of material, which is not always coarsely divided,
but yet is never thoroughly, chemically united ;
others have na*regular layers, but seem to be
composed of confused masses of gravel, sand and
clay, which are not intimately united, nor in any
manner definitely divided ; here is a bed or layer
of gravel — it extends a few feet, and abruptly ter-
minates in a bed of clay, or perhaps gradually
growing thinner and thinner, disappears between
layers of clay and sand ; again, we find strata of
almost pure sand. I cannot enter into a Isngthy
explanation of the causes of these various phe-
nomena, but will briefly state them ; thus, when
the layers are comparatively regular, they are sup-
posed to have been deposited from running water,
either^frcsh or salt. The irregular stratification,
which in fact covers a large portion of the eastern

part of Massachusetts, is undoubtedly owing to-
glacial action, as it occurs in ice-bearing currents,
while the occurrence of sand-hills is generally as-
signed to the action of the wind.

The currents &om which were depogsited a large
portion of the surface formations of the eastern
part of NcAV England, are supposed to be analo-
gous to the oceanic cm-rents of the present, and
probably arose from the same cau-ses, namely,
evaporation, difi^erence of tempei'ature of the po-
lar and equatorial regions, and the earth's rotary
motion.

The currei^ts of the ocean are, without doubt,
constant, considered as a whole j in other words,
there ahvays exists a series of currents and coun-
ter cun-ents, those from the poles moving south-
westerly, and those from the equator north-easter-
ly, of the northern hemisphere ; for the southern
hemisphere, the reverse is true. The existence of
these cun-ents is tlms accounted for. The velocity
of the surface of the earth at the equator is about
one thousand miles per hour, towards the cast ;
while at 45° north or south latitude, it is but seven
hundred and fifty miles per hour ; therefore, wa-
ter at the equator has a velocity of one thousand
miles per hour, and water at 45° but seven hun-
dred and fifty miles per hour ; now, if, from any
cause, a body of water moves from the equator
towards the north, it will still retain its easterly
motion of one thousand miles per hour, lessened
only by friction ; hence, when it amves at 45°,
where the surface motion of the earth is but seven
hundred and fifty miles per horn*, it will have an
easterly motion exceeding in rapidity that of the
earth's surface by two himdred and fifty miles per
hour, if it were not reduced by friction ; as it is, the
excess is great ; this excess of velocity being com-
bined with the northerly direction gives the cur- m
rents their north-easterly course. The same rca- ■
soning applied to currents flowing from the north ^
pole to the equator, will show why all such have
a south-westerly direction. The gulf stream is an
example of the first, and the currents which bring
down polar ice arc examples of the last, Balloon-
ists take advantage of this same principle, and
found upon it their theories of easterly aerial cur-
rents, in Avhich they think they may be able to
cross the Atlantic. The cfl"ects of these currents
arc abrasion and drift.

The action of a cuiTcnt of water sweeping over
the surface is, first, to remove all loose earth from
high points and deposit it in valleys ; but its ef-
fect does not end here, for no sooner is the loose
earth removed, than the solid rock is attacked,
and in its turn carried down to the valleys. This
mechanical action upon the rocks, together with
the chemical decomposition that is constantly
taking place, is called detrition : the resulting de-
posit is called drift.

Currents of air produce the same results as
cmTents of water, aiid though the action of the
wind is much less important, it is still so great as
to be well worth careful consideration. The aque-
ous cuiTents cease their action before the land be-
comes inhabited, but the aerial ones are always at
work.

The eff'ect of abrasion upon the surface is per-
fectly obvious ; it can leave nothing but a barren
and hard strata wherever it takes place. Though
drift is but the counterpart of abraF--icn, its action
is much more complicated and difficult to

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

understand. Its effects are commonly just the op-
posite, for wherever di'ift accumulates, there Ave
■may be nearly sure of finding good land. In New-
England, ■".vlierever a ^oii is evidently composed
of drift from an oceanic current, it is easy to state
its chemical composition, a?' originally dejio sited ;
we have only to examine the exposed rocks lying
in a direction north-easterly from it ; their nature
must of necessity determine the nature of the soil
in question. It should be remembered, that, in
the examination of soils, this is to be considered
but as a general truth, and that there are so many
anodif^dng causes that this knowledge alone will
not enable -one to determine with any degree of
accuracy the present ichemical nature of the soiL

One of the most important considerations for the
New England agriculturists, and one in which al-
most every farmer is directly interested, is that of
river and lake deposits; these consist of not only
large amounts of finely granulated mineral, but
also vast quantities of vegetable matter. The ex-
treme richness of such deposits must be acknowl-
edged by ever}' one who considers the following
facts : first, the minerals of which they are com-
posed are finely and intimately mixed ; second,
the finely divided minerals are not only carbon-
ized, but are brought in connection with particles
•of carbon and decaying vegetable matter or hu-
mus ; and lastly, the entire mass is more or less
impregnated with ammonia. Although it is im-
possible to conceive of a richer soil than this, yet
it is probable tkat there is no class so universally
neglected and despised. In scientific classification,
soils formed of these deposits are called fluviatilc
and lacustrine ; the farmer turns them off with the
not very flattering title of swamp or mud hole.

As an example of the magnitude of these de-
posits, the following may be interesting. The area
of the delta of the Mississippi is 13,600 square
miles ; the average depth of deposit is 528 feet,
and it has been estimated that the river annually
deposits thirty-seven hundred millions of cubic
feet ! This at first tbouglit seems large ; but even
•at this rate, the venerable father of rivers must
have diligently labored for sixty-seven thousand
years.

In a future number the chemical formation and
composition of soils will be considered.

Boston, Jan. 4, 1860.

Club Footing. — A writer for the Michigan
Farmer, thinks that the club-footing of cabbages
results from a deficiency of moisture in the soil to
supply the natural exhalation of its foliage, which
he says Dr. Hales found to be so great as to equal
daily nearly one-half its weight. He remarks
that bulbous or tuberous-rooted jjlants will exist
in a soil so deficient in moisture as to destroy
all fibrous rooted vegetables. When, therefore,
the moisture at the root of a cabbage plant does
not equal the exhalation of its foliage, it endeav-
ors to supply the deficiency by forming a kind of
spurious bulbous root.

A Battalion of Children. — In the town of
Scandiano, situate near the Eegiiim Lepidi of
Cicero, a battalion of four huudi-ed boys has been

organized under the direction of General Garibal-
di, who having noticed, in the course of his war-
like experience, that boys of thirteen and fifteen
years of age had proved useful in daring military
operations, made up his mind in the late campaign
to enrol a battalion of such youthful troops. An
intelligent young officer undertook the task of
forming the legion, which at first did not number
more than one hundred and fifty. Austrian per-
secution and patriotism soon increased their ranks,
so that the battalion has now completed its nu-
merical strengtli. An eye witness of their manoeu-
vering was recently astonished to see their stead-
iness and precision. Their commanding officer,
Count John Arrivabene, is a young nobleman of
three-and-twenty.

THE USE OP TOBACCO.
The Dean of Carlisle, in a recent lecture on to-
bacco, at Carlisle, England, gave the following
statistics :

In 1856, thirty-three millions of pounds of to-
bacco were consumed here at an expense of eight
millions of money ; five million two hundred and
twenty thousand pounds of which went in duty to
government, to say nothing of vast quantities
smuggled into the country. There is a steady in-
crease upon tliis consumption far exceeding the
contemporaneous increase of population. In 1821,
the average was 11.70 ounces per head per an-
num ; in 1851, it had risen to 16.39 ; and in 1853
to 19 ounces, or at least at the rate of one-fourtli
increase in ten years. We hear of 20,000 hogs-
heads of tobacco in the bonding-houses in London
at one time. There are twelve city brokers in
London expressly devoted to tobacco sales ; nine-
ty mauufiicturers ; 1509 tobacco shops in London ;
82 clay pipe makers ; 7380 workmen engaged in
the different branches of the business ; and no
less than 250,048 tobacco shops in the Uniti-<i
Kingdom. And if we turn to the (Continent, the
consumption and expenditure assume proportions
perfectly gigantic.

In France, much more is consumed in propor-
tion to the population than in England. The Em-
peror clears 100,000,000 francs annually by the
government monopoly. At St. Omer, 11,000 tons
of clay are used in making 45,000,000 tobacco
pipes. In the city of Hamburg, 40,000 cigars are
consumed daily, although the population is not
much over 150,000 ; 10,000 persons, many of them
women and children, are engaged in their manu-
facture. One hundred and fifty million cigars are
supplied annually ; a ju'inting press is entirely oc-
cupied in printing labels for the boxes of cigars,
&c., and the business represents 4,000,000 francs.
In Denmark, the annual consumption reaches the
enormous average of seventy ounces per head of
the whole population ; and in Belgium even more
— to seventy- three ounces, or four pounds and
three-fifths of a pound 2)er head. In America the
average is vastly higher.

It is calculated that the entire world of smokers,
snuffers and chewers consume 2,000,000 tons of
tobacco annually, or 4,480,000,000 pounds weight
— as much in tonnage as the corn consumed by
ten millions of Englishmen, and actually at a cost
sufficient to pay for all the bread-corn eaten in
Great Britain. Five millions and a half of acres

NEW ENGLAND FAiaiER.

Feb.

are occupied in its growth, chiefly cultivated by
slave labor, the product of which, at two pence per
pound, would yield thirty-seven millions of pounds
sterling. The time would fail to tell of the vast
amount of smoking in Turkey and Persia ; in In-
dia all classes and both sexes indulge in this prac-
tice ; the Siamese both chew and smoke. In Bur-
mah all ages practice it — children of three years
old and of both sexes. China equally contributes
to the general mania ; and the advocates of the
habit boast that about one-fourth of the human
race are their clients, or that there certainly are
100,000,000 smokers !

For the Neie England Farmer.
THINGS I liOVE TO SEE AND BEAD.

I love to read the Farmer; its extended circu-
lation fulfils its given name, Neio England. It
finds its way into every nook and corner of intel-
ligent New England, the industrious and enter-
prising umpire of this continent. I love to read
agricultural papers, whose con-espondents are live,
practical men, untrammelled by jn'ofsssors' theo-
ries, infinitesimal manure men, who will carry
manure in one coat pocket, sufficient for an acre,
and the crop in the other, if their theories are car-
ried out, which they seldom or never attempt.
It is all theory, and no practice ; practice gives
the lie to theory.

I love to see young men's experience in type,
even if it shoidd controvert the theories of pro-
fessors of old Harvard. Facts give the lie to
theories. I love to see facts from any young man,
without inquiring how much his beard has grown ;
fects from his experience will weigh more than
ten thousand theories.

I love to see the honest name of a writer af-
fixed to his communication ; his recorded name ;
it looks honest ; it has weight ; it is an endorse-
ment. Who will take a note of hand Avith a fic-
titious name ? None but flats, such as would
give credence to anonymous writings in agricul-
tural papers, which have a great bearing on the
weal or woe of farmers and gardeners. They read
such papers for information and instruction in
their calling, wliich is the basis of all callings
known to man, to multiply and increase the pro-
ducts of the earth.

Who would put confidence in a theoretic writer
on hydraulics, whose theories contradicted all facts
of the science ? Who Mould em])loy a chimney
sweej) to paint his portrait ? Then why should
agriculturists employ ignoramuses to enlighten
them ? It is like the blind leading the blind ;
both will fall into ^he ditch.

I love to see a paper, which is intended for the
advancement of any particular calling, contain
practical matter and fticts, tending directly to cor-
rect errors, and to point in the right direction to
advancement ; such I believe the N. E. Farmer
to be in an eminent degree, because it seems to
be wedded to facts instead of fancies ; facts gath-
ered from those who are supported by their farms,
not those who support their farms by money pro-
cured in some other way. Such a paper never
tires a subscriber ; in it he meets his fellow-crafts-
ma!i in good fellowship ; face to face he reasons
Avith him ; he is of the brotherhood ; equal meet-
ing equal ; no collegian intruding his classical lore

upon bis unappreciating tastes ; no kid-gloved
farmer comes up to his ideal ; it is the practical,
toiling farmer that gains his attention ; the one
that goes straight to the point, in a straightfor-
ward manner, in plain, unsophisticated language.
South Banver's, 1859. J. S. Needham.

Fur tlw Neto England Parmer.
THE LA-VP-TOIvr BLACE^BREY.

Mb. Editor : — I have just read an article in
your paper, by Wm. F, Bassett, upon the black-
berry. I think he must be mistaken in the vari-
ety which he calls the Lawton — if not, I must be
in mine. I purchased my vines, indirectly, of
BroAV & French, of New York, and I positiveli/
know that they produce very mveet, and in every
way most delicious fmit, as many individuals
Avho tasted it will testify. Mr. B, says they are
so acid as to be unfit for the dessert, even when
allowed to remam on the bushes until perfectly
ripe. When are they perfectly ripe ?

There is a nile that I never knew to fail in case
of the Lawton, viz. : Lot them remain on the
bushes until they are veiy sweet. Don't be in
too much haste to pluck them. After they are
perfectly black it will require fi-om 7 to 10 days
to ripen them.

Since writing the above I have showed Mr. B.'s
article to one of our most reliable horticulturists,
who stepped in to my office, and he imhesitating-
ly says, "Why, he don't know anything about the
Lawton Blackberry ; 'tis a very sweet and fine
fruit." He also says it is not "full hai'dy," but
what he should call "half hardy."

Had I not seen him, I should hare called it
hardy, for the reason that mine have not winter-
killed, but last summer produced good fruit at the
extreme end of the vines. I would say to all who
like good fniit, don't hesitate, from what been said
against the Lawton blackberry, to set out good
genuine vines, in a deep, light, rich soil, Avith a
northern exposure — say the north side of a high
fence or building — and you Avill have abundance
of SAveet fruit from about August 1st to Septem-
ber loth, and probably still later. When my first
fruit commenced to turn, blossoms were to be
seen on the same bushes, and their fruit ripened
subsequent to the latter date, but Avas not so good
as that Avhich ripened in Avarm Aveather. Several
other persons in our city with whom I am ac-
quainted, have been as fortunate in raising thern
as I have, in quality, but perhaps hardly in quanti-
ty from the same number of vines. I counted
thirteen fine berries in one cluster, and a great
many more had from nine to tAvelvo. G. w. H.

New Bedford, January, 1860.

Remarks. — We are happy to learn that our
corresjjondent secures an abundance of good fruit.
All we can say about the Lawton is this : we pro-
cured vines from Mr. Lawton himself, and there-
fore cannot doubt but they were true. We culti-
vated them Avith care, and produced an astonishing
amount of the superb looking iiZac/c-beriies, but
not one among them all that any person on the
fai'm could eat, on account of their acidity. Even
in the early part of October of one year, some of

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

the vines were loaded with the finest looking fruit,
but nobody could eat it.

We hope our friends will regard the advice of
*'G. W. H.," to set out blackberry vines, but sug-
gest to them to procure the plants of him or his
neighbors, and then they will be likely to get fruit
that is eatable. It is quite likely that the "Dor-
chester" went to New Bedford, instead of the
Lawton.

^ollov

For the New England Farmer.

THE BEST TIME FOB PRUNING AND
TRANSPLANTING APPLE TREES.

PROFITABILE FAEMING.

Mr. Editor : — As I have recently endeavored
to show that the cause of the potato rot is yet
undecided, I shall now point out several other
questions, of great importance, which seem to be
left iu the same predicament. To avoid taking
up too much of your room at any one time, I shall,
on the present occasion, point out only the three
)wing :

1. Which is the best or most proper time for
pruning apple trees ?

Each season of the year, spring, summer, au-
tumn and winter, has had its advocates. Those
who practice pruning in the spring, contend that
as the sap is then in full flow, and brisk motion,
the wounds heal quicker than at any other season;
whereas, the fact is, or seems to be, that the sap
escapes so rapidly and profusely from the wounds
as frequently to prevent their healing at all. In
spring pruning, as soon as Avarm weather comes
on, and the sap presses into, and distends the sap
vessels, it bursts out of the recent wounds, and
runs down, and blackens and jioisons the bark
and wood, and frequently causes the tree to di-oop
and die.

With better reason, the same argument is urged
by those in favor of summer pruning, because at
that season, the leaves have attained their full
size, and are in full health and vigor, and are then
elaborating an abundance of sap for immediate
use. At that season, a fresh wound will commence
healing at once, and a new bark will be rapidly
formed to cover the wound ; for it is only when
the leaves are in a condition to perform their prop-
er office, that the new growth and healing can
take place.

By others, the autumn is said to be the best
time for pruning, because, they say, it is proper
to wait until the leaves and sap have done their
work in the branches, before pi'oceeding to prune
them ; and then not till the leaves have fallen,
and the top has become somewhat dormant, leav-
ing the wounds to the drying and hardening in-
fluences of the sun and wind, till . they become
hard, sound and well-seasoned. It is said not to
be material whether the wounds heal over the first,
second or third year, as they Avill always remain
in a dry, but healthy state.

The same argument has been urged by those
in favor of winter pruning, and with this addi-
tional reason, that in winter we have more leisure
to do the woi'k carefully and well. But enough
of this ; as the question is yet undecided, and I
aee no prospect of deciding it, I close, by saying

that I am opposed to too much pruning, at any
season of the year.

2. Is the spring or autumn the best time for
transplanting fruit trees ?

Here is another question that is undecided.
The great majority of farmers continue to trans-
plant their trees in the spring, without stopping
to inquire what may be said for or against the
practice. In transplanting trees at any time, many
of the roots and little rootlets are necessarily
wounded, either broken and torn off, or cut off.
Those who transplant their trees in the spring,
cut off the supply of nutriment from the roots,
at the very moment when it is most needed by
the trees.

Others prefer to transplant their trees in the
autumn, because they have more leisure for the
operation, the ground is in better condition, and
the trees are comparatively in a more quiescent
or dormant state. They think, also, that the
wounded and mangled roots will heal better, and
be prepared to send out fresh ones even before the
frost is out of the ground ; and besides, that the
winter and spring rains will settle the earth around
the roots, so that the trees will be well established
before warm weather overtakes them. In my
opinion, however, more depends upon the manner
in which the work is done, than upon the particu-
lar season.

3. Is farming profitable ?

I had supposed that this question had been de-
cided a long time ago, by the great numbers who,
in every age of the world, have embarked in it,
as a profitable business, producing thrift and abun-
dance, and also, by the numbers who are still en-
gaged in it, as a means of enriching themselves,
and of securing a comfortable subsistence for their
families, and who have never yet discovered, or till
very lately, that farming is unprofitable. But it
seems that the world have been grossly deceived
upon this subject, for it has been recently discov-
ered, by a gentleman of our day, and of this Com-
monwealth, too, that farming is unprofitable ! This
he has shown by a statement of figures in black
and white, in the columns of the New England
Farmer, so that there can be no mistake about
the matter ! He has shown, to the satisfaction
of some, that every farming operation is money
out of pocket ; that every field of corn costs more
than it is worth ; that every quart of milk costs
more than it will bring in the market ; and that
the more productions of every kind a farmer
raises the poorer he becomes ! Those are not his
exact words, but they contain the sum and sub-
stance of his doctrine. Now, if these statements
be true, how comes it to pass that farmers, gen-
erally, are so thrifty, so forehanded, so rich and
independent ? How came they by so large a share
cf this world's goods ? They could not have ac-
quired so much by merely cheating one another.
They must have pursued the business of farming
with an industry, skill and perseverance, which
made it profitable to them. But, without mooting
the question further, I shall admit it to be unde-
cided. More anon. JoHN GOLDSBURY.
Warioick, Jan., 1860.

Essex North Horticultural Society. — At
a recent meeting of this Society the following offi-
cers were elected, viz : — For President, E. G.

NEAV ENGLAND FARMER.

Feb.

Kelley, M. D., re-elected. Vice Presidents, A.
W. MiLTiMORE, William Asiiby. Corresponding
and Recording Secretary, A. HoKTON. Treasurer,
W. W. Caldwell, Jr. Committees were also
appointed on fruits, flowers and vegetables.

The Treasurer reports that 129 new members
have been added ; that $220,79 have been paid for
incidental expenses and premiums, and that
$3.54,36 have been added to the cash fimds of the
Society during the past year.

For the New England Farmer.
■WHAT ONE CO'W DID.

Mr. Editor : — Your correspondent from
Chelmsford, I am glad to see, is Avaking quite an
interest in relation to the profits of farming. If
he is right, you, sir, are in bad business, and, with
your kind, benevolent feelings, will undoubtedly
take the back track, and devote the influence of
the Farmer to dissuading the young men of New
England from engaging in agricultural pursuits.
I hope, however, you will not be hasty, but con-
tinue to inculcate the same old doctrines for a few
numbers more, at least. Mr. P., in your last num-
ber, supposes a case, and sets all your readers to
ciphering it out. Now I will state a simple fact,
(my neighbors might state many better ones, if
they would.) and ask your correspondent to tell
how soon a young man, with ten such cows as the
one I am going to speak of, would become bank-
rupt.

My cow calved Jan. 1. Sold the calf at five days old,

to raise, for $3,00

January and February, she gave 12 qts. milk per day,
aud in JIarch 11 qts. per day — 977 qts., which I
sold at 3i cts. per qt 34,19

April, May and June, she gave 9 qts. per day, July 8,
August 7, September 6 — 1156 qts., sold at 1\ cts.
per qt 36,40

October, 4 qts. per day — 124 qts., sold at 3^ cts 4,34

Total §77,93

November and December she was diy. I kept
the cow seven months on a mixture of English
hay, oat or barley straw, meadow hay, corn stover
and rowen, cut and seasoned with salt, and shorts
or meal. Of this she would eat twenty-five pounds
per day, (including corn butts left.)

5325 lbs., at $10 per ton $25,62

6 qts. shorts, 5 cts., or same value in meal, per day 10,05

One peck roots per day, 5 cents 10,65

The other five months she had good pasture aud corn

fodder, at 8 cts. per day 12,16

Cost of keeping for one year $60,08

Now I have sold all my fodder at the full mar-
ket price, have a1;ood pile of manure for future
use, a cow increased in value, and $17 85 left.
No dairy ought to average less than this.

If it were not trespassi<»-g too much, I should
lilte to say a word on the economy of raising stock
and grain, but at present, I will only remark that
I know, from experience, that a young man can
buy a farm on credit, support a large family, pay
interest and taxes, and after a while, principal,
too ; and I will say, that, in looking back for many
years, I cannot call to mind the first young farm-
er, with an ordinary share of intelligence and en-
(!rgy, with habits of industry, temperance and
economy, who sacredly regards the Sabbath, pays

his minister's tax and the printer, but has, with
the help of a good wife, succeeded in acquiring a
pleasant home. Indeed, I believe such men never
fail.

Westhoro\ Dec. 20, 1859,

SILVEB.
Half a century ago, the annual production of
silver, so much as comes to the use of Atlantic na-
tions, was estimated at $39,500,000 ; with no ma-
terial deviation in the average in the meantime,
the annual yield is now $44,000,000. Silver is
floAving to the East with grci^t rapidity. M. Che-
valier, in his recent M'ork, states the following
facts : From the books of an English navigation
company, it a])pears that in 1856 this company
carried direct from England to Asia, $60,000,000,
and in 1857, $84,000,000 in silver. In 1851, the
quantity shipped through the same channel was
onlv $8,500,000. There was sent to the East from
the" Mediterranean ports in 1856, $18,000,000. It
goes eastward through many other channels, but
the two items given above for 1857 amount to
more than double the annual supjily tliat comes
to our part of the world. The Chinese and ajl
tbe barbarous nations of Asia demand silver. In
the British Empire of India, silver alone is the le-
gal tender ; and a new market is now opened for
the same metal in Japan. Hoav extensive a mar-
ket this last will prove to be, cannot yet be known ;
but the Japanese will aid in draining silver from
Europe, to the extent of whatever gold they now
possess. — American Merchant.

GOOD ADVICE.

Let our young farmers throw their novels to
the dogs, and fill their own heads \iit\\ facts. Let
them get up village lyceums, debating societies,
agricultural meetings, anything adapted to the
locality, and encourage the latent talent in the
place, to show itself. There is no reason why a
farmer should not be a well informed man, and be
able to speak or write in such a manner as to de-
mand attention. He Jias, or might have more
leisure time than men in other professions, and in-
stead of sitting down and complaining that the
government is aUministered for the benefit of the
idle at the expense of the worker, and that he does
not get his share of the offices, let him_/rY liimself
for the performance of legislative duties. An in-
telligent farmer, who is able to draw his own con-
clusions, and form his own opinions, and give his
reasons for them, in a clear, concise and logical
manner, Avill have more influence in any legisla-
ture ever assembled in the state, than any lawyer,
because it is generally believed to be the peculiar
art of a lawyer, to "make the worse appear the
better cause." — N. II. Journal of Agriculture.

A Judicious Investment. — A correspondent
says : "I have recently bought a farm, and the
very first dollar I have paid out on that account,
is the one I now enclose for your Monthly New
England Farmer."

We predict that this man will not often be heard
grumbling, and that he will make money by farm-
ing.

ISGG.

NEW EXGLAND FARMER.

^s*r^fe^^

I>TJEHAM HEIFEU— JUBILEE OP ALSIOW.
Bred by E. A. Alexander, V7oodford Co., Kentucky The property of Hon. John 'Wcntworth, Illinois.

This breed of animals is so -well understood by
most persons who take an interest in cattle, that
a lengthened description does not seem necessary
at this time. We give the portrait of this heifer
as a truthful illustration of one of the class, and
to show how beautiful in form and expression, an
animal may be made through the agencies of in-
telligence and care. The Durham cattle are do-
cile, good feeders and milkers, lay on flesh rapid-
ly, and those who breed them say they do this at
a low comparative cost of feeding.

Mr. Wcntworth, the owner of Jubilee, went
from the State of New Hampshire many years ago
a poor boy, and established himself as a printer
and publisher, and gvov>-ing up with the young
city of Chicago, became rich, was sent to Congress,
and lias had many other trusts confided to him by
the people. But he never forgot his early inter-
est and love for agricultural products, and we
found him several years since, during a brief call
W8 made upon him, more ready to show us v.hat
he was doing and thinking about in agriculture,
than to talk about political matters, — so that the
call was an agreeable one. Ho devotes a consid-
erable portion of his time and money to promote
the interests of agriculture, and we cannot doubt,
will find more gratification in such piu'suits than
in all the honors or emoluments of office.

Condensed Cider. — The Messrs. Borden, of
Whistead, Ct., who have been so successful in
solidifying milk, have also accomplished the solid-
ification of sweet cider. By the vacuum process,
the cider, taken svveet from the press, is reduced
five gallons to one, without boiling, and a beauti-
ful jelly is the result ; Avhich will keep for any
length of time witliout mould, souring, or fermen-
tation of any kind. By the addition of water, it is
immediately restored to its former condition, and
becomes cider a*ain. All that is lost by the pro-
cess are the Impurities that may exist in the prima-
ry apple juice, and the green, siekish taste. The
restored cider is much like a drink of prepared
tamarinds, bul^is more delicate and palatable. The
condensed article is a beautiful wine colored jelly,
and is excellent for the table, cither M^ith meats or
as a dessert. When reduced and bottled Avith a
proper delay, the article so "extended," will fer-
ment and become superior sparkling champagne
cider. — Boston Traveller.

i "

The Homeste.vd. — This paper has been changed
from the quarto to octavo form, and is much
more convenienf'in its present shape. The Janu-
ary number is iUii>5trated, and is printed on large
and fair typeu' It Jias an able and earnest corps
of Editors, gentlemen whose hearts as well as
heads are enl/sted in the calling which they have
chosen. It li^s n<^ crotchets, is modest but finu iu
its opinions, and is doing a noble work.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

Feb. /

LEGISLATIVE AGRICULTUSAL

MEETIKG.

[Reported for the New England Farmer, by Thos. Bradley.]

The first formal meeting for the session of the
Legislative Agricultural Societj' was held in the
Representatives' Hall at the State House, on Mon-
day evening. A large number were present, and
much interest was manifested in the proceedings.

The meeting was called to order by Col. David
Heard, of Wayland, at 7 o'clock, and the com-
mittee appointed at the informal meeting the
week previous announced the following list of of-
ficers, and reported the annexed rules.

President— ms Excellency, N. P. Banks.

firi; Prefhk'iits— lion. II. W. Bishop, of Lenox ; Hon. Na-
thaniel Eddy, of Oxforl, and Col. P. Heard, of Wayland.

Secretaries — Sir. Charles L. Flint, of Boston, and Mr. T. M.
Stoughton, of Gill.

Executive Committee — Hon. SrwoN Brown, of Concord ; Messrs.
HiR.\M NASn, of Willi amsburg ; J. S. ELDRn)GE,of Canton ; Geo.
Haskell, of Ipswich, and Lewis Demond, of Ware.

The following are the rules :

RnLE I. — Speeches shall be limited to fifteen minutes each,
unless by unanimous consent of the meeting, o::cept in the case
of the President of the evening, who shall occupy what time he
may see fit.

Rule II. — The officers chosen shall hold their offices during
the month of January, except the President, who shall be nomi-
nated each evening by the Executive Committee.

Rule III. — It shall be the duty of the Executive Committee
to propose subjects, to nominate a President, and to invite
speakers each evening.

The report was accepted.

On taking the chair, His Excellency addressed
the meeting, alluding to the formation of the so-
ciety, and the objects to be gained Ijy such assem-
blages. Ho said there was no profession on which
the interests of the Commonwealth are so depend-
ent, none with which the prosperity of our people
is so closely allied, as agriculture. The question
which is presented for discussion is not only in-
teresting to the tiller of the soil, but to all others
— in a word it touches every interest in life ; it Is
not only the interests of the farmer, but the mer-
chant, scholar, mechanician and philosopher ; the
individual, the family, the State and the consoli-
dation of States are all dependent on agriculture.

The question to be discussed this evening opens
a wide field, but I am not so well able to speak on
it as most of those present, and I shall not pre-
sume to occupy th* time of the meeting by giving
my crude views on the subject.

Speaking of the question, "TF/iO^ will tend to
make agriculture projitahle and pleasant as a jnir-
suit ?" the speaker asked, Avhat is the general mo-
tive of men, and what controls them in business
afi'airs ? The profit of any pursuit may be found
in the acquisition of wealth or in the advanced
social position, and we are to determine what are
covered by the words of the subject, "profit and
pleasure."

The Governor spoke of mercantile life, and the

risk engaging in it entailed, and said that when a
man had tried everything else for a living and
failed, he comes back to the earth, his highest,
greatest and most lasting satisfaction, as there is
no other puisuit that presents so many sure
means of support as this. He admitted that
mercantile life dazzled our country youth, as, if
money was made in this, it was made more rapid-
ly, but it should be the aim of the society to instil
into the minds of young men and women the
pleasures of an agricultural life, and by showing
how it may be made profitable, create a pleasure
in it. He spoke in warm terras of gratification of
the objects of the society, and said that to show
the strong claims of agi'iculture, the best means
was by such meetings as these, repeated in vari-
ous ways and places.

In conclusion, he assured the society of his deep
interest in the objects of the meeting, and hoped
that success would follow its deliberations.

Hon. IL W. Bishop, of Lenox, next spoke. He
said there was a great diflticulty in bringing the
agriculturists of the State together ; they meet in
clubs, &c., covering a limited area, and when they
get such meetings as these we may all learn some-
thing valuable. The question for discussion was
new to him, but he felt pleasure in contemplating
it. The pleasures of agriculture none can detail,
as they are so numerous, and the profits could not
be enumerated in one evening. It had been well
said that riches could not be acquired fast by ag-
riculture, but what was of far more moment, they
were sure. Judge Bishop then spoke of the reli-
ance to be placed on the husbandman in case of
invasion or intestine commotion, and said that
not only by his money the State Avould be defend-
ed, but by his bone and sinew. The speaker said
he had passed the sixth decade, and from his expe-
ence he would advise every man with a family not
to leave agricultural pursuits in the hope of mak-
ing a rapid fortune in commerce, lest he bring
himself and family to penury.

Passing to the consideration of the profits of
agriculture, he said that we must look to heaven
for these, and not to Congress. Heaven sends the
dews, clouds and seasons to grow and ripen the
crops, but Congress cannot give the slightest as-
sistance. We may be, and are encouraged, said
he, by legislation, and more particularly by those
modes recommended by the chairman, but no leg-
islation affects the crops.

The speaker, alluding to the pleasures of agri-
culture, said there were no pleasures equal to
those of the man who had his acres unincumbered,
as he always would have his bread and meat, and
these pleasures the agi-iculturist may arrogate to
himself entirely. It has been said in days past,
over and over again, that agriculture Avas not aa
honorable profession, and that it was a slow way

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

of making money, and the lawyer, doctor and
clergyman were leaders in the professions by tacit
acquiescence, but now mechanical and scientific
improvements have lent their aid to the farmer to
that extent that he is at the head of profession-
al men. There is no occupation in life to which
so much of science can be applied, and the speak-
er expressed his gratification in seeing that a bill
had been introduced into the Legislature for a
horticultural or agricultural garden in tlie vicinity
of Boston. He concluded by speaking of vegeta-
ble physiology, and the attention given to the food
of plants, asserting that the mechanical mixture
of the soils is making a progress which will give
to agriculture that social and political standing in
the Commonwealth that science will always give.

Rev. Mr. Sanger expressed the pleasure it gave
him in seeing the countenance given to the cause.
The last speaker had spoken of science as requi-
site for the profit and pleasure of the agricultu-
rist, but he thought knowledge should be diffused,
and this he thought would be the true way of
bringing pleasure. We must have knowledge of
the soil, and the ingredients composing it, and
then Ave want to know what vegetation requires
iu the soil. Mr. Sanger said that in the part of
the country where he had lived, 20 or 30 years
ago, 20 to 2-5 bushels of corn to the acre was con-
sidered rather above an average crop, while within
the past 10 years premiums have been given for
from 80 to 100 bushels to the acre on the same
land. He spoke of the yield of wheat in the
same section, and said that now it nearly doubled
the produce per acre of the land in Ohio, and this
was, in a large number of cases, the result of an
acquaintance with the soil.

The speaker urged on farmers the encourage-
ment of a love of the beautiful as producing a
contented mind, and recommended the planting
of trees and flowers around their dwellings, thus
connecting beauty with the necessaries of life.

Hon. JosiAn Quincy, Jr., being called on, said
he thought the great question in relation to agri-
culture was, "Will it pay ?" and he thought the
purpose should be to show that it will. He spoke
of farming in England and France, and said that
in these countries men invested very large amounts
of capital in cultivating small farms, thus making
it a very profitable investment, and getting the
most from the land, while here our farmers arc
too desirous of extending their labors over too
much territory, and not half cultivating any of it.
He said that there was nothing that paid better
than money judiciously expended on the soil, and
in proof of this he spoke of pet pieces of ground
that yielded at the rate of $50 to the acre, and he
asked why this might not be extended to 100 acres ?
He had 10 acres of ground on which the hay was
not worth cutting ; finding this, he broke it up,

fertilized it, harrowed and seeded it, at an expense
of .$50 per acre, and the first year he got 2-} tons
of hay from it, which he could sell at tlie barn for
$20 per ton, thus paying in one year for the en-
tire expense. He had last year raised 300 tons
of hay, which cost him $700, which he harvested
for $2 50 per acre, while his neighbor could not do
it for $5 ; but the speaker said he had the advan-
tage of the best macliines, mowing, raking, 8:c.,
and it is in not having these that farmers lose
money. He thought farmers were the most ex-
travagant men in the world, and he showed this
by their neglect in sa\'ing manure. Mr. Quincy
then showed that a cow kept up during the year
will produce more value in manure than the value
of her milk, relying on the estimate of Dr. Sam-
uel L. Dana, that she produces 21 cords. He al-
luded to the care which is taken in Europe in this
matter, and spoke of the result in bountiful har-
vests.

The great element of farming, said he, is sav-
ing, with a liberal and judicious expenditure, and
we must cither invest more capital, or reduce the
area of our farms to make the land yield what it
will do, and he considered that it would be far
better if farmers invested their profit in their land
than in bank or railroad stodis.

Mr. BuCKMiNSTER spoke of the mental and bod-
ily health a farmer enjoys, and urged on the meet-
ing the importance of instilling the pleasures and
profits of agriculture as well as the importance
of health, on the minds of the rising generation.
He also advocated the importance of farmers who
know how to make farming profitable, assigning
to then- children a small piece of gi'ound, and
teaching them how to cultivate it, so as to incite
a desire to acquii-e more, and this he contended
would be the best course by which to forward the
cause of agriculture.

Mr. Howard, editor of the Cultivator, related
an incident which came to his knowledge last year,
of a Dutch farmer, in New York State, who, from
a squatter on seven acres of land, and one cow,
had become the owner of a farm of 50 acres, with
15 cows, and a good house and farm buildings,
and all acquired from the careful saving of ma-
nure. He attributed the dissatisfaction of farm-
ers to the waste of this valuable assistant, and
contended that, until more care was bestowed on
this, farmers could not expect to realize large re-
turns. He also spoke of English farmers, and
urged on the farmers here the necessity of keep-
ing book accounts of the oost of all produce.

Mr. Gardner, of Swansey, thought a man
should have an aptness for his calling, and this
more particularly applied in the case of the farm-
ers, as if a man liked Iiis business he would be
industrious in proportion. Ho thought the argu-
ment that a man must have a capital to conimenco

100

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

Feb.

farming was not entirely correct, as he had knowl-
edge of quite a number of men who had acquired
good farms from being thrifty day laborers. He
alluded to the knowledge of science by farmers,
and said he thought that in the majority of cases
a farmer learned more from actual experiment
than from the study of books.

On motion of Col. Heard, the same subject
was assigned for consideration at the next meet-
ing, when the Society adjourned to Monday even-
ing next, at 7 o'clock.

BXTBACTS AND BEPLIES.
MAKING BUTTER IN WINTER.

I have found no difficulty in making butter in
winter ; my process is simply this : keep the milk
in a cool place ; if it freezes it will not injure it ;
collect the cream about ten days, then place the
pot of cream near a fire, stiiririg it occasionally,
till it becomes nearly milk-warm. Then scald the
churn, and the butter will come in about half an
hour, of a good quality, fit for any man's table.
The great difficulty is in not having the cream of
a right temperature before churning. If Mr. Leon-
ard will try this method, I think he will have no
difficulty in future.

Please inform me what kind of churn is best.

Derri/, N. IL, 1860. Dairywojian.

Remarks. — We cannot tell which of all churns
is the best. Out of some five or six lands which
we have tried, we prefer and use the Fyler churn.

A correspondent in Auburn, N. H., states that
by setting the milk on the stove as soon as it is
strained, and bringing it to scalding heat, and by
keeping the cream in the warm kitchen, the but-
ter will come in from twenty-five to thirty min-
utes.

M. P. Knowles, of Rangely, Me., scalds the
milk as above, and warms but does not heat
the cream. To give the butter a good color, he
says, I scrape a carrot and warm it in about three
pints of cream, and strain it into the chum.

ABOUT GRAPES.

I hav(2 transplanted several kinds of wild grapes
into ray garden for trial, but the quality is not
improved, as they only ripen sooner in a more fa-
vorable location ; I shall not longer give them
room, since T have g«t the Diana, Concord, Isa-
bella, Sage, Globe Seedling, Warren Seedling,
the Cherry grape, and others. I have the early
Muscadine, which ripens two weeks earlier than
the Diana or Concord, and is the best early sweet
grape I have. The Sage and Globe Seedling and
Warren Seedling, are early and quite good grapes,
the Sage, I think best ; the Catawba does not ri-
pen with me. I have eaten them ripe, raised by
Charles 11, Holt, of South Lyndeborough, N. H.
We want the best grape that is productive, and
will ripen in the location where we cultivate.
Oliver Bcttebfield.

FrancestQwn, N. H. Jan., 1860,

GEESE AND GOSLINGS.

Will some of your many correspondents give
me a few directions in regard to the raising and
management of geese ? For the novelty of the
thing, I purchased last spring three geese and a
gander, of the common kind. In due time, one of
them brought forward six goslings. Failing in
our efforts to make them eat, we drove them into
the river near by, leaving them to manage to suit
thems'jlvcs. The other two geese were sitting on
the opposite bank of the river, where the gander,
also, had posted himself as guard. The moment
the goose and her progeny were discovered, his
gandership flew across and escorted them to the
other side with noisy rejoicings that made the
welldn ring. Jealous of the attentions bestowed
upon their quondam companion, the others quit
their nests and insisted upon sharing her mater-
nal cares. However, we forced one to return to
her sotting till she produced four goslings, when
she adjourned, sine die. These weaklings, meet-
ing with general ill treatment, soon turned their
last summerset, and the geese uniting in care of
the older ones, brought them all up finely, with-
out other interference.

How often should geese be plucked during the
warm season ?

Where can the "Leghorn fov.ls," mentioned in
your last week's paper, be obtained, and at what
price ? *.

Nashua, K H., 1860.

Remarks. — We have never raised geese, and
know little about them. Will some one reply to
our fair correspondent — for it is a lady v.dio writes
— and inform her, also, where the Leghorn fowls
can be obtained ?

LICE ON COLTS.
I Avish to inquire through the columns of the
Farmer what will rid my colt of lice ? By giv-
ing such information you will oblige

Samuel Chase Nay.
Raymond, N. H., 1860.

Rejlirks. — Take a soft brush and a little pure
lard, and rub the colt all over with it ; a table
spoonful of lard will be nearly sufficient. Repeat
this every third day, keeping the colt diy and
warm, and feeding him liberally through the win-
ter. If this does not succeed, wc will suggest an-
other remedy,

MANURE FROM TANNERIES.
I wish to inquire whether manure from a tan-
nery is good for agricultural purposes ?
Pawtucket, 1859. A. B. Franklin.

Remarks. — If the scrapings of hides and the
hair are mixed with otlier rubbish about the tan-
nery, they form an active and valuable manure.

A CURE FOR chilblains.

Put a large spoonful of fine salt on the place
afiected, in the morning, and put the sock on care-
fully so as not to disturb the salt ; then wet the
outside of the sock with vinegar. By doing this
a few times a cure is certain. SouND Feet.

Auburn, N. H.

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

101

WART ON A COLT,
Please tell what will take a wart from a colt,
and oblipe C. W. Fay,

East Ilubbardston, Vt.

Remarks. — Mr, A. Briggs, of Deerfield, Mass.,
says that potash dissolved to a paste laid upon the
wart for half an hour, and then taken off and the
pai't washed in vinegar, will cure a wart on man
or beast, AVe do not know personally.

United States Agricultural Society. — At
the recent meeting of this Society, the following
officers were chosen : — Henry Wagner, Western
New York, President ; B. B. French, Treasurer,
and Ben : Perlcy Poore, Secretary. On Thurs-
day morning, 12th, the Presid(?nt attended the
United States Agricultural Society to receive his
diploma as an honorary member. The President
of the Society, in delivering it, said that it was a
strange coincidence that every President of the
United States had either been called from the
plow, like Cincinnatus, or else retired to it at the
expiration of their terms of office. Mr. Buchanan,
in reply, spoke of his taste for agricultural pur-
suits, though he had but little opportunity to in-
dulge in them. He paid a high tribute to the til-
lers of the soil, and anticipated his return to
Wheatland in less than eighteen months, to enjoy
the independence and quiet of rural life. His
speech was frequently interrupted by applause.

Hon. Marshall P. Wilder, of Massachusetts was
voted the "grand gold medal of honor," as the
founder and constant patron of the society. This
is the largest and most valuable medal struck in
America.

owned by the late James Brown, Esq., is on the
summit of Wellington Hill, and is considered one
of the healthiest spots in the neighborliood of
Boston.

Spontaneous Co:\rBUSTiON of Hay, — "Ome-
ga," of Roxbury, in a communication on "spon-
taneous combustion in hay," in the Farmer of
November last, asks for more light on the sub-
ject, although he seems convinced that spontane-
ous combustion in salt hay was the cause of set-
ting his barn on fire. Mr. Geo. Whitney, of Es-
sex, Vt., says in a note to us, —

"We get in our hay very green up here, and if
there is any danger of spontaneous combustion in
so doing, we should like to know it. Will you,
or some of your readers, tell us ?

We have no knowledge on the subject ; those
who have will please to communicate it.

Fatal Disease among Cattle. — Oiu- agricul-
tural readers will regret to learn, says the Tran-
script, that Winthrop W. Chenery, Esq., of Bel-
mont, has lost twenty-seven head of valuable cows
and oxen within the past six months, by pneumo-
nia, or inflammation of the lungs, (an infectious
disease, similar to the "murrain," now prevailing
in the north of Europe.) Mr. Chenery has im-
ported the best Dutch cows that ever came to this
country, and it is a public loss that such stock
should meet such a fate. The last cow that died
this week was the largest animal in the United
States, and weighed 3260 pounds ! The skeleton
has been presented to Professor Agassiz for his
new Museum. Mr. Chenery's farm was formerly

PBtTNING APPLE TUBES.

In another column we give an article upon the
subject of pruning and transplanting apple trees,
and are happy to present it at this early day, in
the hope that it may prevent some persons from
spoiling their trees by pruning them wlien the sap
is freely floiinnrj. We have often called attention
to this subject, and in one or two instances have
endeavored to show the reasons why spring prun-
ing is injurious. It is much more to convince the
unbelievers in the orchard, than it is on paper.

The candid attention of the reader is asked to
Mr. Goldsbury's article, and also to what has
heretofore been said in the Farmer on the sub-
ject.

Immense Forests. — Spars are sent from Puget
Sound to Asia, the Sandwich Islands, Australia,
and to the navies of England and France. The
Hon. Isaac I. Stevens, Congressional Delegate
from Washington Territory, has stated that "with-
in one mile of the shores of the Sound, there Is
more timber than can l)e foimd on all the tribu-
taries of all the waters of Maine."

Keeping Milk Sweet. — A correspondent of
the Homestead found that, in sending milk to
market, though it left the dairy perfectly sweet, it
was often curdled on delivery to customers. To
remedy this, the cans were covered with cotton
cloth soaked in salt water. By this method the
curdling of the miUi was entirely prevented.

YOUTH'S DEPARTMENT.

"THE GRIT BABE-LEGGED LADDIE."

Sixty years ago, a stout youth of eighteen years
old, who had been known among his neighbor-
hood as "grit bare-legged laddie," called on a
poor village schoolmaster, and said —

"I would like to attend your evening school, sir."

"What do you wish to study?" asked the
teacher.

"I want to learn to read and Mrite," replied the
lad.

The teacher looked into the lad's face with a
somcv,hat scornful glance, shrugged his shoulders,
and said :

"Very well, you can attend."

Now, if that bony lad had said to the teacher, "I
mean to become a gi-eat inventor, to be the com-
panion of rich and noble men, to hold conversa-
tion with kings, and to write my name among the
great men of the world," I dare say the teacher
would have called the boy a fool for cherishing
such wild dreams. Yet that poor bony lad, who
at eighteen did not know the alphabet, did all
those things before he died.

Who was he ? His name was George Stephen-
son, the great railway pioneer !

It was not the fault of young George that he

102

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

Peb.

was ignorant, it was only his misfortune. His
parents were too poor to send him to school. He
was the son of the fireman of a pumping engine in
a colliery. His birthplace was a cottage with a
clay floor, mud wall and bare rafters. He had to
help earn his living from his earliest years, first
by herding cows and barring up the gates of the
mine at night. Next he was put to picking stones
from the coal, and after that to driving a horse,
which hauled coal from the pit. By-and-bye he
was made assistant fireman to his fother. When
he was seventeen he was made plugman of a
pumping engine — a higher post than his father's,
and had climbed, as it seemed, to the top of his
ladder. What hope was there for a youth who
could not read at seventeen ?

But George had hope in his breast. His engine
was a lesson-book to him. He took it apart and
put it together again, studied it, loved it, and
when he was told that there were books which
told about engines, he made up his mind to go
to school.

To school he went, and soon learned all that
the vilkige masters could teach. When twenty
years old he was made brakesman, and began to
think about inventing better engines than he saw
about him.

His next work was a railway eight miles in
length, and from this point he went on until he
was known as the great railway pioneer of the
world.

George was often laughed at by men who
thought themselves much v,iser than he. One
day he was proposing to build an engine to run
twelve miles an hour. A grave-looking gentle-
man thinking to put him down, said :

"Suppose one of these engines to be going
along a railroad at the rate of nine or ten miles
an hour, and that a cow were to stray upon the
line, would not that be a very awkward circum-
stance P"

*'Yes," replied Mr. Stephenson, "very awk-
ward indeed — for the cow !"

Thus, l,iy his own industry, did the "grit bare-
legged laddie" climb to a very high place among
men. Great men, and even kings, sought his ad-
vice, wealth flowed into his purse ; his name was
honored, his character respected. At a ripe age
he died and went to his eternal reward.

Let this sketch cheer on the boys and girls to
patient effort in the path of duty. Learn some-
thing every day. Press forward ! Be good, and you
will prosper.

GBEAT MEN WHO ROSE FROM THE
RANKS.

From the barber's shop rose Sir Richard Ark-
wi'ight, the invento» of the spinning jenny, and
the founder of the cotton manufacture of Great
Britain ; liOrd Tenterden, one of the most distin-
guished of English Lord Cliief Justices ; and Tur-
ner, the very greatest among landscape painters.
No one knows to a certainty what Shakspeare
was ; but it is unquestionable that he sprang from
a very humble trade. The common class of day-
laborers has given us Brindley, the engineer ;
Cook, the navigator ; and Burns, the poet. Ma-
sons and bricklayers can boast of Ben Johnson,
who worked at the building of Lincoln's Inn, with
a trowel in his hand, and a book in his pocket;
Eflwatds and Telford, the ens^ineers ; Huch Mil-

ler, the geologist ; and Allan Cunningham, the
MTiter and sculptor ; whilst amongst distinguished
carpenters we find the name of Inigo Jones, the
architect ; Harrison, the chronometer maker ;
John Hunter, the physiologist ; Romney and Opie,
the painters ; Professor Lee, the Orientalist ; and
John Gibson, the sculptor. From the weaver class
have sprung Simpson, the mathematician ; Bacon,
the sculptor ; the two Milners, Adam W'alker,
John Foster, Wilson, the ornithologist ; Dr. I-iv-
ingstone, the missionary traveller ; and Tannahill,
the poet. Shoemakers have given us Sturgeon,
the electrician ; Samuel Drew, the essayist ; Gif-
ford, the editor of the Quarterhj Review ; Bloom-
field, the poet, and William Carey, the missiona-
ry ; whilst Morrison, another laborious missiona-
ry, Avas a maker of shoe lasts. Within the last
year, a pi'ofound naturalist has been discovered in
the person of a shoemaker at Banff", who, while
maintaining himself by his trade, has devoted his
leisure to the study of natural science in all its
branches, his researches in connection with the
smaller Crustacea? having been rewarded by the
discovery of a new species, to which the name of
Praniza Edwardsii has been given by naturalists.

Nor have tailors been altogether undistinguish-
ed, Jackson, the painter, having worked at that
trade, until he reached manhood. But what is,
perhaps, more remarkable, one of the gallantest
of British seamen. Admiral Hobson, who broke
the boom at Vigo in 1702, originally belonged to
this calling. He was working as a tailor's appren-
tice near Bonchurch, in the Isle of Wight, when
the news flew through the village that a squadron
of men-of-war were sailing off the island. He
sprang from the shop-board, and ran down with
his comrades to the beach to gaze upon the glori-
ous sight. The tailor boy was suddenly inflamed
with the ambition to be a sailor, and, springing
into a boat, he rowed oft' to the squadron, gained
the admiral's ship, and was accepted as a volun-
teer. Years after he returned to his native village,
full of honors, and dined of bacon and eggs in the
cottage where he had worked as a tailor's appren-
tice. Cardinal Wolsey, De Foe, Akenside, and
Kirke White, were the sons of butchers ; Bunyan
was a tinker, and Joseph Lancaster, a basket-
maker. Among the great names identified with
the invention of the steam-engine are those of
Newcomen, Watt, and Stephenson ; the first a
blacksmith, the second a maker of mathematical
instruments, and the third an engine fireman. Dr.
Hutton, the geologist, and Bewick, the father of
wood-engraving, were coal-miners. Dodsley was
a footman, and Holcroft a groom. Bufhn, the
navigator, was a common seaman, and Sir Cloudes-
ley Shovel, a cabin-boy. Herschel played the oboe
in a military band. Chan trey was a journeyman
carver, Etty a journeyman printer ; and Su* Thom-
as Lawrence the son of a tavern-keeper.

Michael Faraday, the son of a poor blacksmith,
was in early life apprenticed to a book-binder, and
woi'ked at that trade until he reached his twenty-
second year ; he now occupies the very first rank
as a philosopher, excelling even his master, Sir
Humphrey Davy, in the art of lucidly expounding
the most difficult and abstruse points in natural
science. Not long ago. Sir Roderick Murchison
discovered, at Thurso, in the far north of Scotland,
a profound geologist, in the ])crson of a baker
named Robert Dick. "Wlien Sir Roderick called

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

103

upon him at the bake-house, m which he baked
and eanied his bread, Dick delineated to him, by
means of flour upon a board, the geographical fea-
tures and geological phenomena of his native
county, pointing out the imperfections in the ex-
isting maps, which ho had ascertained by travelling
over the county in his leisure hours. On further
inquiry, Sir Roderick ascertained that the humble
individual lieforo him was not only a capital baker
and geologist, but a fu'st rate botanist. "I found,"
said the Director General of the Geographical So-
ciety, "to my great humiliation, that this baker
knew infinitely more of botanical science, ay, ten
times more, than I did ; and that there were only
some twenty or thirty specimens of flowers which
he had not collected. Some he had obtained as
presents, some he had purchased ; but the greater
portion had been accumulated by his industry, in
his native county of Caithness, and the specimens
were all arranged in the most beautiful order,
with their scientific names affixed." — Self-IIelp,
hy Samuel Smiles.

LITTLE "WILLIE AND THE APPLE.

Little Willie stoofl under <an apple tree old.
The fruit was all shining mth crimson and gold.
Hanging temptingly lo\7 ; — how he longed for a bite,
Though he knew if he took one it wouldn't be right.

Said he : "I don't see why my father should say
'Don't toixeh the old apple tree, 'Willie, to-day ;'
I shouldn't have thought — now they're hanging so low-
When I asked for just one, he should answer me 'No.'

"He would never find out if I took but just one,
And they do look so good, shining out in the sun,
There are hundreds and hundreds, and he wouldn't miss
So paltry a little red apple as this."

He stretched forth his hand, but a low, mournful strain

Came wandering dreamily over his brain ;

In his bosom a beautiful harp had long laid,

That the angel of conscience quite frequently played.

And he sung : "Little Willie, beware, 0, beware,
Your father has gone, but your Maker is there ;
How sad you would feel if j-ou heard the Lord say,
'Tliis dear little boy stole an apple to-day.' "

Then Willie turned round, and as still as a mouse.

Crept slowly and carefully into the house ;

In his own little chamber he knelt down to pray

That the Lord would forgive him and please not to say,

"Little Willie almost stole an apple to-day."

LADIES' DEPARTMENT.

SWIMMIWG FOB, "WOMEIvr.
THE SWIMMING SCHOOL AT PARIS.

As many parents are wishing to know how girls
can be taught to use their limbs in the water, it
may be interesting to them to hear how the art is
taught at Paris. The water is that of the Seine.
This is the least agreeable circumstance in the
case, as the water of the Seine is quite as unfra-
grant in the summer months as that of the Thames.
Whether it is purified on entering the baths, I
do not know. Let us hope that it is. The bath is
moored in the river, and the space occupied by
water is 120 feet in length ; a course long enough
to aff"ord room for all the exercises connected with
swimming. A wooden platform, three or four
feet under water, reaches to about the middle of

the width of the bath ; and this is for the use of
children, and mere bathers who do not swim. The
other half is of a considerable depth in the mid-
dle, admitting of practice in genuine diving. The
cbess is excellent for the purpose. It is made of
a light Avoollen fabric, which does not absorb
much water. The trowsers are loose, and fas-
tened at the ankles. The upper dress, also loose,
extends to the knee, and is belted round the waist,
and closed at the neck.

It is just as decent a dress as English ladies
used to wear when Bath was called '-The Bath,"
and when wigged gentlemen and powdered ladies
used to Avade about in full trim, and chat in the
water. The first step in the process of teaching
is to make the pupils understand how to keep on
the surface, and know how to sink to the bottom.
Most people know that to sjiread out the limbs is
to float, and to double one's self up is to sink ;
but it is not everybody who knows that the quick-
est way of going to the bottom is to raise the arms
above the head. This is precisely what Avomen
do when they fall out of a boat, or find themselves
overboard in a shipwreck. Up go their arms in
their terror ; and down they go to the bottom like
a shot. This is the action used by divers, who
want to reach that point by the shortest way.
From the ceiling of the Paris bath hangs a rope,
which travels along on a sort of crane.- Where
this rope touches the Avater a broad belt is at-
tached to it. The belt is fastened easily about the
pupil's waist, supporting her in the Avatcr, and
leaving her at liberty to learn the action of the
limbs in sAvimming. She is made perfect in these,
and must then try her poAvers without support.
To render her safe and preclude fear, the instruc-
tor, (Avho is a master and not a mistress,) Avalks
along the edge, just before her, holding a pole
Avithin her reach, Avhich she can gi-asp in an in-
stant, if fatigued or alarmed. It does not follow
that Ave must have SAvimraing-masters in England.

The art is taught all along the rivers of Ger-
many, and invariably by women in the Avomen's
baths. In that case the dress is less elaborate
and there is more freedom and simplicity in the
practice. It is a remarkable sight Avhen the mas-
ter is followed by ten or tAvelve pupils, his pole
reminding one of the magnet Avhith brings SAvans
or fishes to the bread in a basin of Avater, in the
old-fashioned toy Avhich astonishes children. The
second pupil has a hand on the shoulder of the
first, and SAvims Avith the other three limbs ; the
third on the shoulder of the second ; and so on,
looking like a shoal of mermaids. When so
thorouglily at ease as to amuse themselves for a
long time in the AA-ater, the ladies sometimes get
hungry ; and then is seen another remarkable
sight, not quite so pretty. They rush from the
bath to a confectioner's shop, Avhich opens upon
it, and may be presently seen SAvimming Avith one
hand, and AA'ith the other eating their lunch, com-
pletely at ease. After learning the art in fresh
Avater, it is mighty easy to SAvim in the sea, from
the density of the Avater, and scarcely possible to
sink. A Avoman Avho knoAvs hoAV to float is safe
for many hours in the sea, as far as keeping on
the surface is concerned. Among breakers or
sharks, or in extreme cold, the peril is not of
droAvning simply. The simjjle peril of drowning
might be reduced to something very small, if
everybody could SAvim. — Once a Week.

104

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

Feb.

DOMESTIC H.ECEIPTS.

Hints to Housewives. — Vessels intended, to
contain liquid of a higher temperature than the
surrounding medium, and to keep that liquid as
lono' as possible at the highest temperature, should
be constructed of materials which are the worst
radiators of heat. Thus, tea-urns and tea-pots arc
best adapted for their purpose when constructed
of polished metal, and worst when constructed of
black porcelain. A black porcelain tea-pot is the
Avorst conceivable material for that vessel, for both
its materials and color are good radiators of heat,
and the liquid contained in it cools with the great-
est possible rapidity. On the other hand, a bright
metal tea-pot is best adapted for the purpose, be-
cause it is the worst radiator of heat, and there-
fore cools as slowly as possible. A polished silver
or brass tea-urn is better adapted to retain the
heat of the water, than one of a dull brown color,
such as is most commonly used. A tin kettle re-
tains the heat of water boiled in it more effectual-
ly if it be kept clean and polished, than if it be
allowed to collect the smoke and soot to which it
is exposed from the action of the fire. When coated
with this, its surface becomes rough and black,
and is a powerful radiator of heat. A set of pol-
ished fire-irons may remain for a long time in front
of a hot fire, without receiving from it any increase
of temperature beyond that of the chamber, be-
cause the heat radiated by the fire, is all reflected
by the polished sm-face of the irons, and none of
it is absorbed ; but if a set of rough, unpolished
Irons were similarly placed, they Avould become
speedily so hot, that they could not be used with-
out inconvenience. The polish of the fire-irons is,
therefore, not merelj a matter of ornament, but
of use and convenience. The rough, unpolished
poker, sometimes used in a kitchen, becomes
speedily so hot that it cannot be held without pain.
A close stove, intended to warm apartments,
should not have a polished surface, for in that case
it is one of the worst radiators of heat, and noth-
ing could be contrived less fit for the purjiosc to
which it is applied. On the other hand, a rough,
unpolished surface of cast iron, is favorable to ra-
diation, and a fire in such a stove wiU always pro-
duce a most powerful effect. — Dr. Lardner.

A Boiled Dish. — Almost every family has a
dinner, as often as once a week, of what is popu-
larly called a "boiled dish," and which, tproperly
cooked, is one of the best dishes in the world ;
but all cooks do not know the best way to boil
corned beef. The common method, in oi'der to
make it tender, being to pi;t it in cold water, and
let beef and water come gradually to a boil. This
certainly makes beef tender, but it also extracts
all the strength and juices. A better Avay is to wait
till the water boils before putting in the beef ; it
will then be equally tender, and will retain all its
strengthening and juicy properties. Many house-
keepers suppose that putting meat in hot water
inevitably renders it hard and tough ; and so it
will, if the water is only hot ; but if it boils, the
effect will be the reverse. Just as putting a dis-
colored table-cloth in hot water will set the stains ;
but put it in boiling water, and it takes them clean
out. The same rule applies to all boiled meats.
Hams, after boiling four or five hours, should be
taken out, the skins taken off, and cracker or bread
c.vnmHs grated over them, and then baked in a

brisk oven for one hour. A leg of mutton can be
treated successfully in the same way, only it does
not require to be boiled so long. Of course, the
boiling process should be gentle. — Mrs. Croley.

Recipe for Curing Sweet Hams.— The fol-
lowing recipe for curing hams, was furnished us
by Mrs. James Darke, of Berkley, who received it
from England.

For four hams, take two ounces of saltpetre,
two quarts of molasses, one-quarter of a pound of
pepper, half an ounce of cochineal, about three
pints of fine salt. If the hams have been in salt
pickle, the salt will not be needed ; pound the
saltpetre and cochineal, then put all these ingre-
dients together ; and rub the hams thoroughly
with the pickle ; turning them every day. Let
them remain in the sweet pickle tv/o weeks, then
take them out, smoke them a Aveek or more, to suit
the fancy. — Taunton American.

A WORD ABOUT SKATIITG.

The season is here, during which nature gives
to all men, women and children, and especially to
those who are of slender constitution, and whose
pursuits are sedentary, one of the best fountains
of health that the world contains. She will clothe
every stream and lake with a polished enamel, in-
viting all human beings to go out into the open
air, and to seek amusement, and health of larger
quantity and better quality than they can obtain
in any other Avaj^ Skating combines more that is
desirable than any other form of exercise, and it
is especially valuable to women. Not only is it
graceful and exhilarating, but it is a wonderful
tonic, and will do much, if it can be generally fol-
lowed by females, toward elevating the physical
character of our race. Every girl should learn to
strap on a pair of skates as soon as she is old
enough to run out doors, and every woman whose
duties are in doors, should daily, if possible — at
any rate, frequently — buckle on the irons, and
glide over the glittering ice. The pleasure, the
health thus attainable are beyond telling. Parents,
get skates for your girls especially, (the boys will
get them for themselves,) and drive them out dai-
ly to play on the ice. The glowing cheek, the ex-
panding form, the robust health that follows, will
bo a rich reward. — Gospel Banner.

OBEDIEWCE TO THE MOTHEB.

"Come aAvay ; come instantly, or I will call your
father," I heard a mother say to her child, who
was playing in the street before her window. I
did not stop to learn the result, but I pitied the
poor mother who had not power within herself to
control her child, and who so unhesitatingly de-
clared her inefficiency.

A mother should never thus appeal to the fa-
ther's authority to strengthen her own, nor should
she admit, by thought, word, or deed, that her
power is inferior to his. God never made it in-
ferior, and he requires as prompt obedience to the
one as to the other. The mother who allows her-
self thus to appeal to another is continually weak-
ening the authority she should exercise over the
children. She is herself teaching them to disobey
the commandment which inculcates obedience to
parents, for what child can honor a mother too
weak to govern him ?

DEVOTED TO AGRICUTiTUBB AWD ITS KINDRED ABTS AND SCIENCES.

VOL. XII.

BOSTON, MARCH, 1860.

NO. 3.

NOURSE, EATON & TOLJIAN, Proprietors oTivrmvr TipmAnvr T-nTTr>Tj FRED'K HOLBROOK, )

Office.... 34 Merchants' Row. MMUJN iiKOWW, EDITOR. HENRY F. FRENCH, \

Associate
Editors.

CALENDAR FOR MARCH,

The stormy March is come at last,
With wind, ami cloud, and changing skies ;

I hear the gushing of the blast
That through the snowy valleys flies.

Ah '. passing few are they who speak,
Wild, stormy month, in praise of thee ;

Yet, though thy winds are loud and bleak,
Thou art a welcome month to me. — Bryant.

^Arch, stormy and
. changeful as it is,
his yet this re-
deeming grace —
thit it brings with
it a promise of
something better.
Though storms
may come with all
— the fury and more
than the gloom of
Dtcember, wc know that win-
tei IS dcpaiting, or to use one
of those common phrases
which have been common
principally on account of
their expressiveness — "the
_ ^ heart of the winter is broken." We,

^^r'Mfm. of the northern latitudes, have al-
ways this advantage over those who
dwell in regions of perpetual sum-
mer, that all that we have of beauty in climate
is heightened a thousand fold by the contrast
of a world to all intents and purposes dead,
half the year. The few bright sunny days that
are vouchsafed to us in ^Nlarch, how beautiful
they seem in their sombre setting of clouds and
storms and "chilling winds." Every spot of bare
ground, from which the sun has thawed away the
snow a little prematurely, looks familiar and wel-
come as the face of a friend who has long been
absent. Even a flock of wild geese flying over,
awaken an interest, and their cackling, which is
in itself by no means melodious, has a kind of

music for our ears, for we know when we hear it,
they have felt in their downy bosoms that summer
is coming, up in the hills and mountains of New
England. Something which we call instinct told
them so when they were down among the swamps
and everglades of Florida, and straightway they
packed up, and set off" on their long journey. No
man can interpret the guide-book which directs
their course, but right through the air they come,
looking serenely down upon us, with our rail-
roads and telegranhs, and poor attempts at bal-
loon-making.

The pleasure with which we listen to the first
croaking of the frog, too, would be incomprehen-
sible to one who had never associated it with the
loosening of frozen brooks, and the first faint
tinge of green on the grass, and the swelling buds
of the trees. We are always glad to hear him sing-
ing again in the far-off meadow, albeit he sets his
tunes in a minor key, and sings them in the pen-
sive twilight.

Probably all animais have premonitions of re-
turning summer. It is certain that all wild ani-
mals do, for they plan their work, and make their
preparations for a new mode of life with as much
discrimination as man himself. Our domestic an-
imals, being dependent on us for their support, do
not lay their plans in the same way, and yet wc
seem to see in them a new element of lazy con-
tentment, or sportive joy, which just as plain-
ly expresses their approbation of the change that
is gradually coming over the face of nature. ^

For example, look at that ox, as he stands look-
ing out of the barn door, or in the sunny corner of
the yard, chewing his cud in a meditative mood.
Don't you see plainly written on his countenance
that he is thinking of the "better days a coming,"
when he shall roam through the pastures at will,
helping himself in the natural way to a splendid
feast of green grass, instead of eating dxy hay-
pitched at him with a fork, by the farmer's boy ?
Don't you see that he is instituting a comparison

106

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

March

between the -watering trough where he and his
companions have fought for freedom all winter,
and the pure, running brook by the old willow
tree ? The sheep, we can't help imagining, has
not quite got over his last impressions of getting
his own living — when he was left, late in Novem-
ber, to browse out on tlie bleak, barren hill-side,
and grind his poor nose down to a point, among
the sharp rocks, in search of a bite, which, after
all, proved to be nothing but a bramble or a
thistle. If he has had an experience of two or
three years, he may be looking fearfully forward
to the time when the shearers will rob him of his
wool again, and leave him shivering, naked in the
blast. For he has never heard about the wind being
"tempered to the shorn lamb," and therefore can-
not bring the consolations of philosophy to his
aid.

Yet even the sheep, stupid, not to say slieepisli,
as he looks, must rejoice to feel the warm south
wind playing through his "hyacinthine locks,"
though doubtless his anticipations are much col-
ored and marred by the trials heretofore men-
tioned, and numerous others with which his mortal
state abounds, as fettered limbs, great dogs,
&'c., &c. Strange, that an animal so frisky as the
lamb, Avhose name has indeed become the very
synonym for playfulness — should ever turn out
an old sheep. Does not the fact that he can so
soon forget his lambhood, go far to show that the
cares of life do press heavily upon him ? You call
a person a "sheep," and he does not usually feel
complimented ; and yet Avhen a mother would yse
the strongest expression of endearment for the in-
fant on her knee, she says — "little lamb."

But the most triumphant of all animals is the
rooster. Glad are we to hear his "clarion" out in
the free air once more. Lord of the manor is he,
by an inherent right which no one would think of
disputing. That he is weather-wise, is abundantly
])roved by the old stanza,

"Crow on the fence,
The storm's going hence ;
Crow on the grounrl,
The storm's coming clown."

[Of course we do not hold ourselves responsi-
ble for the rhyme of "ground" and "down."]

It must hav» beea in consideration of this pe-
culiar gift of his, that his efRgy has been so long
used as a weather vane, and, in our opinion,
nothing so handsome has ever been substituted
for it. R,ampant horses, wooden men with
swords in their hands, oxen, fishes, arrows, — none
of these come up to the mark, like a real old-
fashioned weather cock. A\'lien he Avotild foretell
Tair weather, how triumphantly he

"Turns his goWen crest,

To catch the breezes of tlie West."

But when a storm is brewing, he switches his
long tail-feathers about, and looks defiantly to
the north-east, letting the wind and rain beat
against his breast Avith unshrinking boldness.

When a certain barn was burned to the ground,
and two unfortunate pigs perished in the flames,
a young man was heard to remark that he did not
care so much for the property, "but he did hate
to see human nater burnt."

Everybody laughed, but the individual in ques-
tion Avas not so very far out of the way, besides
showing a sympathizing spirit which did him hon-
or. There is, in fact, a great deal of "human na-
ter" In animals, as every one may know who will
watch their habits and customs.

Existence should be made much more pleasant
to them than it is, for between them and us there
is this difference, that while all our suffering is,
or may be, disciplinary, and will be more than
made up to us hereafter, tJiey suffer without know-
ing why, without even being capable of improv-
ing by it, and when they die by violence to min-
ister to our wants, or perish after a life spent in
our service, that, as we suppose. Is the end. They
have no reward. Ought not the harmless crea-
tures, then, to receive kindness from our hands ?
Is the subject beneath our notice ?

When the world is waking up to life, and an
electric thrill of happiness nuis through us, in
which all animal and vegetable things seem to
sympathize, what an appropriate time to put into
practice human resolves !

For the New England Farmer.

FOWL MEADOW GKASS.

Messrs. Editors : — When I was a boy in my
native town, Lancaster, Worcester country, there
was a tract of land, lying on both sides of the
Nashua River, which had never been cleared, of-
fered for sale, which my father bought. He hired
help, and cut off a large amount of lumber. On
the intervale, there were patches of grass quite ex-
tensive, which he called native grass. But at hay
time, one of his mowers said it was called "fowl
meadow grass," and so named, (as I remember ho
said,) because a remarkable fowl was found dead
there. I never knew it cultivated, till I reaped off the
heads, some fifty-six years ago, which I have often
done since. Trying it on different soils and sea-
sons of the year, mixed and alone, I esteem it
first rate stock hay. Sown on the surface of damp
burnt land, it does admirably, and will not run out.
If cut late. I will not say that eai'ly cutting kills
it, or that it requires the annual dropping of ripe
seed ; but, as requested, give my experience. Be-
ing tender at first, I sow it alone, and on plowed
ground, and only roll it in. Benj. Willard.

Land Titles in California. — As Illustrative
of the deplorable uncertainty of land titles In
California, Mr. Greeley says, in one of his letters.

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

107

"I met to-day an intelligent farmer who has had
three different farms in this State, and has lost
them successively by adjudications adverse to
his title." And, in spealdng of the privileges of
miners, he adds : '"To dig up a man's fenced gai'-
den, or dig down his house, in quest of gold, is
the legal right of any miner," subject, of course,
to payment of damages, if the roving miner
should prove responsible.

For the A'ew England Farmer.
KECLAIMIIfG SALT MARSHES.

Mr. Editor : — I have been looking into your
Farmer for the last three years to se-j something
touching the marine meadows that line the shores
of New England. They have received very little
attention, judging from the agricultm-ai papers,
and the reports of the State and county societies.
Though salt marsh was successfully reclaimed a
hundred years ago by Rev. Jared Elliot, of Kil-
lingworth, Ct., and fine crops of clover and herds
gi'ass produced, I do not now know of half a dozen
instances where the improvement has been made.

From the little experience and observation I
have had of these lands, I am persuaded that they
are much the best grass lands in the country, and
that no improvement upon a shore farm will paj-
so well as the reclaiming of these wastes. There
are thousands, yes, millions of acres, of these
marshes lying all along our sea-board, that can be
economically reclaimed. They now produce a va-
riety of marine grasses that barely pay the ex-
pense of cutting. Cattle eat a little of the hay, by
way of relish, but do not thrive upon it. The best
use it can be put to, is bedding and manure mak-
ing. For the purpose of calling the attention of
your readers along the seaboard to these unprized
lands, I M-ish to make a brief statement of a little
operation, that has come under my own observa-
tion.

The reclaimed marsh lies within the limits of
Stonington borough, and just inside of the Prov-
idence and Stonington Railroad. It embraces
about nine acres, one of which is now occupied by
the Stonington and New London Railroad, leav-
ing about eight acres of the improved land. A
small stream runs through it in the winter. In
the fall of 1855, a side gate was put into the cul-
vert, at the railroad embankment, through which
this stream empties into the sea. This culvert
was the only outlet, and the gate completely con-
trolled the access of the sea-water. As the cul-
vert was made of stone, and the passage was only
about four feet in width and depth, the expense
of stopping the sea-water was small, not exceed-
ing five dollars. The old ditches around the edge
of the marsh Avere cleared out, and some new
ditches M'cre made, cutting off" all the fresh water
that came in from the adjoining uplands. The
marsh could only be cbained about eighteen
inches, owing to the stone bottom of the culvert,
and the small rise and fall of the tide at this place.

The first summer after the tide gate was put in,
nothing was done with the land, except to mow it,
and watch the change in the vegetation. It had
been the custom of the former owners of the
marsh, to get about two loads of salt hay on the
nine acres, not enough to pay for mowing. The

first season after the improvement, the hay was
more than doubled, and the quality was very
much improved. It was also observed that dande-
lions, dock, and other upland plants, had started
iu many places. It was inferred that grasses
would grow where weeds did, and in the fall of
1850 and the spring of '57 clover, herds grass and
red-top seeds were sown on the greater part of
the marsh. Some of it was sown upon the snovr.
Nothing Avas done to the seed, by way of cover-
ing ; most of it took well, and pure herds grass,
three feet high, was cut in July from seed soAvn
about three months before.

Seeing that the land Avas disposed to make so
good returns, for every thing that Avas done for it,
the ncAV OAvncr spread various kinds of soil upon
the surface, to help the groAvth of the grass anoth-
er season. Garden soU, gravel, yellow loam, ditch
mud and compost from the yard, Avere spread on
in various places. The poorest grass Avas upon
that part that had no di-essing, but this yielded
not far from a ton to the acre. That dressed Avith
gravel yielded better, that Avith yellow loam bet-
ter still, that Avith garden soil better yet, and that
dressed Avith ditch mud Avas about equal to that
covered with compost.

A part of it, designed for pasture, Avas soAved
Avith a mixture of AA'hits and red clover and herds
grass seeds. It Avas also dressed about half Avith
garden soil, and half Avith ditch mud. This acre
and a half has pastured two coavs five months the
past season. It Avould have yielded at least four
tons of good hay. From the rest of the marsh
about thirteen tons of good hay Avere cut, a part
of Avhich Avas sold, in the field, for tAvelve dollars
a ton. Had the Avholc been kept in meadoAv, and
the hay sold, it Avould have come to over two
hundred dollars, or one hundred and fifty dollars
clear of all expense.

In the course of the improvement over tAvo
hundred cords of muck have been taken from the
ditches, a part of Avhich has been sold at a dollar
a cord, and the rest used upon the adjacent up-
land. It is estimated that this muck has more
than paid for all the expense of ditching, and to^''-
dressing, and grass seed. The land is now Avor h
three hundred dollars an acre, and Avill pay sevt i
per cent, on that sum as long as it is taken care c !".

From this statement it Avill be seen, that there
is no more inviting field for improvement than
these marshes. The chief expense Avill be in the
embankment ; but many of these marshes are s't-
uated along the banks of creeks, presenting a nar
row border to the sea, so that every rod of dA'kirg
Avould protect an acre of land. These marshes do
not noAV, as a rule, pay the interest on five dol-
lars an acre, and they can be bought from five t ;■>
fifty dollars an acre. As soon as they are re-
claimed, they Avill pay the interest on from one to
two hundred dollars an acre.

What an immense addition it Avould be to the
productive Avealth of NeAV England, if all these
marine Avastes Avere reclaimed, and made to do
their duty ! Hoav long Avill farmers sufier theili
to be idle, and complain that farming does not
pay? W. Clift.

Stonington, Ct., Jan. \2th, 1860.

In England there is liberty Avithout equality
In France there is equality without liberty.

108

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

March

For the New England Farmer.
IS FAKMING PROFITABLE?

Mr. Editor : — So long as men are governed
by the natural inclinations of their hearts, so long
as they are controlled by the love of money more
than by love for their neighbor, so long will this
inquiry be applied to every department of busi-
ness in which men are engaged. If you offer eni-
2)loyment to him who carries the hod ; if you seek
for one to enter the halls of learning ; if you open
the halls of science, and invite one to come in and
labor there ; if you point to the chair of office, and
say to your friends, the public good demands of
you to seek it ; if you open the church door, and
look for the servant of God to proclaim the news
of salvation ; by each and every one, the first in-
quiry which meets you is : Is it profitable ? Will
it pay ? I am aware that this is no new subject
for your columns, <but as I am a tiller of the soil,
with very limited means, I am possessed of some
facts which, if brought to light, may help to stay
the rush of our young men to other professions
which offer them speedy returns, but less pi-ofit.

What I now propose in order to show you that
fiirming is profitable, is to give you the history of
a young man who has been under my notice for
the last six years. A young man in this county, in

the town of , purchased a farm of eighty acres

of land in a run down condition, in a stony, rough
section. For this farm he promised to pay $2,400,
which at the time was thought by the neighbors
to be all the place was worth, but being of a reso-
lute mind, having a strong arm and willing heart,
he determined to try his luck. Having been a
reader of the New England Farmer and Massa-
cJmsetts PLoiiglinian for years, he did not adopt
the opinions nor practice of his neighbors, but
.struck out a line of policy for himself, bringing to
his aid all the information which could be gathered
to suit his own case, both from reading and ob-
servation, so that at this time, where stood the old
brush pine, stands the substantial stone Avail.
The rocks have many of them disappeared from
the mowings, some of the wet lands have been
uuderdrained, and the best of grasses have taken
the place of the poorest. The old barn, without a
cellar, has been re-modelled and enlarged, to ac-
commodate the increase of crops, until the passer
by beholds a modern barn of eighty feet in length,
with a cellar under the whole. The house has also
been entirely put in order, shade trees have been
set out, the yard has been ornamented by setting
the larch, fir, cheri-y, crab-apple and various kinds
of roses. Flowers, also, have come in for a large
piece of ground, and have served to make the or-
namental department complete. He would never
keep any but the bes| of stock, and, as might be
expected, he obtained a large supply from his dai-
ry, which was the great secret of his success.

At the time he bought his farm, he was not
worth one dollar in the world ; he had to run in
debt for both farm and stock, fiirming tools, house
furniture, and every item of personal property
which he possessed. This will be sufficient for
you to see that if to-day he is worth any thing, he
must have made farming profitable. Now I will
give you the result of his labors. He has recent-
ly sold his farm to one of his old neighbors for
$700 more than he ]xud for it, and he is now able
to tell \how he stands in the world. To my own

personal knowledge, he is to-day Avorth hundreds
of dollars in cash. If you ask him if farming is
profitable, he Avill at once replj^ Yes.

As might be expected, while he was farming
with so much intelligence, and enterprise, he has
been one of the foremost in all matters of town,
society and district. In a great measure bj his ef-
forts, has an agricultural society been established
in this town, and none have been more ready to
give both time and money to help forward any
enterprise which promised to be of benefit to the
community around him.

Now, Mr. Editor, I would like to knoAV in Avhat
business could that young man have engaged,
without means, Avhich would have given him so
good a living, so much comfort, so much pleas-
ure, so much health, and at the same time make
to him so good a return for his labor ? In clos-
ing, let me say that I believe no business, if con-
ducted with intelligence, is more profitable than
farming. And I would say to all young men who
have been brought up on a farm, qualify your-
selves for your business, and by all means stick
to farming. Strive to be a fiirmer in the fullest
sense of that word, by improving your land, and
increasing your crops, and not be an exhauster of
the soil. Profit.

Far the New England Farmer.
THE "WEATHER OF 1859.

Mr. Editor : — I herewith present a feAV re-
marks upon the Aveathcr of the tointer viontlis of
1859, which have not been before treated upon in
the Farmer, and which complete my history of the
weather of 18o9, at least that portion I choose to
offer the public. Though the other months have
been commented upon at some length by me on
pages 3-59 and 484 of the last volume of the month-
ly Farmer, it may be well to briefly recall the
leading features of each month; while I annex
tables showing the mean temperature, days of
Avind from various quarters, storms, clear and
cloudy days, &c., for each month and for the year.

Januarij, taken together, Avas not a severe Avin-
ter month, but was quite peculiar, and strongly
marked by an almost unprecedented storm of snoAV
— nearly Iavo feet falling betAveen ten, P. M., on
the 3d and three, P. M., on the 4th, Avhich, drift-
ing badly, rendered the roads generally impassa-
ble till broken out Avith heavy teams and shovels
— and by a term of cold that has no parallel on
the local records of this region. The only recent
time that fairly enters into competition Avith it
Avas in January, 1857, Avhen the mercui-y continued
beloAV zero at one time {ox forty -three consecutive
hours — from six, P. M., on the 22d, to one, P. M.,
on the 24th, — Avhile the mercury Avas below zero
in January, 1859, for sixty hours in succession,
or for two days and a half, covering the 10th and
11th; and the loAvest point in both cases Avas 26°
below zero. On Monday, the 10th, the tempera-
ture Avas 8° beloAV zero at sunrise, or at seven
o'clock, and the cold gradually increasing, AA'as 1 1°
below at eight; 14° beloAvat quarter past nine ; at
ten, 13° beloAv ; at tAvelve M., 1 1° beloAv ; at three,
P. M., 10° below; at 4^, P. M., 12° below ; and at
ten, P. M., 20° beloAV ! and on the foUoAving morn-
ing 2G° below, AA'hile a thermometer half a mile
from mine indicated 30° beloAV ! Added to this .

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

109

was a strong, piercing wind from the north, which
greatly increased the apparent intensity of the
cold, and rendered travelling vdiolly unsafe, and
accounts of frozen limbs and even death by freez-
ing were not unfrequently reported ; yet the sky
was clear and the sun bright throughout nearly
the whole day. The mean temperature of the 10th
was 12.67° below zero, (8° below zero being the
highest point of the day !) and of the following
day the 11th, 11.5° below; the nearest recorded
approaches to this being 9.5° below on the 23d of
January, 1857, and 4.33° below on the 18th of the
same month and year.

The general character of the remainder of the
month was quite mild, and the mean temperature
of the whole month was 24.48°. Excluding five
days commencing vrith the 8th, the temperature
of the month would be 20.19°, or only about three
degrees below the freezing point. The highest
temperature of the month was 44° above zero, and
the lowest 26° below zero, giving the unusual
range of 70° for one month. The warmest day
was the 6th, with a mean temperature of 35.83°
above zero, and the coldest was the 10th, with a
mean temperature of 12.67° below zero — a difier-
ence of 48.5° between the mean temperatures of
two days in one month, and even but four days
apart.

A very large amount of water was deposited in
the rain and snow of the month, three heavy
storms of rain occurring, and the ground was
covered with a thick stratum of ice, so that the
sleighing was good, though but very little snow
fell after the heavy storm in the fore part of the
montli- There was much cloudy and disagreeable
weather, and though there were some fine days,
the unpleasant elements predominated ; and by
consulting the annexed tables the amount of
cloudiness may be ascertained, as well as the num-
ber of days of wind from the several quai'ters from
which it came.

February was much milder than that month
usually is, but the sleighing was tolerably good
throughout the month, the ground being covered
with a thick layer of ice, in consequence of the
frequent rainstorms, but not a large quantity of
snow fell. Cloudiness was a characteristic of the
weather, and storms of snow or rain were very
frequent, four of the former occurring, in which
fell fourteen inches of snow, and five of the latter,
averaging a storm for every third day ; and there
were but four clear days in the whole month. The
mean temperature of the month being 29.44°, was
but little below the freezing point ; and the range
of the temperature was quite uniform, one week
varying but little from the others. The highest
temperature was 53°, on the 23d, and the lowest
was 4°, on the 27th. The coldest day was the 12th,
having a mean temperature of 17°; the warmest
was the 23d, with a mean temperature of 40°.

December came in with two remarkably warm,
lowery, Indian summer-like days, the thermome-
ter standing at 66° in the shade, (in which all ob-
servations are given,) on the 2d, or three degrees
higher than on the 4th of July, while the mean
temperature of the day was 54° ; the 2d of De-
cember, 1859, being but half a degree colder than
the 4th of July of the same year ! a pretty fair
specimen of the eccentricity of the year 1859, in
a meteorological point of view. The weather be-
came cold, however, on the 3d, and the remain-

der of the month was rather colder than the aver-
age of winter months. Towards the close of the
month the weather was even remarkably cold, the
mean temperatnre of the 28th being 5.67° below
zero, while the temperature at sunrise on the 29th
was 18° below zero ; and this is reported to be
the coldest December weather that has occurred
in this region in the last ten years. On the 9th
the temperature was one degree below zero, it
having fallen 54° during the thirty-six hours pre-
ceding ; and during the month the tem])erature
was five times below zero at sunrise, as foUov.s :
on the 9th, 1° below ; on the 10th, 1° below ; on
the 28th, 12° below; on the 29th, 18° below; and
on the 31st, 8° below. The mean temperature of
the month was 22.11°. The highest tomperatur'^
was 66° above zero, and the lowest was 18° below
zero, giving the remarkably great range of tem-
perature for one month of 84°.

It was a characteristic of the storms that they
commenced with snow or sleet, t-aid almost invari-
ably terminated with a fall of rain. The sleigh-
ing, however, was fair throughout nearly the whole
month. There were eight storms, depositing
twenty inches of snow and sleet, and with the rain
equalling 3.94° inches of water. For further par-
ticulars, respecting the wind, &c., reference may
be had to the tables, in the two months above.

The leading features of March were its mild-
ness and the early opening of spring — the snow
generally disappearing by the 10th, and the ground
was quite free from frost as early as the 20th — al-
though it was marked by very heavy and disas-
trous freshets in the valley of the Connecticut
River.

The month of April was quite fine, and tor-
tured by no severe extremes, the season preserv-
ing its forwardness with but slight interruptions,
the pastures being green at the close of the month,
at which time many trees were expanding their
leaves.

And through May, even, the development of
vegetation was rather more rapid than usual,
cherry trees being in full blossom on the 9th, and
apple trees on the 18th — a sufficient encomium
upon the season.

But clouds, and rain, and cold nights, Avere
prominent features in the weather of June, frosts
injuring the newly planted crops of corn and po-
tatoes, and severely nipping vegetation in gener-
al. Indeed, the weather was too cold for vegeta-
tion to advance but slowly, and the superabun-
dance of moisture was hardly a less evil to the
farmer.

July was a very fine month, agreeable alike to
hay-makers and the growing crops.

August was much more doubtful for the farmer,
the fore part being very warm, v.-hile the last part
was unusually cool, and there was a scanty supply
of rain, and though vegetation suffered much
from drought in some localities, it escaped its ef-
fects generally here. Light frosts near its close
severely threatened it, yet it escaped "with a
shiver," as one has remarked.

September was quite cool throughout, and very
dry during the first half, while the frosts about
the middle injured the corn crop, so backward this
year, very severely.

October was even still more disagreeable, if not
unfavorable, with its cold clouds and rough winds,
the wrather better befitting the month of Novem-

110

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

Makch

bcr than October ; while November was as remark-
able for its mildness and agreeability ; yet there
was a scanty supi)ly of water in this month.

In short, the year in some respects was quite
unfavorable for the farmer, the corn crop giving a
light yield of sound grain, though other crops
came in as well as usual, except, perhaps, fruits.
There was frost in some localities in every month,
and only sixty-six days passed in succession with-
out frost here.

If the reader would learn further particulars in
regard to the weather of this region the present
year, than can be obtained from the above, and
the following table, a somewhat full account of it
may be found in previous numbers of the Farmer.

The following table shows the liighest and low-
est temperature of each month, and the mean
temperature, and also tlie mean temperature at
sunrise, noon, and sunset. The dash, (thus, -26°)
indicates below zerc<

Table op Temperature, 1S59.

Min. Max.
Temp. Temp.

Mean
Temp.

Mean at Mean at Mean,
Himri.ie. Noon. Simset.

January,
February,
March,
April,

May,

June,

July,

August,

September,

October,

November,

December,

Year,

44-

24.4S°
20.44
37.14
42.94
57.31
62.95
67.53
66.31
57.15
45.03
41.30
22.11

46.19

28.16°
33.32
41.71
47.73
65.52
6S.83
75.81
73.55
63.57
51.09
45.03
27.07

51.S2

25.90°
29.71
39.51
46.05
59.49
61.90
65.68
63.13
58.87
47.01
42.70
23.55

47.43

The table next following gives the number of
days of vi'ind from the various quarters from which
it has blown during eacii month the past year.
Under the head of c((Im are placed t])ose days in
which the wind was very light and unstead}-, and
the currents constantly changing, as well as when
a breeze was imperceptible. It also shows the
number of Auroras and halos.

T.\DLE SbOWINQ the NUMBER OP T^AYS OP WIND FROM DIF-
FERENT QU.VETERS IN 1859.

►4

fe;

January,

Fobruai-y,

March,

2.',

81-

April,

May,

June,

July,

August,

September

, 11

Oitobcr.

]

November

, 10

December,

■*

Total,

1181

15.i

41 .\

85 i

Average,

9 5-6

1 7-24

5.1

5-6

3 11-24

7.\

-I

15-6

The next table gives the number o^ days that
were clear, cloudy, tolerably clear, &e., together
with the number of storms of rain and snow, and
amount. Under the head of tolerabli/ clear are
placed tliose days in which the sun shone most of
the time, though clouds abounded, and under the
head of quite cloudy, those in which clouds pre-
dominated, though there were several hours of
sun. \

Table of Storms, Clear and Cloudy Days, &c., 1859.
t," "Si.;; 5, C Falls of Snow. Rain.
<J O En o O'o ^o. Indies. No. Inches.*

.Tanuary,

4.30

February,

2.77

March,

5.82

April,

Squalls

sleet.

2.51

May,

4.03

June,

7.63

July,

2.54

August,

4.36

September,

4.54

October,

A few flakes.

1.90

November,

2.70

December,

3.57

Total,

46.67

Average,

S',

6.1

3.89

There were also seventeen thunder-shoicers, as
follows : 1 in May, 6 in June, 5 in July, 3 in Au-
gust, 1 in October, and 1 in November.

Springfield, Mass., Jan. 2, 1860.

J. A. A.

* The statistics in regard to the amount of rain, are taken
from the record kept at the U. S. Armory in this city, by S. Ad-
ams, Esq., clerk of the Armory, to whose kindness I am indebted
for their insertion here.

A SILVER PITCHEK GIVEK^ TO A
FAEMBR!

Swords, gold-headed canes, plate and other tes-
timonials of gratitude and respect, have been pre-
sented to "public benefactors," from time imme-
morial— for aught we know ; at any rate, we have
often read and heard of such things. But we
find in the New York Tribune an account of a
presentation, that strikes us as something new, so
far as the character of the services rewarded are
concerned. A silver pitcher and two goblets have
oeen presented to a farmer, in recognition of his
services as a farmer.

Many years ago, a poor young man bought a
farm near Seneca Lake, New York. Much of the
soil was a cold, heavy clay. As fast as he could,
he drained off the water, put in the manure, and
demonstrated, by example, that farming may be
made profitable. In 1835 he imported patterns of
drain tile, and commenced his experiments in this
line of improvement with tiles made by the slow
process of hand labor. Machinery was soon used
in their manufacture, and in 1851 he had laid six-
teen miles of tile drains. Finding tliat the more
he drained, and the more he manured, the richer
he grew, he ventured to recommend hi.s coin-se to
other farmers, and became a frequent contributor
to the agricultural journals of New York. In one
of his articles, written the I7th of December last,
and published in the Rural New-Yorker, in reply
to some strictures on his system of "high feeding,"
he says :

"I will state that I can with more certainty cal-
culate on three tons of hay per acre, now, than I
could on one, thirty-six years ago, and I can safely
calculate on one acre in pasture feeding more
stock, and much better, than three would have

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

Ill

done at that time, while I can almost always make
one-half more grain of any kind than I did then
— of oats or corn far more than double. High
feeding and high manuring did all this."

By affixing his own signature to these publica-
tions, the name of John Johnston has long been
familiar to the readers of agricultural papers, and
he is sometimes called the "Great Tile Drainer,"
of New York.

The presentation of a service of plate to such
a man, by a number of the most respectable citi-
zens of a great State, we regard as an event of
interest to farmers generally, as indicating a wil-
lingness on the part of the public to hoj.cr those
who introduce improvements in the cultivation of
the soil, and to admit them to rank among the
benefactors of the race.

The Tribune gives the following description of
the articles presented to Mr. Johnston :

"The testimonial consists of a massive silver
pitcher and two goblets, on all of which are en-
graved and embossed appropriate agricultural em-
blems. On one shield of the pitcher is represent-
ed a reaping field as it appears in our daj^, on
another a mowing machine at work, and the third
bears the following inscription :

Presenterl to Jonx Johnston, in recognition of his services
to lbs Agriculture of New Yorlv, by his fellow-citizens.

John A. King, and 19 others.

The goblets bear the representation of men lay-
ing tiles for drains, a ditch-digging machine, tile
machine, and all manner of small tools used in 'the
stupid burial of crockery' — as an English lord
was pleased to term tile draining a few years ago."

For the New England Farmer.

MODES OY TAXTIvTG PKOPERTY.

Mr. Editor : — Your correspondent R. M.,
asks your interposition as a legislator, to modify
the law, as to the assessment of taxes. I do not
understand him to say that jiropcrty should not
be taxed equally and proportionately wherever it
is found. It would certainly be difficult to legis-
late that one thousand dollars should be taxed in
the possession of one man more or less than in
the possession of another. Nor would the inequal-
ity be relieved by shifting the burden of taxation
from the mortgager to the mortgagee, becavise
all this would be guarded against by the mortga-
gee when he received his mortgage.

If a provision could be made for a full disclo-
sure of property by those v.ho hold it, under a
penalty of a forfeiture of the property, if not dis-
closed for the purposes of taxation, this would be
as effectual a mode of bringing it out as could be
adopted by law. I am of the opinion that the poor
man's homestead not exceeding one thousand dol-
lars in value should be exempted from taxation,
as well as from debt. This would greatly lessen
the number of persons liable to be taxed, and
leave the burden upon the holders of properly,
who are the persons mainly benefited by taxes be-
ing paid. p.

January, 1860,

For the New England Farmer.
DITCHING PLO'WS— TILE DRAIKTS.

Mr. Editor : — In an article on drainage pul
lished in the N. E. Farmer some time since, I fiu

b-
fiud
the following remark : "Care should be taken
not to move with loaded teams on the surface of
the field so as to jar the tile fi"om their places."
Now I wish to inquire if this is so ? Can it be
that tile are so easily displaced as this ? I should
think that ])erhaps they might be disturbed in this
way when laid in swamps, but I had supposed up-
on uplands it Avas not needful to use such precau-
tions. I have never yet used tile, l)ut have recent-
ly laid a consideral)le amount of stone drains, and
having found these to be rather costly, I have
been thinking of giving tiles a trial.

Have any of the new ditching plows yet been
used in this vicinity ? I mean such as are de-
scribed in the Register of Eara^ Affairs for 1S60.
Can they be obtained in Boston ? if so, where ?
and at what price ? and which patterns ?

One great reason why drain tile are not more
used is, because the makers charge an exorbitant
profit upon them ; they are sold in England for
about one-half the price which is demanded here.
If some one in this vicinity would go into the
manufacture of tiles, and sell them at a moderate
])rice, he might do well for himself, and greatly
increase the use of tiles. w. D.

Jan. 3, 1860.

Remarks. — If tiles are well laid as low as they
ought to be, viz. : between three and four feet be-
low the surface, we cannot believe that there is
danger of displacing them by passing over them
M'ith loaded teams.

We are not aware that the ditching plows are
either made, sold or used in this vicinity. Drain
tile is sold at too high a price, but we hope the
multiplication of machines will reduce it. A sim-
ple machine will soon be furnished at a very low
price, and one that can be put in use upon any
farm where clay is found, and the tile made by
the most inexperienced persons. So we are told.

New Hampshire State AcaiicuLTURAL So-
ciety.— At a recent meeting of the above society,
the following persons were chosen officers for the
ensuing year :

President — Wm. F. Estes, Dover.

Secretary — Aaron Young, Dover.

Treasurer — Frederic vSmyth, Manchester.

Directors — Dana Woodman, North Hampton ;
Nathaniel White, Concord; Alfred Hort, Dur-
ham ; John Preston, New Ipswich ; John S. Walk-
er, Cloremont.

Ohio Farmer. — This paper enters upon the new
year with some typographical improvements. It is
a sterling journal, — its editor having a good heart
as well as an intelligent head. He is one of the
Browns, surnamed Thomas, and does his work

up B in the most thorough manner. Long

life and prosperity to himself and his paper.

112

XEAV ENGLAND FAiniEH.

!Maiich

TALL CRO-WPOOT, OK BUTTEKCUPS.

Philosophers say there is some compensation
for everything in life that ^ye are accustomed to
look upon as an ill. That even a jumping tooth-
ache, or a nip of the sciatic nerve, is not an un-
qualified evil, — that around it or behind it, some-
where, there lie crumbs of comfort that compen-
sate in some measure for the pangs inflicted. He
who has been cut off from the world by sickness,
and daily looks out from his window upon the
moving multitudes as they go up and down in
their pursuits, will be surprised to learn how many
compensations for him there are, upon reading
Bulwer's "Consolations in a Sick Boom."

So it is in another kingdom. The farmer con-
siders many things as coils, which, properly un-
derstood, may be found to be blessings. He
looks out upon his broad fields and meadows,
covered with buttercups, and sighs that they are
not all sweet clover, purple-bloom-
ing herds grass or silky red-top, for-
getting how his children gather the
cups, or chase the butterflies among
the despised but showy plants — or
how lovingly his city visitors look
upon the gay scene, and listen to
the song of the bob-o-links that
rear their young and sing to each
other amidst this world of flowers.

This is an introduced Aveed ; it is
common in New England and in New
York State. There is another spe-
cies, growing about one foot high,
while this which we have illustrated
grows two feet high. Both species are popularly
known as buttercups, and in some localities are so
abundant in meadows, as to appear at a distance
like an unbroken sheet of golden yellow. On ac-
count of their acid juice, cattle do not eat them in
their fresh state, nor do they care much for them
when dried. About a dozen other species are to
be found in the woodland and meadows, and a few
aquatic ones in streams and ponds. It is a rank
and hardy plant, has become quite a nuisance to
farmers, and ought to bo eradicated upon its first
appearance in their grounds. It is said that beg-
gars in Europe use ii for the sake of making their
faces red, or exciting ulcers, and thereby excit-
ing sympathy.

The reader will find both species illustrated and
more fully explained in Darlington's Weeds and
Useful Plants.

Fig. 3, in the illustration, snows the whole
plant. Fig. 4, is an enlarged flower, divided, to
show the distinct parts. Fig. 5, is a head of seed.
Fig. 6, the seed or fruit.

' A family broil spoils the best broth.

JTur ihe Neto En<^land Farmer.

OXTR -WIISrTER HESIDEISTT BIKDS.
BY S. P. FOWLER.

Upon noticing a flock of snow bifds, gathering
their scanty subsistence, during a severe snov/-
storm in the de])th of winter, the thought arises
in the mind, how do these beautiful little speci-
mens of ornithology get a living ? and why do
they not all perish ? Upon looking over our win-
try landscape, and observing the Gos Hawk, wi
are led to inquire why this vigorous bird does no
use its wings for a few hours, in reaching a mon
temperate climate, instead of beating over o\\:
frozen fields and meadows, striving to capture ai
unsuspicious Tree Sparrow, or seize a carelesf
field mouse. In regard to the first question, how
our winter resident birds obtain their food, Ave
Avould remark, that the Finches feed principally
upon the seeds of Avecds and grass, and find an
abundant supply. The Partridges and Grouse
feed in Avinter upon seeds, berries, and tlie larva
of insects, when they can be obtained ; and Avhen
these fail, in consequence of deep snows, tlicy re-
sort to various trees to obtain their buds, careful-
ly selecting those that give promise of fruit.
Woodpeckers, Nuthatches, Creepers and Titmice,
that feed principally ui)on the larva of insects,
which perforate trees, or lie concealed under their

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

113

bark, or in other retreats, can carry on these ope-
rations in winter, in procuring food, as -well as in
summer. Jays have a habit of collecting and
hoarding grain, nuts and acorns in hollow trees,
or between layers of bark, by which they are en-
abled to pass the winter comfortably. Crows, in
cold weather, visit the seacoast for food, and dur-
ing the late severe weather, great numbers of these
sagacious birds were seen winging their way from
the interior to the ocean for supplies, which this
great reservoir of food is ever ready to furnish
all animated nature. The splendid Pine Gros-
beak from Hudson's Bay, which sometimes visits
us in severe winters like the present, never loses
its daily food, by finding its nuts too hard to crack,
or the White Winged Cross Bill its dinner, by
finding a pine cone so close, that it cannot pick
it open with its crooked bill. The birds of prey,
including the Shrikes, sometimes find it difficult
to obtain a living in winter, and resort to low and
poor f:ire, which they would disdain to eat in sum-
mer. Like all rapacious animals when hungry,
they become bold, and exhibit great temerity, and
contrive by rapine and plunder to live through
the cold season.

In reply to the question, hovv' do our birds ef-
fectually resist the extreme cold of our winters,
we would say by their being clad in new, clean
garments, without rents or seams, and in many
Instances provided with a covering for their legs
and feet, that require no weekly darning or a
patch.

Reader, did you ever see a White Owl ? You
may see several in some winters, if you are abroad,
and your eyes are open to objects of nature. If
you have seen and examined this fine bird, we
think you must admit, that it possesses a perfect
winter garment ; you noticed that not a particle
of its body was to be seen, except the ends of its
clav.s and bill ; you may however have discovered
a little, thin spot under each vring ; this seeming
defect is obviated by the bird's pressing more
closely its pinions to its body. These bare spots
under the wings of all birds, are necessary. In
a summer's day, oppressed with heat, we strip off"
our clothes ; our bird cannot divest itself of its
warm coat, when suffering from heat, but it can
effectually cool itself by raising its wings, and
admitting the fenning breeze. Like the Owls,
nearly all the species of Grouse inhabifling cold
climates, are feathered on their legs and toes.
Still, it is a wonder with many, how our small
birds can keep warmth in their little bodies, dur-
ing a cold winter's night. But they are furnished
with a warm coat of feathers, which in some birds
are of great length ; as, for instance, the Chickadee,
which, when plucked, only discovers to us an atom
of ornithology, but its little heart beats more
rapidly, and its blood flows more quickly, than in
birds of larger organization. Many birds resort
at nightfall to swamps in the forest, and seek shel-
ter in an evergreen tree, where, nestling on its
branch with their heads under their wings, or bur-
ied in feathers on their breasts, they are rocked
to sleep by the sweet lullaby of the wind, mur-
muring through the pine, and thus spend the long
and dreary night. Quails, living together in fam-
ilies, upon the approach of night, provide a shel-
ter for themselves during a snow storm, by seek-
ing some rising ground swept by the wind, and
beneath a bush or bramble form a close circle,

with their heads outwards, and. by their mutual
warmth, resist the effect of the cold.

Thus we see a benevolent Creator has pro-
vided our winter birds with clothing sufficient
to enable them to withstand the most inclement
weather, and with instincts to enable them to
procure their food, and to prompt them to place
themselves in the best positions to secure the
greatest amount of comfort and safety. Those
that are gregarious in their habits, ai-e lively and
social, and there is no better exhibition of winter
pastime, than a flock of Snow Buntings in a snoAv-
storm. Skating and coasting by a bovy of boys
and girls make some approach to it ; the youth in
their sports are the most noisy, but the frequent
call, and low, suppressed, tender twitter of the
birds, evince the more quiet joy. But, notwith-
standing the careful provisions of nature, birds
perish in considerable numbers during a severe
winter. These are probably old birds, some of
whom may perha])R have lost their power of moult-
ing, and are compelled to wear their summer dress-
es, or young birds not in full plumage. Mr. Audu-
bon speaks of killing a female AVhite-headed Ea-
gle, which, judging from its worn and faded plu-
mage, he supposed had lost the power of casting
its feathers, in consequence of its age.

In answer to the question, why our winter birds
do not seek a warmer climate, we vrould reply,
it involves the difficult subject of migration, and
would occupy more time and space than can now
be afforded.

Danversport, Jan. 10, 1860.

For the New England Farmsr.

"BUTTER nsr ■WIN-TEB."

Thus is headed an inquiry in your valued jour-
nal, Messrs. Editors, over date of November 27,
from a correspondent at New Bedford. Allow me
to aid him all in my power. From a most notable
housewife in this vicinity, I obtain this teaching.
After milking and straining, at once place the milk
obtained in a clean kettle, and scald it Avell over
the fire. Do not bring it to a boil, but simply scald
it gradually, but well. Place it away for skimming,
in a room of moderate temperature. When ready
to churn, warm it by setting the vessel that holds
it, (if earthen,) in hot water. Otherwise, bring
the cream to a point that holds no chill. Rinse
the churn in boiling water before using. Drain
out, and then "up and at it." In a short time
the result Avill be reached. I must remark this
process never has failed, from milkings not very
heavily oppressed with cream, the food of the cows
being ordinary meadow hay, with no other change
whatsoever. To obtain a bright or golden color,
(so difficult to be had in winter on any feed,) take
a few orange carrots, scrape them fine, immerse,
and soak in blood-warm water till the color be ful-
ly extracted. A portion of this, according to color
desired, may be put in the cream when churn-
ing. It is wholly harmless in character, and not
so repulsive to many, as "annotto," an article
doubtless well known. This process in wintei',
will secure the coming of butter, in less (at least
not over) 30 minutes' churning in a warm room,
and if coloring be used as designated, it wil) give
it of a pure June tint. Oak Hill.

114

KEW ENGLAND FARMER.

Marcu

For the New England Farmer.

FARM OF ETIISrE AND OISTE-HALS' ACRES.

Keplt to Inquiries of "C. L. W."

Mr. Editor : — "C. L. W." would like my ad-
vice as to buying a farm of 9^ acres.

It is difficult to advise people that you do not
know. Before advising a person, you want to
know his capacity for doing the particular thing
lie asks advice upon. If "C. L. W." likes garden-
ing, if he likes to weed beds and be doubled up
like a jack-knife during the hot part of the days
of May, June and July, weeding his beds, pick-
ing his strawberries, killing the bugs on his vines,
&c. ; if he can graft, bud and transplant, so that
nine-tenths of what he plants will live and do
well ; if he loves to market small articles, such as
a garden produces — if he loves busy work all the
time, late and early, then he will make a good
gardener.

If there is a good market near at hand for his
garden produce, he may make it profitable. The
apple and pear trees Avill not help him much the
fii'st ten years, yet they would suit me much bet-
ter than the other half of his garden.

If "C. L. W." has no taste fur the work him-
self— if the market is distant or doubtful, then
my friend would want capital to carry it on, rather
than to expect to make capital from it.

I am one of those farmers who believe in a
good large farm. Were I a young man, and going
to farming for a living, I should want from 100
to 200 acres of land. But I am not one of those
that think that I could make more money from
a little farm than a great one. I believe that
I can pay for a farm really worth $5000, if I had
to make the money from the farm, quicker than I
would from a $1000 farm. A man Avants about
the same cost in building, and about as many
tools, to carry on a small farm, as he does to car-
ry on a large one. If it will not pay to hire help
to farm, then you had better not farm for yourself,
but work out.

The great failure of those who have large farms
often is, that they do not work help enough.
They do not put in the crops. A man who has ten
acres plants one acre ; a man with one hundred
acres, should plant ten acres by the same rule.

I believe your doctrine is, Mr. Editor, that a
man should not cultivate any more land than he
can manure well ; but I do not believe in that
doctrine. I l)elieve if a man buys a v/orn-out farm,
as it is called, the best way is to tear up a good
lot of it and get something to put on it. At first
his crops may be light, but they will increase if
he continues to cultivate in that way, and put the
products back on the land, that is, if he spends
the produce on the Hirm.

But I have got far away from my starting-
point ; it was gardening and an orchard that I
started on, and not a farm. I never loved gar-
dening, and I only raise in my garden what I
want in my family. I will not weed carrots for
my cattle. I prefer to raise hay, corn, wheat and
oats for them. " El). Emerson.

EoUis, Dec. 24, 1859.

How TO Paint New Tin Roofs. — Scrape
off the rosin as clean as possible, and sweep the
roofs.^ Wash it with strong soda water, and let it

remain until a shower of rain has fallen upon it.
Give it a coat of pure Venetian red, mixed with
one-third boiled and two-thirds raw linseed oil ;
the second coat may be any color desired. The
soda water dissolves the rosin remaining after
scraping ; and it destroys the greasy nature of the
solder, and that of the new tin, so that there will
be sufficient "grip" for the paint to adhere firmly.
The pure Venetian red is one of the most durable
paints for metallic roofs, but is often rejected on
account of its color. The above mode of paint-
ing will set aside this difficulty. — Scientific Amer-
ican.

LEGISLATIVE AGSICULTTJRAL
MEETING.

[Reported for the New England Farmer by Thos. Bradley.]

The second meeting of the present series of the
Legislative Agricultural Society was held in the
Representatives' Hall at the State House on Mon-
day evening. There was a full attendance of
members and others, and the remarks of those
taking part in the discussion were frequently ap-
plauded.

The meeting was called to order by Hon. Si-
mon Brown, Chairman of the Executive Commit-
tee, who announced Hon. John A. Goodwin, of
Lowell, Speaker of the House of Representatives,
as Chairman of the evening.

On assuming the chau', Mr. Goodwin said that
the subject for discussion was, ^^What will tend to
make agriculture profitable and pleasarit as a
pursuit ?" He did not feel himself competent to
discuss the question as it ought to be discussed, as
he had not had time to devote to the considera-
tion of it on account of other public business, yet
it was a subject of such vital importance to our
Commonwealth that he felt it his duty to give his
views on it, notwithstanding they would be neces-
sarily somewhat rambling in their character.

He considered that the principal way in which
farming might be made both profitable and pleas-
ant, would be for agriculturists to till smaller
farms, alld instil more of the social clement into
their households. The population in the farming
districts of our State is so sparse, that young peo-
ple who have once been to the city become dissat-
isfied to remain at home, from the fact that in
consequence of the great size of farms there is no
sociability or amusement around home.

Mr. Goodwin then spoke of the County of Mid-
dlesex, which he considered a fair sample of the
State, and said that there were 4500 farms in that
county, and yet there was two-thirds of the land
which was not occupied for any purpose at all ;
there were men in the heart of the county who ob-
tain a living solely by hunting ; even in Concord
and Lincoln, the latter one of the best farming
towns in the Commonwealth, there are a number
of men whose living is gained in this way. This
two-thirds of the waste land, the speaker said, was

1860.

KEW ENGLAND FARMER,

115

not devoted to profitable wood raising, as even to
raise wood, he considered, was profitable at the
prices now obtained for it. He recommended that
to make our farming population more dense we
should have small farms and more of them, and
this would be the first great step in making agri-
culture both profitable and pleasant.

The honorable gentleman said that, if only half
the waste land in Middlesex County were put to
use, it would make 1000 farms of 56 acres each,
and with proper attention this would be as pro-
ductive land as any in the county. There is great
uneasiness, said the speaker, on the part of far-
mers' boys to get away from home, as their se-
cluded position there did not give them a chance
for that social improvement the human mind nat-
urally seeks.

In alluding to his advocacy of contracting the
length and breadth of farms, Mr. Goodwin urged
that the depth should be extended by deep plowing,
which, in this section, Avas too much neglected, the
average depth of plowing not exceeding five inches.
This would Mt the right remedy, and be undoubt-
edly profitable, as notwithstanding many other
doctrines which had been advocated had been "run
into the ground," it was not so in agriculture.

Mr. Goodwin said there were lots of land where
deep plowing would not do, but he thought that
in the large majority of farms the plowing was
not more than half deep enough. He then spoke
of manure, and said that the making of more of
this v/as essential to profitable farming, yet our
fdrnicrs mostly let the road washings, rotten
wood, decayed leaves, . soap-suds, and numerous
other fertilizers, go to waste at their very doors,
for the want of a knowledge of their value. It is
not in actual barn manure, said the speaker, that
the farmer has to use economy in collecting, but
in all those fertilizers that are so numerous
around a farm-house.

The speaker illustrated his argument in favor
of deep plowing by speaking of a man in Haver-
hill, who, by turning up the ground from a depth
of lu inches, and economy in his collecting ma-
nure, and properly mixing it, had raised his corn
produce in one year from 40 to 90 bushels to the
acre. The common expression, said he, when you'
attempt to explain the importance of attention to
the collection of fertilizers to farmers, is, "I can-
not afford to bother," when this very bother not
only is a sure source of profit, but with that a
pleasure. He did not believe in the great mass
of chemical compoimds brought into the market
as fertilizers Vv'ere of any good, and he was inclined
to pronounce many of them humbugs.

Pigs, said Mr. Goodwin, should be the hardest
workers on the farm, and his father difi"ered with
the majority of farmers in thinking the pork a
secondary consideration to the amount of work a

pig would do in working up the manure heap and
making comjiost. Our farmers, said he, devote
too much land to pasturage, which, from want of
care, was poor and unprofitable, and from this he
argued that smaller farms, more deeply worked
and well manured, would be the most profitable
to the owner. Mr. Goodwin said that in his opin-
ion there was nothing better to make farming
more jjleasant than good gardens, and he spoke of
the attention that was paid to this in Concord,
Wayland and Danvers, and said nothing paid
better or saved so much in household expenses.
An agricultural missionary, said the speaker, can-
not find a better text to preach upon than family
gardens.

Mr. Goodwin closed his remarks by sajing that
our village schools would be for better if farming
was better managed, and he thought this bar to
obtaining a better education -w-as one of the prin-
cipal reasons for this longing on the part of young
people to leave home.

Simon Bkown, editor of the JVew England
Farmer, was then called on to speak. He said
he felt encouraged by the interest that was mani-
fested in regard to the subject under discussion.
Two things operated as a hindrance to good and
pleasant farming ; one was, that agriculture was
looked on as an improfitahle employment, and
the other, that it was not so rcspedahle as other
occupations. He had travelled extensively among
the farmers of this State, and he knew that there
was no better plan to fiaad this out than by con-
ference with women, and in conversing with them
it will be found that nearly nine-tenths of the
girls would prefer a man for a husband in almost
any other business than that of farming.

The question as to how farming may be made
profitable and pleasant is not merely of impor-
tance to us, but to those who are to succeed us ;
and in considering the matter, our first object is
to secure happiness, and then profit. The man,
said Mr. Brown, is the most happy who has a
farm of fifty acres, paid for, with a house and ne-
cessary farm buildings on it, and with "a little
more than will make both ends meet." He can go
abroad, and know when he returns that he has a
liome with all its comforts, that he has a roof to
shelter him, a comfortable bed to lay down on,
and a table bountifully provided, around which his
wife and children gather with real pleasure ; he
is near a well populated village, and has a per-
manent home and permanent employment, thus
making him contented and happy. There are
few farmers of this class who do not lay by money,
and who have not an opportunity to educate a son
at college and thus supply the cities with men who
rarely fail to become prominent in some of the
professions. He contended that there would not
be found more than one farmer who became a

116

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

March

bankrupt to an hundred in any other occupation,
and this fact alone was the strongest argument as
to the profits of farming.

In conclusion, Mr. Brown advocated the sup-
port of farmers' clubs, and other gatherings of a
similar description, to infuse new life and vigor
into the family, and thus to make farming both
profitable and pleasant.

Mr. Wethehell was the next speaker, and he
took the same view of the subject as did Mr. Gard-
ner, of Swansey, at the last meeting, and argued
that farms were like factories, if left idle neither
would pay. He said that the argument in favor
of deep plowing would not apply to the majority
of farms in the State, as the land would not bear
it. He urged that a young man must love his
business, and then must be industrious, and study
to make it pay.

Mr. Gardner, of Swansey, differed from Mr.
Brown in relation to the matrimonial inclinations
of the ladies, and argued that every kind of busi-
ness, properly conducted, should be considered
honorable. One great trouble in driving sons of
farmers from home is to be found in the custom
which prevails among parents of telling their chil-
dren how hard a farmer's life is, and again in not
teaching young men the value of money, and the
importance of saving it. Again, the speaker said,
there is great fault in not selecting good seeds,
and not taking the proper time to gather them.
Hg spoke of fiirmers in his section who had plant-
ed corn which probably was not perfectly ripe
when it was put in the crib, and consequently,
they had to plant again, thus incurring unneces-
sary expense and loss of time. He spoke at length
on the importance of paying more attention to
this matter.

Mr. Proctor, of Danvers, considered that what-
ever was profitable was pleasant, and those who
labor have this in viev/. Profit, said he, should
not be the only aim of the Society, but it should
be also to make young men good citizens, and he
felt proud to say that in no class were they so
numerous as among fanners.

He said that there were 30 neighbors of his
who had on an average not more than 20 acres
each, who cleared, over and above expenses, from
$300 to $500 per year^ and these were among the
best citizens in the place. This profit was not
made by shallow but by thorough cultivation, by
attention to manure, putting on from 5 to 10 cords
to the acre, and the result being a yield of from
$50 to $100 per acre, a year, profit. These men,
eaid he, plow 10 inches deep, and cultivate their
fields like a garden, and do not make their money
by stock raising, or note shaving. In speaking
of the ladies, he said he was sorry to hear there
was any one so unwise as to prefer a man of anoth-
er ocbupation as a husband, to a farmer, as, in by

far the majority of cases, the farmer in declining
life was in better circumstances than any other
class of men.

Hon. N. Eddy, of Oxford, said he thought we
had too indiscriminate recommendation of deep
plowing, as the soil would not bear it. The trou-
ble was that our people undertake to farm too far
from a market, as in the case of the sale of hay by
some farmers, it will cost all the hay is worth to
transport the fertilizers obtained from the proceeds
of the sale. Mr. Eddy considered that the best way
to make our farms generally profitable was to pay
attention to the fattening of stock, bought in oth-
er States. In support of his argument, he called
attention to the profits made by graziers in New
York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, on cattle
bought in the West. He condemned the atten-
tion that was too much devoted to rough soils, and
closed his remarks by urging farmers to keep
themselves free from the hazards of speculation.

Mr. Asa Sheldon, of Wilmington, referred
briefly to the discussion of the subject at the for-
mer meeting, and expressed his pleasiu'e that the
article from the pen of Mr. Pinkham had waked
up our farmers. He amusingly alluded to the ar-
gument in favor of a ten hour system in farming,
and related an anecdote of his experience in road
making, which highly amused the meeting. Farm-
ing, said he, will never be either profitable or pleas-
ant, unless it is done freely, and it is to create a
love for it, that we should aim. He thought Mr.
Brown had told the truth about the ladies, but he
thought that if a girl had scruples about feeding
poultry, making cheese and butter, and doing
other household duties in a farm-house, he would
advise her never to give her hand to a farmer, as,
without pleasure, farming cannot be profitable.

Mr. Stoughton, of Gill, thought there was
nothing more profitable connected with farming
than stock raising, but he would say, that it should
be choice stock, as this cost no more to raise than
the common, and returned a very much larger
profit. He had an order in his pocket, then, for
two yearling Alderney heifers, to go to New Or-
leans, and he was to receive $125 each, for them,
delivered here. A market is what makes farming
profitable, and here Congress can help us, by a fa-
vorable tariff ; but to make farming profitable and
pleasant, each man must figure for himself, and
study his own farm, seeing Avhat he can raise best
on it, and for which he can find the best market.

Mr. BUCKMINSTER explained that he did not
mean to advocate the strict application of the ten
hour system to farming, but wished to have the
farmer shown how he could do the work of sixteen
hours in ten, by mathematical demonstration, and
thus increase his profits.

Mr. R. S. Fay, of Lynn, thought education
should be attended to, more than it noAV is in the

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

117

case of the farmer ; with the best common schools
in the world, the farmer's sou had nothing done
to fit him for following the profession of his father,
while he needed more instruction than a boy des-
tined for commercial pursuits. He advocated the
introduction of works on the nature of soils, geol-
ogy and botany, if no other works on similar sub-
jects, in our common schools, and the speaker said
he would go further and advocate the establishing
of a high school of agriculture in every county in
the State, and have young men taught until they
go on farms, and then there would be no fear but
they would do well. Mr. Fay said that looking
on farming in a political point of view, he consid-
ered farmers who own their own land the most
conservative men alive, and he would sooner leave
his fortune in the custody of a fai-ming community,
enjoying such advantages as he hoped to see, than
any other class. He hoped the present Legisla-
ture would take the first step to improve the means
of education for the farmer, and thus commence
T.'hat vrill eventually benefit our Commonwealth
more than anything else.

It was announced that the subject for discussion
at the next meeting would be, "Fruit, and Fruit
Culture," and that Hon. Marshall P. AVilder
was expected to preside.

On motion of Mr. Brown, the meeting then ad-
journed to Monday next, at 7 o'clock.

P. S. Ladies were also invited to attend.

For the Neic England Fanner.
THE CBEEPEB BREED OP SHEEP.

Mr. Editor : — I have noticed in the Farmer,
of late, some interesting items in relation to sheep.
But there is one variety of the sheep kind which
has not been mentioned, to my knowledge, in the
colums of your paper. I have reference to the
creeper (or Ancon) breed of sheep. I would like
to inquire, through the Farmer, if they are as prof-
itable to keep as the common sheep ? What are
the relative properties and qualities of them, com-
pared with other sheep ; and also, the relative
productiveness in wool and lambs ? Are they or-
derly and peaceable, with regard to fences ; or,
like the native, "long legged sheep," will they
leave the pasture, at any moment "the fit comes
on them," in quest of better feed ? Where can
this breed of sheep, pure bloods, be procured, and
at what price ?

If you, Mr. Editor, or any of j'our kind readers,
having had some experience in keeping two or
more breeds of sheep, and especially the creeper
breed, will answer the above inquiries, and give
any other information concerning them that may
be deemed requisite, a favor Avill not only be con-
ferred on me alone, but, I trust, on many others
interested in the subject. Samuel True.

Fast Salisbury, Mass., Jan. 4, 1860.

Rejl\rks. — We have no knowledge of this
breed of sheep.

EXTBACTS AND BEPLIES.
HOW TO SET THE TOPS OF FRUIT TREES.

Much useful information has been published
about digging large holes, placing the roots, filling
in the dirt, mulching, &c. But I write to suggest
how to set the tops, or rather, how not to set
them. Never set a tree leaning to the northeast,
because if you do, the sun will shine hot on the
upper side and kill the bark. Let me say to the
man with saw and pruning-knife, let alone the
limbs that shade the trunk in the hottest part of
the day. Any old orchard where trees thus lean,
will furnish proof that what I say is of importance.
Reader, be sure to plant trees, plant and feed
them well, and you shall eat the fruit of your do-
ings, and your children will rise up and call you
blessed. Elipualet Weeks.

CJtatJiam, N. E., 1860.

P. S. What will kill the Kcale or bark louse, and
not injure the tree ? Lye kills a part, but not all.

Rejlirics. — We use soap suds, and have no
trouble from the bark louse. Try whale oil soap,
rubbed in gentlv with a brush.

FRENCH PHEASANT FOWLS.

I would like to know if "P.," or any of your
correspondents, have kept any of the French
Pheasant fowls ? I have had them about a year,
and like them very much. I was told they were
imported from France, a few years ago. French
or American, they are the most ])eautiful fowls I
have ever seen. They weigh thirteen pounds per
pair, are white, with a bronze or golden cast, very
yellow legs, small wings and tail, and most of
them have a double comb. I have never seen one
of them on a scaffold eight feet high, in the barn
where they were kept through the winter. They
are excellent layers — lay a good sized, very dark
egg, and some of them are spotted like turkeys'
eggs. They do not lay as young, and want to set
more than the Spanish, but are easily broken up,
if taken in season. They appear to be very hardy,
and easy to raise. I have none to sell.

H. T. Gates.

New Worcester, Jan. 16, 1860.

PROBLEM.

Bought a farm April 1st, 1852, at $2,350. Paid
down $200, and gave a mortgage for $2,150, to be
paid $100 annually, with interest on the balance,
till the whole is paid. How much has the sum of
the payments amounted to, at annual interest on
each payment, April 1st, 1860, and what will be
the whole sum of the whole payments April 1st,
1873, at which time the odd $50 is to be paid with
the last instalment of $100, provided each pay-
ment is kept at annual interest until April 1st,
1873 ? Will some of our friends who have given
us so much light on the "Profits of Farming,"
(A. B., Barre, Vt., or T. J.Pinkham, for instance,)
inform me whether said farm will ever be paid for
from the farm, containing less than 60 acres of
land, 150 miles from Boston, in the Green Moun-
tain State ? The purchaser is a youngerly man,
with but $395 capital at purchasing, and does not
like to make a failure, unless Mr. Pinkham is very
sure he can't pay for it. P. j.

Jan., 1860.

118

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

Makch

HORN AIL.

I have a cow that was taken with the above dis-
ease about the middle of September last. I bored
her horns and they discharged freely a number of
weeks ; meanwhile she seemed to do well, and
gain her milk. Since then slie will have spells of
shrinlcing her milk, and v.ill not eat, although I
keep her horns open and they still discharge. If
you, or any of your corrcsptMidcnts, can inform
me what to do for her, you will conf jr a favor.
.TKr.EiiLVH Eddy.

BurrillcUlc, B. I., Jan., 1860.

Remarks. — The horn should never be bored
without the advice of some person who under-
stands the structure and disease of the animal. If
the horn had not been bored, the offensive mat-
ter would probably have passed off through the
nostrils. It is a dangerous and cruel practice to
mutilate the horns. The probability is that the
disease with which your cow is afflicted, is in some
other organ rather than the horn.

SCALDS AND BURNS.

When a lad of seven years, I had the misfortune
to scald one of my hands. This was in the month
of September. Not wishing to make much ado
about it, I went into the garden to lament my ca-
lamity, and being near a bed of beets, I, without
knowing or thinking of any efficiency in them,
picked a leaf and spread it over the affected part
of my hand. Its cooling qualities were soon ap-
parent, and I lield it on until wilted, when I ap-
plied a fresh leaf, and so on, until I think I used
the third in the course of half an hour. The re-
sult was, the fire was withdrawn from my hand,
and no further inconvenience attended. I men-
tion the fact for the benefit of other little boys,
should they suffer from similar accidents, not ob-
jecting to larger ones trying it, if circumstances
give them an opportunity. W. G. Bacon.

Richmond, Jan., 1860.

CULTURE OF TOBACCO.

Will some of your correspondents who have ex-
perience in the culture of tobacco, give me infor-
mation as to the soil best adapted, kind of man-
ure, time aud manner of planting, harvesting and
drying. Charles W. Denham.

Mattapoisett, \st mo., 1860.

Remarks. — We really hope that they Avill not,
Mr. Denham, because we think they will neither
do yourself, or the public, a good service. To say
nothing of what the culture of tobacco has done
for Maryland and Virginia, we ask you to make
careful inquiry, and learn whether it has been a
blessing or a curse to our sister State, Connecti-
cut? _

LEGHORN FOWLS.

In the Farmer of Dec. 31, I note an inquiry
about Leghorn hens. I would state for the bene-
fit of yoiu- correspondent that I have kept this va-
riety of fowls, pure, having none other, aud find
them all I wish. The eggs are larger, they are
consf&nt layers, and thus rarely, if ever, want to

set. I have been particular to keeji only pure
white cocks, but many of my hens are Dominique ;
and yellow color, which, however, I do not con- i
sider any objection, as, if anything, they are a lit-
tle more hardy. Had I not given a part of my
stock to my brother in the foil, I could have giv-
en your correspondent a correct account of re-
ceipt and expenditures for them.
Neio Bedford, 1860. R. C» Anthony.

COLORING 5L\TTER FOR BUTTER.

In your paper of Jan. 14, I perceive that Mr.
Everett, of Princeton, Mass., speaks of using
the juice of carrots in making butter ; I presume
this is done to improve the color of the butter. I
have known other coloring materials to be used
for the same purpose. I cannot believe the use of
any such material to be desirable. When cows
are in good condition, generously fed, their but-
ter will be yellow enough, without such coloring
ingredients. I am surprised that any one who
feels competent to instruct others in the making
of butter, should think it necessary to use the
juice of carrots to color it. My mother, who made
as nice butter as I ever saw, some seventy ]5ounds
per week thi-ough the months of June, July and
August, never used any such extra material to
color the butter. * South Danvers.

Jan., 1860. _

PIN WORMS IN HORSES.

Will any of your contributors give a remedy for
pin worms in horses ? Such a remedy would be
of much value to very many of your readers.

Exeter, N. 77., Jan., 1860. ' SUBSCRIBER.

Remarks. — Mix a gill of clean wood ashes with
cut feed, and give the horse every other day one
feed for a week, and watch the result. If you ob-
serve small white streaks about the anus, con-
tinue the doses a week longer.

HOW TO GROW WATER CRESS. '

Please give some directions for growing the
common water cress, if not too much trouble.
Mrs. S. M. Gordon.

Remarks. — Gather a bunch of the cress and
scatter it into a clear spring ; the seeds will drop
out and germinate, and by so doing annually will
keep it perpetual.

Ajierican Stock Journ.4lL. — ^As its title indi-
cates, this publication does not discuss general
agricultural topics, but is devoted exclusively to
the interests of breeders and stock growers. It
is edited by D. C. Linsley, and published by Sax-
ton, Barker & Co., 25 Park Row, New York. A
new volume commences with the year. Among
the improvements apparent in the January num-
ber, we notice the enlargement of the Veterinary
Department and the "Inaugural" of Dr. Dadd, of
this city, whose services have been secured as con-
ductor of this important department of the Stock
Jonrnal. He will answer any inquiries that sub-
scribers may make in relation to the diseases of

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

119

their animals. Its pages are illustrated by views
of stock, of methods of surgical operations in
diiRcult cases, &c., and pedigrees of animals are
inserted for subscribers free of charge. It is con-
ducted -svith ability, and we believe with impar-
tiality. Thirty-two double-column, large octavo
pages are given monthly, for one dollar a year.
We hardly needed the assurance of the publish-
ers that this work, "commenced as an experiment,
is now a success."

THE SOUl^DS OF INDUSTRY.

I love the banging hammer,

The whirring of the plane,
The crashing of the busy saw.

The creaking of the crane.
The ringing of the anvil,

The gi-ating of the drill,
The clattering of tlie turniug-lathe,

Tlie whirling of the mill,
The buzzing of the spindle,

The rattling of the loom,
Tlie puffing of the engine.

And the fan's continuous boom —
The clipping of the tailor's shears,

The driving of the awl.
The sounds of busy labor —

I love, I love them all.

I love the plowman's whistle.

The reaper's cheerful song.
The drover's oft repeated shout,

As he spurs his stock along ;
The bustle of the market-man.

As he hies him to the town,
The hallo from the tree-top.

As the ripened fruit comes down ;
The busy sound of threshers.

As they clean the ripened grain.
And buskers' joke and rairtli and glee,

'Neath tlie moonlight ou the plain ;
The kind voices of dairymen,

The shepherd's gentle call —
These sounds of active industry,

I love, I love them all.

For they tell my longing sijirit

Of the earnestness of life ;
How much of all its happiness

Comes out of toil and strife.
Not that toil and strife tiiat fainteth

And murmurelh on the way —
Not the toil and strife that groaneth

Beneath the tyrant's sway.
But the toil and strife that springeth

From a free and willing heart,
A strife which ever bringeth

To the striver all Ms part.

0, there is good in labor,

If we labor but aright.
That gives vigor to the day-time,

And a sweeter sleep at night,
A good that bringeth pleasure,

Even to the toiling hours —
For duty cheers the spirit

As the dew revives the flowers.

0, say not that Jehovah

Bade us labor as a doom ;
No, it is his richest mercy,

And will scatter half life's gloom ;
Then let us still be doing

Whate'er we find to do —
With an earnest, willing spirit.

With a strong hand free and true.

CIci-eland Democrat.

Pulverized Culinary Herbs. — The culinary
herbs raised and put up by Mr. Howes Nourse, of
Danvers, are sure to meet with favor, wherever
introduced, from the fact that they are fresh, in neat
packages, and, most important consideration of
all, unadulterated, being raised on his own farm
and put up under his own supervision.

For the New Enslund Farmer.
PBUKTIWO- PINES.

Mr. Editor : — In a late issue, I noticed an in-
quiry in regard to trimming young pines some
twelve to fifteen years old. I would say in reply,
that, in my opinion, it is best to let nature take
its course, as a general thing. I have trimmed
some not more than six or eight years old, to de-
cided disadvantage, for this reason, if no other,
When there comes rain, or ico on trees, the lower
limbs bend to the ground, and brace up the trees ;
but when trimmecl, the top bends over, perhaps
to the ground, if loaded enougli, and soon these
trees will die out. I think larger trees might be
trimmed to advantage, as fast as the limbs died,
but not much faster. One thing is certain; unless
you trim without cutting or bruising the bark
elsewhere, you had better let them alone. Pines
l)leed very much when cut or injured in any way.
If a person would be as careful in trimming pines
as in trimming fruit trees, then it might be of
some use, but generally they will use an axe, and
cut and peel more bark than limbs ; hence the in-
jury. But to trim off with a saw all dead, dry
limbs and the one year's growth of green ones at
a time, and cut out the dead or dying trees, and
be sure and not bruise those left to grow, I think
Vv-ould be an advantage to the owner, and, some
fifty years hence, those who use this lumber will
find that it will be free from dry, loose knots
which would prove to be a decided advantage to
the lumber. But do not trust those in your wood
lot to trim, that you would not trust in your fruit
orchard. Judgment and skill are as necessary in
one place as the other. Alvan Ward.

Aslihurnliam, Mass., 1860.

NEW PUBLICATIONS.

Transactions of Essex Aqricdltural Society, for 1859. Pub-
lished by oi-der of the Society, December, lS5i).

We have received from Hon. J. W. Proctor,
a copy of this annual, containing the Address, by
James H. Gregory ; Reports of committees for
the award of premiums ; Ptemarks on Market Days
— three of which were held during the year in dif-
ferent parts of the county ; Reports on the Tread-
well Farm ; Essays; Treasurer's Report; Names
of Officers and of Now Members ; List of Premi-
ums ; and Index. The 152 large pages which
make up this noble pamphlet, afford space for
something more than a mere skeleton of the So-
ciety's transactions ; and it is so well occupied by
details and particularities that we would recom-
mend it as a model to other county societies, vvith
the suggestion that more good might be efl'ected
by many were they to reduce the amount of pre-
miums, and increase the money and labor expend-
ed on their annual Reports. The reports of the
various committees for award of premiums occu-
py about two-thirds of the volume. Each com-
mittee presents a separate report, giving a brief
account of the articles examined, the reasons for
the awards made, and in many cases statements
from the several competitors of the means and

120

NEW ENGLAND FAEMER.

March

process by which excellence and superiority have
been a* tained. The committee on Underdraining
occupy two pages with an introduction of the
twenty-one pages which give in detail the experi-
ments of six individuals, to three of whom the So-
ciety's premiums of $15, $10 and $5 were award-
ed for the best conducted experiments in under-
draining land. The Address, Essays and other
matter of the volume appear to be able and inter-
esting. This report will not only instruct the
reader, but it must prove a powerful incentive to
committees and experimenters, who shall venture
to figure in the future Transactions of Essex
County.

For the New England Farmer.
POTATO BLIGHT AND BOT.

Mr. Brown: — If Mr. Barbor, of Warwick,
could spend one half-hour in viewing Avith a mi-
croscope the insects, in myriads, upon seed pota-
toes, he would not speak of insect depredation on
the potato plant as a "theory," but would admit
the fact of exhausted vitality and poison, by their
attack and ravages at the roots. The insects are
there, and the eggs are hibernated through the
winter in our cellars. They have been examined
the past summer, by a microscopic and entomo-
logical demonstrator of the Scimitific School at
Cambridge, as found in their larva age, upon un-
decayed potatoes, suitable to cook or plant. He
declares "he never saw such an insect before ; he
should think there was a million on each potato,
enough to cover the wholi outside all over." If
Mr. Barbor understood their history and habits,
he would know that they are coleoptera, in form,
consequently suctorial and aquatic in their habits.
The latter being the fact, shows him the reason
why his potatoes in the high ground were less af-
fected than on the low. The insects from aquatic
habits increased more rapidly, and their ravages
were more virulent, and the poison more easily
spread into vine and tuber in his low moist ground
than on that "ten feet higher." The "Prussian ex-
periments at Potsdam, in 18.52, 3 and 4," fully cor-
roborate his own statements, between high and
low grounds. Wet seasons and low moist grounds
act upon "the poison," which Dr. Harris says
"these insects communicate to plants." On high
ground the attack is less virulent and the poison
docs not spread so rapidly and destructively as on
moist ground, or in very wet seasons. This shows
Mr. Barbor why the "location and soil" may and
really does vary the action upon the predisposing
cause as acted upon by the remote cause of
changes of heat and cold, rain and sunshine, sud-
denly acting upon plants where the vitality is cut
off. ' The Farmer Boy.

January 2, 1860.

Guano. — Gen. Cadwalader, of Maryland, whose
pm-chases of guano have amounted to $4000 a
year, recommends a single application to worn
out lands, naturally of good quality ; and here its
use should stop ; it has served its purpose, and
no second dressing of guano should ever be ap-
pl''xl\

For the New Ensland Farmer.
BUTTER AND MILK.

Statejient op the Value of Milk and the S.uie Made into

BOTTBB.

Gov. Brown, — Mi/ Bear Sir: — You will find
herewith an account of my dairy for five months
of the year 1859. It was my object to ascertain
the relative profitableness of selling milk and
making butter. The milk was weighed once a
week, and the quantity obtained was considered
the average of the week. The account shows a
diff'erence of $.71)03 in favor of butter.

Very respectfully, Geo. S. Boutwell.

Oroton, Jan. 12th, 1860.

Butter Account.
MAt, 1859. Dr.

To 4983 lbs. milk=249.', cans, at 18c $-14,91

To makin,i;211 lbs. butter, at 5!c 11,60

To marketing .'. 3,51— $60,02

Cu.

By 76 lbs. butter solil, at 2Sc 21,28

By 135 lbs. butter sol:l, at 25c 33,75

By skim-milk from 249 .\ cans, at Sc 19,96— 74,99

Balance in favor of biittcr $14,97

.TuxE. Pr.

To 6670 lbs. milk=333.\ cans, at 18c ^r,:i ,03

To makinf;265ilbp. butter, at o'.c 13.27

To marketing, r .' 3,50— 76,86

("R.

By 2651 lbs. butter, at 23c 6S.37

By skim milk from 333.^ cans, at 8c 23,68- 93,05

Balance in favor of butter $16,19

.July. Dr.

To 7855 lbs. milk-— 392'{ cans, at 18o $70,70

To making 304', lbs. butter, at 5Jo 10.73

To marketing '. 3,84— 91,27

Cr.

By 304', lbs. butter, at 2.5c 70,06

By skim-milk from 332^ cans, at 8c 31,42 — 107,48

Balance in favor of butter $16,21

Auo. Pr.

To 7375 lbs. milk=3685 cans, at 18c $66,38

To making 269 J lbs. butter, at bKc 14,84

To marketing ." 4,05— 85,27

Cr.

By 2693 l*'s. butter, at 25c $67,44

By skim-milk from 3683 cans, at 8c 29,50— 96,94

Balance in favor of butter. §11,07

Sept. Dr.

To 5750 lbs. milk=287.\ cans, at 18c $51,73

To making 228 lbs. butter, at SJo 12,54

To marketing .". 3,12— 67,41

Cr.

By 228 lbs. butter, at 25c $57,00

By skim-milk from 287:\ cans, at So 23,00— 80,00

Balance in favor of butter §12,59

Total balance in favor of butter $71,63

It required an average of 1 27-100 cans of milk
to produce a j^ound of butter.

The Oak Tree Disease. — ^At the December
session of the Philadelphia Farmers' Club a gen-
tleman present expressed the opinion that there
was reason to fear the general destruction of the
white oaks. "A close examination," he said, "will
disclose more or less disease in nearly every tree
— in some only at the extremity of the topmost
branches, or leading shoots ; while in others a
general aiTection is more visible." We have not
noticed any indications of disease among the oaks
of this section.

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FAEMER.

121

THE WHITE SPKITCE FIB.

The Fir, Pme and Larch trees ought not to be
entirely dispensed -with about any of our farm-
houses, or the houses in our villages or cities,
wherever there is anything like a liberal surround-
ing of ground. They "constitute a perfectly nat-
ural genus or family, and next to the oak, are the
most valuable of Our timber trees but indepen-
dently of theu' value in this resjiect, their beauti-
ful foliage and magnificent appearance have at all
times rendered them objects of admiration and at-
tention."

Nothing relieves and beautifies the landscape
in the Avinter like evergreens. They refresh the
eye, protect the buildings and small shrubbery, and
give the homestead a snug, social aspect. Then-
presence also brings up pleasant memories of
summer and gi'cen fields, and all unconsciously,
perhaps, to the beholder, promote healthful imag-
inations and a refreshing quiet and repose.

Those persons -who have visited the enter-
prising and beautiful town of Greenfield, in this
State, will at once appreciate our views. On pass-
ing through that village, the attention of the trav-
eller, or visitor, is at once arrested by the lai-ge
amount of ornamental shrubbery that is so taste-
fully arranged around the dwellings, and especial-
ly by the numerous fresh and symmetrical white
pines that make nearly every dwelling he passes
so inviting, that he feels as though he must go in-
to the house itself, and have a chat with its intel-
ligent inmates.

The Wliite Sjvuce Fir, here represented, is a
fine specimen of its class, and we hope will be suf-
ficiently attractive to cause many persons to em-
bellish their homestead with a few evergi-een trees.

For the New England Farmer.

AGRICULTUIIAIj EDUCATION".

Resolved, That a system of agricultural education should be
adopted and form a part of the educational system of the State
— Proceedings of Massachusetts Board of Agriculture.

Massachusetts has always ])ursued a liberal pol-
icy with regard to agriculture, and her societies
for its promotion, her board for its supervision,
are strong memorials of her zeal in its advance-
ment. These arc very good pioneers in their way,
but after all, they do not reach the greatest re-
quirement existing, to secure the object of this leg-
islative duty. In all enterprises, knowledge is the
first or moving power, the lever necessary to suc-
cess. The more and weightier the obstacles in
the way of advancement, the more necessary the
application of this power becomes.

When the forests of our State bowed before the
tokens of civilization, it required no great skill to
cause the unworn earth to produce alnuidant har-
vests. A running fire over the newly cleared fields,
a little scattering of seed and scratching among
the stumps, ended the farmer's toil until the wavy
grain was ready for the harvest. There was no
draining, no subsoiling, no composting of ma-
nures to be done then. The labor to secure a crop
from a cleared field was light, soon over, and the
remaining time would be appropriated to remov-
ijig another strip of timber from the forest, to in-
troduce anew field for the next year following. It
did not require much mental eftbrt to do this.
Nature had ground down the rocks, and mingled
their debris with mould that had been accumulat-
ing for ages, in proportion to meet her own wants,
without the aid of the chemist. Time had opened
water-courses, so that the surplus tribute of the
clouds was borne away, giving no detriment to
the plain or the hill-side. In fact, everything had
been adapted to make the earth fertile in yielding
supplies for the necessities of man.

Time and the continued droppings to which the
soil has been subject, has worn down the capaci-
ties that the soil then possessed. How many
loads of its former fertility have been carried to
market in the grain, beef, pork, butter, cheese and
wood that have been sold, would be the solution
of a curious and startling problem, whose result
would show that more fertility has been sold from
every farm, in these articles, than the present
value of the farms. It is very true, that in keep-
ing a flock of sheep, or fattening a yoke of oxen,
the farmer retains much that if judiciously ap-
plied, will enrich his land. But not all. If he sells
a thousand pounds of wool, the wool is not all
made of air and water. Or if a hundred sheep are
fattened and taken to Boston or New York, it
cannot but be supposfd that the farmer who fat-
tens them, disposes of a part of the fertility of his
farm with them. So with grain and hay, if we
sell them, we sell a portion of our grain fields or
meadows with them.

Here, then, we see one cause, why the lands of
some portions of Massachusetts do not i)roduce, as
tradition tells us they formerly did. The fertility

122

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

Marcii

of her soil has been marketed in its produce. The
very best poraons of it have been taken away,
leaving those which are hard, cold and barren.
So cold and hard that surplus water no longer
flows in natural channels, but stands, and chills,
and sours and poisons the very ground it occupies.
So very hard that it refuses the subduing influen-
ces of the sun and atmosphere.

It was a mistaken policy that led to this pro-
tracted and perpetual drainage of the soil without
returning to it equivalents to keep up its harvest-
yielding qualities. But the deed is done, and it
only remains that man by intelligent labor restore
what has been lost by ignorance and neglect.

We may well congratulate the farmers of Mas-
sachusetts, then, on the passage of the resolution
at the head of this article, in the full expectation
that the present Legislature, out of pure affection
to the Commonwealth, whose interests it is bound
to serve, will see the spirit of the resolution en-
grafted on our statutes. Then they will have
done the noblest work for the farmers of the State
that has ever been attempted.

The inquiry comes up, how this "system of ag-
ricultural education shall be adopted to form a
part of the educational system of the State ?"

Different ways of answering or fulfilling the
spirit of the resolution will have their advocates.
Some, very likely, will thiidi that departments
should be established in our colleg?s, and profes-
sorships richly endowed to carry out a course of
instruction favorable to the object; others will
see the object gained by establishing agricultural
schools and experimental farms ; and another class
will suppose that our academies and high schools
can very well be made the auxiliaries of agricul-
tural science.

We should heartily rejoice if rural art in all its
departments were thoroughly taught in all these
institutions, for there can be no doubt but very
much good would result in consequence. We hope
the day will come when our colleges Avill be more
respectful of the farmers and their employments
thaii they have ever yet shown themselves to be.
We sincerely hope, that Massachusetts will have
her agricultural, as she now has her law, medical
and theological schools.

But even if this were done, it would not fully
meet the necessities of the agricultural interest,
for there would be an outlay of time and expense
attending a course in these institutions, that but
a small proportion of prospective farmers would
be willing, or able to meet ; so that the many re-
quire some system of instruction brought more
within their means, to enable them to become the
intelligent cultivators of the soil, which the spirit
of the age requires them to l^e.

The people have colleges scattered all over our
State. We find their humble structures at almost
every corner of the land. These colleges are be-
ginning to be much better endowed both pecuni-
arily and intellectually than they once were. Bet-
ter ' buildings are arising, and more spacious
grounds are laid out for their accommodation. Li
past time, they have been the strength and glory
of the land. In their future, we anticipate much
for intelligence, usefulness and honor. They ever
have been, and ever must be, the colleges from
which the masses of agriculturists and artizans
gradviate. If agricultural schools ever become a
strong band and ornament in our country's pros-

perity, these colleges — our common schools will
be the nurseries in which thrifty plants are pre*
pared to remove to the higher gardens.

In past time, there have been great obstacles in
the way of introducing the services connected
with agriculture into our common school system,
in the want of suitable books. But fortunately, at
the ])resent time, these difficulties are fully re-
moved. Prof. Gray's "How Plants Grow," and
"First Principles of Botany," are written in as fa-
miliar style as the most ordinary reading book.
"Wells's Science of Common Things" contains
more than a thousand and one facts, which relate to
things that surround us, and in which we are daily
interested, all communicated in an agreeable and
attractive style. "Natural Philosophy," and
"Chemistry," both by the same author, are both
well adapted to the school-room or the family,
while Doctor Hitchcock smites the rocks, and
makes them give forth intellectual waters, clear,
pure and sweet, in his "Elementary Geology," in
streams so placid and simple, that any boy who can
reduce a fraction, can fathom its mysteries. Then
there are other works equal in value, to follow in
succession, until a full course is represented, and
the practical mental food for a life-time is set
before the student.

There are, liowever, one or two difficulties yet to
be removed, before these studies can be success-
fully pursued in the common schools. The fu'st
is, teachers competent to the work. Now-a-days,
the teacher qualifies himself to teach those
branches required by law. We can scarcely find
one who has paid attention to any of the studies
above named, or at least, that claims knowledge
of them sufficient to teach. They may speak bad
French, worse German, or miserable Italian, while
with nature as she exists around them, whether in
her economy or her beauty, they have sought no
acquaintance, and claim no affinity. If our Nor-
mal schools are to educate our teachers, let them
first educate them in the things available in prac-
tical life, es]5ecially in the mysteries of its beauti-
ful suri'oundings.

Lot agricultural education form a part of the
common school educational system of our State,
and let teachers be qualified and enter into it with
the zeal that the interests of the State demand,
and a new and brighter day would dawn upon our
rural interest, than the most sanguine can easily
imagine. Wbi. Bacon.

Richmond, Jan. 17, 1860.

For the New England Farmer,

IS PAKMIITG PROFITABLE?

This seems to be the engrossing topic of several
of your coi-respondents from Middlesex and Hamp-
den, as it undoubtedly is the object of the efforts
of a majority of the hard hands throughout the
Commomvealth. For what otlier purposes do
they toil from "early morn to latest eve," but to
secure the profits of their labor ? "By their fruits
shall ye know them." Look about among the
prosperous and well-to-live in the land, and where
will you find these classes to abound more than
among the industrious farmers ? Who ever knew
a farmer who stuck to his business, letting aione
speculation of all kinds, to fail ? I should as soon
think of meeting a white crow. Fail is a term not

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

123

known in their vocabulary. Masters in Chancery
would do a miserable business, if they had no
other than what comes from honest farmers. I say
honest formers, because from my experience in
the world, and it is not short, honesty is more
ikely to be found pure and undefiletl in this class
of citizens than any other, though some of these
occasionally strike their corn with a jerk, or shake
down their milk, because it is apt "to heap a lit-
tle." Nevertheless, I am happy to bear testimony,
that there are honest farmers, and thank God
that I was born of such stock, and only regret
that I ever strayed from their abode. p.

December 12, 1859.

LEGISLATIVE AGHICHLTTJKAL
MEETIITG-.

[Reported for the New Englanii Farmer by Thos. Bradley.]

The third meeting of the present series of the
Legislative Agricultural Society was held in the
Representatives' Hall at the State House, on
Monday evening. The attendance was larger than
at the previous meetings, the hall being nearly
filled, and the company frequently applauded the
remarks of the speakers. The meeting was called
to order by Hon. Simon Brown, who introduced
Hon. Marshall P. Wilder, as Chairman of the
evening, in a few happy and appropriate remarks.
The subject for discussion, was ^'Fruit and Fruit
Culture.'"

On taking the chair, Mr. Wilder said he should
speak on the question for discussion principally
from matters that had occurred in his own expe-
rience, or of which he had some knowledge. —
He said there were few subjects that had marked
the progress of civilization more or better than
the culture of fine fruits. Ancient writ-^rs, said
he, speak of apples, pears, plums, cherries and
others, but I am satisfied the fruits of those times
bear no comparison with the fruits of our day.
From the time of the writings he had alluded to,
to the close of the seventeenth century, we knew
little of fruit, although in some monasteries there
were accounts of several varieties of pears, and in
1680, the gardener of Louis XIV. had three hun-
dred varieties, of Avhich he said sixty-five were
excellent, yet only two of these are now consid-
ered M'orthy of cultivation. This he mentioned
to show the improvements that had been made in
the cultivation of this fruit.

Li 1817, Mr. Wilder said that Coxe, of New
Jersey, the principal fruit-grower then in the coun-
try, had sixty-five varieties of pears in his cata-
logue, while of these we have now only two.
The speaker then alluded to the growth of in-
terest in fruit culture from the establishment of
the London Pomological Society in 180j,the Par-
is Horticultural Society formed in 1826, to the
establishment of the Massachusetts Horticultural
Society, in 1829.

He alluded to the first exhibition of the latter
society, when Mr. Manning, of Salem, showed
only two bushels of peaches, but during his life
he proved 80 varieties of apples and 60 varieties
of pears, recommended by the American Pomo-
logical Society, and said that now there were men
who had from 800 to 1000 varieties of pears, and
who had exhibit-ed nearly 400 on a single occasion.
He said that on the formation of the Massachu-
setts Society, there were only three or four nurse-
ries in this region, while now they were numerous
and cultivated in the very best manner, covering
hundreds of acres. In Rochester, N. Y., there
were nurseries each covering 300 or 400 acres,
and in tliree counties there were fifty milhons of
trees for sale, the scions of many of these having
been sent out originally by the Massachusetts
Horticultural Society.

Mr. Wilder then spoke of glass structures in
connection with fruit raising, saying that formerly
there were few m New England, now they were
numerous. He said that there were 40,000
pounds of the foreign grape grown annually with-
in thirty miles of Boston. From this he passed to
the consideration of the native grape, asserting
that the Catawba had driven the Malaga from the
market, solely through its superior quality, and
he had been informed by one man who kept a stall
in Faneuil Hall Market, that he had sold two
and a half tons of Catawba gi-apes during last
season, having received them from the West.

Our seedlings were then alluded to, and the
speaker praised these highly, arguing that the aro-
ma is to be the test of the grape, and that the
flavor will be what will distinguish them above
the European in the making of wine. He men-
tioned some crosses of the grape which had
been produced, and he felt satisfied that the day
was not far distant when our hardy grapes will be
preferred to the foreign sorts.

Wines were then considered, and the gentleman
said that there was one firm in this city who nov/-
manufactured 20,000 gallons annually from grapes
grown along the Charles River, while hundreds of
thousands of gallons were made in Connecticut
and Ohio, and other States, and California could
make enough to supply the whole world.

Mr. Wilder next spoke of the cultivation of the
strawberry Avhich Avas almost unknown here in
1829, and which had grown to be so important
and profitable a fruit. He illustrated this by
stating the product of two-fifths of an acre of
ground in Belmont, last season, which yielded at
the rate of §1300 per acre, and said this was not
a solitary instance of the immense profit made.

The apple, said the gentleman, is the great pro-
duct of the farmer, and on the cultivation of this
he would speak, first correcting an error he had
made at a previous meeting in relation to the

124

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

March

quantity of apples exported from Boston in the
fall and winter of 1858 and '59. This was
120,000 barrels, and the majority of these were
Baldwins.

Mr. Wilder here said he had received a letter of
interest from Mr. Baldwin in relation to the orig-
inal tree from which the Baldwin apple took its
name which he would read to the meeting at the
close of his remarks.

We have, said the speaker, a mviltitude of for-
eign varieties of fruits under cultivation, but he
thought there were none better, if as good, as
the native, and he would recommend attention to
these. He said he had so often spoken of the
practical methods of cultivation that he would
only glance at the most important matters now.
The first and most important matter is tJiorough
draining of the soil, and this, he considered, not
only applied to horticulture but to the agriculture
of the nineteenth century. It is, said he, to the
farmer, as much an improvement of his land as
the telegraph for communication is over the steam
cars. He spoke of the impossibility of a tree be-
ing thrifty while its roots were in a cold, wet
soil, and ridiculed the idea of a man expecting
to have a healthy orchard in this condition.

Again, the ground should be thoroughly and
deeply worked, and to show the benefit of this, he
spoke of parsnips and horseradish, three feet long,
which he had seen, and which were grown in a
garden, the soil of which had been thrown up
from a cellar and was thoroughly worked ; he also
spoke of a pear tree he had seen in a garden in
Roxbury, where the soil was four or five feet deep,
drained by a rivulet flowing through the ground,
and which produced last season some 800 pears,
while one he had of the same size and age, but not
having the advantages the Roxbury one had, only
bore about 100.

Digging circles round trees is of doubtful util-
ity ; he mentioned a peach tree, to illustrate his
position, that had a heap of manure lying fifteen
feet from the trunk, that grew shoots four feet
long from the feeding of the manure. This digging
among the roots is consequently injurious. Circle
manuring don't feed the roots, as the roots run be-
yond, either on one side or the other. There were
more orchards injured by deep digging and by
deep plowing than by anything else. He would
allow no plowing in his orchards, and only used a
hoe to scarify the soil, manuring on the surface,
and working it in with a hoe or a light cultivator,
and this was done in the autumn.

The Chairman closed his remarks by condemn-
ing the practice of growing other crops in the or-
chard besides fruit, and expressing the gratifica-
tion he felt, that we are paying more attention to
the cultivation of our native fruits than we are to

Col. Wilder then read the following letter pre-
viously alluded to in his addi'ess :

Boston, Jannartj 30, 1860.

Hon. Marshall P. Wildbr : — Dear Sir — You may remember
that a few years since several gentlemen of the Horticultural
Society expressed a wish that an inquiry should be made as to
the origin of the Baldwin apple, so called, the place where the
first tree was planted, its history, &c. &c.

That inquiry was'commenced, and has resulted in fixing the
site of the first tree which bore that kind of apple. It is In the
south-westerly part of Wilmington, in the county of Middlesex,
near the public highway.

Tlie evidence of this fact is shown by the declarations and
statements of several individuals, some made under oath, and
tliis testimony seems to be reliable. A survey has been made of
the neighlwrhood, and a plan thereof drawn, and the spot where
the original tree stood pointed out.

If the papers containing this information should be deemed to
be of importance enough to be preserved in the archives of the
State, they can be furnished at short notice. At this time I
would suggest the propriety of having the site of this ancient
apple tree designated on the map of the commonwealth, if the
commissioners to whom are entrusted the additions to the map
should think the tesMmony above referred to would justify such
designation. With great respect,

Your obedient servant,

No. 128 Tremont Street. James F. Baldwin.

Mr. Asa Sheldon, of Wilmington, being then
called on, said there had been considerable dis-
pute in regard to where the Balvlwin apple origi-
nated, and there were only one or two persons
now living who had seen the original tree, which
was found in the woods by a grandson of Mr.
Butters, of Wilmington, and he transplanted it.
He had, with others, devoted some time in find-
ing out the history of the tree, and where it was
planted by the above-named gentleman, and was
satisfied they were correct in the location. They
only found one person who could tell what be-
came of it, and this was learned in the following
manner. Col. Baldwin, the father of the gentle-
man whose letter the chairman had read, was
well acquainted with the original tree, which stood
on the spot designated when he went to Lynn to
learn shoemaking. He remained in Lynn eight
years, and when he came back the tree Avas gone.
On further inquiry, the investigators of the sub-
ject found a widow woman, who is since dead,
who said that the tree was destroyed by lightning
on the day she was married, and this circumstance
Mr. Sheldon thought must have been particularly
impressed on her mind.

He thought some appropriate notice should be
taken of the site where this tree stood, from which
the State has derived more just notoriety than
from any other source. In conclusion, he said
that Col. Baldwin, the son of the discoverer, jjrop-
agated the tree, as the old gentleman had never
thoroughly appreciated the value of the fruit.

Colonel Stone, of Dedham, said that the sub-
ject of fruit culture was of as much, or more im-
portance, than any other to the agriculturist of
Massachusetts, and there were few who could real-
ize the benefit the Baldwin apple has been to us.
He spoke of attending a meeting of horticulturists
in the western part of New York, and of the de-
cided preference given by fruit cultivators there
to th" T?nl'1"nn forr>rofit, sa^'n?^ thnt one mp" ■Hnd

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

125

told him if he was going to set out an orchard of
1000 trees for profit, 999 should be Baldwins. Few
people understand the matter of fruit cultivation,
and yet it Avas so simple he could scarcely explain
it. Many people decline engaging in the cultiva-
tion of fruit, because so many fail, but a good
orchard could be secured as easily as a crop of po-
tatoes or corn, with less labor and greater profit.

He advocated thorough drainage and thorough
pulverization of the soil — not sub-soiling and
trenching — but to be done by loosening the soil,
and not manuring too highly.

Mr. Stone then spoke of the Messrs. Clapp, of
Dorchester, who, by systematic culture, raised on
five acres of land, planted with apple trees, $G00
v/orth of currants as an undercrop, while they had
each year a large crop of the best apples. [The
chairman said that the profits of Messrs. Clapp
were between $2500 and $3500 per year.]

Col. Stone then spoke of the immense quantity
of apples exported from northern and western
New York, and the profit made by the business.
He said the pear had been considered more diffi-
cult to cultivate than the apple, but he was satis-
fied that in the first 15 years he could make as
much profit from an equal number of trees as he
could from Baldwin apples, although they would
require different treatment.

The chairman said that currants were an excep-
tion to any other crop for an undergi-owth in
orchards, as they will grow better in the shade,
and bear abundantly where no other crop will.
He considered that grass or grain exhausted the
trees. He spoke of a man in Rochester, N. Y.,
who, from half an acre of the St. ]Michael pear
trees, 8 years old, raised last year 40 barrels,
which he sold for $15, $16 and $20 per barrel, at
the lowest rate realizing $640. Mr. Wilder also
alluded to the orchard of Mr. Austin, in Dorches-
ter, as being very productive, and said that the
pear could not be grown on gravelly, sandy or
boggy land, but required rich, deep loam.

Mr. Demoxd, of Ware, asked what the best
mode of pruning fruit trees was, as also the sea-
ison to do it and the best wash for young trees ?
also saying that in his part of the State they were
in the habit of getting another crop from their
orchards, and he wished to know what was con-
sidered the best crop.

CoL Stone said he trimmed his trees about
the last of June, as by that time the sap had got
into the leaves, and the cutting will not do injury
by allowing the rising sap to run out and prevent
healing, lu relation to wash, the gentleman said
he discarded potash altogetlier, as it never was in-
tended to be applied to fruit trees. He used one-
third soft soap, a year or more old, and two-thirds
water, and washed twice a year. Of this a suffi-
cient quantity reraaiiis on the bark for the alkali

to run down by the action of the rain, and thus
keep off the borer. Alluding to undercrops, Mr.
Stone said that for the first 8 or 10 years he
thought plowing would not hurt the trees, and he
would recommend the raising of root crops so as
to keep the ground free of weeds.

A gentleman asked what should be done to
prevent so many of our apples becoming so wormy,
as he understood that nearly three-fourths of the
crop in Worcester county had been spoiled the
past season by this trouble.

Col. Wilder said that the best way to prevent
this was to prohibit the destruction of birds, and
he spoke of a correspondent in Belgium inform-
ing him that their fruit was nearly ruined in con-
sequence of the destruction of birds for epicures.
He said he was informed that apples sold there,
in consequence of this, for $9 per sack, or $6 per
bushel, and this in the finest fruit-growing coun-
try on the continent.

Mr. Simon Brown, of Concord, said the Chair-
man had covered a good deal of ground in his
opening address, but he would only touch on one
or two subjects. The first was the grape ; and he
hoped to see more attention paid to the cultiva-
tion of this fruit. We look upon the apple as a
blessing, but I am sure the grape will eventually
be considered of almost as much importance. It
has been a great problem to solve, as to what Avill
check the habits of our people in the indulgence
of intoxicating dj'inks, and the speaker gave it as
his opinion that the best means to do this would
be to make the cultivation of the grape common,
and thus make cheap wines common. As an il-
lustration of the effect cheap wines have on the
temperate habits of a people, he spoke of an ar-
tist friend Avho had travelled in France for a year
and a half, who had told him that during that
time he had only seen one man intoxicated, and
only some half dozen in the least disguised with
liquor ; he bad also travelled in Italy a year, and
the result was the same. Mr. Brown spoke of the
temperance of the people of Hungary in support
of his theory, and also the extraordinary fatigue
Napoleon's army had undergone on their dry
crust and pint of wine. He said there was room
enough in the city to raise tons of grapes ; indeed,
these were the best places, as they were sheltered
by the M'arm, sunny walls, from the winds, where
with a little care they can be raised in perfection.
He had been told that several of our hardy, and
even tender kinds, would flourish on a north wall.
There were seventy-five new varieties he had in-
formation of, of which several were said to be
equal to some of the white grapes raised under
glass, and this ought to serve as a stimulus in the
greater cultivation of this delicious fruit.

In reply to a question which had been asked,
Mr. Brown alluded to pruning trees, and said

126

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

March

that all the borers, and other injurious insects,
with plowing and browsing cattle, did less harm
to a tree than pruning it at the wrong season.
If the tree is pruned in the spring, when it is in
full activity, and all the pores of the sapwood
filled with limpid juices on their way to the twigs,
buds and leaves, there to be elaborated into the
food that goes to form fruit and wood, the sap
wiU in most cases stream copiously from the
wound and keep the pores permanently open. This
continues to exhaust the vitality of the tree, while
the sap, upon exposure to the air, undergoes an
important change by becoming sour, bitter and
poisonous, runs down the bark, turning it black,
and finally peneti-ating to the wood itself, and in
the end destroying the tree. But if the pruning
is omitted until the middle of June, the sap by
that time has mainly left what is called the sap-
wood, has been transformed from its limpid state
to a thicker, gummy-like substance, and is pass-
ing slowly down between the inner side of the
bark and the wood to make up the annual growth
of the tree. If the tree is cut now, no sap follows,
the surface of the wound contracts and closes the
pores, and the wound readily heals over. Because
our ancestors had not much to do in the last of
February and March and the early part of April,
they formed the habit of pruning their apple trees ;
and as a habit once formed sticks to our people a
little tighter than the shirt of Nessus, they have
persevered in the old way until there is scarcely
an orchard thirty years of ago in Ncav England
that does not bear unmistakeable evidences of
this unnatural and untimely pruning.

Mr. Fay, of Lynn, corroborated what Messrs.
Stone and Brown had said in relation to pruning,
from his own experience on forest trees, but he
considered that the Augustan age in farming had
arrived, when a farmer could offer you a good
mug of cider. This he considered was peculiarly
the beverage of New England, and if a farmer
was allowed to drink his mug of cider he thought
he would make a better farmer and a better man ;
yet the law said it was unfashionable, and so it
was not done. He made a strong argument in fa-
vor of excluding- cider from the list prohibited in
the liquor law, and said he had never seen so
much intemperance in New Eagland as he had
within sight of the Pyrenees. He believed we
could not grow the grape to satisfy the demand,
and we must therefore turn to cider. Mr. Fay
explained that the grape for fruit and the grape
for wine were different, the latter only growing
well on lands of volcanic origin, which gave the
rich vinous flavor, and he considered that Cali-
fornia on this account was the only wine-produc-
ing country on the North American continent.

Mr. Atwater, of Springfield, asked what was
the best soil in which to plant the apple, and

spoke of some lands in his section of the State
where the water settles, at certain seasons, to a
level 20 to 2'j feet below the surfiice.

Mr. Allen, of New York, explained this, and
spoke of similar instances in Western New York
and Ohio, expressing the opinion that these were
not favorable sites for fruit raising.

Mr. Clark, ofWaltham, asked whether the
Catawba grape had been cultivated enough in our
State to ascertain whether it would succeed.

Mr. Wilder said that the Catawba was found
too late, and the Isabella had been found to ripen
only occasionally so as to make good wine.

Mr. BUCKMINSTER, spoke for the young folks,
and thought that attention should be directed to
other fruits that woiild begin the first year to pay,
and he alluded to blackberries as returning a large
profit. He urged on the fai'iners the importance
of teaching their sons and daughters more in re-
lation to fruit raising, as being one of the great-
est profits of a farm.

Mr. Simon Brown offered the following resolu-
tion, which was unanimously adopted : —

Resolved, That it is tlie opinion of this meeting that the sci-
ence of pomology has nh-eady conferred signal blessings upon
mankind, and that, among the fruits introduced and propagated,
the £aldui7i apple, as siii article of substantial food as well as
commerce, has taken a high and well-deserved stand. We,
therefore, approve the suggestions made in the Setter which has
been read from Mr. James F. Baldwin, and recommend that the
spot where the first Biilihrui. apple tree stand, be designatecl
upon the State map, and that the Chairman of tliis meeting be
authorized to call upon the proper authorities and pirocure it to
be done.

The Chairman then annoimced that the siibject
for discussion at the next meeting would be "T/je
culture of flax in the Northern States^, and its
probable substitution for cotton in the mamifac-
ture of cheap fabrics." Hon. Judge BiSHOP, of
Lenox, is expected to j^reside.

Mr, Brown, on bohalf of the Executive Com-
mittee, said it was expected that a gentleman who
had given much study to the subject for consider-
ation would be present and address the meeting,
producing samples of cloth made from flax and
from flax and cotton, as also maclunery for break-
ing the flax, and the committee earnestly urged
ladies to attend this ro.eeting of the society.

The meeting then adjom-ned.

Unhealthiness of Artificial Manures. —
Attention is called to this subject by a corresjjon-
dent of the Mark Lane Exjiress. He thinks that
this is one cause of disease so prevalent this yeai-
in England, among turnips. He cites the expressed
opinions of several practical fanners of the inju-
rious effects on sheep and cattle of roots cultiva-
ted by the use of artificial manures. A laudable
desire, he remarlvs, to increase the pixiductions of
the earth has led to the introduction of powerful
manures, without sufficiently studying the laws of
physiology.

1860,

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

127

EXTRACTS AISTD BEPLIBS.
FEEDING BEES.

I purchased last summer two swarms of bees ;
the youngest one I am afraid did not laj' up honey
enough to last them till summer. If you, or some
of your correspondents, will inform me what will
be the best food for them you will oblige a reader
of the Farmer. . Lazarus.

Salisbury, N. H., 1860.

Remarks. — Put a little liquid honey on the top
of the comb, where it Avill slowly trickle down
among the bees, or put a few sticks of barley can-
dy among the combs, as near where the bees are
clustered as you can get them.

HOW TO BUILD A MILK-ROOM.

Some thi'ee years since it became necessary to
build a new dairy room. And in order to have it
handy and right, it must be next to our cook-
room. There being a rise of ground and an orch-
ard of apple trees where it was destined to be,
there was not room enough to set it level with the
rest of the buildings, therefore it was, decided to
set it three and a half feet liigher than the cook-
room. It is divided into two rooms — one for a
summer milk-room, with blinds, ventilator and
milk-racks to set the pans upon, which gives a cir-
culation of air around the pans. And plenty of
cool air is what we want to make the cream rise
well.

The room next to the cook-room is the winter
milk-room. We neither scald the milk, nor put in
carrots to make yellow butter, but simply strain
the milk through a cloth and set in on the milk-
rack. The room being higher, the heat rises, and
the temperature is just right to give a beautiful
yellow cream ; that is what makes yellow butter.
Churn the cream in the thermometer churn made
by Nourse, Mason & Co., Boston and Worcester,
and you will have butter worth as much as Mr.
Joshua T. Everett's. F. s. c.

Woodhvry, Vt, 1860.

ANONYMOUS COMMUNICATIONS.

I am pleased with the spirit of those who de-
mand of writers to put their names to what they
say. This is certainly well when what is said has
not strength in it to stand alone ; but when it has,
why not put it forward to make its own way in
the world ?

I have often thought where a man comes out
with his name signed to something that others
may possibly know as well or better than himself
— especially if they have had many more years for
experience and opportunities for observation —
that it savors not a little of vanity thus to sign
one's name. For myself, until better advised, I
shall be content to throw out such ideas as I have,
and let them find their way along as best they
may. *.

January 21, 1860. _

TO KILL LICE ON A COLT.

Feed it with meal, and mix in about a spoonful
of sulphur a day for a week, and then rest a week ;
then feed more sulphur, a few days, and the lice
will leave.

POTATO SPROUTS FOR PLANTING.

After ray corn was up and hoed last season,
there were some hills missing. I told my son to
go into the cellar and pick off some of the larg-
est sprouts, from six to eighteen inches long,
and set them out in the corn-missing hills which
had been hen manvu'ed in the hill for corn, which
he did. They all grev/, and yielded equally as good
and as many in the hill as the same kind did in
the same kind of ground the year previous. There
was no rot among them ; they were the Coburg
and Sand Lake varieties. Please remember that
the sprouts or vines were picked off with X\\Qjin-
fjers as close to the potato as possible. The pota-
to, after this, was given to tl;? hogs, whole and
sound. So I say to all, you ma> 'et your potato
sprouts grow as did mine, in a warm place, and
then set out the top, and raise th'nn as well, I be-
lieve, as in the usuhl way, saving the whole of
the tuber for other purposes. W. Sheldon.

Bristol, Vt., Jan., 1860.

MUCK FROM OTTER CREEK.

I wish to inquire what sort of manure I shall
have, if I cover my yard with a cort of muck tak-
en from the bank of old Otter Creek, and let it
mix with the cattle droppings through the remain-
der of the winter. A Young Farmer,

Rejlvrks, — Cannot tell you, sir ; ask some of
your neighbors who have given attention to
mucks. Don't hesitate to learn of any one about
you, _

A FINE CALF.

I had a calf 8^ months old, dressed yesterday.

To-day the four quarters, hide and tallow, weighed

(350 lbs. If any of your Massachusetts men have

had a larger native calf than mine, please say so.

William Rhodes, Jr.

Richmond, Vt., Jan., 1860,

TO CURE chilblains.

Take strong vinegar, one spoonful, and as much
fine salt as Avill dissolve in it. Bathe the part so
chilled two or three times, and you are better;
then next night two or three times more, and
you are v/ell. L. Ames,

Walking Horses — A Suggestion. — I would
like to suggest an idea, which, if you ap])rove,
you can prepare an article, or get some of your
correspondents to discuss, as to the propriety of
a premium being offered at our annual feirs, for
fast walking horses as well as trotters. I think
horses trained to walk fast would be a greater
benefit to farmers in general than fast trotters,
as almost all of their work has to be done with a
walk. I once knew a man in Massachusetts,
who, before the railroads were built, kept from
two to four teams at work on the road, and nev-
er allov/ed them to trot at all, and made the dis-
tance in quicker time than his neighbors, who
made their horses trot at every convenient place.
He said that when a horse commenced to walk
after a trot, he Avalked much slower than his com-
mon gait if kept on a walk, and thereby lost rxiore
than he gained. — Country Gentleman.

128

XI-:W ENGLAND FARMER.

March

THE NEW AMEKICAlSr STYTiE FOR COTTAGES AND VILLAS.

We submit above an examjile of the new Amer-
ican style of architecture for Cottages and Villas, i
which is now b^'ing adopted by many persons of:
refinement and taste ; this example, though small '
and quite plain, shows the general characteristic
of the style, and those characteristics we intend as
representing the comforts and requirements of
the American people. Is there a reason why we
should not have a style of our own ? "V^Hiat an
abundance of materials we possess, and with
all our ingenuity in other sciences and arts,
why should we be so far behindhand as re-
gards architectural beauty, in the designs for
our country homes ? Our attempts may not
be successful in producing \, natural style,
but we shall make the greatest endeavors to
perfect our designs more and more, as they
leave our hands, until we have reached a
great degree of perfection. Wliy we intro-
duced the variety of forms, &c., in this design,
would take up too much space to describe,
but we will state, there is not a single detail
but what has character and meaning, as re-
gards the plan, as the owner gave his own re-
quirements and arrangement.

A, is entrance porch ; B, Hall ; C, Parlor, 16 by
14 ; D, Dining-Room, 16 by 13 ; E, Kitchen, 12
by 13 ; F, Store Room ; G, Kitchen Pantry ; K and
H, two Bed-Rooms with fireplaces and closets to
eacii ; L, Closet for dining-room ; M, Verandah, 6 ft.
wide. On second floor of main building are two
bed-rooms, bath-room and closet ; the attic over
kitchen is used as a place for storage. There is a

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

129

cellar under the main building and kitchen wing
only. Parlor faces north, Dining-room south,
Kitchen east ; Bed-room wing only one story high.
Cost, on Long Island, $2500. We shall short-
ly submit another example in brick constmction,
showing the adaptation of the style to that mate-
rial. Respectfully,

Saeltzer & Valk, Architects.

For the Neio Ensland Farmer.

PBBMIUMS BY THE STATE BOABD OF
AGKICULTUBE.

Mr. Editor : — I saw in the January number
of the Fanner, the vote of the State Board of
Agriculture, requiring the diiferent county socie-
ties to offer premiums for the best experiments
in applying manures at different depths.

This is a subject of much importance to the
farmers of this Commonwealth, and any experi-
ments which will give us reliable instruction upon
this subject will be a public good.

In looking over this offer, and the plan marked
out by the Board, it appears to me that we may
strictiy comply with the letter of the instructions,
and yet not get any reliable information upon the
proper depth of applying manures.

They do not tell lis whether it is to be sward
land, or land that has been cultivated one or more
years. If we take sward land, and plow the ma-
nure for lot No. 1, imderneath the sward, how
shall we know Avhether it was the fact of its be-
ing beneath the sward, on the depth at which it
was applied, that caused the different results ?

When v/e come to lot No. 2, and try to cross
plow it, and get the manure at half the depth, we
infer the Board intended the experiment should
be tried upon old land.

We will take a piece of mellow ground, and
spread the manure upon lot No. 1, and plow ten
inches deep, and if the manure is fine and well
composted, as the farrow slice rises and cracks,
the manure falls in, and gets well mixed with the
soil, instead of being buried at the bottom of the
furrov/ ; if the manure is coarse, much of it will
be left where the plow will draw it up when we
come to cross plow at half the depth ; thus we
may follow the directions, and yet not furnish any
reliable instruction upon this subject. The only
way in which 1 could get the manvu-e at a uniform
depth when plowing it into mellow land, Avould
be to follow the plow with a hoe, and draw the
manure into the furrow, and then turn the next
furrow upon it. If the Board had required this,
the experiment might have been viseful.

I v.'ill now go upon lot No. 2. It has been
plowed deep, according to the directions. I will
try to spread the manure upon the rough furrows,
for according to the directions, I must not put the
harrow upon it yet ; much of the manure falls in-
to the holes ; I then cross plow it five inches deep ;
at what depth does any one suppose the manure
is covered ? To test it fairly, I think that No. 2
should have been rolled down smooth, and the
manure placed in the bottom of the furrow at half
of the depth of No. 1.

I next spread the manure upon No. 3, and then
I am- told to take a harrow or cultivator and go
over the whole lot. What is the effect of this

upon No. 2 ? Does not the harrow move much
of the manure, and mix it with the soil, and may
not the result be affected by the mixing, as much
as by the depth ? I think there should have been
nothing but a bush harrow upon it after it was
plowed.

I am now to plant the whole lot, and then take
the team and cart the manure upon No. 4. This
looks some like book farming ; to drive over the
corn after it is planted. I have always been taught
to think a planted cornfield as almost sacred.
We have all read of the honest English farmer
who complains of the hounds treading down his
wheat in the spring, and was paid for the injury
done ; but at harvest time, he found that the tram-
pling had been an advantage to liim ; so if No.
4 does the best, how can we tell whether it was
owing to the trampling and beating it got after it
was planted, or the manner in which the manure
was applied ?

I think there will be but little practical differ-
ence in the condition of the manure upon lots No.
3 and 4, except for the first three or four weeks ;
I begin to run the cultivator through the corn
about the 1st of June ; then the manure will be
mixed with the soil the same as on No. 3. They
tell us that the after cultivation must be the same
upon each lot. But they do not tell us what that
shall be. By using the plow, or Sav.'yer's im-
proved cultivator, we may hill it up so as to spoil
the whole experiment, and yet be entitled to the
premium according to the offer.

An experiment conducted in so loose a manner
is worse than none. They say nothing about how
we shall plow it the second year. If the manure
has been where they supposed it to be, when we
plow No. 1, it will bring the manure to the sur-
face for the second year, and the others will be
buried. What instruction can we derive from
such an experiment ?

I have endeavored to take a practical view of
this subject, feeling that Avhen the Board holds
the rod of state over the backs of the county so-
cieties, and say, thus shalt thou do, the public have
the right to ask, what will be the practical benefit?
WiLLUM R. Putnam.

Danvers, Jan. 25, 1860.

For the New England Farmer.

LUNAR IWFLTJENCE ON THE TEMPER-
ATURE OP THE EARTH.

Your correspondent "J. A. A.," of Springfield,
has given a series of experiments in your issue of
Jan. 7th which are of more than ordinary interest.
There is nothing like exactness, even in farming.
He has certainly made out a pretty clear case, that
there can be no connection between high and low
moon, a new or a full moon, Avith the temperature
of the earth. If his conclusions are correct, far-
mers should disabuse themselves of an almost
universal opinion that frosts are pretty sure to oc-
cur in the months of September and October, at
the full of the moon. Ask any man about it, and
he will tell you that we must look for a frost at
the full of the moon in September, and if he can
get by that, he expects his corn will ripen before
another frost. Now whence this almost universal
opinion ? It does not seem hardly possible, that
it can be a mere whim, yet it is possible that when

130

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

March

a frost does occur at the full of the moon, the co-
incidence is specially remembered by the farmer,
and thus the exception is taken for the general
rule.

As "J. A. A." has gone so far towards settling
this point, the thouglit has occurred to me that if
ho would give us the connection between the oc-
currence of frost and the situation of the moon for
the month of September only for a series of years
previous to 1856, as that is the month more par-
ticularly noticed by farmers, and as it has been
supposed that the last three years have been some-
what peculiar in regard to their temperature, it
would pretty conclusively settle the whole matter.

His observations cannot fail of interesting every
intelligent farmer, and I regret that I have not
the same meteorological tables at command from
which to make my own observations. It had long
been an open question with me, which led me to
introduce the subject into the columns of the I<\ir-
mer. I could add no philosophical principle so as
to combine theory with what I had supposed to
be facts, and if I have provoked '"J. A. A." to
good works by setting forth the truth, I desire
nothing more than to express to him my hearty
thanks for what he has done, and remain,

Bethel, Me., Jan. 7, 1860. n. t. t.

For the New En^^land Farmer.
CUBE FOB SCBATCHES IKT HOBSBS.

FlUEND Browx : — I saw an article in the Far-
mer of ^^(icer\hev 'i\, from your able correspon-
dent, "Oak Hill," that gave a description and a
remedy foi- " Scratches in Horses." I agree with
him, that if one knows a remedy, he should make
it public, as, indeed, he ought all knowledge that
he thinks may be of value to his fellovr-men. I
felt the force of this when I received the informa-
tion from you, and your several corres])ondents,
in regard to making butter in winter, for which
you have my hearty thanks.

But to return, when I worked at my trade, in
the city, I had occasion to use different kinds of
paints and oils, among them v.-as what is called
"bright varnish." Frequently I would cut myself,
sometimes so severely that I have been laid up for
weeks. I would try all kinds of salve, but the
wound would be a long time healing. One day I cut
my hand severely, and as I had nothing to put on
it at hand, I thought I would try some of the bright
varnish ; as it is a sticky substance, I thought it
might stick the wound together ; accordingly I
bound up my hand with it and kept on to work ;
the varnish relieved the pain, I had no soreness
in the wound, and in one week it was entirely
healed. My son was sawing fhrough a board one
day, and carelessly put his hand under the board.
My son had his forefinger bone entirely sawed off
I put the ends together, put on this varnish, bound
it up, and the result was, that after one week the
bandage was removed, and the finger had nearly
grown together. My horse once had scratches so
badly, that it was difficult to get him to move
about. I rubbed the parts affected with this var-
nish, for two days, which caused a pei-fect cure.
The varnish can be bought at the paint shops for
six or eight cents per quart. E. LEONARD.

Nev3 Bedford, January 16, 1860.

For the Neie England Farmer.
HOW I IMPBOVE THE SOIL.

The farm I now occupy belongs to C. H. Leon-
ard, Esq., of New York, and embraces a variety
of soil, some quite sandy, some may be termed
sandy loam, other portions gravelly, and quite
stony, while we have some sv.'ampy peaty soil.

Mr. L.'s principal object has been to clear the
stones out, build walls in place of wood fences,
drain the wet places, and get in order for farming.
This being the case, farming has occupied a sec-
ondary place, yet something has been done. Five
years ago I found a farm of about forty acres,
three-fourths of which was overrun with sweet
fern, briers and bushes, the skinning process hav-
ing been well carried out when cultivated, cutting
only about throe tons of hay, and that none of
the best, and now tv^'enty acres under improve-
ment yield thh'ty-five tons of fodder the tv/o past
years, besides our corn, and the fodder from which,
acre for acre, I consider equal to a hay crop of
two tons per acre.

As the greatest portion of the farm is sandj
and sandy loam, I have resorted to the iise of
ashes and clover to get as much vegetable matter
incorporated with it as I could, and at the same
time obtain a remunerating crop the same season.
The process has been this : plow deep, take out
all the stones likely to interfere with future plow-
ing, dress with barn-cellar manure if corn is to be
planted ; if potatoes, equal parts of guano and
plaster in hill ; if to be sown with grain, and no
ashes previously used upon the piece, ninety to
one hundred bushels to the acre are put in, some
oats and clover, three bushels of the former and
twenty pounds of the latter, (western clover.) I
cut the oats for fodder, as soon as they form the
seed, never allowing them to ripen, as they will
exhaust the fertility of the soil. By cutting the
oats early, the clover gets abetter chance to grow,
often lodging the first season. Oats give two tons
and upwards of the vei-y best fodder to the acre,
equal to any hay I ever used. The next season,
the first crop of clover is made into haj^ from the
twentieth of June to the first of July, giving about
two tons per acre. The after-growth is generaliv
as large as the first, and is ])lowed in, when in
full blow, before it changes. I don't know as this
is the best time to do it, but it is my practice.
The following spring plov/ again, and sow as be-
fore, repeating the whole process, save the api)li-
cation of ashes, which I do not like to use too
lavishly. In this way I have a clover crop to plow
in once in two years ; the soil seems rapidly to
change its character, decided improvement is seen
by the most sceptical, and I am much pleased
with the result. J, COE.

Rochester, Jan. 12, 1860.

Hay and Butter. — A correspondent of the
Ohio Farmer boasts of having raised from one
acre, at one cutting, 9,315 lbs. of timothy and red-
top hay, for which he received the premium at the
fair of Summit county ; and that he has a cow
from twenty-four and a half quarts of whose milk
he made five pounds and ten ounces of thoroughly
prepared butter — cow fed on hay and corn stalks,
with a peck of soft corn per day.

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

131

For the New England Farmer.

PAKMS AND FABMIWG IN CLARE-
MONT, N. H.

Mr. Editor : — I said to you in a former com-
munication, that I might, at some future time,
have something to say about my own Sugar Riv-
er valley. But notwithstanding the hint I gave
you in said communication, I should be almost
tempted to relinquish the task, were it not that
the granite hills, verdant vales and crystal strcam.s,
in the vicinity of this valley, are always invested
with those charms on which memory fondly lin-
gers, when travelling in other sections of New-
England. My remarks at this time will be con-
fined to that portion of the valley which lies vv ith-
in the limits of the town of Claremont, as that
part of it lying in the towns of Newport and Sun-
apee, has already been most ably noticed in a for-
mer number of the Farmer, by one of its editors,
who, wherever he may wander, looks back no
doubt with pride and longings to the days he
has spent, and pleasures he has enjoyed, in this
beautiful valley, and wherever he may roam, and
fond as he may be of roaming, probabty never
finds the place which presents equal attractions.

Sugar River enters this town from the cast, and
flows on through this valley to the Connecticut, a
distance of about eight miles from cast to west,
dividing the town near the centre, leaving almost
equal portions on either side. The falls afford a
water privilege of gi-eat value, and within the last
twenty years, a large amount of capital has been
invested in cotton mills, and other manufacturing
establishments in the village. Twenty years ago,
the village contained probably not more than three
thousand inhabitants, but at the present time,
they number near six thousand. The town has
been settled over one hundred years, and is one
of the best agricultural towns in the State, com-
prising as it does, a large amount of meadow,
rich and productive, and in valuation, ranks, we
believe, about the fifth in the State. That portion
of the village called the plain, presents about the
same appearance it did twenty years ago, while
in other portions of the town, great changes have
been wrought; in fact, nearly three-fourths of the
village has been built up within the last twenty
years, and if the march of improvement is still
onward, Claremont will very soon become a city.

Scattered along this valley are a large number
of young, industrious and independent farmers,
who have taken the place of those M'ho worked
them many years ago, and they would as soon dis-
pense with almost any other article of personal
property, as the New England Farmer ; they take
it almost to a man, consequently, improvements
are constantly going on ; such, for instance, as
ditching, underdraining, barn cellars, &c ; while
each one strives to excel the other in stock, im-
plements, and crops of various kinds. So you see
there is a continual effort for the best farm, the
best stock, the best buildings and the greatest
amount of wealth, and to accomplish their pur-
pose, it becomes necessary to consult the Farmer
weekly, which fact will explain to you, why you
have such a list of subscribers in this town. That
portion of Sugar River valley which lies in the
easterly part of the town, is a beautiful tract of
territory, and the view from the southern hills is
truly magnificent ; the bright river runs like a

natural mii'ror, while on the north, lies the old
Green Mountain, cultivated almost to its summit,
and on either side may be seen meandering streams
with their crystal waters flowing on to the bosom
of the beautiful Sugar River. The western por-
tion of this valley is not so attractive, although it
presents much that is beautiful. There are many
young, industrious and wealthy farmers west of
the village, who own extensive and productive
farms, and who are themselves model farmers,
but the view from the surrounding hills is not so
delightful as that east of the village, notwithstand-
ing it is all very beautiful.

W. C. A. Clinton.
Claremont, Jan., 1860.

LEGISLATIVE AGRICDLTITKAL

MEETING.

[Reported fob the New Kngland Farmer by Thos. Bbadiet. {

The fourth meeting of the series of the Legisla-
tive Agricultural Society was held on Monday
evening in the Representatives' Hall at the State
House, Hon. Henry Bishop, of Lenox, presid-
ing. There was a very largo attendance, notwith-
standing the inclemency of the weather, and the
gratification of the company was frequently ex-
pressed in hearty applause.

On taking the chair, Mr. Bishop addressed the
meeting. He said he had to state to the compa-
ny that he had not been engaged in agriculture,
but had spent his life in the study and practice of
another profession, yet he had a fondness for ag-
riculture, and his tendencies led him in that direc-
tion. He then spoke of the Divine assistance
vouchsafed to the farmer, and said that the Al-
mighty gave every facility and made every ar-
rangement for the prosecution of agriculture. The
■whole world is given to the agriculturist — the air,
the water from the clouds, and the soil, are his
capital — ^his bank, and no bank commissioner
need be called to interpose in that direction. The
conditions of agriculture, said he, are in the air^
ground, light, heat and moisture ; they are
either the forces of the agriculturist, or they are
the elements of his plan. The atmosphere con-
tains most of the elements of vegetation. In this
there is oxygen, nitrogen, carbonic acid, ammonia,
and other elements not combined as necessary
components, all being conditions of growth.

Mr. Bishop took exception to remarks made at a
former meeting that a knowledge of science was
not necessary to make a successful farmer. He said
that as we work on the soil, all around, all above
us aids us, and then science comes in piay. The
farmer, said he, must be more than an empyric.
There are secret forces to be learned, gases to be
underetood which can neither be seen or felt, but
which require a knowledge of science to give us
their properties, qualities and effects. He then
spoke of the different soils, silicious, calcareous.

132

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

Makcii

&c., and showed by illustration the difference in
soils, apparently the same to the eye, but which
contained properties rendering them quite differ-
ent in productiveness. He advocated the in-
struction of the farmer in these matters, express-
ing the pleasure it gave him to find that it Avas
proposed by the present Legislature to take steps
in this direction, and saying that any measure of
this kmd should have his hearty approval.

The speaker contended that the farms in
Massachusetts were depreciating in value, and
showed from the returns of corn, potatoes and
sheep, in 1840 and 1850, that his argument was
correct. This he attributed to the fact that the
land had been despoiled of its fertilizing proper-
ties, and was not attended to. There might be
lands about Boston tliat had increased in value
and productiveness from the close proximity of,
and easy access to the multitude of fertilizing
compouTids, but the reverse was the case of the
great bulk of land in the State.

Mr. Bishop then spoke of females, and said he
was in favor of giving them their appropriate
rights — God had given them, and man had no
right to circumscribe them. He said he did not
allude to political rights, but thought that, though
they were not allowed to vote, they exercised an
influence we were not aware of. He alluded to
gardens and orchards, and said that here they
would be found the co-workers with man. Speak-
ing of flowers, he passed in review the number of
exotics introduced into England from the reign of
Henry VIH. to George HL, and showed that while
under kings the number was insignificant, under
the reign of queens it was very large. He said
no one could deny that the garden was woman's
especial sphere.

The speaker then passed to the subject to be
brought to the attention of the meeting, that of
Flax, and said he had not seen, for twenty-five
years, a square rood of flax gi'owing, but he was
brought up among men who grcM' flax, and made
a profit on it, and he remembered a farmer in the
section where he lived, on coming to take his
seat as a member of the Legislature, harnessing
up his horses to his sled, and putting on a load of
flax, which he brought to sell at the Boston mar-
ket.

He said there was none cultivated here now,
and the reason for this was not that it deteriorat-
ed the soil, for it did not ; it was not for fear the
crop would fail, for it never failed ; but it was the
expense of getting the flax prepared for market,
the rotting and preparing the textile filament. It
is a crop, said the honorable gentleman, worthy
to be raised— a double crop — furnishing clothing
for day and night, and food for the animal.
Wheat and corn will not do this, and no animal
will, e.i£cept the sheep, (laughter) which furnished

food for the table, and clothing — indeed, said he,
the sheep is to the animal world what flax is to
the vegetable world (increased laughter).

The Chairman closed his remarks by introduc-
ing Stephen M. Allen, Esq., to the meeting.

Mr. Allen commenced by saying that many of
the memories of youth which were gathered amid
the rocks, hills and valleys of Ncav England forty
years ago, had come down to him with pleasant
associations connected with the growth and manu-
facture of flax. The linen wheel, the warping
bars and the loom were indispensable elements in
the outfit of every farm-house, and the spinning
and the weaving of the fibre among the most
necessary accomplishments of the young farmer's
wife. What boy, thus born, said the speaker, ex-
ists, who cannot remember among his 'earliest oc-
cupations the pulling and the spreading of flax,
and his first perquisites of a roll of tow cloth,
which he sold at the country store at 12^ cents per
yard?

Such memories as these, coupled with the hard-
ships and sufferings incidental to the life of the
farmer's boy of that age of New England history,
bring vividly before him, in whatever position he
may be ])laced, his true condition — what he then
was, what he now is, and what he ought to be. It
was such memories as these which gave the speak-
er an interest in agricultural pursuits, and though
thirty-five years and more had passed since he left
the mountain glen where he was born, yet the old
carol which was tuned on the mountain side from
the head waters of the Saco, to move, as was sup-
posed, the first flax spinning-wheel which Avas set
up in New England, Avas as vivid before his
mind's eye now as Avhen a child eight years of
age. These associations, to Avhich he had allud-
ed, together with the announcement in England
that flax could be cottonizcd, led him to lay the
subject before the Legislature of this State, of
Avhich then he then Avas a member, nine years ago.
The order presented was that the Committee on
Agriculture collect such information as could be
procured concerning the culture and growth of
flax, and its probable substitution for cotton in
the manufacture of cheap fabrics. Having been
called on by the Chairman of this Committee to
furnish such information as he could readily get
on the subject, jNIr. Allen furnished it at length,
and it Avas printed for the use of the Legislature.
During the following year, said the speaker, it
Avas pretty Avell demonstrated that the experiment
of cottonizing flax in England Avas a failure, and
his attention was given to a personal exami-
nation of the subject, in detail, of the mechanical
and chemical construction of the flax fibre, in
connection Avith building mills for its manufacture
at Niagara Falls.
In the year 1854, the lecturer said he became

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

133

fully possessed of the opinion that the fibre of
flax could be cottonized, but it was not until the
spring of 1857, while engaged at Niagara Falls,
that his experiments were satisfactory to himself.
From that time the sphere of experiments was en-
larged, and a boll of flax was sent to the bleachery
of Mr. George W. Brown, at East Greenwich,
R. I., and machinery was set up for working it.
The process was found defective in the machinery
department, for breaking and unstranding the fibre,
and it has been by the inventions of Mr. Stephen
Randall that this difficulty was removed. This
gentleman has had much experience in the manu-
facture of flax, and he, together with Messrs. Sis-
son & Co., of Centreville, R. I., is entitled to the
credit of the construction of the machinery now
used in the manufacture.

In the spring of last year, the old machinery,
together with the new, was brought to Watertown,
in this State, and there, through the interest and
liberality of a couple of gentlemen in Boston, it
was set up, and the experiments continued, until
now they have been successfully completed. —
Through these experiments, said Mr. Allen, we
are enabled to give to the world, as we think, a
new article of manufacture, much desii-ed and
needed at the j^resent time, the fibre of which can be
grown on any soil or in any climate, affording the
agriculturist sufficient profit to induce him to cul-
tivate it extensively, while the manufacturer and
consumer will gain by its adoption. It spins
and weaves readily, on either cotton or woollen
machinery, mixed with either of those substances
in small or large proportion. The length of its
fibre can be adapted to either cotton or wool, while
the fabric thus made is stronger and more beau-
tiful, and the cost is not increased.

The speaker then exhibited pure flax in its semi-
bleached state, prepared by his process ; flax in
this state mixed with cotton; stockings knit from
the flax mixed with wool ; jean, composed of 80
per cent, cotton and flax, equally mixed, and 20
per cent, wool ; satinet, the filling of which was
composed of 25 per cent, of wool with 75 per
cent, of flax ; together with print, a portion of
which was flax, all of which looked very well.

Mr. Allen then gave a history of the culture,
uses and manufacture of flax, from the time of the
early Egyptians to its introduction to this coun-
try by the settlers in Londonderry, N. H., where
the manufacture of linen in 1748 had become so
well advanced, and the cloth so noted, that the
Provincial Government had occasion to grant the
manufacturers the privilege of stamping their
cloths to prevent counterfeiting. In 1638, said
Mr. Allen, three brothers came from England, and
settled at Exeter ; two of these went back to pro-
cure machinery for flax manufacture, but were lost

menced the manufacture of the article in 1775,
on the banks of thi? Merrimack, but the war break-
ing out, he joined the army, and after fighting at
Bunker Hill, and through the war, he returned
to find his property destroyed. This man had sev-
eral sons, one of v/hora he sent South to pros-
pect, and another to New Hampshire. Soon the
latter returned, and from his statement the familv
moved, and at the foot of the White Mountains,
in 1790-94, were erected the first linen wheels
that were ever turned by water, so far as the speak-
er had ever been able to ascertain. (Mr. Allen
exhibited a well executed oil painting of this mill
for the inspection of the audience.)

The manufacture of flax was continued here
until the old man died, and the property eventu-
ally came into the hands of his eldest and young-
est daughters, who carried on the manufactui-e.
And here accident gave an idea in relation to the
rotting of flax which threw much light on the
mind of the old gentleman. He had been in the
habit of storing flax in a small barn situated over
a stream, and a bundle accidentally fell, or was
placed in the water, and when it Avas tal^en out
the rotting was perfect, and ever after water rot-
ting was used. In England, this is done in pools
in Avhich the water is stagnant. It was said that
the water in this White Mountain brook was, in
old times, very poisonous to animals, and that
split-footed beasts that drank of it would not live
two years unless they were watered elsewhere ; and
this was attributed to an Indian curse ; but it has
since been ascertained, from an analytical exami-
nation, that the water contained mineral proper-
ties which have been turned to good account in
the rotting of flax. The youngest of the ladies
who carried on the mill, and who is now living,
and has until recently been an extensive contrib-
utor to the agricultural papers of our State, has
always insisted that flax could be made into cot-
ton. This lady was the mother of the lectm-er.

The speaker then alluded to the experiments
made in Europe by Chevalier Claussen, and con-
tended that he had not been able to dissolve the
gum resin, or glutinous matter, which causes the
fibres to adhere together, while he, the speaker,
claimed to have done this. He exhibited a spec-
imen of old line flax, which he said brought 12
to 15 cents per pound, from the labor necessary
to prepare it, which he said had a fibre apparently
two feet long as seen by the naked eye, while, if
examined by a miscroscope, it would be seen this
was composed of short fibres overlaying each oth-
er, and confined by this resinous matter. He ar-
gued that the natural fibre of flax was only from
1^ to 2 inches long.

Mr. Allen then exhibited a machine for break-
ing unbroken flax, and said that by the use of this
he did awpv ■":i*-b tviIHio- prirl r-;f+;ri"-. the latter

134

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

March

process injuring the fibres and changing the sub-
stance. After long line flax has been woven, said
the speaker, it has gone through 36 processes, and
in the bleaching he claimed the fibre was reduced
to its natural length, and thus gets its fineness.
In proof of this he referred his hearers to the ex-
amination of linen cloth, which shows the same
length of fibre he claimed for it.

Chevalier Claussen's plan of cottonizing flax
failed because it could not be spun on cotton ma-
chinery, and it was the purpose of the speaker
and his associates to manufacture largely, but to
mis with cotton and wool. To do this they could
produce the fibre half an inch, or three inches
long, this being governed by the distance at which
the rollers were placed in the breaking machine,
and thus both spin and weave on the ordinary
cotton machinery.

Mr. Allen then spoke of the diS"erence in con-
struction of cotton and flax, the fibre of the form-
er being flat, while that of the latter was tubular
like wool, and he exhibited drawings from the mag-
nifying glass to show this. From this he showed
that the capacity to take coloring in dyeing Avas
different, thus giving a great advantage to flax in
mixing with wool. From this he passed to an ex-
planation of the manner of taking away the resin
or gum from flax, and said that electricity must
have an agency in the process, as he had proved
to a considerable extent, although he felt satisfied
the half v/as not yet learned.

In conclusion, he spoke of the small territory
necessary to raise sufficient flax for the supply of
the country, and the profit to be made by raising
it, and urged on the meeting the advantages to
be gained by its more extensive culture.

In reply to a question by Mr. Flint, Secretary
of the Board of Agriculture, as to how long it
would take to place coarse flax in the condition
of the bleached exhibited by Mr. Allen, that gen-
tleman said, that apart from the washing and
bleaching, which would occupy a couple of hours,
the flax could be converted from straw to cotton
in half an hour, if di-icd by artificial heat, and that
a machine for breaking, costing $400, would
break two tons of straw per day.

In answer to a question as to the relative cost
of flax prepared in this way to cotton, he said
tliat the cost was the same, as cotton was Avorth
13 cents per pound, and they Avere selling flax for
15, a saving being effected in waste in favor of
flax of two cents per pound. In relation to du
rability, he claimed that the cloth made from flax
prepared by his process, or v.hat he call "fibrilia
cotton," was as durable as that woven from the
long fibre, as he knew that the long fibre, so
called, was shortened in the bleaching process.

The lecture was concluded amid loud applause,
and the company then crowded around the speci-

mens Mr. Allen had exhibited, examining them
with much interest.

The subject for discussion at the next meeting
is "Agriculhiral Education," and Hon. Richard
S. Fay, of Lynn, is expected to preside.

For the Kew England Farmer,
OWIOTf IN THE HUMAN BAK.

About a year ago I was troubled v/ith a severe
ear-ache, and tried all the remedies I coidd hear
of, and at last, (being advised to do so,) I insert-
ed the heart of a roasted onion ; this alleviated
the pain so much, that I tied a handkerchief over
my ear, laid down and slept soundly. I had then
had no sleep for nearly a Aveek. I slept five hours ;
awoke and thought I Avould take my comforter
out of my ear ; but in endeavoring to do so it
only served to croAvd it in farther, and my ear felt
so comfortable, I concluded I Avould let it remain
for the time.

In the latter part of the summer, at times, I
Avould be deaf in that ear, and Avithin a month,
by pressing ray finger against the loAver part of
my ear, I found there Avas a hard bunch, which
Avas very painful. This become very troublesome ;
I began to be alarmed, and Avas about asking med-
cal advise. I had my ear "dug out" with a tape
needle, and then put in some bitter-sAveet onint-
ment, and let it remain an hour. I then made a
Avash of Castile soap and soft water, had it about
lukcAvarm. Had that forced into my ear Avith a
sjTinge. The third syringfuU I had forced in, I
heard a report like a pistol, and I found the heart
of the onion Avhich had been in my head a year,
and had caused a sore there. When the heart of
the onion came out, blood and matter followed. I
continued to use the Avash for my ear three times
a day, and in three days my ear Avas perfectly Avell.

Thinking, kind reader, you might be afflicted in
the same Avay, I tal-te this opportunity of informing
you of a remedy. A. Willard Hallock.

BrooJcsville, Jan., 18G0.

WOTHIISrG BUT A PAKMEK.

The idea is often expressed that the business of
farming requires rather physical than mental ac-
tivity. The editor of the London Saturday lic-
vieiv, after returning from a Cattle ShoAv, gives
expression to some reflections on the demands
Avhich modern agriculture makes on the mental
poAvers of the farmer, from which Ave copy a par-
agraph.

Mere idlers are not the anxious, cautious heads
engaged all the Aveek in manipulating and admir-
ing the scarifiers and reaping machines and steam
plows in Baker Street. If farming is all that its
extant instruments and implements betoken, it is
among the most difficult of economical pursuits.
The British farmer must be an accountant hold-
ing his OAvn against Messrs. Qnilter and Ball ; for
he must be able to get the exact cost of every
bushel of corn raised on his fields, and of every
beast and sheep consigned to the butcher. lie
must know Avhat he Avins and loses by every acre,
and he must be possessed of the natural history

1S60.

NEW ENGLAKD FARMER.

135

of every bushel of manure throughout its career
of raw material, grass, beef or ffour. In other
words, the farmer must be a good arithmetician,
something of a chemist, not unacquainted with an-
imal and vegetable physiology, a practical me-
chanician, skilled in at least the theory of several
branches of natural philosophy, possessed of that
administrative faculty which can rule and attract
subordinates, with moral qualifications which, to
say the least of them, must embrace sobriety,
punctuality, quickness, tact, and what is generally
known by business habits. If the farmer is not
this, he is nought ; and the fi\ct that the trade has
compelled him to be this is not the least of its
blessings. There is probably no class which the
last quarter of a century has so much elevated and
refined as that of the British farmer.

SAW-DUST AS A MANURE.

We are pleased to notice an increasing atten-
tion to the subject of agriculture, especially in this
State. Scientific labor is being applied to almost
every branch, and it is producing the desired re-
sults. Next to drainage, we thinlv the most de-
sirable object to be attained by our New England
farmers is a sufficiency of manures to keep the
land in heart. Nature has evidently provided for
herself, and if man would follow out the teachings
of nature he would find that her generosity knows
no stint, if rightly taken advantage of.

We noticed, in last week's New England Far-
mer, a query propounded by an intelligent farmer
of Orange, in this State, as to the value of pine
saw-dust for the purposes of bedding cattle, and
we feel tempted to give our experience. In the
years 1855 and 1856, while residing on the home-
stead in the town of B , Franklin county,

Mass., we conceived a plan for saving the urinal
deposits of the stock, and also to absorb the juicy
part of the droppings. We had access to a large
sawmill, about threo-quarters of a mile from the
barn, where large quantities of hemlock and other
timber were annually sawed. Wc commenced
carting saw-dust into the barn shed about the first
of September, and continued it through the win-
ter, filling up the large bay as fast as the hay was
spent. Our plan for using was as follows : first,
to cover over the entire surface of the stable floor
to the depth of three or four inches with saw-dust,
and for the convenience of the milch cows there
was placed on the top of the saw-dust coarse brakes
and spent corn fodder — this last was shaken up
every morning and night, and replenished as often
as necessary, and the entire stable cleaned out
once a week. Under the cattle and young stock
sav.'dust only was used. So thoroughly did this
absorb all the urine and juicy substances that when
thrown into the shed, the stable floor was as dry
as the barn floor. The manure heap in spring
gave 14S large ox loads — from sawdust 70 loads,
muck 20. The manure was entirely free from heat
— was so thoroughly pulverized that no fork was
necessary to load it ; and the crop of corn in the
fall fully responded to the benefits of this treat-
ment.

There is another valuable manure to be found
around saw-mills, and we have often wondered,
as we rode through Orange, Athol and Erving,
that the farmers did not use it. We mean the ac-

cumulations about the log-way which have been
rotting there for years. Nothing better can be add-
ed to the compost heap, especially for potatoes
and the purposes of top-dressing. — Commercial
Bulletin, Dec. 17.

Fur the Seiv England Farmer.
IS FARMING PROFITABLE?

]\Ir. Editor : — I was much pleased to see an
article in your issue of Nov. 12th on the cost of
farm products, for I fully agree with Mr. Pinkhani
that it is quite as necessary for the farmer to know
the cost of what he produces, as it is for the me-
chanic. But I am not prepared to wholly endorse
his statement, that the farmers of New England,
as a class, are running behind hand at the rate of
$10 to $15 for every acre of corn which they har-
vest, and "more so," on all other crops.

I think some of them have, at least, kept even
with the world, while others have gained in dol-
lars and cents, aside from raising a large family
of healthy robust children, and yielding them an
education that enables them to make the domes-
tic hearth the loadstone of attraction, the seat of
happiness, morality and virtue, or fits them to
guide the noble ship of State with as much cor-
rectness and firmness of purpose, as the more del-
icately reared ofi'spring of the merchant or mil-
lionare.

Mr. P. says, "we make a positive loss of $10
or more per acre on our corn crop, and the shrewd-
est Yankee that ever was made cannot figure it
any other Avay." I do not profess to have any
peculiar Yankee shrewdness, and yet I think that
I can raise an acre of corn, and/eerf it out to stock,
and tnaJxC mone)/ by the operation. I will not
guess at the matter, nor "mystify it by running
one thing into another" so far but what any one
can easily see through it.

Below Mr. Pinkham's figures he says, "Thus it
wiU be seen that we have cultivated our crop in
the most prudent and economical manner." Here,
again, I must diflPer with him, for I do not consid-
er it prudent, or good farming, to be at the ex-
pense of cultivating an acre to get the same num-
ber of bushels that should grow on less than one-
half of it. Here are a few figures to show what,
to me, seems a better way.

I will take, as an example, an acre that was
planted with corn in 1858, and this year planted
without manure except a compost of hen manure,
and put it at the rate of one pint to the hill. Al-
lowing the same wages per day that Mr. P. does,
the land to be worth $50 per acre, and the entire
cost of the crop, interest, taxes and all, when the
corn was in the crib, was $23,94. The income
was:

56 bushels of sound corn $56,00

20 Irashels ears soft corn ,5,00

Stover and turnips 15,00

Total $76,00

Making a net profit of $52,00

This crop, owing to the frosts and severe
drought, was not considered a fair one, the same
land producing 75 bushels per acre last yeai*, of
sound, shelled corn. These crops are not excep-
tions, although, perhaps, more than average ones,
and farmers will invariably make a profit in rais-

136

NEW ENGLAND FARIMER.

March

ing a good crop, as the expense is but very little
extra, except the manure, and here is the advan-
tage which Mr. P. does not see, of feeding out the
hay and grain, as it is the manure that makes the
profitable crops.

When I read Mr. P.'s article I wondered that
the farmers of New England had not all become
bankrupt years ago ; he says "they feed out their
hay aiad grain at a loss of fifty per cent., to raise
more at still another loss, and thus go on year
after year." Still "v/e live, and move and have
our being !" Let every farmer feed out his hay
and grain prudently to good stock, and carefully
save and apply his manure, and he will make more
and more money every year ; Mr. P. to the con-
trary, notwithstanding.

Now let us see if we can make our words good,
— for figures are facts — and we do not want our
"dollars and cents" to cost us too much. Take,
for an example, 100 good ewe sheep, that can be
bought for three dollars per head.

100 Sheep. Dr.

To cost at $3 per head $300,00

To keeping 1 year at $2 200,00

To washing 1,50

To shearing 6,00

To marliing, carrying off wool, &c 3,00

To interest, and taxes 20,00

Total $530,50

Cr.

By 400 lbs. wool, at 50c $200,00

By 75 lambs, at $2 por head 150,00

By old llock on hand 275,00

Total $625,00

From which, allowing $25 for use of buck, leaves a

net profit of $69,50

Now, if we feed the fifty bushels of corn we
raised, in addition to the above cost of keeping,
we shall get one pound more wool per head, raise
twenty more lambs, and have our old flock Vvorth
nearly as much as when we bought them. Let us
see whether we lose fifty per cent, by feeding out
the corn we have got :

100 pounds more wool $50,00

20 more lambs, at $2 per head 40,00

And the additional value of old llock is 25,00

Making a total gain of $115,00

Thus giving the corn a dollar and cent value of
$2,50 per bushel, if judiciously fed out, — besides
giving an additional profit of $65 on the stock, as
the extra value of the manure will fully comj^cn-
sate for the trouble of feeding out the grain. Thus
I have a net profit of $1,32| cents per head for
keeping the sheep one year. Rather different
from raising calves, is it not, farmer Pinkham ?
These are not exaggerated figures, but what can
easily be done by almost evei-y farmer. To be
sure, (as Mr. Pinkham says,) "our business is ex-
tremely hazardous ;" we may, sometimes, by acci-
dent, or carelessness, have a cow choke to death ;
by over-work we may spoil an ox ; a horse, by
reckless driving and poor care, may get foun-
dered ; a drought may reduce our crops ; hail-
storms may damage us ; and if, through our neg-
lect, our fences are poor, there is more loss than
by all the other causes combined. And yet, broth-
er farmers, we are not the only class that run
risks. Does not the merchant sometimes lose his
ships freighted with valuable cargoes ? are not
his AVfirehouses, filled wiHi n^qtUr rvno^ic.. pot^ia-

times burned, or, perhaps, a clerk will step out
with $40,000 or so ? And so of other cases.

Farmers do not expect to become millionaires,
but if they manage properly, they are equally as
independent, and no class enjoys that priceless
blessing, health, better, or lives to a riper old age.

J. B. Freejian.

Lebanon, N. E., Nov. 25, 1859.

WHAT ENGLISH FARMERS "WANT TO
Kl\rO"W.

At a late meeting of the "Royal Agricidtural
Society of England," the following list of prizes
for Essays was adopted. Possibly the republi-
cation of the subjects may furnish topics for brief
dissertations to some New England fin-mcrs, who,
if they should miss the "sovereigns," might enjoy
the satisfaction of having stirred the minds of
others in the right direction.

1. Fifty sovereigns for the best report on the
agriculture of Berkshire.

2. Twenty sovereigns for an approved Essay on
the best period of the rotation, and the best time
of year for applying the manure of the farm.

3. Ten sovereigns for the best Essay on the al-
terations rendered advisable in the management
of land of different qualities, by low prices of grain
and high prices of meat.

4. Ten sovereigns for the best Essay on recent
improvements in dairy practice.

5. Ten sovereigns for the best Essay on the
proper office of straw on the farm.

6. Ten sovereigns for the best Essay on the
amount of capital required for the profitable oc-
cupation of a farm.

7. Ten sovereigns for the best Essay on the
conditions of seed-bed best suited to the various
agricultural crops.

8. Ten sovereigns for the best Essay on the
adulteration of agricultural seeds.

9. Ten sovereigns for the best Essay on any
other agricultural subject.

For the Neto En<jland Farmer.
PIPE FOR CONVEYING V/ATER.

Mr. Editor : — I wish to take water from a Avell
which is twenty feet deep, then carry it about one
hundred feet on a level, to a pump. Can you, or
some of your readers, inform me what kind of pipe
is" best to use, to carry it through ? The water is
good to drink, but rather hard, and I should not
dare to use lead pipe ; if the Avater was soft, I
should put in leatl, as I believe it is proved that
soft water from wells, or any other source can not
be injured by lead. Now what kind of pipe is
l)est, wood, iron, glass, gutta-percha, or something
else ; and where can it be obtained ? Also, please
state something near the cost for one hundred and
twenty feet, if it is not too much trouble.

Billerica, Jan., 1860. A Reader.

Remarks. — Some of our readers are conversant
with these matters, and we hope will give the in-
formation desired. It is information that will be

(1860.

NEW ENGLAND FARMEtl.

137

USES AMD VALUE OF MUCK — I.

DISPOSITION is shown by most
persons to neglect the common
blessings which strew their
every-day paths, and to look at
a distance, into their neigh-
bor's field or manufactory, gar-
den or study, — or into another
town, or often a remote State,
for them, where they fancy
they may be obtained on easier
terms than in their own fields,
neighborhood or town. It was

undoubtedly this restless desire that prompted

Pope's line, that

Man never is, but always to be bleat.

The farmer has not escaped the infection, but
too often sees in other lands and avocations those
advantages which he imagines cannot be realized
upon his own acres and around his own hearth-
stone. The rainbow of promise, to him, con-
tinually looms up in the distance, while the dark
clouds of discouragement hang gloomily over his
present paths. Happily, the light of science has
in a considerable degree dissipated these clouds,
and opened the way for new practices in farming,
and better views of man's power over the materi-
als upon which he must work. This light now il-
lumines, in a greater or less degree, the whole
civilized world, and even darts its rays into the
regions of heathenism, and where men have not
emerged from a state of nature. And Avhile it has
shaken despotisms, and opened pathways between
nations, it has led the tiller of the soil to investi-
gations whose results are more valuable to the
world than all the gold of the "far Cathay," or of
the later mines of the Pacific coast. He has found
the idea v/hich prevailed so long, and which was
nearly universal, that j^t'ofit in farming could on-
ly be realized in the possession of large tracts of
land, was an erroneous one ; that land, capital and
skill should bear relative proportions to each oth-
er, and that where these proportions did not ex-
ist failure was the result, sometimes ending in
mortgaged estates and bankruptcy. The com-
mon expression now, therefore, is, that he must
seek a higher cultivation,

ON LESS LAND, BUT WITH MORE SKILL AND FER-
TILIZING AGENTS.

It was this idea that led to the inventions to
which we have alluded, and which resulted in the
discovery of a material on a large proportion of
our farms eminently calculated to restore ex-
hausted lands to fertility, and to produce once
more something like the amount of crops they
yielded when in a virgin state. This discovery,
through all the Ncav England States, especially,
has considerably changed the aspect of the soil

and the crops, and connected with the idea of cul-
tivating less land, but in a higher manner, has in-
creased the property of the farmer to a degree
which he had never before attained.

The value of farms in New England some thir-
ty or forty yeai-s ago, was greatly depreciated by
the presence of hog or sivampy land, as it was
considered nearly worthless for everything except-
ing the meagre timber or fuel Avhich might be cut
and hauled from it in the Avinter, or the scanty
and coarse herbage it would aff"ord to cattle dur-
ing the time of short pasturage in our summer
droughts.

The value of such lands has entirely changed,
as where, at the former period, they would scarcely
command five dollars an acre, they now bring
from thirty to one hundred, and in the neighbor-
hood of villages standing on plain or sandy lands,
confer the greatest benefits in gardening, and
are worth five hundred dollars an acre, provided
the muck is of good quality, and the deposit is
deep and of convenient access. Indeed, it is often
said by those purchasing farms, that they would
not enter upon one, unless it were well supplied
with meadow muck, for it is this material and the
barn-cellar, that, like the philosopher's stone,
turn all they touch into gold. Though somewhat
poetical, this language is not altogether extrava- .
gant; for on every farm in our knowledge where
there is a good barn cellar, and the meadow much,
abounds, thrift and prosperity are evident to e\eiy.
passer-by. Our range of observation has been
somewhat extensive, and the use of muck has
been the subject of our critical observation for
many years.

These muck swamps were long avoided as a
sort of tabooed territory, with scarcely sufl5.<;ient
tenacity to perform their part in "holding the
world together :" in the winter, rabbits tcwersed
them with their paths, and found feed in the bark
of the young and tender shrubs, and in the sum-
mer, frogs croaked and slimy things disported
themselves in security in their ancestral hramts.
There snakes deposited their eggs in the rotten
logs of an earlier growth, and from thence led
their supple broods to the heated slopes and rocks
to vivify and grow in the sun . Owls and bat*
came from their dark recesses-in the twilight to
feed on the denizens of the ligljter and purer air,
while the boy with his cows cast stealthy glances
at the dark jungles, to see if ghosts and goblins
were not issuing forth too.

WHERE MUCK IS MOSTLY FOUND.

It is in these long abandoned swamps that this
treasure, this vast acquisition to our national
wealth, is mainly found. In some cases, they are
bordered by precipitous or abru])t hills, and the
deposit in the basin there is usually deep, finely

138

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

MA-RCi^.

pulverized, and mingled in some measure with
mineral matter from the hills. In others, the high
lands rise gradually, or what is quite often the
case, the swamp is bordered on one or two sides
with broad plains of sandy land, once covered
with pitch pines, and possessing within themselves
the essential elements of grain crops for an in-
definite period. This condition of things reminds
the observer of the deposits of coal and iron
which frequently lie side by side in coal and iron
regions, divided, perhaps, by a narrow valley, or
a diminutive stream. Such boggj' swamps are
not strictly soils, but the collections of organic
matter, mainly contributed by successive ages, in-
to which has been mingled from the higher lands,
most or all the minerals in a soluble form.

Sometimes, muck of the best quality is found
in narrow valleys, and on quite high ground ; but
in such instances it is rarely more than three or
four feet in depth, and thinning down towards
the edges of the valley to a few inches. This is
usually black, of a slippery, saponaceous appear-
ance, and so thoroughly decomposed, that the
sense of touch can detect no fibre or grit when
rubbed between the fingers. On examining it
through a microscope of high power, the fibres
may be seen, though exceedingly minute, and in
endless forms. This muck is perhaps the most
valuable of any found for all the purposes for
which it is used. It is alwaj^s accessible, and may
be applied to the land with safety after having
been exposed to atmospheric influences for a few
weeks only. After being thrown out and becom-
ing dry, it is friable, and falls into a light, fine
powder, and in that state is one of the most gree-
dy absorbents in nature. Instances have come
to our knowledge where this class of muck has
been transferred to grass lands with admirable
Effect, without any seasoning, or "cooking," as
some farmers term it, or without any mixture with
barn-yard or specific manures, ashes or lime.
When tlu'own out in ridges it soon becomes cov-
ered with a rank growth of weeds, or coarse grass-
es, or, what often occurs, a luxuriant growth of
the wild raspberry. These are evidences of its
virtues which cannot be mistaken, and are suffi-
cient to settle the question of value. In our own
garden culture we have for years used this kind
of muck on cultivated raspber/ies, strawberries,
blackberries, currants and gooseberries Avith the
most satisfactory results. We also apply it as a
mulch about young pear trees and young nursery
trees, and find that it prevents excessive evapora-
tion, and protects the tender roots from the scorch-
ing effects of our hot summer suns.

On the margins of some small streams in Mas-
sachusetts, we have visited extensive tracts, made
uj) of muck varying in thickness from one foot to
twenty feet in depth. It varies also in quality, i

These tracts are annually flooded in the springs
and succeeded by annual crops of coarse grasses
which for many ages must have matured and fall-
en upon the spot, as there are no present eviden-
ces of a forest having stood there, though it is
supposed they were remotely covered with a heavy
growth of timber. They are almost always skirt-
ed by rolling hills on one side, and "pine plains"
on the other ; thus aff"ording the farmer opportu-
nity to reclaim the meadow itself, by drainage and
an admixture of the gravel from the hills, or by
transferring the muck to the sandy land, and re-
storing it to its original fertility. As in the coal
and iron districts, nature has been affluent in her
gifts to the husbandman in this particular ; it is
for him to seek her treasures, draw them from
their hidden recesses, and make them bless the
world, or mould them to his uses where they lie.

For the New Ensland Fm-mer.
USES OF SEA-"WEED.

For years I have been a reader of your valua-
ble paper. Upon one subject I have seen very lit-
tle written which we farmers on the sea- coast are
much interested in, that is, sea-iceed, for to that ar-
ticle we are mostly indebted for our hay crops. I
find in the Fourth Annual Report of the Secreta-
ry of the Massachusetts Board of Agriculture,
1859, this subject is taken up by S. P. M4lY-
BERRY, of Cape Elizabeth, (to whom the readers
of your paper are indebted for many timely hints.)
He gives to the reader its ofllice as designed by
our holy Father, in the sea, and then its uses on
the farm. INIore attention has been given within
a few years in this vicinity to the hay crop than
formerly ; we find that two tons of hay can be
produced from an acre of land, where we used to
get but one ; the extra amount more than paying
for getting the land in a good state of cultivation.
Many thanks to T. J. Pinkham for what he wrote
relative to whether farming is profitable, as by
that we have been enabled to get at the opinion
of others. Senex.

Yarmouth, Feb., 1860.

SCIEWCE OF COMMON THLKTGS.
BY DAVID A. WELLS,

Why do bubbles rise to the surface, ivhen ajnece
of sugar, tcood or chalk is plunged under tvater"?

Because the air or liquid contained in the pores
becomes expanded by heat, and bursts the cover-
ing in which it is confined.

What are the sparks of fire which burst from
the wood ?

Very small pieces of wood made red hot, and
separated from the log by the force of the air
when it bursts from its confinement.

Why does light, jiorous wood make more snap-
ping than any other kind ?

Because the pores are very large, and contain
more air than wood of a closer grain.

Why does green tvood make less snapi^ing than
dry ? "

Because the pores, being filled with saj?, contain
very little air.

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

139

CRANBERBY CULTURE.
The following remarks in relation to the cul-
ture of the cranberry, were made at the recent
session of the Maine State Board of Agriculture ?

Mr. Dill said he had a small bog, in -which there
was a constant warfare between a species of lau-
rel and cranberries. He cuts up the laurel, and
uses it for banking to his house. After skimming
off the surface, and carrying it away, he puts on
sand. In the fall he flows, to defend from frost,
and to keep the plants from being thrown out,
and from a worm that infests them. He had pro-
cured plants from wild meadows, and from West
Bridgewater, the Bell and the Cherry cranberry.
He keeps the plants as carefully weeded as he does
plants in his garden. He had tried carefully a few
patches of the Bell that had produced at the rate
of 150 bushels to the acre. He had the Bugle
from ]Minnesota. He thinks pure, river sand the
best article to use. The rows had better be two
feet apart. They will not bear well till well mat-
ted. There is a finely bearing cranberry bed on
a high, dry knoll near him. His natives do not do
as well as those from Massachusetts and Wells.
There is a high-bush cranberry growing near him,
two kinds ; one is well known, and the other is
not. The latter is a few inches in height, and
very pleasant to the taste. Some of these are
now transplanted, to test the value for cultivation.

Mr. True had watched the cranberry culture
closely. He had not felt well this fall when obliged
to send to the western part of Oxford for cran-
berries, when we have everpvhere plenty of bogs
suitable for their culture. He spoke of a case
where a man arranged a bog by plowing, &c., and
then said to the plants and grass, "Go it, and see
which will beat." He examined it at the time of
fruiting, and he thought, without any culture, a
pint bowl would cover enough to fill it. He knew
of another place in Kennebec county, where less
pains Avere taken, and greater success followed.
Dr. T. obtained vines, and set them out, not in a
suitable place, and in spite of frost, many of tliem
were doing well. There are hosts of farmers in
Maine whose bogs might be mines of wealth in
this regard.

For tlie New England Farmer.

PROFITS OF DAIRY FARMING.

Mr. Editor : — I have read Avith attention the
statistics of your correspondents from Chelmsford
and Westboro', on the '"Profits of Farming." I
have also seen the meagre statement of what was
said, by the dignitaries of the land, at the first of
the farmers' meeting, on Monday evening last.
Now, sir, without in any manner infringing the
facts stated by others, I am free to say those com-
ing from Westboro' strikes me as nearest the
mark. I have certainly known many cases, w^here
a herd of half a dozen cows have yielded from
their milk alone a ])rofit of $30 each, during the
year. And if Mr. Quincy's view of the value of
the manure that can be made from a coav, be at
all correcf, (and I know not why it should not be,
as he is an honorable man, and the son of a truly
intelligent, practical farmer,) then, sir, it is clear
that the keeping of good dairy stock may be made
a profitable business. The fii-st experiment of the
kind to which my attention was di-awn, was con-

ducted by Col. Jesse Putxam, of Danvers, (more
than forty years ago,) Avho still lives, at near nine-
ty years of age. He made from seven cows, an
average to a cow of 187 pounds of butter, in the
course of six months, which sold for 25 cents a
pound. On my father'* farm I have known a
product from cows quite as good as this, when I
assisted in milking them, though I cannot state
the particulars. South Danvers.

AN INTERESTING REVIVAL.

Farming, as well as commerce and manufac-
tures, has always had its periods of decline, revi-
val and success, and these have been caused by
the depression or prosperous condition of other
business. When commerce and manufactures are
paralyzed in any degree, the mechanic arts feel it
at once ; so the ship, house and store building, and
all the various handicrafts, are paralyzed or sus-
pended, and the attention of thousands is natural-
ly turned to the soil.

The revulsion of 1857 had this result in some
degree, and undoubtedly turned many to the coun-
try who had been engaged in trade or in the arts.
But beyond all these contingencies, there is a
sound, and what will prove a permanent revival
and interest in the business of cultivating the soil ;
a higher appreciation of the sure and remunera-
tive results of the occupation, and a deeper love
for a calling Avhich tends more than all others to
promote health, to lead the mind to the higliest
contemplations of truth and duty, to save from the
destructive tendencies of rapidly increasing
wealth, or the equally rapid descent to poverty,
and to ennoble and dignify our natures to the
highest points of excellence and virtue.

The present is one of those periods when after -
tion is turned in an unusual degree to agricultural
life, and when inquiries are earnest and frcquei.t
as to what modes of farming will produce th."
most sure and profitable results. The action of
the State Board of Agriculture in aiding the es-
tablishment and encouragement of farmers' clubs,
is arousing the attention of all classes of people
throughout the State. Under the auspices of the
Board, we have recently visited several towns,
and find that the people have taken hold of the
work themselves, and have taken hold in the right
way.

Early in January, we had the pleasure of visit-
ing the farmers of Franklin, in Norfolk county,
and of addressing them upon the objects which
the Board of Agriculture have in contemplation.
We scarcely know whether farming is the leading
pursuit in this town, as there are five manufacto-
ries of bonnets in the village, employing about
200 females and 100 males. Many of the bonnets,
however, are made in the families of this and the
neighboring tOAvns. By far the greater portion of

140

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

March

the persons employed are of this description, and
number about 900. The amount of sales is $400,-
000 annually. All kinds of bonnets are made.
The stock of most of the "lace" or fancy hats is
imported from Englan(], Italy and Switzerland.
The nicest laces, made of horse hair, come from
Switzerland, made of hair imported from South
America at prices almost fabulously cheap, show-
ing that the wages of those who manufacture
them must be at the starvation point. The most
expensive and fashionable bonnets are made, how-
ever, by Yankee girls, of rye straw. Tha names of
tlie firms are A. E. Daniels & Son, H. M. Green
& Baker, Davis Thaver, Jr., A. II. Morse & H.
C. Fisher.

Franklin was once, we believe, an agi-icultural
town of considerable note, but for several years
past her farming interests have shared but too
largely in the general decline, aggravated no
doubt by the superior attractions which the man-
ufacture of straw has presented to the young
men. There are encouraging signs, however, that
farming has reached its lowest point, and that it
has already begun to ascend again. Among those
who have aided in this good work are Dr. Oliver
Dean, vrho, after a life of successful enterprise,
has returned to his native town, purchased a farm
and is showing his neighbors the value of scien-
tific farming; Dr. S. AxwooD, who has been
turning his attention to stock-raising ; E. A. Met-
CALF, who has entered somewhat largely into
reclaiming waste lands with great success. Dr. E.
A. Miller, of Dorchester, a native of this town,
has entered upon the culture of the cranberry on
a large scale. He has some fifteen acres of
meadows Avhich he can cover with water in two or
tiree hours, so as to protect them from frost or
fiomthe cranberry Avorm when the young fruit
has just set. He has expended some $7000 in his
operations. The plants are just beginning to re-
turn to him something of this outlay. Last fall
he gathered 80 or 90 barrels, which, at the high
prices cranberries commanded, paid a handsome
return on the cost. Mr. Whiting Metcalf has
entered somewhat largely and successfully upon
the enterprise of transplanting forest trees, most-
ly pines.

A Farmers' Club has been fornjed, and an eligi-
ble room fitted up for its accommodation, and it
has a library of well-selected agricultural books.
In this room is the identical library given by Dr.
Franklin, in 1786, for the honor conferred on him
of calling the town by his name.

Several distinguished men have originated in
Franklin, and among them Hon. Tiieron Met-
calf, of the Supreme Court ; the late Judge Em-
mons, of Maine ; Horace Mann and Prof. Fish-
er, of Yale College, who gave promise of being
one of the most distinguished mathematicians of

our country, but who died young, being lost by
the wreck of "The Albion," on the coast of Ire-
land, in 1822.

Hon. Jabez Fisher was a citizen of Franklin.
He was for more than fifty years a deacon of the
church, and for about twenty years he represented
the town in the Legislature of the State, either as
a member of the House or of the Senate, or of
the Governor's Council. lie was prominent in
the days and deeds of our revolutionary struggles,
and is said to have originated the oft-quoted
phrase — "The times that tried men's souls."

We intended to speak of visits to Waltham,
North Wrentham and Southboro', but have al-
ready occupied all the room we can spare at pres-
ent.

For the New England Farmer.

FAKMERS' CLUBS AND AGKICULTUBAIi
FAIKS.

Mr. Brown : — I saw in the Farmer a commu-
nication from Mr. Flint, stating that towns wish-
ing to form clubs can have assistance from an
agent sent at the State's expense. I regret that
our farmers are not capable of forming clubs for
themselves. Farmers' clubs are useful, and where
farmers take an interest in farming, they will meet
and form clubs without any assistance from the
State. The majority of farmers of this State do
not want any aid from a source they are taxed to
pay for ; what we want most is to lessen our tax-
es. We are spending a large amount of money
every year on our county societies, wliich were in-
tended to benefit the farming community, but, 1
am sorry to say, are doing but little good, under the
present management. Those societies have ex-
pended large sums for- land and board fences to
pen up all manner of exciting shows, to entice
young and old to go in and pay their quarters to see
the sights they have collected, and so we are taxed
twice to see what does but little good. The work-
ing farmer gets but little of the premium money.
Most of it is taken by men of large means who
have bought farms that have been improved by
good fai'mers, and our societies are managed prin-
cipaUy by such men.

Market fairs have been much talked about of
late. I have thought very fovorably of them, but
I do not think they will remedy all the evils that
some do. As to speculators, or middlemen, they
can buy at market fairs as well as others. But the
middlemen are not so much at fault as many
think they are ; for the consumers' way of living
is such at the present time that, if it was not for
the middlemen, I think some of them would go
without their dinner, for a large part of them
live from hand to mouth. As the fashions were
once, when professional men and mechanics laid
up their winter provisions, market fairs would
have been a help to both farmer and consumer.
But our sons and daughters are not educated to
know how to live ; they are kept at school till
they lose their health, and then what they learn
is of but little practical use. A large part of them
who get married at the present day would not
know what to do with f^^'o or three months' T>ro-

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

141

visions, if they should happen to have so much at
one time.

Some persons inquii-e what has caused the in-
terest now taken in farming ? I say in answer
that it is the increased reading of agricultural
publications, and town agricultural societies and
clubs. Where we see a farm under good cultiva-
tion, and all kinds of fruit trees that look healthy,
we can safely say that farmer reads, and most
likely the Farmer is one of his papers, together
with some good books. I attribute my success in
farming considerably to this. G. s.

LtamJM&ter, Mass., Jan., 1860.

Fur the New England Farmer.

CLTJB-FOOTED CABBAGES.

I notice in the last number of the Farmer, an
article from the Michigan Farmer on the subject
of club-footed cabbages. It appears to me the \yvi-
ter is somewhat fanciful in supposing that the
cabbage, in a strait for moisture, attempts to imi-
tate the bulbous rooted vegetables to avoid the ef-
fects of the drought, and so assumes a club foot.
In ray youth, I was familiar vvith clulvfooted cab-
bages, as they were a constant pest in my father's
garden ; that garden was far from being a dry
one. I scarcely ever knew it to fail on that ac-
count. That fact weighs strongly against this
Michigan theory. Our garden was an old one,
and used as such a long time. We could not de-
pend on getting healthy cabbage plants in the
garden, and had to usf^ a patch of new ground in
some other place, or depend on our neighbors.
Frequently, good liealthy plants set in that garden
would become club or pumple-footed, as we used
to call them. We thou attributed this tendency
to club foot to its being old in cultivation, and
filled with some worm or maggot that got into the
root of the plant and irritated it so as to produce
the club ; like the sting of an insect in an oak
leaf, which produces oak ap])les, so called. These
apples are well known to be nurseries of a nu-
merous progeny. So the sting of a Canada plum
will produce a long, leathery, purse-like covering
of a new race of the insect.

I have of late years seldom noticed the club
foot in cabbages, but I have seen some once or
twice in my garden in a very moist place. I do
not remember of examining the club feet to find
the grub that caused them, but the impression
was so deep and general that no such examina-
tion was thought necessary. I have supposed
that the grub or fly that deposited the egg so com-
mon sixty years ago, might, like many others,
have become temporarily extinct, or nearly so, in
certain localities, and would, like the caterpillar
or canker worm, again at some time renew their
mischief.

This Michigan writer, if he observes carefully,
will find this supposed expedient of the cabbages
to gather moisture by means of a club foot to be
a total failure, as the first indication of this dis-
ease is the wilting of the plant in a hot sun, while
the healthy plants, with their natural fibrous roots,
look green, and are indeed in the height of their
thrift. So much for theory, not sustained by
facts. RuFUS McIntiee.

Farsonsfidd, Me^ Jan. 2, 1860.

MASS. STATE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

The Massachusetts State Board of Agriculture
had a session at the State House in Boston, com-
mencing on Tuesday, Feb. 1, 1860, nearly every
member beuig present. An earnest spirit seemed
to animate the whole Board, and various topics
were introduced, discussed and decided upon. Mr.
Atwateu, of Springfield, reported upon the sub-
ject of Root Crops. Mr. R. S. Fay, of Lynn,
read a report upon Agricultural Education, which
led to a most interesting discussion on the sub-
ject, and clearly showing that this matter is con-
sidered of vital importance, to secure a better un- .
derstanding of the principles and laws which gov-
ern the art, and upon which its general prosperi-
t)' and profit depend. Dr. LoRlXG, of Salem, of-
fered the following resolutions, which were adopt-
ed with great unanimity :

Itenolre /■■, That the Committee upon Agricultural Edncatioa
be and hereby are authorized to obtain an elementary manual of
agriculture for the use of our common schools, to be submitted
to tliis Board for approval.

Required, That the said Committee be requested to cause to
be introduced the aforesaid manual, when approved by this
Board, into the common scliools of llassachusetts, in tlie manrer
provided for the introduction of school books by the laws of the
Commonwealth, and that said committee be authorized to apply
to the Le.sislatura for the passage of an act for the accomplisli-
ment of this object. The committee entrusted with this duty
are Messrs. R. 8. Fay, of Lynn, M. P. Wilder, of Dorchester,
SiMOK Browx, of Concord, G. B. Lorixg, of Salem, and Jabez
Fisher, of Fitchburg.

Mr. CuARLES-G. Davis, of Plymouth, made a
carefully drawn report upon the subject of Mar-
ket Days.

At a meeting of the Board, Jan. 5, the follow-
ing preamble and resolution were passed :

Ifherens, it is made the duty of the State Board of Agricul-
ture, among other things, to make such suggestions to the Leg-
islature, with regard to the interestsof agriculture, as may seem
advisable,

Ite.io'red, That in the opinion of this Board it is not expedient
to incorijorate any more societies receiving the bounty of the
State.

^^VIl-fTERING STOCK.

Tlie following report of a discussion of this
topic, at a meeting of farmers in Milford, N. H.,
is furnished by the editor of the Journal oj" Agri-
culture :

Zebcdiah Abbott, of Wilton, mixes good and
poor hay together, instead of feeding separately,
and believes it pays well. Thinks stock should
come out better, or as well, at least, in spring as
they were in the fall. Will use his straw to mix
with his hay as he puts it into the barn next sum-
mer— stock will eat it all clean. Keeps cows —
feeds them in the morning with hay and turnips —
turns out at eleven — ties up at three P. M., and feeds
hay ; at dark feeds with shorts, cob-meal and cot-
ton seed, mixed and cooked in scalding water. It
is a good cow that gives seven quarts of milk a
day during winter. The speaker wished to know
if more Indian meal should be used. The Presi-
dent said that enough Indian meal should be fed
to kcej) the cow in good flesh and in good heart.

Mr. Ilazeltine, of Amherst, said he raised young
stock, and wished to learn the best way of keep-
ing it. Don't believe in starving stock ; is iu fa-

142

NEW ENGLAND FAKMER.

March

vor of cutting!: feed, especially straw and corn fod-
der, and believes it pays ; it also pays to wet the
feed — it makes it more like pasture feed in spring
and summer ; is in favor of roots — they moisten
the dry feed ; thinks farmers should try them —
try experiments.

'Col. Wilkins, of Amherst, said he feeds out
much meadow hay. Feeds three times in morn-
injj, and three at night ; likes roots — prefers the
mangold ; keeps stock out of doors from 1 en to
three, P. M. ; wished to know if stock can be
kept on good hay entirely, and come out in good
flesh in the spring? The President thought it
would, if properly fed. Feeding has much to do
with the heallli of stock. Cuts his butts and poor
hay, and mixes them together.

"Mr. Hazel tine said stock should gain in winter
— no farmer should be satisfied to have it fall away
— it is a dead loss ; should feed grain — not sell
hay, bat feed it out.

Levi jMcIntire, of Milford, thought it would do
to buy manure and sell hay. Farmers should
save all their night soil. N.ever allows an animal
to go dov.-n on his hands. Thinks cut feed good
for some horses, and bad for others.

J. Cleaves, of Mt. Vernon, don't like work well
enough to cut hay ; don't want poor hay all eat
up — wants enough left for litter. Feeds poor hay
and turni])s. No trouble in having stock come
out in good shape in spring ; should be stabled
most of the time.

Levi McLitire said a frequent change of feed
is good ; stock does better to keep it still.

J. Cleaves thinks old meadow hay the best — the
older the better. Meadow hay kept till four years
old is as good as money at nine ])er cent. Gives
oats to oxen in the spring, especially hot-uatured
ones.

MAINE BOAKD OF AGRICULTUTIE.

The Maine State Board of AgricuUure recently
held a several days' session in the State House at
Augusta, elected officers, transacted other bus-
iness, and then discussed several leading agricul-
tural subjects, among which were, '■'■What meas-
ures can he adopted to secure a uniform annual
profit in farming f '■'On the composition of
soils, and on the preparation and application
of Manures." Several other imjwrtant topics
were presented as being worthy of careful consid-
eration. In the course of discussion, Mr. Ander-
son, from Cumberland, said that there had been
more improvement in that county resulting from
the influence of the county societjj-, than in any
previous year. Draining had been followed more
than ever, and with good results. A manufactur-
er of tile in the county found it difficult to manu-
facture fast enough to supply the demand. He
spoke of the great destruction of sheep by dogs.
Mr. CusHMAN said he had lost $200 at least in
sheep, by his neighbors' dogs. Mr. Wasson, of
Franklin, believed that more sheep were killed by
dogs than by all diseases and all other animals
put together — dogs are the greatest obstacles in
the way of sheep husbandry. Mr. LANCASTER, of

South Kennebec, thought sheep raising as profi"
table as stock. Mr. H/UIMOND, of Piscataqua,
said a lawyer commenced fanning in his vicinity
many years ago, and has beat the whole county,
as a farmer.

The subject of the Cranhei'ry and the Orape,
was discussed, and many interesting points intro-
duced. Mr. Martin, of West Danville, said that
in applying manure, he thought the nearer the
top of the gi-ound the better.

The discussions seem to us to have been ani-
mated, and included many points of gi-eat inter-
est. The views generally expressed were emi-
nently practical, and will be likely to attract a
new interest in the Board. The following is a
list of the officers :

President — Hon. Isaac Reed.

lice President — John F. Anderson, Esq.

Secretary — S. L. Good all, Esq.

Messenger — Francis Fuller. ;

EXTBACTS AND REPLIES.
MEADOAV HARDILVCK — IRON GRIST MILL.

Can you, or any of your correspondents, inform
me how to rid a meadow from a bush called hard-
hack ? Wliat kind of grain will grow most profita-
bly on a meadow composed of black muck about
one foot deep, then of white sand ? Will it be
good economy to plow deep enough to mix the
sand with the muck ?

Also, the price of the portable iron grist mills,
of both sizes, that were illustrated in Vol. XIV.,
No. 10, of the New England Farmer. oxiCi. month-
ly for 1859, page 198. A. w. T.

Roxhury, Me., 1860.

Rejl-yrks. — Drainage and cultivation will drive
the "hardhack" out. From what we can judge of
your meadow, by what you say of it, we should
think the best course to take would be to plant
it with potatoes one or two years, and then lay it
down to grass. Such lands ai*e not usually adap-
ted to grains. A little of the sand you speak of
mixed with the surface soil will be advantageous.

The Portable Iron Grist Mills are for sale, we
believe, by Nourse, Mason & Co., Quincy Hall.

SICK CATTLE.

In last week's Farmer I read the account of Mr.
Cheney's loss of cattle. It may be that the passage
through the manyplus becomes inflamed and dry,
so that nothing can pass it. A remedy for all kinds
of stoppage, or bloat from any cause, is, vinegar
and chalk. One pint of vinegar, and chalk the
size of an Qg^, pounded fine. It must be admin-
istered quick, for no bottle is strong enough to
hold it when mixed. E. Powers.

Brimfield, Mass., 1860.

Remarks. — We knoAV nothing of the remedy-
prescribed above, and suggest that it be resorted
to with great caution, and never without the ad-
vice of some person pretty well acquainted with
managing stock. Vinegar and chalk may seem to

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

143

most of us a simple mixture, but the chemist may
see in it the most decided elements of destruction.

QUALITY OF- MLK.

My attention has been arrested by a discussion
between "Norfolk," and "Suffolk," as published in
the Transcript. It is, indeed, an interesting top-
ic, though I thought it had been very satisfactorily
settled, by the authority of Mr. Secretary Flint, in
his work on "Dairy Farming." I take the liberty
to suggest this might be a useful subject for dis-
cission at one of your Legislative Agricultural
meetings.

I remember when I used to milk cows, my
mother, who was a well-skilled manager of a dai-
ry, could readily judge of the feed of cows by the
quality of their milk. Li fact, she would detect
a change of pastures in the course of one week.
Now, if this difference from the variation of feed
on a farm was so great as this, that an artless
woman could detect it unerringly, with no other
lactometer than a skimming shell and a churn, is
it not strange that learned chemists should be
bothered in prescribing rules for determining
whether or not milk has been adulterated ?

Jan. 25, 1860. _ Essex.

CROPS IN ILLINOIS.

Distance alone prevents my laying some speci-
mens of our "Egyptian" fruits and vegetables
upon your table. My largest sweet potato from
the garden last fall weighed 7 3-lG lbs., when
clean washed, and several others 3 to 5 lbs. each.

The birds here will eat strawberries, raspber-
lies, grapes, &c., to our great annoyance. They
even indulge their appetites upon our early
peaches, which we begin to enjoy about the
eighth or tenth of July. Yovir city and vicinity
consumes quite a quantity of extra white flour
from this place, but the best quality, I am told
by our millers, does not pay quite as well in your
market as the No. 2 brand. J. H. Jones.

Chester, 111, 1860. _

SUBSOIL PLOWS — BONE FOR MANURE.

Will you inform me where I can get one and
two horse steel subsoil plows, Mapes' pattern, and
at what price ?

Also, dry ground or crushed bone for manure,
in small quantity, sny eight or ten hundred
pounds, and the price ? A. L. Patridge.

Peaclmm, Vt, 1860.

Remarks. — The price of the plows inquired for
above is $8 for the small size, and $11 for the
large.

Dry ground bone for manure is $25 a ton.
These articles may be found at Nourse & Co.'s,
34 Merchants' Row, Boston.

WORMS IN HORSES.

I wish to inquire through the columns of the
Farmer what will cm-e worms in horses. By giv-
ing such information you will oblige.

Candia, N. H., 1860. M. Varnum.

Remarks. — See Farmer of last week in answer
to "Subscriber, Exeter, N. H."

jFor the New England Farmer.

CONGBATULATIOIsrS— BEES—WARTS—
COAL- ASHES.

First — I congratulate the publishers of the New
England Farmer in their success in getting out
from Aveek to week one of the very best agricultural
papers published in this country. Its extended
and increasing circulation, if nothing more were
wanting, is proof of this. Its varied contents are
wholesome, sound and practical, both in its farm
and moral character. If there be those who ques-
tion this, I ask them to com])are the Farmer with
any or all other agricultural papers they please.
"By their works ye shall know them."

Secondly — Those persons who have bees should
not neglect to examine each and every hive dur-
ing such weather as we have had during the past
few weeks. See that there is not too much mois-
ture in the hive, and if so, give the bees more air,
and keep the hive as free from filth and dirt as
possible. In case I find any of my bees getting
short of food, I take some of the warmest days
and put in a few spoonfuls of honey and let it run
down anywhere among the bees. Last winter I
kept two swarms alive by now and then putting
up between the combs a few sticks of pure sugar
candy, and renewing it when eaten up. Bees are
very fond of this. I am well satisfied that most
persons, except the really experienced, who keep
bees do not give them air enough. My way is, to
give them aii- enough, so as to prevent any accu-'
mulation of moisture on the inside — not wholly —
for tliis cannot be done with safety to the bees in
cold weather, but to admit all the air which safe-
ty to the bees will admit of. The past season was
a bad one for bees in this section ; out of six
stocks with Avliich I begun in the spring, and all
in good condition, I did not get a swarm, and
only about fifty pounds of honey. Such luck is
unusual.

Thirdhj — Warts — I have seen, of late, inquiries
in the Farmer for a remedy to remove warts from
cattle. I have often done this by rubbing tliem
every day with whale oil. From one trial with
rosin oil it did the work quicker and more easily
than whale oil. I have found turpentine, such as
maybe gathered from the ends of green pine logs —
one of the very best remedies for removing warts,
either from cattle, or on man, that can be found.
Gather enough to cover the wart and bind it on
the part, and let it remain for two or three days,
and the Avart will come off, root and branch.

Fourthly — It will take a long time before any
person can convince me that there is no virtue in
coal ashes as a manure, particularly for grass
land ; and if the soil is light and sandy, so much
the more and better will be its effect. Let those
who doubt this make a pile of it in any grass field
they please, and if the grass is not larger and
more thrifty about the pile than where there is no
ashes, then I give it up. n. Q. T.

King Oak Hill, Jan., 1860.

Best Four Grapes. — "The Grape Growers*
Association" of Hartford, Ct., at a meeting, Jan.
10th, recommended the following varieties for
general cultivation, in the order in which they are
named : Diana, Hartford Prolific, Isabella, Con-
cord.

144

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

March

FOUR OP THE GRASSES.

Through the kindness of Mr. Secretary Plint,
■we are enabled to present the reader with illus-
trations of four of the grasses common to our
New England farms, and just in season to bring
them to mind in order to make ])reparations for
spring sowing. The description of these grasses
we copy from Flint's "Grasses and Forage
Plants" a book which every farmer who wishes
more thoroughly to understand his business
ought to possess.

Before the season for sowing clover,we mtend to
give four more varieties, viz.: the Timothy , Meadow
Foxtail, June, or Kentucky Grass, and the Mea-

doio Fescue.

RED TOP.

^ This valuable grass, so common in all our cul-
tivated fields, has been an inhabitant of our soils

for more than a
century. It is of
somewhat slow
growth, but of
good or medium
quality. It is
suited to moist
soils, though
common to all.
This grass is
probably rather
overrated by us.
It makes a pro-
fitable crop for
spending ; not
so large a crop
is obtained as
from Herds-
grass. It is a
; good permanent
grass, and con-
sequently well
suited to our
pastures, stand-
ing our climate
as well as any
other grass. It
should be fed
close in pas-
tures, for if al-
lowed to grow
up to seed, the
cattle refuse it;
this fact seems
to show that it
is not so much
' relished by cat-
tle as some of
the other pas-
ture grasses. —
The fact that
stock eat any
grass greedily
in the spring, is
no proof of its
excellence, or
nutritious qual-
ities ; since then
all gras«es arc tender and full of juice, and many
varieties of both grasses and shrubs are readily

eaten, Avhich at a more advanced stage of growth
are refused.

Thisgrass goes by various names, and is great-
ly modified by soil and cultivation. On a moist,
rich soil, it grows larger than on a poor thin soil,
and not _ only larger, but has a darker, purplish
color, Avith a stem varying from eighteen inches
to two feet or two and a half feet high ; while on
thin, poor, gravelly soils, it seldom grows over
twelve inches, and often not over five or six inches
high, while it has a lighter color.

ORCHARD GRASS.

Orchard grass floAvers in dense tufls. Its stem
is erect, about tlu-ee feet high. Root perennial.

Flowers in Juno and July. Not uncommon in
fields and pastures. This is one of the most val-
uable and widely known of all the pasture grasses.
It became, soon after its introduction into England,
an object of special agricultural interest among
cattle feeders, having been found to be exceeding-
ly palatable to stock of all kinds. Its rapidity o{
growth, the luxuriance of its aftcrmatli and its,
power of enduring the cropping of cattle, com-

18G0.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

145

mend it highly to the farmer's care, especially as
a pasture grass. As it blossoms earlier than Tim-
othy, and about the time of red clover, it makes
an admirable mixture Avith that plant, to cut in
the blossom and cure for hay. As a pasture grass
it should be fed close, both to prevent its forming
thick tufts and to prevent its running to seed,
when it loses a large proportion of its nutritive
matter, and becomes hard and wiry. All kinds of
stock eat it greedily when green.

Judge Buel, distinguished as a man of taste,
said of this grass . "I should prefer it to almost
every other grass, and cows are very fond of it."
Elsewhere he says : "The American Cocksfoot or
Orchard Grass is one of the most abiding grasses
we have. It is probably better adapted than any
other grass to sow with clover and other seeds for
permanent pasture or for hay, as it is fit to cut
with clover and grows remarkably quick when
cropped by cattle. Five or six days' growth in
summer suffices to give a good bite. Its good
properties consist in its early and rapid growth,
and its resistance of drought ; but all agree that
it should be closely cropped. Sheep Avill pass
over every other grass to feed upon it. If suf-
fered to grow long without being cro])pcd it be-
comes coarse and harsh. Colonel Powell, (a late
eminent farmer of Pennsylvania,) after growing it
ten years, declares that it produces more pastur-
age than any other grass he has seen in America.
On being ftd very close, it has produced good
pasture after remaining five days at rest. It is
suited to all arable soils. Two bushels of seed
are requisite for an acre when sown alone, or half
this quantity when sown with clover.

Orchard grass is less exhausting to the soil than
rye grass or Timothy. It will endure considera-
ble shade. In a porous subsoil its fibrous roots
extend to a great depth. Its habit of growth un-
fits it for a lawn grass. Its seed weighs twelve
pounds to the bushel, and to sow alone, about
twenty-four pounds to the acre are required to
make sure of a good crop. It should not be sown
alone except for the sake of raising the seed. It
is worthy of a much more extended cultivation
among us.

WHITE CLOVER.

White clover is widely diffused over this coun-
try and all the countries of Europe. It is indig-
enous probably both to England and America.

When first cultivated from seed collected from
wild plants, at the beginning of the last century,
it was recorded of a farmer that he had "sowed the
wild white clover which holds the ground and de-
cays not." Its chief value is as a pasture grass,

and it is as valuable for that purpose as the red
clover is for hay or soiling, though there are some
who place a low estimate upon it. It easily ac-
commodates itself to a great variety of soils, but
grows most luxuriantly in moist grounds and
moist or wet seasons. Indeed, it depends so much
upon a general distribution of rains through the
season, that when they are sufficiently abundant
it comes in profusely even where it was not ob-
served in other years, and hence such seasons pass
under the term of "clover years." It is not ap-
parently so much relished by stock as from its
sweetness we should be led to ex])ect, but it is, on
the whole, to be cherished for permanent pastures,
and improved, as it undoubtedly may be, by a
proper selection and culture of varieties.

RED CLOVER.

Red clover, though not properly included in
the family of grasses, is now not only extensively
cultivated, but is found to be one of the most val-
uable and economical
forage plants. It be-
longs to the pulse
family, or lecjumino-
scc, which includes
the larger portion of
forage plants called
artificial grasses, in
distinction from the
graminea?, the true,
and often called the
natural grasses. The
generic name, trefoil,
or trifolium, is de-
rived from the Latin
ires, three, and foli-
um, a leaf; and the
genus can generally
be very readily dis-
tinguished by thft
number and arrange-
ment of its leaves in
three leaflets,
and flowers in
dense, oblong
or globular
heads.

Clover is very properly regarded as a fertilizer
of the soil. The action of its long and powerful
tap roots is not only mechanical — loosening the
soil and admitting the air — but also chemical,
serving to fix the gases important to enrich the
earth, and when these roots decay they add large-
ly to that black mass of matter we call the soil. It
serves, also, by its luxuriant foliage, to destroy
annual weeds which would spring up on newly
seeded land, especially after imperfect cidtivation.
Another great advantage in favor of the cultiva-
tion of clover consists in its rapid growth. But a
few months elapse from the sowing of the seed
before it yields, ordinarily, an abundant and nu-
tritious crop, relished by cattle of all kinds.

Clover seed should always be sown in the
spring of the year, in the climate of New England.
It is often sown upon the late snov»-s of March or
April, and soon finds its way down to the soil,
where, aided by the moisture of early spring, it
quickly germinates and rapidly shoots up its leaf'
stalks.

gffetiJ*^-:^

146

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

March

For the Neiv England Farmer
A SHORT TALK ABOUT SHEEP.

Sheep often become breachy from carelessness.
It does not require remarkably good fences to turn
them. I have kept sheep for 20 years or more on
land fenced almost entirely -with stone walls, and
find no difficulty in keeping them quiet and order-
ly. In the first place, select those that have not
learned to jump ; have all gaps properly repaired,
and fasten the bars so that the sheej) can not rub
them down. As a rule, look at each flock once a
day at least, and see that the fences are kept up,
and give them enough to eat, and my experience
is that sheep will not learn to jump. Sheep have
long been a favorite stock with me, and for the
last ten or twelve years vSouth Downs have been
the sheep. I have found that 50 ewes well kept
will generally raise 75 lambs ; mine have fre-
quently done better. The past year I raised 110
from 72, and part of the ewes were quite young,
and the lambs dropped early. After they are two
years old the ewes are very apt to bring twins, so
that in some flocks twins seem to be the rule and
single ones the exception.

I often see notices of the best breed of sheep.
Perhaps there is no one breed best for all farm-
ers, yet the Downs, I think, are destined to occu-
py a large s]5ace in New England. They are not
so large as the Leicester and long wooled breeds,
but I think they are more hardy, and sufficiently
large for our soil and situation. The fine quality
of the mutton is universally acknowledged, and
they often attain a very respectable size. I keep
mine in pretty good sized flocks, and the largest
lamb I ever owned I think weighed 139 pounds.
I have this winter weighed one that brought up
119 lbs. readily. Others may have them larger.
I have not had extra size particidarly in view, but
expect to have yearlings next autumn that will
weigh 140 to 180. I have sold GO for breeding
purposes the past year ; slaughtered 5 at home,
and sold 31 to the butcher. Bought one and lost
one lately, and have now on hand 14 more than I
sheared. Breeders of the best sheep must look to
their laurels, for the South Downs will most assur-
edly make their mark pretty high on the list of
good stock. Aquidneck.

For the New England Farmer.

WHERE TOMATO KETCHUP COMES
PROM!

"Do you ever have anything cheap in your line
that will answer for hog feed ?" I inquired, of a
Boston dealer in country produce, the other day.
"Yes," hs rejjlied, "we oftentimes have waste po-
tatoes, sometimes waste beans, ft-aste cheese, and
in former years I have sold large quantities of
dried apples after they had become of a venerable
age, at as low a figure as one cent a pound."
"Have you any for sale at present ?" I inquired.
"No, bless you," said he, "we dealers have a bet-
ter use for them now-a-days ; we make them into
tomato ketchup. I myself have made it by the
ton with not a tomato in it ; nothing but dried
apples!" What a humbug this honest looking
man is, was my instantaneous thought. But
Chemistry hevc interposed, and said, "Not so fast,
not so fast ! What's in a name ? Is not the char-
acteristic acid of the tomato and the apple the

same ? viz. : malic acid ; and in dried or preserved
fruits is not the flavor dependent almost wholly
on the characteristic acid, most of the more deli-
cate flavors of the fresh fruit being too subtle to
be retained by such processes ? Now the quan-
tity of malic acid in the ripe tomato exceeds that
in the ripe apple ; but when the apple is dried,
and particularly when it becomes very dry by age,
and the acid thus greatly concentrated, may not
the proportionate difl'erence be lessened, and thus
in all essential characteristics your apple ketchup
become tomato ketchup?"

I was not quite prepared to meet this foil, and
so was content to hold my tongue, and ponder on
the wonderful capacities of a science that could
so readily transform a rogue into an honest man.

Marblehead, Mass. JAJfES J. H. Gregory,

For the New Ensland Farmer.

INSECTS— ORCHARDS— BUTTER.

Borers — Sugar Orchards — Lawton Blackberry — Coloring Matter
for Butter — Scalding Milli.

Mr. Editor : — In the course of my agricultural
reading, I occasionally find subjects for a reply or
a few remarks, and I jiropose to bring up several
of these for your columns at this time. First, I
will speak of several communications in reply to
your "Sandy River" correspondent, in referent
to some apple trees which were diseased on the
south side.

The general tendency of these articles is to
show that exposure to the sun, or some such
cause, induced disease first, and the borer attacked
them afterward. The tenor of these articles is so
much like an article in the IlorticuUurist for Jan-
uary, that I quote a few lines from that journal.
"Insects do not possess the po^yer of raising up
the bark from the wood. The borers merely per-
forate it. When we discover diff"ercnt insects lurk-
ing between the bark and the wood, we must not
accuse them of mischief, but we must attribute the
separation of the two component parts of a tree
either to some injury from without, or to disease
from within." * * * "I invite the attention of the
anxious reader to any tree at which the Scohjtus
is pursuing his ordinary calling. Then let him ex-
amine the same tree during the following summer,
and he will find the little round holes in the bark
just as the insect had made them. After this let
him take a gimlet and bore as many dozens of
holes as he may think fit in the sound bark of
some undeniably healthy trees. The next summer
he will find every gimlet hole made up by new
bai'k under the old." Now I am no entomologist,
and know nothing of the Scohjtus, and I will also
admit that diseased trees are more likely to be at-
tacked by borers, but with all due deference to
these Amters, who have, very likely, had many
years more experience than I have, I must say
that I know that one species of borer, at least, (a
Saperda, I suppose), does attack healthy trees,
and that although it may "not have power to raise
the bark," it eats out the cambium, and thus sep-
arates the bark from the wood, and the castings
of the insect seem to poison the wood, and thus
retard the natural growing over.

Sugar Orchards. — In your weekly of Januaiy
7, Mr. "A. Pixley" recommends planting sugar
maples on stony hill-sides. I have a sugar orchard

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

147

on the top, and just over the east side of a hill,
and I tlunk it yields more sap and of better qual-
ity than on level land, and the leaves not only
keep the land on which the trees stand in the
highest state of fertility, but a nearly equal area
on the side of the hill below is kept in quite a
productive state ; and this land being sheltered
by a belt of timber on the south, and by high hills
oil the opposite side of the valley cast and north-
east, I have planted a small orchard of apple trees
upon it, and by throwing brush on the land to
catch the leaves, I succeed in getting a better
growth than on another orchard on good level
land well cultivated. I have another suggestion
for those who are planting sugar orchards, which,
though it may bo thought visionary, I offer for
what it is worth. Probably no one who has been
extensively engaged in the manufacture of maple
sugar has failed to observe a great difference in
the quantity and quality of the sap from different
trees, while occasionally a tree combines an abun-
dant flow of sap, with an extra proportion of sac-
charine matter. Now, if we are about to plant
trees for sugar making, the profits would be
doubled at once if by any means Ave could produce
a whole plantation like the best single trees.

Does any one know what would be the effect on
the sap, if the young trees were grafted close to
the ground with scions from the best sugar trees ?
I think some of your Vermont correspondents
would confer a favor upon your readers by a full
description of the improved apparatus used in the
making of sugar in that State, including the tubu-
lar heaters, drawing off sap with a syphon, &c,
&c. The comi)arative value of maple sugar is an
item I would like to have decided by Dr. Jackson,
or some other chemist. On this subject, I take
the following ifpparently editorial from the Amei'-
icaii Agriculturist, (July, 1859,) a paper, by the
way, which I usually consider as reliable as any
other : "Three pounds of maple sugar are worth
as much for sweetening as two pounds of New
Orleans or West India sugar — not more. Maple
molasses also holds about the same proportion in
value. Such facts, we presume, no advocate of
maple sugar or molasses will deny." Now I had
supposed there were two kinds of sugar, "cane
sugar" and "glucose or grape sugar," and that su-
gar from the maple was identical Avith the former ;
if so, I cannot see why, when equally pure and
dry, it should not sweeten as much as cane sugar.

The Lawton Blackberry. — January, 2lst. —
My first impression on reading the reply of your
New Bedford correspondent, was that he had "an
axe to grind," but on examination of Tucker's
Sural Itegister, I found no name corresponding
to his initials, so I conclude that either he is not
well acquainted Avith the best Avild varieties, and
consequently satisfied Avith a lower standard of
quality, or that the LaAvton does much better in
warm localities. That mine are true to name, I
feel sure, for they Avere obtained of a responsible
dealer, and correspond exactly to the description
and illustrations of that berry, and I certainly al-
loAvcd some of them fair time to ripen, for I tried
them at all stages, from the time they Avere Avell
colored until they began to decay.

Coloring Matter for Butter. — January 28.
— I think I am safe in concluding that "South
Danvers" is not himself a farmer, and I imagine

your farming friends Avill give him more credit for
respect to iiis mother, than for skill in the dairy.
Coloring butter in the summer months is not
practiced by any one, so far as I knoAv, but I never
yet saw coAvs of ordinary richness fed so "gener-
ously" in Avinter as to make very yelloAV butter,
and I have seen some that Avere well fed, too. I
am well aAvare there is a prejudice against the
practice of coloring butter, and I shared it myself,
until experience convinced me it improved not
only the color, but the quality of Avinter butter, to
add a little orange carrot juice, and I believe this
is the universal opinion of those Avho have given
it a fair trial. I Avould not, hoAvever, use sg large
an amount as some of your correspondents ad-
vise ; a little practice Avill soon decide the proper
quantity. To prepare the carrots, I take a small
milk-pan, a leaky one Avill do just as Avell, and
punch holes through the bottom, and holding it
inverted over a larger one, grate the can-ots ori
it ; then add a little milk and strain through a
cloth and mix Avith the cream. I select the high-
est colored carrots for the purpose. I doubt not
many of our Boston customers vise a large quan-
tity of butter prepared in this Avay, without once
suspecting the source of its beautiful color, and
they readily pay a higher price than for a similar
article minus the carrot juice. One of our dairy-
men, Avho happened to OAvn several coavs yielding
remarkably yelloAV butter, but Avho never added
any coloring matter, Avas informed by an exten-
sive commission dealer in your city, that he col-
ored his butter too much.

Scalding Milk. — In a conversation vn\h one
of our best dairymen, he remarked that by a mod-
erate heating, the quantity of cream Avas increased,
but if heated too hot, it Avas diminished. His rule
Avas to place the pans over hot Avater until they
felt quite Avarra to the hand. I alloAV them to re-
main until the surface of the milk begins to
Avrinkle. Wm. F. Bassett.

AshfieldyJan. 30, 1860.

NATURAL OYSTEB BEDS.

Along the Jersey shore, Avhere the rivers empty
into salt water, there exist large natural oyster
beds, Avhence are procured the seed oysters Avhich
supply the planted beds. In the spring, the oys-
ter in the natural bed deposits its spaAvn— a Avhite
gelatinous substance, Avhich adheres to whatever
it touches — and in this way spreads a large
groAvth of small oysters, some not larger than the
head of a pin. From these seed-beds, the oysters
are taken and laid in the shoal salt water, to be
easily taken up when wanted, and Avhere they re-
main for several years, till they get of sufficient
size for market. Thousands of bushels of the
small seed oysters are in this way distributed
along the shore on the planting grounds, or sold
to be carried away for planting to other States.
The practice is to take these seed oysters aAA^ay in
the spring and fall. If allowed to remain in theii*
beds over fall, they will separate and spread, but
if removed at that period of the year the young
oysters die by thousands. If they do not get bed-
ded early in the mud, the tides being bloAvn out
by the winds, leave them exposed, or, else, by
adhering to the ice in the winter, they are lifted
out of their beds, and either carried aAvay or

148

NEAV ENGLAND FARMER.

March

crushed. Unless something is done for the pro-
tection of these natural oyster bods, it is believed
that they will all be destroyed, and even those en-
gaged in the busincFS, it is said, acknowledge the
destructiveness of the present mode of operation,
and desire that the period of taking the oysters
for planting shall be confined to the spring of the
year. Forty days from the first of April, it is be-
lieved, would be sufficient for all planting pur-
poses, and an cff"ort will he made at Trenton to
get the liCgislaturc to limit the planting to that
period. Ciams have been nearly destroyed by the
continued raking of the bars, and the seed is now
only kept up by those hid in the bottoms of the
deep channels, — Philadelplua Ledger.

For the New England Farmer

IS FARMING PKOFITABLE ?

Mr. Editor : — Suppose a man who knows how
to carry on a farm, and has a family to support,
buys a farm of 100 acres of first quality land, which
may be obtained here for $50 per acre ; he also
buys 30 cows, at $40 per head, and 1 pair horses
for $200. He is now in debt $6400, farming
tools included. 60 acres of the land will keep his
cows well in pasture, with 4 acres more of green
corn to feed thera in July and August. 30 acres
to grass, at 2 tons per acre, will keep them well
in winter, with what roots he can raise from 3
acres of land. Then he has one acre more for corn
to fat his hogs on, one for potatoes and one for
buildings and garden.

FARM. Dr.

To interest on $6400, .at6 percent $3S4,00

To hired man and woman 1 year 22j,00

To support of family besides that raised on farm 250 00

To wear and tear of farming tools 11,00

To decrease in value of cows 30,00

$000,00
Cn.
By 300 lbs. cheese for each cow, 9000 lbs., at 10c W lb. . .$900,00

By 100 lbs. butter for each cow, 3000 lbs., at 20c If lb 600,00

By 30 calves, at 3 days old, at $1 g'head 30,00

By 700 lbs. pork, at $10 ^ hundred 70,00

$1,600,00

Now if he will stay at home and attend strictly
to his business, without which he cannot prosper,
according to these figures he v;ill pay for his farm
and stock, with an immense pile of interest money,
in less than ten years. Jake.

Essex, Vt., January 30, 1860.

Curious Boundary. — In the registry of deeds,
at Cambridge, book 88, page 121, Nov. 29, 1784,
there is recorded a deed of a parcel of land in
Lexington from Solomon Pierce to Joseph Under-
wood, dated Nov. 26, 1784, in which we find the
following as part of the description: "then south-
erly on Wm. Smith to a pine in the swamp marked
W, then southerly on said William Smith to
stump and stones lohere Daniel Harrington licked
William Brnith." This seems to refer to an old
tradition which we have often h'.ard, that in the
earlier days of the country it was the custom for
farmers to "lick" their boys and their neighbors'
boys on the bounds of their farms to make them
remember where those bounds were. — Lowell Cit-
izen and News.

For tlie New Eiisland Farmer.

TIME AND MANNER OF PLOWING —
CUTTING AND CURING HAY.

!Mr. Editor : — -I have already pointed out sev-
eral questions of great importance to farmers, as
yet undecided. I have chosen to consider them
in this light, because, in some respects they really
are so ; and because I wish to do what has fre-
quently been done before — to put my finger on
the very spot "where the shoe pinches," which
causes so many farmers to halt and limp in their
awIvM-ard, ambling gait. There are several ques-
tions left of the same kind ; among which are the
follovvdng :

1. Is shallow or deep plowing the best? and
should it be done in the Spring or Autumn ?

After all that has been said and done upon these
questions, both the time and the manner of plow-
ing are still disputed questions. There is no set-
tled theory, no common understanding — no well
established principle of action, among farmers,
for plowing diff'erent kinds of soil, in diff"erent
situations, and at different seasons of the year.

A great many farmers, instead of ])lowing deep,
and haiTOwing and manuring well, still con-
tinue to skim lightly over the ground, plowing
only a few inches deep, and spreading their ma-
nure over a great extent of surface, which gener-
ally results in light crops, or, in case of drought,
in no crop at all.

On the other hand, it is contended, that deep
plowing is essential to an abundant growth of veg-
etables and grass, because it enables the roots to
run down deeper into the soil and obtain there-
from more moisture and nutriment, so that the
severest drought will not be able materially to af-
fect the crops ; whereas, in shallow plowing, as
the roots can never go down deeper into the soil
than the plow has been, the crops in all arid sit-
uations will be almost necessarily destroyed by
the drought. Those who plow deep, pulverize
and manure well, generally have good crops, let
the season be what it may, either wet or dry, hot
or cold. But those who, year after year, skim
over the surface, plowing just deep enough to
enable them to cover their seed, being afraid to
bring up any of the subsoil to the light of the sun,
spreading their manure over a great extent, to be
dried up and wasted by the action of the elements,
generally have poor crops, after all their labor
and care.

With regard to Spring and Autumn plowing,
there is perhaps an equal diversity of opinion and
practice. Most farmers continue to do their plow-
ing in the Spring. And as it will not do to plow
till the land is in a suitable condition, they are
obiged to wait till it is sufficiently dry and warm,
before commencing the operation, otherwise it
will bake down, and become hard and lumpy ; so
that, if the season happens to be a cold and wet
one, they will not have time to do their work
thoroughly and well, and will stand a very poor
chance for a crop ; whereas, had they done their
plowing in the Autumn, they would have been
ready for putting in their crops, as soon as the
ground was sufficiently dry and warm to receive
the seed.

On the other hand, it is contended, that the
Autumn is the better time for plowing, because the
farmer has more leisure, the land is in better con-

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

149

dition, and the team is stronger, than in the
Spring. By plowing late in the Autumn, all the
insects in the soil will be dislodged from their
hiding places, and thrown up to the surface, and
destroyed by the frosts of Winter. Besides, Fall
plowing causes all the vegetable matter in the soil
to decompose, and prepare food for future crop,

2. When is the best time for cutting and curing
hay ?

On this subject there is a great discrepancy of
opinion and practice. Most farmers have been in
the habit of letting their grass stand till it Avas
fully ripe — till the heads were plump and full of
seed, the stems dry, hard and wiry, the leaves
changed to a brownish color, and the sap depart-
ed— before beginning the operation of haying. And
as they had much grass to cut, and were a long
time in cutting and curing it, a great deal of
it became dead ripe, as wiry and tough as sole
leather, and of little or no value. The loss which
farmers have sustained by letting their grass get
too ripe before cutting it is immense. And yet
many still neglect to cut their grass till it has
gone to seed, because it is more easily cured — not
considering that, in perfecting the seed, the stems
and leaves are exhausted of all their starchy and
saccharine substance, it being consumed in form-
ing the seed, so that there is little or no nutri-
ment or fattening quality left.

The best time for cutting and curing all kinds
of grass, is, perhaps, the period of inflorescence,
when the grass is in full bloom, or just beginning
to blossom. The grass has now attained its chief
development ; and there is the greatest flow of
juice in the stems and leaves. If cut at this pe-
riod and cured well, it will contain a quantity of
rich and nourishing matter nearly double to what
it docs when allowed to get dead ripe. Horses
and cattle like early cut hay better than late cut
hay. They will fatten on it, too ; Avhile they will
barely subsist on that which is cut late. The
same is the eff"ect upon cows in milk. They will
make more and better butter and cheese, when
fed on early cut hay, than on that which has stood
till it has lost its rich and nourishing qualities.
The best time to cut and cure hay, then, is that
which will secui-e the most of the natural juices in
the hay. JouN Goldsbury.

Warwick, Mass., 1860.

THE ARCTIC SHAKK.

I much wish to capture one of these monsters
(sharks,) as wonderful stories are told us of then'
doings in Greenland ; whether they are the Avhite
shark or the basking shark of natural history, I
cannot find out. It is only of late years that the
shark fishery has been carried on to any extent in
Greenland ; they are captured for the sake of theii-
livers, which yield a considerable quantity of oil.
It has very recently been ascertained that a valu-
able substance resembling spermaceti may be ex-
pressed from the carcase, and for this purpose
powerful screw presses are now employed. In ear-
ly winter the sharks are caught with hook and
lines through holes in the ice.

The Esquimaux assert that they are insensible
to pain ; and Petersen assures me he has plunged
a long knife several times into the head of one
whilst it continued to feed upon a white whale
entangled in his net ! It is not sufficient to di-ive

them away with sundry thrusts of spears or
knives, but they must be towed away to some dis-
tance from the nets, otherwise they will ixturn to
feed. It must be remembered that the brain of a
shark is extremely small in proportion to the size
of its huge head. I have seen bulleta fir^d through
them with very little apparent effect ; but if these
creatures can feel, the devices practiced upon
them by the Esquimaux must be cruel indeed.

It is only in certain localities that sharks are
found, and in these places they are often attract-
ed to the nets by the animals entangled in them.
The dogs are not suffered to eat either the skin or
the head, the former in consequence of its ex-
treme roughness, and the the latter because it
causes giddiness and makes them sick. — McOlin-
tock's Narrative.

For trie New England Fanner.

FAKMITsTG AS A BUSLNESS.

Messrs. Editors : — "Is forming profitable ?"
must, ere this, have become quite familiar to your
eyes. Mr. Pinkham's article has provoked so
much discussion upon the above topic, that one
Avould reasonably suppose the matter ought already
to be settled beyond the possibility of a doubt :
but it seems people do not all think alike yet, for
your paper of Jan. 14th shows us that "Newbury,
Vt.," has its Pinkham — perhaps, however, only
in the comparative degree — who claims to have
shown that stock-raising as a ])art of farming is
not profitable. I think it is evident that "T. A.
Bailey" shows stock-raising to be jn-ofitable ; not
in the abstract, but as an inseparable part of whole-
some farming. Allowing his figures to be strictly
correct, we have the following result, viz. : A
four-years old colt, a veal of one month, a sheep,
with her four years' progeny, and a calf raised to
two and one-half years, have extracted $3.71 from
his pocket, and so he thinks he is so much poorer ;
but has his farm not gained, much more than his
"port-monnaie" has lost ? If I wished to arrive
at the true results of farming, I should as soon
think of figuring up the profits of pulling chick-
weed as of raising calves, or corn, or grass, alone.
These, with many other matters, go to make up
the aggregate of farming, and must all be taken
into account ; not on one farm, not for one year,
but the whole farming interest, for a series of
years. Mr. Pinkham can calculate and Mr. Bailey
figure, and yet people will not be convinced that
farming is a losing business, when facts show to
the contrary. How does it happen that an intel-
ligent and industrious young man buys a farm,
and only half pays for it, but eventually leaves it
unencumbered and much improved, to a family
of children, whom he has well-fed, clothed and
educated from the proceeds of said farm, if farm-
ing is not profitable ?

Such instances are by no means rare. I will
ask, are not farmers, as a whole, much more
wealthy and independent now than they were a
few years ago ? And how is this, if farming is
not profitable? for they have "lived Avell," and
their sons and daughters have not been "brought
up" for a trifling amount. All comes from the
farm, and yet farming is a losing business ! 'Tis
well that farmers do not all think alike, for then we
might be flooded with "short horns," to the exclu-

150

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

MARcn

sion of everything else for market ; but so long
as farmers do as now, I shall make it a point to
sell no vegetables from the farm that will "bring"
as much money when converted into some kinds
of meat. Not because I can only get Avhat my
stock has cost shalk I conclude stock-raising is
not profitable, and abandon it.

I know that an intelligent man, w^ho is willing
to work M'ith his hands and head, may make farm-
ing profitable in pocket, and healthy both for body
and mind. That degree of industry and shrewd-
ness requisite to keep the commercial man's head
all the time above water, will float the farmer's
bark smoothly and securely upon the bosom of
the sea of life. G. "W. H.

New Bedford, Jan., 1860.

EXTRACTS AISTD KEPLIES.

HUNGARLiN GRASS.

I wish to inquire if you, or any of the corres-
pondents of the Farmer, made trial of the Hun-
garian grass the last season, and if so, what was
the result ? Is it a good article for soiling cows ?
Is it not similar to millet ? I have raised millet,
but think it is not as good to make milk as green
corn. I cured some and weighed it. It produced
at the rate of two and a half tons to the acre, the
quality about equal to herdsgrass. If the Hunga-
rian grass is as valuable as was represented by
some, (who perhaps had seed to sell,) let us have
the fact before seed time. Abel F. Adams.

Fitchburg, Feb., 1860.

Remarks. — The Hungarian gi-ass, so called, is
a species of millet, and would probably be a good
crop for feeding to cattle in a green state. We
have raised it for dry fodder. It is an annual
plant, and may not be so profitable as other grasses
on that account.

PIPE FOR CONDUCTING WATER.

We notice the inquiry of one of your read-
ers of Billerica in the Farmer, for the best pipe
to use for conducting water on his premises, and
should be pleased to have you inform him, that
the Boston Belting Company manufacture an arti-
cle which possesses the very properties he re-
quires, and is every way adapted to his purpose.

PRICES.

I Inch, (Inside Diameter,) 11 Cents per Foot.

% " " " 15 " " "

1 " " " 24 « " "

IJ " " " 35 " " "

n " " " 45 "

These are all warranted to stand 200 lbs. pres-
sure to the inch. Tappan, I^cBurney & Co.
Boston, Feb., 1860.

SPLENTS ON A COLT.

I have a very valuable year-old colt that has
splents on both of his hind feet. Can you, or any
of your correspondents, tell me if there is any
cure for it, and if so, what, and oblige

A. C. QUIMBY.

North Sandwich, N. II., Jan. 22, 1860.

Remarks. — We wish we could — but there is
no remedy within our knowledge. Perhaps oth-
ers may advise you.

THE HORSE PITCHFORK.

I wish to inquire through the columns of the '
Farmer about the horse pitchfork ; some of your '
correspondents have spoken of it as a labor-saving
implement. If it is, I should like to know how it
operates, its cost, and if it can be used in any
common barn. w. N. C.

Hartford, Vt., Feb., 1860.

Remarks. — Those who understand the cost and.
operations of the horse pitchfork will confer a
favor by replying to the above.

THE CASH AND THE ONION MAGGOT.

Mr. Editor : — A few months since, it was an-
nounced in your paper by a citizen of Vermont,
that he had discovered a certain cure or remedy
for the onion maggot, and was ready to communi-
cate this remedy to any one interested who would
adequately reward him for his enterprise in mak-
ing the discovery. Many an eye glistened at the
hope of such a development of intelligence. One
of our largest cultivators of this vegetable, who
has some seasons raised more than 4000 bushels
of onions, entered into correspondence with this
discoverer, to learn on what terms he might avail
himself of the benefits of this discovery.

This gentleman now informs us, that he has re-
ceived the terms of the son of the Green Moun-
tains, which are, $100,000 to be paid or adequate-
ly secured, so that he may be secure from want
for the remainder of his life. Or, if he wants the
remedy for his own personal use only, that he will
let him have it for $60,000. Thus, you see, sir,
here is a new idea to be taken into view, in your
discussion of the "profits of farming." p.

February 6, 1860.

MTJCK AS A TOP-DRESSING.

How will it do to apply as a top-dressing to
grass land of a rather dryish soil, muck that is
well pulverized by having been exposed to the ac-
tion of frost for several years after having been
taken from the swamp ? A Subscriber.

Remarks. — It will undoubtedly have a good
eff'ect. Will you make an experiment, by apply-
ing the muck to quarter of an acre, leaving quar-
ter of an acre directly by its side without any,
and at some future day give us the result ?

BUTTER AND MILK.

If "S. C. C," Brattleboro', Vt., will examine
the statement of Gov. Boutwcll, in the Farmer of
Feb. 4th, a little more thoroughly, he will see
that, allowing 20 lbs. of milk to a can, the state-
ment is correct throughout. A radical error oc-
curs in "S. C. C.'s" reduction of the pounds of
milk to cans, which occasions the wide difierehce
in Ids results.

KEROSENE FOR LICE AND TICKS.

Please tell correspondents who Avish for light i
on the subject, that kerosene oil will kill lice and I
ticks, without injury to the animals; so say those
that have tried it. w. I.

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

151

RECEIPT FOR WASHING FLUID.

A very excellent article for this purpose may be
made by dissolving 4 oz. saltpetre in 2 qts. water,
and add this to a solution of 1 oz. borax in 1 pt.
water. Mix about five tablcspoonfuls with a pint
of common soft soap, and add to the water in
which you soak your clothes. It is more effective,
if they are allowed to soak over night.

__ Washer.

to cure warts.

I will say on the authority of one of the first
physicians in Hampden county, and one well ac-
quainted with horses, that the application of equal
parts of lamp oil and molasses, will cure the worst
of warts on man or beast. T.

Chicopee, Jan., 1860.

WINTER BUTTER.

L. R. Havins, Foxboro', scalds the milk, sets
it where it will not freeze; sprinkles on a little
salt each time cream is added. Gets good sweet
butter.

FOUNDERED HORSES.

I wish to inquire the best method of ti'eatment
for a horse that is foundered in the chest ? Also,
for the thrush in the foot ? H. c.

CARROTS OR POTATOES FOR HOGS.

Which is the best food for hogs in the winter
season, carrots or potatoes ? E. Quimby.

For the New England Fanner.
DISTUBBAOTCE OF TILE DRAINS.

The statement made by a correspondent in the
N. E. Farmer that tiles in drains are liable to be
displaced by loaded teams passing over them, is
contradicted by my experience, and I cannot be-
lieve that it is borne out by fact in any case where
tiles are avcII laid. W. D. may lay tile even on
his meadow land without fear that they will be in-
jured if ordinary care is used. Stone drains are
much more liable to disturbance from every cause
than tile drains, and any assertion to the contra-
ry must be based upon extraordinary experience,
if upon any.

A tiledi-ain about two hundred feet long was
laid by my direction in a swamp where the trench
was three feet deep, and the tile laid on hard-pan
bottom. A drive-way was immediately construct-
ed over it, and all the stone for a house cellar, and
loads of other heavy material carried over without
any disturbance. A constant use has been made of
the drive-way since that time, and for two years,
without ceasing, the drain has discharged an aver-
age of two thousand and four hundred gallons of
water, daily. In another case, drains were laid
four feet deep in a meadow where the mud was
soft and of undetermined depth ; after the drains
had been discharging for two or three months,
and the meadow had dried enough to allow teams
to cross, sand and other earth was carted on to
the depth of six or eight inches ; no care was used
in driving over the drains, and yet they have con-
tinued to discharge to their fidl capacity for near-
ly a year since the earth was hauled on.

I have directed about twelve thousand dollars'
worth of draining, and never used any care about
the crossing of loaded teams, yet no drain of the
whole number has, to my knowledge, failed, or
been at all injured from that cause.

J. Herbert Shedd.

Boston, January 30, 1860.

A MONKEY'S AFFECTION FOR RATS.

One of the principal objects of attraction at the
Aquarium in Bromfield Street, is a female mon-
key that exhibits an extraordinary affection for
rats. She is one of the "Happy Family" belong-
ing to the establishment, and soon after being
placed there, conceived a fondness for a rat, that
was also a member of the "family." Upon every
occasion when she could catch the rat, she would
hold it in her arms, fondling it as a mother does
her child, and caressing it with every mark of af-
fection. The rat soon began to like this kindness,
and would remain for hours in the arms of its
friend. Finally the monkey would not allow the
rat from its arms a moment, even to feed, and at
last the pet was actually starved to death. The
monkey met this bereavement much in the same
manner as human parents do the loss of offspring
who have died in consequence of over-fondness,
Avith sobs and moans, and she would not be com-
forted.

For twelve hours .she held the dead rat to her
breast, refusing all the time to eat, or to take no-
tice of any of the other animals of the "family."
At last Mr. Cutting took the rat from her by force,
and fearing that she would voluntarily starve her-
self to death, he placed three other rats in the
cage. This addition to her "family" brought the
bereaved animal to her senses, and the care requi-
site to the government of these pets takes up all
her time, and she is twice as cheerful as ever be-
fore. She is never for a moment without some
one of them in her arms, and frequently fondles
two of them at a time. But the new comers are
not altogether grateful for her attentions, and
most frequently, while she is holding one of them,
the others are eyeing her askance from some dis-
tant part of the cage. — Traveller.

For the Neio England Farmer,
MR. PORTER'S SQUASH.

The magnificent vegetable, a description of
which I gave you last autumn, has now reached
the last stages of its being. It shrunk 24 pounds,
weighing only 140 pounds on the day it was cut.
The halves appear as large as a common wash tub,
the meat measures four inches in thickness ; and
is as yellow as a bright carrot. It has probably
lost some of its vitality, by being kept in a warm
room so long. The seeds are numerous, plump,
fair and handsome ; many of them had sprouted
one inch or more. I am thus particular, in dis-
cribing its present condition, because much in-
quiry has been made about it, by letter or other-
wise ; and much solicitude to obtain some of the
seeds. Mr. Stevens, of the Legislature, is an ex-
perienced cultivator of fruit, Avho lives near Mr.
Porter, and will tell you all about this truly ex-
traordinary squash. J. W. Proctor.

South Danvers, Jan. 28, 1860.

152

NEW ENGLAND FAEjNIER.

March

LADIES' DEPARTMENT.

CUTTING ROBBIE'S HAIR.

CY MARY E. BRYAX.

And SO this little household flower of ours must
be shorn of some of its r5uperlluous beauties. Even
roses and geraniums must be pruned sometimes,
and these uncut, silken rings, with the golden
sunshine of three summers entangled in their
meshes, must make the acquaintance of scissors at
last. Grandpapa says so, and adds that if it is not
done shortly, the low plum boughs will make
another Absalom of Robbie, sometime, when the
blue-eyed gander is in hot pursuit.

There is no denying that the curls need trim-
ming ; they arc too many and too thick, and they
make the little head droop uneasily to one side,
like a half-blown moss rose-bud under the weight
of its own moss, and straggle sometimes into the
mouth and eyes. Yes ; they must be cut ; but it
seems such a pity ! Little curls that we have
twined around our fingers when all wet from the
morning bath ; little curls that we have played
with M'liile singing the evening lullaby ; little
curls that our tears have fallen upon when the
baby eyes were shut in sleep ! — ah ! only mothers
know how dear such curls are to mothers' hearts.

Here are the scissors. Robbie must sit very
still, now, while his hair is being cut. Why, sir,
why do you smile and look at me so beamingly
with your blue eyes ? IIow do you know that I am
not going to cut off that saucy head of yours
with these great, sharp, cruel scissors ? O, holy
faith of childhood ! If we could only trust our
God, as implicitly as babes do in their mothers !
"Except ye become as little children, ye shall not
enter the kingdom of Heaven."

Be very still, now, while I comb out these
threads of shining floss. The mother is the first
barber to her boy ; no other fingers can perform
the sweet office so gently; but when fifteen or
twenty years have llown, rougher hands will comb
and cut these locks, all bronzed by suns and
winds, and clustering above the brow of manhood.
The white-aproned, clean-handed barber will then
arrange them in the latest style of trimming ;

pomading, perfu no ; my boy will not be a

dandy ! by these strong limbs and the sturdy look
in those eyes — no.

But to think the down of manhood will gather
on this cherry upper lip and on chin and cheek,
dimpled as thaugh by the touch of an angel's finger.
To think that this round neck of alabaster will be
choked up with a man's necktie, and these lily-
bud feet will Avear high-heeled boots, and .

Faugh ! I will not think of it. I cannot realize
that this fair baby of mine — kut three summers
out of Paradise, and still smiling in his sleep, re-
membering what the angels said there — shall
ever be so metamorphosed.

And yet the boy's babyhood is rapidly fleeting,
and the severing of these ringlets seems like cut-
ting the golden thread that links his infancy to his
childhood. O, Robbie, I can call you "baby" but
little longer. You blue-eyed elf, you are already
rebelling at being treated as one. You had rather
run, now, after your painted Avagon, than lie in
your rose-curtained crib, and hear me sing of the
baby whose cradle was the tree-top, and whose
nurse was the wind. You Avill not wear your co-

rals, because gi-andpa says they are for babies, not
for men ; you had rather hunt hens' nests than
play bo-peep ; and when I hold out my arms to
you, as you stand in the door-way twirling your
hat, you turn your head on one side, like a half-
tamed bird a-perch on one's finger, Avhile your
dancing eyes seem to say, "You'll see, you'll see !
I'll soon take flight !" Pretty soon you Avill not
believe in the wolf that talked to Iled-Riding-
Hood, and will lose faith in Santa Clans.

I cannot keep the bud in its sheath ; I cannot
stay the little bark that slips so ra]i;dly down the
hurrying stream of life. Soon, the rill v.ill broaden
into a river, and the realm of roses and sunny
skies be passed. And the gold of these ringlets
shall be dimmed by time, and the roses perchance
cbop from these pretty cheeks, and sorrow and sin,
it may be, cloud the clear, blue heaven of these
innocent eyes.

There ! I am crying. How grandpapa would
laugh if he caught me, and say it was because I
wanted the curls to stay and make a girl of his
boy. See ! there are tears glistening in these
sunny clusters of hair, like dew among the golden-
blossomed jessamine vines, and your eyes are
looking at me with wide-opened wonder, and your
red lip beginning to quiver with ready sympathy.
O, Robbie ! even if the worst should come, and I
should have to lay this bright head with its locks
of undimmed lustre under a coflSn-lid, and see the
grass grow between my darling and the bosom he
once slept upon, I should still thank God for hav-
ing given him, for having crowned my life with
the holy blessing of motherhood ; for it is such
little arms as these around our necks, Robbie,
that make us feel strong to do, and to sufl"or ; it
is drawing such little heads as these close, close
to our breasts, that keeps the hearts of some of us
mothers from breaking.

There ! that is grandpapa's step upon the stair
— and the task is just completed — the little lamb
is shorn. Look at this bright heap of glistening
silk, such as Persian looms never Avove into rich-
est fabric. Here is "golden fleece" for you, such
as never the lover of Medea sought. You did not
know that such a glittering wealth grew on your
little head — did you, blue-eyed Ixaby P

No, you must not clutch it with those destruc-
tive fingers. Go — grandpa is calling you — let him
see his little man ; but leave me these — the first
curls cut from my baby's head. I will put them
away to remind me, in other days, of his sweet,
lost infancy. — Southern Field and Fireside.

Blowing out a Candle. — There is one small
fact in domestic economy which is not generally
known, but which is useful as saving time, trouble
and temper. If the candle be blown out holding
it above you, the wick will not smoulder down,
and may "therefore be easily lighted again, but if
blown uj^on downward, the contrary is the case.
Scientijic Artisan.

Snow Corn Cakes. — Take any desired quan-
tity of Indian meal and sugar, and salt to the taste,
stir in Avith a spoon, twice or three times its bulk
of snow. Fry a little on a hot griddle, if it cooks
too dry to turn Avell, add more snow : if too wet to
be light, add more meal. Cook the same as buck-
wheat cakes.

DEVOTED TO AGKICUTiTITRE ATTD ITS KINDRED ARTS AND SCIENCES.

VOL. XIL

BOSTON, APRIL, 1860.

NO. 4.

NOURSE, EATON' & TOLMAN, Proprietors. -..__„„„-,„„, „^_r»Tj FRED'K HOLBROOK, ) Associate

Office.... 3-1 Merchants' Row. SIMON BROWN. EDITOR. HENRY F. FRENCHi 1 Editors.

A TAIiK ABOUT APRIL.

"Again rejoicing nature sees
Her robe assume its vernal Imes,
Her leafy locks wave in the breeze,
All freshly steeped in morning dews."

PHIL, the fickle month
has been the source
of a great many
poetical images,
_ and a great deal of

/' ^, S ^k moralizing. Life

^^ -"* itself is said to be

an "April day," but
to our mind April
seems like nothing so much
as a sweet, capricious young
damsel. You see, both be-
gin their empire by making
fools of us, and carry it on
by alternate smiles and
tears. At first, those tears
bring a cloud to our o^vn
brows, but soon finding how
shallow their source is, \ve
harden our hearts, and laugh
alike at smiles and tears,
well knowing that the young thing will settle
down into a sober matron at last.

How the first day of April came to be called
i"All Fools Day," is not definitely known, although
two or three solutions are off"ered, but sufficient
for us is it, that from time immemorial it has
been as religiously observed as any other great day
in the Calendar. On April Fool day, a man never
knows when he is safe. Did you ever attempt to
light a candle, and after ten or fifteen minutes un-
wearied exertions, find you had been blowing a
parsnip ? Is there a plate of particularly nice look-
ing pancakes on the breakfast table ? Don't be
deluded into taking one, for like many other at-
tractive shams, they are only stuS'ed with cotton.
Does some fair lady, with a winning smile and

courtesy, present you with a tempting slice of
plum cake ? "Stay thy rash hand," for you will
find it seasoned with pepper, and sweetened with
mustard. Shade of Pandora, Avhat a conglomera-
tion ! You fare so poorly at home, that you think
you will take a walk to the Post-Offico by way of
variety. You have been expecting an important
business letter these three weeks — a letter which
is to settle all your anxiety about a certain per-
plexing affair. Sure enough, there it is, an official
looking document, precisely such as "fancy paint-
ed" it. You do not care, however, to have the by-
standers see any unusual agitation on your coun-
tenance, so you step a little one side, and open
your letter. It reads thus : — "Eh ! you April
Fool !" Amid a general laugh, in which you join,
because it is the most dignified course left for
you, you leave the office considerably crest-fallen.
Having become a "sadder and a wiser man," you
do not stoop to pick up the letter lying on the
door-step, directed to yourself in a large, bold
hand, but walk on, congratulating yourself that
you are not caught this time. A little boy runs
after you, calling out, "Mr., here's your letter."
"Well, keep it," you ejaculate grufl[ly — another
laugh from the office, and you discover that this
was the ^'tme bug," and the other the humbug."
In short, that the whole thing was that hoax which
is commonly called an "April Fool." Who has
not been through just such a series of disasters,
every year since he can remember, and alas ! our
children promise to be no wiser than ourselves.
Man was made upright, but he has sought out
many inventions.

Spring having fairly arrived now, the farming
world begins its work in earnest. "\^Tiat a relief
to both man and beast, to get out into the fresh
air again. Everybody enjoys returning spring,
notwithstanding its east winds, and mud, and
storms, yet no one can look at it just as the far-
mer does. Now he returns to the pursuits which
interest him most. Wnth -what exquisite pleasure

154

NEW BNGITAKD FARMER.

April

he turns up the fresh earth, plants his seed, and
watches the little germ which is to appear on his
table in the shape of corn, beans and potatoes,
by-and-by. Others may enjoy the ojiening life of
.'vegetation, but none can regard it with the same
interest as he who claims ownership, and has the
^ whole training in his own hands. It is all the dif-
ference between the parent of a fine family of
boys, and the good neighbor who looks indulgent-
ly on, and thinks they are as well as could be ex-
pected of boys, but must be a deal of trouble.

Exclaimed one of the farming gentry from the
limb of a tree which ho was pruning — "Would I be
President of the United States, when I can stay
up on this tree !"

Such is the depravity of the human heart, that
perhaps, if a deputation of his fellow-citizens had
at that moment appeared, and invited him to come
down from that tree, and go to Washington, he
would have obeyed at the first summons, without
waiting for grass or stones to "fetch him down,"
like the boy in the spelling-book ; but this we will
guarantee, that from his presidential chair, he
would often look back Avith longing, to iiis former
more humble elevation. It should require a strong
sense of duty to his country, to call a Cincinnatus
from his plow, or a Harrison fi-om his log cabin.
"Uneasy lies the head that wear's a crown."

There is something in the "sweet influences" of
Nature, and in the society of domestic animals,
which love us without envy or malice, that is very
soothing to one tired of the world's unceasing
strife. To be sure, there is much that is hard, and
some things not of a very elevating tendency in
farm work ; but hear what our good neighbor says :
"I don't know but it is as dignified an employ-
ment to rub my pig's back for him, as to smooth
the asperities of a restless politician ; to teach
my young steers to pull together, as to teach re-
fractory 'Young America' to navigate the ship of
State, without running her on to rocks. There
are my bees," he says, "they will sting sometimes,
but not so cruelly as man's ingratitude."

There is certainly some truth in these remarks.
Many young men are kept from becoming farmers,
because it is not the way to become suddenly rich,
or generally speaking, famous, but it is a sure Avay
to secure peace of mind, Avhich is, at least, worth
considering. .^

As to the nobility of the calling, Adam was its
founder, and we can't go much farther back than
that. To be sure, at that early period of the world's
history, the choice of profession was somewhat
limited, so that some people may say, Adam
hardly had a chance to indicate his own feelings
on the subject, but if this was the only calling of-
fered him, it would seem to be the design that he
should pursue it. The firstlawyer was undoubtedly
in the garden. This we shall have to admit, for

with what skill at "special plQadlng," he presented
the "case" to Eve, and won it too, sad to relate.
We all know what an extensive practice he has had
ever since.

Although many turn fi'om the business of farm-
ing as not aSbrding suSicient scope for ambition^;
or because they think it does not pay well, yett
most men look to its pleasant retirement, as the*
hope and dream of old age.

"Give fuols their gold, and knaves their power,
I.et fortune's hubbies rise and fall ; . — -

Who sows a field, or trains a flo\ver,_ —__-_«_..._
Or plants a tree, is more than all."

AGRICUIiTTJHAI. EDUCATION.

The Massachusetts- Society for the Promotion
of Agriculture has in press, under the direction of
its accomplished Secretary, RlCHARD S. Fay,
Esq., a new volume of its Transactions. It will
contain, among other useful matter, an essay upon
Agricultural Education, by Judge French, from
advance sheets of which we give below some ex-
tracts. The writer advocates the establishment
of a School of Agriculture, in each of our counties.
Coming at a time when this subject is attracting
much attention, we are sm-e our readers will be
interested in the proposed plan, whether they con-
cur in all its details or not.

^^ Secondly, — What is to be Taughi'?

To this question we may reply, in general terms,
that we desire to teach the future farmers of the
State how to increase their crops, without impair-
ing the fertility of their soil, and how, at the same
time, to cultivate to their fullest capacity their
farms, their intellects, and their hearts, not neg-
lecting their physical powers. There are higher
aims in life than to raise corn, or to spin cotton,
or to make money. A perfect system of education
should have regard to the full development of all
our powers. The education of the farmer should
give liim strengtli of body, vigor and manliness
of soul, with refinement and taste to appreciate
what is noble, and love what is lovely, as well as
skill in the cultivation of his fields, and knowl-
edge of the points of his cattle. To understand
clearly what we want, we must fii-st know what we
possess, and then, looking abroad for standards
of comparison, we may form some estimate of our
possible attainments.

STATISTICS.

A glance at a few statistics will show us what,
practically, we are doing in the production of the
principal crops, and at the same time indicate
whether improvement is demanded and is possi-
ble.

We give below, the average product per acre
of the leading crops in Massachusetts, and in the
whole United States, for the year 1849, as given
in the Compendium of the United States Census
of 1850, at page ITS ; also the average product of
Massachusetts, for 1855, as given by the Board of
Agriculture, in the report of their Secretary.

The cDn-cs])ondence of the two returns for Mas-
sachusetts, the one being made under the author-

1860MA

NEW ENGLAKD FARMER.

155

ity of the Unked States, and the other under that
of the State, for different j'ears, is such as to con-
firm the accuracy of both. The difference in the
average product of corn in the two returns is but
3-13 of a bushel, in the product of rye 8-14 of a
bushel, in that of barley but one bushel. The dis-
ease of the potato accounts for the discrepancy in
the returns of that crop.

We give, also, the average product per acre of
the same crops in Scotland, for the yeai* 1856,
from returns deemed perfectly reliable, and the
average product of three years, at the Albert Mod-
el Farm, in Ireland.

•sdinjnj,

i-l CO

1-i eo

■-I Tf

•UiOQ ^

II.

c Si

— .,j Mg t^ oT >,

2^ f§o 2-S-

o "^ o >-. o "^ ■>-■

2 j^ Sco

c £«

We have here the astonishing facts, that the
average product of all the land in Scotland, for the
years given, is in wheat, more than three times the
average of the United States ; nearly double that
of Massachusetts ; and more than double that of
some of the great wheat-growing States, — the av-
erages in New York, Ohio, and Indiana, being 12
bushels; in Illinois and Missouri, 11 ; in Iowa,
14 ; in Pennsylvania and Texas, 15 ; in Virginia
but 5 bushels."

*****

"It is felt and acknowledged, everywhere in this
country, that the College fits no one for the actu-
al duties of any profession, art, or business of life.
It does not profess to do so, but merely to give a
training preparatory to the special education for
some peculiar business.

For those who have wealth and leisure for the
fullest education in literature, in art, and in sci-
ence, whether they design to devote their lives to
some regular profession or business, or to lead
lives of elegant leisure, or to take theii- chances in
the mazes of political life, a college course at
Cambridge, doubtless offers unsurpassed advan-
tages. But at the best, the number who can avail
themselves of the benefits of college life, is but a
very small fraction of the young men of the State.
The vast majority are compelled to be content with

a course of study less expensive of time and of
money. This must, from the nature of our repub-
lican institutions, continue always to be the case.
The three or four collegiate institutions of the
State are all that are demanded for the training
of such as are in a position to ask for this pecu-
liar course of instruction. Indeed, the number
included in our college classes more than repre-
sents the fraction of our OAvn youth who avail
themselves of a collegiate course, for other States
contribute largely to swell this number. How
idle is it, then, to point to our Colleges as the
means of the general education of our youth.
They do not profess to train their pupils for the
actual business of life ; and their classes do not,
in fact, and as at present arranged, never can, in-
clude more than a small fraction of our young
men.

If, again, we look at our Academies, we shall
find in their classes, it is true, a greater number
of our youth ; for many are able to devote a year
or two to an academical course, who have not the
moans, if they have the inclination, to enter upon
a college life. But here, again, we meet the same
objection, that the academical course of study is
not in the line of training for the actual business
of life, but rather a system of preparatory training
for the colleges. It is understood that the course
of studies at our best academies is especially
adapted to prepare young men to enter college,
and is not designed as a course complete in itself.
The three or four years at the academy are there-
fore devoted almost exclusively to the study of
the dead languages and mathematics."

SMOKING IN JAPAN.

There is probably no people who indulge so
unremittingly in the practice of smoking as the
Japanese, not even the people of Holland and
Germany. The Japanese indulge the habit even
in their sleeping hours. The fibre of the Japan-
ese tobacco is extremely fine, somewhat resem-
bling hemp, and its aroma is mild. It is smoked
altogether in metallic pipes, clay never entering
into the composition of a Japanese "dudeen." The
wealthy use pipes of gold and silver, elaborately
engraved, while the poorer classes content them-
selves with brass and iron pipes. The bowl of a
Japanese pipe is smaller than a lady's thimble,
and the quantity of the Aveed consumed diminu-
tive in comparison with the contents of the huge
meerchaums, chibouks and narghilehs of the Ori-
entals. The tobacco is rolled into pellets, about
the size of peas, and one of these gratifies, for the
time being, the desire of the smoker, who inhales
the smoke into his lungs, then puffs it off through
his nose, literally converting the nasal appendage
into a funneL Attached to the pipe is a pouch
made of paper, in which the Japanese carries his
tobacco. His jnpe is his constant companion, as-
suaging his pains, dispelling his gloom, soothing
him in his irritability, and lulling him to repose
when weary. He smokes day and night, l)efore
and after meals, always within doors, awaking at
intervals during the night, lighting his pipe with
coals from a brazier kept always full and burning,
puffing a few whiffs, then dozing again. He nev-
er lights the .same tobacco twice, but empties his
pipe and fills it at every indulgence.

156

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

April

LEGISLATIVE AGRICULTURAL

MEETING.

[Reported for the New England Farmer hy Thos. Beadlet.J

The fifth meeting of the present series of the
Legislative Agricultural Society was hold on Mon-
day evening in the Representatives' Hall at the
State House, and a good audience, among -which
■were many ladies, was in attendance.

The meeting was called to order by Hon. H.
Nash, of Williamsburg, who introduced Ricn-
ARD S. Fay, Esq., of Lynn, as Chairman of the
evening.

Mr. Fay on taking the chair announced the
subject for discussion, "Agricultural Education."
He said that at a previous meeting when the ques-
tion "how to make farming pleasant and profita-
ble," had been discussed, he had stated many of
his views on the present subject, and his remarks
would necessarily be somewhat of a statistical
character now. He stated that education must
be considered not incidentally, but in its capacity
in improving agriculture — not in the common
idea, but the best method in which it should be
fui-nished.

Before we get the true estimate of its impor-
tance we must consider agriculture itself ; it must
be socially and politically considered, although,
said the speaker, it is almost ridiculous to speak
of it in this light, as it is so patent to all. We
read of its importance every day, and j'ct there
is no act — no action. It is the most important
matter, not alone in this State and country, but
in the whole world.

Agriculture, said he, is the instrument that sus-
tains mankind ; it feeds them — it clothes them ;
and it is that upon Avhich the civil and political
existence of the world depends.

Mr. Fay said it was his confirmed opinion that
agriculture was underrated by those who were em-
ployed in it : and he alluded to what Mr. Webster
said in relation to it, on his return from England,
when addressing an agricultural meeting in that
hall : "That there was no man in England so high
as to be independent of that great interest ; and
no man so low as not to be affected by its decline,"
&c. If, said Mr. Fay, agriculture is so impor-
tafit, the means by which it can be made more so
are certainly well worthy of consideration, and
in doing this it might be necessai^ to inquire what
is done abroad and see if we are not behind in
our system.

The speaker then said that by the State census
of 1855, or the United States census of 1850, the
average production of corn in Massachusetts was
less than 30 bushels to the acre ; but if the re-
turns of corn exhibited at the fau-s of the agicul-
tural societies was averaged, it showed 80 bushels
to the acre. He then spoke of the production of
wheat here and in Scotland, saying that, by these

returns, the average production of wheat in this
State is 16 bushels to the acre, and that of the
whole United States more than six bushels less,
while in Scotland, with a climate and soil much
less favorable to a large yield, and many other
disadvantages, the average product per acre was
29.^ bushels. AVhile the average product of the
United States was only 9f bushels per aci-e, that
exhibited at the agricultural exhibitions in Mas-
sachusetts showed a yield of 33 bushels. The
latter shoAving what can be done, and the former
showing what is done. The speaker contended
that the reason, and the only reason, why we do
not equal the product of Scotland is that we do
not understand our business — we need education
and enthusiasm, and he contended that the same
want of education in any other pursuit would be
comparatively ruinous.

He then spoke of the Albert Model Farm School
in Ireland, as an institution where science and ed-
ucation were brought to bear, and as a partial ref-
utation of the ridicule with which some men speak
of book-farming. He said this school had been
commenced as a means of developing the agricul-
tural advantages of the country, and to show the
success of it, he gave statistics of the returns, both
of this Institution, Massachusetts, the United
States and Scotland, from a work now in press,
the author of which is Mr. Henry F. French.

Of rye, in 1850, the average yield in Massachu-
setts, was 13 bushels, in Scotland, 24^, at the
Albert School, 35.

Of barley, the average jield in Massachusetts,
was 21 bushels, in the United States, 17, in Scot-
land, 34i, -and at the Albert School, 39i.

Of oats, a crop, said he, on which we pride OYir-
selves in Massachusetts, 26 bushels, (and in 1855
only 21^,) in the United States 19^, in Scotland,
36^, and at the Albert School, seventy bushels.

Tliis, he thought, showed that our trouble lay
in the want of education.

Mr. Fay then spoke of root crops, and said
there was no counti-y rn the world where more at-
tention was given to these than in Great Britain ;
as there farmers understand that the root crop
makes the grain crop, and from his turnip crop a
man estimates his income from his grain. As
another instance of our want of knowledge of
root crops, Mr. Fay said that while the tm-nip
crop of Massachusetts only averaged 231 bushels
to the acre, that of Scotland was 694, and that of
the Albert School, 747. The speaker then allud-
ed to the hay crop of Massachusetts, which he es-
timated to be worth $20,000,000 per annum, say-
ing that we could produce five times as much with-
out decreasing the value of the article, and that
in five years the product of the land, by educa-
tion of the farmer, might be doubled, and then
asked whether this was not a matter worth con-

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

157

sidering. If, said he, we can introduce agricul-
tural education into our common schools, and so
add $20,000,000 worth of taxable property to our
State, this would be a capital investment, and at
the same time would make our country look glad
instead of sorry — our fields smile instead of weep.

How shall this be done ? he asked. Many ad-
vocate the establishment of an Agricultural Col-
lege, farmers' clubs, agricultural exhibitions, the
distribution of tracts, &c. These, said he, may have
their objects, but they are ephemeral, they do not
meet the wants. We have to begin at the foun-
dation to build up an enduring system as they
have in Scotland ; and Mr. Fay said he thought
this could only be done by our common school
system. We have educated heretofore in the
wrong way, forgetting that seven-eighths of our
people live by agriculture ; we have been educat-
ing away from agriculture, and it is to our chil-
dren's minds a drudge.

The Massachusetts Society tried the right meth-
od forty years ago, but we were a new country
then, and if a farmer found one lot did not yield
the crop he expected, he went to another lot, there
being abundance of land ; but now our land is im-
poverished and we have to take the stand that
Scotland did twenty years ago, and by education
in this direction bring agriculture to be consid-
ered a pleasure to our children. This must be
done by changing the whole system of instruction,
and teaching them agricultural chemistry, botany,
and the kindred sciences.

The speaker urged the importance of this on the
meeting, saying that he was so much the strong-
er an advocate in favor of it from the fact that he
felt the loss of this education himself, and he al-
luded to the ease and thoroughness with which
the young would learn when the tuition was early
commenced.

He then introduced Mr. George B. Emeeson,
as one who had for many years been engaged in
the instruction of youth, and yet who had the in-
terests of agriculture deeply at heart.

Mr. Emerson commenced by saying he thought
there had been enormous mistakes made in the
education of the agricultural part of the commu-
nity ; it was a fact that was ringing in everj' man's
ears. He inquired what education was now giv-
en to benefit the farmer, as such, in our public
schools, and contended that the education best
adapted for the wants of the farmer would benefit
every class of men. The speaker asked why our
children should not be taught of what the aii* we
breathe is made, and what it is made for, of what
the water we di-ink is made, of what the earth we
tread, and what the sunshine is, and what its uses.

The basis of all education, he contended, should
be a knowledge of things, and if it Avere possible,
he would place every child in the same position

God placed our first parents, and let it know
all about the surrounding objects. There is not
a fact about science, said he, that is not easy to
learn, and these should be taught by simple ex-
periments, which impress themselves forcibly and
indelibly on the minds of children, and it is only
necessary to get teachers qualified to teach chem-
istry, botany, and the like, to have the pupils learn
well. It requires less study to teach these than
the branches which are now taught.

Every fact connected with the education neces-
sary for a farmer, said the speaker, is more easy
for a child to learn than anything else, and if
this were not so, I should think God had made a
mistake. A child longs for this learning, and to
show this, he alluded to the inquiries they invari-
ably made.

Mr. Emerson alluded, humorously, to a state-
ment in the recent work of Darwin, that cats were
necessary to the growth of clover, and followed the
argument through, showing this curious instance
of the dependence of one creature upon another.
This, said he, is more difficult to understand than
almost anything else. Every single fact that lies
at the base of what a farmer should know, is ea-
sier to learn to the child than what he now has to
learn, and these would be the best foundation for
the very highest education, and he argued that all
our ablest men have come from farms, where they
have gained the strength to fill places in our gov-
ernment.

Senator Eddy, of Oxford, said he thought it
would be a good thing to educate our children in
the branches advocated by the last speaker, but
the difficulty in getting teachers appeared to him
insurmountable. He would rather put a child of
his out in the family of a good farmei-^ whose
mind was alive to the improvement of the age,
than have him taught by any teacher in our
schools, as by this means he would acquire a
thorough and practical education, while his stud-
ies in school would only give him a superficial
knowledge of farming. He said the much larger
proportion of our teachers were females, and the
majority of these would be afraid to go near a
cow, much less being capable of teaching. He
said he would rather see a child read a good agri-
cultural newspaper than have him study the ma-
jority of text-books, and he thought that a young
man would learn more by the establishment of
farmers' clubs and agricultural libraries, and by
the reading of good newspapers, than he would
learn by sending him to an agricultural school.

Rev, Dr. Stebbins was then called on. He
regretted that his time was so brief, as he had de-
sired to go thoroughly into the consideration of
the subject, but he should confine himself to the
general heads of what he proposed saying. This
matter of agricultural education, said he, is what

158

NEW ENGLAND FAEMER.

April

we shall teach the scholars, as he took it for
granted that a boy or girl could as soon learn the
names of things as the abbreviations ; it was easier
to learn the component parts of a handful of
soil than it was to analyze a sentence in Milton.
And if teachers were so disposed, they would find
it much easier and more profitable to teach their
pupils the names of the birds flying over the school
house than to teach them to enumerate billions.

The speaker said that the question was, what
can be done practically ? The Commonwealth are
sustaining some 40 scholarships ; put these boys
in the scientific school, and in three years they can
get into our high schools and teach our boys and
girls; and this course the speaker said would be
a much quicker method of teaching agriculture
than our Legislature would take, he was sure. Then
take our Normal schools, to the success of which
he alluded in high terms, and instead of devoting
so much time to the higher branches of mathe-
metics, teach the pupils chemistry and botany in
the fields. This can be done and should be done.

Alluding to ladies studying experiments in ag-
riculture, he said that no lady need be ashamed to
say she has tried such experiments, and it should
be a matter of pride to her to say that she has done
so. He closed by saying that it would be better,
-in our high schools, if, instead of spending so
much time in the study of the higher branches, the
scholars should learn the rudiments of farming.

Dr. George B. Loring, of Salem, said he was
not certain that our farmers did not themselves
possess the elements of agricultural education. He
had thought, when listening to an argument be-
fore the Agricultural Committee a few days ago,
that we should engraft into the minds of our chil-
dren a respect for the profession of their fathers,
and a love for farming. We don't, said he, want
Boston to draw away the life-blood of the State,
but we want to render farming, by education, so
pleasant, as to mduce Boston boys to engage in it.

Mr. Loring suggested the basis of a manual of
agricultiore for our schools, to state Avhat agricul-
ture is — ^how respectable, and important and use-
ful— how to plant, to plow, and further, how to ap-
ply the science of agriculture in the district to he
-farmed; showing the differeat breeds of .cattle,
pasturage and other matters of practical use.

He said that he had found from conversation
with farmers in different parts of the country,
that they knew more about what they could pro-
duce than could be told them, and what was prof-
itable in one place, was not so in another. He con-
cluded by saying that he granted we wanted an
agricultural college, and he had no objection to a
county school, but he wanted the people to come
and ask for these, before they were established.

It was announced that the discussion of the same
subject would be continued at the next meeting.

.,; ■ ••: •• ^FoT fhe NetD England -Farmer.-

THOITGHTS SUGGESTED BY JANUARY
IsTUMBER OF N. E. FARMEK.

Page 9 — Calendar for January.— The example
of the mtrchant and the man of business, who at
this seastm of the year take an annual res^-iew df
their transactions, take stock, foot up their books,
and ascertain the results of the labors and specu-
lations of the year, is in this article very appropri-
ately placed before the farmer for his imitation.
And it would surely be a satisfaction if farmers
should more generally be at the pains to keep
such debtor and creditor accounts with their sev-
eral fields and crops as to be able to determine
which of their crops, products and modes of man-
agement were yielding them the most remunera-
tive returns. Then, too, besides the satisfaction
there would be a positive and pecuniary advan-
tage, for they would thus be able to decide what
departments of their business yielded the largest
returns, and thus obtain the best possible guid-
ance for their future proceedings.

Farmers might, also, make a reti-ospect of the
year from another point of view, contributing at
once to their own advantage and to that of others.
They might take a review of the year for the sake
of deriving from it all the lessons and hints it
might be capable of furnishing. Every farmer of
an observing and reflecting turn of mind could
derive lessons of value either to himself or others
from the events of every year, for whether his la-
bors and modes of management have resulted in
failure or success, a valuable lesson for future
guidance might be derived from these results, of
Avhichever kind they might be. Those hints and
lessons which might seem of little use to any but
himself he might note down in a "Book of the
Farm" for his own private use ; while those which
seemed likely to prove serviceable to some of his
brethren, he might Avrite out and give to the pub-
lic thi'ough the columns of some agricultural pa-
per. . . ^

Page 12— Is Farming Projitable ^—Althongh
Mr. Pihkham seems disposed to exaggerate some-
what in his pleadings on one side of this question,
and thus to injure his argument, still it seems
highly probable that the discussion of this ques-
tion will eventuate in considerable good. One
of the good results likely to come out of tlois dis-
cussion will consist in spreading abroad more
generally a knowledge of the fact, Avhich some
merchants and consumers of farm products seem
resolved to ignore or deny, that farming is not
quite so profitable as many suppose, and that it
yields smaller returns than most other kinds of
business in which an equal amount of capital and
labor is employed. Another good result may come
of this discu,ssion, if it should make more mani-
fest to all concerned what are the chief j;easons
why farming proves profitable to some and not to
to others.

Page 13 — John Chinaman as an Agrictdhirisi.
— The practices adopted by our brethren in China
furnish hints which many might avail themselves
of with not a little advantage. For example, the
soaking of seeds in some kind of fertilizing liquid,
before sowing or planting, is not as common in this
country as it might be. It secures usually an early
start and a vigorovis growth in the early stages of
vegetatiojx. Our favorite st^ps a?e pi-epared fey

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

159

dissolving saltpetre and sometimes hen manure
in water. In these we soak garden and some field
seeds for twelve, twenty-four, thirty-six or more
hours, according to the readiness or slowness of
any particular seed to germinate.

Far/e 15 — Care of Old Apple Trees. — From an
experience of methods resembling that recommend-
ed in this article, we are confident that wherever
it is adopted it will renew the youth of many a
seemingly useless tree.

Fage 16 — A Carrot Crop. — It is gratifying to
see proofs every now and then that this crop is
raised more extensively and successfully than
heretofore 5 for we are convinced that each cow and
horse on a farm might derive both comfort and
increase of usefulness from the occasional use of
this root — to the extent, say, or forty or fifty bush-
els each, during the fall and spring months.

Parje 25 — The Xeio Plow. — The testimony of
Mr. Colburne in favor of this plow will be satis-
factory over a wido extent of country : for he is
pretty extensively known, both to the East and
the West, as a man of good judgment, character
and reliability.

Page 24 — Lice on Apple Trees. — Admirable ad-
vice.

Page 31 — Pumpkins for Coics.- — Observation at
sundry times has confirmed me in the opinion
that the seeds of pumpkins cause so much in-
creased action in the kidneys as to efTect a con-
siderable decrease in the secretion of milk in
cows. To many fowls jjumpkin se^s are j^oison-
ous, and cause death.

Page 40 —Dadd on the Diseases of Cattle, &c.
— It would be well for man and beast, if every one
would heed your remark, viz : "A ])roper care of
stock will prevent most diseases ; and when it has
invaded the system, nature left to herself will or-
dinarily do more to effect a cure than all the nos-
trums of the shops." More Anon.

Jaminette Pears. — The beautiful pears sent
Vi^hy^^ A Subscriber, Salisbury, Mass.," are the
Jaminette, so called because they were raised by
M. Jaminette, of Metz, from the seed. It is an
excellent winter pear, produces abundant and reg-
ular crops, and is well worthy of general cultiva-
tion. We have it growing in our grounds, and
answering to those sent us, and the description
giv^n by Downing is as follows :—

"Fruit of medium or large size, varying in form,
but mostly obovate, a good deal narrowed at
the stalk. Skin, clear green, paler at maturity,
considerably marked with russetty brown, espe-
cially near the stalk, and sparkled with numerous
brown dots. Stalk scarcely an inch long, rather
thick and obliquely planted, without any depres-
sion. Calyx open and firm, set in a basin of nwd-
erate depth. Flesh white, a little gritty near the
core, but very juicy and melting with a sugary, ar-
omatic flavor. Ripe in November and December.

- Mr. E. Mehttran, of Middletown, Vt., has a
fat ox, six years old, which weighs 3000 pounds.
He is of a bright red color, very short legged, and
if he lives to grow up, will be a credit to his trwner.

A FABMEK'S BAEOMETEK.

The introduction of the subsoil and steam-
plows, seed-sowers, seed-separators, new machines
for mowing and reaping, the introduction of new
plants and fruits, and the art of thorough drainage,
are not to be in the future the only items of pro-
gress on the farm, or topics of discussion in the
farmer's family. Another kind of investigation has
already been introduced through the aid of meas-
ures, scales, books, the microscope and the ha-
romefer.

^Vhatever pleases, while it instructs the younger
portions of the farmer's family, will greatly tend
to attach them to the soil, and to supply that skill
which has never yet been brought to bear upon
our modes of fafming. It Avill be long before the
truth will be received into all minds, that the at-
mosphere is the great store-hovse of supply for
our plants, and that a deeper and more reliable
knowledge of its action is essential to a success-
ful husbandry. ;;
For several years past we have had a barome-
ter hanging by the door, and have been pleased
and instructed by its timely and valuable warn-
ings. The recent examination of a new, simple,
and yet effective instiniment, has brought its im-
portance to mind with a new freshness and inter- .
est, as our reflections have suggested the great
value which it may prove to agriculture when it
becomes common, and its teachings are properly
regarded. The instrument to which we have al-
luded, and which is now before us, is the inven-
tion of a Mr. TiMBY, and while it is constructed
upon strictly scientific principles, is also a beauti-
ful ornament for the librai-y or parlor, where its
perpetual suggestions must have an important in-
fluence upon both mind and business. In refer-
ence to this particular barometer, the Scientific
American "bespeaks for it a universal adoption,
especially among agriculturists, as they, more than
any other class save seamen, need the council of
this faithful monitor, which leaves nothing to con-
jecture, but tells with promptness of the coming
storm long before a threatening cloud is visible in
the sky." Mr. Timby, as we learn, has not only
introduced the first marked improvement in this
instrument, but has so reduced the cost as to en-
able most persons to avail themselves of its ad-
vantages.

As great as the value of the barometer is ac-
knowledged to be to the navigator, a little reflection
and investigation will satisfy many that its com-
mon use will be of scarcely less importance to the
tiller of the soil. Let us bring to our aid, for a
moment, the omnipotence of figures, and see what
revelations they will unfold. The United States
Census of 1850 gives the valuation of the agri-
cultural products of the country, (but only includ-

160

NEW ENGLAND FAEMER.

April

ing that portion of the crop which is easily dam-
aged by getting wet while being harvested,) at
more than nine hundred and fifty 7niUions of dol-
lars ! It is supposed to be a fair estimate, by
good judges, that there is an average loss of Jive
per cent, on all the crops harvested in the coun-
try, because most crops that are injured by storms
or by a succession of damp and cloudy days, are
injured much more than five per cent., so that the
average on the whole may be fairly set down at
that sum. If the value of the barometer, in the
hands of observing and intelligent farmers is not
over-estimated by the most scientific men of this
and other countries — such men as Dr. Arnot,
Prof. SiLLiMAN, Dr. DiCK, Prof. Henry, Prof.
Maury, and others — it is fair to suppose that a
large proportion of this loss might be prevented,
and thus a gain made to the farming community
of about Ji ft 1/ 7nil lions of dollars annually I An-
other item worthy of consideration is, the in-
creased cost of harvesting a damaged crop. If by
the general use of the barometer this could be
prevented, another sum, of startling magnitude
in the aggregate, might be saved.

The little, unpretending barometer, hanging in
the saloon of one of our splendid ocean steamers,
warns the watchful pilot of the approach of an im-
pending iceberg, even amid the gloom of the dark-
est night ! Why may not its admonitions be of
equal value to as much property exposed to the
elements on the land, and teach us to shun the
losses which annually depreciate the profits of the
fai'm?

For the New England Farmer.

■WINTER BUTTER AGAIN".

Mr. Editor : — To ascertain the best mode of
making winter butter is of a good deal of impor-
tance, for there are many tons made in the State
every winter. You must have patience with us,
as we correspond with each other to find the best
"?/40C?MS operandi'" of its manufacture. In the
Farmer of January 28, your "South Danvers"
correspondent, in allusion to my article, stating
my method of butter-making in the winter, ex-
presses sui'prise that any one who feels competent
to instruct others in this matter, should think it
necessary to use the juice of carrots to color it.
Let "South Danvers" try it, ancf he will lose his
surprise. He is not the only one that has been
surprised in lessons of improvement. Worcester
county is not behind any other, to say the least,
in butter-making, and I know that some of the best
dairy-women in this town and county use the car-
rot in butter some six or eight months in the
year. Let me surprise "South Danvers" again by
telling him that one of the best dairies in Prince-
ton, and one that has taken more premiums with-
in the last fifteen years than any other in Wor-
cester county, and probably in the State, never
make9>,a single pound of butter after September,
till the next summer, without carrots. Yes, more
high premiums have been given to WiLX RoPER,

of Princeton, (and justly awarded, too, I do«bt not,)
at county shows in Worcester and Barr«, than to
any man in the county, and those premiums were
awarded by the best judges of butter that could
be selected. Further, Mr. Roper took the first
premium at the State show (in 1858, I think,) on
tuh butter, and would have taken the first also on
lump butter* had the laws of the society permit-
ted both to be given to the same dairy, Mr. Ro-
per has often told me that he never makes butter
in fall or winter without carrots. I know it will
surprise "South Danvers" greatly to know that
the best premium butter in Worcester county, or
the old Bay State, is colored with carrot juice.
But it is a fact, and facts are stubborn things.

Let "South Danvers," or any one else that
doubts this improvement, try it, and he will be
suri)riscd to find that his stock of v/isdom, in
making winter butter, may still be improved.
Yours still for improvement,

Princeton, Feb. 13, 1860. J. T. Everett,

* The first State premium on lump butter waa given to anoth-
er dairy in Princeton by the same committee.

NEW PUBLICATIONS.

Statistical and Historical Account op the Couttt op Akdj-
sox, Vt. Written at the request of the Historical Society of
Uriildlebury. Bv Samuel Swift. Middlebury : A. H. Copeland.
1859. 1 vol., pp. 132.

The acknowledgment of the receipt of this
work gives us an opportunity of calling attention
to a section of country which we have long re-
garded as naturally the best agricultural portion
of New England — we mean the Champlain valley,
of which Addison County, Vermont, is, at least, a
favorable specimen. The county extends from
Lake Champlain into the Green Mountains. The
soil of the eastern portion is generally loam of
variable compactness, and some is rocky, gravel-
ly, or sandy ; on the streams alluvial ; and on the
lake are extensive flat lands, "composed of clay,
with a mixture of vegetable substances, which
were obviously once the bottom of the lake."
When first cultivated, this section was as cele-
bi-ated for the production of wheat, as it now is
for its fat cattle, fast horses and fine sheep. Sev-
eral years ago the editor of the Albany Cultiva-
tor, after visiting Addison county, said, "We have
never seen any other land which is capable of
sustaining as much stock to the acre." It is
claimed by observing farmers there, that the finest
imported sheep sensibly improve in this eountv,
and that "there are better flocks in the county of
Addison than in atiy other part of the world."

Those of our readers, however, who have any
particular interest in this county — and we think it
would be AvcU for many who are dreaming of prai-
rie-land to share that interest — will wish to pro-
cure a copy of this well written and full statisti-
cal and historical account, to a single feature of
which we have alluded. The publisher will for-
ward a copy by mail, pre-paid, on receipt of the
price — fifty cents.

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

161

BETJRKE KEirarES PEAK.

The Beurre Kennes is a fine new Belgian vari-
ety, described and figured in the thu-d vohnne of
the Annales de Pomologie.

Size, medium. Form, pyriform, inclining to
turbinate, some specimens flattened at the poles.
Calyx, sunk in a moderately deep cavity. Stem,
about one inch in length, planted on the apex,
sometimes in a fleshy ring or protuberance. Col-
or, brownish green, colored with a thin gauze-like
covering of russet, stippled with red and gray dots ;
at maturity yellowish, suffused with a mixture of
brown and crimson on the sunny side. Flesh,
yellowish-white, melting and juicy. Flavor, sweet,
rich, with a very agreeable aroma. Season, Oc-
tober to November. Quality, "best." The tree
succeeds well on the quince stock, bearing regular
and abundant crops, but has not yet been proved
on the pear stock. The fruit is borne in clusters,
and adheres stronglv during the gales of autumn.

About Corn. — A\Tiat becomes of the corn crop ?
According to the last census, the corn crop of the
United States, in the aggregate, amounted to about
600,000,000 bushels annually. How and in what

manner is such a vast amount of gi-ain consumed
profitably for the producer ? Of the crop of 1850,
about 4,500,000 bushels were exported, and more
than 11,000,000 bushels were consumed in the
manufacture of spirituous liquors. The balance
was used at home, as food for man and beast.
Since that time, the amount consumed in the man-
ufacture of alcohol and high wines must have
largely increased to keep pace with the growing
demand for alcohol in the manufacture of Ijurning
fluid. — Prairie Farmer.

ADVANTAGES OF A HEAVY SOIL.

A clay soil Avell under-drained, is undoubtedly
the most perfect soil in existence. I have heard
cultivators say they did not want a soil that needed
any artificial drainage ; in other words they desired
one so light and porous that water could not be
long retained by it. Long experience has led rne
to a very diff'erent conclusion. A porous soil will
not retain manure long enough to become as fer-
tile as I wish, and the cost of frequent manurings
which it must receive, if I get large crops, is not
a small item. On the other hand, a heavy or
strong loam will hold for a great while all it gets.
But unless a heavy soil has a porous subsoil, which
I is very rare, it will not allow the water to drain oiF
j so readily as good farming requires — passing, as

162

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

April

it must, during this tbainage, across the whole
breadth of a large sloping field. But every dis-
advantage is removed if we tile drain it — the ma-
nm-e is retaiiaed, and the water flows quickly off.
We must not expect to find a perfect soil to order.
I once asked one of the most skilful and eminent
cultivators in this country, what was the relative
Talue of a decidedly sandy soil, and a strong or
clayey loam. His answer was, "If you give a hun-
di'ed dollars an acre for the sandy, you can afford
to give t'lvo hundred dollars for the strong loam.
For you can do whatever you like with it. Ma-
nure will enrich it to any extent you wish ; and by
complete tile-drainage, you can render it fit for
any use." — Correspondence Country Gentleman.

For the New England Farmer.
KTOBTH GKOTON, N. H.

This portion of Groton, though, territoiially con-
sidered, veiy near the centre of the town, is by
way of distinction called North Groton, from the
fact that the first post-office established was des-
ignated Groton, although located in the southerly
part of the to^vii, and hence, when the public good,
and the convenience of the inliabitants required
another office, tlie name of the original office would
have to be changed, or the new office must have a
jjr^'fiic, rind the citizens agreed upon North.

This is a pleasant township ; the surface gener-
ally undulating, not mountainous, after a rise of
about a mile from the valley of Baker's river ; it
is well watered by branches of Baker's river and
several other streams, which fall into Newfound
lake, and one considerable pond. The soil is pro-
ductive, and easily worked, and adapted to all the
grains, roots, and most of the fruits of other poi'-
tions of New England. The timber is mostly
spruce, hemlock, sugar maple, beech, birch, some
pine, &c.

The climate, of course, is somewhat variable, not
so much so, however, as it is nearer the sea-coast,
but judging from the health and longevity of the
inhabitants, it is pecidiarly healthy. Groton is in
Grafton county, and is bounded, north-east by
E-umney, south-east by Hebron, south-west by
Orange, and north-west by Dorchester. It is 10
miles fi-om Plymouth, half shire-town of Grafton
county, 45 miles from Concord, 29 miles from
Dartmouth College, 29 miles from Haverliill, the
other half-shire, 90 miles from Portland, and 120
miles from Boston. It is true that this section of
country is in a high degree of latitude, and the
winters are longer than in mOre southern cihnes,
but the disadvantage, if it be one, is more than
compensated by the unrivalled jiiii'ity of air and
water.

The inhabitants are mostly independent and
forehanded farmers and mechanics, and for moral
and social virtues, and general intelligence, they
stand deservedly high. Great interest is mani-
fested in the cause of popular education. Indeed,
according to the report of the New Hampshire
Board of Education, the schools of this town oc-
cupy a very high position ; they rank as high^ as
the highest. A few days since the School Commis-
sioner for Grafton county, Prof. Pattekson, of
Dartmouth College, visited the school at this place,
and delivered an address at the church in the
evening to au attentive and deeply interested au-

dience. The occasion was one of much interest,
parents and scholars participating. The people
of this town, too, are alive and active in evei-y good
cause and work. A short time since, the pastor
of the congregational church, Rev. Mr. Conant,
was greeted by his parishioners and friends Avith
a visit, leaving behind them many substantial
tokens of love and regard for hira, as their pastor,
and respect for him as a ftiithful and devoted min-
ister. Subsequently a large number made the
Rev. Mr. Kenne, a retired clergj'man, Avho for a
time has been suffering with ill-health, a similar
visit. Sectarianism does not seem to influence
adversely the benevolent *'bump" of the good
people of Groton.

In the former case, the Rev. Mr. Conant is a
thorough going trinitarian orthodox of the old
school. Yet not only brethren in that faith, but
Baptists, Universalists, Methodists, &c., alike free-
ly gave, and freely joined in the social festivities
of the occasion. In the latter. Rev. Mr. Kenne is
a Calvinistic Baptist ; but his visitors and almon-
ers represented all of the persuasions enumerated
above. Now this seems to me to be an exhibition
of a true Christian spirit, disinterested benevo-
lence, and the right sort of charity.

That Groton is thoroughly a cold-water ])lace,
may be learned from the fact that there is no
agency, nor public house, nor store, nor place of
any kind, where intoxicating liquors are kept or
sold ; and only one man in the whole town, who
is known habitually to use them in any form.

Knowing that the New England Farmer is a
welcome visitor to many of the households of
Groton, Ihave said thus much, intending, if agree-
able to your corps editorial, to keep you posted
in reference to matters of interest in this locality.

North Oroton, N. H., 1860. b.

Raising Pork. — At a discussion by members
of the Ohio Agricultural Society, Mr. Taggard, of
Wayne, said :

I keep a sleeping and dining-room for my hogs,
warm and clean. Thus I save one-third of the
feed. Don't crowd my hogs with feed. Get corn
meal and scald. Have such hogs as mature early.
Keep them till May, and ring them and turn them
into the clover field. Give them a little corn. —
Leave them there until the first of September,
just when the corn begins to harden. Cut up
corn and throw to them three times a day ; more
value in your corn and stalk then than afterwards.
One bushel of corn in September will fatten more
than one and a half bushels in December. A hog
will pay for good keeping as well as a horse or ox.
Kill November 15th. Don't like Sufiblks.

Mr. Gregory's Address. — We have received
a copy of the Address before the Essex Agricul-
tural Society for 1859, by James J. H. Gregory.
Starting with the axiom that "for every effect
there is a cause," the speaker, by forcible and
well-stated considerations and illustrations, draws
attention to the importance of correct observation
and exact experiments to the farmer, with refer-
ence to the elevation of his nature and the iBH*
provement of his calling. ''

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

163

Fur the Neio England Ftrrmer.

TUElSnPS— THEIR VALUE ITT FEEDING
STOCK.

Mr. Editor : — Believing fully that the value
of the common flat turnip is l)y many under-esti-
mated, I wish to give you a fact or two in re-
gard to their use in the fattening of cows. Five
or six years ago, having about a thousand bushels
of turnips to dispose of, it occurred to me to pur-
chase a few cattle to stall-feed for beef. Among
others, there was one small cow, very old and quite
poor. She ate the turnips freely, throve well, and
iu due time was turned off to the butcher and
slaughtered. We took a quarter of the beef, and
during the time it lasted, the remark was frequently
made by one and another of the family that it was
the jucicst, the richest, the best flavored beef we
ever had bought of the butcher who usually sup-
plies us. This opinion we have remembered, with-
out feeling confident that the turnip feed had any
particular connection with the quality of the meat.
But within a few weeks past, I have sent another
cow, (a young one) to the butcher, that was fed
and fattened on turnips and meadoio lia^j, having
had no grain of any sort till the last fortnight of
her life, when the tnrnips were discontinued and
four quarts of meal a day and English hay were
substituted, that the tiu-nip flavor might have time
to pass away from the meat. Being well supplied
with meat at the time, we took none of this ; but
have the testimony of a neighbor and friend, whose
family were supplied with some of it, that it was
of superior quality.

Now it must not be understood from this, that
I fully and unhesitatinojly believe that turnips will
always make beef of extra quality, but my faith is
so strong, that I shall not fear to make another
trial when circumstances are favorable ; and I
should not hesitate to recommend the turnip as a
cheap and valuable feed for the production of flesh
or milk. In feeding to milch cows, of course the
quantity should not be large, or the flavor of the
milk will be aff"ectod. But to a fattening animal,
after she has become so accustomed to them that
they will not unduly scour her, a bushel and a half
a day, if she will eat so many, will not injure her.
But it should not be forgotten that the turnips
must be discontinued for at least ten or twelve days
before she is slaughtered, or the meat will have an
unpleasant taste of the turnip.

I was about to stop here, but it occurred to me
that my friend, J. P. B., (who likes to laugh at
his neighbors sometimes, when they make a blun-
der or a bad bargain,) might ask why I did not
tell about my experience in fattening a pair of
steers on turnips. So for fear that he will tell the
story, with embellishments, I will give it here. At
the time before mentioned, when I had such a
heap of turnips to feed out, I bought, among
other animals, a pair of steers, for which I gave
seventy dollars. I made my estimate what they
would weigh at the time of the purchase, and Avhat
feey would gain as the result of eating one or two
hundred bushels of turnips, with hay and grain
added ; with the probable rise in the price of beef
before they would be sent to the shambles. Well,
the result was of course quite satisfactory. A very
respectable profit was to be made on these steers.
But, Mr. Editor, did you ever make calculations
that were not realized? I have, and this was

one of them. The steers were placed in the bam,
and the turnips laid befoi'e them. They put their
noses down, smelt of the nice sweet turnips, then
looked at me and said, ''Humph ! have you noth-
ing better than this for us ?" "O," said I, "you
are not used to tiu-nips — you don't know what is
good." I left them for a time, tliinking they
would bj'-and-by taste, and so find out that tur-
nips were good for steers. But they did not taste,
and so I found I must try them Avith something
else. So I ofiered them some Indian meal, but
with the same result, they smelt and loft it. 1
thought that by keeping them hungry for a few
days they might be brought to eat turnips ; so they
were fed for a Aveek or two lightly with hay, turnips
being frequently ofiered ; and after a while, they
consented to a compromise, and agreed to eat a few
of the turnips if I would give them a plenty of good
hay. But they never seemed to like them. And
meal they would not eat. So you will not be sur-?
prised at the result. When they were sold I re-
ceived, after feeding them some three or four
months, about two dollars Jess than I gave for
them. Is farming profitable ? M. P.

Concord, Feb. 14, 1860.

For ihe New England Farmer.

AGBICUIiTUBE AT YALE.

Letter pro.m Judse French.

My Dear Mr. Brown: — Boston is a great
eity, but New York is so much greater, that here,
within two or three hours of her, our modera
Athens seems not to be much considered. Here
I have been for three days, and not a Boston pa-
per can I find in either of the hotels, while the
New York dailies load the tables. Possibly the
secret of this may be guessed, when it is known
that the Tribune and Times have their reporters
here, carefully reporting the interesting proceed-
ings of the month, while no Boston publisher
seems to think it worth his trouble to notice the
movement.

The Farmei' has already published the plan of
the Agricultural course of lectures now in pro-
gress here. Professor Porter, of the Scientific
Scbool, is the prime mover of the scheme, which,
in brief, is a course of about sevent)' lectures upon
Agriculture, given three or four a day, at conven-
ient hours, all at one place, so that any |>ei-son
may attend the whole. Tickets to the number of
about one hundred and fifty, at ten dollars each,
were disposed of, mostly to young farmers, scat-
tered through New England, New York, and
many other States. Most of these attend regular-
ly the whole course ; and many others come in for
a week or more to attend the discussions upon
subjects which particularly interest them. The
first week was devoted mainly to Agricultural
Chemistry, Entomology, Vegetable Physiology and
Meteorology, and the lectures were given by Profs.
Johnson and Silltm.\n, of Yale College, and by
Dr. Fitch andD. C. Eaton, Esq. Col. Wilder,

164

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

April

on the second \veek, led off on the subject of
Fruits, in his usual happy manner, followed by
Dr. Grant, upon the Grape, Mr. Pardee, upon
Berries, Mr. Barry, upon Frttit Trees, Mr. Al-
len, upon Fruits, and Mr. G. B. Emerson, upon
Trees.

It is doubtful whether the world can produce
another set of men so well qualified to instruct a
New England audience upon these subjects as
those M'ho lectured during the last week. This,
the third week, has been devoted to Agriculture
propeTr. LuTHER H. Tucker, of the Country Oen-
tlenian, is lecturing upon English Agriculture.
Your humble servant is presenting the subject of
Drainage. Prof. Brewer talks of Tobacco and
Hops, John Stanton Gould, of Grasses, T. S.
Gold, of Conn., of Root Crops, Levi Bartlett,
of New Hampshire, of Sandy Soils, Joseph Har-
Kis, of Cereals, Dr. PuGH, of German Agricul-
ture, and Prof. Porter, of Agricultural Statistics
and Education. An eloquent lecture by Hon. Jo-
siah Quincy, Jr., on Wednesday evening, was re-
ceived with bursts of applause.

The fourth week will be opened by Cassius M.
Clay, of Kentucky, on Cattle, and Messrs. Al-
len, of New York, Flint and HOWARD, of Bos-
ton, upon the Dairy and Horses, Dr. Gulliver,
upon Horses, Mr. Gold, upon Sheep, Mr. CoM-
STOCK, upon the Breeding of Fish, and Mr. Weld,
on Agricultural Associations.

Donald G. Mitchell, known as Be Marvel,
the author of some of the most charming books
in our literature, "The Reveries of a Bachelor"
among others, is to deliver the closing lecture on
Rural Economy. His bachelor reveries have
been disturbed by the acquisition of a small fam-
ily, and he is now much interested in agricultural
pursuits.

The lectures are designed to be of a practical
aature, and to be given in a familiar way. After
each lecture, any person in the audience puts such
questions as he pleases, and hours are assigned
for familiar discussions of such subjects as the
class may select.

This movement of Prof. Porter is worthy of all
praise. It is a progressive measure, I think en-
tirely novel in this country, designed to be fol-
lowed up in succeeding years, wiA such modifica-
tions as may be thought best. A large and con-
venient bailding for the use of the Scientific
School is now in progress, and the lecturers of
next year will have the advantage of a Museum
of Natural History to aid their illustrations.

Besides the lectures. New Haven has great at-
tractions. Its society, in culture and true refine-
ment, cannot, perhaps, be excelled in this coun-
try. Tlie old college buildings and the public
ground-j^ planted with magnificent elms, in some-
what matheroatical order, tell of the severe taste

of the olden times, while the elegant and classic
modern dwellings, with their tasteful surround-
ings of evergreens dotting the broad lawns which
are gracefully traversed by winding walks and
drives, give evidence of affluence and the dignity
of leisure from pressing worldly care. During the
lectures, the duties of hospitality are not forgot-
ten, and they who have gone to New Haven to
study agriculture, have received those social at-
tentions so grateful always to strangers in a
strange land.

I regret that arrangements were not made for
daily reports of the lectures in the Boston papers.
A full proportion of the teachers if not of the
taught, are from among those who read the Bos-
ton dailies, and the good effects of the movement
might have been more widely diffused, had prop-
er attention been given to this matter.

A similar course of instruction might easily be
organized in Cambridge or Boston, or many more
persons in future be induced to attend the lec-
tures at Yale. The wide diffusion of knowledge
among farmers, a class not reached by the ordi-
nary means, through such an agency as this, can
hardly be estimated. Every pupil becomes as it
were a missionary to convey the new ideas thus
acquired to his friends and neighbors, and a new
impetus is given to the great cause of Agriculture.

New Haven, Conn., Feb. 16, 1860.

For the New England Farmer.
WORMS IN" APPLES.

Mr. Editor : — There is much complaint in this
vicinity respecting a new (?) species of insects
which have, by their secret depredations, rendered
nearly worthless certain kinds of apples.

The insect, while in the apple, is a very minute
worm or grub, scarcely larger than a pin, white in
color, and rather more than an eighth of an inch
in length. This is its full size ; but when its op-
erations within the apple first commence, it is so
small that it is not easily seen with the naked eye.
Its journeys in the apple are short at first, but
they gradually increase in length until the whole
interior is perforated through and through with
hundreds of its little pin-holes, while upon its sur-
face the apple looks as round as ever. Sometimes
I have taken up what I supposed to be a sound
apple, and it would crumble to pieces in my fin-
gers ; and I would find that several of these little
pests had got the start of me and devoured or de-
molished nearly the whole of the apple except the
skin !

So far as I have observed, personally, it seems
to prefer sweetings, russets, and some common
kinds for which I have no name ; but its ravages
are also extended to several other varieties.

They commence the work of destruction early
in the fall, and carry it on to midwinter, certainly,
and whether it reaches beyond this period or not,
I am, at present, unable to decide.

While looking over some russets the other day,
which had been very thickly inhabited with these

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

165

early settlers, I observed many very small bugs
slowly crawling upon the inner sides of the bar-
rel. They were of a dark chestnut color, and
about an eighth of an inch in length. The thought
occurred tc me that perhaps these were the little
grubs in their perfect form ; but if so, where and
when did they go into the pupa state, and how
long did they remain in it ? Several of the ap-
ples in which the gi-ubs had been at work were
examined and no worms could be found.

There is no mention made of this insect in
Cole's American Fruit Book, nor in any work on
Entomology which I have at hand, so I have ven-
tured to inquire, through the columns of the Far-
mer, for information of any kind concerning this
little marauder, the destructive habits of which
thi'eaten, at least in this region, to be a formida-
ble barrier to the most important branch of fruit-
raising.

In reading the report of the third meeting of
the present series of the Legislative Agricultural
Society, I saw that the question was asked, "What
should be done to prevent so many of our apples
becoming so wormy ;" and the statement made,
"that nearly three-fourths of the crop in Worces-
ter county had been spoiled the past season by
this trouble," but no description was given of the
worm, or any of its habits. It would be interest-
ing to. know if it is identical with the insect I have
partially described. S. L. White.

Groton, Feb. 7, 1860.

For the New England Farmer.

CULTtmE OF PnSTE TREES.

Dear Sir : — In accordance with my promise
made to you, I will now give you some account of
the "Culture of Pines" on our Island. I think it
was in the spring of 1840 that Mr. JosiAH Stur-
GIS, (now of California,) planted a lot of five acres,
after taking off a crop of corn the year previous,
with the seed of the common hard pine of Cape
Cod. The seeds Avere put in with a common seed
planter, in rows about six feet apart, and came up
in the rows from one to four feet apart. Two
years afterwards he planted five acres more adjoin-
ing, sowing broadcast, and harrowing in a mix-
ture of the hard pine seed with that of the "Pimis
MonH))w," of France, both of Avhich came up
well and grew finely. In 1851, Mr. Sturgis called
on me to look at thetn, and also proposed to me
to buy several hundred acres of land in company
with him, and plant it. I found his trees looking
healthy and vigorous ; some of those of the first
planting were five feet high, and about five inches
thick near the ground. We purchased about four
hundred acres of light sandy land, for about two
dollars per acre, and expended about one thous-
and dollars in procuring seed from Barnstable
county, and in the spring of 1852, planted the
whole tract, using a planter with a sharp cutter to
cut the sward, and a common cast iron broad har-
row or cultivator tooth following, and the seed
dropped behind. This method planted the seed
too deeply, but enough came up, had they not
been killed by a severe drought, and by the
ground moles which ran along the rows, leaving a
hollow space beneath the young trees. The fol-
lowing year we put in three spike harrow teeth,
wliich ' --♦■ '•"arihod the surface;, and the trees

came up abundantly, and neither drought nor
moles disturbed them, and now the largest of
them are six feet high, and tlu-ce to four inches
thick near the ground. This last method of plant-
ing is not the best. I think the better way is to
plow the ground and cultivate it one year, and
then plant it with a common seed planter. Un-
til 1852, the common and French pines had
grown alike, but in this year, the French grew
about twice as much as the others, and in some
instances the centre spike grew tkree and a half
feet in length and near an inch thick.

I now gave my whole attention to the Piniis
Montimo, and imported over fifty bushels of seeds,
and several hundred aci'es have been planted
with them. In the fall of 1855, many of the first
trees of the French kind, which were planted by
Mr. Sturgis, were fifteen feet high, and six inches
at the trunk, but the following winter when the
thermometer stood for several days at or near 12°
below zero, many of the finest trees were killed.
Those of mine which were only a few inches high,
and covered with snow, survived, and arc now do-
ing well. ^

The last tract which I planted was planted in
summer, sowed to rye in the fall, and planted
with the seed planter in the following spring with
the Piniis Montimo seeds, and the trees are now
growing well. The cost of the land was about two
dollars per acre, the plowing three dollars, the
seed rye one dollar, the pine seed two dollars, the
planting one dollar, making nine dollars, and it
produced twelve bushels of rye, which sold at one
dollar per bushel ; the straw was worth more than
the cost of harvesting, thus making a profit, after
allowing another dollar per acre for harrowing,
of two dollars per acre, and the land all planted to
pines, beside.

Many persons think oiu- waste, barren lands can
be used more profitably by stocking them with
sheep, than in any other way, but let us make
some figures and see what they will say, for they
always tell the truth when properly used. An acre
of land will cost about two dollars, and it will
take about two acres of it to feed one sheep dur-
ing the summer. It will cost about one and one-
half dollars per acre to stock it with sheep, and
about the same to plant it with pines, supposing
the crop of rye only pays for its own cost. There
is no doubt but the land will, in thirty years, pro-
duce twenty cords of wood per acre, which is now
worth here, six dollars per cord, and deducting for
cutting and carting two dollars per cord, will leave
four dollars, which is equal to eighty dollars, for
the thirty years, or two dollars and sixty-six and
one-half cents per acre per annum, or three dol-
lars grown to eighty-three in thirty years. If any
sheep husbandman can make up the other side of
the account to match this, I shall be pleased to
hear from him. E. W. Gardner.

Nantucket, Feb., 18G0.

Soaking Seed Wheat. — Mr. Walter R. Neal,
of Maysville, Ky., writes to the Rural American,
that in the fall of 1858 he prepared 20 acres of
land for wheat, and at the same time his brother,
whose farm adjoined his, prepared ten acres. The
land, seed and mode of preparation, and time of
sowing, were the same. The only difference waa.

166

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

April

he says, "my brother soaked his wheat before sow-
ing, in strong brine, and then rolled in lime ; while
I sowed mine without either. Now mark the re-
sult. At threshing time my yield was 13^ bush-
els to the acre, which was about an average yield
in the neighborhood, while my brother's aver-
aged 22^ bushels to the acre. Still further, my
wheat was damaged with the smut, while my
brother's wheat was entirely from free smut and all
foreign seeds."

EXTRACTS AND REPLIES.
^ LEGHORN FOWLS.

The inquiry of your correspondent for the best
fowls for laying and for cold weather induces me
to say that the Leghorns have done the best with
me of any I have ever kept. The Black Spanish
are good layers in warm weather ; but these lay
in warm or cold Aveather. They commence to lay
when about four months old, and have continued
without offering to set, till now, February 7 ; and
although ihey have froze their combs, they have
laid all the time. I have had but eight hens, and
they have laid thirty dozen eggs since the last of
November. They hatch well ; and I have never
lost one by disease. I consider them very hardy.

Foxbor?, Feb., 1860. L. R. Hewins. .

Remarks. — Our correspondent states that ho
has no Leghorn fowls to sell, excepting two or
three roosters, but can furnish a few eggs. He
■will please inquire of nurserymen for the grape
vine he wants.

ABOUT feeding BEES.

Friend Brown : — I noticed in the last Farmer,
a gentleman in Salisbury wants to know how he
shall feed his bees. I will tell him how I feed my
bees when they are short of honey. Go to some
one who has taken up a swarm of bees, and get a
few jyounds of honey in the comb ; that from an
old swarm is the bet, because there is more bee-
bread in an old swarm than a young swarm. Take
about one pound of honey and comb and place it
on a plate, put two little sticks under the honey,
in the plate, so that the bees can go under as well
as over the honey, and if it is too cold for them
to come down on the bottom board, carry them
into a Avarm room, and they will come down and
carry it up into their comb. It will last them
about two weeks. I think this a better way than
to ftt'^d them on candy, unless they lilte it better
than I do. R.

Chester, K H., Feb. 7, 1860.

CLOVER HAY FOR MILCH COWS.

Some say that clover hay is in no way suitable
for cows ; but brother farmer, I will tell you what
one of my cows did one week on clover hay. Her
feed consisted of clover hay, first crop, one peck
carrots, and three quarts of cob meal per day. The
result was fifteen pounds butter. Some days her
milk weighed fifty pounds. I doubt not but if
her hay had been cut it would have amply paid
the cost. The cow is about five-eighths English,
the rest native. A Subscriber.

Buerjidd, Mass., Jan. 26, 1860.

take care of the eyes OF Yomi HORSES and

CATTLE.

Should your horses or cattle injure their eyes,
so as to bring on a white substance or film, as it
is sometimes called, do not, as I have seen some
do, spit a mouthful of tobacco juice, or blow a
quill full of snuff", into the eye ; but let me tell
you a better way. I take fresh butter newly
churned, melt about one table spoonful, and turn
it into the ear opposite the eye injured, being care-
ful to hold the ear tight together so that they
shall not by a violent shake of the head throw it
out of the ear. This remedy may be safely ap-
plied if you do not use them when the film is
coming off". c. A.

I\^eiv Haven, Ct.

INDESTRUCTIBLE WATER PIPE.

An inquiry was recently made in your paper as
to what is the best kind of pipe to convey water ?
I would recommend the indestructible water pipe
as the best and cheapest. Pipe of one inch bore can
be delivered an the steamboat wharf at Camden,
Me., all. complete, for ten cents per foot ; elbows
ten cents extra ; other sizes in proportion.

George Collins & Co.

Camden, Me., 1860.

SUGAR BEET SUGAR.

Can any one give me the process of manufac-
turing the juice of the sugar beet into sugar ? It
is said that lime is used — but in what state the
lime is, or in what condition the juice of the beet,
whether before or during the process of evapora-
tion, and in what proportion, I have not learned. '

New Ipswich, Feb. 11, 1860. w. D. L.

planting AND PRUNING PRIVET HEDGE.

Will the editor of the Farmer, or some one who
has had experience in growing the privet hedge,
inform me how near together the plants should
be set, and of the time and manner of trimming.

North Bridgewater, Feb., 1860. J. T. B.

Remarks. — We have never cultivated the priv-
et, and leave the reply for those Avho have.

DISEASE AMONG CATTLE.

I have a disorder among my cattle that some
call scurf, or runrounds. PlQpse tell me what will
cure it, and oblige John J. Lang.

HINTS ON SHEEP MANAGEMENT.
Mr. L. W. Green gives in the Michigan Far-
mer the following ways and means of getting up
the right kind of a flock :

Fii-st, then, I allow my ewes to breed tUl the'
spring they are three years old. I never desire^
to see twins. If they make their appearance, I
give them an extra chance to keep them up with'
the rest of the flock. I never breed from any old'
broken-down evfes. I never allow my buck or
bucks to run with the flock at any season of the';
year. I had rather tend my buck with one hun-
dred ewes than turn him in with twenty-five./
This course is very beneficial to the buck, andj
still more so to his stock. These are points tha|

1860.

.mm. ENGLAiJD FARMER.

167

any one will admit, that will reason for a moment.
I never allow more than forty sheep to run tg-
gether. I never keep my sheep in pastures -where
they cannot get on dry ground to stand or lie
down. I raise carrots or rutabagas for my sheep
instead of feeding grain. I have my lambs begin
to come about the 20th of April, and take them
away from the ewes about the 20th of August.
In this way the lambs become weaned and take to
feed before cold weather begins, and the ewes get
up in grand order before winter, besides they are
much more likely to bring lambs the next season.
If at any time I have a sheep that does not appear
to do well, I take it immediately from the flock,
and if it does not readily recover, I kill, sell, or
give it away. I give my sheep some kind of shed
in winter to resort to when th«y ciwose. I never
care about sheep having drink in the summer, if
they have good pasture. Care should be taken
not to give too much salt in hot, dry weather,
where there is no water in the pasture. I keep a
careful watch over my flock, and if I have any
ewes that do not breed to suit me, I dispose of
them and their stock. Much care should be taken
with regard to injudicious crosses among sheep
as well as with other animals, and don't forget or
neglect to give your sheep a sufficient amount of
feed in winter, or pasture in summer, to keep
them in good condition. There are many items
too numerous to mention here that will suggest
themselves to the careful obsenrer as the process
of care and feedino; advances.

For tlie New Ensland Parmer.
HO"W TO THAW OUT PUMPS.

Mr. Brown : — During the late cold snap, some
of your readers have been obliged to ride ofl" to
the pump-makers for help to thaw out their wooden
pumps. I found out a way to do this work, some
years ago, v.hich ought to be published often. It
is this : Provide a lead pipe : three-quarters of an
inch size is very convenient ; a tunnel, and hot
water. Put the pipe into the top of the pump,
resting it on the ice. Now pour in the water,
holding the pipe with cloths, as it will become
soon too hot for bare hands. The pipe will settle
right down into the ice, and A'cry soon the pump
handle will be going again.

Every Avooden pump in an exposed situation,
should have a small vent below the platform,
where all the water aljove might pass out, ana
leave the pump in a safe condition. Copper pumps
should be attached to the lead pipe by a brass
coupling, similar to those used on fire engine
hose. Then when any thing gets into the boxes,
or the pump happens to freeze, it can be un-
screwed and taken down for repairs, or examina-
tion. A brass coupling will cost one dollar at a
Boston plumbers, and its cost may often be saved
in a single year. vv. d. b.

Co7icord,' Mass., Jan. 10. 1860.

P Cranberries. — Will some of our correspond-
ents inform us whether a natural cranberry mead-
low would be benefited by being thoroughly under-
'.drained ? That is, whether the meadow would be
Imore prolific of fruit, or the fruit be larger and of
finer flavor.

For the New England Farmer.
CRUEL TREATMENT OF HORSES.

The enlightenment and humanity of the present
time are rapidly ameliorating the condition of the
horse. Formerly, his treatment and management,
by civilized man, was most unwise and cruel, but
now, some believe that kind treatment and ration-
al management are more economical and proper.
Till of late, he has almost universally, when in
harness, been tortured with the chec];-rein. Now-
a-days, a small percentage of horse owiiers and
managers do not use it. Some consider the rein
to be both ornamental and sei'viceable. They
have a fancy for a high head, and showy horse ;
and suppose, also, that this rein keeps the horse
from tripping and falling — that it holds him up.
It is often the canse of his trij^JJing and falling.
It prevents Jiis recovery from a Jail. With an
unrestrained head he could more easily and read-
ily prevent falling, when he might trip or stum-
ble ; or arise from a fall easier. He will not step
any lighter and higher for the check-rein. It will
no more hold him up than a man can be held up
in slippery weather by a stock for his neck that
throws his head back — face upwards ! The check
rein, that makes him a gazer at the sun by day,;
and the moon and stars by night, prevents his
seeing the ground upon which he is travelling.
When in motion, this check-rein causes quite a
jar of the head, arid a jerking of the bits upon the
mouth.

The necks of horses diflfer in their formation,
yet tasty coachmen and teamsters draw their heads
equally high by this rein. In the days of stage
coaching, a driver had all of his horses' heads
checked up high and tort. One of the team could
not draw up hill, so h« whipped him soundly and
severely at the hills, till a passenger observing
the difficulty in the case of that horse, suggested
to the ckiver the cause — that he could not work
with his head drawn up so liigh — upon his being
released from the check, the horse drew smartly
up the hills aftei-wards. Drawing in the nose of
the horse to his breast, by a short rein, or the mar-
tingale, cramps the cords of the neck and pre-
vents the healthy circulation of the blood in the
neck and head.

Blinkers are of doubtful utilitj'. Horses are
often startled by noises, the causes of -which he
cannot see with blinkers on. But the same noises
do not affright them -when not in harness, and
they can see whence the sounds come. They in-
crease the weight of the bridle, and deflect into
their eyes both heat and dirt. It is not always
that blinkers prevent skittish horses from seeing
sights, at which they become affrighted, and the
turning of their heads, then, away from these ob-
jects, rather increases than diminishes their fears.

The tail of the horse men have generally con-
sidered imperfectly made, unfinished naturally, so
they cut off what they estimate Avorthless, or use-
less, the cords in it, and set it vp ! Some dock it,
and then cut the cords upon its under side, and
place it in the pulleys till it is stiffened, and will
remain set up. Others fancy a long-tailed nag,
with liis tail set u]), and perhaps will so cut and
pulley it that it will remain bowed. The tail is a
very serviceable instrument in its natural condi-
tion, for the horse to brush away the flics with,
that so much annoy him a large part of the year ;

168

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

Apkil

■when cut and stiffened, as it usually is, by the
hand of civilized and humane man, the flies tor-
ment him unharmed. It is more graceful, unop-
erated upon, and is less in the way of the reins,
■when one is riding. It may affect the animal's
strength to cut off these cords. The tail that has
been set up, often trembles very much after he
has been driven or ■worked hard.

The fetlock should not be shorn. God has seen
fit to have the hair grow long there. There is
ra]iid movement of the joint, chords and skin here,
■when the animal is travelling rapidly. Such
length of hair is probably necessary for protection
of this exposed part of the leg.

G. O. Betton.

For the New England Farmer.
TAXES AGAIN.

Mr. Editor : — I notice in the Farmer of to-
day an article signed P., in reply to the few lines
I sent you which appeared in your paper of Jan.
14. He says he "does not understand me to say
that property should not be taxed equally and pro-
portionately wherever it is found." Mr. P. is
right. The object of my communication was to
call your attention and that of your readers to the
inequality of taxation, and your correspondent
does not attempt to show that my position, in re-
gard to the inequality, injustice and oppressive
character of our laws, is not right ; indeed, he ad-
mits, when he says that the "inequality Avouldnot
be relieved by shifting the burden of taxation
from the mortgager to the mortgagee, because all
this would be guarded against by the mortgagee
when he received his mortgage." If I understand
him, his argument is simply this : the law is just
as you represented it — unjust, unequal and op-
pressive, but there is no help for it, because the
lender will take advantage of the necessity of the
borrower, and secure a good bargain at all events.
In answer, I would say, if you would have the jjeo-
ple honest, if you would restrain the gi-asping, if
you would prevent the miser grinding the faces
of the ])oor, mal^e your laws rigid — ])ase them on
principles of justice and equality. Laws have much
to do with the consciences of men. A people
never will be better than their laws, not often so
good. The fact that some men will steal, murder,
and do a thousand other wicked things, is no rea-
son why we should by law tolerate such wrong
doings. The suggestion of ]Mr. P., to secure a
"full disclosure of property," it seems to me, is
needless. The punishments for a dishonest in-
voice, as the law now is, provided the assessors
do their duty, arc the pains and penalties of per-
jury. I have no objection to a homestead bill,
but I should much prefer some action to encourage
voung men to have a homestead. R. M.

Westhoro\ Jan. 28, 1860.

The Otter or Creeper Sheep. — Our excel-
lent brother Holmes, of the Maine Farmer, says
some account of this breed of sheep may be found
in "Dwight's Travels." It appears that they orig-
inated in the town of Mendon, Mass. He adds,
"We used to have them in Maine, but have not
seen^^any for some years, probably they have be-

come extinct. They were a good bodied, medium
sieed sheep, and very quiet. They were unable to
run over stone walls or leap fences." Perhaps
some person in ]Mendon, or its neighborhood, can
give us some interesting facts in relation to these
sheep.

"WETHEBSFIELD SEED S0\V:ER.

Among the many implements ■which have been
invented within a few years to lighten the labors
and expedite the operations of farming, those are
particularly important which come in use at the
busy seasons of seed-time and harvest. While
many of the heavier labors of the farm — the
stump-pulling, the rock-lifting, the ditching, &c.,
can remain to a more convenient season, it is often
essential to the growth of the plant or to the val-
ue of the crop, that the seed should be planted at
just such a time, or the harvest gathered in under
just the right circumstances. It is claimed that
the little implement above figured Avill secure the
proper and speedy planting of the seed. Operat-
ing as fast as a man can walk, it deposits at regular
intervals, the proper amount of seed, covers and
gently presses the earth around it, securing all
the conditions in planting necessary to a quick and
healthy germination. No other preparation is
necessary for it than to see that the soil is prop-
erly pulverized and levelled, and that the ordinary
conditions of seeding, which no judicious seeds-
man will neglect, are observed.

It sows garden seeds of all kinds, adapting it-
self readily to all sizes, from the mustard seed to
the kernel of corn, and all shapes between the
round, plump pea, and the flat, scaly parsnip.

It comes from a town better known than per-
haps any other in New England, as a seed-raising
town, and having the endorsement of many of
the farmers and seed-growers of that town, we
can safely recommend it to the careful notice of
our readers. It is advertised in our columns this
week.

,S60.

NEW EXGLAND FAR:sr>'?E.

169

LEGISLATIVE AGKICTJLTUBAL

MEBTIlSrQ.

[Keported for the Kew England Farmer bt Tnos. BR.tDiET. |

The sixth meeting of the present session of the
Legislative Agricultural Society was held in the
Representatives' Hall at the State House, on
Monday evening, Dr. George B. Loring, of Sa-
lem, in the Chair. The subject for discussion was
"xlgricidtural Education,''^ it having been contin-
led from the previous meeting.

On taking the chair, Dr. Loring said he had un-
derstood that the subject for discussion would be
"The Feeding of Stock," and he was intending to
address the meeting on this, having expressed his
views on education before, but he thought the
two subjects might well be considered together, as
they were so closely allied. Agriculture, said he,
lies at the foundation of all education, and the
subject might profitably be discussed throughout
the entire series of meetings, and then not be fin-
ished. Agriculture, without education, must be
to a certain extent a failure ; there have been
exceptions, both in Europe, and in our own State
even, but these were exceptions, and did not af-
fect the rule.

The speaker said his chief object in appearing
before the Board of Agriculture, as stated at the
previous meeting, was to urge the publication of
an agricultural manual for our schools, so that the
young might take an interest in it, and profit by
it. Chemistry, said he, is a pleasant and inter-
esting study, so is botany, and more than this, to
make agriculturists of our children, we must im-
press on their minds the importance of it. Now
a farmer's child is taught to consider that every
profession is higher than its father's, and until we
show the falsity of tliis, we cannot hope to see ag-
riculture prosper.

I want to see tgpics discussed in our schools
that will so interest children that they will go
home and talk them over at the fireside ; I want
them taught what sheep are, what kind are profi-
table to keep, what the cost of keeping is, what
tlieir wool will sell for, how much they eat, and
what is best to feed them on ; what every tree is,
what stock is, what manures are, and the various
kinds for the various crops, &c., and by impart-
ing such knowledge as this, boys will go home
from school knowing that something good can be
done on our farms. Then will be time to estab-
lish county schools and agricultural colleges, but
the education should be begun in our common
schools, at once.

The speaker then said there was another source
of instruction he would mention, and which was
of the utmost importance — the introduction of
good agricultural books into the farmer's family.
What is more interesting in literature, he asked,

than good agricultural books ? No Congression-
al Documents go through the country so fast or
sn far, or are half so much sought after, as the
"Patent Office Reports on Agriculture," poor as
those are, and this shows the great amount of in-
terest that is taken in the profession.

Dr. Loring said that he considered agriculture
as an art, rather than a science, and asked, in this
connection, whether there was any man who could
tell which was the best method of feeding stock ?
He thought there was not, — as it had not yet been
discovered, so far as he had heard. He had tried it
for a mmiber of years and had not found it out.
Cattle, said he, eat what is placed before them —
what they can get, but he had never heard of the
man that had solved the problem as to what was
the best feed. Cato said the best branch of agri-
culture was to feed stock well, and the next best
branch to feed stock moderately. He, Dr. Loring,
supposed that the best feed for cattle was good
English hay ; you may, said he, steam corn stalks
and fix up some kind of palatable feed, but it was
an open question as to what was the best feed.
There is no rule, and, when the question was dis-
cussed, he would give the maxim of Cato as the
ground to commence upon.

Rev. Mr. Stebbins, of Woburn, being called
on, said that his remarks at the previous meeting
had been of a rambling character, and ho was •
glad to have this privilege of speaking more con-
nectedly on the question. Agricultural education,,
said he, is a subject of the greatest importance^
and lies at the bottom of stock feeding. The
sciences which lay at the bottom of agricultiu"al
education are chemistry, botany and geology or
mineralogy. The relations of vegetation to the
soil and of the soil to vegetation, he said, are
necessary to be taught in our schools. A child
should commence by learning the names of plants
around him, their structure, the atmosphere best
suited to them ; the names of insects, and wheth-
er they are destructive to vegetation or other-
wise, the best methods to destroy the destructive
ones ; then the names and habits of birds, and
what kinds are injurious to the crops, and those
which should be allured to remain on the farm.
All these things can be taught, said he, while the
children are sleeping or trying to sleep in the
school, and would be far better and more useful
studies in after life than many other things that
are now taught, and might be commenced with
the youngest scholars.

Dr. Stebbins then alluded to many subjects on
which much time is wasted in teaching scholars,
and argued that the time devoted to these would
be more than was necessary in learning agricultu-
ral branches. He said that the brain of the child
in our public schools is now overtasked, and our
children are so fully engaged in studies they- have

170

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

April

so little interest in, that it tends to make them id-
iotic.

Ho was opposed to establishing new schools ex-
pressly to teach agricultural education, as he con-
sidered it would be folly, but he would begin in
our common schools. He said he had told what
was done and could be done in our lower schools,
but he would consider the higher ones. Here pu-
pils were found studying algebra and geometry,
things that in ninety-nine cases in a hundred
would be of no use to them, although much time
was spent in their study ; it v.-ould be far better
to teach the boy how to raise and feed stock. He
would not ignore algebra and kindred studies, but
he would give the boy a term or two of these, and
then teach him what would be useful to him as a
farmer or mechanic.

It had been asked, where shall we get teachers ?
He would answer, do the best we can, and he
felt sure that when the want was expressed it
would breed the supply. Should this M-ant be
manifest, those who are preparing themselves for'
teaching would attend to this, and in a short time
we should have all applying for situations thor-
oughly conversant and able to go creditably
through an agricultural examination.

The difficulty, said he, is not that we have not
educational machinery, educational power or edu-
cational interest, but that we keep along in the old
scholastic method of teaching. He thought that
if our Board of Education required agricultural
education to be taught in our four Normal schools,
the want of teachers would be quickly supplied.
He had no faith in any great establishment for
teaching agriculture at present, nor had he at any
time, as he thought the present educational facili-
ties of the State Avere ample, if they were proper-
ly directed.

In closing, he again urged the importance of this
education, as the theoretical knowledge thws ob-
tained by a boy, with his father's practical knowl-
edge, would unite the two more every day, and
thus make the profession a pleasure.

jNIr.WETilERELL, of Boston, said he thought the
arguments used in support of agricultural educa-
tion had been erroneous. If, as had been said, no
one knows how to feed stock well, how are we to
teach our children ? There is so much diflference
of opinion in regard to chemical analyses that the
most celebrated professors do not agree, thus
making it impossible to teach. In educating the
mind of a child we must discipline it, and not lum-
ber it with facts. He spoke of the indisposition
there was in the mind of both teachers and pupils
to study agricultural works, and as an illustration
of this, instanced the work of Prof. J ohnston, en-
titled "Agricultural Catechism," which had been
generally introduced into the schools of New York
State some time since, and was now scarcely

known. Speaking of Chemistiy in its relation to
successful agriculture, the speaker said he did not
see the necessity of a thorough knowledge of this
to raise large crops, as the Chinese, who know
nothing of this science, produced larger crops on
a given area than any other people in the world.
He thought that if a child was taught a good com-
mon education, he would learn farming fast enough
without being specially taught it in school.

Rev. Mr. Steebins remarked that he would
have all that would be useful in after life taught
to children, and this teaching commenced when
they were young. In our higher schools, said he,
the age of the pupils ranged from 16 to 20, and he
thought young persons of this age were fully able
to understand and analyze the soil ; indeed, he
thought that in the common schools the major-
ity of the scholars were of an age and capacity to
take an interest in learning this study.

Mr. D. W. LoTHROP, of West Medford, said he
had attended the meetings of the Society and
listened to the discussions on the different sub-
jects, and he had come to the conclusion that far-
mers seemed to think that all they wanted was
capital or manure, and apathy was in a great
measure the result. This question of teaching ag-
riculture in our schools is a new thing, and the
first thing to be established is, that we need this
science of agricultural chemistry before we ask to
have it introduced as a study. In his opinion, we
should not introduce a system of any one class,
thus forestalling the minds of our youth in select-
ing a trade or profession. He said he thought
there was not more than one boy in forty, in the
schools of our State, who designed becoming a far-
mer, and this was a strong argument against in-
troducing this new feature. An agricultural col-
lege, in his opinion, was not needed here, and an
inquiry into the aims of those in England he con-
sidered would settle this matteP. In the English
agricultural colleges it was sought to give the
children such an education as should fit them for
farm laborers, as the pupils were composed of the
children of this class, and by this means make
them more valuable on a fiirm, but still keep
them from rising, and he quoted from Coleman's
work, in proof of his deduction. It must be borne
in mind that, here, a man having three or four sons
has only one farm, and consequently has to leave
that farm to one, thus cutting off the others, who
have to get a living in some other way. Now, if
it was, as had been stated, a fact, that these far-
mers' sons helped to infuse life into the learned
professions, and to make successful merchants and
statesmen, why check this immigration, as the pros-
perity of ovu' country and State as much depended
on the success of our cities as our farms.

Hon. Joseph White, of Lowell, said the ques-
tion in his mind was. not Avhether men shall be

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

171

educated as agriculturists, but whether agricul-
ture shall bo taught in our school. He agreed ful-
ly with Rev. Mr. Stebblns, that the man or wo-
man should be educated to the business of life. A
man is not to be a corn-feeder or stock-raiser alone,
but his education should have a wider and broad-
er range than agriculture. The State opens her
munificent hand to give all a general education,
and the only science that should bo taught, ought
to be the science of manhood and womanhood.
He believed no man could be an agriculturist, un-
less he was educated, and he thought the better
educated a man was, the better farmer he would
make ; indeed, he thought a collegiate education
would make better farmers.

Mr. Asa Sheldon, of Wilmington, being called
on, said he could best judge of the importance of
education from the want of it. He thought moth-
ers should take more interest in this matter, and
should teach their children their first lessons in
agriculture. If mothers would only teach their
boys and girls how honorable agriculture is, there
would more of them stay at home, and there
would be fewer boys running round hunting up
clerks' situations in cities. He spoke of the rare
occurrence of a farmer getting committed to our
prisons, and closed by complimenting the ladies
on their presence at the meetings of the Society.

Mr. Gardner, of Swansey, said he M-as not
inclined favorably to the introduction of agricul-
tural books in our common schools, as he thought
there was enough taught there now, the children
not having time to devote to it.

The time for adjournment having arrived, Mr.
Gai'dner was cut short in his remarks. It was an-
nounced that the subject for discussion at the next
meeting, would be "Stock Feeding" and that Dr.
George B. Loring, of Salem, would preside, on
which occasion ladies were particularly invited to
attend. The meeting then adjourned.

Unfavor.\ble Results. — People geuei-ally are
disposed to say as little as possible of unprofitable
bargains and of unfavorable experiments. ]\Ir. J.
H. Stanwood, of Colebi'ook, Ct., publishes in the
Homestead the results of two experiments of this
kind which he has recently tried in feeding roots
and cotton-seed meal to a milch cow. Up to Dec.
25, the cow had been fed solely on good upland
hay, and gave 141 pounds of milk, on the hay-feed,
dm-ing the week preceding the trial of roots. For
one week, in addition to hay, she ate half a bushel
of turnips and mangolds each day, and yielded 140
lbs. of milk, being a falling off of one pound. The
next week he fed two quarts per day of cotton-
seed meal, at a cost of forty-three cents, and the
cow gave 149^ lbs. of milk, being a gain of about
four quarts, worth about nine cents, at the prices

obtained by the experimenter at his door ; "leav-
ing a balance," he says, "of thirty-four cents in fa-
vor of letting the meal alone."

On these experiments of a single week, Mr.
Stanwood rejects both roots and cotton-seed meal.
Such brief trials are of but little value to the ex-
perienced feeder, and we notice them rather by
way of caution than commendation.

For the New England Farmer.
"SICK CATTLE."

When, Messrs. Editors, in a most laudable de-
sire to impart benefit to the many, a contributor
to your columns offers knowledge that he deems
beneficial, there is seemingly a lack of courtesy
and decorum in venturing to attempt to prove
his adopted views as unprofitable. Yet sure, no
one ought bo offended, if others' opinions vary
from those another has preconceived, provided
the variation be kindly expressed. I make these
remarks, because I so largely differ from your cor-
respondent at Brimfield, in his suggested cure for
"Sick Cattle," as given in your recent issue.
The communication advanced seems to have been
ofi'ered from reading the loss sustained by Win-
throp W. Chenery, Esq., through a disease devel-
oping amid his cows, said to be "Pneumonia," or
"Inflammation of the Lungs." Of this I know
nothing. Neither pretend I to suggest a cure, in
any case similar. What I would deal with, is the
remedy your correspondent proposes, "in all kinds
of stoppage or bloat from any cause," in cattle.
And as the subject of chemistry, by a sort of ne-
cessity, has been the peculiar study of my life, I
will endeavor to state chemically why I deem his
remedy most hazardous.

Your correspondent recommends vinegar and
chalk administered quickly, for, as he says, "a
bottle is not strong enough to hold it." Now,
M'hat are the chemical properties of the agents
named ? "Vinegar," or "acetous acid," it is Avell
known, possesses strong antiseptic powers, and
its action on the living body is gently stimulant,
but astringent. "Chalk, or carbonate of lime,"
is an anti-acid. In pharmacy it is employed for
the preparation of "carbonic acid gas." Mixed
with vinegar, this "gas is largely evolved, leaving
as a residuum, a most nauseating salt, offensive in
the extreme, and according to the best chemical
writers, (unlike most salts) holding no purgative
quality, whatever." Both articles being throAvn in-
to a living stomach, all that can be obtained from
them will be an immediate, rapidly effervescent
mixture, disgusting beyond expression, forming
an after salt, wholly absent' from all purgative
qualities, and at once distending the stomach and
all the vessels approximate, with a suffusion of
"carbonic acid gas," injurious in the extreme. If
pressing for a passage through the intestines be
the sought object, the proposed remedy is wholly
worthless, for the distension attendant on the
pressure of such a volume of gas must of conse-
quence bar all doors, rather than soothingly open
them. Escape must be had at once for the intro-
duction of this violent agent, else death will en-
sue. For, if "no bottle be strong enough to hold
the mixture," what can be expected from a stom-
ach ? And if the case were "pneumonia," (ai»

172

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

Apeil

with the cows of Mr. Chenery,) a pistol bullet
would not be more inevitably prompt, in deadly
efficacy, than the blending and administering of
"chalk and vinegar." An acid and anti-acid com-
bined must by acknowledged chemical law evolve
"carbonic acid gas," and this, in large qviantities,
if received into a stomach, is deleterious in the
extreme. And here I would state a case, that be-
came cognizant to me, as occurring in this place,
some years since, of a young lady recovering from
a tj'jihoid fever, and while in a most feeble condi-
tion, having swallowed from the hand of her phy-
sician what he denominated a "foaming draught",
(being a full mixture of sub carbonate soda
and tartaric acid,) expired before aid could be ad-
ministered, the carbonic acid gas evolved at once
producing strangulation. Availing myself of the
very appropriate remarks, Messrs. Editors, you
appended to your correspondent's communication,
I offer these few suggestions, earnestly cautioning
all persons to avoid a proposed remedy so utterly
opposed to all well attested chemical laws, and,
may I say, so repugnant to all judicious treatment.
The presence of any great quantities of gaseous
formation in the stomach, Ave all know, is ever at-
tended with the most distressing consequences.

To establish my doctrine, I simply would cite a
stoi-y told me by a present distinguished physi-
cian of Boston, relative to the decease of an ances-
tor of his, "whose death, as recorded on the tomb
stone, was occasioned by an over-indulgence on
a supper of beans, which produced a windy colic,
and wafted his soul to heaven." Urgently, then,
I advise all to shun the admixture of "chalk and
vinegar," or any other agent disposed to an undue
evolution of "carbonic acid gas" in ihi stomach,
even if its result be a salt of highly purgative
character, Avhich that from "chalk and vinegar"
surely is not. Oak Hill.

Feb. 15, 1860.

STEAM CULTIVATION.

This is the great topic at present with English
farmers. A paper "On the Forces used in Agri-
4 , culture," recently read before the "Society of
Arts," by Mr. J. C. Morton, is exciting much dis-
cussion. The money value of power as exerted by
steam, by horse, and by man, is stated by Mr.
Morton to be as follows : steam can meet a certain
continuous force, at a cost of six cents per hour ;
the same, if supplied by horses, would cost 20 cts.,
and if supplied by manual labor, no less than
$3,60 per hour. In the remarks which followed
we are glad to perceive that the importance of im-
proving the directing power — the English laborer
— both as regards his physical and mental forces,
was urged by every speaker. Prof. AVilson of the
University of Edinburgh, remarked, that

"To the laboring man steam has been, and al-
ways Avill be, a friend ; it relieves him from the
hardest and worst portion of his duties, and rais-
es the value of his higher (mental) power — skilled
labor. The industrial history of the country
teems with evidence of the benefits conferred by
steam machinery on the working classes, not less
ill increased employment than in increased wages

for it; and few departments of industry offer
greater opportunities for its development, than in
that connected with the productive powers of the
soil. But the machine, to be complete, needs the
directing skill of the man. He is essentially one
of its working parts ; and as in mechanics it is an
axiom that the strength of the whole is only equal
to its weakest part, it is clear that the efficiency
of the machinery we use materially depends upon
the knowledge and skill with which it is directed.
I cannot refrain from expressing a very strong
opinion that our flirmers will find it to be greatly
to their interests in a pecuniary point of view, to
say nothing of higher motives, to endeavor at
once to improve the condition, both moral and
physical, of their laborers, and prepare them for
the new duties they will be expected to perform."

For the New England Farmer.
LONG ISLAND LANDS.

Gentlemex : — The advertisement and notice in
your paper of the Lands on Long Island for sale
by me have elicited numerous inquiries, and know-
ing the interest you feel in the subject of agricul-
ture generally, I venture to ask your permission
to answer a few of the queries through your col-
umns. One of the many correspondents asks what
we propose to use for cellar walls in the absence
of stone upon the land. I answer, we use bricks,
which are made in the vicinity, and can be had at
from §4 to $6 per thousand. Also, stone, which
can be easily obtained at small cost.

Some persons have used a "Gravel Wall," from
the material taken from the cellar a few feet be-
low the surface, with a small quantity of lime and
cement. I visited a gentleman a few days since,
who has lately erected a fine house upon a farm of
200 acres, originally a part of this tract adver-
tised, and he has one of the finest cellars I ever
saw, made in this way, and he informed me it cost
much less than either brick or stone. I am asXed
about Avater. There are several streams in the
immediate vicinity of this tract, and, as I say in
the advertisement, we can procure the best water
in the world, by wells 20 to 40 feet deep. Also,
as to cost of fencing ; we do not propose to fence
at present, except around the garden and build-
ings. I believe it is generally conceded that it is
far better to keep cattle yarded, soil-feeding, and
save all the manure ; this is now the practice
here. But chestnut and locust timber is abund-
ant in the immediate vicinity, and fencing mate-
rial can be had at very reasonable prices.

Another writer asks, is there any "Fever and
Ague ?" Answer ; none. Also, can produce be
marketed at remunerative prices ? Yes. Every
thing that grows upon the Island can be sold at
once for cash, at the highest market price tiiat the
cities of New York and Brooklyn afford, and they
are the best in this country, if not in the world.
Everything, even to a bundle of rye straw, can be
sold every day for cash, and this is the great ad-
vantage that Long Island fiirmers and gardeners
have over other parts of the State. The Long
Island R,ailroad Company transport freight at low
prices, and they propose to continue, (as they have
done,) running a nightly train to deliver by a
barge of their own in connection with their Rail-
road, produce of all kinds at the princij)a} market

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

173

in New York city, (Washington,) early every
morning, thus enabling farmers at this distance
to compete successfully with those near the city,
and using their own teams, as the cost of trans-
portation is less by railroad.

The produce is sent to reliable commission
merchants, who dispose of it and make returns in
many cases without seeing the owners at all. One
other, and I am done. I am asked by another if,
as I say in my communication, I never saw these
lands until last September, how I can judge of its
productiveness ? I answer, by the crops I saw
upon the ground, recently harvested, by the stub-
ble, by the newly-made gardens and fruit trees
therein ; some in bearing, and all of the most
thrifty growth ; by the united testimony of all
who have settled upon these lands within the past
five years, and by the great similarity, (I may
say identity,) in geological structure and natural
productions of the soil of these new lands with
those of Flatbush, Flatland, Jamaica and other
places on Long Island with which I have been
well acquainted for several years, and where the
farmers make their farms pay a good interest up-
on a valuation of from $.j()0 to $1000 per acre,
prices at which they are held.

One word in regard to the cost of clearing and
plowing. A gentleman from Canada has just
purchased a tract in sight of these lands adver-
tised, and has contracted for clearing, burning
over, and plowing, turning over handsomely 30
acres by the first of May next at $12 an acre. He
paid $25 an acre cash for his land. I think the
price for clearing and plowing too high, and be-
lieve I can do the same work with my own men
and teams at much less price.

I am asked about grist mills, saw mills, schools
and churches, all of which are within two or three
miles of this land. Indeed, two new school-houses
have been erected recently in new districts, one
within 40 rods, this land being in the district.

New York, Feb. 8, 1860. A,\ron Stone.

For the New England Fanner.

AGBICDT/TUBAL EDUCATIOJNT.

Mr. Editor : — One of my neighbors, who is
apt to be inquisitive of other men's business,
asked me this morning, "What do they mean by
proposing this as a topic for discussion by the
Legislative farmers, at their proposed meeting on
next Monday evening ?" I told him I supposed
they meant to point out the best mode of educat-
ing boys to be good farmers. "Fie upon your
education of boys to be farmers," said he ; "put
them at work under the personal supervision of a
good farmer, and let them work from the age of
sixteen to twenty years, and do all the kinds of
work that he has to do, and there is no doubt they
%vill be sufficiently learned to manage a farm, as
soon as they are fortunate enough to get one."

I am inclined to think this man's ideas were
pretty near the mark, provided these boys have
been properly taught at school before they arrive
at the age of sixteen- I say properly taught — by
this I mean, they should have learned all the
branches usually taught in our schools, together
with such principles of chemistry and mechanics,
as come into daily use on a farm.
, First, I would have a boy so expert in the use

of the tools of the shop that he could make or
mend all the tools that he may have occasion to
use on the farm. This they could learn at any
time after they are twelve years of age. By know-
ing this, many steps and much money will be
saved. There are always days, rainy or otherwise,
when odd jobs of this kind can be attended to.'
The fiirmer has to learn early, that "a penny
saved is equal to two pence earned," and when he
does a thing himself, he will have no occasion to
complain that it is not well done. I know they
tell about founding agricultui*al schools, with
learned professors to lecture on each of the scien-
ces. But what does it all amount to ? I want no
better professor than was my old father, who had
sinewy arms and a powerful body, and who ac-
quired his knowledge by long-tried experiments.
Feb. 11, 1860. Essex.

EFFECTS OF "WINE UTOISr THE HABITS
OP A PEOPLE.

We transfer to our columns with pleasnre the
fair and kindly expressed criticisms by the edi-
tors of the Country Gentleman, upon remarks of
ours made at a recent meeting of the Legislative
Agricultural Society at the State House. We
will merely add, that the friend who made the
statements to us in regard to intoxication and the
use of wine in France, formed his opinions, not
merely upon passing through that country, but
upon the observations extended through a period
of eighteen months, and a period oi twelve months
in Italy. He is an intelligent, candid man, has
travelled extensively, but has no Munchausen pro-
pensities whatever. We are informed that the
writer of a recent history of Hungary — that rich
and beautiful but ill-fated land — states that in
travelling its entire length and breadth, sleeping
nights at the houses of the common people, and
eating at their tables, as well as mingling with
them in villages and cities, he rarely saw an in-
toxicated person in the country ! But cheap, light
wine was the common drink, at their meals, and
at other times. All classes used it, rich and poor,
men, women and children. How can these re-
ports, so widely different, be accounted for ? Per-
haps at a future time we may venture some solu-
tion of them.

Simon Brown, editor of the New England Far-
mer, in speaking of the importance of the culture
of the grape, urged the manufacture of wine as a
means of promoting temperance and preventing
drunkenness. A friend, he said, had travelled in
France, and had seen but few intoxicated, and
that results were similar elsewhere. We have a
high respect for the opinions of our friend of the
New England Farmer, but we think that here he
has been induced to favor an error. It is true he
is not alone in his opinion ; several other distin-
guished cultivators have adopted the same ; and
it may therefore be proper to state briefly a few
facts relative to the subject. Public statistics are
more reliable than private opinion, or partial ob-
servation. A careful e-\amination of many jails

174

KEW ENGLAND FAEMER.

April

and prisoners has shown that about nine-tenths
of the crime is caused by intemperance. Yet it
has been found a few years ago that crime was in-
creasing in France six times more rapidly than
the population. A distinguished banker in Paris
has given the returns of the quantity consumed
by that city. The amount was 130 bottles of wine
and G of ardent spirits, consumed on an average
by each inhabitant, Avithin the walls. Outside the
walls, there was no excise, and the amount was
much larger. The amount consumed in France was
I,0o3,797,8o4 gallons of strong drink of all kinds
— over a thousand million gallons — an average to
each person of forty-two and a half gallons a year
— equal to four and a half gallons of pure alcohol
to each. In the United States, at the same time,
there was only a gallon and an eighth of alcohol
consumed by each person. Some travellers pass
rapidly through France, Italy, and other coun-
ti'ies, visit the cities and splendid streets, sec noth-
ing behind the scenes, and then return home and
report "no drunlvcnness in wine countries." But
others who have examined more tlioroughly have
told a different story. J. Fennimore Cooper said
some years ago, "A residence of six months in
Paris changed my views entirely. I have taken
unbelievers with me into the streets, and have
never failed to convince them of their mistake in
the course of an hour. On one occasion we
passed thirteen drunken men in an hour." An
eminent French general stated that "the ration to
each soldier was a bottle of wine a day — the use
of that bottle only stimulated the appetite for
more, and their small pay was usually squandered
to purchase it — that want and insubordination in
the army could be traced to Avine ; and most of
the crime and poverty, especially in the districts,
to the same cause." When I^ouis Philippe was
king he expressed his conviction to a distinguished
American "that total abstinence was the only true
t.mporance, and that the drunkenness of France
was on wine." His son made a similar remark,
and added that "it Avoukl be a blessing to France
could all the grapevines be destroyed, except so
far as they furnish food."

For the New England Farmer.

layhstq new shingles over old

ONES.

Some time within two years, I think, inquiry
Avas made through the Farmer relative to this sub-
ject. I have searched for it, but do not readily
find it, so I must depend upon memory. At the
time the inquiry was made, I thought I would re-
ply, but hoping that some other person would do
it, I neglected it. I have often thought f)f it since,
and have looked carefully for some further re-
marks, but having seen none, and thinking it a
matter of too much importance to pass longer "un-
noticed, I will give the result of my observation.

The practice of laying new shingles over old
ones has been in vogue here a number of years,
is constantly gaining favor, and has become quite
general. The objections to the plan are, that it
takes longer nails, and is, consequently, a little
more expensive : and that any water which may
leak through the new covering will be retained
by the old longer than by the boards, if the old
shingles were removed ; hence the roof will be lia-

ble to rot sooner. Practically, however, these ob-
jections have but little weight. Poofs thus cov-
ered are found to be more nearly impervious to
water than single covered ones, and they are a
much better ]n'otcction against snow, very seldom
admitting any, consequently they are Avarmer. I
have had several roofs shingled in this manner
within a few years, and I like the plan much. The
general favor in Avhich the practice is held, is
pretty good evidence of its utility.

I intend to collect some facts relative to this
subject, and if I obtain any of general interest, I
Avill place them before the readers of the Farmer.
I hope others will also give their experience in
the matter. L, Vaenet.

Bloomjield, C. W., 2d mo., 1860.

EXTKACTS AND KEPLIES.

CPw^NBERRY MEADOW — HUNGARIAN GRASS SEED —
OIL MEAL.

I have a piece of land that is quite wet, cold and
sour ; it bears grass only St for bedding. I want
to know, if the land is suitable, how to proceed
with it, in order to fit it for cranberries j how to
set the ])lants, and at what time to set them ? (a.)

Can I get the Hungarian grass seed in your
city ? If so, where and at what price, -what time
to sow and cut it, and if a middling quality of soil
will produce a fair crop ? (b.)

Also, the cost of linseed oil meal per hundred,
and if given to cows, Avill it cause a greater flow of
milk ? (c.) G. A. Gibson.

Wesfjield, Mass., Feb., 1860.

PiEl\L\RKS. — (a.) If the land is covercd A\-ith
bushes and coarse grass, flow it two or three years
until they are killed — then set the plants twelve
inches apart, in October, and flov/ it thi'ough the
winter. If you cannot Avait for this process, cut
the bushes and burn them, grub off the hassocks,
and make the meadoAV as level as you can. If you
cannot floio the land, set the plants as early in the
spring as you can. We cannot tell you Avhether
the land is suitable or not, without seeing it ; but
almost any moist land Avill produce cranbernes, if
bushes and grass are kept aAvay from them.

(b.) Hungarian grass seed is sold by Nourse &
Co., 34 Merchants' PiOw, for about 84 per bushel.
SoAV in April, and cut for fodder when in bloom,
or for seed when the seed is ripe.

(c.) Oil meal is selling at about $2 per hundred
l^ounds. It Avill increase the flow of milk when
fed to cows.

THE ONION DESTROYER.
Nothing has been heard from the son of the
Green Mountains about his remedy for the onion
destroyer, since his reduced pro])osa] to sell out,
for the moderate sum of sixty thousand dollars.
An investment that, abating all contingencies, if
judiciously placed, avouUI yield a constant income
of three thousand dollars a year, during life, and
leave a permaneat residuum for the little ones.
What a pity that such enterprise should not be
adequately rCAvardcd ? If I should guess (as all
Yankees are privileged to do,) be did uot find tlia

1860.

l<rEW ENGLAND FARMER.

175

boys on the borders of the salt water so green as
he'hoped they might be. What ! decline to pay
this moderate sum f(^r a discovery that will re-
place it in full every year ! Beyond question, the
onion crop in Essex county alone, amounts to many
hundred thousand dollars annually. If one farmer,
on a small farm of fifty acres, raises 5000 bushels
annually, how much may be expected from 500
such farmers ? *.

Feb. 22, 1860. _

TOP-DRESSING GRASS LANDS.

When is the proper time to top-dress gi-ass
lands ? Or, is it always necessary to plow before
dressing ?

Why do many good farmers allow their cattle
to remain in the yard, or other out-of-door places
in cold weather ? Is it more healthy or profitable
in anv way than keeping them in the barn ?

Mention, Vt, 1860. W. C. Walker.

Re5L\rks. — A good time to top-dress grass
lands is immediately after the hay crop is taken
off; the fine manure settles down among the stub-
ble where the dews moisten it, and it soon finds
its way to the roots of the grass, reviving and
starting them into vigorous action, instead of dry-
ing away and dying, as they too often do. Late
in the autumn, just before snow falls is also a
good time ; so is the last of March, while the
ground is frozen, and just in season to catch the
spring rains that will wash their fertilizing prop-
erties into the soil.

We cannot give you any other reason \;\\y good
farmers allow their cattle to remain out of doors
in cold weather, except it is they think it promotes
their health. In moderately cold weather, cattle
may enjoy the liberty of the yard for a portion of
the day, and it seems to us that such liberty must
be beneficial to them. Much, however, will de-
pend upon the circumstances under which they
axe placed. If they are fed in the yard, and all
sorts of stock are out together, jamming and
hooking each other about, it is doubtful whether
tbey will derive any advantage from this use of
the yard.

COLTS ON A H.A.RD FLOOR.

One of your correspondents has stated that
colts should stand on a hard plank floor in order
to toughen them for a hard road. It looks to
me like putting hard thick shoes on an infant's
foot to raise corns that will trouble him for life.
Let colts stand on a soft, moist floor. w.

New London, N. H., 1860.

REMEDY FOR WORMS IN HORSES.

Feed the horse for two or three days in succes-
sion on good, bright corn stalks, green or dry,
and in the meantime give him nothing else to eat.

TO CURE POISON FROM IVY.

Rub the part poisoned with sweet oil. A small
portion rubbed on the skin before going among
the ivy will prevent tailing poison.

TO KILL VERMIN IN CATTLE.

I saw in your last monthly an inquiry — "How
to kill Lice on Cattle ?" The remedy I use, and
I find it always produces the desired" eff'ect, is to
steep tobacco in urine, and wash the animal thor-
oughlv v.ith it. l. b.

Meriden, Feb., 1860.

Remarks. — All such washes must boused with
great care. Tobacco is a dangerous article to use.
Cattle are liable to take cold after such washings.
A little sweet lard melted and rubbed thoroughlv
over the skin, if persevered in, will usually answer
all purposes. Any other pure oil may do as well.
In confirmation, read the following as a sure
method of

DESTROYING VERMIN ON COLTS.

Take flax seed (linseed) oil, and rub the harbor-
ing places tlioroiiijldy to the skin, and the vermin
will swell up, die and drop off, It is very safe
and sure. e. h. d.

Boston, Feb. 10, 1860.

For the New England Farmer.
THINNING OUT PINES.

Mr. Brown : — I noticed in your paper of last
week an article in reply to an inquiry about thin-
ning and trimming pines. I fully agree with your
correspondent in regard to trimming off' the dry
limbs and letting the green ones remain. I think
it is well to let nature have its course. But I am
a Yankee, and consequently I go in for improve-
ment. Not for improving nature, but for assist-
ing it, and improving the growth of the timber
lot ; I believe that nature can be assisted in grow-
ing timber as well as in growing corn. Pines, in
order to flourish, must have room according to
their size. Young white pines that come up on
an average two and a half feet apart, may remain
so until they are ten or twelve feet in height ;
then, in my opinion, they should be thinned out
gradually, as they increase in size and height, un-
til they stand full twenty feet apart ; I think that
some fifty years hence, one tree standing on a base
of four hundred square feet, with a diameter of
two feet, and a spindle seventy or eighty feet to-
wards the zenith, would be better than sixteen
trees on the same base with a diameter of six
inches on an average, which I think would not be
far from the result, if all were allowed to gi'ow.

Amherst, N. H., Feb. 1, 1860. d. n.

Possible Distance of Drains. — In the- Ca-
nadian Agricidturist, for February, we find an
earnest word of caution from a correspondent, who
says that a year or two since he wrote an article
recommending drains to be only eight yards apart.
Further experience and observation has satisfied
him that in many cases this distance may be
greatly increased. He is now satisfied that he
had thrown hundreds of pounds away, and is sure
others have thousands, and he wishes to prevent
this in future. He cites a case stated by Mr. Me-
chi, in which a field of twenty acres was drained
by a single drain, four feet six inches deep.

176

NEW ENGLAND FARMEIl.

April

DESIGN" FOE A COMPLETE PABM-HOUSE.

We present the reader, to day, -with another of I
the natural, (and truthful, because natural,) de-
signs of our accomplished artist, jNIr. G. E. Har-
ney. What we mean by natural, is, that the ar-
tist so mingles the work of his own hands with
the works of nature, making the blending so
graceful and harmonious, that a true taste is never
offended by its contemplation. Indeed, his pic-
tures look as though they grew, rather than that
they were made !

Mr. Harney will be kind enough now to step
forward and explain his own beautiful design in
his own language.

"When we speak of a complete farm-house, our
country friends fancy to themselves, a dwelling
that shall contain every convenience necessary for
the carrying on of the household portion of the
farm labor ; at least, such is the idea we have of
it, and in the composition of the present design,
we have endeavored to supply those conveniences.

There is nothing at all showy about the house,
either in design or plan ; it is a plain, substan-
tial farm-house, nearly square, with a large L on
one side^our aim having been to insure conven-

ience even at the expense of ornament — though,
Ave think, after the house has become two or three
years old, and brightly flowering vines begin to
cover its sides, and trees to thi-ow their shadows
upon it, that it will have a cosy, comfortable,
home-like appearance, quite in contrast with the
shingle palaces of late so fashionable among us.

Our plan comprises the following accommoda-
tion : No. 1, hall 7 feet 8 inches by 19 feet,
opening into No. 2, parlor, 15 feet by 16; No. 5,
bed-room, 15 feet square; No. 3, living-room, al-
so 15 by 16 feet, opening into a back entry ; No.
13, and across it into the kitchen, No. 4, 15 feet
by 20 ; this kitchen contains two large closets
and connects with a pantry, No. 7, which meas-
ures 7 feet by 10, and is fitted up with a sink and
shelves. The next room eu suite is the back
kitchen and Avash-rooms ; it contains two closets,
a large oven and boiler, and measures 16 feet by
12 ; it opens into the back entry, through Avhich
we pass to the wood-room. No. 8, 14 feet by 15 ;
No. 10, carriage shed, and No. 9, work shop. The
back entry is 4 feet wide, and contains stahs
to the chambers and cellar. On the front, doors
open into the dairj', No. 11, 7 feet by 14; the
store-room. No. 12, 7 feet by 13, and upon the
I sheltered porch, No. 14.

ISGO.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

The second floor contains eight chambers, be-
sides bathing-room, dressing-rooms and closets.
The attics may be h'ft unfinished.

Constructioji — This house maybe built of wood,
and covered in the common manner ■with clap-
boards.

The roof of the main house projects 2^ feet,
and that of the L, l.J feet; the cornices are sup-
ported in brackets 3 inches thick. The windows

that he was raising in their immediate neighbor-
hood. We held a family council on the subject,
and were unanimous in opinion that the unusual
cold weather had the same effect on the plants that
the keeping over one winter docs, and as last sea-
son was an uncommonly cold one, frost in every
month, it is not impossible, but altogether prob-
able, that the efiiect of cold on the young plants
produced the singular result.

and doors, inside and outside have plain archi-
traves, 5 inches wide.

Cost, in New England, about $3,500."

For the New England Farmer.

THE EFFECT OP FROST ON PLANTS.

Mr. Editor: — In the December number of the
Montlihj Farmer, 1859, I noticed an article en-
titled "Facts for the Scientific," and signed "P.
.," Vermont, in which the writer relates a singu-
lar circumstance of a neighbor having planted a
field with French turnip seeds, and the young
plants all going to seed the same year. I once
had a similar phenomenon happen to a plot of
young beets, and presuming that the result may
be traceable to the same cause in both instances, I
will relate my experience. I do not remember
the exact date, but about 20 years ago, I had my
ground prepared, and beets planted as soon as the
season would permit. The seeds came up finely,
and the plants had reached the size of four and six
leaves, when the weather became very cold, and the
earth froze to the depth of two and three inches.
Fearing that my young beets would not make any
farther progress, I had another plot of ground pre-
pared immediately and planted with seeds from
the same lot with the first, but the plants in the
first planted bed lived, and after a few days re-
commenced growing. I had them thinned and cul-
tivated, but in two or three weeks discovered that
they were all going to seed. Not a root was pro-
duced larger than a person's finger, and of a tough,
woody substance, while the later planting produced
roots of the usual good quality. The stalks of the
first planting reached the height of two and a half
feet, when my husband ordered them to be ex-
terminated, fearing that the blossoms on the pre-
cocious plants might injure the crop of beet seed,

I have known good crops of ruta baga turnips
raised from the same lot of seed for eight or_ ten
years in succession. The seeds were kept in a
cloth bag in a chamber not wholly excluded from
light and air, and the products of any seeds will,
undoubtedly, be perfect in their kind, solong as
their vitality is sufficient for germination. If
there are any seeds left of the lot from which that
field was soM-n last season, I hope that the experi-
ment of planting them will be tried again, and the
result given to the public.

While on the subject of beet raising I will say
to the lovers of young beet-tops for greens, that it
is a good way to clear the cellar of the old beets
and set them' out early in the spring for sprouts,
as they can have them earlier, and in greater pro-
fusion, and save much labor and garden room ;
and if cooked while tender, they are equally good
with the young plants. IMlis. N. DARLING.

New Haven, Conn., Jan. 28. 1860.

Crops of Olden Time. — In one of his letters
written in England, the editor of the Country
Gentleman states a fact illustrative both of the
progress of English agriculture and of the length
of time which some of the English records cover.
In the year 1387, nearly five hundred yeai-s ago,
on the Manor farm of Hawstead, in Sufiblk coun-
ty, 66 acres of wheat produced 69 quarters of
grain ; and 26 acres of barley, 52 quarters and 2
bushels — that is, wheat at the rate of less than 8^
bushels per acre, and the barley at the rate of
about 16 bushels. The present average produc-
tion of wheat, on the other hand, is calculated at
about 28 bushels per acre.

CvTTiNG Butter in Cold \A^eather. — To cut

a slice of butter from a large roll in cold weather
— first dip the knife in hot water, and all trouble
of breaking the butter will be avoided.

178

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

April /

LEGISLATIVE AGRICULTURAL
MEETING.

f Rbported for the New Enolaitd Farmer by Thos. Brablet.]

The seventh meeting of the series of this socie-
ty was held in the Representatives' Hall at the
State House on Monday evening, Dr. George B.
LoRiNG, of Salem, in the chaii-. There was a large
attendance, and much interest was manifested in
the proceedings. The question for discussion was
"Stock Feeding."

On taknig the chair, Dr. Loring said that the
subject was one of the most important that can
occupy the attention of farmers. It involves a
system of cultivation, the selection of crops, the
choice of animals adapted to a specific purpose,
the quantity and quality of manure produced on a
farm, and the economy of agi"iculture during those
months in which the soil is at rest and man
should prepare for the season of growth and pro-
ductiveuess-

To fulfil all the designs of stock-feeding, care
and skill should first be exercised in the selection
of the animals to be fed, and careful consideration
should be had as to the purpose for which they
are to be selected in any given locality — as for
beef, for milk, for young cattle, store cattle and
dry cows.

Certain constituents of food animals require
under all circumstances, viz.: sugar, starch, gum,
oil, mineral matter and nitrogenous compounds,
and the amount of these demanded is in propor-
tion to the waste of matter in the body. Fatten-
ing cattle, milch cows and working oxen require
more than dry cattle or young cattle kept for
store.

These constituents are contained in hay, straw,
grain, roots, oil-cake, &:c., and the object of every
feeder should be to obtain these in the most eco-
nomical manner, due regard being paid to his
farm and his market.

The speaker considered good English hay as
the basis of all the most satisfactory food for
stock, as it contained all the constituents he had
named in a form bulky enough for our ruminant
animals which require woody fibre for digestion.
Its nutritive qualities are more concentrated than
in straw, and less than in corn ; fed liberally, and
•with proper judgment, it will supply all th^wants
of cattle on Avhich no immediate demand is to be
made, and the manure made from it is rich
enough for all ordinary purposes. So much can-
not be said of any other bulky articles of food.
Straw, corn fodder and meadow hay will serve
for variety, but they will not do as a substitute,
and whenever they are used to produce beef or
milk, they require a large proportion of more con-
centrated nourishment, such as grain, roots and
oil-cake. He compared animals fed solely on
straw V meadow hay to a pair of inflated bellows,

and said that by examining a meadow hay fed
cow and calf in the spring, and using their man-
ure, the full eff"ects of coarse feeding upon the an-
imal economy and upon the farm would be verj'
apparent.

He said his own experience showed that mea-
dow hay, combined with even a moderate quanti-
ty of a more nutritious article, was good. He
then alluded to steaming, and said he had seen no
exact and systematic statement with regard to
steam feeding in this country, and he found that
authorities in England diSered very much with
regard to its utility there. That it renders poor
food more nutritious, there seems to be no doubt,
but will it also increase the nutritious quality of
good food, and consequently diminish the quanti-
ty necessary to be used ? The question seems to
be, said he, whether cutting and steaming coarse
and poor fodder, and mixing it with nutritious,
concentrated food like meal and oil cake and bran,
is a more economical mode of feeding than sup-
plying a sufl[icient quantity of good English hay,
grain and roots, to produce the same result.

He stated that he was feeding 40 cows, in milk,
with ten pounds of English hay, half a bushel of
roots, two quarts of shorts and a quart of cotton
seed meal per day. Calling the hay $20 per ton,
and the roots 20 cents per bushel, high prices at
the barn, and the grain five cents per day for
each cow, he found it cost 25 cents per day to
keep each animal in the milking herd. The cat-
tle are in excellent condition, and he saved the
expense of steaming, fuel, cutting the hay, and
the time and labor of mixing the feed. He wished
to know the cost of feeding coavs some other way.

Dr. Loring then spoke of root feeding and soil-
ing, and said that in a northern latitude, in the
neighborhood of cities and large towns, too much
attention could not be paid to the raising of roots
for cattle, as these are useful in every section, but
more so near large places, and might be advanta-
geously used wherever farmers are obliged to pur-
chase their grain for winter forage, in the produc-
tion of beef ; and in illustration of this, he said
that the beef raisers in Western Pennsylvania last
year might liave saved a vast amount of money
when the corn crop failed, if they had raised root
crops instead of depending on Ohio for corn. He
said there were dairy farms where butter and
cheese were made, and where the cows were dry
all winter, where hay was very cheap — $8 or $9
per ton — where there was no necessity for a root
crop.

Speaking of soiling cattle, especially milch cows,
he said it may be useful and profitable where a
market is near and pastures are scarce, but when
a cow could be pastured for eight dollars a season,
it seemed hardly judicious to adopt any other
mode of feeding.

18(30.

NEW EXGLAXD FARMER.

179

He then spoke of the use of oil cake here and
in England, and showed that while we use less
than 5000 tons of cake, the English use 240,000
tons, and while it has been freelj' offered here for
1| cents per pound, in England, the farmer has
paid 2^ cents for it. The extraordinary difference,
said he, in the estimation in which it is held in
the two countries, is worthy of careful considera-
tion. It is probable, he further said, that the quan-
tity per cow used by our farmers is too great, and
he understood that the English farmer gave one
quart per day to a cow, and for fattening sheep he
said it was almost universally used in England.

It is true, said he, that we have no definite sys-
tem of feeding among us, but perhaps this is im-
possible, as the crops, markets, the object and ex-
pense of feeding, all differ in different localities,
and in this, as in every other practical operation
on the farm, each man must exercise his own in-
genuity in ascertaining what he is to feed to the
most advantage, and how he is to feed it.

On motion of Mr. Eddy, of Oxford, the rule
was amended so as to limit speeches to ten min-
utes.

]Mr. Howard, of Boston, said the suggestions
about oil cake were important, and the wonder
was how we exported so much. English and
Scotch farmers had informed him that it fetched
$10 and $15 per ton more there than here. In
relation to English stock feeding, there were two
or three important points he would explain. 1.
The English and Scotch farmer has generally a
better knowledge of the feeding qualities of the
animal than we have, being able to tell the value
of the cattle on putting his hand on them, as to
whether they would pay to feed for beef or mut-
ton. 2. They have a more systematic mode of
feeding, and then they consider the quality of the
manure and its quantity. On the latter point he
said that it was known that oil cake abounds in
nitrogen, and the cereal crops destroy a large
amount of this, consequently the manure from an-
imals fed from oil cake produces more wheat, and
is so much more valuable. He said that Mr. Rus-
sell, of Fife, Scotland, contended that this manure
made a difference of from a penny to two pence
per pound in favor of wheat.

Elijah Wood, Jr., of Concord, said he had
been farming for twenty years, had cut a good
deal of poor meadow hay, and it had been his
study how to feed this advantageously. He com-
menced with four cows in the milk business, and
then cut 20 tons of English hay, and in 15 years
he kept 24 cows on the same farm. If, said he, I
can attribute my success to any one crop, it is
millet. I first cut 1^ to 2 tons of millet, and soon
increased to 20 tons. He said he had fed mostly
for 10 years on English and meadow hay, mixed
with oil meal, two quarts to a cow, which he con-

sidered equal to four quarts of Indian meal, and
the cows held their flesh better on oil meal than
Indian ; the quantity he fed, he did not think in-
jured the milk.

He leased a second farm, and on this, last year,
he used 1100 loads of manure, as it was about
run out, and proposed to do the same this year,
and he could see the advantage of doing this, as
where he now got 30 tons of English hay, in five
years he should get 90 tons ; and next j-car he
expected to get 60 tons. He had raised most kinds
of roots, but where he could get, on his farm, $12
per ton for carrots, 80 cents a barrel for ruta
baga, and 12^ cents per bushel for flat turnips, he
preferred to sell them to feeding them to cattle,
as he thought it better to buy grain He further
said he considered oil meal at $35 per ton cheap-
er than corn at $1 i^er bushel.

A cow in milk will eat 23 pounds of Jong hay
mixed with four pounds of meal a day. He said
he was not using meadow hay alone, but mixed it
with less than a sixth part of English, and three-
pounds of cob meal, but he found that the substi-
tution of the third pound of meal for the half
bushel of turnips he had used until within a few
weeks, did not quite keep the cows up in milk,
but as he had not sale for any more milk, he
thought he had done well in adding only one
pound of meal to the feed. Millet is not so good
as English hay, but is worth f or % as much. He
sowed a peck to the acre. Mr. Wood said he
would give his cows four quarts of meal if he
could sell all the milk he could make.

Dr. LoEiNG said that Mr. Bowley, of Cirences-
ter, England, a prominent dairyman and cattle-
feeder, used no grain, and thought it would be
more for Mr. Wood's interest to raise more roots
and less grain. He, Dr. L., had laid in 6000 bush-
els of roots this winter, and he thought they would
save him much in hay, and improve the condition
of his stock. He had conversed a few days since
with a very intelligent Berkshire farmer, who had
told him that, for feeding stock, the best crop he
could raise was buckwheat.

Mr, TnoMPSON, of Nantucket, said he had a
friend Avho kept 25 com'S in milk. He cut much
English and meadow hay and had his corn-stover.
When he takes in salt hay and corn stover he puts
it in layers so as to cure it through. He then
runs it through the cutter and feeds to dry stock,
and on this they come out well. Mr. T. said that
he proposed to his friend to reduce his stock to IS,
and to sell one quarter of his English hay and lay
the money out in oil meal, Indian meal or dry
feed, and he thought his cows would come out bet-
ter and his manure would be worth more from the
18 than it was from the 25 cows. He fed as fol-
lows : As much hay as the cattle would eat clean,
with one quart of Indian meal, and two quarts of

180

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

Apeil

shorts, and the consequence was he had more, and
better milk, and his 18 cows were worth more
than the 25 would have been. He used no roots.
Mr. Gardner, of Swansey, was in favor of root
feeding, and said he had seen cattle kept in good
order on straw, given morning and night, with half
a bushel of roots at noon. Corn fodder was good,
and he would give as much for the corn-fodder
from an acre of ground, as for the English hay,
produced on an acre for stock feeding. The ques-
tioB, in his opinion, should be, how can a man do
the best with what he has ?

Mr. Asa. SnELDON, of Wilmington, considered
English hay and Indian corn the best articles of
food, and the relative value of roots as follows : 4
lbs. of potatoes or carrots equal to 1 of corn, while
8 lbs. of turnips were equal to the same quantity.
This latter he considered very i)oor feed for work-
ing oxen. The profit on turnips depended on the
location where they were raised, as where manure
was cheap near large cities, they could be much
more profitably raised than where it was worth
$8- Hay does not follow so well after turnips or po-
tatoes, as they draw hard on the soil. Some far-
mers have not much meadow hay, but Mr. Sheldon
said that the farmers around him were obliged to
tliink it worth something. He said he considered
land that produced good meadow haj', requiring
no expense year after year but that of cutting the
crop, was as profitable land as a farmer could
have. He thought sugar was needed to make
meadow hay approach the English. He said he
chopped his meadow hay and mixed it overnight
with Hvarm water sweetened with a little molasses
in a tight box, thus steaming it, and he found it
did very well. He also gave his cattle many small
potatoes, not being able to afford to give them the
larger ones, as he had a good market for them, and
he considered this was good for them. He consid-
ered Indian and rye meal about alike, though he
preferred the latter for milk. He also thought one
ton' of di-y corn-stalks well cured are worth more
than the same green, and as good as a ton of Eng-
lish hay, and that working oxen would travel
longer on corn huts than on any other food. He
convulsed the audience with laughter by relating
to them a couple of anecdotes of feeding cattle with
roots alone.

Mr. Wetheeell, of Boston, spoke of the "stock
of Mr. Peters, and argued that although his feed
was poor, by regularity and system he kept them
in excellent condition.

Col, Heaed, of Waj'land, considered a corn
crop was one of the best a farmer could grow, but
the great trouble wae, farmers did not cure it
properly. He cut corn at the roots, a little later
than is commonly done, and cured in the air, as
he considered this better than curing in the
shade. ^ He alluded to a neighbor of his, Josiah I

M. Thomas, whom he considered a model farmer,
and gave his plan of feeding twenty cows. In the
winter he puts them in the barn, and keeps them
there until spring, feeding them three times a
day on cob meal and oil meal, and watering them
twice. His stock is kept for milk, and he thinks
his corn crop the best. He buys but little ma-
nure.

Mr. Latheop, of South Hadley, spoke of his
experience in feeding stock, and recommended
the selection of the best animals, and then the
best feed, as he considered cattle improved so
much better on the best than a medium quality of
food. He would give them all the good hay they
will eat, and two quarts of meal per day. He
spoke of oil cake and cotton seed cake, and said
that among his neighbors the latter had been
found, as fed, to be fatal to calves, and that it
caused cows to give milk at the expense of the
carcase. He related the experiences of several of
his neighbors, and said that now, when they feed
cotton seed cake, they grind the seed after the
fur, which was supposed to be the injurious part,
had been separated, and feed it clean. This v,-as
thought to be good, and he had heard no com-
plaints of any injurious efiects.

Mr. Eddy, of Oxford, advocated regularity of
feeding, and the preparation of the food so that
the cattle would have the most time to rest and
digest it, as an important element in feeding
stock.

Two or three other gentlemen spoke on the
same subject, when the chairman hoped farmers
would experiment in steaming food so as to be
able to report next year on a matter of so much
importance. The meeting then adjourned to Tues-
day evening next.

The subject for discussion will be, "Wliat are
the best measures that our agricultural societies
can adopt to satisfy the public conclusively which
are the most profitable breeds of cattle for the
farmers of New England to keep on their farms :
1st, for the dairy; 2d, for the yoke; and 3d, for
the shambles ?" Hon. JouN S. Eldeidge, of Can-
ton, will preside.

To Correspondents. — The comparative leis-
ure of winter, with the farmer, and a new impulse
which has awakened thousands to a sense of the
pleasures and profits of the profession, lead, as
we supposed it would, to a more direct, personal
interest in its affairs. This is made evident in the
unusual attention paid to the matter of writing
fur newspapers. There is no way in which one
can gain agricultural information so readily and
so rapidly, as by imparting his own knowledge to
others. He feels the responsibility of an assertion,
and observes and studies for the facts to sustain

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

181

it, so that our correspondents bless twice in their
labors — first themselves and then the reader. We
intended to say only this when Ave begun to write
— that we have recently received a large number
of excellent articles, with great thankfulness, and
that we shall use them as fast and as appropriate-
ly as "we can.

For the New England Farmer.

WHAT IS THE CAUSE OF THE POTATO
ROT?

Mu. Editok : — I do not know that you want to
read or hear anything more upon this subject. You
may regard it as a question already decided by
the clearest and strongest possible evidence, by
ocular demonstration, and thvis placed beyond
the possibility of a doubt. Without wishing to
excite a doubt where no doubt ought to be enter-
tained, yet considering the importance of the ques-
tion, and the danger of being deceived and led
astray by outward appearances and pretended
causes, I would urge a more careful and thorough
examination into all the alleged facts and circum-
stances in the case. For, after all that has been
said and done upon this sul)ject, it is believed,
that the real cause of the rot still remains un-
known, and that the question is yet undecided.
That insects are not the cause of it, is very evi-
dent from the following reasons :

1. So far as my knowledge extends in this lo-
cality, all the most delicate and early kinds of po-
tatoes, such as the Jackson Whites, and others of
like character, when planted very early, on rich
and mellov\f soil, entirely escape the rot, because
the tubers come to perfect maturity, and the tops
all die, before the season of the rot commences,
so that, afterwards, neither the blast nor the rot
afiects them.

2. My second reason why insects cannot be the
cause of the rot, is, that if we plant in the same
field and in the same neighborhood, some of the
same kinds of potatoes, alluded to above, at the
usual time of planting, that is, a few weeks later,
we shall find that they will blast and rot, if it be
a year in which the rot prevails generally.

3. My third reason why insects cannot be the
cause of the rot, is the fact, that the blast and rot
do not occur every year, but only take place in
intermittent years ; whereas, if they were caused
by insects, they would have to take place every
year in order to give the insects an opportunity
to propagate their species : otherwise this partic-
ular kind of insects would become extinct.

4. My fourth reason why insects cannot be the
cause of the rot, is, that the disease does not man-
ifest itself in all places equally, or alike, but is
confined to certain localities, more frequently to
lov/, wetlands, and soils highly enriched by active,
concentrated and stimulating manures, and ex-
tending along one side of a field, or across one
end, or through the middle, and not over the
whole field generally.

5. My fifth reason why insects cannot be the
cause of the rot, is, that however widely, exten-
sively and generally the blast prevails, it frequent-
ly turns out to be nothing but a mere blast which
kills the tops and checks the growth of the tubers,
but leaves them all smooth and bright, and, to all
appearance, entirely unaffected by disease, which

would not, and could 'not be the case, if the blast
were caused by insects on the tubers.

6. My sixth reason why insects cannot be the
cause of the rot, is the fact, that all kinds of po-
tatoes are not alike aff"ected by the disease, but,
on the contrary, some kinds are entirely exempt-
ed from it ; such is the fact Avith regard to the
black potato and some others.

7. My seventh and last reason why insects can-
not be the cause of the rot, is the "fact, that the
potato rot always manifests itself, if at all, at a
particular time, within the limits of a few days,
Avhich time is always preceded by the most re-
markable thermal changes in the stale of the at-
mosphere— by a few days of extremely hot and dry
weather, succeeded by copious, Avarm rains, and
accompanied by an oppressive, sultry and mifggy
atmosphere.

Such are my reasons for disbelieving that in-
sects are the cause of the potato rot. Though I
have offered but seven reasons, and I believe
them all to be true and valid ones, yet, if only
one of them shall stand the test of examination,
and prove to be true, the insect system is as "dead
as a door nail." I freely admit, that I have no
microscopic glasses to look through to aid my vis-
ion ; but, if I had, I do not think I should become
a convert to the insect system, because Avhat is
noAV regarded as a cause of the disease, may be
only a concomitant of it, or that Avhich follows of
course. For instance, because I have found some
decayed and decaying vegetables full of insects,
must I therefore infer that the insects are the
cause of the decay ? Or becauso I have found a
dead sheep full of maggots, must I therefore infer
that the maggots have killed the sheep ? You
Avill readily perceive from the foregoing, that I re-
gard the insects as an effect or consequence of the
disease, and not as the cause of it. I repeat,
therefore, that the cause still remains unknown ;
the question is yet undecided?

Warwick, Mass., 1860. John Goldsbuey.

For the New England Fanner.
B.O'W TO RAISE GEESE.

Mr. Editor : — I recently found some inquiry
in the Farmer about raising geese, and as I am
an old hand at it, I thought I Avould re])ly. When
they commence laying, Avhich is usually April or
May, a box with bran or cotton on the bottom
should be provided, so that the eggs aviU not roll
about. As often as there is an e^g laid in the box,
the rest of the eggs should be turned over very
carefully. When the goose is done laying, and
Avants to set, she Avill make her nest, feather it,
and set on it ; the nest should then be taken out
very carefully, and a nest made Avith about four
quarts of horse manure and some chaff" on that ;
let it be made large and commodious, and then
lay the nest that the goose made on the other very
carefully, not disturbing the straAV nor feathers.
Fill in all around the nest, making it about level,
so that the goose can go on and off'Avith case.

The goose sets four Aveeks ; mind the time cor-
rectly. Tavo or three days previous to the time of
hatching, place the eggs in a broad, deep thing,
Avith milk-Avarm Avater enough to let them SAvim,
and those that have live goslings in them will bob
round and swim, and those that have not. AA-ill

182

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

April

sink or be still ; the gosling will break the shell
on the end that stands out of the vt-ater.

Do not put the eggs in water after the shell is
broken, but drop some water on the goslings bill
when the gosling is hatched and is nest-dry. Take
it in the hand, and with the thumb and finger
press the bill open and drop in a pepper corn, and
then some sweet cream ; have ready some green
turf, place it round the nest, and sprinkle on it
some Indian dough, where the eoose will pick,
and learn her young. They are a very tender
fov.i, and require care till their feathers are grown,
after that they need not be fed, if they run in the
road. They can be plucked three times the latter
part of the three summer months ; some think it
very wicked to pick them, but they shed all that
yoii pick, quills and feathers ; they can be tried,
and if they come hard, wait a week or two. Do
not let the young go to the water too soon ; have
a short thing for them to drink out of; if they
should get chilled, take them to the fire and put
warm ashes on their back, and feed them with
ci-eam with a tea spoon.

Two geese are better than three, and one is bet-
ter than two, as they are apt to beat each other,
and unless they hatch all together, they will beat
the young. When I kept geese, I fed them on
corn till the grass grevr, and not after that till
they were fatted in the falL

I am over 60, and Avrite without spectacles.

Bo-ry, N. E., 1860. IMiis. S. Pillsbury.

For ilie New England Farmer.

THOUGHTS SUGGESTED BY PEBBUABY
NUMBER OP W. E. PABMER.

Page 58. — By a slight change in the words of
an old aphorism we have, on this page, a rule of
life, or an aim to direct our steps in it, which, if
practically and gejierally adopted, would work a
most gratifying change, both in the consciousness
of those adopting it and in the impressions which
their changed mode of living would make upon
observers. We refer to the rule or aim thus ex-
pressed— "We should not live to work, but work
to live." Quite too many lives are framed by a
different and a less noble and less sensible plan.
Thousands live as mere drudges, toiling and slav-
ing through all the work their physical strength
will endure, not because it is necessary that they
should do so in order to live comfortably, taste-
fully, nobly and usefully, but for some less sensi-
ble, less worthy, less elevated purpose. But though
we would fain make an eff'ort to demonstrate the
superiority of this life-plan, and of its fruits or re-
sults, and to recommend thus and otherwise its
more general adoption, we must, for the pi^sent,
leave it with each reader to consider the two dif-
ferent schemes of life brought before him in the
passage referred to on this page, and to ask him-
self if there is not here a hint by the adoption of
which he might make his life more noble, more
dignified, and more satisfactory ; less of a weari-
some toil and drudgerj^

Page 58 — Abimdance of Weeds. — The large
quantities of weeds here mentioned seem to be
an exaggeration ; and if so considered, this brief
article may fail of its intended effect. But if the
readers who are disposed thus to regard the
numl^rs here given would make a trial for them-

selves with any clover, grass, or other small seeds,
which they may propose to sow in the spring, they
miglit find enough of weed-seeds to make them
more cautious and careful as to this matter, ever
after.

Page 62 — -Suhjccts for Discussion in Farmers'
Clubs. — It needs but a small degree of penetra-
tion to perceive that Mr. Pinkham has looked a
little deeper into subjects and questions concern-
ing, and connected Avith, the rights and interests
of farmers, than is usually done. He may have
arrived at some conclusions which are erroneous
and exaggerated ; but all f\irmers, even those who
may difl'er most widely from him in opinion,
should be ready to acknowledge their great obli-
gations to him, inasmuch as he has, most impres-
sively, arrested their attention, and fixed their
thoughts upon matters Avhich are so intimately
related to their rights and interests as a class. Mr.
Pinkham will be gladly and gratefully listened to
by discerning and thoughtful members of our
hard-working fraternity, whenever he may be
pleased to address them upon any of the questions
and topics which he has now and recently proposed
for consideration. A few exaggerations in esti-
mating the cost of a crop of corn will not great-
ly trouble the more discerning, for they will see
that the drift of Mr. P.'s suggestions reaches far-
ther and deeper than the mere profit or loss of
any particular crop or department of farm busi-
ness. We hope leisure, inclination and opportu-
nity wUl permit Mr. P. to place us under still
greater obligations to him ; which he will certain-
ly do every time he gives us, either a mere
glimpse, or a pretty full disclosure, of his somewhat
peculiar, but very important, cogitations upon the
rights and wrongs of farmers, or the promotion
and neglect of their interests as a class.

Page 63 — Cost oj" Keeping Cows. — Among the
indirect or incidental advantages lOvcly to result
from the discussions originated by Mr. Pinkham's
recent communications to this journal, this is
likely to be one, viz.: a reconsideration of the
question, what is the value and proper price to be
charged by farmers for pasturing cows for the res-
idents of a village ? We are inclined to think
that Mr. P.'s estimate that pasture is worth about
8 cents a day, or 50 cents per week, is more near-
ly correct than that which forms the basis of the
usual practice of charging 25 cents per week. Our
reasons for thinking so are chiefly these two : —
1. One acre of ordinary pasture is not sufficient
to provide sufficient sustenance for a cow for half
a year, or the pasturing season. The experience
of dairymen in the dairy counties of England af-
fords sitfficient ])roof of this. In Gloucestershire,
for example, about nine-tenths of the land on the
dairy fimns is in pasture, and the usual practice
is to keep at the rate of 25 cows to each hundred
acres. One acre and a half of grass is the small-
est allowance usually made for each cow during
the summer and fall, and this is sufficient only
when the grass is very abundant, or in fields
which have been under-drained and top-dressed
with fertilizing materials. Two acres are required
for summer pasture, and two more for winter hay,
when the land has not received extra care, or is
not more than ordinarily productive. The cost of
keeping a cow is estimated in Gloucestershire at
820 for the summer and $25 for the winter, and
in Cheshire, another county famous for cheese,

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

183

the cost of keep foi' a cow is calculated at $17,50
for the pasturiiifi; season, and at $27,50 during
the winter. 2. Allowing then that a cow requires
for fair keeping as much grass as- two acres will
produce, the farmer who j^rovides pasture at 25
cents per week, or as is the custom in several
places, at 85 for the season, gets wonderfully poor
pay for the produce of two acres. To get any-
thing like a proper compensation, or "to save
himself," he must pinch the cows, by putting on
more than at the rate of one cow to each two
acres. He ought to have $5 or more for each
acre. More Anon.

VALUE AND USES OP BOOT CROPS.

We have often in-ged the importance of roots
as a feed for stock, as the medium or means
through which to bring up our farms to a higher
state of fertility. After many years of observa-
tion of their use, together with a personal use of
them during the same period, we feel quite free to
say that their general cultivation and judicious
use will result in a greatly improved and profita-
ble husbandry throughout New England. There
are many reasons for this opinion which we might
give here, but prefer to waive them for the pres-
ent, in order to make room for some statements
in regard to recent crops obtained by another
hand.

The paper from which we quote, was an essay
read before the Concord, Mass., Farmers' Club, by
Mr. John B. Moore, of that town, and without
any expectation of its being published on the part
of the writer. It was one of the essays of the
Club, regularly read at the meeting immediately
after the reading of the journal of the preced-
ing evening. The v.'riter had been speaking of
the profits of the potato crop over that of raising
milk, and added,

"Then there are other roots besides potatoes,
which I think we should cultivate more exten-
sively for feeding to our stock, and as a substi-
tute to some extent for grain. Carrots for horses
and oxen are, as a portion of their feed, worth
certainly one-half as much as oats per bushel ;
and no feed keeps a horse more sleek and healthy,
and thej can be raised for less than tioelve cents
a bushel in an ordinary season. I had only \ of
an acre of carrots last year, and they cost me as

follows :

Dr.

To plowing and harrowing 'of an acre 3 times $l,-50

To 10 loads compost manure, charge J to crop 7,50

To carting manure, spreading and seeding 1,50

To interest on the land 1,50

To hoeing and weeding 7,00

To harvesting 3.00

Amounting to $22,00

Or at the rate of $88 an acre. The crop was 180
bushels of carrots, for which I was offered $13
per ton in Concord. Deduct the worth of the
tops, Avhich I think were M-ell worth $2, and the
cost of raising them would be 11 1-9 cents a bush-

el. They were grown in the following manner : —
Sown about the last of May in rows 2 feet apart
on a flat surface ; hoed with a wheel hoe, thinned
and cleaned before the weeds had a chance to get
much of a start, and afterwards kept clear from
weeds throughout the season. A large item of
the cost of cultivating roots of all kinds, but more
particularly carrots, is the weeding. This expense
can be reduced one-half by proper management,
and in this way : When you prepare your land
for the seed, be sure and have the soil finely pul-
verized and smoothed with a rake or brush-har-
row, and without any stones or rubbish of any
sort being left to interfere Vv'ith the operation of
the wheel hoe. Let the rows be sown perfectly
straight, for Avith straight rows you can run the
wheel hoe faster, and much nearer to the plants,
by which you will save a great amount of finger
work ; then be sure to weed and thin them as
soon as they begin to show their second leaves,
as at that time it will not be more than one-half
as much work to weed or to thin the plants as it
will be if you let them go a week too long.

Last year I had half an acre of rutabagas, grown
on an old piece of pasture land, broken up with
a sward plow, about the 20th of May, and with
the intention of improving the pasture ; it was
manured with a compost made with 40 horse-cart
loads of peat muck, 200 bushels leached ashes,
and $5 worth of ground bones, which was spread
evenly on the soil and worked in with a horse-
hoe. The seed was sown with a machine, in rows
thirty inches apart, on a flat surface, about the
25th day of June, and afterwards thinned, and
cleaned from weeds as soon as the plants showed
their rough leaves.

The after cultivation was done by a horse and
cultivator passing through the rows three times ;
there was harvested from the half acre 350 bushels
of very fine and smooth ruta bagas, after the leaves
were trimmed from them.

The cost of the same is estimated as follows :

Db.
To 40 loads of compost manure, one-half to be charged

to the present crop $18,00

To plowing 1,00

To carting i.anure, spreading and working it in 3,50

T(> seed and seeding 50

To interest on the land 1,50

To weeding and thinning 2!00

To harvesting 6.00

Amounting to $32,50

And at the rate of $60 an acre, deduct the worth
of the tops, estimated at $2,50, and the cost would
be 82- cents a bu.shel.

I also raised quite a lot of sugar beets and man-
gel wurtzel, which cost me a fraction less than 7^
cents a bushel. The beets I grow In a different
manner, and on a soil much more moist. They
are sown on ridges made by turning two furrows
together — tops raked down, and one row of beets

184

KEW ENGLAND FARMEK.

April

sown on each ridge ; plants thinned to 10 inches
a])art. But to grow roots at the cost I have named,
it is necessary that all the details should be at-
tended to, in their proper season. For instance,
if a person seeds a piece of land with carrots, (a
plant which when young is rather tender,) and
leaves the soil full of hard lumps, and the surface
covered with rubbish, it will be more work to
weed them, the plant Avill not come up so evenly,
and the result will be a partial failure of the crop,
while it will cost more to take care of than it would
if it had been done right in the first place ; these
remarks will apply to the cultivation of other va-
rieties of roots also.

If I am right, and v^'e can grow ruta bagas for
8 or 9 cents, and sugar beets, and Mangel Wurt-
zel for 7A cents a bushel, or even at a few cents
more per bushel, would it not be a cheaper feed
than grain or oil meal ? Sugar beets and Man-
gel. Wurtzel I regard as a very excellent feed for
milch cows. By giving a cow one peck of beets
twice a day in addition to hay, you will get a rea-
sonable quantity of good healthy milk, which j^ou
need not be ashamed to sell, or to make into but-
ter.

But if a person wishes to sell milk, and is will-
ing to sell anything that he can run through a
cow's udder for milk, he can probably get a larger
quantity by substituting oil meal or some" feed of
that nature for the beets, for one or two years ;
but for a term of five years, I have no doubt a
cow would produce more milk by being fed with
the beets, than they would with the oil meal.
Beets have this advantage over ruta bagas ; they
can be kept in a house cellar as easily as potatoes,
and without any unpleasant odor from them.

It is very certain to my mind, that the whole
value of roots for feeding to cattle, is not entirely
in the amount of nutriment that they contain, but
they also aid in the digestion of the hay, and oth-
er feed, and in reasonable quantities promote the
health of cattle of all kinds. I think that a large
portion of the loss sustained in cows, every year,
results from feeding oil meal and grain in large
quantities. The garget, I think, is often caused
by the same thing, which creates an unnatural ex-
tension of the milk vessels, followed by an in-
flammation of the udder, and often results in a
serious loss in the value of the animal so aS'ecteti ;
by feeding more roots and less grain, that would
be remedied to some extent.

I do not wish to have it understood by these
remarks, that I Avould advocate the exclusion of
grain from the feed of stock, and particularly of
milch cows, but that for winter feeding, I would
use a lai'ger quantity of roots, with less grain than
many now feed, both on the score of economy in
keeping, and the greater durability of the cows.
It is said by eminent v/riters of agriculture, that

the increased cultivation of turnips in England
and Scotland has done more for the interest of
agriculture, within the last fifty years, than all
other improvements combined, and that it has
put millions of dollars in the pockets of the far-
mers of those two countries. If the culture of tur-
nips has done so much for them, then the culture
of the various kinds of roots ought to do some-
thing for us."

For the New England Fanner.
"WOBMS IN" APPLES.

Mr. Editor : — I was interested in your Groton
correspondent, Mr. White, in relation to the
"worm in apples," not the apple worm, described
in your last issue. I have a sweet apple tree on
my grounds in New Hampshire, about sixty miles
from this city, the fruit of which is of a superior
quality for cooking purposes. I have noticed that
this apple, when first ripe, early in September, is
very clear, and free from the apple worm. I do
not recollect of ever having seen a worm of that
description, in the fruit ; but within the past few
years, I have noticed, that after the apple has been
taken from the tree in a ripe state, and kept ti'n
or fifteen days, the worm described by Mr. White
appears in tlie meat, scarcely perceptible at first,
but in full size is about ono-eighth of an inch in
length. They are very abundant, and perforate the
whole apple, leaving it like a honey-comb inside,
while the outside is perfectly fair and smooth. I
have never seen the worm in any fruit, except the
sweet apple. I know of no preventive, except
to use the fruit when first ripe, as you would cook
fresh meat in warm weather, before being subject-
ed to the outward influences which fresh meat is
too often subjected in the summer season.

Bosto7i, Feb. 28, 1860. j. D.

For the New England Farmer.

PIPES FOB CONDUCTING "WATEK.

In your paper of this date I find an answer to
my suggestion in yours of Jan. 28th, about "pipe
for conducting water," by the Boston Belting Co.
— or rather by Tappan, McBurney, & Co., which
is good as far as it goes — but as you remark, "It
is information that will be valuable to many per-
sons," I wish to know more about this pipe —

1. How long will it last ?

2. Will it make the water taste of India-rub-
ber ?

3. Is it wholesome ? and this last is the most
important item.

I know of an elderly farmer in this tovv^n, who
being out of health, thought lead pipe the cause,
and dug a new well this last year to have water
handy, and by some way to avoid lead pipe.

Another who was out of health, and was per-
suaded to think lead pipe was the cause, took it
out of his well less than a year ago and put in
gutta pcrcha. The lead pipe he took out was as
clean and as pure lead color as the day it was put
in — no corrosion or appearance of decay. This
was from a well of soft water, as pure as water
could be from any well. A Reader.

Billerica, Feh.'lG,!'^^^'

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FARRIER.

185

him but one chance

"ADVIC3" ABOUT FARMING.

Farm described — Advice asked — Uplands exh:iusteil — Deficien-
cies made up by income from woodland — Wliy lands are not
prolific — Meridian of life passed
—Profits of farmin;;— $600 ex-
pended and nothinpr trained by it
— Means of making old ac;e com-
fortable— Cranberry culture —
True farming very little under-
stood.

E HAVE a letter before us
from "W. J.," Wells, Me.,
describing his farm of 80
acres, in general terms,
and one or two portions of
it in special terms, and
asking our "advice," as to
what course he shall take
to make it more profitable.
The writer states that he
"is past the meridian of
life, and there seems to
more to see the old farm
brought up." This chance, if we understand him
correctly, lies in the reclamation of a swamp and
appropriating it to cranberries. He adds — "my
ujplandis very much exhausted, and my timber lot
is also on the decline, which I, as well as my
neighbors, have had to resort to, to fill up the va-
cancies.^' To fill up the vacancies ! Those words
are quite significant. They mean, probably, that
the cultivated products of the farm have not sup-
ported the family, and the spontaneous growth of
the forest has been resorted to, to make up the de-
ficiency, or in the expressive language of the wri-
tLT, "to Jill up the vacancies."

Now these "vacancies" are just as much the
natural result and consequences of an exhausted
upland, as it is a natural result that water shall
run down hill, — or that the store-keeper should
sooii have nothing to sell from shelves which he
is exhausting every day, and which he does not fill
again. It is as unreasonable to expect that land
can be perpetually cropt, and still continue pro-
ductive, as it would be that the meal chest or flour
barrel should continue full without ever adding to
them.

The wise and beneficent Author of nature has
so ordered things, that we are to supply our ne-
cessities and comforts by our industry and skill,
and without the exercise of these we shall gradu-
ally go back to an aboriginal condition, the first
indications of which, with the farmer, is "exhaust-
ed uplands," and a resort to the products of the
forest or the sea, in order to eke out sufficient for
subsistence.

The very fact that the uplands fail to produce
their former supply, that they give evidence of
gradual inertness and exhaustion, is as much
cause for alarm to the farmer as to the merchant,
when he finds his sales returning him less than
his goods cost. Both inevitably lead to bank-

ruptcy ; but with this difference, — the loss on the
merchant's goods does not cut off" the prime arti-
cles of life, while that of the farmer strikes at the
very means of existence, because what he pro-
duces sustains not only himself, but his surplus
sustains all others, gives speed to the locomotive,
wings to commerce, and life and activity to the
loom and anvil, as well as every literary, artistic
and scientific pursuit of man.

Our correspondent adds, "I have two sons, one
of whom is of age, and he will take hold with me,
if I can make him believe that farming can be
made profitable." Have you not made him believe
it ? How did you begin life ? Did the 80 acres,
with their buildings, come to you by descent, or
have you earned them as thousands of others have
done, with your own hands ? If you earned them,
and have supported yourself in the mean time,
there is the evidence of profit. If you inherited
them, have they not sustained you, and enabled
you to bring up the family, providing them with
a tight roof, a good bed and ample table all their
days ? And after food and shelter has been sup-
plied, have they not always enjoyed that other
prime blessing of life, a home to turn to, when
sickness, or hunger, or fatigue has claimed relief?
Have not the profits of farming furnished all these,
and a thousand times more, even though your up-
lands have become exhausted, and your lowlands;
have produced but little, compared to what they
would have done under skilful management ?

We are sincerely desirous to give you profitable ■
advice, and the more beneficial it should prove to
you, the more happiness it would confer upon us.
But how can we do it ? We know nothing of the
nature of your soil — its composition, accessibility,
locality, whether it is arable or not, what are its
advantages for drainage, and other means of
amelioration ; nor any thing of your markets, or
of the prices which products might command.
Nothing short of a personal examination could
enable a person to answer profitably, the ques-
tions you propound. A gentleman once asked us
similar questions, after having expended $600 to
improve a large field, without accomplishing his
desires. We could not advise him satisfactorily,
without looking upon his land, any better than he
could judge of the value of this paper, without
ever reading, or hearing a word of its contents I
After visiting the land, and the suggestions we
made were carried out, he informed a neighbor
that the advice springing from a single hour's ex-
amination was worth $200 to him ! But, like
most persons, he supposed heunderstood all about
farming, and it was not until he had expended
$600, and suffered two years' delay, that he felt
compelled to refer to those who had made the
special improvements he had in view,, a practice,
and a study.

186

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

April

This illustrates the whole matter, and notwith-
standing you are ''past the meridian of life," if
you wish to drain and briii^ into cultivation your
"spruce swamp," or that "large tract of flat land
with white sand at the bottom, seven miles from
the sea-shore," we advise you to call upon some
candid person of experience to examine it, and
give you the benefit of his judgment, and if he
charges you $10 for his day's labor, you will be
quite likely to save more than ten times that sum
for the outlay.

It seeins to us, that you have the means of mak-
ing your old age glad with competence, and that
your "sons may be as plants grov/n up in
their youth," to comfort your declining years.
That flat land, with white sand at bottom, is pro-
bably just what the cranberry requires. Try a small
piece of it by clearing ofi" all vegetation, and set
the best native plants you can find about you as
soon as you can work the ground this spring. Set
the plants in bunches of two or three, or more
vines together, twelve inches apart, or even near-
er, if you have time and patience ; then do not al-
low a weed or spear of grass to grow among them.
Try a square rod, if you have not made arrange-
ments to do more, and the success, or want of
success of this, will indicate whether you should
do more.

With these "crumbs of comfort" we must leave
you, and will add for the general reader, that the
letter upon which we have been commenting, is
one of a class of which we are receiving many,
and which cause us some anxiety, because we have
so little power of returning satisfactory replies.
There are some branches of farming as yet very
little understood, and before the farmer embarks
upon them who has not had experience, he should
call in the aid of some person who has, if he
would make his operations pleasant and profita-
ble. The true mode of cranberry culture is known
to very few, merely because they have never given
attention to the subject. A wise man will not risk
his reputation and his money in an enterprise
which he knows little or nothing about.

Animal Food. — Dr. Hayes, in his "Arctic
Boat Journey," reports that the Esquimaux live
upon exclusively animal diet, their daily allow-
ance of food being from twelve to fifteen pounc^,
about one-third of it being fat. The doctor states
that he has seen an Esquimaux eat fully ten
pounds of walrus flesh and blubber at a single
meal, after a hunt, or when about to begin a diffi-
cult journey. This large consumption of hearty
food is a great shield against the cold. White
men in Arctic regions are continually craving a
strong animal diet, and will drink the contents of
an oil-kettle with evident relish. A choice Esqui-
maux lunch consists of raw birds washed down
with oil ; the great luxury of the tribe is a soup
made by boiling together blood, oil and seal meat.

1 For the New England Farmer.

ON PKUNIWa APPLE TREES.

Mr. Editor : — Having been an attentive read-
er of agricultural papers, I notice that many peo-
ple are in doubt when and how to prune their ap-
ple trees. Some say the fall, others spring, but
many recommend the summer, while most trim in
spring.

I wish to ask you, and through you, the readers
of the Farmer, why you prune at all, (I mean af-
ter the tree has been set six to ten years, and be-
gins to bear fruit ?) Is nature at fault in growth
and formation of the tree, or is the fault some-
where else ? Of what possible benefit can it be to
rob a tree or plant of its leaves or lungs ? I am in
doubt whether this generally prevalent desire to
cut, saw, scrape, and wash apple trees, is an ac-
quired one, or whether it is instinct, as in the
hawk to eat the bird, or dog to bite the cat •, but
certainly we cannot ride in the cars, or along the
highways, without seeing orchards whose owners
seem to have the same ideal for a shaved and
cropped tree, that the fancy have for a shaved and
cropped horse or dog, and the limbs of the trees,
after they have riglited nature a little, resemble
as many dogs' tails with a tuft at the extremity.

We will suppose the proprietor of an orchard
about to commence upon a thrifty tree with a com-
pact head ; he thinks a moment, can it be that
there is too much leaf or branch ? Would it not
be beneficial in the hot and scalding days of July
and August, to have the trunk and limbs protect-
ed by a dense foliage ? He also recollected of'
hearing Farmer Thrifty's old gardener say that a
tree breathed through its leaves, and that the
leaves are to the tree, what the lungs are to the
animal, to purify and vitalize the "river of life."
Now it so happened that Captain Cut-and-slash
had an orchard adjoining his, that had been
pruned after the fashion of the times, and he
thought he woidd wait and see the result. In a
year or two, he obseiwed that the captain's trees
began to have moss on them, they did not grow
as formerly ; some of the limbs died out, and
what did not, had black spots upon many of them,
and by cutting into the black, dead bark, he could
discover white wonns there. Farmer Thrifty was
called ; he said his trees did the same when he
pruned heavily, but since he had left off, his trees
did better, bore quicker, and more perfect fruit.
He said the tree being robbed of its lungs, was
unable to elaborate its sap ; it became sour, bit-
ter, poisonous — decay and death were the result.
He termed it "consumption."

Now, Mr. Editor, my experience has taught me,
that to remove limbs in spring time, before the
leaf has started, is entirely and altogether wrong,
and also any time after the tree has begun to
fruit, to remove to any amount is injurious : bet-
ter plow, and manure rightly, remove the dead
wood, and leave nature to do the rest. H.

Bedford, Mass., 18G0.

Sandcracks in Horses. — The following recipe
for sandcracks I have used for many years with
uniform success : Common tar, honey, elder oint-
ment, (equal portions,) to bo rubbed in between
the hair and the hoof, twice a week, or oftcner, if
necessary. — London Field.

1880.

NE^V ENGLAND FAEMER.

187

For the New England Farmer.
IS FARMING PROFITABLE?

This question is worthy of all the consideration
which it has received in the able articles published
in your columns, and naturally leads to others
equally important. That agriculture is profitable,
the results of particular crops have been relied up-
on as proving the affirmative, while it is well
known that a farmer may raise seventy-five bush-
els of Indian corn per acre, and have many acres
of it, and yet the same year lose a fruit crop, Avorth
three times his corn crop ; so with his other crops.

In the latter days of Mr. Jefi'erson, it was pro-
posed to obtain an act of the Legislative Assem-
bly of Virginia, by which his property might be
disposed of by a lottery, to extricate him from
debts incurred by his generous hospitality, in en-
tertaining almost daily a great number of distin-
guished guests, foreign and domestic. An objec-
tion was made to this project, that it savored of
gambling, and was derogatory to the fame and in-
compatible with the dignity of the Ex-president.
This probably prompted Mr. Jefi'erson to Avrite
his essay on ganil)ling, in which he says "that the
farmer is the greatest of all gamblers." A quar-
ter of a century ago, Avhen I first read this essay,
the remark was not particularly noticeable, but
much subsequent reflection, and some little obser-
vation, have convinced me, that this remark, as
most others of this great man, contains more
truth than poetry.

I do not believe that farming in Massachusetts
is a profital)le business compared with other pur-
suits. Farming is a term that admits of many
definitions, varying according to the systems tof
particular localities, climate, soil, &c., &c. I use
it as applying to the cultivation of every thing
raised in this State, and farming is gejierally prof-
itable according to climate, natural fertility of the
soil, facility of production, the price of land and
labor, taxes, competition in the market, and the
style of living and doing business, demanded by
the imperious decrees of fashion.

Now, is farming a game of chance as declared
by Mr. Jefi'erson, or is it a pursuit in which a man
can make as definite calculations of expenses and
results as are made in the sister arts ? Must the
mass of farmers live as cheap as they can, and
trust to God, for the result of their labor ? The
painter, if he is master of his business, knows the
exact cost of his paints, the quantity necessary to
cover a square yard, the number of yards to be
covered, the cost of laying on the paint, the mar-
gin of his profits, which his capital Mill return,
and how often he can turn it ; the mason, the
number of bricks necessary for a given wall, the
time required to lay them, the cost of labor, and
the exact result of his operation ; the carpenter,
the quantity of lumber necessary for a given struc-
ture, &c. So it is in regular and legitimate trade
and commerce, with the advantage of insurance
against shipwreck, &c., while the farmer, in the
failure of crops, must seek his insurance in the de-
claration that "while the earth remaineth, seed
time and harvest' shall never fail."

In the sister arts generally, skill, sound judg-
ment, experience, and definite calculations, are
not the sport of chance, but accomplish their pur-
poses with almost as much certainty as instinct
attains its ends.

How is it now with the farmer ? Can he, when
he plants his potatoes, or his orchard, with the
greatest skill and judgment, teU anything about
the result ? Can he hasten the completion of his
job, prevent drouth or rain, frost or the rot?
These are things over which he has no control,
but things controlled by a power before which
his puny wit must bow, his boasted skill and sci-
ence become foolishness, and as fruitless as an
iceberg. Now let a general farmer cultivate all
the crops ; in no season will more than half of
them be successful in Massachusetts. The rot may
strike his potatoes, his carrot seed may not vege-
tate, his corn may fail, his turnip seed, sowed
the 25th of July, wet or dr)', may not sprout till
frost comes, his grass land, stocked down with
great skill and care, may fail in various ways, and
in no season are but a few of the carefully calcu-
lated results realized. Man sows, but God gives
the increase. Hence that strange faith so charac-
teristic of the farmer.

Does any such uncertainty as this attend the
sister arts ? Can any business in which man's
best i'aculties are thus baffled and contracted,
(other things being equal,) be compared with this,
where the operator may be master both of the
inception and result of his labor ?

That Indian corn may be raised for fifty cents
a bushel, or is more profitable than other crops,
does not prove agriculture, in general, profitable,
for the character of the soil limits the number of
acres which can be planted, and admitting that a
farmer may raise 100 bushels per acre, tlie same
season in which he does this, his loss from the
failure of his oats, rye, barley, potatoes, hay or
fruit, may be three times the value of his corn
crop.

That agriculture is unprofitable, compared with
other business in ^lassachusetts, is the practical
judgment of farmers generally, deny it as jou may,
gloss it over as you will ; else why do so many of
their sous desert the plow, hardly enough remain-
ing at home to take care of the good old fathers
and mothers ? Have they not seen their fathers
and neighbors, hard-working and frugal, farmers
till sixty years of age, still relatively poor, whilj
their relatives and equals who have engaged in
other pursuits are rich, clad in fine linen, and
fare sumptuously every day, with leisure to enjoy
life, Avith means to purchase its pleasures, and
comforts, too ? Why are farmers willing, even
desirous, to have their sons quit the farm, and
seek an easier and shorter road to fortune and
happiness, than they have trod ?

The truth must be told, they desire a better life
for their children than they have had, and sigh
for the means to put them into a position to at-
tain it.

The inevitable conclusion to be drawn from
this general desertion of agriculture is, that farm-
ing is unprofitable. The almighty dollar is the
moving principle, the stepping stone to command
the blessings of life, and not the avoidance of hard
work, but work that does not pay ; the condition
of eminent success in all the arts, is honest hard
work, indomitable labor with the head and hands
united. There is no other ])otent to success. Far-
ming is the most delightful of all occupations,
where it can be pursued for its unalloyed pleas-
ures, and not for its dubious profits,
i Perhaps God, when he ordained that man-

188

NEW ENGLAND FARIMER.

April

should earn his bread by the sweat of his brow,
designed to protect him "from the dangers of ex-
cessive wealth, from that cfTeminancy and deterio-
ration consequent upon self-indulgence and sloth
and from that debasing slavery to avarice which
grows with the power and facility of accumula-
tion.

I admit that a man can live by farming, but
how does ho live ? how does he dress ? what are
his pleasures ? when has he leisure ? at what age
can ho retire from business, and live at ease with
dignity upon the fruits of his labor ? How often
can he go to the White Hills, to Saratoga ? when
can he visit the battle-fields of his fathers, or the
monuments of their fame, with his family, and
have his business support it ? Trips to Europe,
or even to the national capitol — can he make
them ?

Yes, a man can live in Massachusetts by farm-
ing, but only by economy and self-denial, un-
known and unpracticed in other pursuits. Take
a survey of any common country toAvn ; who are
the rich ? Men that live, and not stay on the
earth. They are men who have done something
collateral to farming, traded, shaved notes, lum-
bered, &c. True, there is now and then a man
with the strength and constitution of a giant, with
a Yankee wife to match him, with mind enough to
have been a Webster, with a will like Napoleon's,
who by working sixteen hours a day in cultiva-
ting the earth, and selling its products, has
made a few thousand dollars, but this man is an
exception. In commerce, he would have been an
Astor or Girard ; in manufactures, an Abbot Law-
rence ; in science, a Morse, Humboldt, or a Ste-
phenson ; in law, a Mason or a Dexter ; in the
pulpit, a Channing ; in letters, a Prescott or a
Macauley, but he is obliged to be unknown to
fame, and as untravelled as a Japanese.

Now, I know a very skilful farmer, who boast-
ed that he made $1000 in 1S50. One of his neigh-
bors said that "he could prove that he lost $400."

On being informed of it, he replied that "Mr.

kiows nothing." "I don't know about that," re-
]-lied his friend. "Well, what was your invest-
ment ?" "$10,000." "Well, the interest on that is
8600. AVhat was your wear and tear, which you
have not calculated ?" "About $350." "What was
your own labor worth ? The man who took your
place on the market wagon has $500 a year ; you
have earned as much. Set this down at $500.
Well, your wife has worked hard, kept no girl,
and has done all the work in your great family of
hired men ; had she worked as hard for others,
two or three dollars a week would be considered
little enough. Set her work down at $150. Noav,
how does your account stand ?

Interest on investment $600,00

Your labor 500,00

Wear and tear 350,00

Wife's work 150.00

cent, on their investments, and all their labor is
lost. AYcll, they have reared families. What of
that ? All the members of their families have done
Avork enough to have commanded in other pursuits
much more than a living.

Again, compare men of like ability and habits
engaged in farming and the sister arts, and what
is the result ? I know two brothers of equal ed-
ucation, (not an uncommon case ;) the superior of
the two inherited the homestead, the other went
into trade in Boston and inherited nothing. They
are both well off. The farmer is worth $25,000,
and the other $150,000, and has not done a quar-
ter part as much hard work. Just such Avas the
case with their father and uncle. Now the farmer,
by his mere skill and labor in other pm-suits,
might have been worth $30,000, for his equals in
the vicinity have done it in the sister ai-ts, — ma-
sons, carpenters, overseers and traders. I com-
pare equals in habits and integrity.

These facts and results are confirmed by gener-
al observation, and are too true to be overlooked,
and naturally lead to the inquiry, why is not far-
ming in this State as profitable as the sister arts,
and what can be done to make agriculture (the
nursing mother of all true gi-eatness, and the most
noble, elevating and pleasant of all human pur-
suits,) as profitable as other business ?

H. C. Mekrlvm.

Offset improvements.

$1600,00
....250,00

$1350,00

"Had you not gone on to the fann, you might
have had $1,350. Instead of which, you have
but $1000, and a net loss of $350."

Take a survey of farmers generally in this State.
Have they doubled their property in twenty years ?
Certainly not. Then they have not made six per

LUMBERMEN'S CAMPS.
The editor of the Ellsworth Awerican, having
recently visited the Maine lumbermen in their
backwoods camps, gives the following description
of their winter habitations :

"The camps of these hardy and laborious men
are made of logs, and covered with "splits," which
are long shingles, made of cedar, and rived and
shaved. These are again covered with boughs. In
the centre of the camp is the fire, extending half
its length, Avith an open space just as large in the
roof, for the escape of the smoke. A modern im-
provement has been introduced — the fire dogs, or
andirons. These are made from three to four feet
long, Avith a foot in the centre, and large enough
to hold a large quantity of Avood. They are really
a pair of these indispensable .articles Avelded to-
gether, Avith one foot in the centre to strengthen
the double-headed 'fire-dog.' One of the luxuries
of camp life is to sit on the 'deacon seat' and
watch the flames as they issue forth from the hard
Avood fire, the product of numberless long and
large sticks of Avood, big enough for an old-fash-
ioned 'back log.' The 'deacon seats' are sticks of
^mber, hcAvn and squared, and placed parallel
with the fire, and on each side df it, for seats.
Back of these seats, are the dormitory apartments.
A good foundation is made Avith cedar or spruce
boughs, on AA-hich are spread, as covering, a num-
ber of 'comforters' made thick and warm Avith cot-
ton batting.

One of the curiosities of thece habitations, is
the 'bean oven.' This is a hole excavated at one
end of the fire, and near the fire-dog, in Avhich, af- '
ter being sufficiently Avell heated Avith coals, is
placed a large iron pot filled Avith beans, having
a sheet iron covering jutting ever the outer rim, ;
and doAvn its sides, to keep the ashes out. This is I

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

189

covered all over with coals and hot embers, and left
to cook through the night while thv men are sleep-
ing. In the morning the 'jiot of beans' is taken
from its bed, and the beans are on the table for
breakfast, steaming and inviting enough to tempt
an epicure. One of these camps had a dining
and cooking-room, in addition to the usual ac-
commodations, and also a good sized cook stove.
There are, generally, from fifteen to twenty men
to each camp. In all that we visited, quietness,
order, industry, and the best of feeling, existed
amons: the inmates."

EXTHACTS AUT) KBPLIES.

WATER PIPES.

In the perusal of your highly valuable paper of
the 28th inst. I noticed an inquiry made in rela-
tion to what kind of pipe is the best for convey-
ing water, and also wliere it can be obtained ?
My experience in the matter has been, that after
the water had remained in lead pipes for a time
it became unpalatable and unfit for use. I next
used the so-called block tin, but in a very short
time it was crushed and in quite a leaky condi-
tion. I was then advised to adopt cast iron pipe
lined with glass, but on considering the matter,
thought it not best to do so, as the earth is liable
to settle upon the glass and break it; I am now
using tlie galvanized wrought iron pipes intro-
duced by Mr. Norton, 74 Sudbury St., Boston.

Medford, Mass., 1860. Subsceibee.

LAEGE DEUMIIEAD CABBAGE.

I wish to get some information through the
Farmer, as to how I shall manage towards rais-
ing large Drumhead cabbages ? For the past two
years I have attempted to raise a large quantity
of cabbages — especially for winter use. Our mar-
ket requires a large and sound cabbage, but tlK)se
I have raised did not head so well as many I have
seen in Boston market, which are brought from
Marblehead or from that vicinity. Our soil here
is dark loam with a clay subsoil — naturally a very
strong soil.

I would like some information as to the best
method of preparing the land, the kind of man-
ure that is best, what kind of seed, and whether
it is best to use plants or plant the seed ? I hope
some of the readers of the Farmer will give me
the necessar}'^ information, and oblige

Dover, N. H., 1860. Ax Old Subsceebee.

FOWLS PLUCKING EACH OTHER.

I wish to inquire if you, or any of your readei"S,
can give a reason for hens plucking feathers from
each other and eating them ? I saw some half
dozen hens a short time since stripped nearly na-
ked by their companions ; the hens have been
changed several times, but when they come on that
particular farm, they are at once stripped. If you,
or any of your readers, will inform me what
causes this, and how it can be prevented, you will
oblige A Readee.

Haidey, Mass., 1860.

ReM-IEKS. — AVe have noticed this among par-
ticular fowls, but never knew it to extend itself
through the whole yard. "What the special cause,
or remedy is, we are not able to say.

"FATAL DISEASE AMONG CATTLE."
In a recent number of the Farmer I noticed a
communication under this head, stating the loss to
Winthrop W. Chenery, Esq., of many fine cattle
within the past six months, by inflammation of
the lungs. It said, "the last cow that died was
the largest animal in the United State, weighing
3,260 lbs." Our friends here doubt this claimed
weight, and our oldest inhabitants say "it 'aint
possible." May I ask if there is not some mis-
take in the figures ? A Subsceibee.
Pepperell, Mass., Feb. 15, 1860.

Remarks. — All we know of the matter is the
Boston Evening Transcript, good authority, states
that at five years old she was "weighed at Brigh-
ton, and weighed 3,260 lbs." Dr. Dadd, on Dis-
eases of Cattle, page 394, says the same.

PEARS FOE orchard CULTURE.

I wish to learn the best variety of pears for gen-
eral orchard culture adapted to the western section
of Worcester county, and what varieties and pro-
portions in a lot of fifty trees or upwards ? I wish
to be informed by practical fruit-growers.

Can any person explain through the Farmer
the cause of apple trees blossoming three or four
times in a season, as I have two trees of the Au-
gust Sweeting Avhich have blossomed four times in
1858, and three times in 1859.

Observer on the Farm.

Oakham, Feb. 15, 1860.

club-footed cabbages.

I noticed in the last Farmer an article in regard
to' club-footed cabbages. My opinion has led me
to the conclusion that a piece of ground used a
number of years will cause cabbages to be club-
footed, whether the land is moist or dry ; but by
the use of salt spread on before and after the
cabbages are set out, it will prevent it. I have
tried this way, and am satisfied that the use of
salt is a sure remed)'. They always do the best
by using salt, if there is no danger of the club-
foot. R. Washburn.

East Freetown, 1860.

cure for garget.

"While the cows are dry in the winter, give
them a table spoonful of sulphur in salt three or
four times. I have found that some cows will not
eat it in salt, so I generally give it in meal. I have
never known it to fail. W. I. SiMONDS.

Roxbury, Feb., 1860.

CURE FOR SCRATCHES.

Take one quart of chamber lye, and one-half
pint of soft soap ; mix them well together, and ap-
ply the mixture to the sore, using a corn cob to
apply it. It must be applied once in thi-ee days.

Andover, 1860. A Subscriber.

A FINE SPANISH MERINO LAMB.

Mr. Henry W. Hammond, of Middlebury, Vt.,
sold a Spanish Merino buck lamb, 11 months old,
to Mr. McFarland, of Washington, Pa., for $000.

Middlebury, Vt., Feb., 1860. w. c. H.

190

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

Apkil

For the New England Farmer.
PAEM FENCES.

Until the farmers of this country choose to
adopt the system that prevailed in the early ages
of the Avorid, upon the plains of Judea, "where
shepherds watched their tlocks by night," fences
will be considered a thing of necessity. Their ex-
istence in some form, all over the country, and
the legislative enactments of the several States in
regard to them, confirm and establish the fact
that they are so considered. The safety of our
flocks and herds, the protection of our orchards,
of our door-yards and fields of waving grain, and
of our cemeteries, and in some cases, even our for-
ests, cannot be accomplished without them.

They are not only of absolute necessity, but of
almost incalculable cost. A distinguished writer
upon national wealth says : "Strange as it may
seem, the greatest investment in this country, the
most costly production of human industry, are the
common fences which enclose and divide the fields.
No man dreams that when compared to these un-
pretending monuments of human art, our cities
and our towns, with all their wealth, are left far
behind." A few years since, Mr. Biddle, in an
address before an agricultural society, stated that
the cost of the fences of Pennsylvania amounted
to $100,000,000, and their annual expense, to
$10,000,000. During a discussion at the farm-
ers' club of the American Institute, a few months
since, it was also stated that the fences of New
York cost $07,000,000, allowing the farms to be
divided into fields of 20 acres each ; a much great-
er area than the fields of New England farms con-
tain. Add to this their cost in 30 more States,
and we shall have an amount almost beyond be-
lief. They have not only cost millions upon mil-
lions of dollars, but, as a general thing all over
the country, they are poor and wretched in the
extreme ; literally "a disgrace to civilization and
the age."

Nothing that pertains to the farm has been so
much neglected, and in no one thing is there room
for so much improvement as in the consti'uction
of fences. Broken down stone walls, with scarcely
"one stone left upon another," tottering, dilapidat-
ed posts and board fences, with tlie posts tipping
hither and thither, the sport of winds and unruly
cattle, meet the eye almost wherever we go. I
am aware that it is an easier matter to write them
down than to rigJd them up ; but if anything can
be done to call the attention of that large class of
intelligent men to the subject who read the Far-
mer, much, in the way of improvement, may be
expected. Any improvement in this matter would
not only be of great individual advantage, but a
public and national benefit. Thousands of our
young men, sons of farmers, disheartened and dis-
couraged by the sight of rickety fences, and the la-
bor of perpetual re])airs, are driven from the farms
to California, to Pike's Peak, or, ])erhaps, in some
cases, worse still for the community, into the pro-
fessions.

It may be said that poor fences not only cause
great destruction of property by unruly cattle, but
are the cause of more hard feelings between neigh-
bors, more trouble, anxiety, curses, imprecations
and vexatious lawsuits, than all else connected
with tfee farm beside.

What can add more to the appearance of a beau-

tiful field waving with rich harvests, than a neat,
straight, substantial and durable fence ? Well-
ai-ranged and tasteful buildings, with such a fence
by the road-side, ornamented with rows of the
sugar maple, with the birds of spring singing in
their branches, would make many a dweller in
the cities sigh for a country home, and many a
farmer happier where he is.

Of the kinds of fences in general use, and con-
sidered by farmers the best, are post and rail, or
l^ost and board fences, stone wall, the Virginia
fence, and hedge, or live fences. These are con-
sidered the best, and in the end more economical
than those of a more frail and perishable charac-
ter. Posts of chestnut or cedar in some soils are
found to be durable, but in sandy soils soon de-
cay, and on clayey, heavy soils are speedily thrown
out of the ground by the action of the frost. In
soils of this description they soon manifest an in-
clination "to rise in the world," and requke great
trouble and expense to keep them down.

Stone wall fences, from time Immemorial, have
been considered the very best, to question which,
even now, might subject one to "sharper strikes"
and severer criticisms, than have beset our doubt-
ing friend, Mr. Pinkham.

In some situations, and on some soils, when of
moderate dimensions, this is vmquestionably a
good fence ; but it is often otherwise. All wiH
admit that is an expensive one to build. Oclier ol)-
jections are, it requires something more than the
wall to stop shee]) ; it takes up a great deal of
land, and it is the poorest of all fences except
stone post fence upon heaving soils. I have seen a
wall which cost not less than $1,50 per rod, so
thrown out of shape by the frosts of a single win-
ter, that some parts of it required to be rebuilt to
make it a good fence. Farmers say we build our
v\all fences broad and high, to get rid of the stone.
But when you divide your cultivated lands into
small and inconvenient fields, and inclose them
with wide wall fences, are you rid of the rocks
any more than you would be were they piled in
the centre of those fields? Inclose an acre of
ground with a four foot wail, and see how much
there is left for the sun to sliine upon.

Next comes the Virginia fence. Admirers of
the "wavy line" for a farm fence, can say in truth
that this fence will stand on heaving ground j and
I am almost willing to admit that it may be some-
times l)ctter to stand very crooked than not to
stand at all ! Upon the thousands of acres of very
valuable clayey soils, this fence alone, except one
not much in use, is found to keep its position,
while the frost keeps up a sort of "irrepressible
conflict" with other fences which soon ruins them.
My objections to this fence are the great amount
of material it takes to build it, and the great
breadth of land it puts beyond the reach of the
plow, the harrow and the mowing machine. It
usually takes about double the lumber for a length
of it, and one-third more lengths than a straight
fence of posts and rails, and upon both sides of it
about three-quarters of a rod of land in Avidth,
which no farmer can well spare from his cultivat-
ed fields.

Live fences, or hedges, require much care in
rearing them, and also take up much land.

Theae are some of the objections to the fences
now in use. The question arises, can we have
better ones, and how shall it be done ? Would

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

191

it not be well for State Agricultural Societies to
offer liberal premiums, (open to citizens of other
States,) for specimens of the best kinds of new
fences to be erected upon their fair grounds ?
Would not this stimulate our mechanics and far-
mers to make as much improvement in this mat-
ter, as has been made within a short time, in our
agricultural implements, in the breeds of our cat-
tle, or the productions of the soil ?

C. B. Smith.
Haverhill, N. K, Feb. 21, 1860.

Remarks. — Our correspondent has our thanks
for calling attention to this very important sub-
ject. It is evident that he has given it thought,
and we trust he will follow this communication
■with suggestions as to the best size of fields on
farms of fifty, and those of one hundred or more
acres, and also show the extent of land occupied,
per rod, by walls of different widths, supposing
they were brought into a square. The whole sub-
ject needs more attention than has yet been given
it.

For the New England Farmer,
PRODUCTION AND SALE OF MILK.

Me. Editor : — I have a word to say about the
milk business, and the manner in which it is con-
ducted at the present time. For the past two
years, the trade has been much depressed, owing,
(as is believed) to mismanagement. At times,
milk is so short, the collectors are obliged to run
around the adjoining towns, paying extra prices
for it ; and again so plenty, it cannot all be re-
ceived, obliging many raisers to keep a part at
home, or decrease, by Avithholding feed from the
cow. The price paid to farmers has not been a
living one, and therefore they were indifferent
about keeping a uniform quantity. The lato, as
regards adulteration, is a dead letter, and plenty
of milk in the cities is manufactured to order, as
is reported from authority. Let the consumers
know that they are buying a pure and unadulter-
ated article, and nearly twice the amount would
be used. The business of raising must be sus-
tained by responsible people that will carry their
quantity through May and July, those being the
most difficult months in summer.

Farmers are willing to meet the retailers half-
way. Give them a living price, say they, three
cents per quart in summer, and four cents in win-
ter, (or from October to April,) and the supply
shall be regulated by the demand. It never can be
managed in peace under the present system. Let
them agree to keep up their quantity from April
to October, or no sales. Plenty of men are now
ready to make such contracts at a fair price, be-
cause they are satisfied that this is their only rem-
edy. Is it right, and just, that the neighbor who
takes no pains in keeping his quantity even, but
makes it to suit his own convenience, (say an ex-
tra quantity in June, or in the height of feed,)
should crowd those off the track that are disposed
to do the right thing ? Such is the case in this
town, and in others on the line of this railroad.

E. AVood, Jr.

Concord, Mass., March 6, 1860.

For the New England Farmer.

PROFIT OP AN OAT AND FLAX CROP.

As an offset to Mr. Pinkham's unprofitable
farming, I will give a little of my experience in
that line, with rather a different result from his
corn experiment. I raised 11 acres of oats, of
which the following is an accurate account, (omit-
ting dates :)

OAT CROP— 11 ACRES. Da.

To 1 man and team, 7 J days' plowing, at $3 $22,50

To 33 bushels of seed, at 56 cents 1841

To 1 man,l day sowing 1,00

Tol man and team, harrowing 2 \ days, at $3 7,50

To 600 lbs. plaster, $1,80, and sowing the same, J day 2,55

To 1 man, cradling 3 days, at $1,50 4,50

To 3 men, raking and binding 1 J day, at $1,50 5,62

To 2 men and team drawing in the barn, 1 day 5,00

To threshing and cleaning 517 bush, of oats, at 6c #■ bush. ,31.02

To marketing 2,00

To interest, taxes, rents of buildings, wear and tear of

tools, &G ". 44,00

Making the total cost of 11 acres of oats $144,10 •

OAT CROP— 11 ACRES. Ce.

By 517 bushels of oats, at 45 cents $232,65

By straw, worth $2,50 per acre for fodder 27,50

Total 260,15

From which deduct 144,10

Which leaves $116,05

as clear profit on 11 acres, and $10,55 profit on
the acre, which is a trifle over 21 per cent, on the
capital invested in the land, allowing it to be
worth $50 per acre. I charge nothing to this crop
for manure, as there was none put on to that or
the preceding one.

The crop that pays the best with farmers in this
section the present year is flax, which is a better
crop than for several years past, and my own was
the best crop I ever raised, but some of ray neigh-
bors have beat me considerable this year.

I stated in a former article that my profits on
flax would be about $23 per acre, in which I was
mistaken, as I had not footed up my account, only
merely run it over at that time, and a mistake in
the figures when rectified, made a great difference
with the result, greatly to the disadvantage of the
theory of those who think farming an up-hUl bus-
iness.

FLAX FIELD— 3 ACRES. Dr.

To 1 man and team plowing 2 days, $3 $6,00

To 1 man and team harrowing 1 day 3,00

To 3 bushels seed, $1,50 per bushel, and sowing the same,

^ day 5,00

To 3 bushels ashes, 3 hundred of plaster, and sowing 1,87

To pulling at $6 per a'-Te 18,00

To whipping of seed, 2 men with 1 horse power and roll-
ers 1 day 4,00

To spreading, 1 man, 3 days 3,00

To turning, 1 man, 1 day 1,00

To taking up and binding, 2 men, 1 day 2,00

To drawing to mill, 2 men and team ^ day 1,50

To dressing 1233 lbs. iliix at2\cper lb 30.90

To cleaning anil marketing 36 bushels of seed, 2 men 1 day..2,-50
To interest, taxes, rents, &o 12,00

Total cost $90,77

FLAX FIELD— 3 ACRES. Ca.

By 1236 lbs. flax, at 14c per lb $173,04

By 33 bushels seed, at $1,37| 49,50

Total receipts $222 .54

Deduct 90,77

B al ance $131 ,77

Thus it will be seen that I have made a profit
of $13,92 on the acre, which is only a trifle shqjt
of 100 per cent, on the money invested, besides
allowing a living price for my labor.

Oak Bill, N, Y. INVESTIGATOR.

192

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

April

FOUR MORE OP THE GRASSES.

In accordance Avith an intention expressed in our
last number, we now present the reader with en-
gi'avings and brief descriptions of four more of the
grasses that may be profitably cultivated on our
New England farms, and three of which are al-
ready quite common. The cuts and descriptions
we are permitted to use by Mr. Secretary Flint,
as they were given in his recent work on "Grasses
atid Forage Plants."

If these illustrations are preserved, they will
enable those who are not acquainied with the va-
rious grasses, to determine the names of some,
perhaps, already growing in their fields.

THE MEADOW FESCUE GRASS.

This is an excel
lent pasture grass
forming a very con
siderable portion o
the turf of old pas-
tures and fields, and
is more extensively
propagated and dif-
fused by the fact
that it ripens its
seed before most
other grasses are
cut, and sheds them
to spring up and
cover the gi'ound.
Its long and ten-
der leaves are
much relished by
cattle. It is never
or rarely sown in
this country, not-
withstanding its
gre^t and ac-
knowledged value
as a pasture
grass. If sown at
all, it should be
in mixture with
other grasses, as
orchard grass, rye
grass, or common
spear grass. It is
of much greater
value at the time
of flowering than
when the seed is
ri])e. It is said to
lose a little over
fifty per cent, of
its weight in dry-
ing for hay.

MEADOW FOXTAIL.

This is a valuable grass for pastures, on ac-
count of its early and rapid growth, and of its be-
ing greatly relished by stock of all kinds. The
stems and leaves are too few and light to make

Jleadow Foxtail.

Timothy, or Herds-Grass.

it SO desirable as a field crop. It thrives best on
a rich, moist, strong soil, and the quantity of its
nutritive matter when raised on such soils is con-
siderably greater than on sandy soils. As a pas-
ture grass, its luxuriant aftermath, being in value
nearly one-fourth greater than its first spring
growth, recommends it still more highly. In this
respect it is superior to Timothy, the aftermath
of which is generally but slight. For lands de-
signed to be laid down to permanent pasture, it
will make a prominent part of the seed. Where
it occurs in fields, it loses largely its nutritive
value if cut in the blossom. It does not acquire
its full perfection and hold of the soil until three
or four years after being sown. The aftermath
exceeds the flowering crop in quantity as well as
in nutritive matter. The grass loses seventy per
cent, of its weight in drying, and the hay con-
tains about sixty-seven hundredths per cent, of
nitrogen.

The seed of meadow fox-tail is covered with the
husks of the flower, soft and woolly, while the
larger valve is furnished with an awn. There are

1860.

NEW ENGLAKD FARMER.

193

five pounds of seed in a bushel, and 76,000 seeds
in an ounce.

GREEN ME
SPEAR

VDOW GRASS, JUXE GRASS, COSfMOX
GRASS, KENTUCKY BLUE GRASS.

This is an early grass, very common on the soils
of New England in pastures and fields, constitut-
ing a considerable portion of the turf. It varies
very much in size and appearance, according to
the soil on Avhich it grows. In Kentucky it is
universally known as Blue grass, and elsewhere
frequently called Kentucky Blue grass, and still
more frequently, June grass. It conies into the
soil in some parts of the country when left to it-
self, and grows luxuriantly on soils best suited to
it, and is relished by all cattle. Its creeping root
is said by some to impoverish the soil. Wherever
it is intended for hay it is cut at the time of flow-
ering, as if the seed is allowed to ripen, more than
a fourth part of the crop is lost. In its earliness,
it is equalled by some of the other grasses, and in
its nutritive constituents by several. After being
cut in summer it starts up slowly. It grows well
in rather a di-y soil, but will grow on a variety of

soils, from the dryest knolls to a wet meadow. It
does not Avithstand our severe droughts as well as
some other grasses.

TIMOTHY, OR HERDS-GRASS.

As a crop to cut for hay it is probably unsur-
passed by any other grass now cultivated. Al-
though somewhat coarse and hard, especially if
allowed to ripen its seed, yet if cut in the blos-
som, or directly after, it is greatly relished by all
kinds of stock, and especially so by horses, while
it possesses a large percentage of nutritive mat-
ter in comparison with other agricultural grasses.
It is often sown with clover, but the best practi-
cal formers are beginning to discontinue this
practice, on account of the different times of blos-
soming of the two crops. Timothy being invari-
ably later than clover, the former must be cut too
green, before blossoming, Avhen the loss is great
hy shrinkage, and when the nutritive matter is
considerably less than at a little later period, or
the clover must stand too long, when there is an
equally serious loss of nutritious matter in that.
It thrives best on moist, peaty or loamy soils of
medium tenacity, and is not suited to sandy or
light gravelly lands ; for though on such soils, by
great care, it can be made to grow and produce
fair crops, some other grasses are better suited
to them, and more profitable. It grows very
readily and yields very large crops on favorable
soils. I have knoMU instances where its yield
was four tons to the acre of the best quality of
liay, the Timothy constituting the bulk of the
grass. It is cultivated with ease, and yields a
large quantity of seed to the acre, varying from
ten to thu'ty bushels on rich soils.

For the Nete England Farmer.
PIPE FOR CONDUCTING "WATER.

Mr. Editor : — In the Farmer of January 28th,
"A Reader" asks some questions with regard to
the best pipe for conveying hard water from a well
twenty feet deep to a pump about one Imndred
feet distant on a level. He also states that were
the water soft he should put in lead pipe.

As I have seen no proper reply to this commu-
nication in your columns, I will venture a few
words, hoping they may be of use to your corres-
pondent, and prevent him or others being led
afrtray by his suppositions with regard to the dan-
gerous effects of soft water on lead.

"A Reader" is mistaken in supposing that soft
water is not injured by lead pipe through which it
passes. The fact is quite the contrary. If rain
water be kept in lead cisterns, or those lined with
that metal, a white hydratcd oxide of lead is
formed at the surface of the water, where both air
and water have access to the metal. This oxide is
rapidly formed, it is soluble in the water, and ex-
ceedingly poisonous. The same effect takes place
in a lead pipe conveying soft water, as there is
ahvays more or less air in the pipe.

But if the water contain even a small quantity
of carbonic acid, the oxide above mentioned will
be converted, as soon as formed, into carbonate of
lead, which is insoluble in water, and combines
with some other of the constituents of hard water
to form a coating in the inside of the pipe, which

194

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

April

arrests the corrosion of the metal and the conse-
quent contamination of the water.

Ahnost all spring and well Avater contains suf-
ficient carbonic acid to render lead pipe free from
deleterious effects upon the health of men or ani-
mals. Thus we see that the mere fact of water
being hard must not be taken as evidence of its li-
ability to injury by lead.

Presuming that the "twenty feet deep ;" means
from sui-face of ground to surfaces of water, the
height of the pump must be added ; making, say,
tM'enty-five feet rise and one hundred feet hori-
zontal, the distance that it is required to carry the
water. To insure the pump being able to draw
water this distance, it is necessary that the pipe
should be air-tight, which throws glass or wood
entirely out of the question. Glass may be laid
tight, but it will not remain so. The only desir-
able materials appear to be either lead or iron.
A gutta-percha pipe would be admirable, if suf-
ficiently rigid to prevent its being "collapsed" or
crushed together, so as to obstruct the passage of
the water.

Were the case my own, if any doubt existed in
my mind as to the quality of the water, I would
use iron, which is comparatively cheap, durable,
and perfectly harmless.

" Theo. G. Ellis, Civil Engineer.

APRIL "WORK.

The sun has come again with power, the days
are longer, birds sing, buds swell, the dancing
waters are musical in the valleys, while peeping
flowers and springing grass invite us forth to
breathe the sweet airs of the new-born year.

Thanks, for this change of the seasons ! Each
new April is a new era in life to the former. His
general calculations have been made, to be sure ;
but they are not mathematical, to be woi-ked up
to like so many arbitrary rules. The farmer can-
not do this. When the ground is laid bare be-
fore him, and the influences of the winter are re-
vealed, he frequently finds it necessary to change
the plans he had already decided upon. So that
April often demands the principal engineering of
the year.

Every implement and machine on the farm is
in order, — is it ? The cattle are lusty and strong ;
the seeds of every kind are selected and in their
appropriate places, ready to be committed to the
earth ; the manures are in symmetrical heaps on
the field, protected with a covering of muck or
loam ; refreshing rains have fallen, rich in am-
monia, to fertilize the waiting soil, while the su-
perincumbent atmosphere is ever ready to impart
its oxygen, carbonic acid, nitrogen and other
agents, whenever the soil is cooler than the air
above it. So nature has made all fitting prepa-
ration on her part, all in good season for man to
step forward to "dress the earth and keep it," for
his pleasure and profit.

Plowing is one of the most important opera-
tions new. — but where the land is wet and stickV}

even this prime work had better be delayed until
the water has drained away, and the soil become
aired and dried, so that when a furrow is turned
a portion of it will fall to pieces. If it falls over
flat, cold and heavy, it will remain a clog and in-
cumbrance through the entire season, if at all of
a clayey nature. Better to wait a little, and allow
nature to perform her work in her own way. On
thorough drained land there will be no difficulty
in plowing as early as you desire.

Potatoes should be planted early, so as to come
to an early market.

The Garden, by all means, should have at-
tention now. Make a small patch of soil, very
rich, — even if yon are obliged to rob the corn or
grain field a little, — work it deep and thoroughly,
and then sow at proper times, all the seeds of the
common vegetables, — such as beets, carrots, tur-
nips, cabbage, onion, tomato, beans, peas, summer
squash, egg-plant, pai-snip, melon, cucumber, &c.,
&c. If these are well tended, they will pay foui*
times the profit that any hay or grain field will.

A bed of Asparagus is essential — no farmer
should do without it. Add, also, a few hills of

RHUBARB.

Be up in the morning, singing with the lark ;
keep all your work be/ore you ; never say, "that
onght to have been done yesterday ;" give prompt
and kind attention to the stock, as they will catch
and appreciate your sympathies, and abundantly
repay them ; do not allow any creature to break
through a fence to begin the season with ; keep
cattle off" the mowing land, and from browsing
the young fruit trees, and start every thing de-
cently and in order, and you will realize days of
peace and nights of calm repose.

Transactions of the Middlesex Agricultu-
ral Society, for the Year 1859. — In this pam-
phlet of forty pages, we find the names of the of-
ficers elected at the annual meeting in September
last, with the names of the members of the socie-
ty ; an account of the cattle show and exhibition
at Concoi'd, last fall, Avith a list of the premiums
awarded ; and the address delivered by the Rev.
Rufus P. Stobbins, D. D., of Woburn. Mr. Steb-
bins has spent several years in the most fertile
section of the West, and on his return to his na-
tive State, speaks words of encouragement and
cheer to the farmers of "sterile" New England,
that should be heard beyond the limits of INIiddle-
sex county. The matter and the manner of this
publication are alike creditable to the society and
its managers.

I^If you invest money in tools, and then
leave them exposed to the weather, it is the same
as lending money to a spendthi'ift without secu-
rity— a dead loss.

1860,

NEW ENGLAND FAIlIVrEIl.

195

LEGISLATIVE AGRICULTUBAL

MEETING.

[Reported for the New England Farmer by Thos. Bradley.J

The eighth meeting of the session of the Legis-
latiiie Agricultural Society Avas held in the Repre-
sentatives' Hall at the State House, on Tuesday
evening last. Hon. N. Eddy, of Oxford, occu-
pied the chair, the subject for discussion being,
"What are the best measures that our Agricultu-
ral Societies can adopt to satisfy the public con-
clusively Avhich are the most profitable breeds of
cattle for the farmers of New England to keep on
their farms; 1, for the daiiy ; 2, for the yoke ;
3, for the shambles ?"

The chairman said he occupied his position un-
expectedly, and was not conversant with the sub-
ject for discussion practically, yet he considered
it one of the utmost importance to agriculturists.
He thought that some breeds of cattle Avcre good
for dairy purposes that were not good for the oth-
ers named, and thus it would be necessary to dis-
cuss the subject in this manner. The Ayrshires
he considered, as did many others, as among the
most profitable for dairy purposes, but that to put
them into beef they paid but a small sum for the
cost of feeding. Many considered the Durham
breed as good, and he thought that where they
had rich, heavy feed, as was got in the Connecti-
cut Valley and the more fertile portions of our
State, they might do well ; yet with the feed to be
had in three-fourths of our State, he felt satisfied
they were not the best breed for farmers to raise.
In his opinion, a cross between the Devon and Na-
tive would be found the best breed for the three
purposes named in the question for discussion,
over three-quarters of the territory in New Eng-
land, as they were good milkers, hardy for the
yoke, and, when well fatted, good for the shambles.
He should recommend the improved Devon breed,
or, as an equivalent, the best native breed, as in-
cluding all the qualifications desired.

Mr. Asa Sheldon, of Wilmington, thought the
subject one of the utmost importance, and said
that he considered the milch cow of more impor-
tance than most people, but he would say that the
majority of persons did not understand that milk,
butter and cheese were not all a milch cow pro-
duced. After these, said he, we get a little pork,
veal and skins, all made from the milk. There
are 500 head of cattle butchered every day in
Massachusetts, said the speaker, and the first $3
in each of these is made from milk, thus giving a
product of $1500 a day from this source alone,
and making it highly necessary that we should get
the best cows. The State has been liberal to the
various county societies, and the public, he
thought, had a right to seek information from
them, but the way they were going on he did not
Bee that the people were likely to get it. Pre-

miums are offered for the various breeds of cattle
separately, Herefords, Durhams, Ayrshires, De-
vons, &c., &c., and the same encouragement is
given to the breeder of the poorest as to him
who exhibits the best breed.

He thought the only true way was to let all
compete together on equal terms for the premium,
and let the best cow take the highest premium, and
then we should know what breed was the best
and most profitable to raise. He compared the
present method of awarding premiums for cattle
to that of giving premiums for mowing machine,
allowing the maker of each kind of machine to be
considered as a class by himself. He concluded
his remarks by expressing a hope that a resolve
would be passed that all breeds of cattle should
compete together, and on their merits. Foreign
breeds, said he, are kept better than Natives, and
unless we let them compete together we shall nev-
er be able to decide which should have the prefer-
ence.

Col. Heard, of Wayland, differed from the pre-
vious speaker in the matter of separating the dif-
ferent breeds of cattle ; he thought the great trou-
ble among our farmers was, that they were too
negligent in breeding stock — that when they get
a good cow they don't pay the attention they
should to the animal they select to raise by. If
agricultural societies are going to ascertain which
are the b-^si breeds of cattle, they must be par-
ticular and keep them separate, and thus induce
farmers to exercise care in getting the best ani-
mals from which to raise stock. He considered
that there was nothing that kept our native stock
down more than this negligence in selecting good
blood. The Ayrshire and Alderney were consid-
ered the best cows for milk, and perhaps the latter
for butter, and he considered this was entirely
owing to keeping the blood pure, while if we
could keep our own native stock iip, we could, he
felt assured, get them to be as profitable as the
imported cattle. He spoke of the great necessity
there was that agricultural societies should im-
press this matter of the selection of blood stock
on farmers.

Mr. Gale, of Heath, said there was not this
trouble in regard to the various kinds ;of cattle in
Franklin county, as they had very few except of
the Durham breed there. They found that the
best and most profitable cattle they could keep
were a grade from the Native to the Durham, as
these were finely proportioned, good and hardy to
work, kind and docile, and mature quickly, mak-
ing good beef. As an idea of the size of the stock
raised, he mentioned a pair of steers, owned by
a neighbor of his, that were three years old this
spring, which were called 3600 lbs. live weight.
Most of the farmers in his section thought it de-
cidedly better for their interest, not selling their

196

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

April

milk, but making butter and cheese, to cross the
breed in the way mentioned, than to keep the
imported breeds pure.

Hoii. JosiAH QuiNCY, Jr., of Boston, said that
at the great agricultural show at Paris, the great-
est that ever took place in the world, the question
was presented, — "what class of cattle were to be
considered the very best, or the representative
breed, for all purposes." The committee to de-
cide this question was equally composed of Eng-
lish and French, the chairman having the casting
v^e, being a Frenchman. The French insisted
that all three of the points, milk, yoke and sham-
bles, should be considered in the award, while the
English did not look at it in that light. He be-
lieved the matter was decided that it was necessa-
ry to look at the requirements of the animal,
and what you wanted it for, in awarding the palm
of excellence- Ho spoke of the interest manifest-
ed at the Paris exhibition, and mentioned the fact
of $2500 being paid there for one cow. In a re-
cent agricultural exhibition in Albany, Mr. Quin-
cy said, he had seen what was said to be the best
bull in England, the property of Col. Thorne, and
for which he paid $5000 there. This was a Short-
horn ; and there was a singular incident connect-
ed with his purchase which he related as follows :
Some years ago, Mr. Thorne commissioned his
agent in England to purchase for him the very
best bull in the country, as also a cow. The agent
paid $5000 for the bull, and bought a cow which
happened to be in calf. As she was near her
time of calving he did not ship her until after the
biilh of the calf, and not desiring to send the
weakly offspring, he shipped the cow alone, mak-
ing a present of the calf to the man of whom he
purchased the cow. In course of time the bull
died, and Mr. Thorne announced the fact to his
agent in England, at the same time commission-
ing him to buy another, also to be the best in
the country. The agent went to work and select-
ed an animal for which he paid, as before, $5000,
and which, on investigation of pedigree, proved to
be the very calf he had given away at the time of
his former purchase for Mr. Thorne.

In Kentucky, where they had abundance of
feed, Cassius M. Clay considered the S4iort-horns
the most profitable breed to raise for the sham-
bles, but in our own State, Mr. Quincy thought
they were not so favorably looked upon. He
thought that the Alderneys and Ayrshires were
well deserving the attention of our farmers as
producing milk, butter and cheese, and a cross
from these might be found to answer the other
requirements named.

He thought our native breeds of cattle were a
good deal like some of our native American citi-
zens, if you looked back to the grandfather, and in
some casfes to the father, you would find they

came from "Ould Ireland." A good deal, said he,
depends on feeding a cow, in the profit you can
derive from her, and the use you can put her to,
and this is a matter of weighty importance. He
closed by relating in an amusing manner the con-
troversy at the Paris show in the matter of award-
ing the first premium on hogs, showing that this
was given to the French, on the ground that their
hogs were able to take care of themselves in a
great measure, while the English had to be taken
care of.

Mr. Howard, of Boston, said that at the Paris
show the premium for the best beef was awarded
to the Scotch cattle, and the Durham Short-horn
came the seventh in the award. He thought that
if we looked at the comparative estimate in which
the Short-horn is held in England, we should find
it was much over-estimated here, as it was only
in the richest parts of England they were kept.
What is known here as the Herdbook family of
Short-horns are not kept in England to any ex-
tent, and he had never seen one there. At the
London show, the year before last, there were 150
cattle shown for dairy purposes, and last year a
less number. Among these there were no Short-
horns, no Devons, no Herefords, and last year only
two of the latter. The contest was between grade
Short-horns, grade Herefords, Jerseys and Welch.
The South Devon breed, said he, is kept some-
what for dairy purposes, and on fan- pasturage
it is said to fat easy and to make good beef, and
is considered as among the best for the shambles.
Scotch is also considered good, and Herefords sell
at about the same price. The Smithfield Club
was formed, he said, about the commencement of
the present century, whose object was to ascertain
what breeds of cattle were the best, and could be
raised at the least expense, and their plan of as-
certaining this had been changed about five years
since, when they concluded to make two sweep-
stakes, the prizes to be a valuable gold medal in
each — one for cows and heifers, and the other for
oxen and steers. In addition to this they gave
prizes to the classes separately. This he thought
was a good plan, and would work well with us,
and he hoped to see it adopted.

Mr. Flint, Secretary of the Board of Agricul-
ture, said, in reply to the remarks of Mr. Sheldon,
that at tlie last State Fair, held in Boston, sep-
arate premiums were offered for all breeds, in-
cluding natives, also premiums for the best cows
for milk purposes. He was not prepared to make
any lengthy remarks on the question under dis-
cussion, but he saw a gentleman from North
Brookfield present, and he thought it would in-
terest the meeting to hear a statement from him
in relation to the disease at present prevailing
among cattle in his neighborhood.

Hon, Freeman Walker, of North Brookfield,

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

197

then gave an account of the disease as it appeared
among the cattle of Mr. Curtis Stoddard, of North
Broolifiekl, from a calf he had purchased from Mr.
W. W. Chenery, of Belmont, to its spread to New
Braintree, and the death of some 25 head of cattle,
and more being sick.

Ho said that great excitement existed in these
towns and those surrounding, in consequence of
the apparently infectious nature of the disease, and
he urged immediate action to check it. He thought
that the only means would be to destroy the cattle
afiected, and that this should be done at the ex-
pense of the State, as, if done by the towns, he was
fearful the authorities might pursue a temporizing
course. Money, he urged, should not be an ob-
ject when there is a prospect of the disease,
spreading over the whole State. He suggested
that the Board of Agriculture might have charge
of the matter, and take action as soon as possible.
He hoped that economy in this case would not be
allowed to cripple efficient legislation.

Dr. LoEiNG, of Salem, spoke briefly of the dis-
ease now prevalent among cattle, and said that it
was either in the pleura and stomach or in one or
the other, and he did not see how it was to be de-
cided by discussion. In discussing the question
of the evening, we ought to consider what are the
most important kinds of cattle to be introduced.
Our necessity, said he, is for dairy purposes, and
we must look at it in this light. He said he had
recently visited a farm in Barre, a cheese-making
farm, where 22 cows were kept, and he had never
seen 22 cows on any farm in jNIassachusetts look
so well. They were Short-horns or grades, and
the owner said they did very well indeed. Before
I left, said the speaker, he asked me if I could fur-
nish him with a good Ayrshire bull, and on my
asking him why he wanted it, he said his cows
were too large for his dairj-. Mr. Loring spoke
at length of the good dairy qualities of the Ayi--
shire cattle, and said they had been bred expressly
for the dairy. In this part of the State, said he,
we want cattle of a moderate size, cheaply kept,
and that yield a great profit for the feed consumed,
and he contended that the AjTshire was without
doubt the very best for this.

Mr. Howard and Mr. Flint both spoke of
the importance of vigorous measures being taken
to stop the disease among cattle, as now it is
known to be confined to a small arena, while if
prompt action is not had, it would be difficult to
tell the results.

It was announced, that the subject for discus-
sion, at the next meeting, on Monday evening,
would be, "WJiat are the most ijrqfitable crops
farmers can raise on Massachusetts farms ?"

Pet Birds. — Caged birds are the source of
much pleasure, and while they give great happi-

ness if they are kept in good healthy condition,
seem to enjoy life nearly, if not quite as well, as
their mates in the bush or the wildwood — espe-
cially if, either from lack of memory, or from bliss-
ful ignorance, the caged birds do not know what
pleasure they lose. "Where ignorance is bliss,
'tis folly to be wise." One of the great drawbacks
to the happiness of birds, and to the pleasure of
keeping them, is lice, and having recently learned
of a safe and sure way of removing them, we give
it to our readers. The Michigan Farmer says :

"Lay a piece of Canton or cotton flannel over
the cage at night, several nights in succession,
taking it off at daylight. Multitudes of the lice
will be found upon it, 'vvhich are easily killed. Af-
ter a few days all will be removed. A case in
which this was very successful, has just been
brought to our notice ; from a pair of bob-o-links
hundreds of these parasites were removed in this
way."

JFor Ihe New England Farmer.

SELLING MILK COMPABED "WITH
MAKIIxTG BUTTER.

Mr. Brown : — As I am among the number of
those who are not perfectly assured that they are
getting rich by selling milk at the present prices
paid to the farmer in Concord, I am naturally in-
clined to find some more profitable way to dispose
of it, if possible. Fpr the above reason, after
reading Gov. BoutAvell's statement in the Farmer
of the 4th inst., and without any intention of
sending them to you for publication, I was led to
make some estimate on the subject, adapted to
this locality, and for the whole year, instead of
for the five months best adapted to butter-making.
In the first place, I suppose the cans mentioned
in the Governor's statement to be what v>'e call
eight-quart cans, as they contain about 2 pounds
more milk than the seven-quart cans which I use.

The average price per can, of that size, for the
last and present six months, in this place, is twen-
ty-four cents, at the door. Now, I take a dairy
which furnishes 8 cans of milk per day, or 2920
cans per year, from which I make the following
calculation, viz. :

Db.

To 2920 cans milk, at 24 cents $700,80

To making 2330 lbs. butter, at 5.i cents 128,48— $829,28

Ck.

By 2336 lbs. butter, at 24 cts. at the door $560,64

By skim milk from 2920 cans, at 8 cents 233,50— $794,24

Balance against butter $35,04

It will be seen by the above, that I allow one
and one-fourth cans of milk for one pound of but-
ter ; the Governor's average is one and twenty-
seven-one hundredths.

Now let us caiTy the matter a little fiirther ; I
have allowed eight cents per can for the skim
milk ; now, as I have no market here for that arti-
cle, except in the hog's trough, let us see if those
customers will pay us the price that we have al-
lowed the butter for it. In the first place, let me
say, that I think no farmer will disagree with me
in the statement, that a shoat taken at the weight
of one hundred pounds, and kept one year, on an
average daily allowance of one can of skim-milk
and two quarts of corn meal, cannot be made to
weigh more than four liundrcd pounds, and that
ten loads of manure, worth one dollar, per load, is a

198

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

April

liberal allowance for one hog ; and from these as-
sumed facts, I make one more calculation, as fol-
lows, viz. :

Dr.

To 3 shoats, weighing 100 lbs. each, SCO lbs., at 6c S4f ,00

To 2320 cans skim-milk, at 8c 233,60

To IS quarts meal per day, 182A bushels, at $1 182,50

To cartiug loam, muck, &c 10,00

$474,10

Cr.

By 3200 pouTi(39 pork, at 8 centis $256,00

liy SO loads manure, at $1 80,00

$336,00

Balance atrainst hogs $138,10

To which add balance against butter as above $35,04

Making tlie whole balance against bulter-making $173,14

From this I conclude that hogs will not pay 8
cents per can for skim-milk, and that however
unprofitable milk-selling may be, butter-making
must be more so. If any of your correspondents
can show facts, or figures, to carry the balance to
the othor side ot the account, no one will be more
pleased to see them than a Milk-Raiseu.

Concord, Mass., Feb. Wth, 1860.

FATAIi DISEASE AMONG CATTLE.

The farmers of our Commonwealth, and, in-
deed, of New England, will*learn with regret that
a disease which threatens to prove as extensive
and fatal as the cattle murrain of Europe, if, in-
deed, it be not the same malady, has made its ap-
pearance among the stock in North Brookfield
and vicinity. The Journal gives the following
account of its origin and spread, which is corrob-
orated from other sources :

The disease was introduced last summer by a
calf of foreign breed, In'ought from the town of
Belmont. It fixes itself upon the lungs, and pro-
duces a violent cough, and the lungs are finally
destroyed. Some of the cattle attacked with it
linger along for weeks ; others die in a few days
after the attack. None have recovered.

Letters from farmers in North Brookfield say
that the disease is a])parently making a clean
sweep through the herds in that section, M'here it
has got a foothold. One man has lost ten head of
cattle, and has as many more sick. Another man
has lost seven, and the best of his herd are sick.
In North Brookfield and New Braintree, the dis-
ease is in five or six lierds.

One gentleman in North Brookfield writes to a
member of the Legislature that the disease is of
the most alarming ciiaracter. The calf from Bel-
mont was carried to Leonard Stoddard. His cat-
tle began to be taken sick, and one after another
died. He sold an animal to Mr. Olmstead, and
the stock of the latter are all dying. Mr. Stod-
dard also sold a cow to Mr. Huntington, v.'ho has
since lost seven cows, and has ten more sick ; so
of another herd in Ncm' Braintree, where some of
Mr. Stoddard's stock were sent. If allowed to
spread, continues the writer, the disease will cause
general destruction. It is a foreign disease, and
the same tliat prevails in Holland at this time. It
seems ahnost certainly fatal.

Something effective should be done, otherwise
it will spread all over the State. Oxen infected
with it are now worked in the streets. This should
be stopped. The selectmen ought to be author-
ized to forbid any person who has any imported
stock from taking it out of his own premises, and
to cause the immediate destruction of all sickly
animals. A petition to the Legislature is now in
circulation among the farmers in the western part
of the State, or about to be put in circulation, to
effect the purpose above expressed.

We learn that the disease has entered the herd
of the gentleman in Belmont who sold the calf to
Mr. Stoddard, and that his cattle are nearly all
exterminated.

Persons whose cattle are infected are making
anxious inquiries of the Secretary of the Board of
Agriculture and others, with a view of ascertain-
ing some remedy for a disease Avhich threatens to
depopulate the farm-yards of the Commonwealth.

It is a matter of the utmost importance that
some preventive should be adopted, and seasona-
bly. Notwithstanding veterinary authorities pre-
scribe remedies — among which are the separation
of the diseased animals from their companions,
light and nutritious diet, relief of urgent symp-
toms, &c. — we hold that the only sure and effectu-
al safeguard is the immediate slaughter of every
animal which is infected. This coiu-se will entail
considerable loss upon farmers, but we should ad-
vocate it, even if the State were to be called on to
make good the loss ; for a comparatively small ex-
penditure, now, may not only prevent the spread of
a loathsome and fatal disease, but also protect peo-
ple from the ])ossible evils of purchasing the car-
cases of the affected animals for food.

The contagious or infectious character of the
disease would seem to be sufficiently established.
Morton's Cijclopcedia of Agriculture, an English
work, states that

The terra (pleuro-pneumonia) denotes inflam-
mation not only of the substance of the lungs
but also of the membrane which covers them, as
well as that Avhich lines the cavity of the chest.
Post mortem examinations lead to the conclusion
that the disease is of an inflammatory character.
With regard to its infectious character a doubt
can scarcely be entertained. It would seem to be
evident that the disease is produced by an animal
poison floating in the atmosphere, and in most
cases proceeding from the respiratory surfaces of
diseased animals.

This jnithority, under the head of "Treatment,"
suggests that in case a herd is large, and only
one or two animals appear to be affected, it would
be most prudent to slaughter them all at once and
sell the beef of the healthy ones. We understand
that a bill to this effect has been presented to the
Legislature. If not, we hope that no time will
be lost in passing a bill that shall embrace the
above provision, and also forbid the driving of
cattle from the infected region to market, until
(he disease ^liall have completely disappeared.

1860.

NEAV ENGLAND FARIVIER.

199

WILL WOOD OF THE FARM.
By B. rr. pearce.
The bright Spring days have come, Will Wood,

The cold, bleak weather is past, —
The husbandman speeds his plow once more,

The Frost King's gone at last.
The fields have cast their mantle of white.

And are donning their carpet of green,
The cattle e'en now, on the hill-side graze.

And the green bursting buds are seen.

My mind's eye wanders to the farm, Will Wood,

The farm with its meadows and trees.
Where in years gone by — bright boyhood's years —

Our hearts were light as the breeze.
The house by the road, where years it has stood,

Unscathed by the hand of decay —
The peach and the pear trees, 'neath whose shade.

We went in the sunshine to play.

The hand that planted them is cold. Will Wood,

And is laid 'neath the white marble stone ;
But the trees he left bright monuments stand,

To tell of the patriarch gone.
That old well -sweep you've taken away,

And a "new-fangled" pump, in its stead,
Brings to your hand the pure cooling draught

From the well that our good sire made.

And don't you remember the oven, Will Wood,

We built 'neath the buttonwood tree .■'
And how in that oven the apples we baked,

And none were so happy as we ?
A score of years have passed since then,

But the oven remains there still.
Though the soft, green moss now covers its sides.

That oven close under the hill.

There is one gentle voice now hushed. Will Wood,

That we all so delighted to hear ;
Her form lies cold in the embrace of death,

That was wont the dwelling to cheer ;
But her memory lives in the hearts of those

Who joyed in her presence then ;
She'll mingle no more with the scenes of earth,

But anon we shall meet her again.

We're scattered all hither and yon, Will Wood,

We ne'er again shall meet.
Around the board in the old farm-house.

With kindly words to greet ;
But our hearts cling fondly around that spot,

Where we never knew aught of harm,
And we joy to grasp thy hard, brown hand.

Will Wood of the homestead farm.

Fur tJw Neic Eiifjland Farmer.

HEARING AND PATTIJSTG GEESE.

Mr. Editoe, : — As I have been in the business
of raising geese for some twelve years, I will try
to answer that lady whom yon referred to, and al-
so others who have inquired of me by private let-
ters. I must confine myself to my own stock, as
I am not much acquainted with other breeds.
Mine are the pure Bremen, imported by Mr. James
Sisson, of Warren, R. I. ; they are of pure white ;
my gander now weighs 2-5 pounds, my two geese
are some lighter ; they lay the first of March ;
from 8 to 12 days before they commence laying
they will refuse their allowance of grain, then I
prepare nests for them under cover, Avhere it is
warm, and at sufficient distances so that they can-
not hear other goslings. I place a false egg made
of chalk, say about 2 inches in diameter, in the
nest, and if they will own these nests, they will
cover the nest egg up. Remove theii- new-laid

eggs as soon as they are laid, so as to not let them
chill — place them on the small end in a box with
cotton wool, and keep them in a warm room un-
til wanted. I don't allow the gander to go where
the geese are sitting. They set from 28 to 30
days. As soon as I think there is a number out
of the shell I put my hand under and remove all
the shells, to give room for the rest. Do not be
in a hurry about getting them out of the nest too
soon — let nature have its way. Don't pick them out
of the shell, except in some extreme case. When-
ever you see the goslings crawling out from un-
der the goose while setting, place a green sod
snug to the goose ; they will soon find it ; then
give them a little corn-meal wet up with sweet
milk, if convenient, if not use water. Place a
shallow dish of water near by, so that they can
help themselves. Do not allow them to run out
in the dew or in a storm while young. In about
ten days they will take care of themselves by the
aid of the goose. If there is no grass for them
to feed on while very young, chop up some cab-
bage fine and mix it with their meal, for they
must have something of that nature. Keep your
goslings in separate flocks for two weeks before
you turn them into one flock. Two geese to a
gander is enough, but even mated is better sLill.
You will get more goslings according to your
stock. If you keep more than one gander, keep
them separate with their mates while they are lay-
ing. It appears that water is their element, but
they fat and grow faster away from streams and
ponds, but they must have a supply of pure water
to drink and to sport and play in. They must
have a place to go under, even in a shoMcr, if not
they will l^e as wet as a hen. They can be fiitted
for market in about 60 days by giving them all
they want to eat of corn and corn-meal, and
a few pork scraps, chopped fine and soaked and
mixed with their meal. About three weeks be-
fore dressing for market, shut them up in a yard
allowing each goose six feet square so as to let
them flap their wings and to stir round. Pluck-
ing geese while alive should be done twice a year ;
first, in the spring, when they shed their quills,
then in the fall. Silas Denuam.

South Hanson, 1860.

LADIES' DEPARTMENT.

How TO Make Good Coffee. — Although cof-
fee is a beverage in daily use in almost every fam-
ily, there are comparatively few v,ho appear to
know how to make a really good cup of it. Gen-
erally, the first thing Biddy does in the morning
is to make the coffee, no matter if it is an hour be-
fore the other portion of the breakfast v.ill be
ready. During the whole of this time it is kept
boiling furiously, and the house is filled with its
fragrance. This fragrance is very agreeable, but,
unfortunately, when you have it, you gratify your
olfactories at the expense of your palate ; for lam
perfectly satisfied that this over-boiling produces
that acrid bitter taste so often found in coff"ee. My
plan is to leave the making of the coffee until the
last moment. Having the boiling water ready,
and my ground coflPee properly mixed and cleared,
I pour the boiling Avater over the coff'ee, and then
allow it to boil one-lialj of a mimite. Try it, if
you doubt the correctness of my method.

200

NEW ENGLAND FAEMER.

Apkil

KITCHEN FUKNITUBE— SINK AND
UTENSILS.

Never have dark furniture for a kitchen. It
shows the dust much more than light, and requires
double the care. Never have extra shelves, man-
tels, etc., pointed dark, if you can jnTvent it. If
it is your misfortune to have dark paint and fur-
niture, Avipe it onco in a few days with a damp
dusting cloth, and have it varnished often.

Have your sink in a convenient place, but never
under a window, if yoa can avoid it, as much work
is caused by greasy dishwater spattering upon the
window, as it necessarily must. Back of your sink
nail up a piece of paper, pretty if you choose, and
have it nicely varnished, and then you can, with a
wet cloth, remove all the spots that would soon
spoil the room-paper. If you are so fortunate as
to have a sink-room, have it papered and then var-
nished well all over, as fly-tracks and every spot
can be wiped off. The sink should be lined with
zinc, nailed only around the edges, as nails upon
the bottom rust and wear through, allowing water
to run under the zinc, thereby causing the boards
to rot.

Good zinc can be kept nice and bright, by scour-
ing once in a week or two with sand, and rubbing
all over once or twice a day with soft soap, scald-
ing and wiping dry.

At one side have a shelf to keep your water-pail
on, which always, day and night, keep covered ;
an uncovered water-pail is a slack thing. Nailed
upon the back side of the sink, have a little box,
perforated through the bottom, to keep hard soap
in, and, if you have no better place, your Castile
soap also, and a piece of pumico-stone, to re-
move stains from your hands. Your soft soap keep
under the sink, which I take for granted is boarded
up, with a door, where you put your pots and ket-
tles, board to scour knives upon, sand, etc., and
which place should be kept as neat as your sitting-
room. Just over the sink have a narrow shelf, with
holes through it, to set your common tumblers
upon, when washed and rinsed, that they may drain
and dry ; thus saving the time and labor of wiping
them all with a dry cloth.

At the other end of the sink have a narrow strip
nailed up, to set your kettle-cricket on ; of these,
you should have two, one to set your kettles on,
when washing and cleaning them, and which
should be licpt under the sink, in some odd nook ;
the other should be smaller, and only be used to
set the tea kettle, etc., on when filling, and there-
fore must be ke])t handy and clean ; so if you
should be sick with the headache, pain in your
side, or any little trifling thing, and should ask
your kind husband to fill the tea-kettle, he would
take the cricket down to set it on, instead of set-
ting it in the sink — thus causing you more labor
than he saves ; which he would be sure to do, were
the cricket under the sink, or so black and nasty,
he could not touch it without soiling his hands.

And last but not least, have a light rack made,
of strips of wood an inch wide, an eighth of an
inch thick, and a foot long, nailed over one anoth-
er, making your rack a foot square, with both sides
alike, to put in your sink to turn dishes upon
while washing ; thus keeping them from touching
the sink; Avhich is liable to be greasy and diity, and
draining them so they will wipe easily.

You may think, fair reader, that it takes con-
siderabie'^to furnish a sink to suit my taste ; but

every one of these things are around my sink, and
not one would I dispense with, neither will you,
after having once seen how convenient they are. —
Sarah B. Saavyeb, in Ohio Cultivator.

DOMESTIC KECEIPTS.

Rich Rice Pudding. — Pick and wash a quar-
ter of a pound of rice ; put it on in cold water,
and let it boil five minutes, then strain the water
off" and put the rice on in as much new milk as it
will require to boil it quite soft, with a good pinch
of salt ; stir it frequently to prevent it burning ;
when done, put it into a large basin to cool. Beat
up six eggs, a pint of milk and sugar to your
taste ; it should be rather too sweet when you
make it, as the sweetness goes off" in the baking ;
add also five or six bitter almonds blanched and
crushed, with plenty of lemon peel chopped very
fine ; mix all well together, then stir it into the
rice, taking care to mix it thoroughly, so that
there be no lumps. Butter your dish and pour in
your mixture ; then shred about two ounces of
beef suet as finely as possible all over the top ;
grate over that half a nutmeg, and bake it half an
hour in a moderate oven.

Potted Beef. — The coarser, tougher parts of
beef, as the neck-piece, etc., which usually sell quite
cheap, may, by a little cook-science, be made pal-
atable and even delicious. We have tried the fol-
lowing and can recommend it. Boil the meat ini-
til tender, chop it fine, and pound it Avith a pestle
until the fibres are well separated. Salt and pep-
per it to the taste, and add cloves, allspice, or cin-
namon, as may be desirable, also a little sugar.
The quantity depends upon the cook's palate.
Pack it tightly in earthen jars or bowls, and pour
over it a thin layer of melted butter. It will keep
a long time. When cold, slice it very thin and eat
cold with bread and butter. It makes a nice rel-
ish for lunch or tea.

Mince Pie without ^Ieat. — Chop three pounds
of suet very fine, and throe pounds of apples,
(cored and pared,) wasli and dry three pounds of
currants, stone and chop one pound of jar raisins,
beat and sift one pound of loaf sugar, cut twelve
ounces of candied orange peel very fine, and six
ounces of citron ; mix all well together Avith a
quarter of an ounce of nutmeg, half a quarter of
an ounce of cinnamon, six or eight cloves, and
half a pint of French brandy ; cover it close, and
keep it for use.

FnuiT Cake without Eggs. — One cup of mo-
lasses, one cup of brown sugar, one cup of butter,
heat together sufficiently to melt the butter, two
teaspoonfuls of cloves, two of cinnamon, one of
nutmeg, "one coflTeecupful of raisins, (with or Avith-
out currants,) citron ; then add one teaspoonful
of soda dissolved in hot Avater ; one cup of sour
milk or buttermilk, and one quart of flour ; bake
one hour.

To Save Frozen House Plants. — Wlien
plants are found to have been frozen during the
night, they should not be removed to a Avarra
place, but on the contrary, they should be dipped
in cold Avater, and set in some cool place Avhere
they will not freeze, and also in the dark. They
will then have a chance to recover, if not complete-
ly dead.

DEVOTED TO AGRICTJLTUBE AND ITS KIWDRED ARTS AND SCIENCES.

YOL. XIL

BOSTON, MAY, 1860.

NO. 5.

NOURSE, EATON & TOLMAN, Proprietohs. sIMON BROWN EDITOR
Office.... 04 Merchants' Row. SIMON BROWN, EDITOR.

FRED'K HOLBROOK, ) Associate
IIEXRY F. FRENCH, ] Editors.

CALENDAR FOR MAY.

"■When brighter scenes and milder skies

Proclaim the opening 5"ear,
What various sounds of joy arise I

What prospects bright appear !"

ay! Why did
they name it
Mat ? Our En-
cyclopaedia says :
"As early as the
Salic Laws, this
month is called
Meo. and it
would appear
that the idea of
youthful beauty
and loveliness so
naturally con-
nected by north-
ern nations with
the month of
May, gave rise
to its name."

The name must
have been given
a great while
ago, then ; for although we do not know the pre-
cise period when the Salic Laws were first in
vogue, we may infer from the fact of their exclud-
ing women from the right of inheritance, that it
was when the world was in a great state of bar-
barism. But although generations have passed
away, the world continues to say pretty things in
praise of May, and to call it by its sweet, sugges-
tive name.

To the common observer, the world is always
young. The great ocean dashes its waves against
the shore just as it did at "Creation's dawn."

"Time writes no wrinkles on its azure brow "

There is a general air of freshness and newness
about the world in a spring day, which has a won-

derfully reviving effect. It is true, our planet has
kept a kind of journal, by which we know she is
not so very young, after all. It is written on the
grey-headed rocks, on the hoary-headed moun-
tains, and there are records in her bosom, which
those prying people, the geologists, know how to
decipher well enough, and they say that five
thousand years comprehends a mere fraction of
her existence. Yet the dandelions look out of the
grass just as gaily as if they were the fii-st dande-
lions ever created, and the birds sing as merrily as

"The birds that sung
A hundred years ago."

No wonder, then, that the love of nature is one
of the last loves that dies out of a man. All pleas-
ures of society, all business pursuits, at times
seem "weary, stale, flat and unprofitable," but so.
long as our senses remain to us, there is always
something soothing and restoring in a walk
through the lanes, and over the hills. We have
often thought that if one of those poor families
who live in a tenement with twelve other families
in the filthiest part of a great city, could be trans-
ported to a neat dwelling, Avith several acres of
land about it to cultivate, their morals and man-
ners would undergo a speedy change. Perhaps it
would do more for them, than a home missionary
could do.

There is a great deal in being under one's own
vine and fig tree ; albeit another man's vine and
fig tree may be much more thrifty and flourishing
than ours, and there is something in the "old
homestead" that awakens associations which will
live when a thousand intervening events Have
passed from the memory. We would say nothing
of the common superstition thqt childhood is the
happiest period of life, but, at least, its impres-
sions are the strongest. You may forget your fii'st
impressions on seeing Niagara Falls, but you will
not forget the breathless interest with which you
watched some venturesome companion go across

202

NEW ENGLAND EARMER.

May

the great beam in the barn, close up where the
swallows built their nests. You remember, also,
the scaffold at the top of the barn, with a trap-
door in it, and you used to creep to the edge of
this door, and look down and think, what if you
should fall through, on the floor, such an immense
distance below ! Of course, you hunted hens'
eggs — everybody does — but does any one ever
dream of finding a nest with a dozen in it, without
being awakened before he had a chance to take
them out ? You have since studied Abercrombie,
and know all about the theory of dreams, but at
that time it only seemed the perversity of fate !

Doubtless there are people in the world who do
not comprehend the harmonizing influence of ru-
ral life — to whom a yard full of cattle has no more
individuality than a herd of buffaloes, or a shoal
of herring — who cannot tell Star from Buck — al-
though Patrick could tell you that there are radi-
cal differences in the dispositions of those two an-
imals. Patrick says he can tell, too, a vicious cow
by the expression of her eye, as quick as he can
tell that a certain cross-gi-ained, angular young
woman will make a shrewish wife.

In a general way, there is a permanance about a
country town, which a city cannot well have — the
population is far less fluctuating. For instance,
the first day of May is a signal for all the inhabi-
tants of one street, to leave that, and flee into
another. This, perhaps, involves new neighbors,
a new church, neAV associations of all kinds. First
of May in the country is a signal for house-clean-
ing— but it is the same old house, and very likely
the same old paint you had cleaned these twenty
years — and the same old neighbors are cleaning
their old paint, and re-arranging their old furni-
ture just as you are. In places like these, it is
curious to see how, in generation after generation,
you can trace the family names and family faces. If
you have not been to your native place for years,
when you do return home for a visit, you can easily
tell all the little Smiths from all the little Browns,
by their resemblance to the little Smiths and
Browns you used to go to school with. You may
even address one of them, although you have
never seen him before, by his christian name,
without running any great risk, for if it is not he,
it is his brother.

Though country life has its advantages, we are
far from saying that people always appreciate
them. It is strange how little pains is taken to
select a beautiful site for a dweUing. In riding
through the country, it sometimes seems as if the
care all went the other way, and that a man stud-
ied to select the ugliest spot he could, the one
which would command the narrowest view of the
surrounding landscape. We have in mind one in
])articular — you can recall a dozen like it. Soil
barren- and rocky, not a tree or shrub near it. Yet

pines and hemlocks had grown there, and were
still abundant on the opposite side of the road —
but the man had made "a clearing." Why could
not he just as well have left some of the trees na-
ture had so kindly planted for him — left them in
clumps and gi'oves, so that his dwelling need not
look quite so much like a martin box on a pole ?
It is a new house, and we hope he will immediate-
ly set out some trees in place of those he cut
down, plant a few woodbines and honeysuckles,
thin out those trees on the opposite side, so that
he can have a prospect across the country, and so
have a "home," instead of "four square walls."
His wife and children ought to be very much
obliged to us for these suggestions. If he wants
to know when he shall begin this reformation, we
answer ike first of May is an excellent time.

For the New England. Farmer.
HUNGARIAN GKASS.

Messrs. Editors : — I sowed four bushels of
Hungarian grass seed upon ten acres of land, from
the 6th to the 16th days of June. In 1858 I got
between two and three tons per acre from second
quality land, and four tons from good land, made
very fine v.'ith plow and cultivator, witho-^jt ma-
nure ; it yielded gi-ain, or seed, amounting to more
than one-fourth of the whole weight, and of the
richest kind.

In 1859, in common with some of rr.y neigh-
bors, I was cut short in anticipated results, while
others were quite satisfied with its yield. Con-
stant rains prevented my sowing it at the proper
time, which is, here in New England, Jn my opin-
ion, from the 25th of May, to the fii-st day of
June.

On the third of July occurred that ever memo-
rable shower, to the inhabitants of this vicinity,
which washed down our mountain sides a sufficient
quantity of gravel and rocks to make monuments
to the event, which will last for ages to come.
The same washed out and buried up about half of
my seed, after which the cold season and early
frosts cut short the rest to a very great extent,'
leavmg me a chance to gather in about ten tons,
which proved to be richly worth what it cost me.
The hay possesses a sweetness wliich gives it a
preference in the estimation of hay-eaters, and a
richness that makes a gi-eater flow of milk from
cows fed upon it, and butter of e superior quality.
Like corn, it will do best in a "warm season ; but it
will do better in a cold season, like the last, than
corn, by supplying the farmei with coarse grain,
if s owed at the proper time, with anything like
careful management. It should not be sown in
New England till the ground gets warm. It wiU
decay before it germinates in cold earth, and if it
barely germinates in such earth, and remains so 3
few days, it will receive a sickly hue, and becomes
only capable of a dwarfish existence. I am par-
ticular on this point, that those who have a great
desire to get all sowing done very early, had bet-
ter not engage much in its cultivation. I have
raised it two seasons, have had as good success in
stocking after it, both years, as I ever had with
wheat, or any thing else. Very many to whom I

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

203

sold seed last spring have testified to its good
qualities as surpassing clover and herds-grass,
and the pleasure they feel in having it in their
possession.

One man in the neighborhood said to me re-
centlj', "I like it well, my oxen are always ready
for it." I replied, "Are not your oxen always
ready for any good hay ?" He said, "No. Last
fall when I was hauling stone M'ith them, till they
were weary, they would lie down on other good
hay, to rest, before they would eat it, when at the
same time they would be ready for the Hunga-
rian."

Similar expressions are common from those
•who have proved its Avorth by feeding it to all
kinds of stock. I will further suggest for the ben-
efit of any about to commence the cultivation of
it, that it seems to demand one day more of diy-
ing than other hay.

I am much inclined to the opinion, that it will
be found economy to cut it at the time when the
seetl is mostly ripe, Avhich happens when the
blades are about half turned yellow. In this way
I have a good crop of grain, next, if not equal, in
value, pound for pound, to corn, and a crop of
hay, when well cured, that will compare well with
other good hay.

This grass never grows too large and stiff, like
millet, but each seed throws up from the root, in
any thing like fairground, from one to five or ten
stalks, and sometimes, in rich land, sowed thin,
from ten to fifty of about equal size, each covered
with its own beautiful blades, and when ripe, a
heavy head.

Should anj'- wish to examine its formation, I
will send a specimen on receipt of the requisite
postage, thi-ee cents. Wm. RiCH.iKDS.

Biclimond, Mass., March, 1860.

For t?ie Netc England Farmer.

PEAOTICAL PROOFS OF PROFIT.

Me. Editor : — In the last number of your very
valuable paper, a writer from South Danvers
heads an article thus : "Practical proofs of profit
in farming." The writer mentions a certain lo-
cality, where there are thirty or more individuals,
who own from five to twenty acres of land, and
are in comfortable cii'cumstances, &c., and have
managed to lay up a few hundred dollars yearly,
and then gives a gentle hint that they would like
to avoid their taxes. I do not think it is so, as
no class in our community is more vtilling to be
taxed than our farmers. I happen to be a farmer
in another part of the town, where good and suc-
cessful attention is paid to farming, and I con-
sider that there is no occupation more healthy and
honorable. Still, we cannot all be farmers, and
as the writer has made some allusion to our busi-
ness men, which seemed to me to be unjust, is
why I have thought fit to reply to it. As an old
resident in this town, my observation is, that the
industrial habits of the people are not, and cannot
be surpassed by any other town in the Common-
wealth ; it is the manufacturing interest of the
town that assists us farmers, and wherever there
are manufacturers of various kinds, the town and
adjacent towns derive great advantage. For my
part, I wish that the manufacturing interest might
increase, and then we farmers would profit by it.

In no city or town can all succeed in business ; by
some unforeseen circumstances, individuals are
stript of their pro])erty before they are aware of
it ; not only the business man, but the retired
merchant, the farmer and professional man, all
alike are liable to misfortune. j.

South Danvers, Jan. 10, 1860.

For the New England Farmer.
PERPETUAL CROPS OF RYE.

Mr. Editor : — As your columns are open to
your various correspondents, I take the liberty to
note a circumstance that has come under my ob-
servation on the subject of raising a crop of rye. I
have resided in my present location in the to^vn
of Fairfield, Ct., for over twenty years, and have
noticed a piece of poor land on a hill-side that
has been cropped with rye for the last fifteen or
sixteen years. During that period, and the last
few years, the crops have been equal if not superi-
or to the first. The land itself would not sell for
$30 per acre for farming purposes ; it is very thin,
and full of rocks and boulders, similar to a por-
tion of the side-hill laud in this State, and the
proprietor, a Mr. Knapp, informed me a few days
since that his average rye on this lot, less than
three acres, has been from 40 to 45 bushels, or
equal to lo bushels per acre. All the manure and
tillage the land receives is five or six loads of poor
barn-yard manure, spread alternately on the land
before plowing ; it receives one plowing, and the
seed is harrowed in. It is now stocked for the
coming year, and its present appearance indicates
an average crop. If this is not more profitable
rye farming than the average, I am at a loss to
know, and if you can demonstrate the cause of
this land I)eing no more reduced by this succes-
sive cropping, I should be pleased to learn. The
occupier says it v/ill bear this system of cropping
ad infinitum. ' John Moody.

Bridgeport, Mountain Grove, Ct.

Remarks. — The Avriter states that this piece cf
land is on a hill-side. If the pieoe devoted to rye
has higher land above it, the wash of mineral as
well as vegetable mattei- — but especially of the
mineral — from the higher land, may account for
the perpetual fertility of the rye land. If this is
not the reason, we cannot account for it.

Clover. — Every farmer should have a piece of
clover, whatever other soiling crops he may raise;
it not only makes up the variety necessary to keep
cattle in health, but its yield is large and profita-
ble ; it takes less from the soil, and more from
the atmosphere, than most other green crops, and
the portion remaining in the soil contains mate-
rial to improve its mechanical condition, as well
as to progress the inorganic constituents which
it elevates from the sub-soil after sub-soil plow-
ing, and is almost sure of success on any soil
worthy of cultivation. — Working Farmer,

To Cure Garget in Ewes. — Rub raw linseed
oil on the udder once or twice a day. So say
Messrs. Nichols and Dickson, in the Valley Far-
mer.

204

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

May

LEGISLATIVE AQKICULTUKAL
MEETING.

[Reported for thb New England Farmer bt Thos. Bradley ]

The ninth meeting of the present series of the
Legislative Agricultural Society was held last
Monday evening, irt the Representatives' Hall at
the State House. Charles L. Flint, Esq., Sec-
retary of the Board of Agriculture, occupied the
chair. The subject for discussion was, "What are
the most profitable crops to raise on Massachu-
setts farms ?"

The chairman, on assuming his position, said
that the subject was one having a wide range,
and, in his opinion, should be considered in its re-
lation to the various parts of our Commonwealth,
as what would be most profitable on one kind of
soil wonld not answer on another. He was con-
vinced that a few crops would always be staple,
such as corn, potatoes, oats, and the smaller
grains, yet what would be the most advantageous
to raise in Essex county might not be so in the
Connecticut Valley, and in the consideration of
the question this must be allowed. He spoke of
cranberries as an example of a profitable crop,
yet he said there were only certain localities in
which these could be raised. He considered that
under favorable circumstances, for reliability, the
grass crop was the best, as from the milk, in the
neighborhood of cities, a handsome profit was re-
alized. As a general thing, a good grass farm re-
quired but little labor or expense and thus was
the most profitable, but in different parts of the
State he admitted there were more profitable
crops raised, and he alluded, in this connexion,
to the tobacco and broom corn of the Connecticut
Valley.

Mr. Flint then read portions of a statement re-
1 iting to the cultivation of flax for making fibril ia,
prepared by Stephen M. Allen, Esq., for the
society.

The flax plant may be grown in any climate or
soil, although the constituent elements of the
fibre will differ on account of changes in either
soil or climate. The most favorable climate is
that where the temperature is most equable —
where neither severe drought nor excessive mois-
ture prevails. The best soil is a dry, deep loam,
with a clay subsoil, and this must be properly
drained, as when it is saturated with either under-
ground or surface water, good flax cannot thrive ;
light sandy or gravelly soil, and very strong un-
derdrained clay, should be avoided. The seed
should be plump, shining and heavy, and should
be sown about two bushels to the acre. After
sowing it should be covered with a seed harrow,
going over it twice, and once crosswise, and then
rolled, covering the seed about an inch. The crop
should not be weeded prior to a drought. The fibre
is best before the seed is quite ripe, as if it re-

mains longer it becomes coarse. The best time
for pulling is when the seeds begin to change in
color from green to a pale brown. It can be cut
with a scythe or mowing machine, and used as
wheat in threshing, and then broken on Randall's
Brake, thus doing away with the necessity of rot-
ting. By this plan of harvesting, the roots remain
in the ground and act as fertilizers, while unrot-
ted straw is worth twice as much as the same
straw rotted.

Col. Heard, of Wayland, said it was not many
years since the corn crop fell in the estimation of
the farmers of Middlesex county, but there had
been a reaction. He thought that now it was the
most profitable crop a farmer in that section could
raise. An acre of land, said he, should yield 75
bushels of corn, with good cultivation, and then
the ground would be left in a better state for po-
tatoes, oats, or a grass crop, than from any other
crop. Corn will sell for from 75 cents to $1 per
bushel, and this alone would make it more valua-
ble than hay, without taking into account the sto-
ver, which he thought was as valuable feed for dry
stock and working oxen as the hay itself. He
said that the potato crop was considered by some
as the most valuable crop, but he thought this was
only where it could be transported cheaply to a
market. All things considered, he thought iii
our mode of agi-iculture — the rotation of crops —
the corn crop was most profitable, and spring rj'e
the next.

Mr. BucKMlNSTER agreed with the previous
speaker in his estimate of the value of the com
crop, and considered it not only the most valuable
but most sure, and took the returns of the last
century to subs.tantiate this. He alluded to the
value of the stalks and leaves as food for cattle
and horses as being very high. In speaking of
the tobacco crop, he thought that it should not
be considered as a very reliable crop, as its value
was quite liable to fluctuate from the influence
of public opinion, and that this crop, in the
long run, was not profitable to the community.
He said he had conversed with a Chelmsford far-
mer, a few days ago, who had told him that he
could raise no crop so profitable as corn, and that
it cost him 50 cents per bushel, while he sold it
for $1, thus making 100 per cent, on the crop.

Mr. "Wetiiekell also spoke in favor of the
corn crop, and said that with ordinary good culti-
vation, 60 to 75 bushels to the acre could be raised
in this State. In regard to the value of the fod-
der, he said a Duchess county farmer had told
him that cattle would thrive better on the com
fodder from a given quantity of land than on the j
hay raised on that same area. A Worcester coun-
ty farmer had also told him that he could raise
corn for 35 cents per bushel.

Col. Bkigham, of Grafton, was the next speak-

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

205

er. He said that the question depended entirely
on the location of the land to be cultivated. He
considered that in Worcester county, particularly
about where he resided, the hay crop was the
most profitable, as in making milk it made the
best return. The fruit crop he considered very
valuable, but he did not think that a bushel of
corn could be raised in his county for less than
$1. He considered that the value of corn fodder
had been too highly estimated, as, from experi-
ments carefully made by the Board of Agriculture,
at Westboro', it was decided that it was only one-
fourth the value of English hay. He thought that
after com, turnips and carrots were next in value.

Col. Brigham said he thought apples were the
most profitable crop, for money, a farmer could
raise, and he named the Baldwin and Hubbards-
ton Nonesuch as the best kinds, giving the prefer-
ence to the latter, as he said it bore every year,
while the former bore every other year. It might
be argued, said he, that if every farmer went to
raising apples there would be no market for them,
but he said England would not only take all that
could be raised in this State, but in New England.
He thought a crop of Baldwins could be depended
on every other year, as he had only known this to
fail once in the last twenty years.

Mr. Cp.osby said that from his experience he
thought there was not so much benefit derived
from an orchard of 10 acres as from 10 acres of
rye. On his farm the yield of corn for the past
30 years had not averaged less than 50 bushels to
the acre, and the price had averaged $1 per bush-
el in the market. He spoke of the value of Indian
meal to young cattle, and said that from experi-
ments with three calves, that a friend of his made,
feeding two entirely on hay through the winter
and giving the other a gill of meal with hay, the
latter was worth the other two together in the
spring.

Col. Heard said that he did not consider the
question for discussion included the raising of
fruits, as he thought that more pertaining to the
horticulturist, and it was with this understanding
he had previously spoken. As to raising flax, he
considered that this must depend on the demand
for the article. In Middlesex county, some years
since, a premium had been offered for a crop of
flax, and quite a number competed, and the premi-
ums were awarded, but there was no demand for
the article, and the culture ceased.

Dr. LoRiNG, of Salem, said the question under
consideration involved all the great interests of
agriculture, as it was the first matter to be decid-
ed, all others depending on it. From his experi-
ments, reading or inquiry, he had not been able to
ascertain what is the most profitable crop to raise.
We have been told that corn can be raised
for 35 cents per bushel by one speaker, while an-

other says it cannot be raised for less than $1, and
while this difference existed, he thought it unfair
that a man should be charged with want of brains
because he advocates root culture. I don't know,
said he, that corn is indigenous to Massachusetts.
I have never seen or heard it proved, and I don't
believe it.

He admitted that fruit culture was profitable
for a time, but this did not last. He spoke of
ren'^vating old apple trees, and said that in a
measure he knew this was profitable, but he would
not advocate its being followed up, as it would not
pay for tho time.

In relation to flax, he said that Mr. Allen had
neither given the cost of raising the crop or the
value of it, and in the absence of this it could
not be considered. He doubted if on light, san-
dy soils, the hay crop was the most profitable, but
on heavy soils he had no question as to the profit
in raising that crop. In considering the compar-
ative value of hay, corn and roots. Dr. Loring
said it had been stated that a good crop of corn
would yield 75 bushels to the acre, while the sta-
tistics showed that the average in the State was
only 30 bushels. Without agricultural skill, said
he, nothing can be done in farming, and he then
estimated the cost of raising 75 bushels of corn to
the acre, saying that it would requiie 8 cords of
manure to the acre, at $5 per cord ; seed, plowing,
&c., $10 ; cultivating twice and hoeing twice, $8;
cutting, $1 ; getting it to the barn, $1, and husk-
ing, $3 — making $63 per acre in the corn-house.
With the same cultivation and manuring, he con-
tended 1000 bushels of carrots could be raised,
and this he considered a very profitable crop, and
the most advantageous in his section, as taking
it for granted that an acre of carrots could not
be cultivated for less than $60, it left $87 per
acre of profit. It had been argued that the effect
of roots on land was bad, but in Essex county
no crop had been found so good as the carrot,
which, although it could not be cultivated year af-
ter year, left the ground in the very best condition
either for grass or corn. He spoke of fai-mers
in the Western part of the State having to send
to Albany for corn at a cost of $1 per bushel
saying that two-thirds of this expense would have
been saved had they raised root crops.

Dr. Loring then spoke of the value of the
tops of carrots for fodder, and said that in his
estimate he had allowed nothing for this. The
introduction of turnip culture was an era in the
agriculture of England, and Mr. Webster had
considered it such an event as to date the rise in
English agriculture from that time.

Col. Heard thought no good farmer would neg-
lect raising as great a root crop as he could profit-
ably attend to with his other crops, as he consid-
ered it of great value on any farm, but he sup-

206

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

May

posed, as a matter of course, Dr. Loring did noi
advocate the raising of roots entirely.

Mr. Stoughton, of Gill, wished to know what
the average crop of carrots was, as he doubted
whether it was over 400 bushels to the acre, and
this being the case, it would make a great differ-
ence in the profit. In his section tobacco was
considered very profitable, and notwithstanding
what had been said by a previous speaker, he
thought it best for farmers to raise the crop that
would put the most money in their pockets. To-
bacco would ordinarily yield a ton to the acre
■with the same cultivation as corn, and would bring
^300. He also spoke of the great profit from
raising water-melons, but he considered the grass
crop of the most importance, and the men who
raised this crop he had found to be in the most
independent condition.

Mr. S. M. Allen, of Boston, then spoke of the
cost of raising flax, and the value of the crop,
and contended that there would be no more trou-
ble or expense in preparing the soil than for a
crop of wheat, and that it could be raised as cheap-
ly as either wheat or oats, at an expense not ex-
ceeding $90 per acre, while the value of the crop
would be far greater.

It was announced that the subject for discus-
sion at the next meeting would be, "Manures —
tJie Jcinds most useful for different crops, and the
best mode of application."

Fm- the New England Farmer.
THE TRUE OBJECT OP EABMING.

The caption of this article may seem to some
readers a queer one, if we consider how generally
the accumulation of property is known and con-
ceded to be the ruling motive of the farmer's life.
But, although it is the farmer's chief desire, in
copimon with those who follow other pursuits and
professions, to "make money," yet, without doubt,
it would be far better for him either as a physical,
mental, or moral being, to place some other ob-
ject or aim high above this in his mind.

For a few weeks past, I have noticed with
pleasure several communications upon the profit
and loss of farming. These communications show
that there is a waking up among the farmers, and
that they have increased desires to know whether
they are gliding down the smooth, deceitful stream
towards bankruptcy and ruin, or slowly trudging
along the highway to competence and ease. The
farmer ought siu'cly to know whether he is in a
prosperous condition or not, and his efforts to
gain in riches are worthy of praise, but should
the multiplication of dollars in his pocket, or in
the bank, be his strongest motive to action ?
Shall the farm be deserted, and alloAved to become
a wilderness, simply because the owner cannot
have the pleasure of laying his fingers upon as
many dollars as he imagines he might do, if en-
gaged In some other business ?

Every farmer ought to make a good living, and
that he can do this, and something besides, has

been proved beyond all doubt. This is more than
many mechanics, traders and some professional
men can say. Whoever heard of the failure of an
honest, intelligent, industrious, economical, ener-
getic former, unless by sickness, or unavoidable
accidents ? That he often does Isecome involved
in debt, is not a proof that he is in poor business,
for ten to one the fault is in himself.

But without discussing the profits of farming
any farther at this time, I propose to show some
of the objects which the farmer should have in
mind besides the acquisition of wealth.

1 . He should strive to make his farm grow bet-
ter in every respect, so that whoever becomes its
owner after him, shall find no cause to curse his
predecessor. To enrich a farm, requii-es much
knowledge, experience, and enterprise ; and the
process is slow ; but it is a business which pays,
even in the present tense, for the more it is en-
riched and cultivated in the right way, the more
of course it will produce.

2. The fai-mer, while subduing and cultivating
his farm, should make still greater efforts to im-
prove the garden of his mind and heart ; and there
is no class of laboring men who have so good op-
portunities as the fai'mer for self-improvement.
He has one book open before him every day — ^the
book of nature. And if his eyes, ears, understand-
ing and heart are ever attentive to its teachings,
ho will constantly increase in knowledge, wisdom,
and goodness. How many guides he can have, if
he wishes, to assist him in exploring this vast
storehouse of knowledge. Chemistry, botany, ge-
ology, natural philosophy, physiology, zoology,
ornithology, entomology, pomolog)', horticulture,
and if these are not enough to satisfy bis thirst
for knowledge, he can take astronomy for a pilot,
and, travelling through illimitable regions of space,
visit the numberless worlds of light, above,
around, and beneath us, and learn something of
their laws and character.

It is not expected that a person who is actively
engaged in the labors of the farm, can become a
proficient in all, or any one of these studies, or
sciences, for each of them are sufficient to occupy,
and have occupied some of the greatest intellects
of earth for a whole life-time, but he can make a
little progress, and get a faint idea, at least, of the
Creator's works. Every fai-mer who is worthy of
being called such, already possesses some knowl-
edge of all, or nearly all, of these sciences ; he
cannot successfully cultivate his farm without it,
and it is plain that more knowledge would give
him greater success, and at the same time enlarge
his mind, and perhaps benefit his heart.

There is one science, that of ^Esthetics, or the
science o^ the beautiful, which the farmer has the
best of opportunities to study, and revel in to his
heart's content. The beautiful like the influence
of love in human actions, pervades all the works
of nature. The touch of beauty's gentle fingers
can everywhere be seen, and vain would be thr
task to tell of all her sweet fancies. She, and her
charming sister, melody, make the farmer's home
their own ; and who will say that their presence
is not needed there, or that their influence is
unfelt ?

3. If the farmer has a family, it should be an
object of his life so to I'car his children to the stat-
ure of men and women that they may be a bless-
ing and an honor to the world. There is no place

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FARMEE.

207

better than the farm for children of any age — no
matter what path of life they may afterward choose
to walk in. The farm is God's nursery, and if the
beings whom he places there "to dress it, and to
keep it," do their whole duty, it will truly be a
paradise upon earth; their children "will be like
trees planted by the rivers of waters," and "will
arise up and call them blessed."

For a few years past, the writer has had occa-
sion to associate considerably with those who have
never lived in the country, whose childhood and
youth were spent amid the noise, bustle, and dust
of a crowded city, and whose childish sports and
gambols were restricted by walls of brick or stone.
Upon such I have always looked with pity, as
having lost some of the sweetest pleasures and re-
membrances of life. From personal observation
alone, I am confident that the morals of children
living in the city, are, in general, far below the
moral elevation of those whose homes are sur-
rounded by all that is noble and lovely in nature,
instead of the miserable fabrications and imita-
tions of man.

4. While fulfilling the duties already mentioned,
the farmer should strive to obey the golden rule,
"Love ovir neighbors as ourselves," and "Do unto
others as we would have them do to us." This
rule is equally binding upon every human being.
The beneficial effects which would follow a strict
obedience of this rule have never been felt by man
except on a very limited scale. But, without
doubt, they would revolutionize the world, and
cause the wilderness of men's hearts to "bud and
blossom as the rose."

If what I have written convinces any one, and
the farmer especially, that there is something
worth living for, of more importance than making
money, my object in writing this article wiU be
obtained. S. L. White.

Groton, Feb. 20, 1860.

For the New Ensland Farmer.

AW OLD OBCHABD.

Me. Editoe: — I have recently purchased a
farm in North Groton, N. H., and the mowing,
tillage, pasture and wood lands are in a good state,
but there is a large orchard upon it, which looks
as though thunder storms were quite frequent
hereabouts, and that lightning was wont to exer-
cise its scathing influences among the branches
thereof, and that "sapsuckers" had iron bills, and
gathered sap the year round. After a very learned,
Q'itical and scientific consideration of the subject,
and quite a prolific discussion of the points at is-
sue, I unanimously came to the conclusion, that
I would at once lay the axe at the roots, the
pruning knife and saw at the branches, and a good
sharp scraper to the trunk of every tree in the
orchard, albeit it is in the month of February. In
perusing the report of the sayings at the Legisla-
tive Agricultural Meeting, in the Farmer, last
week, it appears by the remarks of some of the
speakers, especially the Hon. Simon Brown, that
about the middle of June is the only proper time
to prune fruit trees. Now the probability is, that
my trees were never troubled with the pruning
knife before, at any season of the year, and the
serious question I wish to propose, is, will they
live to need the second operation of the same sort ?

I have always been a devoted worshipper of Po-
mona, and I do not wish now to destroy these ob-
jects of my adoration. B.
North Groton, N. II.

Remaeks. — Mr. Brown rcplieth, that if thou
layest the axe at the root of the trees, thou mayest
about as reasonably expect a crop of fruit from
them, as thou canst if thou layest the knife and
the saw upon their branches in the latter part of
February and through the month of March. Thou
must study the nature and groAvth of the tree —
the movements of the sap, its seasons of activity
and of rest, — learn how it returns to form wood
after benig elaborated by the leaves, and then
thou wilt probably come to just conclusions as to
the particular season when it is best to prune
thine orchard. If thou canst not complete the
work in June, finish in October and November,
when the leaves have fallen, and the tree is, com-
paratively, at rest.

For the New England Farmer.
70 YEARS' EXPERIENCE IN FARMING.

Mr. Editoe : — Farming from youth to seven-
ty years of age has not convinced me that it is a
losing business. I shall not undertake to solve
Mr. Pinkham's questions, since the old rule of
practice is superseded by a rule which takes less
figures, and herds-grass hay has taken the place of
pod and bog-grass.

Such cows as I have kept for the last twenty
years, nearly all of which I have raised myself,
have consumed by the steelyards an average of
20 pounds good hay per day, when in milk, and
15 lbs. per day when dry. Twenty years ago, and
many times since, I weighed for my cows, com-
mencing two mouths before calving, and continu-
ing four months after, as nearly as my cows came
in together; of course, varying some one week
to four weeks. Now I think I shall be allowing a
full price for hay to call it 80 cents per cwt. in the
barn.

20 lbs. per day for 6 months, or 183 days, is 3,660 lbs.,

at 80 cents $29,28

Summer, 26 weeks, at 50 cents per week, is 13,00

$42,28

If you please, add to this 5 pounds grain, at 1^ cts.
per pound, and deduct 5 pounds from the hay, the
keeping for the year stands $48,69. Now, if I
can get $48,69 from my cows per year I shall lose
nothing but taxes and interest, and I think I can
get even that, so that I can stand it one year
more. I will say nothing about calves. They are
sold for about 50 cents to $1, at three days old.

Milk, for 6 months after calving, 8 qts. per day, at a yearly _ ^

average of 3 J cts. per quart, is $45,75

6 months before calving, 4 qts. per day, is 22,74

$68,40
Keeping 48,69

Profit $19,80

If I have a cow that will not do as well as the
above, I put her to one peck corn meal per day,
and milk her till the butcher wants her.

208

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

Mat

And now I want to tell you how much I lose in
raising my own cows. Within twenty years I
have raised seventy-one cows ; all but four have
been milked and proved. But four of them have
failed of making good cows. I have about come
to the late Mr. Jaquith's opinion, "that a cow can
be raised to order." I choose to have a calf to
raise born in November to January. I let them •
take from the cow 4 quarts milk per day, 8 weeks
— 56 days.

4qt3. per :lay is 224 qts., at 3 cts. per qt., is $6,72

2 lbs. shorts per day, 127 days, at l.j cts. per lb., is 3,81

1 cwt. hay, at 80 cts 80

2f) weeks' pasturing, at 10 cts. per week 2,60

This brines up the first year, ,tnd for the second year

I give 20 cts. per week, 52 weeks, is $10.40

$24,33

Now there is no more expense, for the calf is now
a cow and will pay her own way, and at 3 or 4
years old will soil for from $40 to $60. I have
raised calves without any milk, but I find it best
to begin with a good calf, keep it well till it be-
comes a cow, and then keep well ; and I can get
what I call good pay for all given calves and cows,
and $20 or more than that on each calf, and about
t^at yearly on each cow. If a young man can do
as well as an old one, I cannot see why he may
not live by farming. Otis Brigham.

Westbormgh, Feb. 9, 1860.

For the Ncnc England Farmer.

"ONION IN THE HUMAN EAR."

Your correspondent, from "Brooksville," in a
recent number, offers some recommendations aS
to the insertion of the heart of the onion into the
ear, as a curative for that painful ailment, the ear
ache. He states, that when afflicted, he resorted
to this remedy, inserting the onion heart in his
ear ; and thus it remained, baffling his efforts to
withdraw the same, for nearly a twelvemonth ;
occasioning deafness and great inconvenience, un-
til, amid much suppuration, it at last evolved itself.
As a remedial agent, in a process subject to such
required duration, and painful contingencies as
this, your correspondent could not wish others to
adopt it. His meaning, I think, he does not cleai-ly
state. Placed in a cotton bag, and laid flat on
the ear, the application of onion in pain has been
found beneficial. But an insertion of even a por-
tion of the same, or of any article, (save a trifio of
some delicate wash, by a proper ear syringe, and
even this to be in the hands of a physician,) is
ever fraught with the most dangerous conse-
quences. Experimentally I speak on this sub-
ject, and would caution all persons against adopt-
ing too readily any such hazardous processes.
When one fully understands the delicate arrange-
ment of that wonderfully and fearfully constructed
organ, the human ear, the slightest invasion of
which is oft times "beyond the reach of the heal-
er," he would not hesitate a moment, I think, as
to an endurance of a continued aggravated pain,
rather than lend himself to the adoption of even
a questionable remedy. Far better is it, as I deem
it, in most cases of suffering, patiently to bear
tliose ills we have, than fly to others that we know
not of.

"Felix quern faciunt, aliena pericula cautum."

Febi-uary 14, 1860. Oak Hill.

For the New England Farmer.
IMPROVED CHURN DASH.

Messrs. Editors : — When we study into the
philosophy of churning cream to make butter, the
idea suggests itself at once, that the agitation of
the cream is all that is necessary to accomplish
the object. Having experimented u])on a variety
of churns, 1 finally concluded that the old dasn
churn would answer my purpose best for churning
the cream of a few cows. I went to the cooper
and bought a churn Avith a dash, made round,
adapted to the churn, with holes through it, as tlte
fashion was at that period. After using it a few
years, dreading churning day as 1 should any oth-
er necessary evil, I had a dash fixed to the handle
in the form of a cross, which was a relief, in a de-
gree, of the hard labor required to churn with tlie
round dash. Ijast fall, as good luck sometim'^s
happens, the cross-dash gave out I thought a«
long as there was no particular virtue in the shape
of a churn dash, and all that was wanting to make
butter come, was something to agitate the cream,
I took a narrow piece of white oak plank just
wide enough to admit the handle, made a hole
with an auger and inserted the handle, which con-
stituted my whole dash. For the relief of the dos-
sal muscles in elevating the dash, I beveled off the
upper surface of the naiTow dash to let it slide
through the cream more easily. I hare used this
little simplified dash Avith decided relief to the
operator, not requiring, I should think, more than
half the muscular power to perform the opei-ation
that the old dashers did.

The cream, after being prepared by scalding
the milk, has come to butter within from five to
fifteen minutes, since we have used the improved
dash. The most laborious part of churning with
the old dash was raising it, which would lift the
churn from the floor, cream and all, at every
stroke, unless held down. I n:iake no pretension
to being the first in improving the churn dash,
but to those who have not tried it, I would recom-
mend the narrow dash as a labor-saving improve-
ment. There may be plenty of churns Avith the
narrow dash in the mai-ket, if not, I am surprised
to think what stupid creatures we are, not to have
thought of such a simple alteration.

Noiih Wilmington, Feb., 1860. S. BrowN.

For the New Engla-ad Farmer,

COST AND PROFIT.

Mr. Editor : — ^I have carefully perused the
articles in your paper, headed "Is farming prof-
itable f by Mr. Pinkham, of Chelmsford ; alao
one by Mr. Bailey, of Newbury, Vt., "7s stock rais-
ing profitable'?'^ and I should like to inquhe of
those gentlemen, whether about tliree-quarters of
the amount which they put down as the cost of
raising corn, cattle, sheep, &c., does not go into
their own pockets ? That is, supposing they do
the ordinary amount of woi-k which a farmer per-
forms. If all his work is charged to the cost of
the crops, he certainly should have credit for the
same amount as money earned. If it costs a far-
mer but three dollars per ton to get his hay, and
that hay must all be consumed on the place, I
think it is hardly fair to charge it at $8 to $L0
per ton) in estimating the cost of cattle, unless the
farm is credited for the ditfereure. as raQfit^ o.

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

209

CUTTER'S SEEDLIira STKA^WBERKY-.

The above engraving is a correct outline of this
new and beautiful variety of strawberry. It is
hardy, remarkably fruitful, and bears much longer
than any of the numerous varieties with which it
has been grown for the past ten years.

The fruit is very large, measuring four inches
in circumference, and often many specimens meas-
ured more; light scarlet color, conical, with a
neck ; hulls easy, a very important fact. It has a
remarkably wild or native flavor , fruit stem very
tall. ....

It is a seedling, carried by birds from a culti-
vated bed. It originated in the grounds of Mr. B.
F. Cutter, of Pelham, N. H., nearly ten years
ago. Mr. Cutter's attention was attracted to it by
its vigorous habit, and large, even-sized berries.
It has not failed in any location to excel in fruit-
fulness and length of time in bearing.

I have fruited it four years. In 1859 I gathered
firuit abundantly, thirty-five days in succession,
while on the same soil aad treatment (sandy loam

and gravel) the Boston Pine, Hovey's Seedling and
Jenny Lind only bore twenty to twenty-five days.

The fruit was shown four successive weeks on
the tables of the Massachusetts Horticultural So-
ciety. The Committee of Fruit say : "It is a large
berry, of a light color, regular conical shape, and
sweet."

In thus bringing this fruit before the public, I
am confident all Avho will make trial of its merits
will not be disappointed. Its great hardihood,
coming out in spring in locations where all other
varieties have been seriously injured, its faculty
of fruiting without other varieties to lertihze it,
(staminate,) its great length of time in bearing,
approaching to ever-bearing, its tall fruit stem,
the ease with which it is hulled, large brilliant
berries, its wild native flavor and large foliage,
must commend it to all. It is very fruitful grown
in thick masses, and will doubtless be still more
so grown in hills. J. W. MANNING.

Heading, Mass., 1860.

210

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

May

For the New England Farmer.

THOUGHTS SUGGESTED BY THE LT. E.
FARMER, MARCH, 1860.

Page 110 — "^ Silver Pitcher given to a Far-
mer.'"— The presentation, to a farmer, of a mas-
sive silver pitcher and a pair of goblets, embel-
lished with appropriate agricultural emblems, in
recognition of his services to the agriculture of
New York, and as a testimonial of the apprecia-
tion of his services in the cause of agricultural
improvement, is a fact quite noteworthy, not
merely as something new and without precedent,
but also as suggestive of some gratifying, stimu-
lating, and encouraging reflections. Without at-
tempting at all to guess at the reflections it may
lead to in the minds of others, I will briefly note
two of the more prominent which it has provoked
in my own mind. First, then, it has appeared to
me that this fact might serve to abate, or to abol-
ish entirely, the common notion that farming is a
mere work of routine, requiring little or no exer-
cise of mind, or judgment, or skill, or knowledge.
In tiie case of Mr. Johnston there is proof in
abundance that there is room in the ai-t of farm-
"ing for the exercise of all of these ; and that it
was the exercise of these in a pre-eminent degree
■which attracted the notice, and commanded the
respect, admiration and gratitude of the agricul-
tural fraternity generally, and of the presenters
of the testimonial especially. Let this testimoni-
al serve always, then, as a memorable proof that
there is room in farming for the exercise of the
most estimable faculties of the mind, and for the
practical application of almost every kind of
knowledge. And, secondly, let this testimonial
be to every farmer a stimulus and incitement to
do his best to improve the art and operations of
farming. The eyes of his brethren are upon him,
and he will be rewarded by their respect, as well
as his OAvn.

Morn Ail. — The remarks made on this subject,
at page 118, in reply to the inquiries of Jer. Eddy,
are very sensible, and such as we would like to
reach the eye and the intellect of every man who*
owns an animal with horns. Perhaps not every
man, but certainly a large majority of those who
bave the care of neat cattle, entertain just such
notions, and favor just such barbarity and absur-
dity in practice, as the hints and cautions in these
"remarks" are leveled against. That is, the ma-
jority of farmers seem to believe very readily,
when there is anything wrong with a cow or an
ox which they cannot understand, and which is ac-
companied with either unnatural heat or coldness
in the horns, that said cow or ox has got horn-ail
or hollow horn, and farther, that the best thing to
be done is to bore a hole in the horn and pour in
tu»pentine, camphor, or some other material of an
irritating quality.

This absurd notion and this barbarous practice
need, to say the very least, to be reconsidered.
For in these days of boasted light, and knowledge,
and intelligence, when boys and girls study phys-
iology, and when all have abundant opportunities
to know that cold feet and a hot head are mere
eymptoins of some disordered state of the stomach,
or some other remote portion of the body, it is
truly marvellous that so many should be found
who assent to or believe that coldness or heat in
the horns is a disease in and of itself, and not

merely a symptom of some disease affecting some
one important organ or the system generally. I
would like to put the question to some of those
who believe in the existence of disease in the
horns or in ihe tail, and who call it horn-ail or
tail-ail, why they believe as they do, and why they
do not consider that heat or coldness in the horns
are much more likely, like cold feet, or a hot head,
or pain in the head from a disordered stomach, to
be mere symptoms of some disease in a more im-
portant part of the system, than proofs of a dis-
eased condition of the horns themselves. I would
like to ask them what they themselves would
think of a physician who, in treating the diseases
of the human body, should mistake the pain in the
right shoulder which usually accompanies disease
of the liver, for a distinct and independent disease
of itself, and should call it shoulder-ail, and treat
it by local applications, without any reference to
that morbid state of the liver, of which it is real-
ly and truly only a symptom.

It seems that even a very slender knowledge of
physiology, and a very slight acquaintance with
the ordinary phenomena of disease in human
beings, might suffice to make any one somewhat
suspicious that there was a want of sense, and of
soundness of thinking, in the opinions prevalent
about what gets the name of horn-ail or hollow-
horn. And certainly, the truth is, that when the
horns are either unnaturally cold or warm, the
disease is in the brain, or stomach, or bowels, or
lungs, or in the system generally, and not in the
horns at all. More Anon.

For the New England Farmer.
ON PRUWrNQ PINE TREES.

Messrs. Editors: — Wishing to impart, as
well as to derive interest and profit, from the vis-
its of your useful journal, please accept the follow-
ing reply to the inquiry of "N. B. Saffbrd."

I owned a lot in Lancaster, similar to the one
he describes, though probably a few years older.
After some experiment as to the time of pruning,
I become satisfied that it should be done when the
tree would not bleed, if at all. As to thinning, I
knew they could not half become trees of adequate
size and height for profit. The question with me
was, will the wood pay for thinning ? Now, if so,
I should gain more by the growth of the lot, than
to wait longer. Of course, a gain without loss,
was a safe business for a young man, who could
find no one that could advise in the case, from
knowledge. Having settled both questions in my
own mind, as to the profit of thinning and trim-
ming, for the benefit of the lot, I determined to
go ahead, and with some select active hands, with
keen light axes, vre improved the autumn and
winter, on bare ground, or little snow, in trim-
ming, as high as we could reach, those left at a
distance of five or six feet apart, say nine or ten
to a square rod. We cut roads wide enough for
a sled and pair of horses, and drew the saplings,
twelve feet long, buts to the road, each side. We
went over twenty acres and cleared the ground.
They grew rapidly, and I am able to say, fully jus-
tified the measure. The part of the lot we left was
subsequently cut over, all at once, ten years after,
and was far behind the other, both in growth and
beauty. BENJAMIN WiLLARD.

Lancaster, Mass., 1860.

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

211

For Hie New England Farmer.
BEES— PURCHASUSTG STOCKS.

Those who intend purchasing stocks this spring,
should be ready to attend to it as soon as possible
after the first days warm enough for them to fly.
It is a better time to select than before or after-
wards. If the first day they fly is really warm,
they often issue in great numbers ; apparently get
confused, and enter the wrong hives ; yet at this
season seldom quarrel. Some stocks, by this
means, get more than belongs to them, while oth-
ei's lack a corresponding number. Occasionally
one Avill lose its queen during winter, and the
bees will generally desert, joining some other
stock on the first pleasant day. It is best to let
these things get regulated. On the other hand, if
put off too long, until the bees have been out sev-
eral times and marked their locality, it is an inju-
ry to move them, especially short distances. The
idea that a bee knows its own home by instinct,
or is attracted to it, as the steel to the magnet,
and can readily find it, however much it may be
moved about the yard, after its locality is once
properly identified, is erroneous ; yet, if the remo-
val is beyond their knowledge of country, the in-
jury will be much less. Consequently this must
be the best time to purchase.

I have seen bees enough purchased by those too
eager to try their luck, to be pretty well satisfied
that aZ/ buyers are not good judges of the article —
they seem to misunderstand the requisites of a
good stock of bees, supposing that more depends
on luck than any thing else ; that if they get a
stock either good or bad, and set it up, and if it
does not prosper, "why bees will do nothing for
them." When this has been the case, I would ad-
vise another effort, and suggest that they use a
little care in making a selection of the first stocks
and try the efficacy of a little proper management.

In making a selection at this season, do not be
anxious to get stocks that are very heavy. Some
few pounds of honey are sufficient to take them
through the spring. If too much honey is pres-
ent, there will be but little room to rear brood ; it
also indicates that the colony is small, and have
consumed but little through the winter. The
qmount of honey can generally be determined
pretty nearly by lifting ; the number of bees, by
actual inspection — not after they have been
aroused, and all in commotion by an accidental
jar, but by raising the hive so carefully that they
know nothing about it, until the light is admitted
directly between the combs till the cluster of bees
is all seen. It may on some occasions be neces-
sary to turn the hive over bottom up. The bees
of a strong colony will extend through eight or
ten combs ; if less than four or five, it would
hardly be suitable for a beginner at any price.
While examining the size of the colony, it would
be well to see if there are any mouldy combs, and
if any clusters of dead bees are in any part of the
hive. A small amount of either will not be a se-
rious detriment, if all else is right, as it is readily
removed. Also, if the hive should be an old one,
there can be no better time to see if the brood in
the comb is free from disease. These examinations
are important, and if they cannot be made without
disturbing the bees, they may be quieted suf-
ficiently for a partial inspection with tobacco
smoke. If a pipe or cigar is used, it will do well

enough ; if not, a very good substitute is made by
covering cotton cloth eight or ten inches square,
with common smoking tobacco one-fom-th inch
thick, and rolling it up loosely, and fastening with
needle and thi-ead, igniting and blowing the smoke
among the bees, until they allow an inspection.

Young stocks, and swarms of last season, when
they are to be had, are preferable for several rea-
sons, but those two or three years old are not to
be rejected, and if healthy, wUl be just as good
for a year or two.

The size is also important. For sections north of
40 degrees, 2000 cubic inches inside is a good stan-
dard ; yet those two or three hundred inches larg-er
or smaller, ought not to be refused on that ac-
count, as swai'ms can be put into hives the prop-
er size. Very large hives are often cut off to the
proper size, but as a beginner would not be likely
to undertake it, it is unnecessary to describe the
process.

To prepare them for ti^ansportation, spread
down a sheet, and set the hive on it, then bring
up the corners, and tie over the top, or invert the
hive, and put over the bottom a piece of mnsHn
eighteen inches square, fastened at the corners
with carpet tacks. A wagon with elliptic springs
is best for conveying them. In all cases the com-
mon box hive should be bottom up to avoid break-
ing combs. A\Tien moved late in the season^ they
should be set several feet apart. Indeed, they
should not be closer together than tvvo or three
feet, at any time. A bee-house is objectionable
on that account — hives are apt to be crowded. If
any alterations are to be made about the yard, the
sooner it is done the better. M. QuiNBY.

St. JoJmsville, N. Y., 1860.

For ike New Sngland Fanner.
HOW TO MAXE PAEMCSTG PROFITABLE,

Mr. Editor : — There has been a great deal
said lately in the Farmer and elsewhere, aboat
the unprofitableness of farming. Perhaps you are
of opinion that enough has been ahready written
upon the subject ; but I shoxild like to say a few
words, leaving you to decide whether my speech
shall be a public, or a private one.

What is the reason that we find in farming so
poor a remuneration for our labor ? Is it not,
mainly, that we sell off so great a proportion of
our crops ? It would seem in many cases that
farmers believe it the best way to sell all their
hay that is fit for the market, and all their oats
and corn that can possibly be spared. But, in the
long run, is this the most profitable course to pur-
sue ? Should not something be kept back and
returned to th5 soil ? I was gratified by the stand
taken in our Farmers' Club, at a late meeting, by
a practical and shrewd, as well as intelligent mem-
ber. He said, if he could, by feeding to his stock
any particular crop, whether hay, mangold wurtz-
els, carrots, turnips, or gi'ain, obtain a return in
milk or meat to the amount of eighty per cent, of
the cash value of such crop, he would consider it
more economical to so feed it on his farm, than to
carry it off to mai'ket. This is, it seems to me,
sound and safe doctrine. For by thus allowing
one-fifth of the produce of the farm as a fund for
its fertilization, the fertility of the soil is not only
sustained, but increased ; and consequently, fu-

212

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

Mat

ture crops are grown with less cost and greater
profit. And herein is the dividend paid by invest-
ments in the compost heap. They pay compound
interest. The more manure, the better crops ; and
the greater the crop, the larger may be the com-
post heap. I doubt whether any fertilizer, of equal
permanent value, can be bought at less cost than
One-fifth of such crops as hay, grain, turnips, car-
rots, at our distance from the market. In towns
nearer Boston, or other markets, it probably pays
better to sell most of the crop, and buy stable ma-
nure in the city. This answers the same purpose,
as it maintains the fertile condition of the soil,
and I do not believe any soil can be permanently
cropped, with profit, without liberal returns to it
in the form of animal manures. M. P.

Concord, Mass., Feb. 29, 1860.

THE GABDEN.
During the latter part of February the snow
pretty much disappeared from this section, and
the first week of the present month was so warm
and pleasant as to remind us of the approach of
spring, -with its important labors, duties and en-
ioyments — indeed, we saw one or two plows in
motion, though not perhaps actually "afield," as
those we noticed were engaged upon the warm
banks of a \vet meadow, preparatory to some per-
manent improvement.

But how cheerless would spring be without the
voice of birds ! We returned from a stroll in our
garden, one of those pleasant mornings, with a few
notes of some of our earliest songsters in our
ears, and seated ourselves at a pile of exchange
papers. Turning over the pages of the last num-
ber of the Philadelphia Farmer and Oardener, our
eyes fell on the large letters which headed a com-
munication— "Spare the Birds." The writer states
that when he was a school-boy in the lower part
of Delaware County, the opening spring was an-
nounced by a multitudinous variety of warblers ;
the mocking-bird, cat -bird and robin ; the peewit,
wren, and bluebird; the thrush, bobolink, and
oriole; th« woodpecker, flicker, andbluejay; the
lark, kildee, blackbird, and many others. About
thirty years after these school-days, he was in-
duced to undertake farming in the same vicinity.
He was surprised to miss almost entirely his
pleasant birds. During the eight years that he re-
mained upon the farm in this place, he says, "I
do not remember to have seen more than one red-
headed woodpecker, a couple of bluejays, and a
few robins, and they migrating. A few cat-birds
and hedge-sparrows or chippies, were all that re-
mained. One robin made its nest in the early
spring, and then departed, as also one fieldfare
and one peewit ; these were all I observed. In the
meantime, all the orchards, every one that my
boyhood had known and courted, were cleared
away, because, as the owners said, worms had at-
tacked and destroyed the trees." The cause of

this eradication of the birds, he ascribes to the
prejudice of farmers against the birds for their
fondness for cherries, and to the increase of sport-
ing habits among the young men in the vicinity.
In his school-days, tbfere were but three guns in
the whole township ; as a farmer, he found that
an adjoining mcighbor, a school-mate, had five
"crack" double-barrel guns — one each for himself
and four sons — and gloried in their use, by Avhich
nothing but chickens, ducks and geese were
spared.

But this story of desolation, which we have
made as short as possible, has kept us some time
from the garden ; and if we might not hope to
meet these our feathered co-laborers there in due
season, we should have little heart ever to return.
But what is a garden? The books inform us
that Ornamental Gardening is one of the fine arts
— based on the love of the beautiful — and is
ranked with painting, sculpture, architecture, &c.,
and that the idea of profit is as foreign to garden-
ing, as a "coach-and-six," or any other luxury.
But this is clearly not descriptive of a New Eng-
land farmer's garden, — it smacks of princes, no-
bles and artists.

In one of our exchanges we find the report of
a description of a garden which was given by a
speaker on some public occasion, which we hope
will be recognized as true to the life by few of
our readers. "The garden, sir," said the speak-
er, "is a place back of the house where dish-wa-
ter is thrown ; where we have a few hills of pota-
toes and several hundred — pigweeds."

The garden, then, is what each one makes it,
or allows it to become. It may be an expensive
plaything ; a repulsive and tangled thicket of weeds
and brambles ; or a little miniature farm, with
its model fields of crisp and tender vegetables,
rich fruits and pleasant flowers.

It is now time for every farmer, and for every
mechanic who occupies a few square feet of soil,
to be thinking what his garden shall be this year.
Asparagus and rhubarb, if not manured last
fall, should have an immediate application, to be
leached into the soil by the spring rains.

Orape vines and strawberry plants that were
covered over last fall should be taken up and un-
covered quite early, oj; the vines will be liable to
injury. An early sprinkling of guano on straw-
berries is recommended by some.

Peas stand frost bravely, and may be planted
early. By filling a trench six to eight inches deep,
half or one-third full with horse manure, then fill-
ing up with sufficient to prevent over-heating,
peas may be advanced a week or two. Plant in
double rows a few inches apart, to save brush.

Onions may be sown very early. But there is
little gained in hurrying most seeds into the soil
before the ground is wanned by the sun. Very

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

213

much, however, is gained by preparing the ground,
and having everything made ready.

Hot beds are got up so cheaply, and may be
constructed so simply, that none should entirely
neglect this means of hurrying forward a few cu-
cumbers, radishes, lettuces, cabbages, tomatoes,
peppers, &c., &c.

In the monthly Farmer for January, (p. 13,)
we published from Liebig's 3Ioclern Agriculture,
an account of "John Chinaman as an agricultur-
ist." John, by his management, has kept the
fertility of his soil unimpaii-ed from the time the
pyramids were planted. It seems, by that ac-
count that he prepares a special manure for
seeds, and that he also soaks and sprouts his
seeds in weak liquid manure, which promotes the
growth and development of the plant, and pro-
tects it from insects. May It not be well for
American gardeners to try some of these time-
honored practices of the Chinese ?

Where our gardens are well manured, early
crops may often be followed by later ones. By
some the ground intended for melons is sown with
early peas in rows six feet apart, which will leave
space for a row of melon hills, in which the plants
are started before the peas are removed ; winter
cabbages are raised after early potatoes. In fact,
a small garden will afford room for large calcula-
tions, use for odd moments, and nuts for the mind
as well as teeth.

ter-merchants in Boston, and a man of the strict-
est integrity, too, advise a farmer to use a little
carrot juice in the winter-made butter, as it not
only improved the color, but the quality of the
butter. The danger is in using too much. "Our
folks" make butter through the winter, and al-
though we feed good English hay, beets, mangolds
and corn meal, it is difficult to produce the high
color in butter which the market demands.

For the New England Farmer,
CAKROT JUICE IN BUTTER.

Mr. Editor : — In the last Farmer, Mr. Ever-
ett states that carrot juice put into butter is an
improvement, in proof of which he cites the long
time it has been practiced, by nearly all the but-
ter-makers of the Bay State. It reminds me of
the woman in New York city whose milkman,
wishing to be honest, carried her good milk, but
the woman denounced it, saying she did not like
the dirty yellow scum on it, but preferred the sky-
blue article. Now if carrot juice really improves
the quality of butter, I am surprised, as well as
the South Danvers correspondent. I thought the
coloring of butter merely a deception, practiced
by those who were preparing the article for the
market, the same as stuffing the soles of shoes
with wood, galvanizing brass and passing it off
for gold, and thousands of other vile deceptions
to gull the unsophisticated. But when such a
practice is published for an improvement, it is
time for us to pause and consider. If there is any
improvement in butter by the use of carrot juice,
let it be given to the cows. I contend that cows
fed on corn meal will color butter sufficiently
through the winter, and increase the quantity and
quality, I hope some of the farmers of the old
Bay State will try it, and give us the result.

Derry, Feb., 1860. Dairywoman.

Remarks. — We are happy to inform our lady
correspondent, that we heard one of the best but-

/"or tlie New England Farmer.
INGRAFTING.

Mr. Editor : — Notwithstanding the best time
for cutting scions for ingrafting the present year
has past, I think they may be cut the present
month with safety. I cut my scions in the month
of February, label them, and make a little hollow
in the ground the backside of an underground
room, or cellar opening to the south, put them in
and cover with a coating of oat straw, well damp-
ened. In this way I have had them keep fifteen
months in a perfect condition, and ingi-afting them
at the age above named, have had them grow well.
The second spring I have had them plump as when
first cut. Nature, in her effort to sustain life, had
thrust out a pulp, or bunch on the end cut off, to
a considerable size, while the buds have been
greatly enlarged. Swamp moss is quite good to
keep them. I make my ingrafting wax of tallow,
(grass fed best,) one part, beeswax two, and rosin
four. For nurseries, make harder. After melt-
ing it, I turn it into water, or add water to the
composition, and when cold, cut it Into pieces,
and di-aw it as wax for shoemaking, until it is
quite tough. In using, keep it in warm water,
and use tallow on the hands. In fitting my scions
I have but two or three buds on them. In mak-
ing the tenon, I am careful to get a good fit, not
quite to an edge on the end, if so, the bark will
be more apt to start on the end of the scion, and
thus make an imperfect spot. Make tlie tenon a
good length. I observe in setting, to have the
inner bark of the scion a little out from the iii-
side bark of the stump. Many scions are lost
where there is not a good fit, while nature is mak-
ing an effort to unite them.

After the scion is inserted, it is in a fixed posi-
tion, and the stock is continually enlarging, while
the mucus or chyle of the wood is forming a un-
ion. Hence the necessity of having the scion
stand out enough to take the sap when ready to
pass. Since I have adopted this method, I have
had far less failures, and the union has been more
natural, and of course the growth more rapid.

In one instance, I ingrafted a scion into a stock
near the ground, with the finishing bud left on,
(though I do not approve of it,) which produced
the first year a growth of thirty feet ; as estimated
by two or three individuals. It grew to the height
of about six feet. In a number of instances, I
have had ripe fruit the first year ingrafted.

I prefer to set two scions where the stump is
large enough to admit of it. I think if they both
live, the growth is more rapid, and less liable to
the evils that often follow. In such cases, I gen-
erally cut out one graft, before they crowd each
other. When that is done, it should be with the

214

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

May

slant inclining downwards, remembering to spread
some grafting salve on the wound so inflicted. I
shall beg leave to differ, perhaps, from some of
your correspondents as to the time of cutting sci
ons, and ingrafting. We may agree that the best
time is, when the bark adheres most closely to the
wood, but at what time that takes place we may
differ upon. I contend that while the moon is new,
or first quarter, the bark slips more readily. I
have often heard the remark made by those that
make a business of pealing bark. I do not con-
tend that the moon affects the bark, or sap of a
tree, but that the sap circulates more freely about
that time, hence the propriety of performing all
the surgical operations on fruit trees "in the old
^noon." C. A.

New Haven, Ct, 1860.

EXTRACTS AND BEPLIES.
SOIL FOR AND CULTURE OF CARROTS.

I wish to inquu-e what soil is best adapted to
raising carrots, and how it should be prepared ?
What the time and manner of sowing, the best
kind, and how much seed to the acre, and wheth-
er a top-dressing of any kind would be beneficial?
• Bath, N. H., 1860. G. H.

Remarks. — Land suitable for Indian corn will
produce caiTots — that is a granite, or sandy loam,
and they will do well on a clay loam if it is under-
drained. But land for cai-rots, as for corn, requires
high manuring. It should be plowed a foot deep,
and plowed two or three times, pulverized so as
to be light and fine, cleared of all turfs and stones,
and the seed sowed in drills about eighteen inches
apart as early in ISIay^ as the ground is sufficient-
ly dry and warm. A top-dressing of fine manure
would be good, though a heavy dressing of green
manure plowed under in the fall would be better.
The orange carrot is generally raised, but the
white will yield a larger crop. About four pounds
of seed are required for an acre, though half that
quantity would be ample if all the seed could bo
properly distributed. There is no mystery or dif-
ficulty whatever in raising a carrot crop. Make
the soil deep, light and rich, and allow no weeds
among the plants, and you will get a crop.

GREEN CROPS AS JLINURE.

What is the best green crop with which to ren-
ovate an old pasture ?

Hov/ much seed should be used to the acre for
this purpose ?

What can Hungarian millet be procured for a
bushel, and how much should be used upon an
acre ? E. Hinckley.

Hyannis, March, 1860.

Remarks. — Clover is generally esteemed the
best plant to use as a green crop to fertilize ex-
hausted lands. Under favorable circumstances it
fills the soil so full of roots that an experiment
made by a friend showed that after cutting a heavy
crop from the surface, there were some seventy
tons of roots left in the ground ! Clover should

not be plowed under in a green state, because fer-
mentation very soon ensues, throwing off the su-
'J^r and starch which the clover contains, and leav-
Ir™g little but the coarse and comparatively innu-
tritious fibre. Cut it, and, when it has wilted a
day, plow it under ; the process of decomposition
is then slow, and nothing is lost.

CULTIVATION OF THE CRANBERRY.

I have a piece of land containing about one-
fifth of an acre, which I consider very well adapt-
ed to the cultivation of cranberries. It is now cov-
ered with coarse grass and cranberry vines ; it is
bounded on two sides by a brook, which would be
serviceable for flowing. Will you please inform
me through your columns the best course to pur-
sue to bring it into the cultivation of cranberry
vines, and also the time of the year in which to
commence operations. Walter Ricketson.

New Bedford, 1860.

Remarks. — See "Eastwood on the Cranberry,"
for full directions.

TO KILL VERMIN ON CATTLE OR FOWLS.

To kill vermin on cattle and fowls, take common
lamp oil, and rub it in well back of the ears and alj
down the back ; do this once a week, and no ver-
min will trouble you. It is safe. Tobacco will kill
lice, but should be used cautiously. Rub lamp oil
on the back of tlie head, and under the wings, and
over the posteriors of any fowl once a month, and
it will clear out all Hce. A Reader.

Billerica, March, 1860.

MUCK AND ASHES.

Some of our farmers are trying the experiment
of mixing muck and unleached ashes together for
a fertilizer. Ashes cost here 25 cts. per bushel.
Pot?.sh may be obtained by the barrel for about
6A cts. per lb. Would potash answer the purpose
of ashes at less expense ? Inquirer.

Remarks. — We have known potash dissolved
and sprinkletl upon old and well pulverized muck,
and used as a fertilizer with good effect. Some-
times damaged potash may be purchased for three
or four cents a pound — but at the common prices
by the cask, we have no doubt it would be cheap-
er than ashes at 25 cents a bushel, unless the
ashes furnish something beside the potash they
contain.

POTATOES.

Mr. A. F. BlCKFORD, Danville, N. H., writing
us about raising potatoes, says he uses the root
end of the largest potatoes he has, only four
eyes in a hill, and uniformly gets good crops ;
uses no manure hut leaves and muck sprinkled
with ashes.

In raising onions, he sows ashes upon them as
soon as they are up, and as they grow, scatters pul-
verized hen manure over them in wet weather. In
dry weather he soaks the hen manure and sprinkles
the onions with the solution once in each week.

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FAEMER.

215

SURFACE MANUKING.

Much has been said of late of "surface manur-
ing." I do not fully understand the meaning of
the term ; or perhaps Ihad better say, I do not un-
derstand the exact method of applying manure in
that manner. I suppose it means something dif-
ferent from the "top-dressing" of grass lands, but
exactly what I do not know. Will you explain ?

Querist.

Rejmrks. — What is the best way to apply ma-
nure, is a question upon which there is much dif-
ference of opinion, and in the discussions which
take place upon it, the words "surface manuring"
quite often occur. We suppose the terms are not
confined to what is generally understood by "top-
dressing," but whether manure should be kept
near the surface, or plowed under from three to
ten inches. The opinion is gaining ground among
many good farmers, that more benefit is derived
from manure kept within yb?<r inches of the sur-
face, than when it is covered deeper.

SPONTANEOUS C05IBUSTI0N IN HAY — VEGETABLES.

I noticed a communication in the Farmer from
"Omega," of Roxbury, and "Mr. G. Whitney," of
Vermont, on "Spontaneous Combustion in Hay."
Some years ago, when in St. Johns, N. B., I re-
member an instance of hay becoming so heated as
to ignite the timbers and burn to the depth of
three-fourths of an inch ; by removing the hay
and remaking, it kept perfectly.

Permit me to suggest the use of a corner in
your paper for the assistance of novices in gar-
dening ; although Mr. Bridgman's book is intend-
ed for that purpose, it is not adapted to our cli-
mate ; by stating the time when to plant, and
when to transplant, the different kinds of vegeta-
bles, you will contribute useful information to
many of your Subscribers.

Remarks. — Will you "fill a corner" with this
information yourself?

GUANO FOR RYE — RYE WITH BUCKWHEAT.

Will you permit me to inquire Avhether Peruvi-
an, or in fact any other guano, can be profitably
used as a top-dressing for rye ? If so, will you
give the best mode and time of application, and
the amount needed on a light gravelly loam which
will best ensure success ?

Also, whether rye can be sown at the same time
and with buckwheat, with a reasonable prospect
of a good crop the next season ? M.

Wllbraham, March, 1860.

Remarks. — Guano, at the rate of 250 or 300
pounds per acre, sown as soon as the ground is
thawed to the depth of four inches, or as soon af-
ter as is convenient, will usually bring more than
paying results. Try a portion of the field with
American Guano, as it is called. It is pulverized
ready for use, and can be purchased for $40 per
ton.

We have never known rye sowed at the time of
sowing buckwheat, and are inclined to think it
would make too rank a growth the first season.

RINGWORM OR TETTERS IN CATTLE.

Eight weeks since, one of my yearling heifers
was attacked with ringworm or tetters around the
eyelids. The eruption has continued to spread in
circular form to the diameter of six inches. The
pustules now begin to form about the roots of the
horns, and also about the muzzle.

]My whole stock of thirteen head of from one to
three years old are infected now with the same
disorder, in its first stages. Can this disease be
subdued or cured, or must it be left to run its own
time ? An early notice will be duly appreciated.
Charles S. Weld.

Damon, Me., Feb. 27, 1860.

Remarks. — We have had no experience with
this disease, and find nothing of it in the books
under the term "ringworm" or "tetter." We hope
some one having facts will reply.

USE OF GUANO.

Will the editor of the Farmer, or some one who
has had experience in using guano, inform me
whether it is profitable or not ? If so, in what
way should it be applied, and the quantity to the
acre ? J. G. G.

Shelburne Falls, Mass., March, 1860.

Remarks. — Guano is profitable when used un-
der favorable circumstances, and when it is pur-
chased at a fair price. We doubt whether our
common farmers can make it profitable at $60 a
ton. From 50 to 500 pounds are used to the
acre, sometimes broadcast, and at others compost-
ed with muck or loam. Do not use it until you
can have a better knowledge of the condition un-
der which to employ it, than we can impart in
these brief lines.

TWO LARGE HOGS.

Mr. John Bates, of Danversport, has two very
large pigs, two years old next month. The girth
of the largest is 6 feet 7 inches ; length from tip
of nose to extremity of body, 7 feet 11 inches.
The girth of the other is 6 feet 6 inches, length
7 feet 11 inches. They are small limbed, and per-
fect patterns of good hogs, and seem to be as thrifty
now as at any former time. Good judges estimate
that they will weigh, when dressed, 750 lbs. each !

Danversport, Feb., 1860. B. D. Wilcox.

orchard grass SEED.

Having seen the orchard grass highly recom-
mended for hay and pastures, I should like to in-
quire where the seed is to be had, at what price,
and if it will do to sow it with harrowing it in on
land that was sown with rye last fall, and if so, at
what time in the spring should it be sown ?

Palmer, Mass., 1860. A. B. D.

HAY-CUTTER AND PUMP.

Please inform me what is the best hay-cutter
now in use, taking into account the cost, ease of
operation, and durabilitj^ for all kinds of fodder.

Also, the best pump for farm use for a well 40
feet deep. Albert Emerson.

Haverhill, Mass., 1860.

216

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

May

Fio. 1

HAY REQUIRED PER HEAD.

I perceive it was stated at a late meeting of
Legislative farmers, by one gentleman, that he
used ten pounds of hay, per head, with oil-cake,
roots, Sec, for each animal. I am informed by
another gentleman that the quantity of hay men-
tioned is not more than half as much as should
be given.

For myself, I do not know, as I never Aveighed
the food for stock, but I am inclined to believe
the practical man is nearest right. Much will de-
pend upon the quality of the hay ; if it is badly
cured and worse housed by heedless laborers,
perhaps ten pounds is as much as the animal can
be induced to swallow. But if properly cured, I
am confident that twenty-five ])ounds per day will
not be more than is necessary for a cow that is re-
lied on for milk, or in other words, that it will
take a ton and a half of hay to carry a cow through
from November 1 to April 1. What say you to
this ? J, w. P.

Soidh Danvers, March, 1860.

Kino Philip Corn. — AVe are not able to in-
form "G. W.," South Kingston, N.H., where he
can obtain the genuine King Philip, if not at the
seed stores.

CHICCORY, OH SUCCORY.

The chiecory, or succory plant, is quite common in the
eastern part of Massachusetts, and for aught we know, all over
New England, and yet but few people know its' name or uses
M-hen they see it. It is** a stout, branching plant, when full-
grown, standing two to three feet in height, has beautiful sinu-
ate leaves and bright blue flowers, and a sort of flaunt-
ing, care-for-nothing air, which makes it quite attrac-
tive. It loves warm, rich spots, and in such places
will throw its tap-root so deep and strong into the
ground, that more than the strength of a single
man is required to pull it out.

It has been extensively grown in Belgium, Hol-
land and Germany, and as a cultivated variety was
brought into notice by the late Arthur Young, as a
forage plant. The root is white, fleshy, and yields
a milky juice. This is dried, roasted, and used as
coff"ee, and is now allowed by the excise in England
to be mixed and sold with coffee. The reader has
quite likely often used it at his OAvn table, when he
supposed his cup was filled with a decoction of the
pure Java or Mocha ! The English Quarterly
Journal of Agriculture ^a.y^: — "No plant culti-
vated in this country will bring the cow-feeder
nearly an equal return with the chiecory."

We know the plant well, however,
and advise every farmer who finds it
growing on his premises, to eradicate it
as fast as possible. If it yields a large
quantity, the quality is bad, for the
plant is a coarse, rank grower, takes
possession of the whole land, and the
forage is bitter and unpalatable, and
will give the milk of cows an unpleasant
taste. The succory is gaining gi'ound in this re-
gion, and needs careful looking after. A species
of it called Endive, or Garden Succory is exten-
sively cultivated among us an early salad.

When the root of chiecory is to be used as cof-
fee, it should be cleaned and put into the oven
after the bread has been taken out, and allowed
to remain until cold. Continue that process un-
til the root is sufficiently brittle to be ground, and
then mix a fourth or more with coffee.

The root is also used medicinally for chronic
affections of the stomach, connected with torpid
liver. Figure 1 represents the whole plant, and
in bloom. Figure 2 is a separate head of the
flower.

Disease among Horses. — A fatal disease,
called by veterinary surgeons "paralysis of the
throat," is raging among the horses in one of the
most extensive stables in Brooklyn, N. Y. So
far, eight have died, and several more are affect-
ed, and expected to die, as no remedy, or even
stay to the disease has yet been discovered. The
first symptoms are an inability to drink, and en-
tire incapacity of the throat to perform its natu»al
functions.

1860.

NEW ENGLA^^) FARMER.

217

Fw the New England Farmer.

A 'WAIF FROM KANSAS.

Prairie Lands — Western Lif',' — Steamboats — Prospects, and
Corn-Dodgers.

As the ceaseless flow of the ocean, as the tide
of emigration has been, and slill continues west-
ward, civilization walks closely after the foot-
prints of stupid, indolent barbarism, and scatters
m her march intelligence, refinement and wealth.
I could not help noticing the fact, as business
called me out into the territory a few days ago,
and I remarked the improvement and comfort fol-
lowing the wake of emigration. Many comforta-
ble cabins and pleasant adorning cottages are be-
ing erected upon the soil but lately occupied by
the rude luit of the red man. Thousands of
acres of rich prairie land are being surrounded by
rail fences, all "saddled and bridled" to protect
the crops from the cattle which are allowed to
run over this great pasture. Steamboats laden
with wealthy freight and noble humanity, are
plowing the waters, where a few years ago the
lone IncUan dared hardly venture with his bark-
canoe or "dug-out," lest it should be snagged, or
wrecked upon a sand-bar, which obstructions are
very prevalent in many of these vv'estern rivers.
But the readers of your monthly, who have always
had fine farms, and nestled beside comfortable,
loving firesides, reaped the benefit of good books
and intellectual society ; enjoyed the privileges of
lectures, concerts, and those amusements which
only a refined society can countenance, can never
realize, mentally, the heroic self-denial of a west-
ern emigrant, or the discomforts and hardships of
a pioneer life. Where there is but little social
good existing in the woods and upon the prairies
of the western world, unless the pioneer possesses
great moral strength and high self-respect, he is
soon prevailed upon to take up with the social
evils existing, conspicuous among which are whis-
keyology and theology, the former leading to gam-
bling, fighting, and every species of debauchery,
and the latter to a low, grovelling, narrow-minded
sectarianism.

Winter has "broken his back-bone," and we are
glad. A few days ago, a dazzling robe of white
was thrown over the bosom of mother earth, but
the relentless sun is wearing it off again. The
prairie grass is deftly shaking off the weight which
bears it down. The river is breaking from the icy
arms of winter, and rushing onward to the embrace
of its mother ocean. Only among the forest aisles
does it seem the most desolate, v/here the trees
throw their naked arms up against the sky, and
creak a mournful dirge for their green robes, and
the warblers that hid arid sung among their
branches.

Suffering has been great this hard winter, es-
pecially among the poorer classes. Kansas has
not been free from the closeness of suffering's
gripe, but we make the best of it, and if we get
corn-dodgers and pork enough to satisfy the crav-
ings of nature, we feel contented, and are waiting
patiently for the opening of navigation and the
rush of eager aspirants for wealth, towards the
golden bait existing at the Rocky Mountains. Of
course, as they will start from the river, most of
them vvill get their outfits at the river towns, so
that many will reap the greatest harvest at the
beginning of the journey.

But those persons in Kansas, who have expe-
rienced the most hardship this winter, are mostly
those who have laziness existing in their bones,
and rather than work, will prowl around their
neighbors' houses to steal. Why, not far from
here, I know a man so lazy — and he has a claim,
too — that when he gets hungry, he will steal one
ear of corn, and grind the corn between two stones,
to get sufficient meal for his wife to make a corn-
dodger with, then they eat it and are happy. Cer-
tainly, they do not "live to eat," but only "cat to
live," and they have great faith in the promises
conveyed in the sixth chapter of Matthew.

Doubtless, some of the notable housewives of
the east would like to know how to manufacture a
"corn-dodger." Take any quantity of unsifted
meal, and stir it thick with cold water. Put noth-
ing else in. Draw out upon the hearth some hot
ashes, make a hole in the middle, and pour the
wet meal into it, and flatten it down to an inch in
thickness. Cover it over Avith hot ashes and coals,
and let it bake. The ashes keep the sweetness
of the meal from evaporating. Now that is what
I call a simple and easy way of making a cake,
and it is excell(?nt another way. It makes first-
rate brick-bats, not easily broken. Try it, ladies,
and always keep one in your pocket to defend
yourselves both from the assaults of hunger and
of man.

But come along, gentlemen, and bring your im-
plements of industry. We want you, and "Uncle
Sam is rich enough to give us all a farm," when
the homestead bill is passed, and if it don't, we'll
buy a farm.

"We'll sweep the prairies, as of old

Our fathei-s swept the sea,

And make the West, as they the East,

The homestead of the free !"

Kansas is the geographical centre of the United
States, and out at Fort Riley is the exact centre,
and there several thousand acres of land are laid
off for the possession of the United States. The
river will always be a public thoroughfare, and
river property always valuable. When these strin-
gent times get loosened and men can hold up their
heads again, when Kansas revives entirely from
the severe struggle for freedom, and this prostrat-
ing financial crisis, then the money will fly, for-
tunes will be quickly made, and down-east visa-
ges and sober, undecided gaits will be "no-whar,
I reckon." Susie Vogl.

Sumner, K. T., 1860.

Mineral Matter Essential to the Growth
OF Aniaials as well as Plants. — Liebig, in
his "Letters on Modern Agriculture," says, "Were
it possible for a plant to grow, flower and bear
seed without the co-operation of mineral matters,
it would be utterly valueless to man and animals.
A dog will die of hunger in the presence of a dish
full of raw or boiled white and yolk of eggs, in
which is wanting one of the substances most im-
portant for the formation of blood. The first tri-
al teaches him that such food is as inefficient as a
stone, for the purposes of nutrition.

Gillyflower Scions. — We cannot inform
"Inquirer" where he can obtain the soions he in-
quires for.

218

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

^lAY

For the New England Farmer.
EXPERIMENTS—A NEW MOVEMENT.

Mr. Editor : — The following subjects for ex-
periment were recently given out in the Concord
Farmers' Club. The results will be reported the
next winter.

To J. B. Farmer — Winter and spring barley
to be sowed on the same kind of land, and the
croi)s compared. Mr. F. sowed a piece of ground
with winter barley last fall. To the same — Fowl
nijadow in comparison with red-top and herds-
grass.

To Willis Bean — ^Plow the whole field ten
inches. On one portion spread the manure on
the sod, and plow under. On another portion
cover the manure five inches. On another por-
tion three inches ; and note the result on hoed
crops and on the grain and grass following.

To Joseph D. Brown — Seeding to grass with
rye, oats, Avheat and barley.

To MiNOT Pratt — Soiling cows during the
months of June, July, August and September.
To keep an exact account of cost in extra labor,
&c.

To N. H. Warren — Liquid manure as com-
pared with compost for corn.

To J. W. Brown — Cooking Indian and oil meal
for milch cows in comparison with the same used
raw.

To A. H. Wheeler — The culture of roots, with
the rows at different distances.

To E. Wood, Jr. — Improving pastm-e land by
the use of various fertilizers.

To Hiram Jones — Cultivating squash and oth-
er vinos by the use of different manures.

To Willis Bean — Warm and cold drink for
cows, alternating several times, two weeks at a
time.

To Hiram Jones and John Brown, 2d — Poul-
try— the best feed to produce eggs.

To James P. Brown and Daniel Tarbell —
To])-dressing with mud, impregnated with sulphur,
to be applied in different quantities. -

To MiNOT Pratt — Corn and potatoes in alter-
nate rows, and carrots and beets in do.

To Simon Brown — Cranberries on high land.

To Charles A. Hubbard and Cyrus Jarvis
— Top-dressing grass land in autumn with green
manure and with fine compost of equal value ;
and top-dressing and seeding as a means of im-
proving and preserving the qualities of grass on
low land without plowing.

To E. W. Bull — Special manures — their ef-
fects upon vegetation and comparative value.

To F. E. Bigelow — Barn manures for culti-
vating trees in grass land.

Other experiments were suggested, among which
were the comparative productiveness of different
varieties of corn — Fallow tillage as a means of
improving the soil, &c.

I send you this list as a suggestion to other
clubs, and to farmers who do not belong to any
clubs, to try these or other experiments, and care-
fully note the results.

Yours truly, J. Reynolds, Secretary.

Tall Grasses. — Mr. Thomas Gordon, of Bid-
deford, Me., handed us some grasses the other
day of almost extraordinary character, consisting

of fowl meadow, herds-grass and blue-joint. The
fowl meadow was seven feet high, the blue-joint
six feet nine inches, and the herds-grass six feet
and six inches. These grasses grew upon his
farm at Biddeford, and are the natural product of
his low lands, such a product as might be har-
vested on thousands of acres in this State, if un-
just and odious monopolies did not permit mill-
owners to drown and starve out large tracts of
the best lands we have.

Mr. Gordon states that he has plowed and
seeded swale land Avith the fowl meadow grass, and
that it thrives well upon it. He frequently gets
six tons of well made hay to the acre — hay that is
worth three-fourths as much as the best English
grass. He gathers the fowl-meadow seed by hand,
stripping it from the heads into a broad open ves-
sel. The fowl meadow and blue-joint have broad
leaves, and their stems, though large, are not so
wiry and hard as those of the herds-grass.

For the New England Farmer.

DAIBY PROFITS.

Mr. Editor : — I give you an account of my
dairy the past year. April 1st, 1859, 1 owned one
cow, 5 years old, worth $40 ; bought a heifer 2
years old, for $27. Account stands as follows :

Dr.

To interest on capital $4,02

To pasture for s;.'ason, at $5 each 10,00

To winterinira cows, at $18 each 36,00

To pumpkins, &c., In fall 2,00

Tal2 busliels carrots in winter 2,00

To pasture for 2 calves 2,50

To 1 cwt. oil meal 2,00

$58,52
Cr.

By 320 pounds butter, at 19 cts $60,80

By increased value of heifer 10,00

By 2 calves last fall 16,00

Beside this, Ave used all the milk we wanted in
a family of foin-, which, Avith the milk for the pigs,
I think well paid for making the butter. I shall
keep 4 coavs the coming season, and you shall
have the figures at the end of the year.

I Avish to inquire Avhich is the best Avay of feed-
ing corn and other grains to hens, Avhether whole,
ground, or ground and boiled ?

Green Mountain Boy.

Cummington, Ilass., 1860.

For the New England Farmer.
HORSE 5JTCHPORKS.

Dear Sir : — I notice in your issue of the 18th
inst., an inquiry in regard to horse pitchforks. I
would say in reply to that inquiry, that I have
used a fork of that kind for four seasons past,
and Avith some experiments made myself, and op-
portunities for observing the Avorking of other
kinds, have come to the conclusion that the one
I use is the most simple, cheapest, and most effi-
cient.

The principle upon Avhich it operates is the
same as the common hand fork ; that is, the poAV-
er is applied to the head, or near the tines, Avhile

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

219

the operator holds it bj- the handle, or when be-
yond his reach, by a cord attached to the handle,
and is thus enabled to discharge the hay at any
point above the beams desired. The other neces-
sary appendages are a long rope, such as every
farmer should have ; one single pulley block to
be fastened to the rafters through which tlie hoist-
ing rope passes, and also another pulley block at
the door post to bring the draft at the proper an-
gle on the horse ; the fork can be used in any
barn of ordinary size. I have used this fork for
stacking hay ; a stiff pole being necessary, and
two light guy ropes running in the opposite direc-
tion from which the horse draws.

I consider pitching hay by horse power as one
of the economies of farming, and the fork as an
appropriate accompaniment to the mowing ma-
chine and horse rake.

I have shown the operation of this fork to Mr.
Alzirus Brown, of Worcester, Mass., manufac-
turer of mowing machines and wheel horse rakes,
and I understand that he will build some of them
this season, putting them at five dollars each, and
if well built, it is cheap enough.

North Salem, Feb., 1860. L. G. Kniffen.

LEGISIiATrVB AG-KICULTUBAIi
MEETING.

[Repohted for the New Encland Farmer by Thos. Bradlet.J

The tenth meeting of the series of the Legisla-
tive Agricultural Society was held in the Repre-
sentatives' Hall on Monday evening, and was
very well attended. Col. Heard, of Wajdand,
presided. The subject for discussion was, "Mail-
ures — tvhat are the best kinds, and their applica-
tion ?■"

Mr. Howard, of Boston, was the first speaker.
He said it was a subject he had not lately given
much attention to, yet it was one which interests
farmers more than any other. It has been truly
said that muck was the m-other of money, [the
meal chest. Ed.] and he was sorry to say that there
had been too little attention given to manures,
which were always a source of wealth. In Ohio,
the idea had prevailed that the soil was inex-
haustible, and farmers there had gone on year af-
ter year neglecting manures, until they could get
but miserable crops, and now the soil has so de-
teriorated that they are going further West, where
they can pursue the same course. From this it
had been asserted by Mr. Fay at a former meet-
ing, that American agriculture vv'as a system of
devastation. He spoke of what England would
have been had she pursued the same system, and
compared it with her present agricultural prosper-
ity. Mr. Howard said that it was the duty of
every farmer to save all the excrement, both solid
and liquid, on his farm, as also that in his house-
hold, and, if this were done, there would be no de-
ficiency in our State. In some cases lime might
be used as a fertilizer, but he thought east of the
Connecticut Vallev it would not do well. Guanos

of some kinds, and bones, the latter particularly,
had been used with excellent efiect, and now
they constitute a material element in our manures.
He spoke of superphosphate of lime, saying that
he had heard various reports as to its effects, but
he thought if the pure article was obtained, it
was excellent as an auxiliary. He thought the
best course for farmers would be to ex])eriment
carefully with the different kinds of fertilizers, and
by carefully noting the result, arrive at what
would suit their land the best. Mr. Howard also
spoke of various phosphates that had been intro-
duced here and in England, but expressed the
opinion that none were of the value of those from ■
the barn-yard.

Dr. LoRlXG, of Salem, said we had neglected
the study of the composition and use of manures,
while in Europe the utmost care has been be-
stowed, assisted by science. He doubted wheth-
er any farmer here could tell the best method of
manuring corn, root crops or grain. We are,
said he, too much in the habit of using the man-
ures made on the farm as our fathers used them
in their day, without taking the trouble to im-
prove upon their practice, and thus gain the
knowledge to make us prosperous. There are
many places in this State, where the contents
of the sink-drains, water courses, muck beds,
&c., are neglected, and this placed farmers who
had none of these advantages and who vrere in
less favorable localities, under a difficulty. It
was a question in his mind whether our farmers
could afford to import foreign manures. There
were farms located on the sea-coast, the owners of
which used kelp and other sea weeds, which were
very good fertilizers, but he did not have this
benefit. He had made up his mind to manure h''.
farm from its own products, and he had stocked 't
with this object. He thought it was better to c j
this than to pay the expense of teaming, «S:c. Hj
considered that, for top-dressing on grass lands,
nothing was better than farm-yard manure, well
rotted and well composted. He hauled his muck
in August, and put a good layer of it on his cellar
floor, then a layer of manure, then another layer
of muck and so on, alternating. His cellar was
100 ft. long and 32 ft. wide, and into this he cart-
ed from 100 to 130 cart loads of 36 solid feet of
muck, and in wet or stormy weather he had his
men turning it, so that when it went on the grass
lands in January, it is thoroughly rotted, and this
he found increased the grass crop from 50 to 75
per cent, the first season. For roots he used the
same manure, and backed up the furrows in plow-
ing, as he found this was good to prevent Aveeds,
and to pulverize the soil, while by plowing twice,
and harrowing and raking, it thoroughly mixed
the compost M'ith the soil.

In relation to applying green manure, he said

220

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

May

he thought that he could get 50 per cent, more
crops by manuring with well rotted and pulver-
ized compost than with green manure, and he
thought it would be well for farmers to think of
this. He thought ashes and other fertilizers of a
similar description were good for top-dressing, as
was also gypsum, but there was nothing that he
was aware of that was so valuable to the farmer as
the manures produced on his own farm.

Mr. Stoughton, of Gill, differed with Dr. Lor-
irg in regard to the application of green manures
to grass in spring, and said that he had been led
to do so from practical results. He stated that he
had got five tons of fine hay per acre from his
land by manuring with green manure, while he had
manured a portion with a compost he had pre-
pared from the compost of an old pig pen mixed
with manure and put it on thick in the spring, and
the result was, he did not see any difi'erence be-
tween the crop from that and a portion that had
not been manured; while that he had manured
\<'ith green manure gave two tons per acre in a
bad season. He said he did not see the gain in
carting muck to the barn-yard and then back
again to the field, unless it was valuable as a man-
ure in itself, without it was to dry it, and so have
it absorb the liquids that would otherwise run
away. He thought plaster and ashes of great ser-
vice, and he considered the former returned 25
per cent, profit on the money paid for it, but he
had found nothing to pay so well as gathering all
the vegetable matter about his farm, using clean,
dry oak and maple leaves for bedding for his cat-
tle and swine, and thus converting it into man-
ure. He alluded to a neighbor of his, who, the
past season, made 150 to 200 loads of good man-
ure by keeping pigs, and from the sale of his
pork and shoats he had cleared $60 more for them
than they cost, and this he reckoned would pay
for their feed, thus leaving the manure clear profit.
He said he used from 20 to 25 loads of green
manure to the acre for grass land. He had used
guano, 400 lbs. to the acre, and plowed it in, and
it did well in a plain, sandy soil, and he sowed
the same piece with rye, and got a good crop,
but the next year he again sowed with rye, and he
never had so poor a crop, and from this he con-
sidered guano was not a profitable fertilizer to
him.

Dr. LOKING said he thought the last speaker
forgot the fact that muck was vegetable matter,
judging from his remarks in regard to it, yet he
admitted that he had never made the experiment
as to whether it would act as a fertilizer alone.
He used it as an absorbent, and to prevent the
manure from heating. He would like to see any
man spread a load of green manure, and thought
from the almost impossibility of doing this, that
the manure used by Mr. Stoughton had been par-

tially decomposed. He contended that there were
gases and other fertilizing properties formed and
retained by using the manure thoroughly rotted,
which were not obtained by using it in a green
state.

Mr. Stoughton replied, that he used manure
wholly unrotted, and he thought that a large pro-
portion of the muck used had been so far rotted
that all the fertilizing properties had been taken
out of it.

Mr. Fay, of Lynn, said he thought the question
to be decided was the economy in using manures,
and not the effect. He agreed with Mr. Stough-
ton as to the good effect of the applicatian of
green manures, but he thought the majority of
farmers would prefer them a year old, if they could
get them. He thought the properties of manures
were more difficult to lose than is generally sup-
posed. He said he had tried green manure for
top-dressing in the spring, and by its side the
composted manure, and he saw very little differ-
ence in the crops, but mowing and raking the
land thus manured showed a considerable differ-
ence, as the former would cost to mow something
like $1,50 per acre, while the latter by machinery,
would not cost more than 25 cents. Sheep ma-
nure had been spoken of by Mr. Stoughton, but
this, ]Mr. Fay said, could not be composted. He
thought there were scarcely two muck bottoms in
the State alike, and while some were valueless,
others Avere exceedingly valuable. He had a great
quantity on his farm, but it was worth nothing,
while that of Dr. Loring might be excellent.

The article of bones was then considered, and
the speaker said it was a disgrace to the farmers
of Massachusetts, that so many thousand tons
were exported from Boston to enrich the fields of
England. For the turnip crop, particularly, this
was excellent, and it was precisely known how
much such crop required to reach the highest state
of productiveness, viz. : 16 bushels to the acre,
and it had been fidly demonsh-ated that even 25
or 50 bushels would produce no more, and this
was proved to be the very best manure for this
crop. Phosphates, he said, may be used as stim-
ulants, but barn-yard manure was the foundation
of all fertilizers.

Mr. Wethekell, of Boston, spoke of English
opinions of the relative^merits of green and com-
posted manures, showing that the green was pre-
ferred. He also alluded to other fertilizers not
named by other speakers, as also to the experi-
ments made in England in raising crops without
manure by constantly turning the soil, thus en-
abling it to al)sorb the nutritive properties in the
ail", and the success that had thus far attended
tliis method.

Col. Heard, of Wayland, said, in his neighbor-
hood it was the custom to ai)ply the manure in

1860.

KEW ENGLAND FARMER.

221

the green state, and then follow on •with grass, and
then apply again green mixed with sand or muck.
He cut his corn as early as possible, and after tak-
ing it off the land in the fall he sowed grass seed,
Avhich he thought was better than sowing it in the
Spring. Very little top-dressing was used in his
section except on the low grass lands. Wool
waste, worth $8 per cord, was considered profitable
by some farmers, but he thought differently. The
practice was to apply it as a compost, or to sow it
and put some in the hills with potatoes.

Mr. Spakiluvk, of Charlestown, spoke of the
chemical properties of the various manures, but
the time having arrived for adjournment, it was
moved by Mr. Stoughton that the same subject
be continued for discussion at the next meeting.
This was carried unanimously, and the meeting
adjoui'ned-

For the New England Farmer.
PLOWIITG IN GBASS.

Mr. Editor : — 1 noticed in the Farmer of
Feb. 11, an article on improving the soil by plow-
ing in a crop of clover. As that does not agree
with my experience I will give another view of
green crops for manure.

Several years ago, having a piece of ground
that was worn down, wanting to improve it, and
being short of manure, the last of June, the whole
crop of grass was plowed in well, at about 1 ton
per acre ; during the season, as the weeds came
up, they were plowed in ; this was done three
times.

The next spring it was spread with a coat of
barn-cellar manure and planted with corn, hoed
three times, and a poorer piece of corn I never
raised! while on a piece adjoining, equal in every
respect, that had no grass plowed in, was a good
crop of corn.

In June, 1858, wanting to sow a little more fod-
der corn, I broke up a piece that was taken off
from an old pasture adjoining apiece of mowing
that bore heavy grass ; the old fence being moved,
left a bog, running anglewise the piece ; to make
it square, I plowed about one-half of each, mow-
ing and pasture ; the grass on the mowing when
plowed was knee high, which was all turned in, and
the whole v.'as spread with manure and corn sowed
in drills ; I ran the cultivator between the rows,
but did not hoe it ; the corn on the old pasture
land grew 8 feet high and over, while the corn on
the mowing land never grew more than 2 feet,
and was yellow and sickly all the season. Last
year I sowed the same with corn, with the same
result.

Such- is my experience in plowing in grass for a
fertilizer. W. E. D.

Harvard, Mass., Feb. 13, 1860.

"An Old Man, Hebron, N. H."—li the writer
of the article signed as above will send his re-
marks to the writer of the article dated at North
Groton, N. H., we think he will accomplish his
purpose better than by publishing the criticisms
he has sent us.

For the New England Farmer.

STOCK RAISING.

Mr. Editor: — Your Chelmsford correspond-
ent, "T. J. P.," in an article published in the Far-
mer, after figuring the cost of a calf one year old
at 822, gravely asks the question, whether he shall
sell the calf at a positive loss at that age, or keep it
longer, with the certain prospect of a greater loss ?
The fact is, if there is any profit in raising stock,
it consists in raising animals to maturity ; good
cows for milk and good oxen for labor ; the best
of which will pay the expenses of raising, thus
giving their carcasses a profit to the owner. The
profit or loss in every case will depend on the in-
telligence, or want of it, in selecting the animals
to be raised. Accidents will sometimes happen,
and unavoidable losses of animals occur, and the
most matured judgment may make a wrong selec-
tion, from the fact that there is so great a want of
uniformity in our common neat stock; but all
these causes combined, though they may affect,
will not consume the aggregate profit of the bus-
iness. In this section, it is generally considered
more profitable to raise cows than oxen, and some
of the shrewdest farmers buy their oxen at four or
five years old, keep them a few years, and turn
them off with greatly increased weight ; but it is
evident somebody must raise them, tmd I propose
to take two calves and raise them to oxen, and
will state the case as fairly as I am able. We are
obliged to let our cows calve to keep them in milk,
spaying cows not having become general, nor is
it likely to become so. I will therefore enter,

TWO CALVES. Dr.

To 12 qts. of new milk per day, 5 weeks, at 2Jc per qt...$10,50

To 12 qts. of skim milk per day, 5 weeks, atlc per qt 4.20

To 100 lbs. of hay .60

To 5 months pasturing, at 75c per month 3,75

To 2 tons second quality hay, corn stover, straw, &c., at

§6 per ton 12,00

To 10 busii. carrots, at 16^c per bu 1,07

To barn room, &c 2,00

Cost at the end of the first year $34,72

To 5i months pasturing, at $1 per month §5,50

To 2i tons of mixed hay, at $7 17.50

To barn room, and small, nameless expenses 2.00

To interest on the first year's cost 2,0S

To 15 bu. mangolds, at 10c per bushel 1,50

Cost at the end of the second year $63,30

To 5 J months pasturing, at $1,25 per month 6,82

To 3 tons of hay, at $9'per ton 27,00

To barn room, &c 3.00

To 15 bush, carrots, at 10 J 2,50

To interest on the cost 3,79

Cost at the end of the third year $106,'U

Or.
By labor $10,00

Value of labor deducted from the cost $96,41

To pasturing 5| months, at $1,50 per month 8.25

To 3 tons of hay, at $12 per ton 30.00

To 5 bush, meal, at $1 per bushel 5,00

To barn room, and other expenses 4.00

To interest on the cost 5,78

Cost at the end of the fourth year $155,44

Or.
By labor $25,00

Value of labor deducted $130,44

Our oxen are now four years old, and are capa-
ble of earning their living until they are five years
old, when they may take the place of older cattle
on the farm that are fatted for the market, and
with ordinary chances afford a clear profit over all

222

NEW ENGLAND FAEMER.

May

exjDenses of $2.5 per year, for two, three or four
years, as the judgment of the owner may deter-
mine.

I have traced these figures out with direct ref-
erence to the profit, being convinced that raising
cattle in this way, commencing with a poorer and
changing to a better quality of fodder, is attended
with better results than the reverse, and would
much prefer to give to young cattle the same val-
ue in roots than grain.

In looking over the figures, many probably will
be surprised at the cost of raising cattle even in
this cheap way, and will not fail to detect that, up
to their fourth year, steers will not generally sell
for what they cost, especially at the price of beef;
for, by rapid transportation, the West is brought
into competition with us, in this respect. But we
can profitably raise what cattle we need, and every
year they are kept after they become cows or ox-
en, they will reduce the cost of raising to that
point, if rightly managed. "Aye, there's the rub,"
for many a man will suffer his oxen to eat his hay
through the winter without returning an equiva-
lent in labor, much less reducing the cost of rais-
ing them. Such men can find nothing to do, when
the fact is, they are too lazy to work. These are
they, who really "scab the craft." Good stock, of
all kinds needed on the farm, will pay for raising,
and is not accountable for individual management.
How many farmers pursue their business in the
same manner that Mr. Pinkham reasons upon ;
oftentimes leaving some other business, with the
mistaken idea, that money can be rapidly made by
farming without hard labor. They commence with
considerable zeal, but being of an intellectual turn
of mind, and becoming tired with what seems to
them the hard and monotonous labor of the farm,
they find the figures against them in their initial
operations. In other words, their acre of corn
has brought them $10, and their calf $5 in debt,
consequently it will not pay to raise the calf nor
continue the cultivation of the acre of land ; they,
therefore, decide to quit the business, and gener-
ally become men of change. H. Kimball.

Kennebunk, Me., Jan. 28, 1860.

Erratum. — In a former communication, after
the year in barley, either read "cost of crop," or
refer crop to what follows. H. K.

For the New England Farmer.
MODES OP GETTING CROPS.

I have often thought it singular that some of
the multitude of your experienced farmer corres-
pondents have not told us how they perform the
various operations of the farm. Few are alike in
all respects in this particular, and if intelligent,
practical men would give us their modes of oper-
ation, your numerous readers would have before
them much matter for reflection, and find many
things, no doubt, for adoption.

It is not to be suppose that the best method of
doing things in one locality, is to be the rule for
all, or that those in possession of vegetable soils,
are to adopt the treatment of those farming a san-
dy one ; but in the course of their form arrange-
ments, each and all may develop processes that
will be of value to their fellow-farmers.

It strikes me that if you Avere to give promi-

nence to this suggestion, and call out the farm
management of your intelligent correspondents
and readers, we should have a mass of valuable
matter for our consideration.

With your permission, therefore, I will, in some
future communications, detail my management
and experience, although quite limited, I suppose,
compared with many others whom I hope to see
giving us theirs. J. CoE.

Bochester, Mass., Jan. 11, 1860.

Remarks. — Very well — go ahead. We had
supposed that every page of the Faiiw.r gave
more or less of the details of securing almost eve-
ry crop raised in New England.

For tlte New England Farmer.
POTATOES ON GRASS I.ATfD.

My land is in Brewer, Me., is clayey loam, free
from stones, and now free from stumps, though it
has been but twelve years since it was covered
with a heavy growth of pine and hemlock timber.
The day before I want to plant my potatoes, I
spread a fair coat of manure on a piece of grass
land that was mowed the year before, and after I
have spread over as large a piece as will make
one day's planting, (so as to keep the manure from
drying up.) I commence at one edge of the piece
with a light sward plow and a strong pair of oxen,
and run a rather shallow furrow as straight as pos-
sible, lapping this furrov/ of course on to the green
sward so that the two grass surfaces will lay to-
gether. The seed is dropt about eiglit inches
apart, on the gi-ass land, right at the edge of the
furrow that Avas turned up ; then plow another
back furrow, lapping it on the grass as before, so
the two edges will meet together and cover the
seed, and also the width of two furrows that has
not been disturbed with the plow, that is, the two
furrows are "cut and cover," as farmers call it, as
is always the case when you commence in the mid-
dle of a "land" and turn Avith a gee, and so on for
the Avhole piece ; but this fuiTOAv is a little more
difficult, for the ploAV must nm baek in, or at the
edge of this last track, but the ploAv can run a lit-
tle deeper this third time, so as to give it hold
enough of the earth to turn up this third furroA?
and lap it on the gi-ass, ready to drop another roAV
of potatoes.

The tAvo narroAv grass surfaces are thus laid to-
gether, Avith the manure betAveen them, and the po-
tatoes are planted in the midst, where they have
a warm, moist nest, and Avill soon sprout up
through the joint of the tAvo furroAvs, and the
roots Avill run out among the gi-ass and manure,
under each sod, and get all the benefit of the de-
composing grass-SAvard and cbessing.

The seed is not so liable to be droAvned by
heavy spring rains, for the water will settle in
the ditches made by the ploAv, and the plants Avili
stand the drough better, because these two grass
surfaces will retain a SAveat and moisture that the
melloAv earth Avill not. It is very little Avork to
hoe them, for they do not need much larger hill or
bed than they already have.

I have planted so for three years, and last sea-
son planted six acres of Jackson Whites in this
manner, and think I can raise about double the

1860.

NEAV ENGLAND FARMER.

223

crop per acre that my neis^hbors do, planted in
the common way. When I dig them, the sward
is very well rotted, but retains strength enough
to be turned off with the hoe in flakes and lumps,
and there the potatoes lay like apples on a shelf,
and as clean as smelts, for they have seen no dirt,
looking at you and inviting you to pick them up ;
and the land is in tip-top order, for these old grass
sods have had a ground sweat all summer, and
have become quite rotten. I lack a suitable plow,
for I need a sward plow with a mould-board on
each side. Will some of the plow folks see what
they can get up for this purpose ?

I advise farmers to tiy it without fail.

Maiden, Mass. A. S. Hall.

EXTBACTS AND REPLIES.
SANDY LAXD — CLAY — MUCK.

1. Can sandy loam soil be productive without
costing more than it will be worth ? If any one
can tell me how I can manage this soil to make it
fertile, produce great crops of grass and not fail
in a dry season, they will do me a favor.

2. Will it pay to haul clay one mile to mix with
sandy loam ?

3. Will it pay to expend two hundred dollars
in building a manure cellar under a lean-to that
will tie up twenty-six head of cattle ?

4. Is muck worth more to use for bedding than
it is to mix with the manure heap after it is thrown
into the cellar. A Young Farmer.

Emhden, Me., Feb., 1860.

Rei\l\rks. — 1. That depends upon circumstan-
ces. If clay and muck are near by, and man-
ure can be made, or purchased at a fair price, (and
this price must be graduated by the price of farm
products in the vicinity,) sandy lands can be made
proiitably productive. Sandy loams would be still
more easily reclaimed.

2. We have no doubt it will.

3. We cannot tell — so many collateral circum-
stances are to be considered. We fully believe in
barn cellars.

4. Muck may be advantageously used in both
ways. Fine dry muck is excellent as a bedding,
to say nothing of its absorbing power, and when
used as bedding, it becomes at once mingled with
the droppings, and everything is saved.

FISH AS MANURE.

Will some one inform me of the comparative
value of fish as a manure, also the probable cost
delivered in Worcester ? How it will work on
sandy loam, and which would be the best and
cheapest, fish or horse manure, which costs $3 or
$3,25 in Worcester, and which we must cart seven
miles ? E. H. Newton.

Auburn, Mass., 1860.

COFFEE SPECULATION.

I wish to inquire if Java coff"ee will grow in the
New England States ? If so, wi'h M'hat success ?
Eopkinton, Mass., 1860. s. w. M.

Kemaeks. — We are not able to inform vou.

ORCHARD GRASS.

In the Farmer of Feb. 18, I noticed an inter-
esting article on this plant, giving its description,
history, &c. I wish to inquire where the seed may
be obtained, and at what price ? Also, Avhether it
will flourish on ordinary plain land ? J. A. A.

Springfield, Mass., Feb., 1860.

Remarks. — Orchard grass seed may be ob-
tained of Messrs. Nourse & Co., 34 Merchants'
Row, Boston, at from $1,25 to $1,75 per bushel,
accoi'ding to the manner in which it is cleaned up.
Twelve to sixteen quarts per acre is the amount
usually sowed.

CULTIVATION OF PEAS.

Will some one acquinted with raising the crop
inform me in regard to raising peas ? What kind
of land is best adapted to them ? How deep should
they be plowed, and what quantity sowed to the
acre ? Would they do well plowed in on moist
greensward ? A New Subscriber.

Waterbury Centre, 1860.

A FINE PAIR OF CATTLE.

I have a pair of cattle, now seven years old,
raised by myself, and kept in quite active service
until within three months past. They have had
no extra attention or feed, until within this time.
They are very well matched, and weigh upwards
of 5000 lbs., and have been spoken of as being
the heaviest pair of well matched oxen in the
county. D. Z. Steele.

Sharon, VL, Marcli, 1860.

Remarks. — A good example, friend Steele. A
pair of cattle like these, having pretty much paid
their way by their labor, will afford nearly what
they bring as clear profit, to say nothing of the
honest pride a man has in rearing such a pair. We
will venture to say that no one hears Mr. Steele
grumbling about the profits of farming. He takes
a good agricultural newspaper, no doubt, and ob-
serves what other people are doing in his profes-
sion.

BITTER cream.

I have a cow six years old; she gives very rich
milk, and good tasted, until it has stood about
twenty-four hours, when the cream becomes bit-
ter ; some messes very bitter and some but little.
The first two years it was perfectly sweet. She is
well kept, and has plenty of salt. A year ago the
past winter she was kept on good roAven, and the
cream was the most bitter then. I wish to in-
quire of you, or some of your correspondents, the
cause and remedy, if there is any.

Proctorsville, VL, 1860. Subscriber.

HUBBARD squash SEED.

1 would like to inform your subscribers, through
your columns, that any one wishing to obtain
some of the celebrated "Hubbard Squash" seeds,
can have a small quantity free, by sending a pre-
paid envelope to my address.

Cumberland, Me., 1360. Horace I. Gk\y.

224

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

May

--^l:;^

COLORING BUTTER.

In many cases it is not necessary to use any
coloring svibstanee. But sometimes butter, (es-
pecially in the winter season,) is quite -white, and
in order to make it more inviting to the palate,
as Aveli as more saleable in the market, some col-
oring substance is used. Some people color it
with carrot juice, but I prefer a more simple, and
I think a better way.

When the butter is gathering, drop into it the
yolk of one or more eggs, (the number depend-
ing upon the quantity of cream,) and churn all
together till the butter is gathered. The yolk, like
butter, being of an oily nature, greatly improves
the flavor as well as color of the butter.

Dairywoman.

Mendon, Mass., March, 1860.

HORSE PITCHFORK.

I noticed an inquiry in the Farmei' about the
horse pitchfork, from "W. N. C.," Hartford, Vt.
From a personal knowledge of it, I think it to be
most desirable labor-saving implements now in
use, as it makes the once most dreaded part of the
haying season easy. I can put a ton of hay from
the load over the high beams in from three to five
minutes, or I can pitch a ton of hay over the
beams in seven minutes, through the afternoon,
without making it hard work. Its cost is $12. It
can be used in a shed, or any part of the barn,
used in stacking hay, or lifting corn, 8zc.

Chester, Vt, 1860. H. B. Wood.

MOWING MACHINES — HORSERADISH SEED.

Will some of your readers give us a description
of a machine lately got up at Concord, N. H., one
horse $50, and two horse $55, and whether fric-
tion is overcome more than in those now in use ?
'Where can I procure horseradish seed, and at
what price ? Subscriber.

FoUd-sville, K E., 1860.

THE WOOD DUCK.

This bird, which is also called the
Summer Duck, is the most beautiful
of American aquatic fowls. It de-
rives its former name from the fact
that its nest is made in hollow trees,
and the latter from its migratory
habit, which carries it far to the
South during our winter months.
The plumage of this duck is of the
most brilliant description, an idea
of ■which can hardly be conveyed in
words. The head is of a deep glos-
sy green, the crest being rich bronze
green, ending in violet. The line of
pure white, running from the upper
mandible over the eye, and the other
line of white commencing behind
the eye and running down into the
neck, blend beautifully Avith the
green of the head and crest. The
throat is pure white, the breast dark violet brown,
marked Mith white spots, which grow larger until
they spread into the white of the belly. The wings
and back, and posterior parts of the body, are all
beautifully marked. Of the habits of this fowl,
Bement says :

It is only seen In the North during the summer
months, migrating southwardly with the cold
weather. It is familiarly known in every part of the
United States, from Florida to Lake Ontario. It
rarely visits the sea-shore or salt marshes, its fa-
vorite haunts being the solitary, deep and muddy
creeks, ponds, and mill-dams of the interior, mak-
ing its nest frequently in some old hollow tree
that overhangs the water.

The wood duck seldom flies in flocks of more
than three or four individuals together, and most
commonly in pairs, or singly. The common note
of the drake is Feet ' peet ! but when, standing
sentinel, he sees danger, he makes a noise not un-
like the crowing of a young cock — Oe eek ! neeek!
It breeds from Mexico to the Columbia River,
and eastwardly to Nova Scotia. It has been found
from 19° south to 54° north latitude. Its food
consists of acorns, chestnuts, seeds of wild oats,

aquatic plants, and insects.
Avhite.

Its eggs yellowish-

This beautiful bird is easily domesticated, and
soon becomes so familiar as to permit one to
stroke its back with tlTfe hand. "Captain Boice,
Collector of the port of Havre de Grace, informs
me," says Wilson, "that about/ forty years ago, a
Mr. Nathan Nichols, who lived on the west side
of Gunpowder Creek, had a whole yard SMimming
with wood ducks, which had been tamed and
completely domesticated, so that they bred and
were as familiar as any other tame fowls ; that he
(Captain Boice) himself saw them in that state,
but does not know what became of them." La-
tham says that they are often kept in European
manageriesj and will breed there.

1860.

NEW ENGLAiND FARMER.

225

For the New England Farmer.
FAKMING IS PROFITABLE.

Mr. Editor : — A writer in your paper of March
10 speaks of Mr. Jefferson, as saying that "the
farmer is the greatest of all gamblers ;" and in
another paragraph the writer says, "Man sows, but
God giveth the increase." No one will doubt the
truth of the last declaration ; and I admit, that God
and the farmer are co-workers, but I will not ad-
mit, for a moment, that God or farming have any-
thing to do with gambling. Your correspondent
asks, must the mass of farmers live as cheap as
they can, and trust to God for the result of their
labor ? To this I would answer, that no class of
people in the world live better than the farmers.
For proof of this, look to their health and strength ;
and I rejoice that the farmers as well as all other
classes of people, must trust in God for the re-
sult of their labor. He speaks of the painter as
making very accurate calculafions of the stock
and labor for doing a given job. But can that
painter make any calculations, how much it will
tax his health ? How often do we meet a painter
in the street that would give all he possesses, if
he could have his health restored to him.

He also says, "let a general farmer cultivate all
the crops — in no season will more than half of
them be successful in Massachusetts." In this I
think he commits a great error. For the last sixty-
five years, I never have known any one year Avhen
half the crops were cut off. During that period I
have known the corn crop to fail but three times.
A few large crops do not determine that farming
is profitable, neither do a few small ones prove it
unprofitable. I do not undertake to say what
profession the Pilgrims followed before they left
the old country ; but one thing is very certain,
after arriving here, they must have practiced farm-
ing or starved. I can very well remember events
for the last sixty-five years. Almost the entire
community then were farmers. Have we ever
heard of any country in the known world, that has
equalled our own in the rapid accumulation of
wealth ? Have not the farmers been the founda-
tion of all this ? Have they not changed the New
England States from a howling wilderness, to
what they now are ? Is not the soil of New Eng-
land, now, on an average, worth a hundred-fold
what it was when the Pilgrims landed at Ply-
mouth ? Have not the farmers laid the foundation
of all the improvements, manufactures, rail-roads
and every improvement in the country ? And do
they not, at the present day, give support to all of
them ? What class of people have gone, and are
still going to settle our Western States ? It is
the farmer. And if there should be no profit in
their business, would there be any chance for the
doctor, the lawyer and the shaver of notes to
get a living there ? I know there is, occasionally,
a man who does not work at farming, that dresses
better, holds his head higher, and in appearance
seems to think himself better than farmers. I
know not what his occupation may be, but let it
be what it may, if all farming operations were sus-
pended, I presume he would feel the eff'ects of it
equally as much as a beautiful, green sucker, with
a smooth bark, growing out of an old apple-tree,
would, if the main stoclc should be cut off.

I am frequently asked, "if there is a profit in
farming, what becomes of it?" I will answer

that, by relating one fact. About fifty years ago,
a farmer in this town had two sons, and thought
he would prepare them for business. He spent
about $500 on each of them in education and
clothing, and then gave each of tliem $1000, to
estabhsh himself in business, making the snug
little sum of $3000. Now, if any of your readers
will reckon the amount of this, at comjjound in-
terest, they will find it amounts to quite a sum.
I presume hundreds of thousands, have done like-
wise, which tells us where the profits of fiirming,
have gone. 1 am firm in the belief, that there is
not property enough in the New England States,
separate from the farms, and the property owned
by farmers, to pay the sum with compound inter-
est that the farmers have expended, the past sixty-
five years, to help along Avhat friend Mcrriam calls
the "sister arts" of business. Shall we keep harp-
ing in the ears of the few aged farmers that re-
main, and as we pass the graves of the departed,
"there is no profit in farming."

Asa G. Sheldon.
Wilmington, March 27, 1860.

For the New England Fanner.
HOW TO RAISE LARGE CABBAGES.

Mr. Editor : — "Old Subscriber" wishes to
know how to raise large cabbages. Let me tell
him. Plow land deep, harrow fine, put on twelve
cords of strong manure to the acre ; plow and
harrow as before, then take a small plov/ and fur-
row twice in a row ; put one large shovel full of
strong manure in each hill, 2-^ feet apart ; chop
fine with a hoe, and cover with two inches of
earth. Drop from five to twenty seeds in each
hill. After the plants are Avell up, cultivate and
hoe twice a week, and thin to one in a hill as
they become large enough.

As I have followed the sea till within a few
years, my plans may be a little difi'erent from
most farmers. Perhaps "Subscriber" will ask how
I get manure at this rate for so much land ? I
will tell him. I keep one pair of oxen and two
horses in the winter season to draw manure ; first
we get all the vault manure possible, kelp from
the beach, and all kinds of manure that I can buy,
never being afraid of getting too much.

Capt. Samuel Graves.

Marhlehead, Mass., 1860.

Regularity in Milking. — Mr. O. E. Han-
num, a very successful dairyman of Portage Co.,
Ohio, a native of old Berkshire, Mass., names the
points of his management as follows : Good cows,
good feed, good milking, good care and manage-
ment of the milk. He puts "good milking" in
italics, and remarks : "Each cow should have a
steady milker, be milked as fast as possible, and
all the milk drawn. I am satisfied that there is a
loss of one-third in many dairies, by the lazy, hap-
hazard way in which cows are milked. I have
known persons sit down in the milking-yard and
go through with some long yarn, and be from ten
to twenty minutes milking one cow, when it should
be done in less than five."

226

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

May

For the New Ensland Farmer.
HIGH PARMIU'G OK" LOjNTG ISLAND.

Mr. Editor : — I have been much interested in
the discussion in your paper, for some weeks past,
upon the question, "is Farming Profitable" and I
desire to state to your readers what has been done
upon "Long Island," upon lands similar in every
respect 10 those I advertised in your paper for
sale a few weeks since. One person owning a
farm of 40 acres, at Fiatends, G miles from Brook-
lyn, raises principally early potatoes, peas, lettuce,
&c., with an after-crop of cal>bages, has, for twenty
years in succession, been able to invest regularly
$2000 upon bond and mortgage, and has now
$40,000 safely invested, and thinking he has made
sufficient, offers his farm for sale at $500 an acre.

Another farm of about 200 acres at South Ja-
maica, about 12 miles distant from market, is oc-
cupied by three brothers, who cultivate a general
variety of vegetables and small fruits. I am told
by an intimate friend of theirs, that they expend
$3000 annually for manure, and that their average
annual profit, over and above all expenses, beside
making their farm more valuable, is §6000 per
• annum. I might go on and fill a column with such
cases. And I hold that what these men have done
others may do. Your readers may say these peo-
ple are nearer to market than the lands I advertise.
I answer that we have made a favorable arrange-
ment with the Long Island Railroad Company to
run a nightly train through the market season, and
a barge in connection with the railroad, deliver-
ing at the principal market in New York, early
every morning, all kinds of marketing we choose
to send. We consign them to reliable commis-
sion merchants, who dispose of them, and make re-
turns without seeing the owners at all. I am sat-
isfied "farming is profitable," intelligently con-
ducted, and if these men I have mentioned can
make their farms pay a good interest upon a val-
uation of $500 to $1000 per acre, what may be
done upon just as good land at $20 to $50 the
acre ? Yours truly, Aaron Stone.

New York, Feb., 1860.

For the New England Farmer.
GBOTON FARMBBS' CLUB.

Mr. Editor : — Our farmers' club have adopted
and put in practice, what I understand to be the
practice of the Concord Farmers' Club, i. g., the
writing and reading of an essay, by a member of
the club, on some subject pertaining to the farm,
and after the reading, discussions, or conversa-
tions by the members on the subject of the essay.
Since adopting this practice, a much warmer in-
terest has been manifested in the meetings of the
club, and we have reason for hoping that good
will result from the practice.

At the meeting of the club on the 5th inst., we
had the pleasure of listening to a lecture by Henry
C. Vail, Esq., of Sing Sing, N. Y., on subjects per-
taining to the farm. The attendance was very
large. Mr. Vail illustrated much of his lecture,
by means of diagrams, by the aid of which many
things were made plain, which otherwise would
have been shrouded in mystery. He riveted the
attention of his audience for nearly two hours,
and at the close of the lecture, questions were

asked by the audience, and answered by the lec-
turer. The close attention paid by all present to
the lecture, for so long a time — nearly two hours
— plainly spoke the deep interest imparted to the
subjects by Mr. Vail's method of presenting them.

After the meeting adjourned, many members of
the club, among whom was Ex-Governor Bout-
well, expressed to Mr. V., in flattering terms, the
pleasure they had enjoyed. We hope to have Mr.
V. deliver a course of lectures before the club at
some future day, and most heartily Avish that he
may lecture before every agricultural club and so-
ciety in this Commonwealth. His method of
treating agricultural subjects makes his lectures
interesting to all classes, not excepting the ladies,
many of whom were present at his lecture here,
and expressed the wish to hear him again.

Yours truly, A. H. C.

Groton, March 12, 1860.

For the New England Farmer.
EXACT COST OF A CORM" CKOP.
FARMING IS PROFIT.VBLE.

I have been somewhat surprised, and not a lit-
tle amused, by the perusal of several articles in
the Farmer by j\Ir. Pinkham, of Chelmsford, in
which he labors very energetically to make him-
self and others believe that the whole farming
community, or at least all such as are not fortu-
nate enough to have rich relations to give them a
start, are coming to poverty at railroad speed, as
at the rate of ten dollars for every acre of corn
they cultivate, and a like proportion for every
thing else.

He reminds me of a certain grocer I once knew,
who was the only one in a small village, and doing
a first-rate business, but so great was his fear that
some one would start in opposition, that he al-
ways made a practice of running down his busi-
ness so as to deter others from going into it, not-
withstanding in a few years he retired from bus-
iness with a fortune. I don't say that friend Pink-
ham has made a fortune, or is ever going to, by
farming ; indeed, I think he never will, if it costs
him as much to raise an acre of corn as he says it
does, but one thing I am sure of, which is this, —
a great many men have made money by farming,
and by raising corn, too. I think if all his neigh-
bors are as liberal in their estimates of labor as
himself, that Chelmsford must be a perfect para-
dise for the day-laborer, although rather expen-
sive for the employer. For instance, he puts down
against his corn crop, $4,25 as the cost of plow-
ing an acre. I venture to assert that any man
with a good team, can aff'ord to plow common
kind of land for from i$2,50 to $3 per acre, and
make a good living at that. Then, again, he
charges the corn with all the manure, which ought
not to be done, for any intelligent farmer knows
that manure spread broadcast is not more than
half exhausted the first crop. He charges $6,50
for harvesting 30 bushels of corn and taking care
of the fodder, which is $1,50 more than any rea-
sonable man would ask, to do it by the job, or any
other way. He also charges 50 cents for pulling
weeds, which would not be necessary to be done
if the hoeing was done, as it should have been, at
the price allowed for it. As to marketing and
shelling, there is no place in New England or New

ISGO.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

227

York, at the present day, that it actually costs
more than 6 to S cents per bushel to shell and
market corn, and it need not be done in the night,
eitlur, as some of your correspondents suggest. I
do not pretend to say that Mr. Pinkham did not
expend $47 on an acre of corn. I presume he did,
and also that others have done the same thing —
but it is my opinion that any farmer that expends
$47 on an acre of corn, with ten loads of manure
on the land, must either have very poor land or
be a very poor farmer, if he realizes only 30 bush-
els of corn and $7 wortli of other stuff.

If farmers are continually going behind-hand,
as he says, why do not more of them have to
abandon the business ? Why do we not hear of
more of them becoming insolvent ? I will ven-
ture the assertion that for every farmer tliat be-
comes bankrupt, there arc five in the mercantile
•profession, which Mr. Pinkham seems to think is
a short and easy road to wealth.

The past season I have raised three acres of
corn, and instead of its running me in debt, I have
made it a profitable crop, notwithstanding ]Mr. P.'s
assertion that there is no profit in farming ; to
prove my position I will give my figures taken
from a regular account kept Avith the crop, omit-
ting dates. The account is no guess-work, but
the actual cost of every thing except the labor,
which I have charged at $1 per day — whereas it
only cost me a little more than half that amount,
as I paid $21 per month for my hired man, and
he boarded himself; and if any doubt exists as to
the accuracy of the account, the affidavits of myself
and hired man can be had to substantiate it.

I have charged only half of the manure to this
crop, for it does not belong to it. My account
was kept with the whole three acres, but I will
take one-third of that, so as to bring it dow;i to
one acre.

ONE ACRE OF CORX. Dr.

To 1 man and 1 team of horses 1 day plowing $3,00

To 1 m;in and 1 team of horses Iday drawing manure 3,00

To J of 15 loads of manure 7,50

To 1 man ^ day spreading manure and harrowing' 1,00

To" " A day marking ~. 1,00

To" " 1 day planting, $1, seed and plaster, 37A cts. .. .lJ37i

To" " .^ day cultivating T 1,00'

To" " Idayhoeing 1,00

To" " idayplowing 1.00

To" " Idayhilling ^ 1,00

To" " 1 J day cutting up at the hill arid binding 1,50

To " " 4 days husking and cribliing 4,00

To 2 men ^ day drawing fodder, pumpkins, and other

work 3,00

To plaster and putting it on SO

To interest, taxes, wear and tear of tools, &c 4,00

To shelling and marketing, at 8 cts. per bushel 3,.36

$37,54

ONE ACRE OF CORN. Cr.

By 42 bushels of corn, at $1,03 $43,26

By fodder sold 5,00

By 3 loads of pumpkins, at $1 3,00

By 4 bushels ears soft corn, at 25 cts 1,00

$52,20

I make the total cost of one acre of corn to be
$37,54, instead of $47, and the receipts for the
same $52,26, leaving $14,72, which I call profit.
The number of days' manual labor bestowed on
the crop, 17^, and the number of days' team labor,
4 days ; and allowing a day with a team to be
worth two of a man, making 25^ days' work nec-
essary to cultivate an acre of corn. Deduct from
the cost of the whole the worth of the fodder,
pumpkins and soft corn, and I have $28,54 as the
cost of 42 bushels of corn, or a trifle less than 68

cents per bushel, leaving 35 cents as something,
whether it is profit or not.

If a merchant buys a piece of cloth for $1 per
yard, and sells it for $1,25, he calls the 25 cents
profit, (that is, if the $1 covers all expenses of
transportation, &c.,) and if it is so, Avhy is not my
35 cents on a bushel, profit also ? True, I do not
always make 35 cents a bushel on my corn crop,
but I never yet have failed to make something
clear. Mr. P. says, in his opinion no man can
take a farm, go on, and in time pay for it, without
outside help. I know of several that have done so,
myself among the number. I have raised this year
two acres of flax, on which I have made $23 per
acre, over and above all cost, and if desirable, I
will give the account with that crop at some fu-
ture time. Mr. P. says one of two things is evi-
dent, that the farmer cither gets no per cent, on
his capital, or no pay for his labor.

If I allow $1 per day for every day's work I
do on my corn crop, and pay in the same propor-
tion for team labor, and have $14,72 left, I would
like to know what that is but a certain per cent,
on the capital invested in my farm ?

Oak Hill, AL Y., 1860. Investigator.

For the Netp Enslund Farmer.

COOKING FOOD FOR STOCK— "WILI,
IT PAY?

In the range of my agricultural reading, I find
a record of but a few experiments to answer the
above question, and I meet but few farmers able
to answer it. Of those who have conducted ex-
periments, the results of Avhich go to show that it
will pay, I find the following :

Cassius M. Clay states that after trial, he has
found that one bushel of dry corn would make five
pounds, ten ounces of pork. One bushel of boiled
corn, fourteen pounds, ten ounces, and one bush-
el of boiled meal made in one instance sLxteen
pounds, seven ounces, and in another, nearly
eighteen pounds of pork, or, in other words, when
pork is eight cents per pound, dry corn is worth
forty-five cents ; boiled corn $1,15^, and boiled
meal $l,31i to $1,44 cents per bushel.

Mr. S. H. Clay, of Bourbon county, Ky., says
that he has found, by careful experiment, that
pork made by feeding raw corn at fifty-six cents
per bushel, cost nine cents per pound ; that made
by feeding boiled corn cost four cents per pound,
while that made by boiled meal cost three cents
per pound.

Hon. H. L. Ellsworth, once Commissioner
of Patents, says that it is a fact established by
long experimenting, that corn ground and cooked
is 150 per cent, better for fattening cattle and
hogs, than corn as it is usually fed at the West.

If the conclusions arrived at by these experi-
ments are correct, farmers who feed their grain or
meal raw, are losing badly by such a course.

It has seemed surprising to me, that our State
Agricultural Societies have not taken up this sub-
ject more generally, and offered liberal premiums
for experiments in feeding cooked and uncooked
food to cattle and swnie. If the value of grain for
feeding is increased by cooking one-half the
amount that the experiments referred to would
indicate, most certainly our farmers ought to know
it, and practice accordingly.

228

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

May ,

Our agricultural societies pay hundreds of dol-
lars annually in premiums for the best animals of
different kinds, exhibited at our shows, but -what
we most need to know, is, how most economical-
ly to produce them. Premiums offered for good
animals, or crops, are but little benefit to the pub-
lic without this.

I have not been able to ascertain that more than
one society in the State (the Hampshire, at Am-
herst.) has offered premiums for such experiments.
In that case, but two persons made a trial —
Messrs. Moxtague and IIubbakd, both of whose
experiments v.erc decidedly unfavorable to the
use of cooked food. I have recently seen the state-
ment that, from experiments conducted in Scot-
land, it would not pay to cook food for stock. In
view of these conflicting results from different ex-
periments, we need more light. Can you, ^Ir.
Editor, or any of your correspondents, shed any
upon the subjeet ? Elihu Sjuth.

Sunderland, March, 1860.

LEGISLATIVE AGRICULTUBAL
MEETING.

[RBPORtlTD FOB, THE NEW ENGLAND FAaMEE BY ThOS. BeADLEY.]

The eleventh meeting of the present series of
the Legislative Agricultural Society was held in
the Representatives' Hall at the State House on
Monday evening. Col. HEARD, of Wayland, oc-
cupied the chair, and announced the subject for
discussion to be "3Ianures."

Mr. Spariiawk, of Charlestown, being called
upon, said it was well understood that the growth
of plants was produced by air, light and the sus-
tenance from the soil, and it was necessaiy that
the nature of the plant should be known in order
to know what sustenance it needs. It was an ac-
knowledged fact that the lands in Massachusetts
have very much deteriorated within thirty or fifty
years by constant cropping, and he was of opin-
ion, from what had been stated at the last meet-
ing, that the lands in Ohio would soon be in the
same condition, as he could only compare the
people tliere to buffaloes roaming in search of new
pastures, when they had used up all there was on
the old. The speaker said that in China, France
and England, the land, notwithstanding the heavy
draft upon it, has improved under scientific til-
lage, and this confirmed him in the opinion that
we must understand something of agricultural
chemistry to restore our lands. This is not so
much necessary on the rich lands, as on those
worn out, in order to bring them to their primary
condition.

Alluding to the growth of plants, Mr. Sparhawk
said that when manure was thoroughly decom-
posed it was in its best condition for feeding, and
that green manure, unless plowed in deep, was not
so good, as the straw mixed with it acted as so
many syphons, carrying off the ammonia and oth-
er fertilizing properties. If green manure is ap-
plied to the surface, he contended that it must l^e

that a great part of the organic matter is lost.
He considered it a great mistake to apply green
manure to the surface of grass lands, and so far
as his observation went, it had been particularly
injurious when applied to the roots of trees. There
was another objection to green manure, in the
fact that when applied it contained, necessarily, a
great mass of undigested matter, which not being
thoroughly decomposed, was, as he thought, the
means of drawing together and breeding worms
or insects injurious to crops. He claimed that to
avoid this, it should be diluted with carbon in the
cellar and mixed with muck. He did not wish to
be understood as saying that green manure well
plowed into arable land, Avhere it did not come in
contact with trees or grass, was not good, but he
considered that where manure was kept in the
cellar until spring, without absorbents, and then
carted to the field in a heap until used, it was a
loss.

As a matter of economy, he said, no man can
afford to purchase foreign manures, such as guano,
&c., when better can be produced for much less
money on any farm in the State. It is as neces-
sary, said he, to study the wants of plants as that
of animals, and the value of our crops depends
upon the cultivation they receive, and the quality
of the crop will increase in the same proportion as
the quality of the land from cultivation.

Hon. Amasa Walker, of North Brookfield,
being called upon, said he had come to the city
on another matter than that under discussion, but
one which he considered paramount to all others
at the present time — the disease among the cattle
in that portion of the State where he resided.

On motion of Mr. Stoughton, of Gill, the sub-
ject under discussion was laid on the table and
that of the cattle disease taken up.

Mr. Walker said that he considered the dan-
ger from the disease Avas a hundi-ed fold gi-eater
than it was two weeks ago, as the contagion had.
been found to be so rapid. It was well known
that the disease was considered to be incurable
in Europe, and he had been delegated by the se-
lectmen of North Brookfield to come to Boston
and urge upon the Legislature the necessity of
taking immediate action to check its ravages. He
alluded to the excitement existing in the towns
where the disease was, as well as those surround-
ing, and said that it was supposed it had spread
to Sterling, where four cows had been sold from a
herd that had been exposed, but which had not
yet shown symptoms of the disease.

Mr. Stougiiton, of Gill, alluded to the resolve
before the Legislature, and said it provided that
when any person knew or suspected the disease
to be among his cattle, he should give informa-
tion to the Selectmen or Mayor and Aldermen.
He thought that where some men Avere only going

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

229

to get fifty per cent, of the value of their cattle
they would be slow to suspect this disease, as also
that it would be difficult to convince others that
theii- cattle really had the disease. His idea was,
that a Commissioner should be appointed to de-
stroy every animal that has the disease or has
been in any way exposed to contagion, as if it
cost the State $5000, $10,000 or even $25,000, it
would be a trifle, comparatively. It would be bet-
ter, said he, to kill fifty well animals than to run
the slightest risk. It had been stated that the
disease had abated among ^Ir. Chenery's herd,
but he was informed that notwithstanding it did
apparently abate for a time, Mr. Chenery had re-
cently lost several animals, thus showing the dan-
ger of judging by appearances. He not only was
desirous of seeing all infected cattle killed and
buried, but the barns or buildings in which cattle
affected had been kept, either thoroughly purified
or burned.

Col. Stone, of Dedham, spoke of the action of
Mr. Stoughton in relation to the resolve which
was on the table of the House of Representatives
and attribul ed the fact of its being in that position,
and not having been passed, to that gentleman.

Mr. Walker, of North Brookfield, said that
when he drew up the bill that was presented be-
fore the Committee on Agriculture, he foresaw the
many objections that would be raised to it, and
many of them he recapitulated, but he wanted
some one man or body of men appointed in whose
judgment and honesty the Legislature could rely,
to make examination and destroy the diseased
cattle, and make such award therefor as was prop-
er. In Europe there was a provision that if a
man failed to give notice that any of his cattle
were attacked with pleuro-pneumonia, ho should
be fined $30, while if he gave such notice he re-
ceived full payment for his cattle.

Mr. Walker said he had been informed just as
he was leaving home, but he would not vouch for
the truth of the statement, that the disease had
exhibited itself in another phase, which made it
still more serious. A neighbor of his bought a
cow last summer which was served by a bull be-
longing to Mr. Chenery, and M'hich had since suf-
fered from pleuro-pneumonia, and this offspring
of the cow has the disease now, while the cow has
never shown any symptoms of it.

Mr. Fay, of Lynn, said the question appeared
to him to be as to the best mode of abating the
disease, and he thought this could be done as well
in twenty-four hours as in a year. On reading
over the act which was before the Legislature, he
had felt convinced that there should be something
more urgent as well as stringent. Something
must be done thoroughly, and whoever had the
doing of it must apply the remedy as the knife is
applied to the cancer. One, two or three persons

should be appointed to attend to the matter, in
whom the people have confidence, and these should
have almost unlimited power not only to destroy
the cattle but the buildings, should they deem it
necessary, and thus eradicate the disease. Mr.
Fay said that $5000 was a mere pittance, yet so
far as he knew, it might be enough, and more than
enough, to pay the expense. If town by town,
where an excitement on this subject was felt, were
to come and present this matter to the Legislature,
an appropriation as large as that of the general
appropriation bill would be made. To show the
feeling in his part of the State, he said a man who
kept some 40 head of cattle, said he would give
$100 towards having the disease eradicated, while
another farmer who kept about the same number
of cows, said he would freely give the five best he
had to have the others insured from this disease.
If an exigency exists, said the speaker, then
prompt action is demanded imperatively, but if
there is no exigency, then no action is necessary,
and he thought it was just as well to have a law
to cover the whole ground at first as last.

Mr. Stoughton said the reason he opposed
the passage of the bill in the House of Represen-
atives was, that he considered it defective, and
not what the exigency demanded. It provided
for no penalty in case information was not given
to the authorities, nor for any purifying of barns
or places where diseased cattle had been kept. It
gave a man owning diseased cattle his OAvn time
in which to make complaint, and in a disease
such as pleuro-pneumonia this was wrong, and
then it left it optional with the Selectmen whether
to kill all the cattle, or only the worst ones, and,
as these Boards in many instances consisted of
five, there would be a diversity of opinion among
the members, thus causing delay, and consequent-
ly danger.

Col. Heard said the Committee on Agriculture
were divided in opinion in regard to the enact-
ment of a general law on this subject, but that
the whole committee were in favor of a special act
to meet the few cases now known. The parties
owning the diseased cattle had pledged themselves
to the Secretary of the Board of Agriculture that
they would put their cattle at a fair valuation, and
he thought the bill ought to be passed at once,

Mr. BucKMiNSTER, of Boston, spoke in favor
of a special commission being appointed to destroy
cattle affected with pleuro-pneumonia as being
preferable to the Board of Agriculture or the Se-
lectmen of towns, who had enough to attend to
without this.

Mr. C. L. Flint, Secretary of the Board of Ag-
riculture, said he was sure the enormity of the
evil was not known to the members of the Legis-
lature, as, was it understood thoroughly, he felt
satisfied twenty-four hours would not elapse bo-

230

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

Ma^

fore efficient action was taken to crush the dis-
ease. He said that the Avorst features were now
exhibiting themselves, and that since the disease
had first broken out here, he had given much time
to its study, and from correspondence abroad and
personal examination here, it was positively the
pleuro-pneumonia of Europe, and there was no
cure for it. The recent cases here show that al-
though an animal may appear to be recovering,
and in some cases appear to be well, it still pos-
sesses the elements of the disease, which is liable
to cause its death at any time.

The bill proposed in the Legislature had a pro-
vision in relation to quarantining animals that
were supposed to have been exposed to infection,
but, the speaker asked, who would drink the milk,
or eat the butter or cheese, or even the beef of
any cattle even supposed to have been exposed ?
It was folly to suppose that a cow would be good
for anything among those who entertained the
slightest suspicion that she had been exposed.
There had only been two cases in which the dis-
ease had been brought to this country, — the case
of Mr. Chenery, and a large cattle breeder in
New Jersey, who when he found the disease to
exist among his herd, sacrificed from $8,000
to $10,000, by killing off those affected, and
thus stopped it at once. This, said Mr. Flint, is
not a matter that solely concerns the farmer, as
all are anxious for the speedy extermination of
the plague, and prompt action on the part of the
Legislature was demanded for the protection of
the consumer as well as of that of the producer.

A farmer from Andover said that he had come
to the city, to ascertain what action the Legisla-
ture were going to take, and expressed his sur-
prise that none had yet been taken to stay the dis»-
ease. He spoke of the dread his neighbors had
of the disease coming there, and said that even
now the value of stock was depreciating from the
dread of the disease spreading.

Mr. Howard, of Boston stated that although
this disease had been prevalent on the European
continent for a century, it only first showed itself
in the British Isles in 1841, and then in Ireland,
but at that time there was no country in the
world so well provided with a force to resist the
disease, as there were graduates from the London
and Edinburgh Veterinary Colleges all over the
country, who had given the subject special atten-
tion, and so the disease had never spread there as
elsewhere. Mr. Howard closed his remarks by
alluding to the case of the calf mentioned by Mr.
Walker, saying that if such an occurrence had
rcallv taken place, the disease becoines doubly
alarming, and it was necessary that the case
should be inquired into by veterinarians, so as to
see whether the disease was constitutionally he-
reditary ill cattle.

For the New England Farmer.
LAWTON BLACKBEBKY, ONCE MORE.

Mr. Editor : — I supposed I had done writing
upon the Lawton blackberry, but will say a few
words more, as I think by so doing light may be
so shadowed forth as to show that you and your
contributors, although seeming to disagree in
several particulars, are severally in the right. I
will quote a few lines from the Country Gentleman.
"The New Rochclle (Lawton) blackberry is vari-
able in the llaTor of its fruit ; sometimes sweet,
and at others quite acid. We have not yet det'jr-
mined what influence generally produces this dif-
ference." So you see mine may be sweet and
your's sour, and still both Lawton.

Mr. Bassett has come to a correct conclusion.
My axes are all ground ; but if they|were not, and
I wished to "set them on edge," I would try and
get some of his sour fruit. I would say to him
that I am well acquainted with wild varieties, as
they grow both in Vermont and Massachusetts. I
know many of them to be very fine indeed, but
have seen none that would not suffer in compari-
son witli what I have raised as the Lawton. I raise
only a very few — not having room — but should
they prove as good the coming season, as they
were the last two, I shall be most happy to give all
incredulous persons "a taste," if not too numer-
ous. G. W. H.

New Bedford, 2nd mo. 18, 1860.

Remarks. — Thank you, sir. Hope we shall
taste them.

For tlie New E7igland Farmer.
LEAD PIPE FOR CONDUCTINQ WATER.

Mr. Editor : — Your correspondent of Billerica,
in the Farmer of Jan. 28, asks for information iu
relation to the best kind of pipe to convey water
through, and says, if the water was soft, he should
use lead.

Now as I happen to know something by rather
dear experience in relation to lead pipe for con-
veying water for culinary purposes, I have thought
it my duty to give the little knowledge I have ob-
tained in that direction, for the benefit of him,
and others who wish to convey water to their
dwellings. Some 17 years ago I conceived the
plan of bringing water into my sink by pipe and
pump, from a spring some 200 feet distant ; ac-
cordingly I made inquiry for the cheapest and best
kinds, and was informed that lead was the best,
for several reasons, but having previously learned
that lead was poisonous, I hesitated ; but those
best informed, whom I consulted, said that tlie
raanufaturers had improved it, and made it sai
by coating the inside Avith tin. My fears bein.,
silenced, I sent to Boston, procured the pipe, lai;l
down and have used it until recently. The water
is pure and of the softest kind, and yet I have lost
my health and nearly lost my speech, and the
most scientific and experienced physicians, that I
have consulted, attribute the cause of my disease
to the use of that water, and say that soft water
will act on lead much more than hard water, and
though it bo tinned, there is liable to lie places that
are not covered, and that it is not safe in any wa-
ter, and that it acts differently on different indi-
viduals, but that on some persons it has no bad

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

231

effect. In my case it has been so slow, that not-
withstanding my fears, and notwithstanding all
that has been said in the Farmer of its deleterious
effects, (and I have been a constant reader of it
since its first publication,) and notwithstanding
my health has been gradually failing for several
years, yet I, nor the physicions whom I consulted,
were aware of the cause, until paralysis seized
my organs of speech.

Now I intend, should I be permitted to live till
spring, to use wood, and I wish for information,
through the colums of your valuable paper.

1. What kind of wood is best ?

2. What size is best ?

3. What size of bore is suitable for a common
house pump, and

4. If it is best to peel or let the bark remain on ?
Any other information upon the subject will be
gi-atefully received.

To return to the lead pipe. It is being exten-
sively used, and the public needs more scientific
information upon the subject, and I hope some of
your correspondents, who have the information
and ability to express it, will give it, for the good
of the public. A Reader of tub Farmer.

Dayton, Me., Feb., 1860.

Remarks. — We have no sufRciently accurate
facts to communicate to our correspondent, but
earnestly hope some of our friends who have the
requsite information will give it, as it is a subject
of much importance.

EXTRACTS AND REPLIES.

PRESER'STING BEAN POLES — CHINESE SUGAR CANE
SEED — TRANSPLANTING CURRANT BUSHES.

I wish to know if you can give a cheap and con-
venient method of preparing bean poles, so as not
to rot in the ground ?

Where, and what price, can Chinese sugar cane
seed be obtained ?

What is the best time for transplanting currant
bushes ? Inquirer.

Coventry, Vt., 1860.

Remarks. — In the Montldy Farmer for Febru-
ary, 1860, we gave a recipe for preserving posts,
stakes, bean-poles, &c., from Mr. R. G. Pardee,
as follows :

"One pound of blue vitriol (sulphuric acid and
copper) to twenty quarts of water. Dissolve the
vitriol with boiling water, and then add the re-
mainder.

"The end of the stick is then dipped into the
solution, and left to stand four or five days ; for
shingles three or four days will answer, and for
posts six inches square, ten days. Care is to be
taken that the saturation takes place in a metal
vessel or keyed box, for the reason that any bar-
rel will be shrunk by the operation so as to leak.
Instead of expanding an old cask, as other liquids
do, this shrinks them."

Chinese sugar cane seed may be found at the
seed stores.

Transplant currant bushes in the spring, as
soon as the frost is out, and the ground becomes
warm.

FOOT AIL, OR FOUL IN CATTLE.

When the foot begins to discharge, apply a lit-
tle red precipitate to the part affected, once or
twice a day, which will very soon produce a cure.

TO CURE MILK FEVER.

If a cow at the time of coming in is attacked
with this complaint, or is very weak, give her
half a pailful or more of cider, with some wheat or
rye bran stirred into it. If she will not drink it
readily, force it down. Give it twice a day, or
more.

REMEDY FOR BLACK LEG.

Give to a cow 4 oz. of gunpowder, to a calf less,
in warm milk. Repeat the dose as circumstances
may require.

Another. — Give half an ounce of saltpetre in
extreme cases, otherwise one-fourth. Give it dis-
solved in a mess, or in water, t^vice a day. When
the disease has advanced, so as to have the blood
settle in the legs, make an incision in the legs,
put in a little pulverized saltpetre, and bandage
over it.

TO CURE GARGET.

Give in a mess, one teaspoonful, or one-fourth
of an ounce of saltpetre pulverized, once or twice
a day, for two days, or a piece of garget root,
green, one" inch square, chopped fine, and given
as directed above. If no better, repeat the dose.

New Haven, Ct., 1860. c. A.

Remarks. — We give the above recipes, more
because they come from a highly respectable
source, than because we have any great confidence
in them. The well-read physician or chemist can
only tell whether they are not absolutely danger-
ous. We believe ten sick animals are cured by
kind care where one is by medicine. If medicine
is necessary, the advice of some person Avho un-
derstands its nature and effects, becomes neces-
sary with it.

CORN FOR FODDER.

Can you, or any of your subscribers, tell me the
best time to sow corn for fodder, and also the
quantity per acre ? A Young Farmer.

Remarks. — Put in some as soon as the gi-ound
is suitable in the spring. In two weeks a little
more, and so on until the middle of June. It re-
quires about four bushels of seed for an acre to
sow in drills.

work on sheep.

Will you inform me of a small work on the
raising of sheep and cattle, or on sheep alone ;
something adapted to the South, (Texas,) if there
is such a one published ? J. H. B.

Boston, 1860.

Re:marks. — "The American Shepherd," by
Morrell, is the title of a good work on Sheep,
and it is sold at the book-stores in Boston.

BLACK SPANISH AND LEGHORN FOWLS.

Will some one infoi-m me where I can get
Black Spanish and Leghorn fowls ?

Monlpelicr, Vt., 1860. B. TowN.

232

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

May

THE DISEASE AMONG CATTLP:.

I have read in the Boston Jotimal about a dis-
ease among the cattle in North Brookfield, and in
other places, describing it as commencing with a
heavy cough settled on the lungs. I believe it is
nothing else but the lung fever, so called in my
native country, Holland. So far as I recollect,
there is no remedy for it ; but our farmers at
home use as a preventive, by advice of the veter-
inarian school, rusty old iron, put in the water-
troughs, not letting the cattle drink any other
drink, and separating the sick ones immediately
from the herd. Farmers should bury the cattle
whole, not using the hide for any purpose, as it
was proved that the disease had been carried to
different ])laces by the hides alone. Great precau-
tion should be taken not to let diverse cattle come
together. Charles DeWolff.

East Uubbardston, March 17, 1860.

pear on the thorn.

In reply to "S. P. W.," Dorrville, R. I., as to
whether the thorn is a suitable stock upon which
to graft the pear, we can only give the testimony
of others, having never resorted to it for that
purpose. Downing says it makes a very good
stock when grafted a little below the surface. It
is also good on strong clayey soils, as on such
stocks the pear may be grown with success, when
it would not otherwise thrive. It would also come
a little earlier into bearing, than on the pear
stock.

Wo cannot say where the pear seedlings may
be found.

THE OKRA PLANT.

I hear much speculation amongst the old folks
concerning a new production styled "Okra," which
the New York papers eulogize highly. They can-
not ascertain if it be fish, llesh or fowl. Some
suppose it to be a grain, others a substitute for
the potato — while others, again, conjecture it may
be a fruit, resembling, possibly, the tomato. Now,
Mr. Editor, can you shed any light on this sub-
ject? Do you know aught of the animal, its na-
ture or uses ? Can the Old Bay State produce it?
Is it propagated by seeds, slips or bulbs ? Can
they be obtained in your city, and what would
be their pi-obable price ?

A Subscriber's Daughter.

Pembroke, Mass., March, 1860.

Remarks. — Okra, Hibiscus esculentis. It was
introduced from the West Indies into the United
States. The pods are gathered green and used in
soups. The pods are filled with seeds and a mu-
cilage of a bland and nutritious quality.

ESSEX PIGS.

I saw to-day, at the stall of Mr. C. Tilton, of
South Danvers, in Salem market, two pigs, unit-
edly weighing 1403 lbs., varying only about 20
lbs. in their weight. They were stated to be 23
months old. They were fed by farmer Bates, of
Danvers, who docs everything in the best manner,
being io])uted the best I'armer in the town. In re-

ply to the inquiry how they were made to grow
so well, I was answered, by the best of feed, and
taking care to keep their appetites good. When
tired of corn or meal, oats or some other grain
was cooked for their use. I was told they were
estimated to be worth $140. I have never seen
handsomer pork. j. w. B.

March 12, 1860. _

PASTURE GRASSES.

I have a field of fifteen or twenty acres of pine
plain land, so called, of a rather gravelly soil,
which I wish to seed for pasture. Will you in-
form me what is the best kind of grass seed to
sow ? c. s.

Putney, Vt., 1860.

Remarks. — We are inclined to believe that it
will be doubtful whether any kind should be sown
without manure and cultivation. Perhaps you in-
tend to add these. AVhen this is done, sow a mix-
ture of Timothy, Orchard, Meadow Foxtail, Ken-
tucky Blue, Rough-stalked Meadow, Meadow
Fescue and Redtop and White Clover.

ASSESSMENT OF TAXES.

"R. B." has my thanks for admitting that I was
right in saying that all property shovdd be assess-
ed "equally and proportionately" wherever it may
be found. There is no difference between us as to
the principle to be applied ; the only difference is as
to the application of it — that is, the intelligence
and honesty of assessors. This being so, can there
be any hope of a correction of errors by a modifi-
cation of the law ? I trow not. P.

Feb. 25, 1860. _

A farmer's barometer.

I read with much pleasure the article on "A
Farmer's Barometer," in the last number of the
Farmer.

Will you inform me of the price, and the source
whence it may be obtained, and oblige,

Orafton, Feb., 1800. w. G. s.

Remarks. — The price will be from $7 to $40.
We do not know that they are offered for sale in
this market yet — but probably will be soon.

"0. B. Lee" will please observe the above.

CHESTNUT SAWDUST.

Is the sawdust from chestnut wood good for
fertilizing purposes, cither to be spread upon the
surface, plowed under, or for bedding stock ?

Shutesbury, Vt., 1860. E. L. Pratt.

Remarks. — We are^not able to say of how
much value the saw -dust is from chestnut wood ;
we should use quantities of it for bedding, and as
an absorbent, -if we had it at hand, but should first
have it thoroughly di'ied.

MACHINE FOR OPENING DRAINS FOR TILE.

Will you inform me through your paper of the
best machine for opening drains for tile ?

Greenfield, March, 1860. P. D. M.

Remarks. — J. J. Thomas's, Albanv, N. Y.

1860.

NEW EXGLAND FAIIMER.

233

USES AND VALUE OF MUCK— II.

Op wuat Muck is Composed,
AKD now Deposited.

;|IIE substratum, in one
of the valleys to -which
\vc adverted in a foi"-
mer article, where the
muck is from four to
eight feet deeji', and of
the best quality, is to
this day a compact
mass of partially de-
cayed logs; as these
approach the surface,
the decay is more per-
fect, and where one is
found in a slanting position, its upper portion has
assumed the form of the other materials around it.
But, generally, the muck in these pent-up valleys
is entirely free from logs and roots. We con-
dude, therefore, that the accumulation has been
gradual, occupying periods very remote, and is
made up of annual deposits of grasses, shrubs,
lichens and mosses, with slight but constant con-
tributions of mineral matter from the hills to-
gether with immense quantities of the leaves of
the forests which for successive ages had been
shed upon their sides. When the superincum-
bent masses are removed, and atmospheric influ-
ences find their way to the submerged logs and
roots, they, in turn, will become more thoroughly
decomposed and fitted for action on the surface.

In the natural peat or muck swamps the pro-
cess must have been a different one, as partially
decayed logs and roots are usually found, and
these are in addition to the materials enumerated
above as composing the muck of valleys. These
swamps were probably once destroyed by fires,
prostrated by hurricanes, or touched by the
"tooth of Time," after having come to maturity,
aiid gradually crumbled to the ground, retaining
vast quantities of moisture, and forming the first
root-beds for a rank growth of unnumbered
shrubs and grasses.

OF TUE DIFFERENT QUALITIES OF MUCK.

It will be seen from statements already made,
that muck of all qualities is mainly composed of
vegetable substances. These, however, are aff"ect-
ed by the particular location in which it is found,
by the kind of vegetables of which it is composed,
by floods, and in some degree by mineral influ-
ences. We have preferred to call it by the popular
name much, which means a mass of decaying veg-
etable matter, because that term is at once under-
stood by those who are principally engaged in its
use. It has received, however, by scientific in-
quirers, several other names, and among them that
which is most common is humus, the Latin word

for earth or mould. Stockhardt says this term is
identical Avith decaying organic matter. In this
acceptation it has for many years been known and
valued in agriculture. Vegetable mould (humus)
is the term applied to the upper black or brown
layer of earth, which has been formed in forests
by the decay of the leaves which fall ofl" ; the dark,
fat, arable soil, containing much partially decom-
posed organic [vegetable] matter, is said to be
rich in humus, while the dry, light soil, in which
it is wanting, is said to be poor in humus. The
farmer knows that, contrary to what happens in
his woodlands, the humus diminishes in his fields,
and so much the more rapidly as the crops are
more abundant, and he knows that fields rich in hu-
mus are, as a general rule, more fertile than those
which are jjoor in humus. * * * * Accordingly,
by the general term humus we must understand a
mass of brown, decaying matter, partly soluble,
partly insoluble, pailly acid, partly neutral, which,
with the uninterrupted presence of air, water and
heat, may be stUl further decomposed, and there-
by carbonic acid and water evolved. Carbonic
acid and water are indispensable to the nourish-
ment of plants ; hence, in a soil rich in humus,
the plants will grow more vigorously, because
they find there, and can absorb by their rootlets,,
more of these two nutritive substances than they
could in a soil poor in humus. Humus exerts,,
moreover, a beneficial influence upon vegetation,,
because it loosens the soil by the development of
cai"bonic acid, because it possesses the power of
attracting water from the air, and of retaining it
for a long time, and because, by means of the
acids contained in it, it is able to abstract from
the air, and also from manure, the third means of
nutriment for plants, — ammonia.

In the extensive low muck swamps, the quality
of the material is often widely different ; some
parts being traversed by ruiming streams which
wash away the rich soluble portions and leave but
the coarser fibres, and others composed of par-
ticular kinds of wood which impregnate the whole
mass with acids that are unfavorable to field
crops. A striking illustration of this may fre-
quently be seen when these swamps are in the
process of being drained, and long ridges of muck
are thrown up on the edges of the ditch and al-
lowed to remain undisturbed. If thrown up in the
autumn or winter, they will present particular
points the following summer, coTcred Mith a rank
growth of weeds or grasses, and indicating great
vitality in the muck below, while other portions
remain entirely bare, or at best are partially cov-
ered with stunted fungi or moss. The spots bar-
ren of vegetation are sometimes covered with a
whitish-yellow substance, light and flocculent, or
with sulphate of iron. Much of the latter descrip-
tion spread upon pasture, or mowing lands, has

234

KEW ENGLAND FARMER.

May

been known to prevent the growth of grass for
many years in succession ; and when plowed and
planted, aquatic grasses and plants spring up in
profusion, and can only be eradicated by a most
careful and expensive process of cultivation. In-
deed, cases have come under our own knowledge,
where the cost of cultivating a corn crop has been
doubled by the introduction of these plants in
using this kind of muck before it had been sea-
soned or composted ; and it was only by high
manuring, constantly stirring the ground, and the
most careful culture, that they were finally sub-
dued. If a few plants only are suffered to come to
maturity, their seeds will find their way to every
wet spot on the high or low lands in their vicini-
ty, and before the cultivator is fully aware of the
evil, an inroad of intruders will be established
upon his premises, which he will find it exceed-
ingly difficult to eject. The farmer must exercise
the nicest discrimination in regard to the matter
of quality in the use of muck, or he will be led in-
to errors which may require years of patient toil
to correct.

For the New England Farmer.

DISEASED APPLE TREES, &c.

Mr. Editor : — In your December number of
the monthly Farmer of 18j9, you did me the fa-
vor to publish a communication which I sent you
respecting the condition of my apple trees. I have
been much gratified by the interest manifested in
the subject by several individuals who have re-
plied to it, giving their opinions of the cause of
the troul)le. There is a wide difference in those
opinions, and with all due deference to the better
judgment of the writers of the articles, I think no
one of the theories satisfactorily accounts for the
cause that has so deeply, and I fear fatally afi"ect-
ed my trees. Mr. Bassett, of Ashfield, in an ar-
ticle in this same number, expresses the opinion
that the bark borer is the enemy I am sutfering
from. In your number for March, 1860, he has
an article on the subject, in which he refers to
your Sandy River correspondent, a slight mistake,
I presume, for Still River, [No, Sandy River is
right.— /i'd.] in which he holds to the same opinion,
if I understand his meaning. I cannot see, on
this theory, how to account for the circumstance
of the trees being invariably affected on the south
side, and the black, scorched appearance of the
barlv the whole distance from the lower limbs to
the roots of the trees, an operation too extensive I
should think, for any borer to perform. I will
here add some facts in relation to the age and size
of my trees about which I was not sufficiently ex-
plicit in my communication, and for want of which
knowledge "O. W. D.," of Goshen, Vt., was led
into a misapprehension in his article in your Feb-
ruary number. My trees were set out where they
now stand in the spring of 1844, and eight years
afterward in the spring of 1852, finding that
the fruit was not what I exjjected, I had them en-
grafted, at which time a large part of the top was
cut away. The elevated position of the trees ex-
posed them to the action of the wind, which has

given them an inclination toward the northeast,
and also the loss of nearly the entire top by
engrafting has left the body exposed to the full
action of the sun. The grafts, although they took
and grew well, have not attained to nearly the ox-
tent of top ofthe original tree, affording very little
shade. The size of the trees, which are now six-
teen years old from the nursery, is from five to
six inches in diameter, and some of the spaces
left bare by the loss of the bark are one and a half
to two feet long and four to five inches wide, and
present appearances indicate a further extension
of the parts aflected. With a knowledge of the
facts, "O. W. D." will perceive that his views
are not applicable to my case, except, perhaps, in
the application of manure to the ti'ees and the
cultivation of the land, and the article of grafting
wax to be applied to the parts affected, and that it
seems to me would be rather an expensive article
to be used on so extensive a scale as would be re-
quired. Is there not some other article, less ex-
pensive and more easily prepared, that would do
as well for the purpose ? I propose to close over
the ])arts affected with something, and shall feel
obliged for any information on this point.

]\Ir. Whipple's theory, of Lowell, is the agency
of heat and cold causing the trouble complained
of. Looking to all the circumstiinces of the case,
cannot a satisfactory solution be found in the
agency of the sun alone, causing all the mischief;
lo exposure of the parts affected by injudiciously
destroying too great a share of the tops of the
trees at the time of engrafting ? I will leave these
suggestions with the single remark, that if my
unfortunate experience should prove a warning to
any to avoid the mischievous practice of too much
pruning, especially on the side of the trees most
exposed to the action ofthe sun, I shall feel grat-
ified. I hope to hear again from some of your
correspondents who may be able to shed some new
light on the subject. L. B. H.

Still Elver, March 20, 1880.

The Onion Maggot. — Mr. David Fisher, of
Walpole, N. H., succeeded, last year, in raising a
good crop, after having had his onions destroyed
by maggots for a number of years previously. He
prepared the ground carefully, plowing, manuring,
raking, &c. ; he then coTercd the surface with old
pea brush, and other combustible materials, and
burnt them. Then sowed the seed. On his bed,
12 by 3 feet, he placed three bowls about half
full of sweetened water, as soon as the onions were
one or two inches high. Each morning the sur-
face of the water was cleared of the flies and in-
sects that had been caught, adding a little water
occasionally. On part of his bed he raised some
excellent onion seed. AVe find his statement in
the Boston Cultivator.

AVheat Crops. — Mr. G. W. Wilson writes us
from Fitzwilliam, N. H., that he has raised wheat
on his farm for forty years in succession, and has
never failed of getting a good crop, the largest of
which was 28 bushels an acre.

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FARjNIER.

235

Fur the New England Farmer.
KEWOVATING -WOKIf-OUT LANDS.

Mr. Editor : — Among the manj^ pleasing evi-
dences of that "interesting revival" in agriculture,
referred to in the Farmer of the 11th ult., is the
increasing attention to the subject of this article.
Hoio shall ice reclaim our loorn-out fields and
pastures, and bring them hack to their former fer-
tiliiij'} has become one of the great questions of
the times. Any facts which will shed light upon
it, I may reasonably suppose, will be acceptable
to an increasing number of your readers.

During the past summer I visited the south
shore of the east end of Long Island. Having re-
sided there during the years of 183;J-G, I was
struck by the manifest improvement in the farms.
It may be extravagant, but it seems to me that,
since that time, they had improved at least twenhj-
five per cent., although in the main, I think then,
as now, the farming of Long Island would com-
pare favorably with our own. To inquiries, as to
the method adopted for improving their farms, I
found that the farmers there depended more than
we do on generous manuring. To the question,
whether they placed great reliance on seaweed
and fish, as manures, they replied that although
used to some extent, as formerly, they had less
confidence in their permanent good results. Their
chief resources were their "barn-yards" and "hog
pens," with a liberal use of ashes and bone dust,
although their ashes must be obtained from Con-
necticut and their "bone" from Boston. Peruvi-
an guano is employed to some extent as a stimu-
lant, but not very generally used. As the sub
ject of the "profits of farming" is now attracting
so much attention, I presume some light might be
shed upon it, if the/ac^s, developed by the expe-
rience of these Long Island farmers could be fully
understood. And it should be born in mind that
they are not "gentlemen farmers," in the usual
sense of that cant and much abused phrase, (al-
though in its true and legitimate signification they
are eminently so,) but hardworking men, who are
obliged to get their living and make their money
from their farms.

But I took my pen to give some account of the
experiments of a friend of mine. Col. B. IT. FOS-
TER, of So. Hampton, in renovating some old and
worn-out pasture lands ; of which a lot of fifty
acres was bought by his father for $70. This land
he describes, as "so run down by what we call the
skinning process, that it produced little or noth-
ing, had become overrun with moss, whortleberry
and barberry bushes, and was not considered worth
fencing." He commenced the process some eight
years ago, and has succeeded in reclaiming some
20 acres. His "object has been," he says, "to
make the land productive without an unwarrar.ta-
ble out-lay for manure, * * * by plowing in what-
ever [he] could get to grow upon it, and applying
a small quantity of stimulating manure, that viould
produce a crop, and pay for the manure, labor and
expenses, and leave the land in an improved and
better condition."

Acting, however, without the benefit of others'
experience, he has been compelled to try experi-
ments for himself. From these trials and experi-
ments, he has arrived at the following conclu-
sions :

1. It is best, by planting with corn or potatoes,

one or two years, to pulverize the soil. His plan
is to sow broadcast IJiO pounds of Peruvian guano
]5er acre on the sward, as near the time of plow-
ing as possible — indeed, to sow as they plow. He
then applies four two-horse loads of good manure
from the hog-pen, if for corn, in the hill. He
thinks it best to pursue this course two years in
succession. The following spring, plow as soon
as the season will admit, a])ply broadcast 25 bush-
els of bone-dust, sow oh bushels of oats, harrow
thoroughly, then sow 6 pounds of clover seed, and
roll it smooth. Take ofi" the crop of oats, and if
wanted, let it be used as pasture in the fall. The
next spring the clover is allowed to grow as if for
mowing, till the middle of June; a roller is passed
over it, and then it is plowed in, the furrows
pressed down by a roller, and then l-i bushels of
corn is sown broadcast, and thoroughly harrowed
in. When it has attained its greatest height and
bulk, or when it is fairly "spindled," it is then
broken down by a roller and plowed under. By
a very simple contrivance of a chain attached to
the v,hippletree and one of the handles of the
plow, near the ground, the whole is completely
covered. There are then, if the experiment is
successful, two heavy green crops plowed in dur-
ing the second season ; of course adding a large
amount of vegetable matter to the ground so treat-
ed. During the first season, the crop of oats is
taken ofi", and this helps to meet the expense of
the experiment. The same process may be re-
peated dui-ing the next two seasons ; or other
crops may be put in.

2. "After trying buckwheat, oats, rye, corn and
clever," he says, "through a succession of seasons,
i have come to the conclusion that clover and
corn, as above described, is decidedly best for the
soil of Long Island."

3. Cost. — Col. F. gives the following as a rough
estimate of the profit and loss account of an acre
treated as above described :

Da.

To 150 lbs. of .truano $4.50

To 4 loads of manuie 6,00

To plowing 1,50

To harrowing 75

To planting. . .'. 2,75

To lioeiiig and cultivating 2,50

To cutting and gathering 4,00— $22,00

Ca.

By 40 bushels of corn, at 75c $30.Q0

By 2 tons corn stalks , 6,00— $36,00

Profits first year $14,00

Profits second year 14,00— $28,00

Third Year. Dk.

To 25 bushels of bone dust, 41c $10,25

To i)lowiiig and harrowing 2,00

To burvesting au.l threshing 3,00

To G', bushels of oats for seed 1,58

To 6 pounds of clover seed 60— $17,43

Cu.

By 45 bushels of oats at 45c $20,25

By 1 ton of straw 6,00— $26,25

Profits of third year 8,82

Profits for three years $u6,82

He says : I have given in the above estimate as
small a crop as 1 have ever taken under the pro-
cess here described. Several years my yield of
corn has been at the rate of 50 bushels to the acre,
and my general yield of oat« has been at the rate
of 50 bushels to the acre.

In this simple statement of facts, we have ma-
terials afi'orded for an answer to the question with
which I commenced this article. And why shall

236

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

May

not the farmers of the Commonwealth and New
England go and do likewise ? No great outlay
of capital or labor is required. Would it not be
better for our fanners to plant fewer acres, ma-
nure more highly what they do plant, and subject
the balance to a treatment like that above de-
scribed ? The crops would be equal, while the
whole would be left in better condition.

Franklin, March 3, 1860. s. H.

For the New England Farmer.
USB AWD APPLICATIOTT OF MAJSTURE.

Mr. Editor : — Having seen the offer of the
State Agricultural Society for the best results
from certain experiments with manure, and not
calculating to try for the premium myself, because
I should be obliged to waste more manure than
the value of the ])remium, and having tried the
experiments required, years since, to my full sat-
isfaction", I therefore thought I would state some
of the many experiments which I have tried. Mv
father always plowed his grass land in the spring,
and then put on his winter manure and harrowed
it in, and when I came on the stage, I followed
the same course for some years, though very much
dissatisfied with the manure lying on top of the
ground to dry up and waste.

Some fifteen or twenty years since, I com-
menced some experiments with my winter ma-
nure ; I took a field of about two acres of grass
land in the spring, and put on the manure from
my barn cellar, at the rate of thirty-two loads to
the acre ; on to one-half before it was plowed,
and on to the other half after it was plowed, and
harrov.-ed it in, then planted with corn, without
any manure of any kind in the hill. The result
v,as, as much corn where I plowed the mamn-e
under, as where I put it on top, and twice as many
turnips, though the corn looked badly whore I
plowed it under the fore part of the season. I
next tried six acres in the same way, with the
f ?.mc result. I have tried experiments with ma-
nure, and used it in almost every possible way,
and have come to the conclusion, that the only
true way to use long manure, is to plow it under
at the depth of from six to nine inches, ac-
cording to the soil ; and I have invariably found
that I got as much corn, double the turnips, and
a great deal better after-crops of wheat, oats and
grass. I think I have improved my grass lands,
since I have plowed my manure under, at least
twenty per cent. No one has seen any coarse ma-
nure left on the top of the ground on my farm for
the last ten or fifteen years, and I would recom-
mend, after occasionally throwing in a little loam
among the manure in the cellar through the win-
ter to soak up the urine, not to disturb it, until
it is loaded to carry into the field, and then plow
it under as quick as possible.

George M. Barrett.

Concord, Mass., March 17, 1860.

Ohio R.\dish Seed. — A correspondeiit of the
Prairie Farmer says that radish seed that has
been kept six years or more, will produce radishes
of a better quality than new seed. — Genesee Far-

THE OLD FARM-HOUSE.

In a little fcrove of shade trees,

Stands a farm-house, brown and old.
With a wealth of vines around it,

Gemmed with flowers of red and gold;
By the path that makes a circle

Of white sand around the lawn,
Grow sweet Timothy and clover,

Rosy as a June-day dawn.

Around its door pale morning-glories.

Jump-up johnnies, dahlias, pinks.
Cluster — concentrated beauties,

Married by a thousand links ;
Links of love, the works of nature's

Mystery of handicraft ;
Links of glory, through which fairy

Argosies of perfume waft.

And the gate that swings before it,
And the fence as white as snow.

Stand on variegated cushions.
Which the sun-fire sets aglow ;

Crowning them with many colors-
Yellow, purple, green and blue —

As if rainbows there had fallen.
Melted into rarest dew.

On its roof the greenest mosses,

Catch the shadows from the trees ;
On its sides red honeysuckles

Make their courtesies to the breeze ;
And the ever-nervous willows,

Standing near the garden's bound.
Throw a web of shade fantastic

On the clover-mantled ground.

O'er the well an arch of grape-vines.

Formed with heaven's directed care,
Ciiains the shadows to the water.

Making cool the summer air :
And a liny church, its steeple

Piercing through a bower of leaves,
Is a sure and sacred refuge

Where the wren her caro! weaves.

For the New England Farmer. ' ]
ORDER IS ECONOMY.

Very few there are, in any kind of business, who
make a gain of money, without habits of order m
their business. Some seem inconsiderate enough
to suppose that orderly habits arc more important
to professional men, merchants, mechanics, &:c.,
than to farmers. I think very differently.

With farmers in general, enough depends upon
the question of order about the barn and house
to decide the fate of each one, as to wealth or pov-
erty. The great majority of country farmers, who
become the positive ovv'ners of their homesteads,
in New England, make slow, but steady advances
in property. At first, *heir increase of property
is a very small amount yearly. And this small
amount, at first, is really the procuring cause of
the larger increase which may follow. Without
the small increase at first, the larger increase to
follow is entirely out of the question. And this
small increase, and oftentimes much more, de-
pends upon strict order about the house. Again,
it depends upon strict order about the barn and
tool-house ; and again, it depends on strict order
about the farm.

The positive advancement of most farmers, in
property, is within the lino of $50 yearly, if not
within that of $25. If a man can, upon his own

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

231

farm, make a clear advance in property of $50 per
year, he may soon become an independent farmer.
If he can make a clear advance of $2j yearly, he
has no reason for discouragement. He will have
no reason to v?ant to turn shoemaker, and have to
"strike" at his boss. Meagre indeed must be that
house, and limited that family, where strict order
will not be worth more than S-5 yearly. In a
house where notliing knows its positive place,
■where you can find nothing without hauling every-
thing over, where every matter is without defi-
nite regulations, where arrangements are not a
part of a j^ositive system, the waste of time, the
waste of substance, the unnecessary wear and
tear, with the frettings and frustrations conse-
quent, will soon measiu'e a dead loss of $100.
And all such loss is positively worse than so much
money thrown away.

The loss of only ten minutes of time per day, in
312 days, amounts to more than five full days, of
ten hours each. At $1,50 per diem, it would
amount to S7,80. A large portion of laboring men
are losers of more than five times ten minutes per
day, in time, for want of strict "order about the
house." Add to this, the other evils and losses
consequent upon a want of strict order, and it will
be quite sufficient to keep a ])oor man poor. Far-
mers's wives, if not some other men's wives, may
be the mothers of prosperity- or poverty, to their
households.

Order is economy, at the barn, and all over the
farm.

^Ir. Editor, I perceive that I have got hold of a
6tump which has a great many roots that might
be pulled : and I am not sure but they would be
dry roots to your readers ; and so, that I be not
further tedious to j'ou and them, I will finish this,
with a wish that some one who is capable of doing
good service on a dry topic, will examine the sub-
ject, item by item. Comings.

Lee, N. H., 1860.

miji.es nsr cbntkal amebica.

One of the most striking characteristics of the
mule is his aversion to the ass, and the pride he
takes in his relationship to the horse ; which in-
stincts-are met by obtrusiveness in the ass, and
by indiff"erence in the horse. If an ass at any time
— urged by the vanity peculiar to its race as re-
lated to the mule — ha])pens to fall in with a drove
of mules, he will, in all probability, be kicked and
lamed by his proud relatives. A horse, on the
contrary, takes a distinguished position in a drove
of the mules. The latter crowd around him, and
follow his movements, exhibiting a violent jeal-
ousy, each trying to stand nearest to their high-
bred relative. The instinct is employed to keep
together the droves of mules, on a journey or at
pasture, by putting a mare to the drove, with a
bell round her neck, and called the bell-mare.
This animal is led day and night by a cord, and
the whole drove is thus kept under control, and
will not leave their queen. It is, therefore, very
difl[icult to separate the drove. The man who leads
the mare is instructed, in case of an attack from
the Indians, to leap upon the back of the animal,
and take refuge in the wagon encampment, whith-
er the drove is sure to follow him. Even if the
Indians succeed in separating any from the drove,

they find it difficult to carry them off". The ani-
mals incessantly attempt to turn back, and the
travellers are thus enabled to overtake the rob-
bers, and recover the stolen animals. The Indi-
ans, in consequence, use every means to get pos-
session of the mare ; and if they succeed in this,
the whole drove is lost to the owners. If several
horses are in a drove of mules, the danger is that
the latter becomes dispersed ; and this is the rea-
son that, in these journeys, saddle-horses are not
allowed to go loose, but are led by a cord. — Froe-
htl.

TRANSACTIONS OF THE MASS. SOCIETY
FOR PROMOTING AGRICULTURE.

The Second Part of Volume I. of the new se-
ries of publications of this society is issued in the
form of a pamphlet, which, together with the first
Part, make oOO pages. The first impressions of
the word "Transactions," as connected with a So-
ciety, might not suggest to all minds the charac-
ter of the contents of this publication, which in-
stead of being a Journal of Proceedings, are three
Essays : The first, some sixty-four pages, is en-
titled, "Agricultural Survey of Middlesex County,
by Joseph Reynolds, M. D.," of Concord ; the
second, some forty-two pages, is entitled "Agri-
cultural Education, by Henry F. French ;" and
the third, some thirty pages, is entitled "Agricul-
tural Miscellany, by R. S. Fay," the Secretary of
the society, the main topic of which is "Grass and
Pasture Land ;" and specifications of an offer of
"Premiums for experiments with Manures,"
amounting to $225. The experiments to be re-
warded by this liberal appropriation are the
same as those required by the Board of Agricul-
ture of the County Societies of the State, accord-
ing to the document from the Board, published in
the January number of the monthly Farmer for
1860, p. 10.

AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

This paper, by Dr. Joseph Reynolds, is illus-
trated by a Geological Township Map of the coun-
ty, and discusses its Geography, Geology, Meteor-
olog)- ; Changes that have taken place in the
Husbandry of the county, Present Staple Pro-
ducts of the county, and methods of culture, with
remarks on the Breeds and Management of Cows ;
Marketing Milk ; on Grass Culture, and Restor-
ing Pasture Land ; on the culture of Indian Corn,
Potatoes and Grains ; Fruit, Root Crops, Market
Gardening, &c. To those acquainted with the in-
dustry and judgment of Dr. Reynolds, the fore-
going statement of topics will suggest a good idea
of the value and interest of this essay. The wtI-
ter says, that he believes this is the first attempt
to present in a connected vicAv an account of the
agriculture of an entire county in the State. If
the Society shall be able to publish a similar
"Agricultural Survey" of each county in the State,

238

NEW ENGLAM3 FARMER.

May

its "New Series" of Transactions will present, in a
most convenient form, a wide range of facts,
which are now so scattered in volumes of history,
in scientific works, and in the unwritten present,
as to be, in many particulars, quite inaccessible to
the ordinary inquirer.

AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION.

Mr. French inquires, Fu"st, "Who are to be edu-
cated ? Secondly, What is to be taught ? Thirdly,
By what means ? These points are separately con-
sidered and fully discussed. Whatever diversity
of opinions may exist, as to the soundness of the
reasonings, or as to the practicability of the con-
clusions of this essay, we think all will agree in
thanking the old Massachusetts Society for the
Promotion of Agriculture, for presenting such a
readable dissertation on the vexed question of
Agricultural Education.

In his first two pages, the writer frees his own
limbs from the manacles of European models and
examples, and declares, "In vain shall we look
abroad for any system adapted to our wants." If
he can as easily knock these chains from School
Committees and Boards of Managers, we believe
that an Agricultural Education such as Massachu-
setts, and such as the whole country demands,
would grow up of itself. Farther, we believe such
an education is already growing up, and that for
years it has bravely withstood the whirlwind of
foreign precedent, which has so industriously
blov,-n up the bubbles of American agricultural
colleges. Our meaning will be understood by any
middle-aged farmer who will contrast the means
of agricultural education enjoyed by his grand-
father, or father, with those of himself or his chil-
dren ; Including by the term "means of educa-
tion," the books and papers, which are as much
educators as the school-masters. Mr. French
gives a statement of the pre^seut condition of the
agricultural college of the great State of New
York, chartered in April, 1Sj3, whose buildings
are "io be erected for 350 students ;" of the Peo-
ple's College, near Havana, same State ; of the
Farmers' High School of Pennsylvania ; of the
Agricultural College of Michigan ; and of one or
two Southern institutions of somewhat similar
character, and says, that "as yet they furnish no
strong evidence that success avIU attend expensive
and magnificent enterprises of this kind."

Although we cannot attempt to give any out-
line of Mr. French's treatment of the subject, we
cannot pass over his remark that "in any plan for
Agricultural Schools, which may be adopted, ar-
rangements should be made for the fullest ])artici-
patlon by female pupils in their advantages."

His conclusions upon the Avhole matter are
briefly stated in the following propositions :

"1, A- system of agricultural education is im-
peratively called for in Massachusetts.

2. Our common schools form the proper foun-
dation for such a system.

3. Foreign countries furnish us no suitable
models for agricultural schools, because of the dif-
ferences in general education, as well as in the
structure of society and government.

4. Existing agricultural colleges in this country
furnish no such evidence or promise of success, as
to encourage at present, the establishment by us
of a large State Institution.

5. A school of Agriculture, with an experimen-
tal farm, should be established in each county."

For the New Ensland Parmer.
HOW I PLANT, AND WHY I PLANT
POTATOES AS I DO.

I select as dry, porous soil as I have, using no
compost dressings of any description, either be-
fore or after plowing, which I do in a most thor-
ough manner to the depth of about eight inches ;
(deeper would be better ;) fuiTow accoi-ding to va-
riety of potato from two and a half to three feet
apart, and five to six inches deep ; seed fifteen to
eighteen inches from each other, two eyes on a
piece, and cover with a plow. If the soil is mel-
low and free from stones, I use bushes, which is
the most expeditious way of covering, and leaves
the field smooth for the ox-harrow to pass over it
as soon as the potatoes begin to break ground.
This harrowing is equal to one hoeing, and most
effectually destroys the weeds, without displacing
one potato plant in a thousand, if planted at a
proper depth. The reason for avoiding rich moist
soil and dressings of compost, is, that I feel com-
paratively secure from the rot. I have not for
many years escaped the rot when using compost
dressing from cattle or hogs on any soil, and al-
most invariably have sound potatoes without it,
on dry, porous soil, unless I use too much seed in
the hill. Several times since the potato disease
has prevailed, I have experimented with cut and
uncut potatoes, with the same result in every case.

In 1848, I selected some of the largest and
soundest potatoes I had, and planted them by the
side of others that were cut with two eyes on a
piece, all being of the same variety ; the result
was double the quantity of potatoes at digging
time from the large seed, but three-fourths of
them diseased, while the others were sound. The
same experiment was made the past year with
like results, which, of course, satisfied me that it
Is best for me to plant cut potatoes in preference
to whole ones. The reason of this I conceive to
be that the disease in some way is developed in
the seed planted, and that the sooner you compel
the plant to seek for its^ood from the soil, the
better the chance to escape the disease, and har-
vest a sound crop. AVith me, wet soils and decom-
posing manures are fatal to a sound crop of pota-
tees. For the most part I use plaster in the hill, or
on the set, but prefer about 200 lbs. of guano mixed
with an equal quantity of plaster (to fix the ammo-
nia of the guano) to the acre. This, scattered about
the stalks at the second time of hoeing, has usually
paid well. I hope this may call out others' expe-
rience and theories, so that we may, by comparing
one with another, arrive at some positive and use-
ful results. J. COE.

Bochesier, March 13, 1860.

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FAmiER.

239

For the Netr England Farmer.
PIPE FOK CONDUCTING "WATEB.

Messrs. Editors : — I see there is considerable
inquiry as to Avhat kind of pipe to use. As I fol-
low the business of laying pipe, I will give my
opinion. First see Mhat kind of land it is to be
laid in. If it is brimstone land, it will eat the
pipe. There is some water that eats boxes of com-
position, and will not eat lead. Block tin is the
best for running water ; but for pumps it is worth-
less, because it is brittle, and will not hold its
own shape. I have taken out most all in this vi-
cinity, and put in lead. Where lead will stand I
should use it. Wood is good where the land is
notheav}'. Your correspondent from jMaiue asks
for answers to four questions. 1. What kind of
wood to use ? I should use pine, if I could get
it. I have known spruce to do good service. 2.
What size ? Anywhere from five to eight inches
in diameter. 3. What size bore ? For logs 4^
inch bore ; for pumps, three inch. 4. Bark on, or
off.'' I think it will not make any odds in the
ground ; but for weils I should peel the logs ; but
in all cases they should be laid below frost. There
should be iron rings drove round the head ends
of the logs to keep them from chicking.

If water or land works on the pipe, which you
can learn by others in the vicinity, I should aban-
don it at all events. I know of one case where lead
was used, the pipe was consumed, and it was tak-
en out, and iron put in ; and the iron soon rusted
so as to scale, and fiUid it full; this was taken
out, and last fall, I put in lead, lined with block
tin, at a great cost, and I fear it will not be last-
ing; it seems to be tender. The new article of
pipe, made of glass, I know nothing about ; if it
could be used, I doubt there being any alkali that
would operate on the glass. There is one other
way in which it is said you can tell v>'hether water
will affect lead pipe; it is to take a tumbler of
water, and put in lead, and let it stand several
days, and you can see if the lead corrodes or not;
it is said if it does, you can see it visibly. If
block tin cracks, it is impossible to repair it ;
therefore, I should not use it only in running wa-
ter. I think your correspondent from Maine is a
little mistaken about soft water afl'ecting lead ; in
all cases where I have repaired eaten pipe and
boxes, the women complain of hard water ; at any
rate it is so in this vicinity. A Subscriber.

Foitersville, N. H., 1860.

For the New England Farmer.

ASHES AS A MANUKE.

Wood ashes are good, on sandy or gravelly
soils, where the sub-soil is open, anil the surface
soil is not heavy and inclined to bake, as the say-
ing is. The more open, sandy and loose the soil
is, the more ashes will benefit it. They will make
grass grow for a few crops on heavy soil, but they
will tend to make the soil heavier, and run into
moss. Sand is better for clayey soils than ashes.
Leached ashes may as well be spread on grass
lands clear ; but unleached, they should be mixed
with two or three times their bulk of some heavy
eoil, the more clayey the better, and lie in a heap
until the whole mass becomes leavened with the
ashes, though not leached through to waste. If salt
«an be obtained quite cheap, I think it would pay

to put in a bushel to ten of ashes. Fifty bushels of
ashes, properly applied, is enough for an acre ; and
on ground to which they are suited, they will ordi-
narily produce near an extra ton of hay to the
acre, for three years, and leave the ground in bet-
ter condition, than at the time of the application
of the ashes. They will in fact produce a i)evma-
nent change for the better, in sandy soils ; but on
heavy land to which they are not suited, though
they may make a few crops grow better, they are,
in the end, an injury. They may be advantageously
applied to grain crops, potatoes and corn ; but I
think, as a general thing, more benefit will be de-
rived from them applied on grass, than any other
crop. C. Whiting.

Johnso7i, Vt., 1860.

REiViARKS. — The seed sent with this is, un-
doubtedly, Hungarian grass seed.

For the New England Farmer.
THE CATTLE DISEASE.

Mr. Editor: — In your valuable journal, (the
N. E. Farmer,) of the 17th ult., I have been shown
a communication on the "cattle disease." I have
read it attentively. It is not my custom, sir, to
reply to any newspaper articles, unless the name
of the writer is affixed. My signature appears to
all my communications. When writers, like "Rus-
ticus," who animadvert on my communications,
make themselves known, I am always ready to
reply, if the case requires it. My reason for
being silent, at other times, is so apparent, that it
is hardly necessary to say that if I should adopt
a different course, I should probably have more
business on my hands than time to attend to it.
If your correspondent wishes to discuss the sub-
ject with me, he can do so, when I am informed
l)y his signature with whom the discussion is
carried on. And this I shall do, not for the pur-
pose of exalting myself, or of gaining notoriety ;
but only for the "common good," and so eluci-
date truth. "Rusticus" has, as it appears by his
communication, mistaken the meaning of my ar-
ticle in the Daily Advertiser, by writing about
the healtht/ function of the lungs, which I de-
scribed as in a diseased condition. I should be
pleased to continue this subject, provided it can
be done in a fair and gentlemanly way ; and that
my meaning may xvolhe purposely misunderstood.

March 27, 1860. Chas. M. Wood, V. S.

First Agricultural School. — The New
American Cyclopaedia states as a historical fact
that the first agricultural school was established
in 1790, near Berne, in Switzerland, by Emanuel
von Fellenberg ; that it is to his "illustrious ex-
ample and enthusiastic labors, that the civilized
world owes the present advanced state of agricul-
tural information. The benevolent enterprise of
Fellenberg was duo to the impulse given to his
mind in early youth by his mother, a lady of en-
larged sympathy, active, religious principle, and
intellectual ability."

Scions. — Mr. A. G. Sheldon, of Wilmington,
thinks he has. such scions of the Red Astrachan
a])ples as are inquired for by "G. J.," of Somer-
viUe.

240

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

May

A SUBUKBAN KESIDENCE.

A short time ago we presented to our readers a
representation of a house designed in the "New
American Style" of Saeltzer & Valk. "VVe give
above another example of the same style, on a
larger scale and designed to be built of brick.
There are some things in the arrangement of the
interior, and in the external appearance of this
dwelling, which are not such as Ave should choose
for our own residence, but as the matter of build-
ing is one upon which few persons are apt to take
advice, we will simjily present these plans, with
the architect's statement, and withhold any criti"-
cism we might be disposed to make.

riRST STORY PLAN.

The accompanying drawing represents the
home of a farmer situated near Albany, N. Y.
The main features and characteristics of the style
are fully carried out, the plan comprising the
owner's requirements and his desired arrangement
of rooms, &c. As regards its adaptability for a
farmer's home, we leave it for the many readers of
this journal to judge. We ask careful examina-
tion of the plan, for it was required of us to pro-
duce the greatest amount of internal comfort, and
at the same time produce a beautiful exterior, for
the sum of $4500. On reference to the plan —
A is the entrance porch ; B, vestibule ; C, parlor ;
B, dining-room ; L, hall j E, kitchen ; F, kitch-
en pantry ; G, store-room ; P, rear hall ; M, rear
entrance ; 0, back stairs ; H, bed-
room ; I, dressing room ; K, clos-
et ; a, verandah ; S, bay window.
It will be seen that the kitchen
and accessories are distinct from
the other rooms. The servants'
stairs, 0,*ascend directly from the
kitchen, while communication be-
tween the dining-room and kitch-
en is quite convenient. Dining-
room has two closets; bedroom
has bay window, this room being
used as a sewing room ; bedroom
wing is only one story highe
kitchen is well lighted on thre ;
sides, having dressers, boilers,
sink. Sec. The second story plau
has five bed-rooms and bath-room,
stories of main building are 12
and 10 feet high j those of wing 8

1860.

KFM EXGLAXD FARMER.

241

ft. 6 in. and 8 ft. high ; the colors used in paint-
ing are dapple gray f )r the brick walls, light sien-
na for the M-ood-work, and l)lue fov the roof, the
combin'.xl effect being very interesting.

SECOND STORY PLAN.

In conclusion, we hope the subject of a new
style will gradually become of more and more im-
portance to our countryman, and that humble as
our efforts may be, they will not remain unappre-
ciated. Respectfully,

Saeltzek & Valk, Architects,

Bible House, Astor Place, N. Y.

QUANTITY OF SEED TO AN ACRE.

Many experiments have been made, both in this
country and in Europe, to ascertain, with preci-
sion, the quantity of seed necessary to insure the
greatest amount of produce from a given surface.
It is true that circumstances will often render it
quite necessary to vary the quantity, even upon
the same soil ; and in Great Britain, Avhere the
climate, soil and mode of cultivation differ greatly
from oui's, rules and usages have been introduced
which are not practical with us. As a general
thing, however, the allowance of seed is there far
more liberal than in America. In the cultivation of
wheat, for instance, from three to four bushels of
seed are allowed per acre. Six bushels of flax seed,
and from three to four bushels of oats are sowed,
and so on through the entire list of vegetables,
•whether roots or grains.

A gentleman in the State of New Jersey, some
years since, being desirous of ascertaining some
facts relative to seeding land, instituted certain
experiments which he detailed in a paper read at
the winter meeting of the "Yates County Agricul-
tural Society," and of which the following is an
abstract :

He sowed on the 23d of September, 1846, four
diagrams with wheat. The soil had been subject-
ed to a summer fallow, and had been plowed five
times during the summer. The ground was pre-
pared for sowing by finely pulverizing it with a
hoe and a rake. Four diagrams were then cor-
rectly measured off, each two feet square, leaving
a space of about six inches between each. The

squares were then numbered and subdivided as
follows: No. 1, in squares 1^ inches each way ;
No. 2, in squares of 3 inches ; No. 3, in squares
of 4 inches, and No. 4, in squares of 44 inches,
including the outside lines of each large square.
One kernel of wheat was then planted in the cor-
ner of each small square.

On the 13th July following, the produce was
carefully gathered, the four parallels being kept
each by itself ; the wheat was shelled ])y hand,
and the number of grains in each parcel correctly
counted, and the results, were as given in the fol-
lowing table :

No. 1. Ku. 2. No. 3. No. 4.

Xo. of grains plantcil 2S9 81 49 ' 36

No. of grains that grew 203 60 40 SO

\o. of heads 286 136 112 104

Average number of grains per head.. 26 35 39 42

Whole number of grains 7458 4765 4452 4399

Yield per acre iu bushels 108 69 64 63

b. ![,.■<. b. l!,x. Ihs. lbs.

Seed per acre, in bushels and lbs... 4 12 110 42; 31^

On the 17th of August, four ounces of this
wheat were weighed accurately by sealed scales,
and by counting all the grains, it was found that
there were 780 grains in one ounce, from which
an estimate of the differentyield, and also the rate
of the different amounts of seed per acre. These
are given in the table above. The soil, in this
case, was a clayey loam which had never been ma-
nured, and had been kept for jjasture during the
six preceding years.

It is very desirable that the exact quantity of
seed necessary for an acre should be accurately
ascertained ; but this can be effected only by a se-
ries of carefully managed experiments, for which
practical men, with all the cares of a farm, can
scarcely have the requisite time. Men of science,
attached to our learned institutions, and those
having professorships in our agricultural estab-
lishments, would do well to turn their attention
more directly to this subject.

For the New EiigUmd Farmer.

THE CATTLE DISEASE.

Mr. Editor : — The following communication,
which appears in the New York Journal of Com-
merce, is one of much value, and the experience
of the writer in his successful treatment of his an-
imals is worth consideration, whether the dis-
ease was contagious pleuro-pneumonia or simply
a pleuritic-pneumonic disease, not of a contagious
character. If I possessed animals showing the
first symptoms of this disease, I should treat it
precisely in the same manner. The causes of the
malady are correctly given, with one addition,
however, —too low keeping is as likely to cause
the disease as too high keeping. If a diseased an-
imal had, therefore, been insufficiently fed, his
food should be increased. F.

FJiinehecJc, March 20, 1860.
To THE Editors op the Journal op Commerce.

Gentlemen: — Having seen in your yesterday's
paper the account of a disease among the cattle

242

NEW ENGLAND FAR:MER.

^L\Y

in Massacbusotts, I will give y«u an experience
of my own, in the hope it may be of some use.

About five years ago, I had a herd of fifty cattle
attacked l>y a disease which destroyed fourteen in
about ten days.

I found a description of the same symptoms in
the "Patholcgie Bovine" of M. Gelle. One in-
stance recorded by him occurred near Neufchatel
in 1830, and attacked the herds of one hundred
and one proprietors. He calls it contagious
pleuro-jmeuraonia. The animals had cough, fe-
ver and diarrhoea, ending with gangrene. The
treatment recommended is, to take four quarts of
blood from the diseased animal, and after the in-
terval of a day, to make another smaller bleeding.
Two pounds of glauber salts are to be dissolved in
a gallon of barley water, and a pint given in every
three hours.

After using these remedies, I lost but a single
cow, which got wet in a shower during her conva-
lescence.

The causes of the malady are insufficient venti-
lation of the cow stalls, high feeding and taking
cold.

I immediately had my sheds well ventilated and
whitewashed, reduced the feed, and the disease
disappeared. L.

For the Netc England Farmer.
SICK CATTLE AT IPSWICH.

Me. Editor : — The reported disease among the
cattle at Ipswich, and which the Salem Register
has said was unfounded, has led me to make some
inquiries, and I have received from Mr. Lowe the
following statement, signed by himself and two of
his neighbors. Some points of importance were
omitted in his statement which I will give, viz :
the first cow, (as near as he can recollect,) was tak-
en January 10th, 18G0, was sick six days ; the ox
was talicn about a week after the cow died, and
from the time the ox died to the time the second
cow was taken was ten days, and from the time the
second cow died to the time the third cow was
taken, about four weeks ; they have all lived about
six days after being taken.

Topsfield, April 4, 1860. N. W. Broavn.

MU. LOWE'S STATEMENT.

About the middle of January, 1860, Mr. Thom-
as Lowe, of Ipswich, had a cow taken sicli with
symptoms as follows : she moved about as though
she was trying to bring her weight on to her hind
legs, refused to eat or drink, would put her nose
on her side as though there was pain in her lungs,
breathed heavily, run some at the nose, and ap-
peared to have some cold, sweat very much at
times, and then would be hot and dry. She lingered
about six days and died. An ox was taken in the
same herd v/ith the same symptoms, and died ;
then the second cow was taken and died; then the
third cow was taken the same way and died. No
two were sick at the same time, and none appeared
to be swollen as from poison. It is believed and
feared, by some of the farmers in Ipswich, that
this disease may be the same as that prevailing at
North Brookfield, and they would like, if another
case appears, to have it investigated by the same
men that have visited those cases in Brookfield,
and if it appears to be the same disease, to have

the same protection by the State, if there is any,
as is afi"orded the farmers in the Western part oi
the State. Some of the farmers will sign their
names below as witnesses of the above statement.
(Signed,) Thomas Lowe.

Francis Brown.
Ipswich, April 4, 1860. Joseph Kinsman.

Remarks. — Make your application to the Sec-
retary of the State Board of Agriculture, at Bos-
ton.

For the New England Farmer.

DISEASE AMONG HEZXTS— AKTIFIOIAIi
FERTILIZERS.

I have lost four hens out of ten since last Oc-
tober by some disease of which I am ignorant,
and consequently could apply no remedy. They
were all attacked precisely in the same way, at
diff'erent times, with loss of the use of their legs,
drooping of their wings, falling over backward
when attemptnig to Avalk ; some of them lived
several weeks in this state, others died within less
than forty-eight hours after being taken. My hens
are of mixed breeds, generally hardy and good
layers, and are well fed on corn, oats, barley, boiled
potatoes, and occasionally on animal food, and
supplied with fresh water, and were protected
from bad weather by access to a comfortable barn
cellar, with a dry roosting-place attached to the
yard, where they are shut up a part of the year. I
shall feel under much obligation to any one who
may be able, through the columns of the monthly
Farmer, to give me information of the name oi
the disease, its cause and remedy, if any is known
to them.

I am desirous of trying on a limited scale
"Mapes' Nitrogenized Superphosphate of Lime,"
and the "Jarvis Island Guano," on corn land. If
any of your correspondents have tested either or
both of the articles, and will give their experience
of the quantity required for an acre, the manner
of applying it, and whether it would be safe to re-
ly on either alone to insure a good crop of corn
on grass land, broken up last fall, soil a clay
loam, naturally strong and favorable for good
crops, but so much exhausted by long cropping
for hay as not to produce more than one-half to
three-fourths of a ton to the acre, such informa-
tion will be very important, and confer a favor on ,
many other farmers as well as myself.

Still River, March 26, I860. L. B. H.

Remarks. — We have used the Jarvis Island
guano with the most satisfactory results, by plac-
ing about a wine-glass full in each hill, and drop-
ping the corn directly upon it. We have never
used the superphosphate on corn.

Cure for Ringbone. — I succeeded in remov-
ing the lameness of a ringbone, by making a bag
of strong linen cloth, about two inches broad, and
eight inches long, which I filled with copperas,
tied on the foot just above the ringbone, and wet
twice a day. Keep it on about four weeks. The
man that told me of this said he had cured sever-
al in tills way. — W. H. Chaffee, in Rural New-
Yorker.

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

243

For the New England Fanner.
THE "WILD LAWDS OF LOWa ISLAND.
LETTER FROM JUDGE FRENCH.

Islip, Long Island, April 4, 1860.

My Dear Mr. Brown : — Take the Long Island
Railroad at the South Ferry in Brooklyn, just
across from the great city of New York, and rattle
along about forty miles, and stop at North Islip
Station, and devote two or three days to agricul-
tural observation, and you may find as much to
interest you as you would be likely to meet were
you to travel a thousand miles in many direc-
tions. Young men, determined to prosper in the
world, do not hesitate to seek good and cheap
lands in Kansas and California, severing all the
dear ties of home and kindred, and risking health,
too, in the enterprise, when oftentimes there are
lands within the sound of the church-going bell,
as good and as cheap, close by good markets and
civilized society, which are overlooked, because
they are so near, and require so little enterprise
to attain.

Whether any such lands are in this neighbor-
hood, our readers may judge from the facts I shall
state.

Long Island is about 120 miles long, and from
eight to fourteen miles in width. The two ends
■were settled nearly two hundred years ago, and
for nearly that time, roads have been opened along
both shores, and the land through nearly the
■whole extent has been under good cultivation, yet
■when the railroad was opened, about 1845, there
remained a tract some foi'ty miles long and four
to eight miles wide, with no more signs of culti-
vation or improvement than may be found in the
desert of Sahara. Even now, though the railway
passes nearly through its centre, the wild deer
have not been scared entirely from their haunts,
and trout abound in many streams.

"What has doomed this land to desolation with-
in less than two hours, by rail, of the great com-
mercial city of New York, with its 700,000 inhab-
itants, daily offering their gold for the products
of the soil ?

What's in a name? Through a rose by any
any other name may smell as sweet, yet were you
to advertise it for sale by the name of a skunk-
• cabbage, probably few noses would go out of their
■way to test its fragrance. Whoever was author
of the names of places in this island probably
christened his boys Judas Iscariot and Benedict
Arnold, and named his homestead Sodom. King's
County and Queen's County are not names invit-
ing to revolutionary ears ; Flatbush and Bushville
and Hardscrabble are not suggestive of grand old
forests or vines and fig trees, or even of "green
pastures by still waters ; there is not much of
harmony or poetry in Quogue and Patchogue and

Yaphank. Jerusalem and Bethpage have not
much of the Young America progressiveness in
their associations, and finally, when you see as a
principal place on the map, actually Babylon, the
matter begins to grow serious. They say Long
Island is of more recent formation than the world
about it. Some say it came up from below, and a
timid man might suspect that he who reigns over
the lower regions may have restored his favorite
city, which we read of as "fallen," to the earth, in a
new place. No, there is not much in a name,
but you and I would not advise a young farmer
to buy a farm in Hardscrabble, or to look for a
Avife among the ladies of Babylon.

The railway excavations have a red and sandy
look ; the slight>y undulating, prairie-like surface,
is mostly covered with scrub-oaks, and has been
recently blackened by fire, so that one's judgment
is in no danger of being seduced by appeals to his
emotions of beauty. There is, much, however, to
interest a careful observer of this strange region,
and after a critical examination occupying several
days, spade in hand, I feel qualified to present
the condition of these lands to the consideration
of those who are looking for new homes, advising
no one, however, to purchase, without a thorough
personal investigation. Although Cobbett, ■who
was a prophet in agriculture, had his American
home on the island, and although some of the
wealthiest farmers in the country have elegant
homes and farms here, yet there is room for some
slight improvements in particular localities. For
instance, at Farmingdale station, to-day, ■we saw a
cow harnassed with a horse-collar and rope-
traces to a plow which was held by one man while
another led the animal, plowing a garden. In all
Europe, I never saw the beat of that for plowing.
Again, on the road from Babylon to Islip, I saw a
load of manure on a wagon drawn by four poor
oxen, driven by a man sitting on top of the load,,
with ropes fastened to the noses of the forward
yoke, halter-fashion, the driver holding the ends
of the ropes in his hand like reins. On the same
road we met a gentleman, or some other kind of
man, driving a poor thin ox in a single wagon,
probably on a pleasure excursion. A young friend
with us kept a sharp look-out for a lady of whom
he had read, who used to live in Babylon, and
di-essed in scarlet clothes, but she ■was not visible.

Babylon is a good farming region, with taste-
ful parks and fertile fields. From there to Islip,
on a fine old road, are beautiful residences and
grounds, occupied in summer by New York mil-
lionaires. Several places were also pointed out
adorned with grape-houses, fish-ponds and ele-
gant mansions, which were valued at more than
$60,000 each.

The lands, which I particularly examined, and
have spoken of as wild, lie four or five miles from

244

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

May

this highway directly on the raih'oad, but there is
evidently a great uniformity, and so all writers
agree, in the structure and quality of the whole
interior of the island. At Hempstead, only ten
miles from the city, is, hovv'evcr, a tract known as
the "Hempstead Plains," which presents a diflfer-
ent appearance from the rest. It is a pi-airie,
slightly undulating, of smooth, grassy surface,
entirely free from tree or bush, 17,000 acres of
which are owned by the inhabitants of Hemp-
stead in common, and used for pasture. Leaving
now this superficial sketch, I will give a more
particular description of the soil, climate and ca-
pabilities of the wild lands near Islip, which have
been recently advertised for sale in the Farmer.

As, however, any tolerably accurate impression
of them must occupy more room than can now be
spared, I will continue the subject in a future
number.

For the Neic England Farmer.
COFFEE.

Me. Editor : — In a late Farmer, I noticed an
inquiry by "S. W. M." in relation to raising coffee
in the New England States. I do not purpose to
reply to this, but in my opinion, though the thing
may be practicable, his time and trouble might be
expended otherwise to better advantage, consider-
ing the temperature of the latitudes in which it is
produced.

Reading the above-mentioned article, however,
reminded me of a substitute, or rather a partial
substitute for coffee, which we have used in our
family, and which I will give for the benefit of
your readers. It is prepared as follows : Take a
quantity of barley, and roast it by a gentle heat,
till of a light brown color. Stir in among it a
lump of butter on taking from the oven. This is
to be ground and mixed with the coffee in equal
proportions. Infuse in the usual manner. The
beverage is scarcely to be distinguished in flavor
from pure cofiee.

Coffee may be very much improved by the ad-
dition of a small quantity of carrots, prepared as
below. They should be thinly sliced, and careful-
ly dried and browned in a moderate oven. A
handful added to the coffee before boiling, gives
more body to it, and greatly enriches the flavor.

Bath, March 12, 1860. A Reader.

Massachusetts Horticultural Society. —
From Eben Wight, Corresponding Secretary, we
have received specimen sheets of the Report of
this Society for 1859. The dissertations or re-
ports of the various committees are valuable doc-
uments. We notice some strictures on the man-
agement of green-houses that all would do well
to read who have, or propose to have, plants "live
in glass houses." The weekly shows of the So-
ciety are to be continued free to the public, during
the ensuing season, thus affording people from the
country who visit the city on Saturday an oppor-
tunity ef seeing what fruits and flowers our soil
and climate are capable of producing.

For the New Ensland Farmer.
FIRES IW THE WOODS.

Dear Sir : — I have frequently thought that
farmers do not have that security and protection
against fires in the woods that they ought to have,
and as no one has called the attention of those
most interested to the subject, I have ventured to
solicit your co-operation in Avaking them up to
their duty. It is nothing uncommon to be called
to three or four fires on a dry, pleasant day in the
spring or early summer months, especially on the
Sabbath ; time and again have we been called
out, in the midst of divine service, to subdue fives
set in the woods by careless, reckless, strolling
smokers. The increasing habit of s])ending the
Sabbath in strolling over the -woods and fields, in
the vicinity of our cities and large villages, must
be broken up, or our woodlands will become en-
tirely worthless from the frequency of fires to
which they are subjected. There is also that silly
habit of travelling the streets with a fire under the
end of one's nose ; even in hot weather, how oft-
en we see half-human locomotives trudging along
in the highways and byways of our country towns,
with an old tobacco pipe in their mouth, some-
times walking beside the skeleton of an old
starved horse, and sometimes riding in a gay
equipage at a 2.40 pace ; how disgusting to see
the human face divine with a dirty stick in the
centre, with a little fire on the end, built in a di-
minutive furnace, and that delicate, matchless
machinery, the human lungs, used as bellows,
puffing and blowing, for the sake of burning up a
little Virginia tobacco, and nauseating the pure
air with the villainous smell. If that was all, we
could possibly endure it ; but when we take into
consideration the numberless fires that originate
from that same habit, I think it high time that the
Legislature pass some stringent law against smok-
ing in the highways and byways of the country.

Why should we be subjected to so much anxie-
ty, trouble and loss ? There is almost as much
risk in a smoker's passing through woodland in a
dry time, as there would be in going through a
powder-house. How perfectly natural for a care-
less smoker to light his pipe, and throw down his
match in the pine boughs or leaves, and by the
time he is out of sight, the fire will blaze to the
tops of the trees, and some honest, hard-working
farmer will be subjected to the loss of hundreds
of dollars, beside hindering himself and his neigh-
bors half a day or more, to subdue the fire. Being
a working fiu-mer, verging on three-score years
and ten, I do not expect to be able to put my
thoughts in language pleasing to "ears polite,"
but deem it a duty I owe to my neighbors and
myself to call your attention to it in my rough and
uncouth way, you being^ legislator and editor of.
an able agricultural paper,

A Constant Reader.

Chelmsford, Feb. 11, 1860.

Remarks. — We believe a large proportion of
the fires that occur in town or country, are occa-
sioned directly, or indirectly, by smoking, as half
the men in the land, and — with shame we say it —
some of the women carry matches about them
most of the time. Smoking in the streets is a
nuisance, and ought to be abated as such.

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FAR]MER.

245

For the New England Farmer.
MAKING MAPLE SUGAR.

The season for makino; maple sugar is at hand,
and I sec no one has written upon the subject. I
propose to tell your readers how it is made in old
Cheshire county, but in order to do it, give you a
history of a visit to A. & C. Smith's, Pottersville,
sugar works, one of the best of manufactories.
They have at the foot of a hill, a house 14 by 2G,
and a wood-house attached. They have two arches,
and two sheet-iron pans to each arch, one set one
foot higher than the other ; this is done so as to
draw the sap out of the upper pans with a syphon,
so as to change from one pan to another, and to
avoid dipping, which is thought to color the sap.
The cold sap is kept about four rods from the
house, in a rcsovoir, on a bank so high, as to run
by turning a faucet through a Avindow, to cither
pan as they please. Tliis saves a great deal of la-
bor. About 60 rods up the hill, they have another
lot, and a reservoir with a faucet attached, and
troughs made of boards, 2:^ inches by 3 inches,
and some 3;} by 4, to carry it to the lower lot, all
painted yellow. It takes two hours to carry a
hogshead over the line from one lot to the other.
They have another lot with reservoirs, painted
yellow, with a faucet to carry the sap in troughs,
27 rods, to the other branch, 20 rods from the
lower lot. They draw at any time, except when
it freezes or rains. One would suppose that snow
would trouble the troughs, but it is not so, being
painted, they will clear themselves. The crotches,
holding the troughs, are put up in November, and
taken up when the sugar season is over and piled
together. When the sap arrives at the lower ros-
ei-voir, it is strained through woolen ; they calcu-
late to syrup off once a day, and do not take the
pan off, but use snow to quell the fire. The pans
are washed before being filled. The syrup is
strained through woolen flannel, and at the end
of this process, if all is clean, there will be no
settlings.

The syrup is done off in tin pans, from S to 12
pounds to a batch, on a stove, or an arch, and
boiled down till it will dry off in a spoon, and
when it has grained, it is turned out into tin cups
two inches square, till cooled. Some put in milk
and eggs to cleanse it, but if every thing is kep;
dean, it is worse than nothing, because it is more
likely to burn, and many times you have to strain
it to get rid of it.

They sell their sugar at the door from ten to
fifteen cents a pound ; some years they have or-
ders for lots in molasses, and they sell from 800
to 1200 pounds a year of sugar. I find there is no
trouble in making and selling sugar, if all is kept
neat and clean. Maple.

P. S. You will find the two oldest sheet-iron
pans here and still good ; they were built in 1838,
got up by Aaron Smith and John Wight, and
built by VVm. Norwood, of Keene, since spread
over New England as one of the best inventions.

Let the Stomach have its Craving. — In the
diseases produced by bad food, such as scorbutic
dysentery and diarrhoea, the patient's stomach
often craves for, and digests things, some of which
certainly would be laid down in no dietary that
ever wns invented for the sick, and especially not

for such sick. These are fruit, pickles, jams, gin-
gerbread, fat of ham or of bacon, suet, cheese,
butter, milk. These cases I have seen not by ones,
nor by tens, but by hundreds. And the patient's
stomach was right, and the book was wrong. The
articles craved for, in these cases, might have
been principally arranged under the two heads of
fat and vegetable acids. There is often a marked
difference between men and women in this matter
of sick feeding. Women's digestion is generally
slower. — Florence Kighiingale.

For the New England Farmer.
TRANSPLAWTIKG COKl^r.

Mr. Brown : — A gentleman of ray acquaintance
from New Hampshire, whom I met sometime dur-
ing the winter, interested me much by relating
some experiments ho had made in transplanting
corn, and I desired hin: to v.-rite some account of
them for the N. E. Farmer. To-day I received
from him the following paper, which I am gratified
to forward to you. The subject is of more espe-
cial importance to those who live north of us,
v,-here the season is shorter. But it will be obvi-
ous to those who cultivate sweet corn for the mar-
ket, and to those who wish to obtain early corn
for their own use two or three weeks before the
corn in the garden or field is fit for the table,
that the paper contains a suggestion of much prac-
tical importance. Now is the time ; who will try
the plan ? Yours, &c., Joseph Eeynolds.

Mr. Editor : — I wish to say a few words to the
readers of your paper upon the subject of trans-
planting corn. In the northern parts of New
Hampshire and Vermont, and more especially in
the Canudas, the season is too short for the corn
crops. The deep snov/s of winter are slovv' to melt
away, and the winds of spring, blowing from the
frozen regions of the north-west, are so cold that
the ground cannot be safely planted, until quite
late in the season. This makes the corn crop late,
and exposes it to the early frosts of autumn, which
in those regions usually come in August. For
this reason, it often happens that the hard labor
of the farmer in plowing, planting, hoeing. Sec, is
almost lost, and his fond hopes of a full store-
house of golden ears of corn for the support of his
family and stock ai-e all blasted. It almost al-
ways happens that his crop is injui-ed to some de-
gree.

It will be readily seen, that if corn could be so
cultivated that it would ripen a month earlier
than usual, it would be of great advantage to the
corn-growers of those places. I am of the opinion
that this can be effected by transplanting. This
opinion is derived from my own experience, and
also that of others. I was led to test the possi-
bility of successfully transplanting corn in the
summer of 1857, because the gi-ound where I
wished to raise sweet corn was naturally so wet,
and the season that year M'as so backwai'd, that I
knew it would not ripen if cultivated in the usual
way. About a month before the ground would be
in a suitable state for planting, I planted the corn
in a dry, sunny place, making the hills containing
four or five kernels each, a few inches apart, each
way. The corn came uj) and grew slowly, yet with
sufficient rapidity, and by the time the gi-ouncl

246

KEW ENGLAND FARMER.

May

■where it -was to be transplanted became dry, it
was four or five inches high, about as high as corn
is ever hoed the first time. I then prepared the
ground, and with the use of a tin shovel or scooi),
such as is used in a flour barrel, tooli up the hills
and transplanted them. The result was that every
hill lived, that the corn ripened a month earlier
than other corn, and was the best piece in the
neighborhood. The success of this experiment led
me to consider the advantages which would be
derived, if corn should be transplanted, and re-
flectioa seemed to show me the following

ADVANTAGES.

1. The corn would not suffer from the worms,
as it would be too large for them to injure, before
it is transplanted.

2. For the same reason, the crows would not
injure it.

3. It would save the first hoeing, a very impor-
tant consideration.

4. The corn would so soon take the strength of
the ground, and overshadow it, that there would
be but very few weeds.

5. The ground, so recently plowed, (just before
.transplanting,) would be so mellow, and the roots
wonhl strilie down so deep, that the corn would
be less affected by drought.

6. The corn would ripen before the usual great
droughts of August.

7. Hoeing would not interfere with haying.

8. The corn M'ould fill out the last of July, or
first of August, before the cold nights come on,
which so much prevent corn from filling out well.

9. The corn would be secure against frosts.

10. Corn could be raised upon wet land, which
is not so much affjctcd by drought.

11. The corn could be gathered in season to
sow winter M'heat, if desired.

It is needless to remark that each one of these
advantages is great, and that the sum of them all
is very great. If the corn crop of New England
could have been a month earlier than it was last
year, it would have been many hundred thousand
dollars greater than it was. If the labor necessary
to hoe corn the first time can bs saved, then the
greatest and most difficult part of the work of rais-
ing corn may be dispensed with. It is then a most
important question. Can corn be transplanted to
advantage? To this the reply immediately sug-
gests itself, that the labor of transplanting would
be so great as to render it impracticable. Most
would come to such a conclusion at once. But
may it not be possible that the amount of this la-
bor is exaggerated by those who have given the
subject but little thought ? May it not be that
some means can bo adopted by which it can be
accomplished much easier than one at first would
suppose ? I think so, and will propose my way,
in which it seems to me it may be done economi-
cally.

DIRECTIONS FOR TRANSPLANTING CORN.

Prepare boxes about 4 feet long, 3 feet wide,
and 5 inches high. Make one of the sides so that
it can be easily removed. Fill these boxes with
loam mixed with some manure. Then prepare
some stri])s of board 2'i inches wide, 5 inches long,
and as thin as the blade of a hoe. Put these down
endwise into the loam, so as to divide the loam
into squares, 2h inches square and 5 inches deep.
(As these squares are each to contain a hiU of

corn, it will be seen that the thin strips are to
prevent the roots of one hill from interfering
with those of another.) Place these boxes in a
sunny place, well protected from the west wind,
and about a month before the usual planting
time, plant 4 or 5 kernels of corn in each one of
these squares. By planting time, that corn will
be 5 or 6 inches high. Having prepared the
ground and opened the hills, put these boxes into
a cart, drive over the ground, take the hills of
corn from the boxes in the hand, put them into
the prepared hill, press the earth around them,
and the corn is at once planted and hoed the first
time. It M'ould be well to use some phosphate of
lime or hen manure, so as to cause the corn to
start immediately. In a short time the corn wiU
be as large as usual when hoed the second time.

It will be seen that, by this process, the labor
of transplanting is not so very great, not near as
great as that of the hoeing, which is saved. The
boxes and the thin strips which separate the hills,
when once made, would last ten or twelve years,
and the labor of filling them, planting the corn in
them, Sec, would come so early in the season,
that it would not be of so much consequence. It
would not take so many boxes to transplant an
acre of land as would at first be supposed. If in
every square foot of the boxes, there are twenty-
five hills, as there may be, then a rod square of
boxes will furnish hills enough to transplant more
than an acre and an half of grovmd, if the rows are
four feet apart one v/ay, and three feet the other.

It is very evident that the management of these
boxes would require some wisdom and care. The
loam should not be very rich, as it is desirable to
transplant from a poorer into a richer soil. San-
dy or gravelly loam is better, as it is warmer. If
the corn manifests a want of sufficient nutriment,
then liquid manure should be added sparingly.
In very cold nights it should be covered over. The
corn will be spindling, because the hills arc so
near together. But that will be remedied as soon
as it is ti-ansplanted.

My object in presenting this subject to your
readers, is to induce them to consider the subject,
and, if they think best, to test it by experiments
upon their farms. It was tested last summer by
several farmers with perfect success, yet not upon
a very large scale. I feel that, if I can do any-
thing to enable farmers to produce the most im-
portant crop of this part of the country more
surely, more abundantly and more economically,
I shall do much good. M.

For the New Englaad Farmer.

HO"w TO iiais;b cabbage.

In answer to "An Old Subscriber," Avho in-
quires how to raise good cabbages, I will tell him
how I have managed. I prepare my ground in the
spring by plowing in to the depth of fourteen
inches, a "liberal dressing of green stable manure,
after which the ground is spaded over, and re-
ceives a surflice dressing of salt and ashes. I plant
my cabbages in hills about the 10th of May, and
when two or three inches high, I pick out the
plants to distances four or five inches apart, and
when they are five inches high, I transplant tlieni,
setting them in rows three feet each way, which
gives room to work among them. I hoe them

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

247

twice a week through the season, and sometimes
when there is danger of the heads bursting, I tip
them over sidewa3^s, which starts the roots and
prevents further damage ; by this course of treat-
ment, I find no difficulty in making ninety plants
out of a hundred head and grow to a large size.
For a winter cabbage, I think Comstock's Premi-
um Flat Dutch decidedly superior to all oiiiCr
varieties. Old rotten manures are not good for
cabbages, from their being full of worms and in-
sects which prey upon the roots of the plants, pro-
ducing the "clump foot," which ruins the cab-
bage. L. B. PniLBRICK.
South Deerfield, N. H., March 20, 18G0.

For the New England Farmer.
PRUNING APPLE TREES.

Mr. Editor: — In your issue of March 17, a
correspondent expresses some of his ideas "on
pruning apple trees," which do not, all of them,
chime in with my own.

He thinks it is better not to pi-une at all after
the trees begin to bear fruit, but to let nature have
her own way ; and asks if nature is ever at fault
in the formation and growth of a tree. Now, if
nature needs no looking after, why does he prune
the tree before it comes to a bearing state ? Why
not let nature have its course at one time as well
as another in the life of a tree ? If nature can
always be trusted, why does she ofttimes allow
the fruit of the apple tree, and many other trees,
to set itself so thickly that, if it was allowed to re-
main and ripen, the branches v.ould be broken
down, and the tree ruined, unless it was propped
and supported in the most careful manner ?

That many persons prune their trees too much,
there is no doubt, but a little judicious use of the
knife or fine saw at the right time of the year —
from June to November — sometimes is needed by
ti-ees of all ages ; and this ftict is in accordance
v.'ith the experience of the most successful fruit-
growers of the land.

Your correspondent also objects to the scraping
and washing of trees. Now, to scrape a young,
smooih-barked tree, would be a foolish operation,
surely, but when the bark of a tree has naturally,
(as they will sometimes, let them be cared for ever
so well,) become thick and shaggy, and inter-
spersed with patches of moss, afibrding shelter
for numerous insects, it ought to be carefully re-
moved— no matter who says to the contrary.

Washing trees, also, prevents the accumulation
of moss, &c., and helps to keep off destructive in-
sects. Unless trees are washed, especially young
trees, in June, July and August, with some offen-
sive substance, the greatest "bore" of the far-
mer, the a])ple tree borer, is almost sure to com-
mence its destructive work ; and those trees which
have received the most care are most liable to be
attacked.

If "M." can keep the borers away from his
trees without applying some sort of a wash, Avill
he have the kindness to inform the public how he
has done it ?

The wash which I have used with good success
is the following : Make nearly a pailful of soap-
suds— not too strong — add a little pulverized
brimstone, hen manure, and enough clay to make
it adhesive. This wash should be applied tkree

or four times during the summer months, or as
often as it comes off the tree. S. L. White.
Oroton, March 29, 18G0.

For Vie New Enj^land Farmer.

FOTATL MEADO-W AND HUNGARIAN
GRASSES.

Gentlemex : — In behalf of myself and others
of your subscribers, I would inquire, What is the
character of fowl meadow grass ? It is something
new with us. Is it adapted to very low swamp
lands ? I have a swamp lot that I cleartd up last
season, and late in the fall I burned it over. Will
the seed take without breaking it up ? Judging
from the article in your paper of the 14th inst., I
should think that the writer of that article sowed
his seed without breaking up.

Is the seed to be had of ^Messrs. Nourse, Ma-
son & Co., and how much is required to the acre ?

I would like the views of some of your subscri-
bers, "who have had the practical knowledge," as
to the profit and value of Hungarian grass ?

Jos. M. Bishop.

Shoreham, Vt., March, 1860.

Remarks. — Cattle are very fond of this grass,
so that it is usually worth two-thirds the price of
the best English hay. It loves low, moist land,
but not "very low swamp lands." It may be in-
troduced by sowing its seed on the sward of mea-
dow or swale land, without breaking up. Hun-
garian grass is a species of millet, and is an an-
nual plant. It usually gives a large crop, and is
excellent for feeding out green to stock in tlie
summer. We have cut one crop only for dry fod-
der, but found it a good one. The objection to
raising it is, the necessity for plowing and seed-
ing every spring.

For the New England Farmer.
CULTURE OF SHEEP AI^TD PINES.

Mr. Editor : — I noticed in a recent number of
the Farmer, that j\Ir. E. W. Gardner, by figuring
and guessing at how much wood an acre of land,
set to pines, would produce thirty years hence,
claims a larger profit than stocking with sheep
would give. He says the land will, in thirty
years, produce 20 cords of wood per acre, which
is worth $6 per cord ; deducting $2 per cord for
cutting and carting, will leave §4, which is equal
to $80 for thirty years.

Let us see what we can do for the sheep. In
tlie fu'st place, I shall claim one acre to keep a
sheep, as it is not, or ought not to be called
pasture, if it will not ; or, at least, think I am
as safe in reckoning it at that, as friend Gardner
is in guessing at his twenty cords of wood, thirty
years hence. Allow one acre to keep one ewe
sheep, which will raise one lamb, (and perhaps
two,) v.hich is worth at least 82,50 in August, to
go to market; 4 lbs. of wool at 40 cents, 61,60,
making 84,10; deducting $1 for keeping in win-
ter, which is the common price, gives 83,10 per
year, or $93 for thirty years. He says if any sheep
husbandman can make up the other side of the
account to match his, he should be pleased to

248

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

May

hear from him. I am a keeper of sheep, and make
my figures no higher than my experience proves
to be true, Avhich I think will pay a larger profit
than setting land to pines, and guessing at the
quantity of wood it will produce in thirty years.
Hatfield, March, 1860. J. E. w.

For the New England Farmer.
WOBMS IN APPLES.

Mr. Editor : — In the Farmer of February 25
there is a communication from ISIr. S. L. White,
headed '-Wonns in Apples." I have been for a
long time expecting, yet fearing, to see something
like that. It may well produce alarm, for it threat-
ens the destruction of all the summer and the au-
tumn apples.

In 1835, an apple Avas given to me that grew
about four miles west of my home. In it I found
the maggots as described by Mr. White, adding to
his description black heads. Five years later they
appeared in the sweet apples of my orchai'd, and
rapidly increased, until now, for some years, we
cannot have a summer or autumn apple come to
perfection, excepting one fine sweet variety that
ripensin August — this appearing to get the start
of the pests by its early maturity. The bug ]\Ir.
White saw, I think, was not the perfected insect.
The iwj'm makes a very small brownish-red fly, I
am cfltiQ sure. There is any amount of them in
the fruit rooms, in the late fall and early Avinter,
but I have never found one when the fruit is grow-
ing on the trees. How the egg gets into the ap-
ple is more than I can guess, for there is not the
least appearance on the surface of injury.

The orchards a few miles below us in Plymouth
that are exposed to the winds direct from the sea,
do not appear to be affected by this nameless dep-
redator. Caleb Bates.

Kingston, Mass., 1860.

LADIES' DEPARTMENT.

uoint-inflammable dress fabbics.

The ladies will be glad to learn that a method
has been discovered by Mhich any dress fabric
may be rendered uninflammable. By direction of
Queen Victoria, two distinguished English chem-
ists undertook a series of experiments which have
resulted in determining that a solution containing
seven per cent, of the crystals or sixty-tvt-o per
cent, of anhydrous salt is perfectly anti-flamma-
ble. They remark : "Tungstate of soda ranges
among the salts which are manufactured on a
large scale, and at a cheap rate. A solution con-
taining tvv'enty per cent, renders the muslin per-
fectly non-inilanimable. It acts, apparently, by
firmly envL'loping the fibre, and thereby excluding
the contact with the air. It is very smooth and
of a fatty appearance, like talc, and this ]n-operty
facilitates the ironing process, which all other
salts resist." The following formula is given as
having ])roved efiicacious, and will simi)lify the
application : "A concentrated neutral solution of
tungstate of soda is diluted with water to 28°
Twaddle (an alkaliometcr, so called,) and then
mixed with three per cent, of phosphate of soda.
This solution was found to keep and to answer
well. It^has been introduced into Her Majesty's

laundry, where it is constantly used." The solu-
tion can be applied to any fabric. It is only ne-
cessary to dip the cleansed article in the prepared
fluid, then drain and dry it, after Avhich it may be
ironed ; or, if preferred, the solution may be in-
corporated Avith the starch to be used in the stiff-
ening. The lightest materials, Avhen submitted to
this preparation, may char and shrivel, but they
Avill not blaze.

NEEDLE-WOEK.

There is something extremely pleasant, and
even touching — at least, of very sweet, soft, Avin-
ning eflect — in this peculiarity of needle-Avork,
distinguishing Avomen from men. Our OAvn sex is
incapable of any such by-play aside from the main
business of life ; but Avomen — be they of Avhat
earthly rank they may, however gifted Avith intel-
lect or genius, or endowed with aAvful beauty —
have always some little handiAVork ready to fill the
tiny gap of every vacant moment. A needle is
familiar to the fingers of them all. A queen, no
doubt, plies it on occasion ; the Avoman-poet can
use it as adroitly as her pen ; the Avoman's eye
that has discovered a neAv star, turns from its glo-
ry to send the polished little instrument gleaming
along the hem of her kerchief, or to darn a casual
fray in her dress. And they have greatly the ad-
vantage of us in this respect. The slender thread
of silk or cotton keeps them united Avith the small,
familiar, gentle interests of life, the continually
operating influences of Avhich do so much for the
health of the character, and carry off Avhat Avould
otherwise be a dangerous accumulation of morbid
sensibility. A vast deal of human sympathy runs
along this electric line, stretching from the throne
to the Avicker-chair of the humblest seamstress,
keeping high and Ioav in a species of communion
Avith their kindred beings. Methinks it is a token
of healthy and gentle characteristics, when women
of high thoughts and accomplishments love to
sew, especially as they are never more at home
with their oAvn hearts, than Avhile so occupied. —
Hawthorne's New Romance.

Cleanliness. — The first thing to be attended
to after rising, is the bath. The vessel Avhich is
dignified, like a certain part of a lady's dress, Avith
a royal order, is one on Avhich folios might be
Avritten. It has given a name to tAvo towns —
Bath and Baden — renowned for their toilets, and
it is all that is left in three continents of Roman
glory. It is a club room in Germany and the
East, and was an arena in Greece and Rome. It
Avas in a bath that the greatest destroyer of life
had his OAvn destroyed, Avhen he had bathed all
France in blood. But Clarence, I am convinced,
has been much maligned, ge has been called a
drunkard, and people shudder at his choosing that
death in which he could not but die in sin; but
for my part, so far as the Malmsey is concerned,
I am inclined to think that he only shoAvcd him-
self a gentleman to the last. He Avas determined
to die clean, and he kncAV, like the Parisian la-
dies, Avho sacrifice a dozen of champagne to their
morning ablutions, that Avine has a peculiarly soft-
ening effect upon the skin. ' Besides champagne,
the exquisites of Paris use milk, Avhich is supposed
to lend Avhiteness to the skin. — Habits of Good
Society.

^^^^AlMli

DEVOTED TO AGRICULTURE AU'D ITS KINDRED ARTS AND SCIENCES.

VOL. XII.

BOSTON, JUNE, 1860.

NO. 6.

NOURSE, EATON & TOLilAN, Pboprietoes
Office 34 ilEncuANis' Row.

SIMON BROWN, EDITOR

FRED'K nOLBROOK, ) Associate
HE.VRY F. FRENCH, Editors.

CALENDAR FOR JUNE.

Now is the high tide of the year,
AnJ whatever of life liath ebbed away

Comes flooding bade with a ripply cheer.
Into every bare inlet and creek and bay.

LOWELI.

U N E — the very
name brings a pic-
ture before us — a
L picture to ■which
the most matter-

/ oi-iact person is

~ ' hardly indifferent.
The great, gaunt
trees, which groan-
ed and shrieked in
the blasts of win-
frx ter, and whose ten-
der leaves have
f looked chilled and
nipped in the east
Avinds of a north-
ern spring, each
one has now be-
come a "thing of
beauty," which
Mr. Keats says is
"a joy forever."
There is an old house — indeed, there are many
such — but we refer to that particular one which
now comes back to your memory. It may have
been a house of some pretensions when it was
new ; perhaps it heard the cannons of the Revo-
lution in the days of its youth ; but its "glory
has long since departed," and nothing now re-
mains to it but an air of antique respectability.
It has, too, an expression of melancholy, as if it
missed the master's hand — the master who was
carried over the threshold one pleasant au-
tumn day so long ago. As you passed by it,
last winter, it looked only a black, mournful pile
against the drifted snow. But look again, in this
pleasant month of June! The horse chestnut

trees are covered with great green leaves and
beautiful blossoms, the elms look up again and
show themselves for Avhat they are — the finest of
all American forest trees — and the maple bends its
graceful head in the summer air. There are cin-
namon roses looking over the fence, and a sjTin-
ga which perfumes the air for rods around. But
the old house — what has come over it, this sunny
morning ? You see its tall chimneys, and catch
glimpses of its sombre hues through the trees, but
how picturesque, how home-like it seems — how
much more attractive than that smart, newly-
painted dwelling that stands near, whose green
blinds are the only verdant thing about it, unless
it be the man who set it there as a target for the
hot suns of July and August to shoot their arrows
at ! Nature knows how to beautify the most des-
olate spot, and although she sometimes makes a
sandy desert without tree or shrub, she never de-
signed it for human habitation.

Last winter, the windows of our old house re-
minded one of the eye-holes in a skeleton's head ;
but now, as they are thrown open, through their
leafy screen, the people who sit at them seem as
if sitting in a bower of interlacing branches and
vines.

Lest somebody should mistake the tenor of our
remarks, and compare us to that man Aladdin,
who preferred old lamps to new ones, we would ex-
plain that this is by no means the inference to be
drawn ; but this, namely, that if the charms of na-
ture can so beautify a musty old dwelling such as
we have described, what can they not be expect-
ed to do for a brand-new one ?

Mr. Hawthorne does not, as an author, believe
in old houses — he has intimated as much in his
"House of the Seven Gables," and his "Marble
Faun," and it is ungenerous to demand that a
man's private habits shall conform to the senti-
ments he may think it beneficial to impress upon
the public, otherwise somebody might suggest an
incongi-uity between his known penchant for the

250

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

June

abodes of the past generation, and the remarks to
which we have referred. Tide the "Old ]Manse,"
where he gathered his "Mosses," and the house
whose portrait adorns the "Homes of American
Authors."

But now let us look abroad over the face of the
world. The seeds that were buried in the "cold,
moist earth," in April, are springing up again,
the orchard is full of blossoms, and the rye, and
•wheat, and corn, are green in the distant fields.
As you look at them, you are reminded of that
verse in Corinthians : "And tliat icliicli ihousow-
est, thou sowest not that body that shall be, but
bare grain, it may chance of wheat, or of some
other grain: but Ood giveth it a body as it hath
pleased him." And perhaps you think of the
whole of that sublimest chapter, and your faith
in the resurrection is a great deal stronger than
it would have been if you had not come out to
look at the world in the light of this June day.
So earth may always speak to us of heaven, if
our mitids are attuned to hear her lessons. Yet
the same sweet air which brings to one the scent
of flowers and thoughts of Heaven, comes to
another through grated prison windows, or plays
about the gibbet where he is to die, bringing only
remorseful memories, and "a certain fearful look-
ing for of judgment." So the Avorld is what we
make it.

Nor would we assert that there is not a little
of the old leaven in the emotions with which even
the best of us read the "book of nature."

Young woman, can you conscientiously say that
your admiration of this pleasant day is all un-
mingled with admiration for your new muslin
gown, which now, thank fortune, you can wear
with low neck and short sleeves, without an ad-
monition from "Mamma ?" Young man, we will
not for a moment suppose that vanities like these
possess yoitr mind, but as you sail over the bo-
som of the great river, are your musings undis-
turbed by thoughts of fish-hooks and bait ? Or,
as you stroll through the woods in a meditative
mood, is there not a spirit Avithin which prompts
you to pick up a stone, and throw at that little
red squirrel that sits so prettily on the fence, with
its tail over its back ? But we will not be too
hard on you, for most likely you did not hit him,
and he twinkled into a hole in the wall, from
which he looks triumphantly out at you, with his
bright, round eyes.

Brother Farmer, would you like to confess how
many "calculations" of profit have run through
the stream of your meditations, as you surveyed
the "marvellous handiwork" displayed in the
scene before you ?

The charming Hans Andersen, (if you have
not his books, pray get them for your children,)
describes a scene of loveliness, and then he says :

"There is the poetry of nature. Dost thou be-
lieve that this is felt by every one ? Listen to
what occurred there only last night. First of all,
two rich countrymen drove past. 'There are
some splendid trees there,' said one. 'There are
ten loads of fii-e-wood in each,'replied the other !"

For the Aeic England Farmer.
WEATHER AND FARMDSTG IN KANSAS.

"Pray God for rain," is the general cry. With
the exception of a slight shower a few nights ago,
we have had no rain since the 4th of February.
The ground is as dry as ashes and the farmers are
trying to grasp hands with patience while they
wait for rain to moisten the earth. Yet we wit-
ness great preparations for rain. The thunder
rolls threateningly ; lightning flashes alarmingly
and we draw closer within doors, and say, "Now
we shall have it," when, presto, change ! all the
symptoms of the wished-for rain disappear, and
the sunshine comes again. Verily, sunshine is a
good thing ; it lightens the heart and bathes the
earth with a beautiful glow, yet we need a storm,
now and then, to make us appreciate its kindly
smile the more. Some of the farmers have plant-
ed a few early potatoes, peas and other seeds that
will not injure by laying in the ground while
vegetation is so dormant. Many have delayed
their plowing, because they think it is useless,
and the ground gets so dry when turned to the
sunlight.

And yet Nature is wearing a beautifid aspect.
Grass is getting quite high on the prairies and
teams are already starting across the plains for
the great El Dorado. In a few more days the
trees will be perfect in their rich livery of green,
Avhile the flowers, like a coat of many colors, are
adorning the kindly breast of mother Earth.
Dear mother Earth ! beneath her bosom is beat-
ing a pulse of more warmth and kindness than we
ever find in the hearts of men. And while I write,
a beautiful bird sits upon the fence near by, and
repeats, with a metallic sound, "I know it, I know
it." And a solitary whipporwill upon the old oak,
near the woods, sadly cries out, "Whip-poor-
wi-1-1," bringing out the "will" prolongingly. Ah,
but we have sucli beautiful birds in Kansas. No-
where else can there be such a multitudinous va-
riety. "Singing flowers," Beecher calls them, as
flowers are "silent birds."

Sod corn. That is something of which the east-
ern farmers know but little, I believe. Of course,
every farmer knows that newly-plowed ground
never yields a great crop the first year. In Kan-
sas, where we have so much land to spare, the
sod is generally turned undef- during the summer,
and allowed to decay till the next spring, and
then when plowed over again, yields enormously.
If the farmer breaks his land in the spring and
v/ishes to render it useful the first year, he breaks
with an eighteen or twenty inch plow, and a man
follows after him with a basket of corn and drops
the kernels along the furrows ; then breaking the
next furrow the sod is turned over upon the corn,
and thus it is left to come up and grow as it
chooses through the summer, no attention being
given it. Another way to plant sod corn is to
go round the field with an axe, and, at certain dis-

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

251

tances, strike the axe in the ground, and after
dropping the kernels in the cleft, closi itAvith the
heel of the boot. Such corn seldom grows high
and yields from thirty to forty bushels per acre.
The ears are generally small, and the stalks and
ears are generally cut up together, and fed out to
the stock during the winter. There will be large
quantities of sod corn planted this year. But if
the corn is planted on ground plowed the second
time, at the distance of two feet apart, and each
hill hoed over or plowed between, twice during the
Slimmer, we have a crop of from sixty to eighty
bushels per acre. The cars are enormously long,
large and full, and the stalks often grow to the
height of twenty-two feet. No such corn grows in
the east, I know. Last year a New Hampshire
man brought out some of that small yellow corn of
the East, and planted a field of it, and he could
not sell it, because it did not yield so much per
acre ; and the stock did not '"take to it," as they
do to the large white corn of the West.

Next week we are going "over into Missouri,"
as we say on the Kansas borders, and I will then
give you an account of the farms, and the manner
in which they force cultivation out of an earth
covered with the blot of slavedom ; where the
A'ery air seems close, because freedom is con-
fined. Susie Vogl.

Sumner, K. T., April 23, 1860.

For tlie New England Farmer.
HOW A JSRSEYMAIQ" TREATS HIS COWS.

In conversation lately with a gentleman resid-
ing in New Jersey, near Philadelphia, I learned
something of their manner of stabling their milk
cows, and the cows kept awhile to be got ready
for market. The stable is made very much upon
the plan recommended by Mr. Holbrook, I think,
with a trench running along behind to receive the
droppings ; but instead of having a close bottom,
has slats, through which the manure drops into
the cellar below, and is daily removed and sold
to the calico printers. No bedding of any kind is
allowed. Behind each coav, at a convenient dis-
tance, is fixed in the floor a ring or staple. When
milking time comes, a strap with a buckle is
passed through the ring, the cow's hind foot on
the side of the milker drawn back, as she Avould
naturally stand while milking, the strap passed
around her ankle and buckled, the neck straps be-
ing so arranged as to keep the cow's head wp ; it
is impossible for the most kicking cow to overset
the pail, or strike the mUker. The most stubborn
cows are subdued by this means, and without vi-
olence or harm to the cow, or to the temper of the
milker. And in the severest fly time, no loss is
occasioned by overset pails.

Cows are each allowed twenty pounds of the
best hay per day, tM'o quarts of Indian meal, and
a peck of fine feed. The hay is cut, and the meal
and feed wet and sprinkled over, or mixed with
the hay. They are turned out in the morning, al-
lowed to drink, and yarded for a while, tied up at
noon, foddered and turned out again for an hour
or two. Separate yards are made for different
lots, and those animals which are jK'aceable to-
gether are put together in the lot-yards. When
turned out upon the pasture in summer, they run
together. But instead of knocking the droppings

to pieces as a dressing for the land, a man is em-
ployed with a basket or handcart to go over the
field and pick up the droppings, which are also
sold to the cloth printers, at a rate sufficient to
make it profitable to thus dispose of the manure,
and with the ])roceeds to buy other fertilizers to
keep the land in heart. D.

April 14, 18G0.

Fur the New England Farmer.
ONIOK" MAGGOT.

Much has been said and written about the on-
ion maggot, and I don't know as there is any
cure for him, but I will tell you how I treated
mine last year, and with good success for once,
and shall try it again this year, and will tell it to
you and the fiirmers free of charge ; I don't think
I could get "$60,000" for it, if I should ask it.

I sowed last year in my garden, on good soil,
three rows, about thirty feet long each, to onion
seeds. I expected the maggots and watched dili-
gently their progress. When they were first up
about one or two inches high, I put some strong
salt and water on about three feet of one row to
see if it would kill the onions, and in case it did
not, perhaps it might kill the maggots, if they
came ; the young onions stood it well, and it did
not hurt them.

After the onions had got about as large as a
pail-bail wire, there came a spell of warm, wet
weather, and my onions began to be affected. I
watched them several days, and they grew worse,
and were fast dying out, for about one in every
eight or ten were wilting and dying, and I found
a maggot at the roots of every one that appeared
wilting, and sometimes the maggot was nearly as
large as the little stock itself, and had eaten the
bottom all away, and was making its way up the
stem; at the rate of havoc they were making, it
appeared there would not be one onion left in the
bed at the end of four weeks more. I took a pail-
ful of strong pickle from my pork barrel, and
with a watering-pot, put it all on to the thro
rows as though I were watering them ; the ( ■ -
ions never faltered or changed. The salt kiF d
all the grass, young clover and weeds, exci it
purslain, which came up later, and the magg rs
were entirely killed, and I never saw any aftc/,
though the flies continued to lay their eggs down
the side of the little plant and between it and the
dirt, just as flies will blow a piece of fresh meat ;
but the salt prevented their maturing or hatch-
ing, and I raised a good crop of fair sized onions.
I think they did not ripen as well as usual, but I
am not convinced that the salt prevented them,
for I have often seen patches remain as green as
mine were at harvest time.

I put on two or three slighter sprinklings of
brine after the first, during the summer.

Maiden, May 7, 1860. A. S. Hall.

New Bees. — At a meeting of the Apiarian So-
ciety of London, the Secretary, ]Mr. Segitmeler,
described the successful introduction into Eng-
land of the Ligurian bee, a distinct species from
the ordinary honey bee. It is regarded as of great
value as a honey collector, and has been recently
introduced into Germany with great success. Col-
onies of the new species were stated to be already
at work in Devonshire.

252

NEW ENGLAISTD FARMER.

June

For the New England FuTmer.
INFLUX OF GOLD.

Mr. Editor : — I should like to inquire what is
to be the probable and permanent effect of the un-
precedented and continuous influx of gold into the
United States ? In other words, in what respects
will our agricultural and commercial prosperity
be promoted or retarded thereby ? Without pre-
tending to any uncommon sagacity upon this sub-
ject, I would make a few brief remarks for the
consideration of others.

Wo know already what were the effects upon
Spain, after the discovery and conquest of Mexi-
co and Peru ; that the influx of gold tended great-
ly to national degeneracy, by introducing luxury
and extravagance, and by paralyzing the industri-
ous and virtuous habits of the nation. The chief
cause of this national decline in wealth and pros-
perity was the relaxation in the industrial habits
and pursuits of the people. But, for reasons
which are sufficiently obvious, v.'e anticipate a dif-
ferent result in our case. The only evil we expe-
rience at present from the influx of gold, is the
advance in the price of labor and of all the neces-
saries Qf life. If the farmer has to pay a higher
price for labor, so, in return, he receives a higher
price for all the articles which labor produces, so
that the various departments of industry were
never in a more healthy or satisfactory condition.
In all departments of business, work is abundant,
and laborers are constantly employed at good
wages. And, notwithstanding the high price of
provisions, and of all the necessaries and con-
veniences of life, yet all laborers receive a full
equivalent by the higher price which they are
paid for their services.

Such is the condition of things in these United
States. The influx of gold has already raised the
price of everything ; and it will ultimately make
these United States the most prosperous and
wealthy nation on the face of the globe. In pro-
portion as gold abounds, so is the price of every
thing enhanced. And we have no reason to an-
ticipate a different result. It is true, upon the
first announcement of the auriferous discoveries
in California, so great was the rush of adventur-
ers to that locality, that, had our population been
stationary or self-dependent for its increase, the
consequence would have been most injurious to
the agricultural industry of the country. But the
broad stream of emigration from foreign countries
constantly pouring in upon us, more than makes
up the loss by our south-western emigration. Be-
sides, there can be no doubt of the beneficial in-
fluence of the gold discoveries upon the com-
merce of the United States, The accession often
or twelve millions annually to our circulating me-
dium, is of vast importance to all our public in-
terests.

Taking, now, a more enlarged view of these dis-
coveries, a political effect is likely to arise out of
them, far more momentous, extensive and per-
manent in its consequences and future bearing on
the destinies of the New World, It does not re-
quire the foresight of a prophet to predict, that,
at no distant period, the Anglo-Saxon race is to
have control and reign supreme throughout the
North American continent. It is, in fact, but a
question of time and expediency ; the result, how-
ever, seems to be certain. And this will be ow-

ing, in a great measure, to the discovery and in-
flux of gold, which has thrown into the hands of
the Anglo-Saxon race nearly the whole supply of
the precious metals. And believing, as we firmly
do, that these United States are destined to play
an important part in reforming the institutions of
civil government, and in civilizing and evangel-
izing the world, we cannot but consider this fact
as most strikingly significant and sure. What-
ever may be the designs of an overruling Provi-
dence in this arrangement, we trust that these
United States, which are now, in some respects,
like the children of Israel in the wilderness, trav-
elling to the land of promise, and passing through
some of the most fiery trials in order to prepare
them for their future duties, will be enabled to ac-
quit themselves manfully and discharge all their
duties faithfully, especially those bearing upon
the future liberties and happiness of mankind.
John Goldsbury.

For the New England Farmer.
THE TBUE TEACHEB.

It is the duty of the teacher not only to edu-
cate, to draw out what is in the mind of the pupil,
to bring into exercise his faculties, to develop,
uncover, inifold his powers, which lie folded up
like tlie wings of a bird for future use, but he
must also teach, instruct, impart of his own sub-
stance, communicate from his own store, accord-
ing to the power which he has, the light within
him. The true teacher has his own mind and soul
so illuminated, so full of light, that it shines into
every mind and soul that comes within its sphere
of radiation, and lightens it up so that its owner,
and all others looking on, can see what is in it.
Perhaps teachers differ in no respect more than in
this power of radiation. Some teachers Avho have
a good deal of illumination, always thrust a screen,
consisting of a net work of technical v/ords be-
tween themselves and their pupils, and only the
few straggling rays that pass through the chinks
and meshes of this screen ever reach the minds of
the pupils. Technical terms are only the names
of ideas or things. They have their use in help-
ing us to arrange and classify things or thoughts,
but in themselves are of no value.

If we have ideas, there will be no difficulty in
finding names for them, or terms by which to ex-
press them. Some teachers require of their pupils
the outlay of more force in the acquisition of
names, than would be needed to gain a tolerable
knowledge of things. A thing may be the better
for having a name, but a name without a thing is
of no worth. In this way of teaching, there is a
great waste of time and force. And besides this
waste, there is this other disadvantage, that as
the child can not fully understand the name until
he has first obtained an idea of the thing intend-
ed by it, he Avill never be quite sure that he un-
derstands what is meant by the name, and Avhen
it is spoken, he will have no confidence in his
knowledge of the thing meant. The teacher who
can teach one thing, is worth more than that oth-
er teacher, who can teach the names of twenty
things. Some teachers, not very intensely illumi-
nated within, have yet souls so transparant, that
other souls have the full benefit of the light they
have. They are not enveloped in mists and fogs.

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

253

The windows of their minds are not darkened by
blinds and screens, but the light passes through
them bright and pure, and is not turned from its
direct course by any imperfect medium, and when
we look upon the mental tablets upon which it
tails, we find a perfect image reflected. This is al-
ways delightful. We admire a picture in propor-
tion as it is "true to nature." So when we find
the image, the idea, the thought that lies in the
mind of the teacher, accurately reflected from the
mind of the child, we are pleased — we feel that
the teacher is an artist, that he can do real work.
Such a teacher, if he can make but one picture, is
better than he who attempts many, but makes
none perfect. J. Reynolds.

Concord, Mass., 1860.

For the New JEngland Fanner.
THE WILD LANDS OF LONG ISLAISD.

SECOJID LETTEB, FROM JUDGE FEENCH.

In a former letter, I gave a general idea of the
immense tract of lands lying on Long Island,
within two hours of the city of New York, by the
Long Island railroad, which divides them nearly
in the centre. Thousands of acres of them are
for sa^e, at prices from twenty to fifty dollars an
acre. The soil would seem, in many places, to a
casual observer, to be far more sandy than in fact
it is, there being in it more or less of white wa-
ter-worn pebbles, which, washed by the rain, show
white on the surface. A slight examination will
show, however, that the soil is a sandy loam, with
alluvium enough almost to entitle it to be called
a clay loam. Taking up soil from six inches below
the surface, I found that by working it a little in
the hand, it had almost the consistency of soft
putty, and rolling it into little balls, and drying
it, it became quite hard, so that the balls might
be rolled across the floor without crumbling.

Again, in pastures and fields, it is a common
practice, where there are no streams, to provide
watering places for cattle, by scooping out hol-
lows three or four feet deep, and there the rain-
water will stand through the summer, by merely
treading and thus puddling the bottom, without
the addition of clay or any other substance, on
land perfectly drained by nature, and where water
will not be found by digging twenty feet. This is a
common method of supplying stock with water in
some parts of England, but there the bottoms of
these artificial ponds are usually puddled with
clay. These lands have been often described as
barren sand, and I am therefore particular in stat-
ing my reasons for a different opinion.

There are no stones for miles too large to throw
at a dog, and the land is easily plowed with two
horses after it is once broken up. My way to clear
it, would be to dig up by hand the few trees or
stumps too large for the plow, then mow the
bushes and bm-n them, and then plow with a

strong team. I saw a team of five horses break-
ing up a new field of forty or fifty acres, for the
first time. The plowman said they could plow
nearly two acres a day, that he had tried oxen,
and they could not plow one acre a day. He in-
tended to sow winter rye and grass seed, and said
that he had got 28 bushels of rye to the acre the
year before, and 30 bushels of winter wheat ; and
300 bushels of potatoes to the acre, over 10 acres,
getting a crop of 3000 bushels. This is on Mr.
Wilson's farm at Deer Park, which he purchased
for $5 an acre about six years ago. My inform-
ant is a Scotchman, a very intelligent man, who
is, to my certain knowledge, a first rate plowman,
and who gives the farm on which he labors, the
appearance of an old country farm, such as few
American farms present. I may add, that persons
who know the farm, have full faith in these state-
ments about the crops. The soil seems precisely
the same as that of the Island generally. It is on
the raikoad, 7 miles nearer the city than North
Islip station. All these lauds are nearly as level
as a prairie, and there is no waste land, so that
large square fields may be laid out, and fully cul-
tivated, whenever it is convenient, A farmer at
North Islip, whose farm I visited, said that
his winter wheat averaged 18 bushels to the acre,
and his spring wheat 22 bushels, and his potatoes
from 125 to 150 bushels. For potataos, he plows
in barn manure, and manures in the drill with
300 pounds of Peruvian guano to the acre. He
said that the guano thus applied plainly showed
the rows, after a crop of wheat and two crops of
hay, four years after the application.

Everywhere over the Island, so far as I went —
and Ave drove 40 mUes in an open carriage in one
day, on purpose to observe the agriculture of the
region — the wheat and clover appeared finely,
and wherever a field had lain in grass two or
three years, there was a thick heavy sod, with
every indications of a good crop of timothy. Not
a mile from North Islip station, we observed a
peach orchard of several acres, as handsome and
thrifty trees as I ever saw, some three or four
years old. The buds then (April 3) were unin-
jured, and several trees which I examined closely,
were full of blossom buds. Strawberries and black-
berries flourish finely wherever planted. I ob-
served a few young apples and pears, and some
grapes, all of which looked well.

The climate must be more mild than Boston,
the winters being tempered by the sea, and the
extreme heat of summer in inland places cannot
be experienced on the island. Like Ireland, which
is the best country for pasturage in the world.
Long Island must be much protected from sum-
mer drought by the heavy dews, Avhich the sea-
breezes deposit in the sultry summer nights. One
singular fact deserves consideration by the scien ■

254

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

June

tific. The railway runs about four miles from the
south shore. In a passage of 40 miles from Brook-
lyn to North Islip, -we scarcely cross a stream
large enough to require a culvert, yet all the way
along by the common highway, which keeps near
the south shore, are beautiful ponds of crystal
water, abounding in trout, and supplied by streams
large enough in many cases to carry mills, and
having their rise within the four mile breadth.
The summit of the railroad is about 150 feet above
tide-water, and there are no hills worthy the name
in all this part of the island. The streams are fed
by springs, which have a very uniform flow of
water. A friend who accompanies me, insists that
it is impossible that all this water can come from
the rain, and that it must come up from the sea
in some way by capillary attraction. In support
of his theory, he says that on Fire Island, which
is close by Long Island, the cattle find fresh wa-
ter by -digging holes in the sand through which
the sea-Avater is filtered and becomes fresh. I kave
not seen any rain-tables kept on the island, but
am inelined to think the rain-fall will be found to
be very large, and the evaporation heretofore has
been small, the land being covered with a low
growth of pines and oaks, so that the filtration
would be comparatively large.

There is very little opportunity on Long Island
for the exercise of my favorite agricultural science
of drainage, as nature has got the start of us, and
thorough drained nearly the whole island. The
wells are from 20 to 40 feet deep, and the water
is always found before reaching rock. Indeed, the
inhabitants say there is no rock under the island.
In all my travels, except near Brooklyn, I have
seen no ledge of any kind, no such thing as a
stone fence, nor any stone of a hundred pounds
weight, except a few on the north side, in Smith-
town. Bricks are used for wells, and brick clay
is found in some localities.

Long Island ought to be the kitchen garden of
New York. The climate is mild, the land is well
drained and early, is very easily cultivated, and
must be productive.

From some chemical tests which I have had ap-
plied to the soil, it seems to abound in potash, to
have aluminum enough, but to be deficient in
lime and phosphates. Bone, or superphosphate of
lime would be the specific manure, if this impres-
sion prove correct.

These lands are surely worthy of careful exam-
ination by those seeking for market-garden farms.
Any farmer who will visit them in the heat of
summer, while the crops are on, may determine
readily the only points Avhich can admit of doubt,
namely, whether the soil will endure a drought,
and whrether the statements as to the crops of
Avheat, rye and grass, Avhich I have given, are
true. Upon these points, I give the authority of

others. I feel confident that the Wilson farm, at
Deer Park, is a fair test of the North Islip lands,
and I could find no person who would say that
the lands in that region were peculiarly subject to
drought. Let any man who feels interested, ex-
amine for himself, and he will bo sure, at least, at
Stillenwerfs Hotel at Islip, to find a first rate
house, with sea-fowl and trout and oysters, and
all other creature comforts that a reasonable man
can ask, and he will find enough of interest in this
wilderness by a great city, to compensate for the
journey.

For the New England Farmer.
DAIBYIITG— FENCES.

Mr. Editou : — I see by an article in the Farm-
er of February 18, that your "New Bedford" cor-
respondent says "Mr. Pinkham can calculate, and
Mr. Bailey figure, yet people Avill not be con-
vinced that farming is a losing business." Mr.
"G. W. H." makes a mistake of three dollars, in
his way of running up my figures. I think it is
evident to every observing man,, that there are
some things connected with farmings that do not
pay. It is well known that what pays well in some
parts of the countrj^ does not pay at all in anoth-
er part, and it may be so in rcg-ard to raising neat
stock. It may bo that, in Massachusetts, where
it does not cost much to transport stock ta mar-
ket, it is more profitable to raise stock than it is
here in Vermont. As an ofl'sct to the unprofita-
bleness of raising stock, I will give your readers
the benefit of my observation, in one single case,
and I might give many more. A few years ago,
a man in this vicinity bought a fann of 200 acres,
for some $2,200. He paid about S800 more for
his team, stock, hogs, grain, provisions, farming
tools, &c. In fact, he had everything- to buy, for
he had nothing to commence Avitb, except $1000
in cash, which he had eai'ned by working out for
farmers, for some six or eight years previous. He
was now $2000 in debt ; a pretty heavy load for
a young farmer, and ho felt it to be so ; and went
to work with the determination to remove it. The
first two years he paid off one half of this debt,
but since then, he has not probably cleared over
S300 a year on account of hard times. Perhaps
some of your readers would like to know how we
make money so fast up here in rocky, hilly Ver-
mont. Well, I will tell you how the gentleman
referred to did it, and what has been done, can
be done again. He made butter-making his whole
business, keeping about twelve cows, but no more
other stock than was necessary. His cows and
hogs are his chief source of income, as he usually
feeds out all his grain. I do not claim that there
is no other way to make money on a farm ; but
I know that "round these diggins," there are none
who make money so fast as the dairymen. And
I find it generally true, what an old Scotchman
once said to us : "If ye ha kies, ye ha every thin
to live week"

I am happy to see that a new topic has been in-
troduced in the Farmer, i. e., fences, and I hope
your farming correspondents will give the subject
justice. Our experience is, that a good half wall
"is the best fence. It will certainly stop all kinds

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

255

of stock Ijetter than any other, and it is not very-
costly to build, where there are stones enough to
build it. I think the Avail should be about two feet
on the ground, and two and a half feet high. The
posts should be set one foot in the ground, and
about eight feet apart ; the boards being seven-
teen feet long, and about eight inches wide. Al-
ways spike the board on to the round side of the
post, otherwise the wind, in swaying the boai'ds
to and fro, will draw out the spike. Where ce-
dar, chestnut or oak is not plenty, brown ash
makes a very good fence-post.

We have had beautiful weather since last De-
cember. Sap has run well the past Aveek, which
is early for this section of country. The prospect
is fair for a good sugar year. There is but little
snow in the fields, and the grass has started in
some places. Wild geese Averc flying to the north
on the IGth. Spring birds Avere seen on the 14th.

Neicbunj, VL, March, 18G0. T. P. Bailey.

For the New England Fanner.
CLOVER AS A FEKTILIZER.

Mr. Editor : — There seems to be a diversity
of opinion in regard to clover improving the soil
by ploAving under. I noticed in the Farmer of
the 24th lUt. a statement by "W. E. D.," claim-
ing as a result of his experiment Avhere he ploAved
in grass, getting a much poorer crop than Avhen
there was no grass. He does not say whether it
•was herdsgrass, redtop or something else. If
either of these, I do not see as he has tested the
value of clover, of Avhich he first speaks. Now you
ai'e well aAvare that clover is, according to the laws
of A'egetation, a great extractor from the atmo-
sphere, and is abundantly supplied with leaves
which are spread to the Avind, and take in carbon
and nitrogen ; its roots are thrust into the subsoil
and take up the salts Avhich other plants do not
reach ; here we have mineral elements combined ;
when the clover is turned under, and we plant
with corn, it has an abundance of nutriment neces-
sary for its groAvth. Oliver Marcy, in his address
upon agriculture, says, Avherever you can get a
crop of clover you may get a crop of corn. If you
have nothing but a sand-bank, put on something
to make your seed catch and stimulate the plant,
and everything that is in the soil, air and rain
■will be brought into the crop. Turn it in, and
you have gained much; but cart off the green
crops and you have lost the essential materials
which the plants extracted from the atmosphere.
Even that powerful stimulant, guano, cannot pro-
duce a crop after a fcAV repetitions. We hear of
the old, Avorn-out tobacco lands of Virginia being
completely renovated by green crops. I hope to
hear more upon this subject, as i think it Avill
prove beneficial to many. I commenced one year
ago to experiment with clover as a fertilizer, and
at some future time I Avill give you the results of
my experiment. w. E. J.

Hatfield, March, 1860.

Pie-Plaxt Wine. — The manufacture of wine
from the stalks of pie-plant or rhubarb, has be-
come quite an item in some sections of the West.
For tAvo years past, we have tasted of it among
our many western friends, and have often found

it very pleasant. It is much improved by age, al-
though when quite nCAv it is palatable, and very
valuable in the kitchen pastry department. Last
summer, we had the pleasure of tasting some that
had been made eight years, and found it to re-
semble a pure Mansinello Avine, oily and mild, yet
with a pleasant aroma. The maker Avas William
GlasgoAv, Jr., Esq., of St. Louis, the "Longworth"
of wine-making in Missouri. — Ohio Farmer.

EXTRACTS AND REPLIES.

CAUTION TO BEE-KEEPEKS.

I find that many patent hive venders are mak-
ing very free Avith my name, attaching it to re-
commendations of hives that I have never heard of,
as an inducement to persons to buy their Avorth-
loss trash. This has been done in many quarters,
till my reputation for consistency is in great need
of repairs. Take a sample of one of the boldest,
emanating from some point in Michigan, Avhere it
Avas supposed, no doubt, that it might escape my
notice :

"This is the only patent hive ever used by
QuiNBY, the greatest bee-raiser in the United
States, Avho, before it Avas patented, off"cred $120
for his individual right, noAV sold for $5."

And to make it still more like truth, he gives
my name among others for reference. I Avish it
distinctly understood, that / never offered a dol-
lar for a patent hive yet. That I never recom-
mended any of them, hut those toith the movable
combs. And to prevent being accused of inter-
ested motives, even here, I Avould say that I have
no interest in am/ of them beyond an individual
right to use. Of these rights I have any number
presented me.

I Avould like to have this rascality exposed ; it
would save some of the readers of the Farmer the
trouble of Avriting, and of my answering numerous
letters asking to be further assured of my opinion
of this or that hive. M. Quinby.

St Johmville, N. Y., 1860.

A SPECIFIC FOB THE ONION MAGGOT.

As soon as there are any appearances of the
maggot, remove the dirt from the bulb of all your
onions, and the invaders will take French leave,
or some feathered prowler Avill nab them for a
breakfast.

This prevents as well as cui-es. The onion is
tenacious of life, and removing the earth from
contact with the bulb does not prevent the groAvth
or perfection of the plant, as the fibrous roots are
amply sufficient for its complete development.

Nathan Ryder.

New Haven, March 31, 1860.

CULTIVATION OF A^thITE PINES.

About eighteen years since I assisted in setting
nearly 3000 Avhite pines upon a lot of sandy land
nearly Avorn-out, and of little value. We pro-
cured the trees from a piece of land about to be
ploAved near a lot of young pines. A large pro-
portion of the trees were from six to tAvelve inches
in height, but thinking we Avould have some very
good ones, Ave took pains to get a fcAv that were
very thrifty, from three to five feet in height ;
more than one-half the large ones died, Avhile the

256

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

June

small' ones nearly all lived, and are now from six
to twelve inches in diameter, and the land is
worth three times what it was eighteen years ago.
We plowed furrows about six feet apart, and placed
the trees four feet apart in the furrows. The trees
were set about the first of April and with very lit-
tle expense. Alden Davis.
West Stafford, March, 1860.

RYE AND BUCKWHEAT — FOWLS.

In reply to an inquiry by "M." on "Rye with
Buckwheat," I will say that I have made a prac-
tice of sowing rye and buckwheat together, for
two or three years past. The rye has generally
made a good growth, and I should have had a fine
crop, if I had let it ripen. I have always plowed
the rye in for manure, and it works well for
buckwheat. I sow about the tenth of June.

I noticed also a communication from a gentle-
man in South Danvers, in which he says, "he
wishes to get the best breed of fowls." I should
advise him to get the Chittagong in preference to
any other breed. I have kept them for two years,
and find them excellent layers. They are a large
and very handsome fowl, the cocks Aveighing from
eleven to thirteen pounds, and the hens seven to
ten. Jeremiah Cobb.

Westboro', March 20, 1860.

TAXATION.

It seems to me there is more feeling manifested
in the communication of "J." of this date than the
occasion demands. I have yet to learn that there
is any improper imputation made on a man, or class
of men, when you say of him, or them, that they are
not forward to be assessed beyond their due pro-
portions. A citizen does his whole duty when he
pays what is demanded of him, and it is the du-
ty of the authorities to determine the sum to be
demanded. I rather think "J." has some matter
agitating his bosom, other than the taxes of his
townsman ; the fact is, personalities are local
and limited, sound instructions are general and
without limit. EssEX.

April 7, 1860. _

GROWING OF WHEAT.

My neighbor, Gen. Sutton, has lately sent me a
specimen of his wheat, grown last season on a
field of half an acre, which yielded fifteen bushels.
It appears to be first rate, but so rare is it to meet
wheat grown on our own lands, that I do not feel
qualified to speak with confidence of its quality.
I remember to have seen this patch of wheat, as
I passed over the General's ground. It looked vig-
orous and handsome — the soil is natm-ally strong,,
such as is found on our hill-sides, when subdued
and fertilized ; and the General on all his grounds
spares no pains to have this done to perfection.
But the lesson to be learned from this is, if one
man can grow wheat, so can another ; and as my
friend Bartlett, of Warner, N. H., says, any man
can grow all the wheat he needs for his family, if
he will but try. j. w. P.

April 2, 1860. __

To "A. B." Barre, Fif.— In the Farmer of De-
cember 24, (vol. 12, p. 69,) in your reply to the in-
quiry, "Is Farming Profitable ?" you have stated
that from a farm costing $4000, and without

capital, stock or tools to carry it on, you have
paid for all of them, beside the improvements of
buildings, fences, &:c., from the farm, the whole,
with the interest, amounting to the snug little sum
of $10,000 in cost to you.

Now the modus opei^andi of this success can-
not but be interesting and useful to every New
England farmer, and to all those who anticipate
the day when they can call some small home their
own.

Please give us, then, a description of what your
farm was, (and is,) its size, its soil, its products,
&c. ; what kind of stock you put on it at first, and
have kept ; the profit of each, or the comparative
profit of cattle, horses and sheep, for the sham-
bles or for wool, according to your experience ;
so that others in like circumstances, or in any cir-
cumstances, may profit by your experience.

JElm Tree Farm. o. w. T.

RECLAIMING PASTURE.

I have a pasture away from home which is grow-
ing up to hardback and pod-brake. I wish to know
the best way to get rid of them ?

Earrisville, N. H. Luke Richarbson.

Rem^vrks. — Cut the bushes, and then depasture
it with sheep.

ASPARAGUS.

Ought asparagus the second year from the seed
to be cut as fast as it comes up, or would it be
best for it to grow, ^id not cut it until the third
year ? Henry F. Gifford.

Falmouth, Mass., 1860.

Remarks. — A little may be cut the second year,
but as the root will not become large and vigor-
ous without the aid of the top, it is best not to
cut it much.

BREMEN GEESE AND PEACOCK.

Can any of your numerous readers or corres-
pondents direct me as to the best means of breed-
ing Bi'emen geese, and instruction as to pools and
winter shelter for the same. Also as to the hab-
its of the bird "Pavo Cristatus,'^ or Peacock, and
mode of raising. Oak Hill.

March 23, 1860. __

TO CURE RINGWORM, OR TETTER ON CATTLE.

Take a small quantity of linseed oil, and a brush
or rag, and rub the parts so affected. It is a sure
cure. DiVNiEL Chase.

Piermont, iV". H., March 24, 1860.

Currants as Trees, or as Bushes. — The edi-
tor of the Rural Neio- Yorker recommends the tree
form. But then adds :

Another good way to grow the currant is in the
form of a bush— not the kind of a bush generally
seen, but with only three, or at the most, four
shoots starting from the ground. After bearing
two years, allow one or two strong shoots to start
from the bottom, to take the place of one or two
of the old ones, which should be cut aAvay. One
shoot may be allowed afterward to grow every
year, to replace an old one ; and thus the plant
will be entirely renewed every three or four years.

1860.

NEW ENGLAKD FARMER.

257

SAWYEK'S IMPROVED CULTIVATOK.

This is an admirable labor-saving implement.
For the purpose of hilling Ave have never seen its
equal — and us a scarifier, or weeder, it is very ef-
fectual. It is easily changed so as to do little or
much work, as is desired, for it is adapted to flat
surface culture as well as to hilling. Mr. Wm. R.
Putnam, of Danvers, says it is the best tool he
ever used for splitting hills where corn grew the
previous year, but that its "greatest excellence is
in Its adaptation to the drill' and ridge culture,
such as corn planted for fodder, sugar beets and
ruta bagas, as it will cover the manuring, and the
hand-hoe can be dispensed with." On ground not
stony we should think it might be used favorably
for covering potatoes.

For the New England Farmer
BEVIEW OF THE SEASON.

Mr. Editor : — For the purpose of keeping the
readers of the Farmer posted up on the changes
and fluctuations of the season, I send the re-
sults of my record of the weather for the past six
months, giving an account of the principal ele-
ment? which have governed the season during
that time. The amount of rain was 10.42 inches,
and of snow 43 inches, which is a much smaller
amount than usual. The earth has not been
thoroughly saturated with water during the past
twelve months.

October, \%o2, had a mean temperature of 42.87
which is more than 4 colder than the mean, and is
the coldest October for the past seven years. Rain
fell on 8 days, and its quantity was 1.39 inches,
consequently the earth was extremely dry. Snow
was first seen on the mountains on the 9th day,
but no snow fell at this place. The highest range
of the thermometer was 80, and the lowest 20.

November had a mean temperature of 37.75,
being 2.70 above the mean, and is the Avarmest
November for the past seven years. Rain fell on
10 days, and its amount Avas 2.29 inches, and the
amount-of snow 3.75. Winter begun on the 22d,

Avith 2 inches of snov/, yet the snow was nearly
gone at the end of the month. The small quan-
tity of rain during the past season caused the
springs and streams to be extremely low at the
beginning of winter, with but little prospecct of
any increase.

December had a mean temperature of 19.02,
being 3.21 colder than the mean, and is the coldest
December of the past seven years, Avith the excep-
tion of 1854 and 1856. Rain fell on 11 days and
its amount Avas 2.65 inches, and the amount of
snow 22 inches. The sleighing Avas good for the
last ten days, and the cold Avas rather severe, but
the most severe during the last six days, which
had a temperature of 6.02. The thermometer on
the 28th and 29th ranged from 4 to 26 beloAv zero,
having a mean of 11.24 below zero. These Avere
the tAvo coldest days of the season, and, with a
single exception, the only days Avith the mercury
beloAV zero all day.

January, 1800, had a mean temperature of 23.13,
being 4.44 above the mean. No month has been
so fluctuating as the month of January, for a se-
ries of years past. The loAvest mean temperature
recorded for January, Avas 8.69 in 1857, and the
highest, Avas 25.62 in 1855, shoAving a greater va-
riation than any other month in the year. Rain
fell on 1 1 days, and its amount Avas 0.84 inches,
and the amount of snoAv 3 inches. The first five
days Avere extremely cold, the mercury varying
from 25 above, to 25 below zero. The snow par-
tially disappeared on the 10th, since which time
we have had no sleighing and but little suoaa*.

February had a mean temperature of 22.03,
being 2.36 above the mean. Rain and snoAV fell on
14 days, and the amount of rain Avas 1.59 inches,
and of snoAV 6.25 inches. The extremes of tem-
perature Avere 10 beloAv and 49 above zero.

March had a mean temperature of 34.45 being
5.84 above the mean, and is the Avarmest March
of the past 8 years. The extremes of temperature
Avere 10 and 65.50. Rain fell 8 days, and its
amount Avas 1.66 inches, and the amount of snow
8 inches.

The amount of water that has fallen within the
last six months is 10.42 inches, or an average of

258

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

June

1.73 iiiolies for each month, while the whole
amount for the past year is 27.42 inches, which is
much below the usual average.

David Buckland.
Brandon, VL, Ajyril 7, 1860.

EXTRACTS AND KEPLIES.

ADVANTAGES OF UNDERDRAINING.

The advantages of thorough drainage are given
by the dozen. It is all very well, and desirable,
tliat the soil should be deepened, should be made
more friable, ivarmer and cooler, better able
to resist drought, &c., but we want to know how
much greater crops can be obtained from a piece
of land after drainage than before ? How many
more bushels, per acre, of corn, wheat, or M'hat-
ever any one has experimented with, can be raised,
the treatment, maimring, &c., being the same ?
Unless the crops bring back the money, but few
fai'mers can bear the expense of drainage.

April 12, I860. Quantum.

Remarks. — Try an acre, good friend, and sat-
isfy yourself. Our opinion is, if that is what you
want, that the increased crop occasioned by thor-
ough drainage, will, as a general rule, pay the whole
cost of drainage in two or three years. It cer-
tainly has proved so with us, and we believe such
is the testimony of those who have made fair ex-
periments.

Of course, profit is what we are after. We do
not dig and drain merely for fun ! We not only
want increased crops, but we want to get them at
an easier and cheaper rate. So we underdrain,
and thereby do the work easier, get larger crops,
and avoid many losses, such as those occurring by
frosts, droughts, &c. Do, "Mr. Quantum," try an
acre, and report results ?

LOGS FOR CONVEYING WATER.

A reader of the Farmer wishes to know which
of the various kinds of pipe in use is best to draw
water from a well twenty feet deep to a pump
about one hundred feet distant on a level. From
actual experience, and not from theory, I would
6ay, use pump logs. They are cheap, and work
well ; they must be air-tight, and to work easy
the logs ought to be rimmed out about 1.^ inches,
so that the pump will feed well. At the place you
wish the pump to stand, fit on a common wood
pump, or any kind you choose ; care must be tak-
en to have the joints air-tight.

I know of pumps that have been in use years,
■where the pump stands more than a hundred feet
from the well, and they work quite as easy, as
though the pump was directly over the well. Any
man that can make an old-fashioned Avood pump,
can make one of the above, and soon have a

Plenty of Water.

what fertilizer shall I use ?
I have about three acres of moist strong land ;
upon the sward I wish to put barn-yard manure
and turn under, and as I have no manure for the
hill, I wish to inquire which of the numerous fer-
tilizers sold in Boston, one hundred miles from

here, will pay the best to buy ? Ashes are scarce
and high here, worth twenty or twenty-five cents
per bushel. The manure I wish to apply is very
coarse, which would render it difficult to harrow
in. s.

North Charlestoion, N. 11., April 9, 1860.

Rem.\rks. — We have no hesitation on giving
as our opinion, that the best fertilizer you can use
under such circumstances is the American guano,
sold at $40 per ton, by Mr. W. B. Haseltine,
Foster's Wharf, Boston. Cannot you supply your-
self with home-made guano by preserving all the
droppings of the fowls, and mixing them carefully
with loam through the year ? If so, you will find
your corn crop greatly benefited by such an ap-
plication.

NEW MODE OF RAKING STRAWBERRIES.

Will those who have tried for their strawber-
ries forest manure from the pine, saw dust, or
tan, try laying slabs, of that kind of wood that Avill
not spring, between the rows. Beds may be made
6 or 8 feet broad, the slabs cut long enough to
reach across the beds. I think they will find the
fruit freer from dust, the runners more easily cut,
(if they wish to take them oflT,) less weeds, and
the ground to remain moister during summer.

Neio Haven Coimty, Ci. c. A.

worms in horses.

I have noticed in your valuable paper inquiries
for remedies against worms in horses. I believe
I have tried all suggested, but have never yet
found anything so effectual as the following : —
Put into the horse's provender, three successive
mornings, each time about as much fine cut to-
bacco as would fill one of the common clay pipes.
If after applying it as above, I still find appearan-
ces of the horses being troubled with them, by
giving a dose or two occasionally, I believe I
have eradicated them entirely. In my experience,
it is very far before ashes. H. Nelson.

Bockville, April, 1860.

A contumacious pear tree.

I have a thrifty pear tree that has never pro-
duced any fruit. I want to knoAV what will make
it bear. The body is about eight inches in diam-
eter, one foot from the ground. It has a good top
twelve or fifteen feet high, grafted eight years
ago. The soil is rich, warm, stony and gravelly,
Charles D. Bartlett.

S. Hampton, N. H, Ajjril »; 1860.

Remarks. — Who can give the desired infor-
mation ?

TUMOR on an ox.

I have a valuable yoke of oxen, and one of them
has a large swelling about the size of a pint bowl
on the neck, back of the jaw bone. It is a very
hard substance, and grows fast. It does not ap-
pear to be attached to the bone, and is very loose
in the skin or flesh. Can any of your readers in-
form me in relation to it ? A Subscriber.

Tuftonborough, N. H, April 7, 1860.

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

259

Fur the New England Farmer.
LETTER PEOM ISTORTHEEISr ILLINOIS.

Mr. Editor : — I am becoming better acquaint-
ed with the N. E. Farmer and its many corres-
pondents, and although not generally supposed to
be particularly adapted to Western farming, there
is so much in every number that is generally use-
ful and agreeable, I am not ready to dispense
with the pleasure of reading it regularly.

My object in this letter is to give some general
information in regard to common farming in this
part of the north-west. Lands rent in the neigh-
borhood of villages, or railroad stations, for about
three dollars an acre, cash, for ordinary land, or
give one-third of the crops to the landlord. If
you are quite near the larger towns, you will have
to pay more per acre, or give a larger share of the
crops. I do not know that land of medium fer-
tility is ever let on better terms, however remote
from market, or railroad stations. One man and
a span of work -horses will undertake to carry on
from 50 to 80 acres, some will undertake even
more than 80 acres. We will take G5 acres for
the average, for that is about it, of prairie land ;
of this he will usually put 30 to wheat, 25 to corn
and 10 to oats, and perhaps an extra acre to po-
tatoes and garden vegetables. To sow 30 acres
of wheat here requires GO bushels seed wheat,
■which is worth about one dollar per bushel, some-
times considerable higher, as the best of wheat is
required for seed, and is always sold much higher
than common marketable wheat. To plow the
land is worth one dollar per acre. It will take
one man two days to sow 30 acres, which is worth
one dollar per day. It will take one man and
team six days to harrow or drag over the land three
times after sowing, which is the very least it
ought to have, but often don't get more than two
turns M'ith the drag. It is worth 60 cents per
acre to reap 30 acres, and the same to bind it up.
It will take one team with two men three days to
haul and stack it at the most convenient point ;
then allow that he will have 14 bushels per acre,
■which, perhaps, is over the average for the two
last years hereabouts, which turns off 420 bushels
on 30 acres, which is not often worth more than
70 cents in the market, at least at the time most
farmers are obliged to sell. Wheat does some-
times run higher, but it is only the ablest farm-
ers that can take the advantage of the market.
We will enumerate raising 20 acres of wheat thus :

Plowing 30 acres of land $30,00

60 bushels seed wheat 60,00

Two days, one man sowing 2,00

One man and team, six days dragging 12,00

Reaping 30 acres, at 60 cents per acre 18,00

Binding 30 " " " " 18,00

Hauling and stacking 3 days 9,00

Threshing 420 bushels, at 4 cents per bush 16,80

Hired help in threshing 10,00

Rent on 30 acres of land 90,00

Amounting to $265,80

Credit by 420 bushels, at 70 cents 294,00

Leaving clear profit $28,20

I have said nothing about marketing, which ex-
pense will vary according to distance and the state
of the roads. 40 bushels is a good load for one
span of horses any time. In the above figures I
have calculated for boarding and horse feed inclu-
ded in every item, and all the above expenses a
man saves by his own labors, is so much saved to

himself in cash. An industrious man can do a
great deal of the work alone. In harvest he must
hire, as the work must go forward rapidly.

Corn raising is thought a little more profitable,
if a man can wait for the rise in the market, which
generally occurs from June to September the year
after the crop is raised. After the corn is planted,
one man and a good strong horse will tend 25
acres on the prairie in the ordinary way, and that
mostly consists in cultivating or plowing through
it from three to five times, as corn is not general-
ly hoed here at all ; although most every one
knows it will pay to do so, yet it is not often done.
With such culture, on common land, and a fair
season, a man can depend upon 30 bushels shelled
corn per acre, and from 50 to 60 cents per bushel.
If he waits on the markets he needs to hire none,
only in planting and harvesting. The expense of
raising oats in many respects is the same as
wheat-raising. It requires 3 bushels seed per
acre, and if a good season, 40 ])ushels can be har-
vested per acre, which range in price from 20 to
35 cents. Oats are a good deal like corn in this
respect, as the season advances the price also
does. Rye and barley crops also receive consid-
erable attention here.

From these estimates it can be seen whether
wheat-raising in Illinois Is more paying than fruit
raising and butter-making in New England, or
peaches, sweet potatoes and stock-raising in New
Jersey, Pennsylvania or Missouri. They all re-
quire labor and attention to secure success. There
are many improved agricultural implements being
introduced here and becoming in use, such as
grain-sowers, drills and harvesters. We have had
one month of most delightful weather for farmers
to get in their crops. Wheat sowing is mostly over,
another week will about wind it up. I never have
seen such a breadth of land being put into crops
as is the case this spring. It has been very dry
all spring, wells are low, and rain is required to
start the wheat and oats in the ground.

Thomas A. Jackson.

Boscoe, 111., April 2, 1860.

For the New England Farmer.

■WATER PIPES— NEW WAY OP RAISING
POTATOES.

Om- spring is early, though there is yet snow in
the woods and noi'th sides of hills, but the frost is
nearly out and on dry soils not much moisture. I
plowed to-day in the field and planted potatoes
and peas, what I have never before done in March,
for field culture.

I notice a complaint of one your correspon-
dents that he thinks his water running through
lead pipes has injured his health. My experience
would indicate that he is mistaken in the cause of
his malady. I have a spring, a little higher than
my kitchen floor, ten rods distant, from which the
water has been running thirty-five years through
a lead pipe. The water being good for all pur-
poses, and cool, has been used freely by a large
family without any perceptible injury during all
this time. I feel confident this water running
through ten rods or more of lead pipe is as health-
ful as can be found anywhere. It may make some
diflference, also, where the water lies stilly much
of the time in the lead, and where it is con-

260

KEW ENGLAND FARMER.

June

stantly running through. I did not understand
from your correspondent whether his water run
through his pipes, or remained until pumped or
drawn off as wanted.

Your correspondent, "A. S. Hall's," account of
raising potatoes in Brewer, Me., put me in mind
of a crop of potatoes raised in Frankfort, Me., the
cheapest I ever knew. A fire had run over a lot
of low meadow and burnt off all the vegetable
matter to a white sand. Near by was a quantity
of old spoiled meadow or fresh hay in stacks. A
poor man in the neighborhood got from his
friends a quantity of small potatoes from the bot-
toms of the pens, for little or nothing. These he
scattered broadcast over the burnt tract, and cov-
ered them with the old hay, which cost him noth-
ing but his labor; they had no hoeing, and in the
fail he raked off the hay and had the land covered
with nice clean potatoes, and nothing to do but to
pick them up. RuFUS McIntire.

Farsonsfield, Me., March 31, 1860.

JUBILEE! THE YEAR OP KEDEMPTION
IS AT HAND!

For more than forty years past, the farmers on
the banks of the Concord and Sudbury rivers, in
Middlesex county, this State, have been endeav-
oring to regain rights, or in other words, to re-
lieve themselves of an unjust and grievous wrong,
Inflicted upon them by the inconsiderate and im-
provident acts of former legislatures. This op-
pression was in the form of damage to vast tracts
of the most fertile and valuable lands in the State,
traversed by rail and county roads, and surround-
ed on every side by the largest and best markets
in New England. During this long period of
trial and vexatious losses, and amid the annually
increasing encroachments of the water upon these
once fair lands, nearly every form of the law known
to our best legal minds has been resorted to in
the courts, but without avail. The sufferers have
been turned out upon the merest technicalities of
law, scourged with the bitter taunt that they once
had a year of grace, but did not improve it, or
their opponents, squat in the charnel-house and
amid the dead bones of a breathless and rotten
corporation, would shake a musty old parchment
in their faces, and declare that they held a char-
tered right for their ungodly power !

Harrassed and perplexed with these vexatious
and expensive delays, and having become satis-
fied'that no hope of redress remained through the
courts, the people came to the conclusion once
more to seek a remedy, and to seek it from anoth-
er source. They became satisfied that the law-
making power itself, when informed of the facts,
would not longer sit calmly by and see a poi'tion
of its citizens thus outrageously wronged and op-
pressed, merely that a few might realize inordi-
nate gains ; they knew the public was cognizant
of this monstrous wrong, and that its voice was
ready to declare it everywhere, and that for more

than a million of dollars' toorth of property de-
stroyed by these jlowages, not an individual had
ever received a shilliny as damages !

In accordance with these views, a plan of ope-
rations was devised, and the first point gained, in
securing a committee of both branches of the Leg-
islature to view the damaged lands, and to sit in
hearing of the facts in the case. This committee
made a thorough exploration of the flooded lands,
bridges, causeways, bars, and the dam at Billerica,
and the hearing that followed occupied some thir-
ty days. Soijie of the ablest legal talent in the
State was employed on both sides, and every step
in this memorable hearing was contested with all
the acumen and skill which counsel of acknowl-
edged ability usually bring to bear upon an im-
portant case. For the petitioners. Judge Hoar,
of Concord, acted as counsel until he went upon
the Supreme Bench ; then Judge Mellen, Da-
vid Lee Child, Esq., Judge French, of Boston,
and before the case closed, George Isl. Brooks,
and the Hon. John S. Keyes, of Concord, and
R. F. Fuller, Esq., of Boston. The remonstrants
called to their aid in the beginning. Judge Ab-
bott, and the Hon. B. F. Butler, of Lowell, G.
A. SoMERBY, of Waltham, and G. H. Preston,
Esq., of Boston. The explorations were made
with the Commissioners by both parties being in
attendance, and the hearing throughout was con-
ducted with that courtesy and urbanity which dis-
tinguishes gentlemen in every walk of life. The
contest was often sharp, and the rebuttals and re-
joinders expressed with more vehemence some-
times than the rules of rhetoric demanded, but
no passages occurred to cause unj^leasant regrets.
During the hearing the testimony of ninety-four
witnesses was taken, and speeches and arguments
were "as thick as leaves in the vale of Vallam-
brosa." All these were taken in short hand by a
sworn reporter, and the whole report of the Cora-
mission, including arguments of counsel, testi-
mony of witnesses, plans, maps, surveys, sand
bars, ford-ways, deeds, charters, and the dam at
Billerica, printed at the public cost, making in all
a book of nearly five hundred pages.

A new joint committee of the Legislature which
has recently adjourned was appointed, to which
was submitted the report of tke flrst commission,
with instructions to print, and then recommend
such further action to the Legislature as the facts
suggested and the necessities of the case seemed
to them to require. In accordance with these in-
structions, they made a brief, but most compre-
hensive report, relating the leading facts in the
case, and presented a bill authorizing the Governor
and Counsel to appoint three persons to act as
Commissioners to take down thirty-three inches
of the dam at any time after the first day of Sep-
tember next. If any person considers his prop-

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

261

erty injured by this proces^, he has his claim by
calling upon the County Commissioners, who will
proceed to an investigation and assessment, the
same as where land is taken for the use of high-
ways.

In consequence of delay in printing the report
of the first commission, the joint special commit-
tee did not make their report until within three
or four days of the close of the session, and it
■was not until Monday, three days before the Leg-
islature adjourned, that the bill came fairly before
the House. The friends of the measure were pre-
pared with maps, and entered at once upon the
discussion, and were met by the other side, by
such arguments as they could bring to bear, but
relying principally upon the unconstitutionality,
as they alleged, or want of power in the Legisla-
ture to authorize such a proceeding. The discus-
sion in the Senate was spirited and protracted,
but the majorities in both branches were decided
and unmistakable, and the great measure of the
session was triumphant.

Earlier in the session the friends of this mea-
sure had succeeded in getting a Declaratory Ad
passed, whereby the State takes back into its own
control all the rights which M'ere granted to the
old Middlesex Canal Corporation by their Charter
of 1793. The canal had not been used for many
years, many miles of it being filled up and cov-
ered with buildings and cultivated fields ; the cor-
poration had not held a meeting for more than ten
years, so that upon application to the Legislature,
the Attorney-General was instructed to inquire why
they should not relinquish their charter ? To this
inquiry they did not respond, and the Supreme
Court issued a decree that in consequence of the
nonfeasance and misfeasance of said corporation,
it should no longer hold, use, exercise or employ
any of the privileges heretofore conferred upon
it by the authority of the Commonwealth ; so that
now, in case suits should be commenced for dam-
ages, the mill-owners or dam-holders can no long-
er screen themselves under that old charter, as by
the passage of this Declaratory Act, every privi-
lege granted that corporation 'by the Charter of
1793, and all subsequent acts, is seized back into
the hands of the Commonwealth, and held by it,
and their charter entirely forfeited and annulled.

We hope that all these proceedings will forever
put to rest the long, vexatious and ruinous course
of litigation that has now been going on for near-
ly half a century. But, as in most things of this
kind, the farmers have been the losers. One mil-
lion of dollars will not cover the cost of damages
that have already accrued, and it will require sev-
eral years, under the most favorable circumstan-
\ ces, to restore some of the lowest lands to then-
i former state of firmness and fertility. "While the
farmers have been isolated, entertaining different

views, and struggling without concert of action?
they have been resisted by shrewd and intelligent
persons, aided by a compact money power, which
has been able to "make the Avorse appear the bet-
ter reason," and to defeat the ends of justice for
more than fifty years in succession ! As this is a
matter of general interest to the farmer, we may
look at it hereafter in a more agricultural point
of view.

For the New England Farmer.
COITCORD FARMERS' CLUB MEETUSTG.

Mr. Editor: — The Concord Farmers' Club
closed its meetings for the year by a social re-
union on the evening of the 19th of April, a day
always marked with red letters in our calendar.
Fifty-two farmers with their ladies assembled at
the board of mine host of the Middlesex. After
spending an hour in cheerful intercourse in his
parlors, the President, Minot Pratt, Esq., called
the company to order, and did the honors of 'the
table in his usual modest and genial manner. Rev.
G. Reynolds invoked the blessing of Him who
giveth the rain and sunshine, and causcth the
earth to bud and blossom and bring forth food for
man and beast. After partaking, with the far-
mer's appetite, of the good things provided for
their entertainment, the President called upon E.
W. Bull, Esq., Avho gave the company a very
pleasant talk. He was followed by Hon. Simon
Brown, J. B. Farmer, Wm. Brown, O. Morse,
Esq., Dr. Reynolds, Mr. Dakin, from Wisconsin,
Rev. G. Reynolds, C. L. Heywood, J. B. Moore,
and other members of the Club. Sampson Mason,
Esq., recited an appropriate poem abounding in
sentiments ada])ted to the day and the occasion.

The whole affair passed off very pleasantly, and
was a very agi-eeable close to our meetings for the
season.

The meetings of the club have been well attend-
ed through the winter. Many well written essays
have been read before the club. The discussions
have been spirited and instructive, and cannot fail
to make the members better farmers and better
citizens.

The farmers' club, as was said by one of the
speakers, is the farmer's college, and I think is
the best school he can attend, for here he has les-
sons in both science and experience.

The meeting at 10, P. i\L, adjourned to April
19th, 1861, and the remembrance of the pleasant
occasion will cheer all who were present, through
the toils of the coming season.

Yours, R.

Worcester South-East Agricultural So-
ciety.— This new society was organized at Mil-
ford on the 3d inst., by the choice of the follow-
ing list of officers, viz.: —

Hon. A. C. Mayhew, Milford, President ; Col.
A. Wood, Hopkinton, M. Z. Bullard, Bellingham,
Clark Littlefield, Esq., Holliston, P. Wood, Men-
don, Samuel Taft, Uxbridge, Vice Presidents;
Hon. J. G. Metcalf, Mendon, Secretary ; Henry
Chapin, Esq., Milford, Treasurer.

262

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

JUKB

Fur the New England Farmer.
TIGHT EARNS AKD SICK CATTLE.

ISIr. Editor : — There has been much written
of late, about improvements of farms and farm
buildings, and it would not be strange if, in sonie
instances, these improvements should be carried
to extremes. Several years ago, I learned by ex-
perience that tight barns were not healthy for
cattle, and a little reasoning upon the subject will
explain why this is so. It is a well known fact,
that the droppings of cattle, both solid and liquid,
exhale a vast amount of gases of different kinds,
and these gases are unfit for respiration ; if cattle
are deprived of air, and breathe these gases, they
die instantly, and if they breathe air impregnated
with a large proportion of these gases, they sicken
immediately ; the disease most likely to be pro-
duced is pneumonia, or inflammation of the
lungs, as the poison is applied directly to the
lungs.

Now what provi^on Is made in modern tight
barns to get rid of these gases ? Why, there is a
ventilator on the top of the barn, but how are
these gases to get to the top of the barn, since a
large proportion of them are heavier than atmos-
pheric air ? The carbonic and sulphurous gases,
which are more abundant than all others, are heav-
ier than air, and consequently will not ascend; am-
monia is light and would Hy away, but the carbonic
and sulphurous gases, having a strong affinity for
ammonia, seize the fugitive, and by a chemical ac-
tion, a new compound is formed heavier than air,
which, of course, must remain, unless there is some
underground passage by which it can escape. If
there is no place for its escape, these gases accum-
ulate until the barn becomes filled with them, the
hay is impregnated, and the stock has to eat as
well as breathe this noxious matter, and the
trouble is worse if the stock is high fed. First,
because high fed animals have a greater amount
of blood, the blood vessels are fuller, and conse-
quently a greater tendency to congestion. Sec-
ondly, because the excrements of high fed animals
evolve a much greater amount of gases than that
of others, and the difficulty of ventilation is in-
creased by the fact that these gases are so nearly
of the weight of air. If they were all light, like
carburetted hydrogen, they would soon escape at
the top ; or if they were heavy like water, or even
pure carbonic acid gas, they would, in most barns,
find cracks sufficiently large to run out near the
bottom ; but as the facts prove that the gases are
nearly of the same weight of air, I am led to the
following conclusions :

First, that the walls of barns should never be
clapboarded ; then there will be a gentle current
constantly passing through the barn, and the gases
passing out of the cracks on the leeward side ; sec-
ond, that tlie stable for horses and cattle should
extend from one end of the barn to the other,
with a door at each end, both of which should gen-
erally bo open excepting in severe cold weather,
and in storms. I have found by experience that
a horse kept up in a small tight stable will com-
mence coughing in a very few days. Cattle do
not suffer with the cold (unless the cold is extreme)
if they are in good heath, are well fed, and have
a dry, clean stall, and ])lenty of good air to breathe.
The lungs of an ox will manufacture a vast amount
of aninial heat. I have known a cow to be win-

tered with no other shelter than an open shed,
more than two hundred miles farther north than
Massachusetts, and she gave milk all winter, and
came out well in the spring. Now, if it should
prove that the sickness among the cattle is not
caused by tight barns, and high feeding, yet I should
not believe that it was contagious pneumonia, for
that would be a new thing under the sun. I can-
not learn that there ever was such a disease among
cattle as contagious pneumonia. I intended to
say something of the treatment of pneumonia, but
I have already spun so long a yarn you will be
impatient before you get through reading it, there-
fore I will close. Stephen Adams.
West Neurfield, Me., April 6, 1860.

Remarks. — No, indeed, — not impatient. Your
subject is one of importance, and we hope you
will further discuss it.

SPRING.

The bursting buds look up
To greet the sunlight, while it lin;^ers yet
On the warm hill-side, — and the violet

Opens its azure cup
Meekly, and countless wild flowers wake to fling
Their earliest incense on the gales of spring.

Continual songs arise
From universal Nature — birds and streams
Mingle their voices, and the glad earth seems

A second Paradise !
Thrice blessed spring ! — thou bearest gifts divine !
Sunshine, and song, and fragrance — all are thine.

Nor unto earth alone —
Thou hast a blessing for the human heart,
Balm for its wounds and healing for its smart.

Telling of Winter flown.
And bringing hope upon thy rainbow wing,
Type of Eternal Life — thrice blessed Spring !

IMPROVEMENT OP VEGETABLES.

There is no vegetable now cultivated, which is
not susceptible of almost indefinite improvement.
Yet we see very little difference between the crops
produced now, and the crops raised by our fore-
fathers. Indian corn, beans, pumpkins, squashes
are the same, identically, as we were accustomed
to see in our father's fields and gardens forty
years ago, except that, in some instances, there is
an obvious deterioration as regards both size and
quality. This is the plain result of carelessness
— a sin to which most cultivators will, we fear, be
compelled to plead guilty, and of which they are-
annually, although some seeaa not to be aware of
it, experiencing the fatal effects. The power of
art over nature has already been most forcibly
exemplified in the vegetable kingdom, and with
reference to some of the very productions which,
in this enlightened age, we are permitting to "run
out."

Wheat is a factitious grain, exalted to its pres-
ent condition by the assiduities of culture.
Neither rye, rice, barley or oats are at present to
be found Avild in any part of the world, if Ave may

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FARMEH.

263

credit the assertion of Buffon ; they have been
altered by human care and industry from plants
to -which they now bear no resemblance. The ac-
rid and nauseating opium graveolens has been
transformed, by the magic of culture, into deli-
cious celery; and the colewort, a plant of diminu-
tive and scanty leaves, not exceeding half an
ounce in weight, has been improved into the suc-
culent cabbage, the leaves of which weigh many
pounds !

The potato, the introduction of which has add-
ed millions to our population, derives its origin
from a small, bitter root, indigenous in Chili and
Montevideo. Similar results have attended the
cultivation of other vegetables, fruits and flowers.

By carefully studying the habits and modes of
nutrition and growth covered by the various pro-
ducts of the soil, and by selecting annually the
best, most perfectly developed and most produc-
tive products of the field and garden, we may, in
a very brief period, so modify and change them,
as almost to remove them from their respective
classes. The fine specimens of Indian corn wliich
we see at our agi'icultural exhibitions, have all
been improved in this way. The Brown and But-
ton corn, in their original developement, were not
perhaps more productive than other varieties, but
by carefully selecting the best ears, and continu-
ing the practice for several consecutive years, the
very habitudes and physical characteristics of the
vegetable seem to have been changed. "Wheat, also,
has been greatly ameliorated by the same process,
as have oats, and many of the culmiferous vegeta-
bles. But this improvement is merely local,
whereas it should be general, to produce its legiti-
mate eflects upon our agriculture.

Number of Hens to Keep, and Time to Sell.
— A correspondent of the Illinois Prairie Farmer
says: "We have kept as many as one hundred
and fifty fowls, and fed them three pecks of
shelled corn daily. But our experience has been,
that we could get more than half as many eggs from
twenty-five fowls as we could from one hundred.
We have carried chicks the size of quails to mar-
ket, and found them ready sale at twenty-five
cents each. We might have fed them four months
longer, and found them dull sale at a dime apiece."

Gakden Cress. — This is a favorite salad plant,
and, in this character, only the seminal plants are
used. It is very hardy and prolific, and may be
sowed once a week, from the opening of the
ground in spring until the close of the season.
Old rich garden soil is the most congenial to it,
but any lands of fine texture will, if properly pul-
verized and enriched with putrescent manure,
produce a good crop.

J<'or the New England Farmer.

THOUGHTS SUGGESTED BY APRIL
NUMBER OP W. E. PARMER.

Page 154. — Agricultural Education. — The ex-
tracts here given from Judge French's forthcom-
ing essay will make not a few of the readers of
this journal desii-e very earnestly that a few more
extracts may be furnished. Perhaps the editor
may be of the same opinion, and thus bo induced
to present to his readers another column or more
of extracts from what appears to be a carefully
considered, judicious, discriminating and instruc-
tive essay. All these excellent qualities are cer-
tainly quite evident in the last of the tluree ex-
tracts, commencing near foot of first column
of page 155, and which might very appropriately
have received for their caption. Collegiate and Ac-
ademical Education insufficient in two respects.
As means of general education, neither our colle-
ges nor our academies, as at present constituted
and conducted, will ever be of much service in the
way of fitting young men for the business of farm-
ing, or the more common employments of actual
life ; first, because they neither profess to do so,
nor are adapted to do it ; the time and attention
of the pupils in both kinds of institutions being
devoted almost exclusively to the study of the
dead languages and mathematics ; and secondly,
because their classes do not, "and as at present
arranged, never can include more than a small
portion of our young men."

The extract headed Statistics, and the table of
average products per acre, ought to operate as a
stimulus to a better style of farming — one whose
average products will be less discreditable to us,
when brought at some future time into similar
comparison M'ith Scotland, &c., as is done in the
table constructed by Mr. French. The statistics
furnished in this table of average crojDs are made
the subject of some noteworthy remarks, by Mr.
R. S. Fay, on page 156 ; but we cannot quite
agree with him when he contends as reported,
that "the reason, the onhj reason, why we do not
equal the product of Scotland, is, that we do not
understand our business." This may be one rea-
son, but it is certainly not the only one, for thou-
sands of farmers, through the influence of slack-
ness, slovenliness, indolence and other causes, do
not do as well as they know how. Then, too,
there is a stimulus — the spur of necessity — which
drives the farmers in Scotland and England to do
their very utmost, both with head and hands, and
which operates scarcely at all in this country.
From the pi'oduce of their farms, the tenant farm-
ers of these countries have not merely to supply
the wants of their own families, but they have al-
so to spare enough to raise for their landlords a
rent, usually in cash, of from about $5 to $15 and
even $25 per acre. The American farmer knows
nothing, or but little, of this dire necessity, and
therefore does not strain every nerve, as his trans-
atlantic brethren are obliged to do. But though
the non-understanding of our business is not the
only cause of our comparatively small crops, it is
so to an extent which justifies all the eff'orts made,
or to be made, by individual or governmental en-
terprise, to make a better understanding of the
business of farming more common, and to induce
American farmers to bestir themselves.

May Ave venture a suggestion to Judge French,

264

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

June

and submit for his consideration, our persuasion
that when his essay next goes through the press,
the table of average products per acre woukl be
made mora useful and less discreditable to Amer-
%■ ican farmers, if he would add another line, and
give the average or maximum of such crops as
have been oifered for premiums at any County, or
State Agricultural Society.

Page 159. — ^1 Farmer's Barometer. — The praise
bestowed upon Mr. Timbv's improvement in ba-
rometers will doubtless make a good many of the
readers of the monthly Farmer turn, as we did, to
the advertisements to ascertain whether there
might there be found two items of information in
i*egard to this new barometer, which so much
praise makes it very desirable to know. The two
Items in regard to this new barometer which many
will wish to ascertain, are, in question-form,
these: 1, What is the special improvement or
invention introduced by Mr. Timby ? and 2,
What is the price of the barometer manufactured
by him, and where is it to be had ? The readers
of the monthly would like such answers to these
questions as Mr. TiMBY could most appropriately
supply them Anth by means of an advertisement.
They would like also to know whether his barom-
eter is a mercurial one, or an aneroid, or some-
thing different from either. If Mr. T. has adver-
tised in the weekly Farmer, and neglected doing
so in the monthly, because he thought the readers
of the latter rather "small potatoes," or not likely
to become purchasers of his wares, we can assure
him that some quite competent judges are of a
contrary opinion. Let him try.

The chief reason why barometers are not more
in demand among farmers are these: L Their
uses and advantages are not clearly understood.
2. The price, if over five dollars, will always be a
hindrance to the general introduction of this use-
ful instrument ; 3. There 's a pretty common im-
pression that it requires more than usual skill or
intelligence to keep barometers in order, and to
understand aright the indications which they fur-
nish of changes in the weather. A smart peddler
might overcome the first and last of these obsta-
cles, and, if able to furnish a good-looking and
reliable article at or under five dollars, might do
quite a large business among farmers.

Page 1G2. — Raising Pork. — Only once in twen-
ty years have our pigs been anywhere else but in
the pork barrel some time before Christmas, but
the experience of that winter furnished confirma-
tion of the statement here made, viz., that a bush-
el of corn in September or October will fatten
more than one and a half in Decemboi*.

Page 165. — Soaking Seed Wheat. — Good man-
agers will act on the hint here given, and try it
either on a large or a small scale.

Page 166. — Hints on Sheep Management. —
Good managers will do pretty much as Mr, Green
does, and especially never allow ewes to breed
till three years old. More Anon.

Honey Bees. — Mr. W. H. Robinson, of Kane
Co., 111., writes to the Prairie Farmer, that farm-
ers in his section are giving more than usual at-
tention to bee-keeping ; that there are near 200
swarms within the compass of two miles, and in-
quires, '^an the country be overstocked ?"

AGRICDTiTUKE IM" A BOY'S SCHOOL.

One of our best Academies, we think, is that
of Mr. Alfred Roe, at Cornwall in the Highlands ;
and Mr. Roe has shown his eagerness to keep
pace with improvement, by entering warmly into
the new enthusiasm for educational agriculture.
He has a large garden attached to his Academy,
and, in it, he intends that his scholars shall be
taught the rudiments of farming. An essay "on
the cultivation of the Red Antwerp Raspberry,"
written by Master Caldwell, one of his pupils, has
already appeared in the March number of the
Neio Fork Teacher forwarded to that periodi-
cal by H. L. Stuart, Esq., in connection with a
Letter to the Farmers' Club of the American In-
stitute, proposing the system. The following pas-
sage explains it : —

"Each pupil in the higher classes, both boys and
girls, will be required to select some one of the
various farm or garden products, including all
kinds of domestic live stock and labor-saving im-
plements, as an object of special observation and
study, under the direction of the teacher, and the
eye of the parents at home. This exercise will
extend to the selection of varieties, adaptations to
soils and climates, planting, chemical composi-
tion, observation and processes of development,
and practical ap])lications of the best method of
treatment ; the whole forming a series of inter-
esting and useful subjects for oral and written
discussions during one or more school terms.
Each pupil finally summing up results, in an es-
say to be preserved among the recm-ds of the
school, a copy of which is to be sent to the pa-
rents, and the most meritorious to be forwarded
to the Farmers' Club of the American Institute, or
to the nearest state or county agricultural society
or farmers' club, to be read and preserved in their
annual reports. The planting and practical exer-
cises and applications will be conducted chiefly at
the homes of the pupils. But little ground will
be required for each illustration ; general interest
and emulation will be excited among scholars and
parents, and the most approved methods, varieties
and processes will be brought into immediate use
and practice throughout the country ; thus gen-
erally stimulating and adding vastly to our pro-
ductive agricultural industry, without increasing
the cost of instruction in our common schools."

In this admirable graft upon the tree of knowl-
edge, we wish Mr. Roe, and his brother teachers
throughout the country, every possible success.

To get Early Squashes, Melons or Cucum-
bers.— Cut two pieces of strong sods from fine,
rich pasture ground, shave the dirt sides even, lay
one of the sods on a piece of JDoard, grass down,
and stick in the seeds an inch or two apart, then
put on the other sod, and keep them in a warm
corner near the fire-place, giving them a sprinkle
of rain-water once in a while, if they get too dry.
The seeds will take root, and when the time comes
to put out the plants, cut out a piece of the lower
sod with each seed, so as not to break the tender
rootlets, and plant it where it is to grow. In this
way, you gain two or three weeks' time, and the
plants will get the start of bugs and flies. A lit-
tle extra care will be well compensated by extra
early and fine vegetables. — Farmers' Advocate.

1860.

NEW ENGLAKD FARMER.

265

EXTRACTS AND BEPLIES.
THE WEEPING WILLOW.

Will the Avee])ing willow flourish upon plain or
sandy land ? Where can they be obtained, and
at what price ? Ezra B. Kx\app.

Haverhill, N. H., 1860.

Rejl\RKS. — This willow will undoubtedly grow
on plain lands, but not flourish as it will in its
native habitat hy the water-courses. Its name,
"willow," means "near the water." Linnaeus gave
it its specific name, Bahylonica Salix, under the
idea that it might be the tree so touchingly re-
ferred to in the 137th Psalm : "By the rivers of
Babylon, there we sat down ; yea, we wept, when
we remembered Zion. We hanged our harps upon
the willows in the midst thereof." Nurserymen
usually have it for sale.

A cow AND HER CUD.

A cow that I have had the care of in part, the
past season, has shown symptoms of disease in a
manner that is uncommon in these parts. In De-
cember last, while clearing her manger one morn-
ing, I found about a peck of cuds
that had been thrown vip the
night previous. Each successive
morning, for two or three weeks,
there were found some, not as
many as at first ; have seen no-
thing of the kind for the last six
weeks. She has been hearty and
regular to eat and drink from the
first, but has gradually grown
weaker, so that now, when tied
in the stable, she cannot get up
alone. By the way, from the
first, she changed her manner of
getting up, so that it is like that
of a horse, forward feet first.

If you, or any of your readers,
can point out a cause, or a cure
for the disease, you will oblige
A Farmer.

Hanover, N. H., 1860.

RINGBONE OR TETTER.

I have had some experience
with the ringworm, or tetter in
cattle, and never have failed of curing in a short
time, with grease rubbed on once or twice. Salt
grease or pot skimmings is the best that I have
tried. This disease is quite apt to go through the
whole stock, if not taken in season.

George Harney.

Marlborough, March, 1860.

SICK hens — LEGHORN FOWLS.

One of your correspondents wishes to know
what will cure his sick hens. I have had them
sick in the way he describes, I should think, and
g^ve them a tea-spoonful of castor oil, which has
cured them in my case.

I wish some of your Leghorn fowl correspon-
dents would give a description of these fowls,
whether they are large or small, and their color,
whether they are what are commonly called the

Black Poland. The Poland fowls are mostly
black — some white, with top-knots ; small, good
layers, and not inclined to sit.

Hyde Park, April, 1860. Orson Hadley.

FREEZING AND THAWING.

Will some of your correspondents inform me
why freezing and thawing are necessary in order
that the sap may flow from our maple trees in su-
gar time ? What are the constituent parts of su-
gar "

Putney, VL, 1860.

Reader of the Farmer.

TWO OP OUR COMMON" INSECTS.

The Katydid. — "The katydid is one of the
most conspicuous grasshoppers of North Ameri-
ca. In the cool evenings of Autumn its melan-
choly song reverberates from every tree in our
orchards and forests, and its never-ceasing com-
plaint, that katydid, has not only suggested a
thousand pleasant recollections, but has often oc-
casioned many curious and poetical conjectures
as to its origin and significance."

We are not aware that this grasshopper is in
any way hurtful to our plants, unless, like other
grasshoppers, it becomes exceedingly numerous.
Jaeger, whom we have quoted above, speaks of
the significance of this little insect, and says that
"he knows nothing in nature that is msignificant."
We think this the true view of the matter. It
is certainly essential, or it would not have been
created. How do we know but the bee, or swal-
low, or pigeon, could be spared just as well?
"Each animated atom of creation bears the stamp
of some great moral or intellectual significance,
and appeals to man's universal and unborn con-
viction that naught was ever made in vain."

Alacetious poet has asked this little insect tat-

266

NEW ENGLAND FAR]\IER.

June

tier what occasioned its everlasting song of "Ka-
tydid," and pretends to have obtained for an
answer certain hints as to sundry interviews be-
tween a certain Miss Katydid and her lover.
He says :

•'But never fear me, gentle one, nor waste a thought or tear,

Lest I should whisper what I heard in any mortal ear ;

I only sport among the boughs, and like a spirit hid,

I think on what I saw and heard, and laugh out 'Katydid.'

I see among the leaves here, when evening zephyrs sigh,
And those that listen to my voice I love to ms'stify ;
I never tell them all I know, although I'm often bid ;
I laugh at curiosity, and chirrup 'Katydid.' "

The katydid is nearly one and a half inches
long, and its wings, when expanded, are about
three inches wide. Its wings are of a pale green,
and its wing-covers of a dark green color, which
fades away, and becomes brown when the insect
is dead and dried.

It is a very singular fact, and shows the general
deficiency in entomological knowledge, that num-
berless thqugh they be, still very few persons can
say that they have seen this handsome little in-
sect. It dwells in trees and shrubs, and usually
conceals itself during the day under the leaves.

The Pigeon Tremex. — This is a destructive
little insect, more than an inch long, and like the
whole family of them, is provided with a borer,
which is one inch long, as thick as a bristle, of a
black color, and always concealed within the body
when not in use.

They feed exclusively on wood, making long
passages through it, and thus destroying much
valuable timber ; and as they grow very slowly,
and remain several years in the larva? state, they
often become injurious to whole forests of trees.
When fully grown, they are about one inch long,
when they make their cocoon ; and in a few days
after undergo their final transformation into the
perfect insect,

Oats. — Quantity of Seed per Acre. — I see
by your paper that j'ou would be pleased to hear
from correspondents their experience in regard
to the quantity of seed sown per acre in oat cul-
ture. Two of my neighbors had each one acre of

land, which they wished to seed down with oats.
Their farms join, and the soil was the same, and
treated alike, except that one neighbor sowed one
bushel per acre, and measured up forty, of as
handsome oats as I ever saw, as the result. The
other man sowed three and one-half bushels per
acre, and measured up but thirty-three bushels.
But he had a much larger quantity of straw. If
these results Avere to decide the question, I should
think that where the largest quantity of fodder
was the most of an object, the heavy seeding
would be the best. The man who has practiced
seeding with but one bushel per acre, has received
nearly the like results for tlie past two years. —
Geo. D. Foristall, in Country Gentleman.

For the New England Farmer.
DRAININO- A MUCK SWAMP.

Mr. Editor : — I have a muck swamp of about
two acres, and twenty-five or thirty feet deep. I
have drained the water off about three feet deep,
and want to drain deeper, and have thought some
of putting in a syphon ; I think that a 1^ inch
pipe will di'ain it through the summer season. I
wish to inquire through the Farmer, which will
be the cheapest and the best pipe to use for this
purpose. Perhaps that you, or some of your
correspondents, can give me the desu-ed informa-
tion. The object in draining this so deep, is, that
the muck may rot as it lays in the bed, that Avhen
it is dug, we shall have the use of it sooner than
we should if it was covered all the time. Per-
haps some of our farmers will say that it will not
pay to invest money in farming, but I think that
most of the farmers in this vicinity are too afraid
of improving their farms ; they had rather let their
money, and take slow notes, and stock in vessels,
banks, &c., Avhich I think is poor policy. I be-
lieve that farming will pay, when it is managed
as it should be. At least, I have more faith in it
than our friend, Mr. Pinkham, appears to have.
A. S. Wentworth,

Hope, Me., April 7, 1860.

Remarks. — We should think pine logs would
be the most economical.

For the New England Farmer.
COFFEE EAISITsTG.

In answer to the inquiry of "S. W. M.," in a
late number of your paper, concerning the success-
ful cultivation of Java coffee, I would inform him
that I procured a few kernels last season, and
planted a dozen hills. It grew vigorously, and
yielded Avhen harvested a quart or more, of what I
su])posed to be pure Java coffee. This experiment,
as far as it goes, proves that coffee can be raised
in our climate, but whether successfully or not,
needs further proof. After it is harvested, a prom-
inent difficulty presents itself, which I wish you,
or some of your readers, would obviate, and that
is, how shall it be prepared for use ? It has but
little resemblance to our imported article, and
must pass through some process to render it pal-
atable. Any information concerning this subject
will be gladly received thi-ough the medium of
your valuable paper. E. A, RoWE.

Laconia, N. II., April 4, 1860.

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FAEMER.

267

PKIGHTFUIi RAVAGES OF THB CATTLE
DISTEMPEK.

OKIGIN AND SPREAD OF THE DISEASE, AND THE
MEANS FOR ITS EXTERMINATION.

This disease has been known to be in existence
:n Massachusetts for several months. It is gen-
erally supposed to have been introduced here by
iome cattle imported from Germany, by Mr. Che-
nery, of Belmont, a town some five or six miles
from Boston. From his herd a calf was sent into
the town of North Brookneld, in Worcester coun-
ty, and from thence the disease extended into
some of the neighboring towns. The matter was
brought before the Legislature at its late session,
but the subject was so new, and a considerable
portion of the members so much alarmed when-
ever the words "treasury" and "dollars" were used,
that no definite action was had upon it until the
last hours of the session were passing away. In
the meantime the disease was unquestionably mak-
ing its silent progress in several ways, and the
golden moment for suppressing it effectually was
gone. It is possible, however, that the disease is
epidemic, and that it will baffle all human fore-
sight and skill to prevent its ravages. We hope
not. But when we consider that it is communi-
cated readily by association, and that almost uni-
versal changes are taking place in our neat stock
at this season of the year, there is much ground,
we must confess, for well-founded belief that it will
cover the extent of New England.

Below we give an account of a visit of Gov.
Banks to the infected district, the examinations
by the Commissioners, and the depressed state of
feeling among the farmers, together with inter-
esting incidental matters as reported for the Dai-
ly Bee.

"More than $8,000,000 is invested in neat cattle in the State
of Massachusetts. If this destructive disease should once spread
over New England, millions of property must be sacrificed.

From the representations made by the Commissioners and
others, Gov. Banks, on Saturday, April 21, visited the principal
locality of the disease, and in company with the Commissioners
and others gathered such information as they were able con-
cerning tlie disease, the extent to which it has spread, what
means will be required to check it, as will enable them to pro-
ceed with good judgment.

PRINCIPAL SEAT AND ORIGIN OF THE DISEASE.

As we have before stated. North Brookfield, on the high land
in the western part of Worcester County, is the place where the
ravages of the distemper have been most disastrous. It has,
however, spread, as it is thought, into several oFthe adjoining
towns, and it is not precisely known to what extent. It is quite
certain that there are cases in New Braiutree, Ware, South
Brookfield, Rutland, East Brookfield, Barre and Oakham. This
is a fine agricultural region, noted for its dairies and its excel-
lent butter and cheese. The herds of most of tlie farmers are
large, and many of them carefully selected from blood stock.
The disease reached North Brookfield from LIr. Chenery's farm
at Belmont. Curtis Stoddard bought a calf from Chenery's herd
and took it home. It was soon taken sick, and not knowing of
the disease, he took the calf to his father's, Leonard Stoddard,
to be treated. He was a very large farmer, trades cattle large-
ly, and had on hand a large herd, to wliich the contagion was
communicated. Once in this large herd, the distemper spread
in all directions. Several of Mr. Stoildard's cattle were taken
sick about two weeks after the calf \<as brought there, and in
about ten or fifteen days died. This section of the town has
become entirely depopulated of its cattle.

THE EXAMINATION.

The examinations made on Saturday were in this neighbor-
hood— the first on the farm of Mr. Alden Olmstcad. As we
passed up the road, but few cattle were seen. Arriving at the
lanu cf Mr. Olmstead they found a herd of fourteen, out of
which two had already been killed and seven died. Besides these
were four spring calves. The cattle were tied up in the barn
awaiting examination. They were feeding, and, to the common
observer, there was nothing particular indicating disease. Some
of them stood with their backs slightly arched, and their heads
drooping a little. What was more observable, on a closer exam-
ination, was a certain unnatural expression of the eye, which
was slightly glazedand dull, as if the animal was suffering from
pain. Otlierwise the herd looke;! well, most of them in good or-
der, and some of them, apparently, in perfect condition. They
were all condemned.

The examination is made by sounding the lungs. This is done
by rapping with the fingers on the ribs, just back of the withers
and near the back bone. If the animal is untouched by the dis-
ease, tl'.ey are resonant ; but if the distemper has fastened upon
them, they give back a dull sound. Some idea of the extent of
these enlargements may be formedby the fact, that the lungs of
one cov^, which slioald have weighed four pounds, were so much
enlarged that they weighed sixteen pounds, filling the cavity
completely, and a<lhering to the pleura.

One cow was led out by the side of one of the "graves." By
her stood a man with a sledge-hammer. A crack on the head
brought the animal down, the throat was cut, and the hot blood
poured into the pit. The surgeons laid bare the lungs and took
them out. They were swollen, discolored, and in portions filled
with pus, showing an advanced stage of the disease.

Another cow was taken up, in which the surgeons had not de-
tected the disease after a car jful examination, although she had
of course lieen exposed. On taking out the lungs they were
found comparatively healthy, but wanting in tlie natural crepi-
tus, and with a slight discoloration on the edge, showing the in-
cipient stages of tlie disease. This animal had a strong consti-
tution, which had resisted the distemper thus far. Another had
been atta.cked, but was thought by the owner to have recovered.
The left lung was discolored,"and adhered to the diaphragm, but
the right lung, as is usual in cases of this kind, was badly dis-
eased, having adhered to the sac. A marked case was a greyish
cow whicli had produced two calves, twins, one of which had
died of the disease. The cow was found to be slightly diseased, it
having been transferred in a measure to the calves. When the
calf was led along he breathed with difficulty, and on exami-
nation it was found to be a very bad case.

The Commissioners next proceeded to Mr. Leonard Stoddard's,
the farm where the disease first was known. Three were killed
here. They were all found diseased. This ended the examina-
tions for the day.

The examinations and explanations by the veterinary sur-
geons were very minute, and the explanations intelligent.
Everything throwing light upon the disease in its different
stages of developement was examined, and specimens of the
lungs were reserved in nearly all the cases. Their investiga-
tions will throw mucli light upon the disease, and though they
cannot aid in curing what is incurable, they will apprise the
public of ths dangers to be apprehended from it, and prepare
them for some measures for its extinction.

THE NUMBER KILLED, THEIR COST, ETC.

The method by which the Commissioners proceed is as f '
lows : whenever there is suspicion of disease they make exaL ,
nations, and if they find disease the cattle are condemned
await slaughter, under their supervision. In cases where tht .
have reason to suspect the cattle have lieen exposed, while thej
are not certain of disease, they issue a process by v.hich the
stock is put in "arrest" — that is, i)revented from mixing with
other cattle.

The whole number which have been put under arrest, togeth-
er with those killed, up to Saturday night, is about eight hun-
dred head.

The value, as by apprisal of those actually killed up to Sat-
urday night, is $3780.

The following table exlnbits the names of the persons whose
cattle have Ijeen condemned, siiowing also the original number
of their lierds, the number wliich the Commissioners bought for
preliminary examination, the number which have died, and
the number v.hieli have been killed. It is taken from the books
of the Commissioners :

No. Herd. Bought. Died. Killed.

C. P. Huntington 22 3 8 11

Alden B. Woodis 27 1 5 21

A. A. Noedham .37 2 7 28

A. Olmstead 21 2 7 12

L.Stoddard 62 1 13 10

169 9 40 82

INCIDENTS, RUMORS, ETC.

It is hardly possible to convey an impression of the feeling
which exists in North Brookfield and \'ieinity. The western part
of Worcester cjunty is as much affected by such a calamity as
any section of the State couhl be. The beautiful town of North
Brookfield has thus far suffered the most, but unless the scourge
is arrested other towns will suffer equally. It is the chief subject

268

NEW ENGLAND FAEMER.

June

of conversation among all classes of people. As one result of]
the disease, no millc, butter, chet'se, veal or beef is taken from
the Brookfiekl stations, unless after tlie most ri.i,'iil investigation
into its antecedents. It will be a long time before the reputa-
tion of the region will be recovered.

One man named Meade is of tlie opinion that it was communi-
cated to his cattle by means of his clothus. He says he was at
Stoddard's, and among his cattle, and after he went liome his
calves came around him, smelt of his frock, and were soon at-
tacked. It is said, however, that liis cattle and some of Stod-
dard's were at s"me time together. There was a report that the
distemper had appeared in Ware, having been conveyed in some
hay sold from a barn iu North Brookfield, in which were infected
cattle. The Commissioners, determined to take every precau-
tion, will probably prohibit the sale of hay from infected barns.
At the close of the examinations on Saturday, the Commis-
sioners requested the people from the adjoining towns to change
their clothes before going into their barns.

IS THE MEAT POISONOUS ?

This is the question in which all consumers of beef, milk and
butter are interested. Up to a certain stage of the disease the
meat is not injurious, though the Commissioners have prohibited,
entirely, its sale. In Em-opcan countries the sale of the beef of
animals snlToring with this disease is legalized. There is no virus
introduced into tlie system, and the meat is only injured from
the blood not being purified by the operation of perfect lungs.

DESCRIPTION AND SYMPTOMS OF THE DISEASE.

The locality of the disease, as its name denotes, (pleuro-pneu-
monia) is iu the lining membrane of the thoracic cavity, and in
the thoracic viscera. It is probable that the disease is really a dis-
ease of the lungs' merely, and that the pleura or contiguous mem-
branes are afTected merely by sympatliy. If an autopsy be
made of an animal suffering from the disease, the cavity of the
chest is discovered to contain a quantity of diseased serum, the
effusion of the affected pleura ; and the lungs are seen to be sol-
idified, fdled with lymph, and of the dark color of venous or un-
oxgenated blood, instead of being porous and of a pink color.
From this solidification and the dark color, physicians have
agreed that the lungs do not act naturally in the elimination of
carbonic acid and the absorption of oxygen into the blood, and
as by degrees the blood gets poorer and poorer, has less and less
vitality in it, the animal must die, just as a man must when shut
up with a pan of charcoal in a close room.

It is only recently that this disease has been introduced into
this country, it having come over, withoutdoubt, with some "im-
proved stock ;" but the fearful ravages it has already caused
here and in New Jersey leave no room to doubt that it is highly
infectious, and the experiments in inoculation made in Europe
lead us to suppose it is contagious also.

This disease is supposed to have originated in the Netherlands,
was probably introduced into this country by Dutch cattle, but
has been known for a century and a half in England, France
and Germany, in wliich latter counti-y the government have
adopted the most energetic measures for its extirpation.

Paoli Lathrop, Esq., one of the Commissioners
upon the cattle disease, accompanied by Drs.
Bates and Thayer, visited Belmont on Tuesday,
24th, to ascertain whether the disease had made
any progress in that vicinity. They thoroughly
examined the herds of Messrs. Adolphus Brown,
S. Kendall, James B. Kendall, M. W. Marsh and
George Prentiss, and found them entii-ely free
from disease. Most of the animals were in very
fine condition. It is a singular fact that one of
the above herds run in a pasture beside that of
Mr. Chenery, where the disease originated. Yet
no disease had appeared among the animals. The
result of the observations of the Commissioners
in this respect is that the disease is not conveyed
in the air. It is contagious, and not epidemic.

The farm of Mr. Chenery was also visited.
There were no new cases of the disease. Mr.
Lathrop commends Mr. Chenery for the precau-
tions which he has taken since he became aware
of the dangerous character of the disease, to pre-
vent it from spreading.

Hon. Amasa Walker, another of the Commis-

sioners, made a further examination among the
herds in Brookfield, but found no new cases.

A meeting of the Commissioners and surgeons
was held at the State House on Wednesday. The
appropriation of $10,000 is considered too small
by some $5000, and measures were taken to raise
a guaranty fimd, to secure the required amount.
We are informed by Dr. Dadd, that the Commis-
sioners are satisfied that, with one exception, the
disease is confined to North Brookfield, and that
the evil may be eradicated by the slaughter of the
infected herds, and the adoption of the proper
precautions. The reports of the disease having
appeared in New Hampshire are considered un-
founded, and the disease in Essex County was en-
tirely difi"erent from pleuro-pneumonia.

■WHITEWASHIBTQ— A "WHITEWASH.

This is a subject upon which our farmers re-
quire "line upon line and precept upon pi-ecept."
Whitewash is one of the most valuable articles
in the Avorld, when properly applied. It prevents
not only the decay of Avood, but conduces greatly
to the healthiness of all buildings, whether of
wood or stone. Outbuildings and fences, when
not painted, should be supplied once or twice ev-
ery year with a good coat of whitewash, which
should be prepared in the following way : Take
a clean, water-tight barrel or other suitable cask,
and put into it half a bushel of lime. Slack it
by pouring water over it, boiling hot, and in suf-
ficient quantity to cover it five inches deep, and
stir it briskly till thoroughly slaked. When the
slaking has been effected, dissolve it in water,
and add two pounds of suljjhate of zinc, and one
of common salt. These will cause the wash to
harden, and prevent its cracking, which gives an
unseemly appearance to the work. If desirable,
a beautiful cream color may be communicated to
the above wash, by adding three pounds of yellow
ochre ; or a good pearl or lead color, by the addi-
tion of lamp, vine or ivory black. For fawn col-
or, add four pounds umber — Turkish or American
(the latter is the cheapest,) — one pound Indian
red and one pound common lampblack. For
common stone color, add four pounds raw umber,
and two pounds lampblack.

This wash may be applied with a common
whitewash brush, and will be found much superior
both in appearance and durability, to common
whitewash. — Germantown Telegraph.

« FAKM KECOCD.

"WIio does not, in the spring-time, desire to
know at what time in years past he plowed and
planted, and whether he had good or poor crops,
and when he first had green peas and new pota-
toes, and when the robins and bluebirds first an-
nounced that summer was near ?

The Farm Record, just published by C. M.
Saxton, Barker & Co., and for sale by A. Williams
& Co., is a nice quarto book, arranged with blanks
for the farmer's use, in which he may rate all such

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

269

facts as the above, and a thousand more, such as
the cost of labor on each field and crop, every ex-
pense of repairs, tools, stock, and the like, the
course of the winds, the rainfall, frosts, and all
else that belongs to the climate.

Accurate farm accounts are almost unknown in
this country, and yet without them, we can feel
no assurance as to the profit or loss of any opera-
tion. This book is arranged for keeping them
accurately for 25 years, beginning with 1860. If
farmers would but be as accurate as merchants, in
their farm aS'airs, agriculture would soon become
here, as it is in Europe in several countries, a cer-
tain and profitable business, instead of the chance
matter it too often is with us.

We earnestly advise every farmer to keep care-
ful and reliable memoranda of all his operations,
and we know of no more convenient form than
that here presented, for preserving the incidents
of the farm, for future reference and comparison.

For the New England Farmer.
STUDIES OF THE SOIL—H-o. 2.
BY WILLIAM EDSOX.

Upon the examination of any productive soil
we find the following arrangement of strata :

1. A layer of dark earth varying in thickness
from a few inches to a foot or more. Chemically,
this soil contains more carbon and ammonia, or
in other words, more organized matter, than the
subjacent strata.

2. A layer of earth which is generally finer in
its composition and lighter in color than the first ;
this, also, contains some vegetable matter, but
usually partakes more of the original nature of
the soil than it does of the first or carbonized
stratum. The thickness is commonly but a few
inches. In many cases we find no well defined
stratum to which we can give the name of subsoil,
the whole mass, to the depth of several feet, pre-
sents a uniform appearance, with the exception
that the upper portion shows a slight change at
its junction with the first stratum. The cause for
the absence of a well defined subsoil must be as-
signed to the porosity and slight retentiveness of
the mass. It occurs in morines and alluvials,
very rarely in primtive, lake or river deposited
soils.

3. Where there is a definite subsoil we find im-
mediately under it a stratum of impervious earth,
rock, or perhaps a permanent water table. Im-
pervious earth in this situation receives the name
of "pan" or "hard-pan."

The above division is clearly independent of
any geological formation. It depends entirely
upon causes that are in perpetual action ; these
are, air, rain, change of temperature and vegeta-
tion.

For the purpose of clearly understanding how
this division is produced, let us suppose a tract of
country has just undergone some great geologi-
cal change, and that it presents at the surface a
conglomeration of materials, but no stratification
or definite division. If we penetrate it, we find
that its nature does not change as we descend, at

least for a depth that exceeds that of any earth
that has effect upon vegetation- Such soil must
of necessity be barren ; though it may contain all
of the elements of a productive soil, and even in
what is said to be the right proportion, its ele-
ments are held in such close chemical conforma-
tion as to be useless for the nourishment of veg-
etation. Now, if we consider the action of time, or
rather what is called weathering, upon this mass,
we shall see how the surface strata receive their
varieties of soils, subsoils and pans.

The great agents eff'ecting these changes are, as
has been stated above, air, and its gases, rain,
change of temperature and vegetation. The gas-
es held in the atmosphere cannot act upon the
soil to any extent otherwise than through the
agencies of rain or vegetation.

These gases are oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen
and carbonic acid. Oxygen exists in the atmos-
phere in two forms, viz : in chemical combination
with carbon, forming carbonic acid gas, and in
mechanical combination with nitrogen, forming
air. Hydrogen exists in but one form, that is in
combination with nitrogen forming ammonia.

Carbonic acid gas has occasioned great inquiry
among modern philosophers on account of its con-
nection with the coal formations. It has been
strongly argued by some that at one period of the
earth's existence, viz : the carboniferous, this gas
was much more plentiful than at present. The
advocates of this theory draw their argument
principally from the fact that large quantities of
carbon are annually secreted by plants and trees,
and that a large part of these are not again de-
composed, but are buried in the earth, thus per-
manently removing from the atmosphere a great
portion of its carbon.

The unsoundness of this argument will be made
apparent by applying precisely the same line of
reasoning to the earth, thus : through the agency
of volcanoes, springs, &c., large quantities of car-
bonic acid are known to be taken from the earth
and given to the atmosphere, therefore, in the ear-
ly periods of the earth's history, much less carbon
existed in the atmosphere than at present. The
truth lies in neither the one nor the other of these
arguments, but in both. While it is true that the
plants are constantly absorbing and deposit-
ing this gas, the volcanoes and springs are decom-
posing and dispersing it. Thus nature shows her-
self ever evenhanded.

Although carbonic acid gas forms but one
twenty-five hundredth part of the atmosphere, its
action upon vegetation is of the greatest impor-
tance. Some maintain that plants can deiive their
carbon from no other source, all admit that the
greater part is thus derived. Its action upon the
soil is mostly through the agency of vegetation ;
but still it performs an important part indepen-
dently, by decomposing almost all minerals. It
acts as a mechanical agent in making the soil finer,
and, in roughening the particles, helps to keep it
open to the action of air and water. The only
instance in which carbonic acid is injurious to the
soil, is when it, in connection with iron, forms
graphite or black lead. It may be solely owing
to this action that the first oxide of iron is so
poisonous to the soil. In this case the iron does
not combine with the carbon, but simply acts as
an excitant for the carbon to form itself into
graphite.

270

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

June

When this action does not take place, an excess
of carbonic acid may render soil unproductive, but
it always improves it in richness that may at any
time be made available for cultivation by simple
exposure to the air, or by the action of alkalies.
An excess of carbonic acid is rarely to be found
unless in undrained lands.

Ammonia is thought to produce no effect upoH
plants through the agency of the atmosphere, but
to act upon them from the soil alone. Ammonia
is collected from the atmosphere by rains and
dews, and acts upon soils as an alkali, neutraliz-
ing acids, and decomposing silex, forming com-
pounds soluble in water. Though this gas forms
but one twenty-eight-millionth part of the atmos-
phere, it is of the very highest importance in the
formation of productive soils. But as its action
in this case is intimately connected with that of
rains, dews and changes of temperature, it will
not be considered as an independent agent, as-
suming that its effect is included within that of
weathering.

By the term weathering I mean to express such
action as temperature, rain, dew and aeration
may have upon any formation, the time within
which it has taken place being unlimited.

The following table and remarks by Stockhardt
illustrate, in a very forcible manner, the action of
rain and change of temperature in producing the
stratification of soils. "Basalt, an intimate mix-
ture of felspar and augite, exhibited the following
differences in a comparison of its constituents in
the fresh and weathered condition :

Fresh

Weathered

Conseqttentb/ dissolved

Basalt.

Baudt.

and

•emoted by water.

Alumina...

100

Peroxide of

ron...80

Silica

283

228

43
29

Magnesia. .

Potash

Soda

14^

The first thing resulting, with gi-eat clearness,
from these figures, is the diverse degrees of solu-
bility of the individual constituents of basalt ; the
fresh, solid basalt had lost approximately by its
■weathering, of its

Alumina 0

Peroxide of iron l-40th.

Silica l-5th.

Alkaline earths, (lime and magnesia) l-3d.

Allialies, (potash and soda) 2-3ds.

If we have to regard those constituents which
have been lost in the greatest proportion as the
most easily soluble, those lost in the smallest
quantity as the most difficult of solution, it fol-
lows that the alkalies pass into solution first and
most abundantly in weathering, next the alkaline
earths, and then the silica."

Assuming that the same action will take place
in the weathering of a soil derived from granite
rock, the analysis of which is

Alumina 12.99 lbs.

Oxide of iron 1.96 "

Silica 75.86 "

Alkaline earths, lime, magnesia and manganese 1.59 "

Alkalies, potash and soda 7.60 "

100.00 lbs.

After a certain amount of weathering the anal-
ysis would be as follows, supposing that tlie soil
is so situated that its soluble portion is removed
by a sui'plus of water :

Alumina 16.41 lbs.

Oxide (JTiron 2.42 "

Silica 76.65 "

Alkaline earths 1 .33 "

Alkalies 3.19 "

100.00 lbs.

Again, instead of supposing the soil to lose a cer-
tain portion of its soluble matter, we suppose it
to be so placed that it shall receive the same por-
tion that in the former case we had conceived it to
have lost, analysis will then give,

Alumina 10.75 lbs.

Oxido of iron 1 .66 "

Silica 75.35 "

Alkaline earth 1.76 "

Alkalies 10.48 «

100.00 lbs.

Though the above are but supposed cases, yet
action and results of precisely the same nature are
constantly occurring. Thus, at the top of a hili the
soil is constantly losing its soluble portion, on its
gentler slopes near the bottom it may receive as
much as it loses, and thus remain constant. The
valley at its foot will gain in its most soluble part
as it receives all that the hill-top loses. For con-
venience of reference the analyses are here given
together in one table :

Hill top. Middle ground. Valleif.

Alumina 16.41 lbs. 12.99 lbs. 10.75 'lbs.

O.xideofiron 2.42" 1.96" 1.66"

Silica 76.65" 75.86" 75.,35 "

Alkaline earths 1.33 " 1.59 « J.76 "

Alkalies 3.19" 7.60" 10.48"

100.00 lbs. 100.00 lbs. 100.00 lbs.

The last table illustrates clearly the effect of
weathering upon soils, and explains why analyses,
may show great diversity of composition upon the
same farm, and where it is evident that the soils
all came from the same original rock. It also, to
a certain extent, explains the division of the sur-
face strata into soil, subsoil and pan ; the part
lying nearest the air being more and differently
affected than that lower down, in a short time be-
comes quite distinct in composition and texture.

Inspection of the last table will also show that
soluble ingredients are alwaj-s increasing in the
valleys and diminishing on the hills ; thus, in the
course of time the hills must become barren, un-
less protected by imdisturbed vegetation, while
the low lands increase in mineral richness year by
year.

Boston, April 16, 1860.

For the New England Farmer.

HO"W TO GET A GBEAT CHOP OP
POTATOES.

When any of my neighborf^aise better crops
or get them with less labor than I can, I am apt
to want to know how they do it. On the other
hand, if they have extravagant theories, do a
great deal of extra work on their land, fuss a
great deal with composting manures, and thor-
oughly pulverizing the land, and still do not show
any better crops than their neighbors, I am not
particularly inquisitive to know or practice their
theories.

Happening a few days ago to be in the cellar of
Capt. S. Hayden, of HoUis, I noticed his bins of
splendid potatoes, and had the curiosity to inquire
how he raised them. He told me tliat ou ground

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FAEMER.

271

plowed In the spring he funrowod as deep as he
could M'ithout turning up the turf. He prepared
his manure by putting in the green manure some
ioam, ashes and brine or salt not very strong. He
cut his potatoes so that one as large as a hen's egg
■would be divided into throe or tour pieces, and
put thixee pieces in a hill^ the skin side up, in a
triangle of about five or six inches apart. He
then put a shovelful of the manure on the top
of the potatoes. The result was that his potatoes
yielded at the rate of from eight to twelve hiUs to
the bushel of good market potatoes. He told me
lie took good-sized potatoes to plant. The pota-
toes he raised were large enough — would average
as large as turkeys' eggs. I shall try it, and if
any of your readers would like to do the same,
you may give them a chance. Ed. Emerson.
HolUs, April 20, 18G0.

For the New England Farmer.
DECAT OF PEAK TKEES.

The pear tree is considered to be a longer lived
fa'ee, than the apple ; notwithstanding this, most of
our newly introduced fruits show symptoms of de-
cay, while on the contrary, many of tlie o!d varie-
ties, which are scattered here and there through-
out New England, are still in a healthy and bear-
ing state. If it is admitted that the natural life of
this tree is upwards of 100 years, it becomes of the
highest importance to ascertain, if possible, the
cause of this premature deeay.

The old varieties alluded to, as far as we know
Shem, are growing upon the spot where they came
lup from seed, or where transplanted when young
with their tap root uninjured. Our cultivators at
the present time invariably cut off this tap root, in
order that lateral roots may multiply, and the
trees grow faster, and to appearance more vigor-
ously, as they unquestionably do for a time, but
not, as we apprehend, permanently ; in nature there
is an equilibrium between the roots and top of all
trees, and by cutting off the tap root, we inter-
fere with its healthy action, by producing a forced
growth, and a sort of plethora, which may tend to
produce disease, although it may hasten its bear-
ing. Another cause which may tend to hasten
this decay may be from the method pursued by
Van Mons, from whom many of the new varieties
proceeded, the leading feature of whose theoi-y was
to subdue or enfeeble the original coarse iuxuri-
ousness of the tree, by gathering his fruit from
which he took his seed before being fully ripe, al-
lowing the fruit to rot ; from the seedlings pro-
duced, he cut off the tap roots, and shortened the
side branches, besides planting these trees very
near together. Duhamei, of France, was in the
habit of planting seed from the finest table pears
of his day, without producing scarcely one fine
variety ; Van Mons, on the contrary, by the en-
feebling process, has produced a score of fine sorts.

The healthiest pear trees we have recently seen
were upon the farm of Gen. Josiah Newhall, of
Lynniield ; these were grown from seed sown some
years since, and they were remarkably thrifty, and
much larger than any we had ever seen at that
age from the seed ; a few of these were in flower
last spring. These trees had not been pruned in
root or side branches, these side branches clothed
with leaves protecting the trunk from the scorch-
ing rays of an August sun. We apprehend that

it will be found that the cutting off the tap root,
and pruning the side limbs of our trees when
young, is a bad practice.

An Illinois cultivator has said that "the effect
of pruning the trunks of young trees severely re-
sults from disturbing the natural relations of the
ascending and descending sap." He allowed the
shoots on the trunks to grow on, and in two
years they covered them to the ground ; his trees
then started with a vigorous growth throughout
the whole top, and are now loaded with fruit,
while a neighbor who continued the practice of
trimming the bodies of his trees, lost them by
what ho called pear blight. Pear trees, particu-
larly when young, are subject to a sort of dry
canker, or desiccation of the bark, which we think
is caused by the powerful rays of a burning sun,
occurring immediately after a shower, striking the
branches still wet ; one proof of this is the fact,
that we find these appearances generally on the
south side of the stem, more especially on the
south south-west side, or towards the 2 o'clock
sun ; from this we infer, that nature intends
these side branches, with their leaves, to pro-
tect the tender bark of young trees. The pear
tree should not be planted in swampy or wet
land, or where water stands under the surface
(or subsoil.) If in rather wet soil, it may be neces-
sary to take off or bend up the tap root, in order
that the roots may be kept near the surface ; if,
however, the roots of any fruit tree enter and re-
main in a swampy or wet soil, such roots will de-
cay, and a corresponding decay (sometimes called
canker,) will be seen commencing in the top
limbs.

Salem, 3fass., 1860. j. m. I.

For tli£ New Englmid Farmer.

MARKET DAT TN ESSEX.

The first market day of the season, for Essex,
came off yesterday at Danvers. As was feai-ed, a
variety of incidents combined to embarrass the
contemplated operations of the day.

1. Our farmers are very busy at home, and can-
not well spare the time to attend such meetings.

2. The prevailing cattle distemper has thrown a
damper over all trade in cattle, and people are
not disposed to purchase much, especially ani-
mals recently imported ; the apprehension being
that this malady is more apparent in the improved
breeds, (as they are called,) than in our natives.
This brings to mind what was told me yesterday
by Mr. Wm. Osborn, of Ljun. He said in the
days of Henry Colnaan, he had a native cow, that
gave in 78 days, from January 1st, onward, forty
pounds of milk per day. This cow he exhibited
at Brighton,where she obtained the first premium.
He said he had owned many cows, but had found
his natives best for milk, and supported at least
expense of feed. This harmonizes so well with
information from other sources, that I thought it
might be worthy a place in your farmer's journal.

April 25; 1860. P.

HL\Y.— "H K ," Kennebunk, Me., will

find the person he wishes to communicate with,
by addressing Winthrop II. Dudley, dealer in hay,
Boston.

NEW ENGLAND FAHMEr..

June

DESIGN FOR A SUBUKBAN" VILLA.

BY GEO. E. HARNEY, LYNN, MASS.

There seems to be a demand at present for a
class of houses of moderate size and accommoda-
tion, suitable for the small lots in the immediate
neighborhood of the city, and Avhich can be built
for a small outlaj' — say from $3000 to $<5000.
In our present design we have given an example
of this class of dwelling, and as its situation de-

PLAN OF PRINCIPAL FLOCK,.

mands, have given it more architectural finish
than any of our former designs.

No. 1 is the front entrance portico, opening
into the hall. No. 2, 8 feet wide, and containing
front stairs to chambers. The first door on the
left opens into the parlor, No. 3, 15 feet by 20,
lighted by two mullioned windows, one of ^Iiich
reaches to the floor and opens upoa
the veranda, No. 5. The library. No.
4, is 13 feet by 15, and o}>ens apon
the vei-anda in the same manner as;
the parlor. No. 6, the dining hall,
measures 15 feet by 17.i, and con-
tains a large closet, No. 9, fitted up
with a dumb waiter rising from the
kitchen below. No^7, the back en-
try, measures 6 feet by 16, contains
stairs to chambers and basement
floors, and opens upon a gallery, No.
10, leading to the yard ; under the
gallery is the yard entrance to the
basement.

The second floor contains four good
sized chambers with bathing-rooms,
dressing-rooms and closets.

In the attic, which should be fin-
ished through out, will be three lai'ga

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

273

bedrooms, besides a storage for trunks, &c. The
first story is 1 1 feet high in clear, and the second
9^ feet.

Construction. — This dwelling is to be built of
wood, and should be finished in a thorough, sub-
stantial manner, inside and out. It may be cov-
ered in the horizontal manner with matched
sheathing or with clapboards, either method being
appropriate to this style of building, though the
former, which is also rather more expensive,
gives the appearance of a greater degree of finish
than the latter.

The French roof may be covered with semicir-
cular patterned shingles. There should be a cor-
nice run through all the principal rooms. The ar-
chitraves of the windows and doors, and the bal-
usters, post and rail of the front staircase should
be of simple but heavy designs. The walls are to
be prepared for papering.

Cost. — Such a building as the above could be
buill complete for about $4000.

For ihe New England Farmer.
DKAINIWG A PEAR ORCHARD.

Mr. Editor : — I have au orchard consisting
in part of pear trees, some of them some dozen
feet in height, the soil being a somewhat reten-
tive loam, resting on hard pan at about two feet
below the surface, which has never been drained,
and I would like your opinion as to the expedi-
ency of underdraining it now ?

The trees are twenty feet apart each way, and
the land slopes to the north about one foot in
forty or fifty, afi'ording ample fall to carry off the
water, and the only doubts in my own mind are
in regard to cutting the roots so much as would
be necessary, and whether the drains would be
eff'ective without subsoiling, which would be im-
practicable now. The hard pan cannot be exca-
vated without a pick or crowbar, and it seems to
me that it would be nearly impossible for the wa-
ter to penetrate it so as to dry the land with any
degree of rapidity in spring, which is about the
only time when there is a superabundance of
moisture. I think, from an abstract of Dr. Fish-
er's lecture at Greenfield, that the soil which he
has drained for trees may be similar to mine, and
if he or any other of your readers can throw any
light on the subject, and in case I should under-
take to drain it, advise as to the best manner of
digging the drains, depth, &c., I would thank
them to express the same in your paper.

Perhaps I ought to add that the land has been
plowed, with one or two exceptions, every year
since the trees were planted, and in plowing eight
inches the plow would strike, perhaps twenty fast
stones, many of which would require blasting to
remove them.

I would also like to hear the experience of those
fruit-growers who have the following varieties of
apples :

Red Russet. — This has been very highly puffed
by some, but, in reading pomological reports, I
never see any allusion to it. The few specimens
I have seen were finer grained and richer than

the Baldwin, but a large portion of them were
badly cracked ; they were, however, grown in an
unfavorable location.

Danvers Sweet and Seaver Sweet. — Are these
the l)est winter sweet apples we have in cultiva-
tion ? If so, I think there is plenty of room for
improvement.

RamsdelVs Sweet. — I find quite a diversity in
size among these, and also a slight l)itter taste to
the fruit. Does the experience of others coincide
with this, and is this variety worth cultivating ?

Maiden's BliisJi. — This I find quite productive
and very beautiful, but I think it deficient in fla-
vor.

Cole's Quince. — The first single specimen that I
raised came fully up to Mr. Cole's description, al-
though it did not ripen till October, but I have
not raised any equal to it since.

EarJij Harvest. — This seems to grow well, but
the fruit so far has been "scarce," and quite small
and gnarly. Is it sufliciently adapted to this lo-
cality to succeed without such an amount of care
and high cultivation as will eat up all the profit?

Ashjield, 1860. Wm. F. Bassett.

Remarks. — We have no doubt whatever as to
the expediency of draining your pear orchard. Iri
so doing, you need not injure many of the roots ;
when you approach a tree in ditching, work care-
fully, and if you find a root, work round it, and lay
it on one side and cover it with earth. The very
act of draining, if thoroughly done, would make
the whole subsoil porous in a degi-ee, and that hard
pan which you w^ould have to "excavate with a
pick and crowbar," would allow the water to pass
quite freely, after a while. Why ? Because when
you have removed the standing water by tailing
it off through the ditches, the whole subsoil would
contract, and thus fill it with innumerable littlt
cracks, or fissures, through which the -water would
find its way to the bottom of the drain. ITiis is a
natural, highly beneficial and beautiful operation.
If your drains are sufficiently near, say 20 feet, if
the land is quite wet, 30 feet, or 40 feet, if only
moderately so, they will operate in two directions
— in the line of the drain, and in a far greater de-
gree laterally. If the bottom of the drain h four
feet from the surface, and the drains are 20 feet
apart, you will secure a fall of four feet in ten —
that is, from the surface of the ground to tlie bot-
tom of the drain ! Such a fall, after the subsoil
is Avell cracked, will cause a rapid drainage. For
a full and clear statement of the whole matter, see
Judge French's work on Farm Drainage. A
careful perusal of this will save you ten times its
cost, if you intend to drain several acres.

Red Russet. — We have never raised this apple,
and must leave an account of it to others.

Danvers and Seaver Sweet. — Both excellent,
but it Avould be saying a great deal to pronounce
them the best winter sweet apples we have.

The Ramsdell Sweet — Is highly esteemed by
many persons. Most of our apples have been de-

274

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

June

fective for several years past, and this may be the
case -with the Ramsdell.

Tlie Maiden Blush — Grows in great perfection
in this region. No apple has made a finer ap-
pearance at the Shows than this.

Early Harvest. — We have not found this apple
to require extraordinaiy care. Downing thought
it the finest early apple yet known.

On account of illness, this and three or four
other articles have been detained upon o\ir table.

For the New England Parmer.

COST OF RAISING COBN AND POTA-
TOES.

Mr. Editor : — During the season previous to
the last, an exact account was kept by me of the
cost of raising a crop of corn on two lots of land,
one consisting of one, the other of three-fourths
of an acre ; and also the co.st of raising one-fourth
of an acre of potatoes. My mode of management
was this : to reckon the interest of the land at the
cost per acre, the labor of oxen 12^ cents per
hour, the same per hour for myself, the horse the
same -when worked in the cart, or furrowing and
cultivating, a boy 6^ cents per hour, the manure
at $4 per cord, and the worth of the seed used at
the market price. This was the debtor side. I
supposed the corn fodder would pay the cost of
harvesting the corn.

On the creditor side of the corn, I added one-
fourth the worth of the manure as remaining in
the land, the strength not exhausted for a future
crop, and one-half of the number of bushels of
corn raised on the cob, measured at harvesting,
after deducting one-fifth for shrinkage, and the
market price for the beans, potatoes and pump-
kins raised in and around the corn. The result
was, that my corn cost me about one dollar per
bushel, and the potatoes thirty-nine cents per
bushel. But this I do not consider a fair trial, in-
asmuch as both pieces where the corn was raised
had borne crops (one of corn, the other of pota-
toes) the year previous, and where the potatoes
were raised the land was manured heavily on the
previous, as well as the same year, which caused
them to decay badl}-.

As to the measurement of corn, some would
doubt the propriety of deducting one-fifth for
shrinkage, especially when the corn has well ma-
tured, and is of an early variety, (King Philip
principally,) as in my case.

The past year I have also kept an account of
the cost of raising two lots of corn on green sward
P'ound, part of it plowed in the fall previous, and
the remainder in the spring ; one lot contains one
acre, and the other one acre and twenty-nine
rods ; the particulars of which I will send you if
desirable, and also the cost per ton of harvestin
both English and meadow hay. r. E. n.

West Bridgewater, 1860.

A Dangerous Practice. — It is said that the
Messrs. Black, of Edinburgh, the famous publish-
ers, have introduced the practice of announcing
the weight of their books on the covers. It is ex-
pected tliat other publishers will imitate them.

This is carrying frankness to a dangerous extreme.
If we knew beforehand how heavy half of the new
issues from the press were, should we ever buy
them ? — Providence Journal.

THE BIRD THAT SUNG IN MAT.

A bird last spring came to my window-shutter,

One lovely morning at the break of day ;
And from his little throat did sweetly utter
A most melodious lay.

He had no language for his joyous passion,

No solemn measure, no artistic rhyme ;
Yet no devoted minstrel e'er did fashion

Such perfect tune and time.

It seemed of thousand joys a thousand stories,

All gushing forth in one tumultuous tide ;
A hallelujah for the morning-glories

That bloomed on every side.

And with each canticle's voluptuous ending.

He sipped a dew-drop from the dripping pane ;
Then heavenward his little bill extending,

Broke forth in song again.

I thought to emulate his wild emotion,

And learn thanksgiving from his tunefirl tongue ;
But human heart ne'er uttered such devotion,
Nor human lips such song.

At length he flew and left me in my sorrow.

Lest I should hear those tender notes no more ;
And though I early waked for him each morrow,
He came not nigh my door.

But once again, one silent summer even,

I met him Iiopping in the new-mown hay ;
But he was mute, and looked not up to heaven —
The bird that sung in May.

Though now I hear from dawn to twilight hour

The hoarse woodpecker and the noisV jay,
In vain I seek through leafless grove and bower
The bird that sung in May.

And such, methinks, are childhood's dawning pleasures.

They charm a moment and then fly away ;
Through life we sigh and seek those missing treasures,
The birds that sung in May.

This little lesson, then, my friend, remember,

To seize each bright-winged blessing in its day ;
And never hope to catch in cold December,

The bird that sung in May !

Wire and Hoops. — At the wire works of H.
S. Washburn, in Worcester, Mass., some iron wire
is made which is as fine as hair. Of number 62
wire, which is the finest, 13 miles will only weigh
about 7 ounces. About 20,000 yards of steel crin-
oline is now manufactured daily. It is sold when
covered, at wholesale, at about 50 cents a pound,
and about three-quarters of a pound is required
for each hooped skirt. It is calculated that about
5,000,000 lbs. of crinoline have been used up in
hoops, the present year, by various makers. So
says an exchange.

New Grapes. — The Patent Office has received
several of the choicest varieties of grape slips
from Hungary, which it is proposed to have pro-
pagated under the direction of that office, in or-
der to determine their adaptability to the soil of
the diff'erent States. The fruit of these vines is
said to be superior to anything of the kind grown
in this country, either for wine making, or for ta-
ble use.

1860.

NEW EXGLAXD FARMER.

275

Fur the Neu' Enuland Farmer.
SPAYING CO-WS.

Messrs. Editors : — Public attention being at
this time awakened to the subject of "spayed
cows," I propose in this article to give you my
own experience, thinking it may perhaps be of in-
terest to the farming community.

I have in my herd 13 cows, which have at dif-
ferent times been subjected to this operation for
the purpose of rendering them permanent milk-
ers ; the operation being performed by Dr. Geo.
H. Dadd, of Boston. Sufficient time has not yet
elapsed, to enable me to learn whether all the ad-
vantages which are promised as the results of
spaying, will follow, such as duration of milking,
fattening, &c.

I will, however, lay the matter before your
readers, and let them judge for themselves,
whether it is for their advantage to have theii-
cows spayed, or let them remain bearing calves,
as is the usual custom. Of course, this Avill de-
pend on the purposes for which cows are kept,
whether for milk, butter and cheese alone, or for
raising stock.

It is now a year since the first three cows were
spayed, one in July, and four in October last, and
five on the 11th of the present month. The ages
of these cows vary from five to thirteen years,
and in every instance, the younger the cow, and
the greater her natural milking qualities, the
more favorable have been the results. They have
all continued to give an uninterrupted yield of
milk, varying with the season, and succulency
and richness of food. A slight improvement in
the quality of the food, immediately increases the
quantity of milk.

As I sell my milk in the Boston market, I have
but slight opportunity of testing its quality, ex-
cept through my customers, and in every instance,
■where I have been able to supply them with milk
from spayed cows, it has given entire satisfaction.
In June last, I made one experiment in making
butter, and from forty-three quarts (wine) of the
milk of three spayed cows, which before the oper-
ation Avere not noted for their butter qualities,
were made 5\ pounds of butter. This is not equal
to the reputed yield from Alderney or Devon
cows, but I believe it is much better than the av-
erage of cows in the State. None of the eight
cows have given at any time during the winter,
less than six quarts of milk per day, and the
youngest and best not less than eight quarts.
Their average yield during the past three days,
fed on good hay and one quart cotton seed meal,
and J bushel of parsnips each, has been as fol-
lows :

Spaijeclin Wihinst. %lst inst. 22diust.

No. 1, aged 13, April, 1859. 14 lbs. 15 lbs. 14 lbs.

" 2, " 13, " 15 " 15 " 15 "

" 3, " 13, " 19.1" 234" 21i"

" 4, " 12, Oct., 1859. 18 « 17J " 17 J"

" 5, " 9, " 23 " 20"" 20'"

" 6, " 6, " 20 " 21i" 2U"

" 7, " 8, July, 1859. 25 " 27 " 25 "

None of these have as yet shown any tendency
to fatten. If milk is the object desired, we wish
all the food given to cows to go to milk, and it is
not to be expected, nor is it desirable, that cows
giving a full yield of milk, will take on flesh very
rapidly. I know of one instance, however, where
a spayed cow, after having given an average of

over eight quarts per day for three years, had be-
come exceedingly fat.

There is no danger Avhatcver attending the op-
eration. The cows require moderate feeding and
good care, and in four weeks, the wounds are en-
tirely healed, and there is generally but slight
loss in their yield of milk immediately after the
operation. Three of the cows spayed on the 11th
inst. gave respectively 10, 13 and 19 pounds of
milk the evening previous, and 7^, 9-\ and 15
pounds of milk 24 hours after the operation, and
have given a larger quantity at each milking,
since. The fourth was more affected, and did not
do so Avell, while the fifth was a farrow cow,
spayed for fattening alone.

I am so well satisfied with the result of my ex-
periments, that I intend to have most of my cows
spayed, as they come into full milking, and I can
especially recommend any one, who keeps a sin-
gle cow for family use, to do the same, as there
can be no doubt of the superior quality and
wholesomeness of milk from spayed cows, espe-
cially for children.

For the information of any one wishing to try
the experiment, I will state that the usual time
for spaying cows is from three to six weeks after
calving'. Edward R. Andrews.

West Roxhunj, April 23, 1860.

EXTBACTS AND KEPLIES.
RAISING LAMBS BY HAND.

I wish to inquire through your paper the meth-
od of raising lambs by hand ? It often happens
that the supply of milk is cut off, by some reason
or another, so we are obliged to feed the lamb
with cow's milk, and just as sure as we do, just
so sure the lamb dies. Is the trouble in feeding
it too much or too little ?

Any light upon the subject from any one will
be very gratefully received by

Woodstock, Vt, 1860. A Young Farmer.

Remarks. — We have often saved Iambs under
such circumstances by coaxing another sheep to
nurse the unfortunate lamb with her own. Two
or three years since we brought up a fine pair of
Spanish merino lambs entirely by hand, and on
cow's milk, by diluting it and feeding them sever-
al times each day. We began by filling a bottle
with milk and stretching over the mouth of the
bottle an India rubber tube. The lambs soon
learned to suck through this, and after two or
three weeks the milk was given in a basin, and the
finger introduced into the lamb's mouth, which
he would suck, drawing milk at the same time.

bucklin's improved harrow.

Being a well-wisher to all useful and valuable
improvements, I wish to say a few words to our
brother farmers about Moses Bucklin's Harrow,
through your valuable paper. I bought one last
spring of Messrs. Hobert & Spaulding, of Pep-
perell. 1 put it on sward land first, going with
the furrows, then across them, which made it mel-
low as an old field. I then split my corn hills two
furrows in a row deep, then crossed the furrows

276

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

June

•with the harrow and sowed my grain and grass
seed. I then went the other way with the harrow,
which left the land as mellow as a garden ; the
gi'ass and grain came uj) as nice as I ever had
an3^, and the grass now looks m'cII. I think the
harrow a valuable tool, and think 1 saved the lull
cost of it in labor in one year. There are two
sizes of teeth. I prefer the seven inch.

EeEN RlClL\rvDSON.
Pepiierdl, Mass., April, 1860.

E.E^LVI^KS. — We know !Mr. Richardson as an
excellent farmer, and a person well qualified to
judge of the value of an agricultural implement.

CEEEPEU BREED OF SHEEP.

I noticed in the March monthly of the Farmer
an inquiry in regard to the Otter or Creeper
sheep, and liad I not at that time been particu-
larly engaged, I would have answered the inquiry
of your corres]5ondent in some measure.

I believe it is about fifty years since the Creep-
er sheep were introduced into this neighborhood.
They were recommended particularly as being
peaceable. Our fences being mostly made of
stone, our common sheep could walk over them
with very little trouble, so that the Creeper sheep
were quite an acquisition to our farmers. In re-
gard to the other qualities of this breed of sheep,
they are as hardy as other breeds ; their flesh is
as good ; and I believe that in mixing the merino
with them the wool is rather superior to that
mixed with the common native fsheep. The only
objection to this hreed of sheep that I know of,
is, they require a little more attention at the time
of dropping their lambs, as the lambs are not so
strong for a day or two as most kinds of sheep.
The war of 1812 tending to enhance the price of
wool, merino sheep were introduced and became
the rage of that day, so much that other breeds of
sheep were cast in the shade. The Creeper sheep
are not common in this vicinity. I believe that
Dea. Joshua Coburn, of Dracut, has some of that
kind in his flock, and if your correspondent wish-
es to obtain that breed of sheep, he can probably
be accommodated by him. Abel Gage.

Pelham, N. E., April, 1860.

HAY CAPS — BLACKBEEKY BUSHES.

I am about having some hay caps made ; I wish
to know the best way to keep them on the hay
cock .*•

I have some blackberry bushes that have been
set five years ; last year they made canes six feet
long; is it best to cut them in this spring, or let
them go as they are ? JoNAS Holt.

Andover, April, 1860.

Eemaeks- — Take cotton cloth worth eight or
nine cents a yard — cut off a piece tM'o yards (six
feet) long — then cut another of equal length, and
sew them together. That gives you a square of
six feet. Turn the corners over an inch and sew
down the point strong — that leaves a loop through
which run a stout piece of twine, which, when tied,
shall be an inch long. Now the cap is made. Take
any pieces of clean pine board and split out pins
15 inches in length and whittle them to a point

at one end and leaving them three-fourths of an
inch in diameter. Put the cap on the top of the
cock, the pin through the string, and then, first
with a downward and then upward motion, thrust
the pin up into the hay cock. Do this with each
corner and your hay will not suffer by standing
out in a storm of a week.

Take out all the old wood from your blackberry
bushes, and head down the canes you intend to let
stand to about four feet in hcisrht.

maple sugar.

As the maple sugar season is now over, I send
you a statement of the sugar made by three per-
sons in the yard of Messrs. P. & G. Beede, Sand-
wich, N. H.

About 1000 trees were tapped, mostly young
second growth. We commenced to tap March
15, and finished making April 10, and have made
2300 lbs., the largest amount made in any yard in
Carroll County. The largest part of this was run
in small cakes, and the rest stirred off dry, and
ch-ained as follows :

Cakes 1406

Pry 378

Drained 616

2300 pounds.

Besides this, we have made molasses, &c.,
which would make at least 50 pounds more.

Maple Hill.
Sandwich, N. H., April 16, 1860.

Rejl\rks. — It is very pleasant to record the
capital success of our friends in the sugar orchard
of the Messrs. Beede, — hut that pleasure might
have been sAveetened by some samples of their
rare skill !

experiments on sandy lands.

Which is the cheapest and best of the two fol-
lowing experiments ?

1. Spread a liberal dressing of good manure
upon three or four acres of sandy loam land, plow
under, plant with corn and seed down to grass the
next year. Or,

2. Take the same piece of ground, put on a
light dressing of manure, plant to corn, manur-
ing in the hill, and then in the fall put on a good
coat of clay, and the following spring lay down to
grass.

Which of these two processes will produce the
most permanent and best crops of grass ?

A Subscriber's Son.
St. Jolmslury, Vt., 1860.

Rem.\RKS. — We think the latter course would
produce the "most permanent and best crops of
grass." The cheapness of the process would de-
pend upon circumstances, such as the value of
manure in your neighborhood, and the facility
with which you can get the clay. If you must cart
the clay a mile or more, the manuring process
might be the cheapest. You must judge of these
things from your own stand-point. The addition
of good clay to sandy loams is a permanent im-

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FAPtlVlER.

277

provement to them, one which they will feel for
ages, making them more adhesive, retentive of
manures, and making them more capable of re-
ceiving and retaining the most important atmo-
spheric influences. When the mechanical texture
of sandy loams is improved in this way, and they
are once made rich by manure and careful culture,
they become the most pi'olific and easiest culti-
vated lands we have.

WARMING OUR DWELLINGS.

Will some of your readers inform me which is
the best method for heating a dwelling-house, as
regards the cost of fixtures and fuel, and the more
important matter of health ? I am aware that the
common method is to introduce a furnace, if a
number of rooms are required to be heated. I
understand some are introducing steam to warm
with, and I wish to make inquiry in regard to its
advantages or disadvantages ; first, in regard to
its being healthy. Second, how much it costs to
get the apparatus put in working order for five or
six rooms ? Does it require more or less fuel
and attention than the furnace, and are there any
advantages derived other than warming the
rooms ? / Subscriber.

Medford, Mass., 1860.

Remarks. — We believe the use of steam for
warming our dwellings is, in every way, prefera-
ble to the use of stoves or furnaces, — such as
health, economy, safety, and these include every-
thing, we believe. The first cost of the steam fix-
tures is much larger than the cost of a furnace,
but the consumption of fuel, and the current ex-
pense for repairs, much less. So far as health is
concerned, the two modes of heating admit of no
comparison, as in the case of steam the air is not
vitiated in the slightest degree by the heat, while
nearly all the heated air in the use of a furnace
has been in contact with red hot iron ! As re-
gards safety, there is scarcely more room for com-
parison than in the case of health. In our mode
of heating by steam there is no possibility of ex-
plosion, or of setting the house on fire. For fur-
ther information call upon Messrs. Braman, Per-
ham & Co., 8 Charlestown Street, Boston.

INCREASING MANURE ON A RENTED FARM.

I wish to propose an inquiry for some one or
more of your correspondents to answer, viz.: Will
it pay for any man who lives on a farm, not his
own, but has only one-half the product of the
farm on which he lives, to try to increase the
quantity of home manufactui'ed manure from 110
loads per annum, as heretofore, to 220 per annum ?
The opinion of some of our good farmers will
much oblige an Inquirer.

East Concord, N. K, 1860.

SOUTH DOWN SHEEP.

Will you have the kindness to inform me
through the Farmer, where I can get a South i
Down buck and one or more ewe lambs, and at 1

what price ? I should like to get them about four
months old, or after they have been weaned,
which, I suppose, will bo about August. Which
is the largest breed of sheep, and where are they
to be had, and at what price ? A SUBSCRIBER.
April 2, 1860.

IlE>Li,RKS. — Those wanting a customer will
please reply.

CHERRY CURRANT,

AVill you inform me where I can obtain cuttings
or roots of the cherry currant, and also the price
of the same ? c. w. s,

Cornish, N. H.

Remarks. — Probably of any of the nursery-
men who advertise in the Farmer.

WASH FOR APPLE TREE BORERS.

Is there any wash that will destroy the egg by
which the apple tree borer is propagated ?
Orange, Mass., 1S60. Subscriber.

Re^iarks. — We know of none.

BEE FEED.

Two-thirds rye meal, one-third buckwheat flour,
to be fed in the months of March and April, fed
in pans or shallow boxes a short distance from the
hive. I. s. c.

Manchester, Mass., 1860.

For the New England Farmer.

A PEEVENTIVE AGAINST THE CATTLE
DISEASE.

Inoculate an animal of the swine, mule or horse
kind with the cattle disease. I should prefer the
latter. After it has come to maturity in the above
swine, mule or horse, inoculate from either of
them a creature of the herd kind. Be careful to
take one that has always been in every respect
free from the disease. When this last inoculation
has come to full maturity, and has proved satis-
factory, I think there can be no risk in inoculat-
ing from this last animal as fast as the infection
can be obtained from it. The disease will then
bo half-blooded.

The public may demand some evidence of the
utility of the above experiment. I would offer
the following. It is Avcll known that the small
pox by passing through tlie constitution of the
cow and its milker, is by the laws of nature dis-
armed of its malignity, so that it then passes
through the constitution of man witli the gi'catest
ease and safety. Now I do not know why the
malignity of the cattle disease should not be de-
stroyed by passing it through the constitution of
the mule or horse, and then through the before-
mentioned herd kind.

If I am not mistaken, all that is needed to de-
stroy the malignity of this disease, is to pass it
through the constitution of two or three different
species of animals, as those of the swine, horse,
and one of the herd kind. If it be passed through
three species of animals, it will lose seven-eighths
of its virulence. Paul Pilsbury.

Georgetown, Mass., April, 1860.

278

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

June

For the New England Farmer.

PRICES OP FARM PRODUCTS IN 1843
AND 1860.

Mr. Editor : — With your permission, I pro-
pose to institute a comparison of jorices, in a few
of the leading farm productions, between the pres-
ent and sixteen years since, at which time I com-
menced life for myself, as a farmer. This is sug-
gested by hearing, almost every day, some one
of this class complaining of hard times, falling
off of prices, &c.

By reference to my diary, I find that, in the
fall of 1843, I bought of one man, five cows, good
ones, for $50, or $10 each ; four calves, for $7 for
the lot ; one yearling heifer, with calf, for $5 ; one
pair working cattle, (bulls) of seven feet girth,
for $45 ; one pair of very fine three years old
steers, for $G0 ; a fair three years old colt, for
$50. The following spring, I purchased cows,
the host I could find, to make up my number to
twelve, for from $15 to $22, and a pair of oxen,
in fine condition, and of over thirty-two hundred
pounds weight, for $72 — $70 being all the owner
asked for the cattle, but he charged me two dollars
for giving six months credit, which I was, by pov-
erty, compelled to ask, not only on this occasion,
but for all else that I purchased. The oxen I sold
the following September, for $G8, in better con-
dition than when I bought them. The butter made
from my cows, not much odds of eighteen hun-
dred pounds, brought me 13 cents per pound—
12^ cents being the price paid, by same buyer, for
his choice in the lots, of which there were many
about town. My pork brought 4| cents, poultry,
G cents, oats, 25 cents, corn, 83 cents, it being on
one of the hills of New Ilampsliire, where corn
is never abundant, wheat, $1,50, hay, I hauled
three miles, and sold for $6 per ton, (and was
cheated out of my paj' for it at that.)

For apples, common fruit, such as my farm pro-
duced, there was no sale, and for cider, I got 75
cents per barrel, and 4 cents for dried a])ples ;
potatoes, delivered at the "starch factory," 17 cents
per bushel ; wool, in the season of 1845, brought
me 30 cents.

Now look on that, and then on this. Before
me lies the Sullivan RepubJ lean, of the 25th inst.,
published in the town in which I sold most of my
produce, from which I quote the following items,
from under the head of "Prices Current :" wheat,
per bushel, $1,75, oats, 50 cents, corn, $1,12,
pork, round hog, per pound, 6 and 8 cents, pota-
toes, per bushel, 25 to 42 cents, apples, common,
50cto$l,00, apples, dried, per pound, 7tol0 cents,
butter, 18 to 20 cents, poultry, 8 to 12 cents, wool,
50 to 55 cents, hay, per ton, $10 to 12. And
here the list ceases to help me in the comparison ;
the prices of horses, oxen and cows are not re-
ported, and, moreover, with the present prices of
these your readers are familiar, and will not fail
to see that farmers are now-a-days realizing prices,
for all they have to sell, nearly double what they
did sixteen years ago. And yet they complain of
bard times. You, Mr. Editor, or they, may sup-
ply the moral. E. J.

To Save Squash and Melon Seeds Pure.
— L. Ij. Langstroth v;rites the Ilural A^ew- Yorker:
The following method of obtaining pure seed,
where different kinds of melons, squashes and cu-

cumbers were raised on a small plot of ground
was practiced by me about twenty years ago :

Piise in the morning by break of day, before the
bees arc abroad. Select a number of female blos-
soms which have opened during the night. They
may be known by growing on the end of the young
squash, melon, &c., while the male blossoms ("false
blows," as they are often called,) have no fruit.
Scatter the pollen of the male blossoms upon the
stamens of the female ones, and carefully cover
the latter with millinet, or anything which will
protect them from the visits of the bees. A piece
of cotton cloth, or even a squash leaf, kept in
place by a few clods of earth, will answer a good
purpose. When the blossom withers, the cover-
ing may be removed, and the fruit marked by a
colored string tied loosely around the vine.

CDTiTIVATION' OP PEACH TREES
The general destruction of peach trees by the
unfavorable seasons of 1858-9 has discouraged
many of our people in the further cultivation of
this delicious and wholesome fruit. Is this right ?
Is it not probable, that, guided by the experience
we have gained in the past, we may continue the
cultivation with some success, — that we may get
a crop once in two or three years, at the worst,
and perhaps annually for a succession of years.
It is not likely that untoward seasons, such as
those alluded to, will become general, and if they
do not, by avoiding some of the errors which
wore quite common in cultivating the peach, we
think paying crops may still be produced in most
parts of New England. We prize the peach so
highly that we should be willing to cultivate a few
trees if we could get a crop only once in two or
three years.

There are two diflSculties in the way of our rais-
ing this delicious fruit. The first is the winter-kill-
ing of the trees, either by extreme cold, or, what is
more probable, by the sudden and extreme chang-
es that sometimes take place in our climate. This
may be prevented, as a general thing, on a few
trees, by inserting slender evergreens, pines, spru-
ces, or hemlocks, into the head of the peach tree
in the autumn, and keeping them there until the
next spring. This will so sift the wind and pro-
tect the tree as to prevent winter-killing, in many
cases.

Another preventive is to keep back the blos-
soms in the spring until all danger of frost is ov-
er. This may be eff"ected by covering the roots
with straw after the first light snow in the fall, or
in the spring, when the snow is going off". This
article being a non-conductor, will retain the frost
about the roots till such times as it may be safe
to favor blossoming. Trees also may be set on
the north side of buildings, or hills, where their
growth will be checked early in the autumn, and
where they will come out late in the spring. In
such positions, what wood grows, ripens and hard-

1860,

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

279

ens more thoroughly, and the tree has more vigor
to resist changes of temperature.

Another precaution is, not to force the growth
of the tree, either by placing it on a strong, rich
soU, or by high manuring. Let it grow sloAvly,
on a sandy loam, and annually, in the spring, head
in the ends of the branches, so as to keep the head
low and compact, with spurs growing out on the
sides of the limbs, even down to the main stem.

We hope the peach tree will be planted, a few,
at least, by those who have suitable land, all over
New England, and by observing the suggestions
we have offered, with such others as will occur to
observing persons, we may once more have good
peaches. Plant the pits and allow the trees to
stand pretty closely until they fruit, then dig out
the worthless ones, and leave the others foe bear-
ing trees. The natural tree is more hardy than
grafted or budded ones, and fruit from the former
is quite often very fine, though not equal to some
of the budded varieties.

For the New England Farmer.
SEEDING GRASS LAND.

Fkiend Brown : — I have for a long time felt
it a duty that I owe to my brother farmers to say
a word or two to them through the medium of the
Farmer on the subject of seeding down to grass.

My way of doing it has been, for the last twelve
years, to sow my seed before plowing, the first time,
I think best, but if possible, before cross plow-
ing. I generally plow deeper than my neighbors,
and bury the seed deep, but it will como up in
time ; the roots are so deep that the hot August
sun, instead of killing, strengthens, and when the
ground lays bare and exposed as it has the past
winter, and does more or less every spring, the
roots are not liable to be drawn out and killed.
I have sown on five different farms in this way,
and on every variety of soil, from fine plain to
heavy clay soil, from gravelly ledge to black muck,
and never failed of getting a fair crop of grass
when seeded in this way. When I used to bush
or roll it in, about half the time I lost my grass.
I have a piece seeded down with oats May 9th,
1859, where a large portion of the stubble is drawn
out by the roots, but I have not found any grass
roots drawn out, and where exposed to the sun it
begins to look green, though high upon the back-
bone of creation. I should like to say a Avord,
sometime, if agreeable, about curing seed, and
raising potatoes. One dollar's worth extra seed
often makes ten dollars' worth of hay.

What will cure a large blood wart on my colt ?

Nelson, N. H., Ajyril, ISGO. 0. L. Uow.

Remarks. — We hope the suggestions of friend
Dow, in regard to sowing grass seed, will be tried
by our readers, as it strikes us that they may be
valuable. We shall try his mode. Li reply to
his question about certain Hungarian cattle pas-
tured for us under his care on the New Hampshire
hills, we have to say that they did not do well ;

we never succeeded in getting a calf from the
fawn-colored Hungarian cow. The white heifers,
short horn grades, are very promising. We shall
be glad to hear from you again.

CRIBBING, OR CRIB BITING.

This article is introduced for the purpose of an-
swering the inquiry of C. D. N., of Lexington,
Mass.

"Is Cribbing a Disease?" — I answer that it
is not. It is not injurious to the horse that prac-
tices it, and the Court of Appeal have pronounced
in favor of its innocuousness, Cribbing comes
under the denomination of a bad habit or vice,
which, like other bad habits and vices, are both
inherited and acquired ; it prevails mostly among
horses of a windy or colicy predisposition. Yet
any horse with a bad example near him, in the
form of a confirmed cribber, and having but little
to do except to devour hay and grain, may finally
become a cribber ; hence horses, like men, are
not benefited by keeping bad company.

1 am willing to admit that ci'ibbers are not al-
Avays in the best condition, although some of them
have little to do and plenty to eat ; in fact, many
such animals appear lank and lean, yet it will be
noticed that they almost always have a bulky ab-
domen, which is generally occupied by gas ; this
gas is not swallowed in the act of cribbing, as
many persons suppose, but is generated within
tlie stomach and intestines, in consequence of
functional derangement of the digestive organs ;
hence, in plain language, most cribbors may be
considered as the suljjects of a most prevalent and
fashionable malady, known to prevail among the
members of the human species, called indigestion
or dyspepsia.

The following paragraph I select from Mr. Per-
cival's writings, which is more authoritative than
anything I may possibly offer.

"In general, crib-biting ought rather to be re-
garded as a vice or habit than a disease ; the lat-
ter I have never been able to regard it. Horses
that are old crib-biters present the inconvenience
of being faulty feeders, they require a great deal
to satisfy them, and those which generate air in
their stomachs are very subject to attacks of win-
dy colic."

Finally a crib-biter often grows poor, not be-
cause he is a cribber, but for the simple reason
that in his dyspeptic condition the digestive or-
gans fail to elaborate from the food the requisite
amount of chyme, chyle and blood, for the reno-
vation and groAvth of the animal fabric. — Ameri-
can Stock Journal.

Remarks. — Turn the horse out so that he can
come to the bare ground for an hour or two each
day for a few weeks, and see if he will then bite
his crib. — Ed. N. E. Farmer.

Rents and Wages in England. — During the
eighty years preceding ISoO — 51, Mr. Tucker
states, in his New Haven lectures, the rents of
2G counties had increased a Httle more than 100
per cent., while the wages of laborers had advanced
only 34 per cent.

280

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

June

For the New England Farmer.

MOWING MACHINES.

Mr. Editor: — Sometime since I noticed in
your columns, the following questions relative to
mowing machines, by Mr. Smith, of Exeter, N.
H., viz : "Is there a mowing machine that is prac-
tical for common farmers ? and if so, which is it ?
and will it work over rough land, &c.?" These
are the first questions a fiirmer naturally asks who
is contemplating the purchase of a mower, and
especially one whose means do not admit of ex-
perimenting. I think there is a mowing machine
that is practical ; one that can be managed by
one or two horses, or with oxen, to the entire sat-
isfaction of any reasonable man.

There are now some sixty houses manufactur-
ing mowing machines, each claiming superiority.
But mowing machines are not a speculation ; they
have become a reality ; and farmers are driven by
the high price of labor to test their practicability.
The^ Buckeye claims immense advantage in the
flexibility of its finger-bar, and the folding of it-
self on to the frame work, thereby making a very
portable machine ; this is certainly an excellent
quality ; and the Ketchum claims advantage in
crossing dead furrows, from the fact that their
finger-bar is abreast of the shaft of the main wheel,
and that they can attach a shorter or a longer fin-
ger-bar. The New Englander, with the conical
pivot under its knife, gives it a rocking motion,
and a shear cut. Now, to answer the question so
frequently asked, "Which is the best ?" is merely
giving ray opinion as to what would be a safe ar-
ticle for farmers to buy. Manny has undoubtedly
patented some of the best principles that have
yet been applied to mowers, and that machine
comprises all the excellences of the numerous
machines now in use. Those machines which are
characterized by the flexibility of their finger-bar,
possess, in reality, no advantage over the Manny,
for the reason that the finger-bar of the Manny
plays up and down .independently of the driving
work, while the weight rests entirely on wheels ;
with the other, thereis the inconvenience of get-
ting off and on, to fold up and turn down the fin-
ger-bar ; and when down, there is a length of from
four to six feet, of steel, wood or iron, with a
weight of some hundred pounds or more, without
any wheel to support the outer end, and no frame
work back to protect it from whatever obstacles
it may chance to encounter, while the power is
applied above the axle of the driving wheel, mak-
ing a complete grap])le of the finger-bar.

But the Manny differs from other machines in
having the power attached and applied directly to
the finger-bar, and with the power so applied, all
weight is removed from the finger-bar, the draft
being up and over a castor wheel, which always
finds its place like a castor wheel on a table leg,
and when the machine meets an obstruction, its
tendency is to rise. It has power in itself to start
in the grass without backing — it can be guaged
to cut from one to ten inches, by a lever placed
at the right hand of the driver, which he can in-
stantly use to raise the knife to pass over any ob-
struction that may be in the way.

I think the lever will throw this machine over a
stone fifteen inches high; it can therefore be
worked on any land that is hard enough for horses
to travel 'on, and sufficiently smooth to swing a

scythe over, hill-sides presenting no difficulty ; it
will not upset.

Another grand feature of the Manny is its reel,
which I contend no machine should operate with-
out, from the fact that when the wind is blowing
heavily in the direction the machine is moving,
the grass lodges ahead of the knife, and is con-
tinually working dovvn between them, and is cut
so fine, that much of it is wasted, and it also re-
quires three times the power to drive the macnine,
but just apply the reel, and this trouble is instant-
ly removed.

I have seen many machines fail to work well
with oxen, because the speed was not great
enough to let the grass fall back of the finger-bar,
but this machine I have seen, and known to work
well with oxen.

In regard to the portability of the Manny, the
driver may get on to the seat at the house, and if
his field is ton miles distant, I see no inconve-
nience in driving there ; then without getting off
to turn down or attach the finger-bar, he drops
the lever, throws the machine into gear, which is
done w'ith perfect ease, and starts into the grass.
The reaper attachment, which perhaps requires
five minutes to apply, is a perfect thing, laying
the grain in gavels all ready for binding. I was
induced to try a mowing machine the past season
on the Essex County Agricultural Farm, and
having travelled much in the West, and seen many
diff"erent patterns of mowing and reaping ma-
chines, I was convinced that the Manny patent
had as few objections as any I had seen operate.
I selected the one-horse mower, and have tested
it thoroughly, and have repeatedly witnessed the
ojieration of the two-horse machine. They both
give entire satisfaction, and I should use them in
preference to any I have seen, but I would earnest-
ly recommend to farmers the buying of a mowing
machine of some kind. Natiian W. Brown.
Topsjidd, April 2, 1860.

For the Netv England Farmer.
AN EARLY HARDY GRAPE.

Mr. Editor : — I have several times, within a
year or two, seen inquiries for some early variety
of grape that will ripen well in Vermont and New
Hampshire, and for the information of such, I
would say that there is a grape that originated at
Hanover, N. H., that ripens in that vicinity in
September. I know that it was dead ripe the first
week in October. The grape is small; bunch very
compact, and hangs on the vine well. The quali-
ity of the fruit is equal to the Isabella, and it is of
that kind of grape. I have never fruited it my-
self, as my vine set fruit last year, but was frozen
and killed in June, and did not make much wood.
I have raised but few vines frT)m it, and have not
more than eight or ten small ones.

Joseph Pi'xeo, of Hanover, Avould probably
give any information about it, and may have the
vines for sale, as I had my vine from him. I think
the original vine was taken from under a Catawba
vine in the gardens of Prof. Haddock ; and sup-
posed to be of that variety at that time.

Felhajn, N. II., 1860. B. F. Cutter.

Old men's lives are lengthened shadows ; the
evening sun falls coldly on the earth, but the
shadows all point to the morning.

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

281

BRADLEY'S BEVOLVHyTQ HOBSE KAKE.

No rake, Tve believe, has yet been constructed
that rakes so clean, and that resists Avear and tear
so Avell, including rocks, stumps and ditches, as
the spring tooth. It is rare that one of the teeth
breaks, or that it gets out of order in any way.
But as it has been constructed, it is a severe labor
for both man and horse to work it. In leaving
the winrow, the whole weight of the rake must be
lifted high enough to drop the hay, and even this
at the great disadvantage of doing it at arms'
length ! There is nothing attached to them to keep
the teeth up from the ground, so that the opera-
tion is almost as much that of harrowing as of
raking.

The rake represented above is calculated to
obviate some of these difficulties. It has what are
termed "Iron Runners," or foot pieces, upon
which the rake rests, and which are so an-anged
as to keep the teeth at a proper distance from the
ground, which must materially lessen the draft,
and prevent the raking in of dirt, old fog, or after-
grass. Instead of lifting it up, as in the old one,
when the hay is to be discharged, by lightly push-
ing a small lever, the rake instantly leaves its
load and, revolving upon its iron runners, comes
into place again. It will be seen by the engraving
that any smart boy large enough to ride and guide
a horse, can do the raking — for all that is I'equired
is to pull upon a string leading to the lever al-
ready mentioned, when the rake leaves its load
and revolves into place.

We have tried the rake by spreading out hay
for the purpose, and feel willing to say that it is
undoubtedly a great improvement over the old

spring tooth, and may prove better than any other
rake Ave have used. It will be harder to operate
than the Delano, but not half as likely to get out
of order. Persons interested may learn more in
relation to it by referring to our advertising col--
umns.

TO RAISE PUMPKINS.

I Wish to know, through the Farmer, the best'
way to raise pumpkins, whether to plant among
corn or not. A Young Farmer.

It is a common and successful practice, among
all Yankee farmers, to plant pumpkin seed among
their corn and potatoes at the first hoeing. Some
plant at the same time as the corn. This course,
when the soil is rich and mellow gives a tolerable
crop of pumpkins, without any considerable addi-
tion of labor, but we do not consider it as profit-
able as to devote a piece of land exclusively to
pumpkins. One kind of crop at a time, thor-
oughly worked, we have found, as a general thing,
to prove most profitable.

Pumpkins, planted in hills, three seeds in a
hill, and hills eight feet apart each way, the vines
stopped in by pinching ofl" the end when they have
grown six or eight feet, will give an immense
yield, and of a quality superior to those grown
among corn. The soil should be loamy, rich, or
with plenty of well-rotted manure, thoroughly
mixed in the Avhole field, and the hills should be
as nearly level with the surface of the land as pos-
sible.— Ohio Farmer.

It is easier to increase our wants, be it ever so
much, than to reduce them, be it ever so little.

Out of good men choose acquaintances j out
of acquamtances, friends.

282

NEW ENGLAND FAR:MER.

June

FLAX AND CRAJSTBERBIES.

Culture of Flax— Terra Culture — Cranberry Meadow— Chinese
Sugar Cane — Mangold Wurtzel.

Our correspondent from Orleans county, Ver-
mont, asks us the following questions, to which
we respond with pleasure.

Can flax be made a profitable crop as far north as
fortv-five degrees ? What is the best time for sow-
ing "the seed? What soil is best for its groAvth ?
The best manner of preparing the ground ? Other
directions for gathering and whippmg the seed, and
preparing the straw for mill, &c.

Flax. — The general neglect to cultivate flax in
New England, would seem to be pretty good evi-
dence that other crops are more profitable. This
crop can be grown, however, in perfection, we
think, in any of the New England States. It re-
quires a strong granite or clay loam, Avhich should
be prepared as for corn, though we have never
known flax put upon sward land. On drained
land, the roots of this plant will strike very deep,
so as to withstand pretty severe drought. Sow as
soon after the first of May as the ground is warm
and in proper condition. The old mode of gath-
ering was by pulling it by hand — a process which
most farmers very much dislike. It is left upon
the ground until wilted a little, and then tied in
small bundles, and stocked in the field. If the
weather is favorable, it will be fit to take to the
barn in a few days. After remaining in an airy
position there for some weeks, the seed is easily
thrashed or beaten from the bolls, and then it is
taken to a mowing field, and spread thinly upon
the grass to go through a rotting process ; this
requires from ten to twenty-five days, depending
much upon the state of the weather. When it
has remained so long as to render the pulp, or
stem part weak and brittle, it is gathered into
large bundles, and stored in the barn. In the sun-
ny days of the last of February and during March,
the barn floors of New England were once the
scenes of a busy activity in preparing flax for the
distaff". It is first passed through the "brake," an
instrument having four or five long wooden jaws
below, and another set above. The flax is placed
on the lower set, and the upper ones brought down
upon it, breaking the stem into pieces, which fall
out, leaving the long fibre in the hand. When
this is done, it is passed to the "swingling board,"
and struck with a long wooden knife very smooth-
ly polished. The "swingler" occasionally passes
it through a "hatchel," which is a group of long,
sharply-pointed iron pins ; this straightens the
fibre, and at the same time takes away some of
the fine pieces of the broken stem. In this man-
ner the fibre is reduced to a glossy, delicate ap-
pearance, has a very soft and silky touch, and is
now ready for the wheel.

A newjn-ocess has been discovered of "rotting"
or "bleaching" flax, so that it is accomplished at a

cheap rate in a few hours, and the fibre made
ready to be mixed with wool or cotton, and spun
very much as cotton is. It is quite probable that
this discovery may introduce the culture of flax
among us again.

Can you inform me any thing about "Terra Cul-
tiu'c", which I have noticed is advocated as a pre-
vention of the "potato rot," and largely increasing
the product of potatoes and other roots ?

Terra Culture. — This term has been in use for
several years in connection with a system of a
Mr. Russell Comstock, of Western New York.
His theory seems to be, that the part in any plant
just at the junction of the root and trunk or stalli,
is the seat of life ; hence, setting a plant too
deep or shallow, affects the seat of life, and the
plant or tree dies, or is injured. To this theory,
he has undoubtedly attached many valuable and
well-known facts in cultivation. We know little
of it, but do not observe that his theory has met
with much favor, though this point does not prob-
ably embrace it all.

Is there any cheap and convenient method of Ky-
anizing cedar stakes, hard wood or tamarack bean
poles, &c.?

Kyanizing Wood. — Take three parts of chlo-
ride of zinc to half a barrel, or about sixteen gal-
lons, of water. Set the poles upright in this li-
quid, and they will be ready for use in about a
week. We learn that stakes prepared in this man-
ner have been used seven or eight summers, and
still remain sound.

What would be the best way of preparing a
swamp for eranbcrrj' culture, where the muck is 10
to 20 feet deep, and tamaracks 20 to 30 feet liigh are
scattered sparsely over the surface ? The meadow
could be flowed at some expense in digging away
the muck at the outlet and tilling up with stones
and earth so as to make a tight dam. The meadow
contains 30 or 40 acres. The muck is not fully de-
composed, being of a light color Avhen first dug up.

Preparing a Swamp for Cranberry Culture. —
In a work of this kind, circumstances will vary so
much that we can do little more than give some
brief suggestions. If the meadow is partially cov-
ered with bushes and trees — and you can aff"ord
to wait — all the vegetation may be killed by keep-
ing the land continually flowed for two or three
years. If you do not like to wait, cut down the
tamaracks and bushes, gru^ up the hassocks,
making the meadow as level as you can, burn the
rubbish, and scatter the ashes over the whole sur-
face. If you do not find sand within a foot of the
surface, haul on some from a neighboring bank
and spread it, no matter if an inch in depth. Then
open places, and set the cranberry plants, within
eight inches of each other. If they are not set
closely so as to take possession of the gi-ound,
the grass will do so ; the contest between them
will not be a long one ; the grass will be sure to

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

283

beat, and your labor will be lost. Do not attempt
to cover too much ground, but finish thoroughly
as far as you undertake.

The meadow should not be drained so as to
take the water off more than 15 to 18 inches be-
low the surface, and if you can control the water
so as to flow at pleasure, do so. But you must
observe the effect of the water upon the growth
of the plants. If you find them more thrifty on
spots a little elevated in various parts of the
meadow, it will be good evidence that the water
should stand at a lower level all over the meadow,
[f, on the contrary, they flourish best in low pla-
ces, then raise the water a little. By attending to
these suggestions, and such others as your own
observation will bring up, a?id keeping a clean
culture among the plants, you will probably find
a handsome profit in the cranberry crop.

Would it be profitable to raise Sugar Cane as a
feed for cattle, sheep, &c., where I should have to
buy seed every year ? Where, and at what price
can seed be obtained ?

Chinese Sugar Cane. — We do not think the
Chinese Sugar Cane plant, as feed for cattle, equal
to southern corn. Seed at Nourse & Co.% 34
Merchants' Row, at eight cents a pound.

"\\Tiere, and at what price can "mangold wurtzel"
seed be obtained ? What soil is best, and manner
of manuring and preparing, &c. ?

Mangold Wurtzel. — Seed as above, at 50 cents
a pound. Put them on good corn land. Make a
wide furrow, manure liberally in it, cover with
earth, and sow the seed about half an inch deep.

For the New England Farmer.
VERMONT FARMING— A SUGGESTION.

Farmers here, what there is left of them, are
cultivating skim-milk farms, and if they go on in
this course, many years longer, they will all have
to leave for the West, and let Nature take her
course.

Let me suggest to you one experiment. I have
bought one of these skim-milk farms. What is
the use of two hands working on this land that
produces only 500 lbs. of hay to the acre, and
when cultivated, crops in proportion ? The land
is naturally good, and produced large crops for a
great many years after it Avas first opened. Hay
here is worth $18 to $20 per ton. I have 30 to
40 acres of good warm loam land, free of stone,
that does not produce over seven tons of hay, and
other crops in proportion. 30 acres of this land
ought to produce 50 tons of hay, and the other 10,
100 bushels corn, 500 do. potatoes, 100 do. wheat
and barley, 200 do. oats, besides carrots and tur-
nips. How is this to be done ? Shall I operate
as Nature does, and be 30 years about it ? The
means of making manure on such a farm are small.
With such crops my plan is for you or some of
your good Boston friends to send me some of the
best fertilizers you have ; guano, bone dust, lime
and plaster, refuse salt, &c. ; say $100 worth, and

some of your best varieties of potatoes, corn,
wheat, oats, carrot and turnip seed ; and as a re-
turn for it, I will plant for you one acre of pota-
toes, and manure according to your direction, and
barrel up all fit for the market, and forward them
to J our order, for which you will allow me all you
can afford to, after deducting expenses, and con-
tinue to do so every year until the debt is ])aid.
ThisM'ill enable me to farm it with some profit, as
after one or two years, I could bring up the rear
with good solid barn-yard and cellar manures, and
the laud would need no more, or other stimulus.

The soil here is warm hill land ; natural growth,
pine, hemlock, beach, birch, rock maple and oak;
abuiidance of springs and brooks of pure water ;
some clay in the soil ; guano is said to do well.

If you want any other security than my word,
you can have it. n. W.

Boyalston, April, 18G0.

Remarks. — Here is a chance for a change of
commodities, and a profit. Who among our en-
terprising produce dealers will improve it?

For the New England Farmer.
CARROTS, PARSNIPS AND CABBAGES,
Grown without the use of Hand Tools.

Some months since I promised to give you the
result of my experiments in growing roots Avith
the aid of horse tools alone in their cultivation,
but have been prevented from doing so until the
present time, having harvested the parsnips last
week.

The ground upon which the experiment was
tried, was a heavy clay loam, in very low tilth,
too low, in fact, to produce more than one ton of
hay per acre. The method of cultivation was as
follows :

The ground was plowed fourteen inches deep
and harrowed sufficiently to level down the ridges,
the manure was then spread and cultivated in :
after properly fitting the seed, it was sown by r.
machine in drills twenty inches apart ; they were
then left until the roots Avere four to six inche';
in length, when the Mapes subsoil plow was run
between the rows twelve inches deep ; this plow,
or lifter, raises the whole ground, and leaves it
light, friable, and as porous as though it had been
passed through a sieve ; all weeds in the line of
the row that were above the tops of the crop were
then ])ulled up by taking hold of their tops, as
the subsoil plow left the ground so Avell disinteg-
rated that they offered but little resistance ; the
Knox horse-hoe, or carrot-weeder, Avas then run
betAveen the roAvs ; this is a light implement,
easily thrown from side to side, and can be run
safely and accurately Avithin an inch of the roAvs,
and does its Avork so Avell that the hand hoe may
be entirely dispensed Avith. When the roots are
but eight inches long, the subsoil ploAV should be
run through again tAvelve inches deep, and if the
Aveeds are troublesome, run the horse hoe again,
as the cost is but light, and it improves the me-
chanical condition of the soil very materially ; in
harvesting the crop, the subsoil plow is run close
to the rows, Avhich assists very much in the pull-
ing.

My ])roduct Avas at the rate of 960 bushels per

284

KEW ENGLAND FARMER.

JrxE

acre of carrots, 720 bushels of parsnips, the latter
being sowed the second time, owing to poor seed.

Here, Mr. Editor, is a method for cultivating
these crops, which, I think, should commend it-
self to the farmer ; it is simple ; it avoids all that
back-breaking and finger-benumbing process
which has been the great bugbear in the way of
these crops heretofore ; it allows of a large yield
with a small amount of manure, as land in a high
mechanical condition, with little manure, will pro-
duce larger crops than it can with a large quantity
of manure in a low mechanical condition ; by it a
crop may be cultivated from one-third to one-half
the cost ^at it can be by the old method, and it is
not open to the very common objection which fol-
lows many of our improvements, viz., the great
cost of the implements, as the whole set are fur-
nished by Nourse, Mason & Co. for something
like $25, a sum which may be saved yearly, if
used in the cultivation of one-half acre.

Although I consider the mowing machine very
valuable as a labor-saving implement, still it ap-
pears to me that this gang cultivator for the get-
ting in of manure, the one horse subsoil plow for
disintegrating and pulverizing the soil, together
with the horse lioe as a weeding machine, consti-
tute a set of implements of far greater value and
importance ; with them we may make the carrot
and parsnip Avhat the turnip and mangold have
been to England, "the basis of all good husban-
dry ;" and without them, or their equivalent, the
root crop can be of little value to us, as the high
cost of our hand labor does not admit of their be-
ing grown at saving prices. C. H. Waters.

Oroton, Jjjril 20, 1860.

For the Neic Ens^lancl Farmer.
FERTILIZERS.

As there seems to be a great rage for concen-
trated manures and fertilizers at the present time,
I thought I would mention another kind which I
think is as good as any, and is also handy and
convenient to almost every one. The kind to which
I refer is wheat bran. Perhaps it is used more
extensively than I am aware of, but I have never
road of it in any of the agricultural papers. I
think it is well worth a trial, and every one should
know of it. I have tried it only for corn, and
think it is not well adapted for jjotatoes. But it
may be good for some ether crops. It requires
only a small handful to each hill.

My method is to mark out the rows, and then
drop the requisite quantity in each hill, and after,
as yoii go along to drop the corn, kick a little dirt
on, enough to keep the corn from coming in con-
tact with the bran, as it is believed that the fer-
mentation is injurious to the early stages of veg-
etation.

Those that try it, please note the result, and re-
port. J. s. s.

Vermont, April 12, 1860.

To Prevent Dogs from going Mad. — Mix a

small portion of the flour of sulphur with their
food or drink, through the spring months. This
is practiced in Europe to prevent the disease from
breaking out among the packs of hounds which
belong to the English noblemen, and is said to
be a certain preventive.

For the New England Farmer.
POTATO ROT AND BLIGHT.
Mr. Editor : — In yom- paper of March 3d, Mr.
Goldsbury, of Warwick, asks "What is the cause
of the Potato Rot," saying, "It is believed the real
cause of the rot still remains unknown and unde-
cided." "That insects are not the caiise, but he re-
gards them the consequence of disease." Must we
believe these unqualified words without substantial
authority attached ? They are vague generalities
without evidence. ]Mr. Goldsbury also advances
seven reasons against insect dcjiredations and in-
jury to the plant and potato. They contain more
of theoretical hypothesis than results of actual re-
search and examination, microscopically and oth-
erwise. He does not know positively, whether
there were insects or not on th? roots of the potato
plants in Warwick. It is a fact that larca insects
do attack the potato plant at the ruots. Their
eggs are also found in the undecayed potatoes.
These eggs are planted with the seed, and finally,
the insects subsist, suctorially, upon the plant.
The following certificates establish these facts :

[* Copy.]
Certificate of the Committee an AgricuUitre of the House of liep-
resentatiret, tmil other members t/ tke House.

We have recently witnessed the Jlicroscopic exhibition of the
Hon. Lyman Reed, of Baltimore, relative to his discovery of the
potato disease, by wliich it would aiii:;<;ar the vital parts of the
roots of the vines are attacked by insects. A personal exami-
nation of tubers planted this year, and of those unplanted, re-
veals visible pvtncturos in the skin where the egj:s appear to be
deposited and hibernated. So far as we can judge, we believe
from these punctures in the seed come insects to draw their ear-
ly sustenance from the lower vital joint of the vine, which thus
poisoned and enfeebled, prematurely decays — transmitting to
the young tubers disease whic'i finally reaches the heart of the
full grown tuber. Wc feel convinced that a new and important
discovery has been made, and, if, as Mr. Reed asserts, he has
also found an infallible remedy, the discovery is invaluable,
and ought in some way to be made availalile to the country.

Signed,
Rich'd Mott, Ohio.
J. S. Morrill, Vt.
J. L. Gillis, Pa.
John Iluyler, N. J.
J. B. Foley, Ind.
Guy M. Bvran, Texas.
W. 11. Kelsey, X. Y.
L. W. Hall, Ohio.
Of the House Committee on
Agricultm-e.

[Copy.] TO WHOM IT MAT COHCERJT.

Be it Icnojrn, That I have this day made an esamination of
the specimens of potatoes submitted to me by the Hon. Lymaa
Reed, with the Spencer microscope belonging to the Smithsoni-
an Institute, and that i have plainly seen on the epidermis and
on the sprouts, numerous small insects, and have also seen their
egg's in cavities of the e^iiderrais. L. F. Fodrtales.

Washington, D. C, June 19th, 1858.

Washlsoton, Mat 31, l?a3.
I. Washbum, Jr., Maine.
C. B. Cochrane, N. Y.
F. H. Morse, Maine. '

C. B. Hoard, N. Y.
E. P. Walton, Vt. ■

Schuyler Colfax, lad. ,
P. Bliss, Ohio.
Chas. J. Gilman, Maine. '
N. B. Durfee. K. I.

[*Copy.] TO WHOM IT MAT C0SCEE5.

Be it Itioirn, That I, Charles L. Flint, of the city of Boston,
county cf Suffolk, State of Massachusetts, hereby certify that a
bottle marked "Specimen No. 9, Nov. 7, Lyman Heed," con-
taining one potato, forwarded by Lyman Reed from Baltimore,
Nov. 7, 1857, was received by me as Secretary of tlie Massachu-
setts Board of Agriculture shortly »fter the above date, and
since its receipt the bottle and tuber therein Lave been kept in
the room of the Board of Agriculture in the State House. I
have recently witnessed a microscopic examination of the tuber
contained in said bottle and saw minute insects upon the same.

In witness whereof, I have this 26tli dny of June, eighteen
hundred and £fty-(_ight, subscribed my name.

[Signed,] Cuaries L. Flint,

See'y Massachusetts Board of Agriculture.
f*Orisinal in U. S. Patent Office.]

]Mr. Goldsbury, though sceptical, cannot by hy-
pothetical theories and arguments refute ocular
facts. Seventeen members of Congress have care-
fully investigated, with microscopes and other-
wise, and "believe the lower joint of the vine
poisoned by insects, and thus the tubes are dis-

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

285

eased." The Smithsonian Institute and Secretary
Flint, by microscopic examination, have seen the
insects. The U. S. Patent Office, l)y long and rig-
id microscopic and other examinations, acknowl-
edge the fact ; and Judges, composing the "Board
of Appeals," confirm all by their Report to Com-
missioner of Patents. This I consider a conclu-
sive answer to Mr. Goldsbury's seven reasons. I
must respectfully question Mr. Goldsbury's asser-
tion that "Insects are the consequence of the dis-
ease." I ask him to cite the authority to estab-
lish the fact. I maintain that the question as to
the predisposing cause of the blight and rot is not
"unknown." Mr. Goldsbury frankly admits his
ignorance touching "microscopic" researches, not
having "glasses to look through." Which au-
thority will be the most reliable for farmers, Mr.
Goldsbury's individual opinion, without "looking
through the microscopic glasses," or the opinion
of seventeen National Representatives ? They
devoted a day in the Agricultural Committee-
Room of the Capitol to examination. They had
numerous specimens fresh from the Held, also
epecimens in glass jars and boxes, with micro-
scopes to place before them ocular facts. They
finally declare that there has been revealed to
them "A new and important discovery."

Lyman Reed.
Baltimore, Md., April 14, 1860.

For the New England Farmer.
LIQUID MANURES.
BY JUDGE FRENCH.

A large proportion of the grain and flesh pro-
duced in any country is consumed in cities and
towns, and is lost in the sea and rivers, never re-
turning to enrich the soil. Baron Liebig, the great
German chemist, is raising his warning voice
against this enormous waste of substances which
ought to be re-applied to the farm. A scheme is
now in progress for collecting the drainage of the
city of London, containing more than two mil-
lions of people, which is now poured into the
Thames, and conveying it back to fertilize the
land. This has brought out in English papers
many facts of interest to us all, as to the value of
the sewage of towns, and of liquid manures in
general.

The experience of Mr. Mechi, of Tiptree Hall,
England, is familiar to many of our readers. His
farm of one hundred and seventy acres is all un-
derlaid with iron pipes, and all the manure is ap-
plied to it by means of a steam-engine, which
forces it in liquid form over the surface. To ren-
der the manure liquid, it is conveyed into a res-
ervoir into which a stream of water flows, and is
etirred constantly by a current of air forced in at
the bottom-
In this country, we occasionally see arrange-
ments, on a limited scale, for applying liquid ma-
nures to the soil. We read, also, of some experi-
ments in irrigation, which give results very satis-
factory.

We regard all these eflforts with interest, but
are inclined to think a careful investigation ne-
cessary before concluding as to what we can afford
to expend in either operation. In a former paper,
we undertook to show that Mr. Mechi's high farm-
ing, with our higher prices of labor and lower
prices of products, would be ruinous to any far-
mer in America. We do not say that in market
gardens and the like, as much capital may not be
profitably worked in this country, but we do say,
that American prices substituted for English pri-
ces in ^Ir. IMochi's farm accounts, would change
his large balance of profits to a large balance of
loss.

The Craigentinny Meadows, watered by the
sewage-fluid of the city of Edinburgh, furnish the
most noted instance of the effect of liquid manur-
ing. The stories of the grass product of those
lands are so large that a modest man hardly dares
state the whole truth with regard to them in a
public assembly.

We have, however, from reliable sources, the
fact that those meadows produce from seventy to
eighty tons of green grass per acre, annually,
which sells at from one hundred twenty-five to
one hundred seventy-five dollars. This statement
is valuable as showing the possible products of
grass land, without regard to expense. If, how-
ever, we look at the estimates of the quantity and
value of this manure, we shall see that even these
famous meadows, in an agricultural aspect, do not
pay. The quantity of sewage-liquid applied, per
acre, annually, is estimated at nearly ten thousand
tons, which does not seem absolutely incredible,
when we learn that it is applied at eighteen differ-
ent times, being 500 tons at each application.
This would be equivalent to covering the surface,
at each irrigation, Avith about five inches in depth
of the liquid. It is, of course, gradually applied,
only so fast as the soil can absorb it.

It is not unusual in New England, that we have
a fall of two or three or more inches of rain in
twenty-four hours, which is readily absorbed by
our fields. The estimated value of the Edinburgh
sewage-fluid, as compared by chemical analysis
with other manures, is shout four cents per ton,
and the annual application of 10,000 tons is worth
about $400 per acre, or more than twice the value
of the crop !

What the cost of thus applying it may be, we
have no means of estimating. The main object
in the arrangement in the sewers of cities, is, of
course, to dispose of the surplus filth and water,
so as not to injure health and comfort. The use
of it for agriculture is a secondary object, and is
not, therefore, to be charged with the cost. When,
hoAvever, we design to convert all our liquid into
manures, as Mr. Meclii and others do, merely by
way of economical farming, the question is quite

286

ISTW ENGLAND FARINIER.

JUXE

different. In a very able article by Cuthbert AV.
Johnson, he says that about the quantity used at
Edinburgh, 10,000 tons to the acre, is "required"
for eighteen irrigations.

We are told, that the sewage of London con-
tains about 1400 pounds of water to one pound of
the solid excrements of the inhabitants ! If this
bo so, we should get in each ton of 2240 lbs., a
* little more than one and a half pounds of the con-
centrated solid manure, a somewhat homoeopathic
dose.

In all the experiments with liquid manures on
green crops, we have seen no fair comparison of
their effects with those of pure water, and it is
difficult to estimate in these investigations with
sewage and other liquids, how much is due to the
water, and how much to the matters held in solu-
tion. We give the above facts and suggestions
to attract a more careful attention to the subject.

' For the New England Farmer.

THE SEASONS OF 1859— LATE
FROSTS, &c.

The year of 1859 was one of extremes. The
winter of 1858-9 was an open one ; but little snow
fell in this region. The mean of the 1st month
v.- as 23.88°. The 2d month was mild, and not so
\ liable as the preceding; mean temperature
L .32°. The 3d month was unusally mild and pleas-
o:.:, the temperature being 6° above the mean of
the corresponding month for the last 18 years, at
Toronto, in latitude 43° 39' north.

Plowing was commenced as early as the 12th,
on sandy land, yet the roads were, in many places,
almost impassable, in consequence of mud. The
various spring birds, except swallows, appeared
during the second week.

The 4th month was cool and wet, the mean
temperature, 40.55°, Avas but 4^° above that of the
preceding month. The frosty nights did great
damage to clover, and winter wheat was badly
damaged. The 5th month was warm and dry. A
fine rain the 9th, changed the face of nature sud-
denly. The "old dame" immediately donned her
vernal robes, and looked as gay as ever. Previ-
ous to this time, the forests and orchards had
scarcely changed their color, yet as early as the
15th, apple trees began to show their blossoms,
and they were in full bloom the 24th and 25th.
The 23d and the 31st were cool ; mercury fell to
36° each morning.

In the morning of the 23d, the frost played
some queer antics. Corn, beans and vines, in my
garden, were up, and looked finely. I took the
precaution to cover the vines. The corn was not
badly injured. In some hills, a blade was killed to
the ground, and in some others, one or two were
partly killed, Avhile the remainder of the hill was
untouched. So with beans ; some hills were en-
tirely killed, and those next to them on all sides
were not injured. The leaves on one side of a hill
were, in some cases, nipped, and one stalk was
sometimes killed, while the rest of the hill was
intact. Similar freaks were witnessed in other
localities. Now, what was the cause ? Had the

plants on any considerable spot been entirely
killed, or all touched alike, we might reasonably
suppose some peculiarity of soil to exist — some
clement which had the power of absorbing and re-
taining a greater amount of heat in one spot than
in another ; but such a theory will not hold good
in instances like the foregoing. There is a great
deal of mystery in the operations of nature, yet
careful observation Avill make many things plain
that are now wrapped in obscurity. I may here
say that the soil in this vicinity is genei-ally a clay
loam, based upon limestone, the clay predominat-
ing, and often mixed with limestone gravel.

Late frosts occasionally visit all parts of the
country, doing more or less damage to vegetation,
but seldom has the "Ice King" more nearly de-
feated the hopes of the husbandman, as in the
last year. The 5th of the 6th month, a general
frost visited Canada and the northern part of the
United States. In some locations, crops were se-
verely injured, yet the damage proves to be much
less than it was thought to be at the time. In
many places the mercury fell to 30°. At this
place it fell to 32°. Of course, tender vegetation
was destroyed. In some situations, corn was en-
tirely killed, but generally the leaves only were
killed, and the stalk continued to grow without
material loss. Another frost nearly as heavy oc-
cm-red in the morning of the 12th. Mercury again
fell to 32° at this place, but, fortunately, less dam-
age was done, though the prospect for a cro]) of
corn, beans and potatoes was rather gloomy. The
weather became wai'm, however, soon after this,
and vegetation was very rapid.

The 4 th of the 7th month, the temperature
again fell to 41°, and frost was reported in some
localities. After the Ith, hot weather prevailed.
From the 4th to the 13th, no rain fell ; the sur-
face of the ground became very dry, and vegeta-
tion began to suffer for want of water. A fine
shower fell the 15th, and it continued showery
several days. Crops of all kinds, except grass,
suddenly revived, and an abundant harvest was,
in due time, gathered.

At noon the 12th, the mercm-y rose to 90° in
the shade at 1, P. M., the 17th, to 91°, and in
the P. M. of the 31st, to 81°. Mean temperature
ofthe month 69.51°.

Fair weather prevailed dui'ing the 8th month,
which was very favorable for harvesting grain,
lai"ge quantities of which were secured. But little
rain fell, and late crops suffered somewhat from
drought. The mean temperature of tlio month
was 68.80°.

In the 9th month, cloudy weather prevailed,
though but little rain fell. Springs were very low,
and many wells fiiiled to supply water, some of
which had not been dry in tw^iity years. In the
morning of the 15th, the mercury fell to 29°, and
frost was heavy enough to kill corn, and all ten-
der vegetables. It will bo seen that corn had but
three months and three days to grow, yet the crop
was pretty good, and on some farms, very fine.
This is an instance of the great rapidity with
which crops grow in cool seasons.

From the 19th to the 28tb, inclusive, cloudy,
with very damp, sultry atmosphere. Mean tem-
perature of the month, 56.92°,

In the 10th month, only five days were mostly
clear, yet but very little rain fell. Hard frosts oc-
curred several nights. Ground froze hard in the

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FAE:MER.

287

morning of the 20th ; and the 26th, the tempera-
ture fell to 18°. Mean temperature of the month,
43.01°.

The 11th month was variable; dry weather
continued until the 9th. Total depth of rain at
this place, 2.82 inches. IMcan temperature 38°,
six degrees above that of the corresponding month
of 1858. The 30th was very fine, and farmers
were busy plowing.

The i2th month was remarkably cold. The 1st
was warm and rainy — colder and snow the 2d, af-
ter 5 A. M., and the 3d was extremely cold ; 2°
below zero at 9 o'clock A. ISL, having fallen 54°
in 36 hours. In the morning of the 29th, it fell
to 13° below zero. Mean temperature of the
month 17.93°. Depth of rain, 1.7 inches.

The maximum height of the mercury in the
3'ear in the shade, was 91°, and the minimum was
26° below zero, showius: a range for the year of
of 117°.

I have now given the most prominent features
of the weather during the year, at this place,
which is nearly in latitude 4-1° north. The ex-
tremes of temperature are sometimes farther
apart, yet the climate is considered healthy, the
labors of the husbandman are generally croMiied
with abundant harvests. This was particularly
the case last year, with the exception of the hay
crop, which was uncommonly light, nearly all the
clover having been killed in the winter. The large
crop of straw compensates in a measure for the
deficiency- L. Vabxey.

Bloomjield, C. W., I860-

BXTBACTS AKTD REPLIES.
SEEDISTG TO GEASS.

I have eight acres of land which I wish to seed
to grass as soon as practicable ; it was broken up
in September, 1858, and manured broadcast with
some six cords per acre, cross plowed and plant-
ed with corn in 1859. Is it best to sow grass
seed with spring grain or seed down after taking
off the crop in the fall ?

Which is the best grain, oats or barley to sow
seed with, and bow many bushels of these seeds
should be sown per acre .''

A Constant Re.\der.

West Boxhury, April, 1860.

Remarks. — You can plant with corn, cultivate
flat, that is, make no hills, and after topping the
corn in August, sow grass seed, and rake it in.
The corn shades and protects the young grass, so
that this is a good deal less labor than any other
mode. Of course, you will not allow any weeds
to grow among the corn.

Barley is better to seed down with than oats, if
the land is a warm and gravelly loam. But if a
heavy black loam, barley is not suitable. One and
a half bushels is all we use per acre, for seed.
Most persons use three bushels of oats, per acre ;
we use two and a half. The poorer the land, the
more seed is required,

NORFOLK COUNTY TRANSACTIONS.

By the kindness of the chairman of the supervi-
sory committee of Norfolk County, I have been

favored with a copy of the "Norfolk Transac-
tions" for 1859. I have glanced over and through
many of its pages with much interest. Very few,
if any, of our State Societies render a better ac-
count of their stewardship. While favored with
such a President, and such a Secretary, nothing
less should be expected.

I have always looked to Norfolk for a model of
good works. Essex.

A2)ra, 1860. _

SCRATCHES AND WORMS IN HORSES.

In a recent number of the Farmer, "M. Var-
num," of Candia, wishes to know what will kill
worms in horses. I reply, if your horse has Avorms,
give in doses of one pint at a time, linseed oil
once a day, for three days, and a perfect cure is
warranted.

Much has been said about scratches ; my horse
has bad them badly. I have tried various things,
but found no permanent cure, until I pounded
glass to a fine powder, and mixed it with sperm
oil. By a few applications they were cured.

Candia, March 12. A Subscriber.

TIGHT BARNS AND SICK CATTLE.

The remarks of Mr. Adams, in your paper of
this morning, on the structure and use of barns for
cattle at the present time, are decidedly to the
point. More is to be learned from a detail of
such practical observations, than from an exami-
nation of all the carcasses of all (he animals ever
slaughtered. What if there be found liquid mat-
ter in and about the lungs of the animal, hoM' do
farmers know that such matter ought not to be
there ? Or how do they know the cause of its be-
ing there ? p.

April 2d,, 1860. _

CORN beer.

Will some of your correspondents inform mo
how to make good corn beer ? Hay Time.

St. Johnsbury, Vt., 1860.

A BIG TURNIP.

Last year I raised an English flat turnip that
weighed 15 lbs. and thirteen ounces.

David G. Green.

For the New En'^land Farmer.

HOMCEOPATHIC TREATMEITT OF DYS-
ENTERY IlSr COWS.

_ Mr. Editor : — A few days ago I had a cow
sick, a decided case of dysentery. Her alvine
evacuations were thin, slimy, streaked with blood,
and very offensive to delicate noses. I gave her
in the morning three doses of aconite, at intervals
of a half hour between doses ; one drop of the
mother-tincture, diluted in a teaspoonful of water,
for each dose. This was followed by two doses of
arsenic, same quantity and same interval between
doses. Result — in twelve hours the evacuations
were greatly improved ; the next morning, tM-en-
ty-four hours from the commencement of the
treatment, the cow was perfectly well. During
the treatment she was fed lightlj' with hay, and in
the afternoon a quart of oil-meal in a half pailful
of water. MiNOT Pratt.

Concord, May 10, 1860,

288

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

June

STKIPED PORTER.

The beautiful portrait which we present the
reader above, illustrates a new apple to which our
attention was called last autumn by our friend
and neighbor, W. W. Wheildon, Esq., of Con-
cord. The description below is also from his pen.

This large and beautiful apple is at once de-
scribed by the apt comparison of it with the Ppr-
ter and the Gravenstein ; it is almost precisely like
the best specimens of the first, in shape, and in
marking like the last. Its general form is round-
ish oblong, but the side of it which is lightest, in
color is a little contracted, by slight depressions
in the ridges surrounding both the stem and the
blossom. Transversely, it only approximates to a
circle, being almost distinctly seven squared, ta-
jjering like the Porter, at the lower end. In color
it is a rich yellow, with red stripes extending
over the ridge from the stem, but running down
its sides in slashes rather than extended lines.
The stem is slender, less than an inch in length,
set in a deep, greenish russet cavity. The
calyx is set in a saucer-shaped cavity of medium
depth, surrounded with fleshy wrinkles. In addi-
tion to the stripes and slashes of irregular width
and depth of coloring, it is covered all over with
fine red and russet specks, of the size of a pin
point, ancL showing most distinctly on the yellow
ground, but observable on the red also. It is

subject to dark brown spots like warts. The meat
is white, crisp and juicy, something like the Ilub-
bardston, but without its peculiar flavor, and hav-
ing a flavor akin to the two apples it is said above
particularly to resemble. The specimen here de-
scribed, is probably one of the best to be found in
a barrel, and is to be regarded as the type of the
fruit in its most perfect growth. It varies consid-
erably in size.

Value of a Load of Hay. — I send you a
method by which, with but little time and trouble,
any one can tell what 'their load of hay or straw
amounts to, by simply taking the weight multi-
plied by half the price per ton — for example, say
3,300 lbs. hay at $18 per tont-3,300 lbs. muHi-
plied by half of 18, which is 9, gives the amount
— so too with fractions. You may know this, but
I can find any amount of men that never heard
of it. — F. RuFFNER, in Country Gentleman.

Dairy — Temperature of. — When the tem-
perature of the dairy is less than fifty degrees
Fahrenheit, the milk Avill not ripen for churning,
and in such case should be remoA-ed for a time to
a temperature of fifty-five degrees. The sudden
warming of the milk will not always enable it to
yield up its butter readily. — Working Fminer.

18G0.

XEW ENGLAND FARMER.

289

SPRING KAIN.

The lark sits high on the walnut tree,

And it rains, it rains, it rains ;
A jolly philosopher sure is he.

While it rains, it rains, it rains ;
Blithely he looks at the meaflow below,
Where the nest will bo when the grass-blades grow,
And pour out his song in a liquid flow,

While it rains, it rains, it rains.

The crocuses put up their little heads,

While it rains, it rains, it rains ;
And the pink spires spring from their chilly beds,

While it rains, it rains, it rains ; .
The peach blossoms whisper within their cells,
"We will open our eyes and peep from our bells,

While it rains, it rains, it rains."

All natnre seems happy as happy can be,

While it rains, it rains, it rains ;
But restless mortals, like you and me,

While it rains, it rains, it rains.
Look out of the windows in discontent,
And wonder why showers tu-day are sent.
Our plans and pleasures to so prevent —

Why it rains, it rains, it rains !

The lark knows well that God knows best
The need of the spring-time rains —

That the summer sunshine will warm his nest.
After the spring-time rains ;

The grass in the meadow more greenly grow.

And the corn-blades wave in the valley below,
After these spring-time rains.

Let us, like him, look cheerily on.

While it rains, it rains, it rains;
Waiting with faith till the storm is gone.

While it rains, it rains, it rains ;
We know that above the cloud 'tis bright.
And the heavens are shining in beauty bright.

While it rains, it rains, it rains. Ohio Farmer.

THE CATTLE DISEASE.

North Broolsfield, May 9, 1860.

Gentlemen : — In obedience to a call from the
State Board of Agriculture, I turned out this
morning at three o'clock, and in company with
Dr. Joseph Reynolds, as a delegate from the
Middlesex County Society, came to this place to
examine some of the sick cattle, both dead and
alive, and to inquire into the present condition of
matters in regard to the disease, and the efforts
already made, as well as those in contemplation,
to stay its further progress.

In order to meet the six o'clock train from Bos-
ton, at Framingham, we came across the country
fifteen miles by horse power, and in season to get
breakfast before the train came along. Arriving
at East Brookfield, we took stage, six miles, to
North Brookfield, over one of the finest roads I
ever saw. At the latter place I found gentlemen
from various sections of the State, ready to pro-
ceed to an examination, and we were conducted
about three miles, to the farm of Mr. B. W. Dean,
whose herd consisted of twenty-eight head, every
animal of which was pronounced to be infected.
Two weeks ago, this herd was examined by the
Commissioners, and by skilful medical men who

had given special attention to the symptoms and
character of the disease, and it was then thought
to be free from it.

After inquiring of Mr. Commissioner Walkeb
what the leading indications of the disease were,
I examined the herd, and felt quite confident that
I could select every case where it had made some
progress by the appeai-ance of the eye alone,
without reference to percussion, or rapidity of
breathing.

I found Dr. Dadd, of Boston, acting with the
Commissioners, aided by Dr. Tyler, of North
Brookfield. A cow was driven from the barn, led
alongside a deep pit, dispatched, and examined.
One lung was found enlarged to double its healthy
size, and both had the plainest evidence of dis-
ease. A heifer, and then an ox were killed and
examined, and in each, the evidence of deeply-
seated disease was unmistakable. The Commis-
sioners and visitors then proceeded to other herds
that had been condemned, to witness their de-
struction, and to exhibit the disease in its more
advanced stages. But further details on this point
are unnecessary.

It is hardly possible that the calves sold by Mr.
Chenery could have gone into hands better cal-
culated to spread the disease indefinitely than
into those of Mr. Stoddard, as he not only deals
in cattle largely, but has teams continually on the
road. In removing a building, twenty-three yoke
of oxen were used, one yoke of which was dis-
eased, and infected every other ox in the string,
and those communicated it to thirteen other herds.
While teaming on the road, a pan- of Mr. Stod-
dard's oxen were put up two or three times in the
barn of Mr. A. B. Woodis, and his whole herd
has been swept away. A Mr. Gilbert had a heifer
of Mr. Stoddard, last September, which has quite
recently proved a decided case.

The disease presents some singular aspects. In
one animal the lungs are greatly enlarged ; in
another assuming the appearance of liver, or high-
ly discolored, or hardened so as to be nearly sol-
id. In one, a tumor was found weighing more than
twenty pounds ! In some instances the Commis-
sioners have allowed persons to keep their oxen
a week or two, in order to help them out with their
spring work. Some of these cattle gained appe-
tite and flesh, but upon opening them, presented
tumors on the lungs as large as cocoa-nuts ! Up
to this time 574 animals have been condemned,
and about 400 killed. All trading in cattle has
ceased — on many farms no herds graze on the hills,
or low in the stalls, and the farmers stand aghast
at the spectacle and the prospect. Their farm
work is behind, because they have not yet had
time to provide themselves with horses ; the ma-
nure heaps are not accumulating to stimulate fu-
ture crops ; the dairy room will be desolate, and

290

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

June

many families must go half a mile, at least, for
the milk for their coffee and tea ! The scene is
truly a sad one. Fifty head have died of the dis-
ease, beside what have been destroyed by order.
With the exception of a single case in New Brain-
tree, the Commissioners think the disease is con-
fined within the limits of North Brookficld. But
as Mr. C. Stoddard, 2d, sold a portion of his stock
by auction, last November, it may break out from
those at some new point.

The appropriation by the Legislature was only
$10,000 ; the Commissioners have already ex-
pended $20,000, and the work is not completed.
What is to be done ? It must be this. The peo-
ple all over the State must subscribe a guarantee
fund, and this must be done so generally that if
the Legislature refuses to cancel the debt — which
it will not refuse to do — the assessment will fall
upon so many as not to become a burden. With-
out such a fund, the Commissioners will not feel
justified in going much further, and thus all that
has been done will' be lost. We suggest, also, to
the several county societies to pledge their boun-
ty to the cause for one jear, and to omit the show
of neat stock in the next autumnal exhibitions.
Decided and substantial measures must be at once
adopted, or a calamity will befall the Common-
wealth such as it has never yet experienced.

I should be glad to make some further sugges-
tions were not my letter already long, and my
lieart pained with the sad details of the day. If
any entertain doubts or lack sympathy for those
suffering, let them witness the scenes we have
seen to-day and they will no longer be indifferent
or doubting. The Commissioners have gained a
high reputation for the energy and fairness they
have exhibited. Truly yours,

Simon Brown.

Mesarg. Nodese, Eaton & Tolmaji.

For the New Ensland Farmer.
THE CULTURE OF FLAX.

I noticed in the Farmer of Feb. 11th, remarks
of S. M- Allen, at a meeting of the Legislative
Agi'icultural Society. I am interested in those
discussions. The soil best adapted for the growth
of flax is a clay loam. I should prefer clear clay,
or marl, to a sandy soil, or a mucky, light, po-
rous soul, as on the latter it will neither give a
profitable return in seed or lint. Jonah's gourd
was destroyed by a worm, so also is many a piece
of flax ; also by violent hail storm. To insure
against grubs, cut and wire worms, sow on an
area ot KiO rods of ground, 160 quarts coarse
salt, which materially assists the growing crop as
regards both seeding and lint.

I admit it is a more sure crop, on the right soil,
than wheat, or oats ; nevertheless, I have some-
times had a failure, when it was nearly Avorthiess,
for the seed, or lint, but in that case not a dead
loss, as it then answers a valuable purpose for

feeding stock, and making manure. I think it
easier of decomposition than hay or straw, being
highly charged with potash, as is evinced by the
marked effect it has when spread on grass land, the
first shower discoloring the golden hue of the flax
fibre, but imparting a most brilliant green tint to
the aftermath of grass where it is spread. In
short, the various uses to which it can be put are a
high recommendation in its favor ; viz. : as sup-
])lying linseed oil, oil meal for stock, superior for
fattening qualities to corn meal, also an excellent
article as manure ; the lint, if it cannot be cot-
tonizcd, is wanted for cordage, shoe thread, and
various other uses. A volume might be written
in favor of flax culture. For seeding for the lint,
or fil)re, two bushels of seed per acre, but for the
seed only, one and a half bushels seed per acre
is suffici'.'nt. Elisil\ Fuller.

Middlehury, YL, 1860.

For the Neip England Farmer.
THE CUBCULIO.

Mr. Editor : — You will gratify at least one of
your readers by publishing before the curculio
season the following report of the remarks of Dr.
Fitch, on this insect ; being part of his third New
Haven Lecture.

In the spring of 1850, 1 planted an orchard of
some 125 apple trees, which I have watched pret-
ty closely, as it is my agricultural pet. The com-
mon caterpillar, the ordinary borer, bark lice, &c.,
troublesome as they are, I have kept in check
with comparative ease. But for the curculio I
am no match. As the coon said to Davy Crock-
ett, so must I say to this contemptible insect, "If
that is you, I'll come right down." Morning af-
ter morning I have spread the sheets, caught and
killed the bugs by hundreds, gathered and burned
the fruit as it fell, and yet at the close of the cur-
culio season scarcely an unmarked specimen was
to be found cither on the ground or on the trees,
while the surface of many of the young apples
that still clung to the branches were literally cov-
ered Avith the hacks.

In this my bootless contest with a visible and
palpable enemy, that I have seen destroying my
fruit, I have been provoked and surprised to hear
people account for the late repeated failure of the
apple crop by talking about "unfavorable weather
in the spring," "a thunder shower when apples
were in bloom," or some other fashionable and
time-honored excuse.

In the discussion last winter on small fruits by
our Legislative Agricultural Society, over which
your honor, Mr. Editor, presided, and at which I
took much pains to be present, the name of my
friend, the curculio, was not even mentioned.
And yet even the choice and polished specimens
of fruits displayed on the tables of the Massachu-
setts Horticultural Society have often borne evi-
dence on their cheeks of the unsuccessful hacks
of the curculio.

In the published Transactions of the Ohio Po-
mological Society, I find that the subject of the
curculio was forced upon the consideration of the
members of this body at their late session at Co-
lumbus, by the direct queries of N. Longworth,
which elicited "much general conversation," says
the report, (p. 25,) but "no one present teas of the

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

291

opinion that the cnrculio ever committed any rav-
ages vpon the apple."

Most of my own neighbors ai"e equally oblivious
to its ravages — although I find their fruit as bad-
ly stung as my own, and many have told me they
have never seen the insect, and think me a little
radical in my belief that thj curculio, for the last
several years, has been the cause of the short crops
of apples in New England.

In the remarks of Dr. Fitch I find two reasons
for hope ; first, that an able entomologist has de-
clared the curculio to bo "the most injurious in-
sect in our country," and, secondly, that he has
discovered a parasite that may check its multipli-
cation. S. Fletcher.

Windiester, 1860.

"I think the curculio, or plum-weevil, the most
injurious insect in our country. The wheat midge
may now produce a gr( ater loss, but I think its
career is well nigh ended. The curculio is a na-
tive insect of our country. It was at first noticed
as destroying the nectarines about Philadelphia,
about one hundred years ago, since which it has
multiplied, and attacked our apples, plums, cher-
ries and other fruits. From the remedies con-
stantly being published in the papers, we might
suppose its entire history was known ; but, to
this day, we do not surely know where and how
it lives during three-fourths of the year. It makes
its appearance on the young fruit, when about
half grown, and, cutting a crescent-shaped gash, it
deposits a single egg, and only a single one, in
each plum. This hatches into a small, white
worm, which feeds upon the juices of the fruit till
it is destroyed, and falls to the ground. It then
goes into the ground, undergoes its changes, and
in about six weeks comes out again as a beetle.
The time when it first makes its appearance varies
from the first of April to the middle of IMay, when
it may be found on our apple, cherry, plum,
butternut, and other trees. Quite late in the fall,
we find them in abundance on the golden rod.
When the fruit is large enough, they attack it,
and, being decided epicures, select the largest and
best specimens. No matter how full a plum tree
may be, it will be sure to find every one of them.
I think the less productiveness of our apple orch-
ards, now than formerly, due to this insect. About
the first of July, inspect the fallen fruit from an
apple and plum tree, and you will find both to
have perished from the curculio worm. As before
remarked, the larva goes into the ground about
the first of July, and in a few weeks comes out as
a beetle. The question here arises, "Where and
upon what do they now feed, as there is no young
fruit ? The fact that they come in the spring,
weeks before the fruit on which they feed is fit
for them ; and the fact that they are as abundant
after the fruit is gone as before, is good evidence
that they breed in other places and feed on other
food. The fact is now well estabhshed that they
breed in those excrescences known as the black
knot, on the plum and cherry tree, just as well as
in the fruit of these trees. Fifty years ago, Mel-
sheimar stated that they breed in the bark of the
peach. Four years ago, I found larva? in the bark
of the pear, which I have reason to suppose, were
of the curculio. These insects are so abundant
and large on the bark of the butternut, as to show
that this tree is a favorite abode for them. Now,

as no frviit is found on this tree, like the plum or
apple, is it not probable that their eggs are laid
in the bark, and that here the larva? feed, and pass
the winter ? In my opinion, there are three gen-
erations of these pests in a single year^ two of
which live in the bark of trees, and when the fruit
is of proper age, one generation of larvee feed
upon it.

Until within a few months, no parasite had
been discovered of the curculio, but last summer,
D. W. Beadle sent me some specimens of insects,
which I have found to be a parasite to it, and I
have called it CurcuUo Parasite. It lays its eggs
in the larva, and one insect will destroy one hun-
dred of them. It is greatly to be hoped they will
multiply and spread, wherever this pest is found.

For the New England Farmer.
CALCULATIOlSrS ABOUT CABBAGES.

Mr. Editor: — During the past year I observed
that there was considerable said on the subject of
cabbages, and no little relative to that peculiarity
of the roots which has various names, and Avhich
we will now call club-root. IIow many causes there
may be, either of which Avill produce this condi-
tion of a cabbage crop, I know not. But I will men-
tion one, which is, I think, so certain, that every
one Avho would raise a good cabbage should be
aware of it. This is an excessive supply of am-
monia in the soil. The free use of night soil,
hog manure, where the liquid mixes Avith the sol-
id, Peruvian guano, Sec, alt of which contain a
large supply of ammonia, is mischievous.

I visited a tov.-n in this State, some years since,
to deliver an agricultural loctiu-e, when the sub-
ject of cabbages came up. A gentleman stated
his entire want of success with cabbages in his
garden, because of club-roots. After hearing his
statements, I ventured the presumption that his
garden received a plentiful wash from a hog-pen.
lis exclaimed, "IIow could you know anything
about that ?" It was the fact, and he admitted it.
A gentleman that I became acquainted with about
a year shice, told me that he raised a splendid
crop of cabbages in 1858, where he dressed the
ground with hog manure, and that he should try
it again in 1859. I was satisfied, by inquiring,
that the manure had been so washed before use,
that its ammonia was mostly gone. I watched
last year to behold the result. It was just as I
expected, about a failure. I was talking with an
intelligent farmer, in the summer of 1836, and
ho said he expected a great crop of cabbages, for
he had dressed the ground with night soil. I pre-
dicted failure. It was so. I heard a very suc-
ces,sful farmer state in a public meeting that he
had freely used Peruvian guano, on every kind
of crop, with success. I asked him, "Have you
applied guano freely to cabbages, without their
being club-rooted?" He answered, I had for-
gotten. My cabbages were club-rooted, where I
made a free use of it. A little proved beneficial."

I might mention other facts, of a sim.ilar char-
acter ; and some which seem to indicate that an
excess of carbonic acid in the soil will have the
same eff'ect as an excess of ammonia. I set, one
summer, twenty-five plants of Gloljo Savoy, on
a square rod, the surface of Avhich, for a foot
deep, was made by the thrown up substance

292

NEAV ENGLAND FARMER.

June

of a white hard pan. I put about half a gill of
superphosphate of lime to each plant, watered a
few times with soapsuds, and no other manure.
I bad the largest Savoy cabbages that I ever saw.

In 18-53, I planted a piece of ground with po-
tatoes, to prepare for cabbages the next year.
The ground was dressed that year with lime, ash-
es and salt. The next year it was dressed about
as follows, per acre : tweWe loads, or four cords
of stable manure, and fifteen bushels of salt, spread
broadcast, with eight barrels of ashes. To each
]jlant was applied about one-fourth of a gill of
Mapcs's superphosphate of lime. The crop was
enough to fully satisfy me. Comings.

Xe€, N. H., 1860.

THE CATTIiB DISEASE.
Action of tlie Sta.te Board of Agriculture.
A special meeting of the State Board of Agri-
culture was held at the State House Tuesday, May
15th, to consider the subject of the pleuro-pneu-
monia, and to devise some mode of action with
reference to the matter. Members were present
from every section of the State. Col. Wilder
was requested to preside, and on taking the chair
announced the business to be in relation to the
cattle disease, which is assuming an alarming in-
terest. The first vote passed was to dispense
with the proposed State Exhibition at Springfield
in September next. Dr. LoEiNG, one of the Com-
missioners, made a statement in regard to the op-
erations of the Coramissiou, and presented the
following memorial to the Board :

MEMORIAL OP THE COMMISSIONERS.
To the MassaeJittgetts Board of Agriculture :

The Commissioners appointed under the act of the Legislature
of Massachusetts to extirpate the disease called Pleuro- Pneumo-
nia, now existing in certain towns in the Commonwealth, have
toecn for several weeks endeavoring to accomplish the work as-
signed them. The difficulties- under which they labored in the
outset were very great. The disease had existed for many months
in the locality to which it had been transplanted. By sales and
exchangeof animals, it had been scattered abroad throughout
a section of country whose chief business is agriculture, and
where the isolation of many of the farms rendered it difficult to
trace iL The delay incident to legislation, had complicated
and extended the trouble. An entire insufficiency of funds ap-
propriated for the purpose check the work of extermination,
and thf unexpected extent of territory xvhich contained the in-
fection, and through which the Commissioners have been obliged
to feel their way, rendered their task perplexing and burden-
some to the highest tlegree. They found, moreover, that beyond
a narrow circuit where the disease had done its work of actual
destruction, the public mind was not aroused to a sense of the
danger. Tlie farmers ivho were more remote from the early
scene of the catastrophe were reposing in confidence, and were
even congratulating themselves upon their safety, while they
were daily inviting the incendiary to their own homesteads. —
Nothing but a series of facts, established with great labor and
delay by the Commissioners, aroused them to a full sense of
their danger. And it was not until the certainty of the infec-
tion was demonstrated beyond a doubt that they remembered
how carelessly they liad purchased animals from t)ie original
seat of the disease, or had worked their teams inconnection with
those belonging to a distempered herd, or had fed their cattle in
infected stables, or Iiad paused by the roadside to discuss with a
neighbor the condition of some sickly creature which was then
breathing death into the nostrils of its dumb companions.

The difficultieswhich existed in the outset have not dimin-
ished, as the work has gone on, and its extent has opened.
Where there was at first apathy, there is now alarm. The calls
to investigate districts where the slightest suspicion rests, are
incessant. Discoveries of recent exposure are numerous ; and
already the Commissioners fear that, in spite of their untiring
efforts to pursue every animal that can possibly have carried
the disease with him, and to extirpate every vestige of his path,
some may have escaped them, and have carried the disease be-
yond their reach. In addition to this, herds that have been

confined through the winter are now roaming over the pastures,
and unless the infection is checked at once, no man can tell the
devastation which must attend its course as it goes on from one
enclosure to another, -eluding the strictest vigilance and defying
the most careful investigation.

In spite of all obstacles, the Commissioners have not hesitated
to go to the fullest extent of their powers in the discharge of
their duty. They have placed an injunction one very suspected
herd. They have destroyed all that gave the slightest appear-
ance of disease, from the poor man's single cow, to the large
and choice collections of the most extensive farmers. They
have explored every spot which has been brought to their notice
as having been in any way exposed, and have endeavored to as-
certain the limits beyond which it seems impossible that the dis-
ease can have j^rogressed.

The central point of the infected district, it is well known, is
North Brookfitld, the farm of Leonard Stoddard, into which the
disease was thoughtlessly and innocently introduced, and from
which it has been carelessly allowed to go out. Around this spot
the destruction is complete ; but few animals, indeed, being left
in the unfortunate to«-n. The disease has been discoverc<l in
the north, in those parts of New Braintree, Oakham and Rut-
land lying contiguous to North Brookfield; on the east, in
Spencer; on the south, in Brookfield and Sturbridge ; and on
the west, In West Brookfield, Ware and Warren. It is believed
that the precise course and extent of the disease have been ex-
plored in each of these towns.

The number of persons whose cattle have been condemned or
destroyed, is 75. The number of animals already marked or
killed, is 7.50.

The Commissioners wish they could assure the Board of Agri-
culture and the community that their work will end here. But
they cannot. The fire that is wasting prairie and forest mayai>-
pareutly be (luenched for a time ; and it is only when, on the
distant horizon, its terrific work is painted, and heaven and
earth seems all ablaze, that the insidious and appalling power
of the elusive element comes home to the heart of its pursuers.

This is not the time nor the place to enter into an investiga-
tion of the history and character of the disease — that, it is hoped,
may be done hereafter. But it is important that the public
should know and appreciate the full extent of the contagion.
That the disease is peculiar to itself there can be no doubt what-
ever. The name, Pleuro-Pneumonia, which has been applied
to it, and which in its ordinary acceptation signifies inflamma-
tion occupying the pleura and lung at the same time, does not
by any means indicate its true character. The inflammatory
stage of the disease is hardly perceptible. But throughout the
substance of the lungs, and in the membrane covering them and
lining the cavity of the chest, there seems to have been diffused
a morbific poison, under the influence of which the vitality of
the parts is threatened with speedy destruction. The contagion
is inevitable. Wherever an animal has been exposed, in that
animal the disease is sure to be found. Every creature that
wentout from Leonard Stoddard's herd carried the malady with
him, and imparted it wherever he went. In no case has an an-
imal been examined on account of its history, that the disease
has not been found in a greater or less degree. In whatever
herd the disease exists, the animal that carried it there can be
pointed out, and hisexjiosure traced back to that wretched calf
that went from Belmont to North Brookfield. The disease is
not epidemic. It is not found except as the result of contagion.
It has broken out in no spot without a known and well-authen-
ticated cause. But it passes from animal to animal in its deadly
career, marking every victim that comes within its fatal grasp
as surely as the water of Tofana or the poison of Brinvilliers,

To keep the p'.ague within its present limits, and to draw a
cordon arour^l [he inftcted district, is now the great object of
the Commissioners — a work which the nature of the disease ren-
ders practicable, and which nothing but public apathy and in-
action will prevent. They have only to ask that public senti-
ment will sustain them in staying the ravages of an enemy
which, once allowed to roam unrebuked, would strike a destruc-
tive blow at the great industry of our country — that industry
upon which wo all depend, and whose security from panic and
crisis is exemplified by the everlasting hills upon which it rests.
Standing upon the high lands of the diseased region, the behold-
er can cast his eye over miles of beautiful swelling pastures, the
richest, by far, in our State, where roam thousands of cattle,
the solid wealth and active force in the agriculture of an indus-
trious people. The destroyer has laid his hand upon the very
heart of his victim. In no section of ou(»State could the conse-
quences of his reign be so disastrous as in that which he now
threatens ; and in none is the opportunity for his progress so
great. Tlie soil sickens at the thought of his escape ; for should
his sway become supreme, and North and South, East and West,
mountain and prairie and savannah, hill and valley, own his
sceptre, who can tell the consequences.' To say that millions
would be lost in a business whose profits are counted by units,
to say that fear and despair would take the place of hope and
security, is to tell but half the story. For into our very homes,
with the nourishment upon which our lives depend, we should
daily bring the seeds of disease and decay. Let those who would
charge tlie Commissioners with recklessness of animal life, I'e-
member this, and know that when the task of extermination is
abandoned in despair, if abandoned it is, a rich and prosperous
country is delivered over to a blight and a curse ; to the "pes-
tilence which walketh in darkness, and to the destruction which
wasteth at noonday."

That this is no exaggerated picture, let the present condition

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

293

of the towns and farms already visited by the disease bear wit-
ness. Stripped of the vital force which gave existence to their
agriculture, they present the sad and mournful picture which
nature always spreads over the deserted haunts of men. Farm-
ing without cattle — a ship without sails, a mill without machin-
ery, a city without inhabitants, the world without man. Of
those held in suspense, too, the condition is scarcely less wretch-
ed, with the prospect before them of a constant struggle against
disease, in whtch the expense and risk of cattle husbandry are
increased a hundred fold, and the present safety and vigor of
healih are exchanged for an enfeebled condition.

In discharging their duty, the Commissioners desire the aid
and counsel of all those interested in agriculture. With a very
few exceptions, they have foun<l the farmers immediately affect-
ed by the disease, prompt to act in its suppression, and ready
to impart any information necessary to a thorough accomjilish-
ment of the work. The advice and sympathy of many of the
agricultural societies have been given through their agents, who
have visited the spot. Liberal contributions have been made
to a guaranty fund, to provide against any delinquency, which
it seems impossible should occur in the action of any future Leg-
islature toward compensating the sufferers from this terrible ca-
lamity.

It seems proper that, in addition to this, the State Board of
Agriculture should make such recommendations as may prevent
the progress of the disease, and should sustain the Commission-
ers by all means in their power. It is highly important that
suggestions should ))e made to the several societies, with regard
to suspending their exhibitions of cattle the coming autumn ;
and that an effort should be made to induce each society to re-
linquish its annual appropriation from the State, for the pur-
pose of rendering the financial burden as light as possible.

It is for these and other reasons that the Commissioners have
called the attention of the Board to the subject, with the assur-
ance that their call will not be in vain, and with the belief that
no subject has been brought before them more important in all
its bearings, or more entitled to prompt and energetic action.
Paoli Latdrop, ^
Amasa Walker, > Commissioners.
Geo. B. Loring, )

North Brookfield, May 15, 1860.

Mr. Peters, from the Worcester Society, stated
that persons remote from the infected districts do
not appreciate the nature of the disease, and men-
tioned several cases where the contagion was con-
veyed as far back as December 19. He urged
immediate and prompt steps ; thought Congress
should be memorialized, and that members of the
Board ought to go and see cases of the disease.

Dr. J. C. Bartlett, from the North Middle-
sex Society, said he had not got a clear idea of
the nature of the disease from what had been said.
If it were contagious, he desired to know why
Mr. Chenery's stock had not spread the disease
around it ?

Dr. Loring replied that the traces of the dis-
ease were as clear as fresh tracks upon the snow,
and that the reason why the disease had not
spread around Mr. Chenery's stock was, that he
had kept it entirely secluded, so that no opportu-
nity had been afforded for extending it.

Prof. Clark, from the Hampshire Society, stat-
ed that he had visited North Brookfield, and was
satisfied that the danger is imminent. He of-
fered the following resolutions :

Hesolred, That a Committee of three be appointed from this
Board to advise with the Commissioners for the extirpation of
the disease called Pleuro-Pneumonia, and to devise with them
the most active and efficiert mode of carrying out the object of
the Commission, and that they make a full report of their do-
ings to the Board.

Fesolved, That the various agricultural societies be request-
ed to suspend their annual exhibitions of neat cattle the com-
ing autumn.

lic'solved, That every effort be made to increase the guaran-
tee fund now being secured for the support of the action of the
Commissioners; and that each member of the Board be ap-
pointed a committee for his society to (select agents to) secure
subscriptions to the guaranty fund from every town in the State.

These resolutions were adopted, after some dis-

cussion, the third being amended by authorizing
the members of the Board to call public meetings
and meetings of their respective Agricultural So-
cieties, as well as to appoint agents to collect
subscriptions, and also to take such other meas-
ures as they may deem proper.

Mr. Smith, from the Highland Society, spoke
of his visit to the infected district, and of his ef-
forts in various towns to awaken the people to a
proper appreciation of the impending calamity.

Mr. Sewall, of the Norfolk Society, stated
what he had seen and heard at North Brookfield,
and suggested that a public meeting be held in
Boston to aid in securing a large guarantee fund.

Mr. Davis, President of the Plymouth Society,
inquired whether the Commissioners themselves
entertained hope that the disease could be averted,
and the reply by one of them was, that under en-
ergetic measures it could be.

Mr. Freeman Walker, of North Brookfield,
who has given the subject much investigation,
stated that the exposure of herds had been very
general in all the region of that town, and that
sales, exchanges and business transactions had
brought a large portion of the stocli into circum-
stances of decided exposure. He, therefore,
thought the views of the Commissioners almost
too hopeful. The disease is known to exist in
fifteen or twenty towns, mostly in Worcester
county, and he is of opinion that a guarantee
fund of $150,000 or $200,000 will be necessary
to meet the cost.

In reply to Mr. Walker, Dr. Loring ex-
pressed his belief that present energetic measures
would result in arresting the disease. He said
the farmers had acted nobly in the matter — that
they had come forward and proposed to take a
fair proportion of the risk, and only ask the
State to share with them the losses they incur.
A long discussion ensued in relation to the nature
of the disease, and of the best means of extirpat-
ing it, and upon the resolutions offered by Prof.
Clark.

In a later stage of the discussion, Mr. Felton,
from the Worcester South Society, stated that on
last Friday, May 11, 7iota case of the disease was
known to exist in the tOAvn of Brookfield, but that
to-day, May 15, it is probable that a liundred
cases exist there !

The committee elected to visit North Brook-
field consists of Prof, W. S. Clark, of Amherst,
John Brooks, of Princeton, and Charles C.
Sewall, of Medfield.

Prof. Clark oflTered the following preamble and

resolutions :

JFJiereas, The disease called pleuro-pneumonia, now raging
in Worcester County, is unquestionably contagious and gener-
ally fatal ; and only the most energetic and thorough action can
contine it to its present limits, and prevent it from becoming a
National calamity ; and

294

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

June

JFliereas, During the past year this disease has spread from
the licrd of Winthrop W. Chencry, of Belmont, an importer of
cattle from Holland, where it is prevalent to such an extent that
several hundred animals are known to have contracted it ; and
the only means of preventing its ravacjes is the slaughter of an-
imals which are either diseased or have been exposed to the in-
fection :

Resulred, That this Board communicate at once to the proper
authorities at Washington a statement of the facts elicited by
the inquiries and examinations of the State Commissioners up-
on the Cattle Disease, together with a petition that some suita-
ble action be forthwith taken by the General Government to aid
in the suppression of this alarming evil, and that an effort be
made to secure the passage of a law by Congress, as soon as
possible, to cause that nil cattle arriving in United States ports
be inspected by an officer appointed for the purpose, before such
cattle are allowed to be landed, and that all cattle from districts
where pleuro-pneumonia is known to exist, be subjected to quar-
antine.

The above were unanimously adopted, and the
Secretary was instructed to forward the action of
the Board to Rithai'd S, Fay, a member now in
Washington.

After the passage of a resolution of respect for
the memory of the late Hon. Benj. V. French, the
Board adjourned.

From what has been said to-day by persons
from the infected localities, it is quite evident
that many new cases have appeared, and that the
calamity is being extended over still wider terri-
tory.

We have reports of the appearance of the dis-
ease in various new sections. It is said that one
case occurred in Sandwich — an animal that was
bought at Brighton, for beef, being found to be
badly affected.

iofr the Neic England Farmer.

poke: ahd beef scraps as manure.

By pork and beef scraps, I mean the refuse of
the manufacturers of lard and tallow, consisting
of pressed masses of animal fibrine, commonly
known as "cheeses." The value of these scraps
as food for hogs and poultry is well known to
most farmers ; those who have used them for
these ])urposes will tell you that no food will pay
so well for equal outlay. The secret of their use
is the secret of the success of many poulterers
who supply the city market with early chickens.
The scraps are prepared for use by first pulveriz-
ing them to the requisite degree of fineness, by
breaking or grintling, and then softening them in
water by simply soaking, or by boiling with corn,
meal, beans or other food. Have any of our
friends accurately tested their value as a manure?
Peruvian guano is now bringing over sixty dollars
by the ton, and but few of our artificial fertilizers
are afforded at less than forty dollars, while beef
scraps can be procured at from thirty to thirty-
five dollars, and pork, which, for manure pur-
poses, I am inclined to believe is inferior to beef,
at forty dollars. If these scraps are chemically
examined — for all manures now pass through the
laboratory of the chemist on their way to the far-
mer— we find nothing in their composition that
forbids their economical use as a manure at the
above rates. Being a mass of fibrine, gelatine
and animal oils, they must be exceedingly rich in
nitrogen, that sine qua non of invaluable man-
ures, and contain, in a highly concentrated form,
the various elements necessary for vegetable
growth.

Last spring I procured a small quantity of
these scraps with reference to experimenting on
them. I selected squashes as the crop, but ow-
ing to the effects of a pretty liberal use of fish
manure, scattered broadcast and harrowed in, the
expeiiment resulted in nothing satisfactory.
About sixty hills were selected and manured with
equal values of various kinds of manure, but
though the hills were 8 by 14, yet such was the
stimulating effects of ^the fish manure, that the
vines formed so impenetrable a net-work, as to
set at defiance all attempts to determine the dif-
ferences of the yield. As far as an appreciation
towards the result could be made, the hills ma-
nured with tlie scraps appeared to give results at
the least equal to those from the hills treated with
various other manures, such as guano, hen man-
ure, stable manure, superphosphate, unleached
ashes, &c. Will any of our brother farmers take
up this matter, and favor the community with the
results of accurate experiments ? If such a re-
source can be made economically available, we
shall all be gainers by the knov/ledge of it. I
procured my scraps of Mr. Oscar Foote, North
iSIarket Street, Boston, and prepared them by
first pulverizing, and then soaking them in water
until putrefaction began. I would advise adding
a very large quantity of water after putrefaction
has somewhat advanced, about a proportion of
ten to one, and then after a thorough stirring
pouring into muck or some compost. A cob mill
would be excellent for pulverizing the scraps, and
from their concentrated nature, I infer that they
Vt'ould require to be made very fine to prevent in-
jury to the vegetable rootlet.

Ja:mes J. H. Gregory.

Marblehead, Mass., 1860.

Tan Bark for Potatoes. — This subject is
brought before the farmers of England, by a com-
munication in the Mark Lane Express. Mr. R.
B. Bamford claims thirty-five years' experience
in this matter ; and has issued a pamphlet giv-
ing his method of using it, v,hich is briefly stated
in the following : Ho does not cut his potatoes
for setting, but sets them whole, and the largest
he can select. The rows are thirty inches apart,
and the potatoes are put nine inches from each
other in the row. The land is plowed only eight
inches deep, treads the manure firmly in the fur-
rows, puts in the tubers, and covers them in with
tan refuse, nine inches deep, instead of earthing
up. In this way he reports that in 1857 he raised
675 bushels of potatoes — not a rotten one among
them — to the acre, with nothing but Avaste tan
as a covering. This is of great importance, the
tan refuse being of little or no value, and if it
be put to so important and advantageous a use as
in this case, it should be widely known and prac-
ticed.

The Tea Plant. — The progress of the exper-
iment in acclimatizing the tea plant, so far as
heard from, is favorable, and there is reason to
believe that it can be grown in the open air, south
of the northern line of North Carolina and Ten-
nessee. Eighteen thousand plants have been sent
into this southern region, and eight thousand more
have been distributed to persons in the northern
States owning green-housCs, as obiects of curiosity.

1860.

KEW ENGLAND FARMER.

295

WILL THE COAL BEDS LAST?

A ■svritei' in the New York Commercial Adver-
tiser, a few days since, after presenting some rath-
er startling statistics in regard to the rapid in-
crease in the consumption of coal, Avent on to
draw a lugubrious picture of the results that
would ensue if the supply of coal should become
exhausted. Steamships would be seen rotting in
their docks, the busy hum of manufactories would
cease, grass would grow over railway tracks, and
the world generally \vould go back to the "slow-
coach" system of a hundred years ago. He seemed
to have overlooked the great fact that human in-
vention keeps pace with human necessities, and
if the supply of coal should happen ever to give
out, its place in the economy of the world would
doubtless be supplied by some new and equally
efficient agent. The article seems to have had
the effect, however, of causing an investigation
into the actual carbonaceous resources of our
planet, and we are happy to say that the prospect
is that there will be an ample supply of coal for
all ordinary purposes for the next ten thousand
years. Beyond that it is hardly necessary to bor-
row trouble. Prof. Rogers, in his "Description
of the Coal Fields of North America and Great
Britain," annexed to the "Government Survey of
the Geology of Pennsylvania," makes the fol-
lowing estimate of the quantities of coal in the
principal coal fields of the world :

Tons.

Belgium 36,000,000,000

France 59,000,000,000

British Islands 190,000,000,000

Pennsylvania 316,400,000,000

Great Apalacliian coal field, (this name Is given
to the bituminous coal field which extends
through parts of Pennsylvania, Ohio, Ken-
tucky, Tennessee and Virginia) 1,387,500,000,000

Indiana, Illinois and Western Kentucky 1,277,500,000,000

Missouri and Arkansas Basin 729,000,000,000

All the productive coal fields of N. America... 4,000,000,000,000

Upon these figures the Philadelphia Ledger
makes the subjoined calculations :

"It will be seen that at the present rate of con-
sumption, 100,000,000 of tons per annum, the
coal fields of Pennsylvania alone would meet the
demand for 31G-1 years. If this consumption vrere
doubled, viz : 200,000,000 tons, the great Apa-
lachian field vi'ould meet the strain for 6937 years.
If it were quadrupled, viz : 400,000,000, the pro-
ductive coal fields of North America would sufiice
for the world's supply for 10,000 years to come.
To this we must add the consideration that new
coal fields are brought to light as exploration be-
comes more extensive and exact. Dr. Nordens-
kion, a learned Flemish traveler, who has just re-
turned from a visit to the Arctic regions, announ-
ces that he discovered anthracite coal as far north
as Spitzbergen. One of the most remarkable
features of the coal system of the globe is its lib-
eral distribution over the northern hemisphere,
where it is most needed. And it will probably be
found in the still unexplored regions of Central
and Northern Asia."

size may cost twenty-five per cent, more than the
poorest and lightest, but in the end they are a
hundred per cent, the best. Nails made of poor
iron will rust out a great deal quicker than nails
made of good tough malleable iron, like that
known as old sal^Ie. — Scientific American.

Cheap Nails. — The cheapest nails are not the
lovrest priced ones. Cut nails made of iron of
good quality will outlast such as can be bought at
the lowest rates about two to one. Never use nails
for siding or shingles that break very easy ; and
be sure not to allow your carpenter to use nails of
very light weight. First rate cut nails of suitable

Fur the New England Farmer.
BEMEDY FOR THE EOKER.

Deak Sir : — Having found the borer to be a
great depredator on my fruit and shade trees,
such as the ajiplc, plum, locust and the mountain
ash, and having resorted to the usual remedies
with little success, I concluded to test the virtue
of soft soap, and have had universal success.
Many of my trees, from four to six inches in di-
ameter, were seriously injured, and some of them
entirely girdled and destroyed by this insect. I
used this prescription two years ago, last fall, and
also in the spring following, and no effects of the
borer were discovered on said trees that year. But
discovering one tree affected by it the succeeding
year, I again a])plied it, and no new damage has
appeared. I neglected, however, to apply it to my
small plum, and other trees, or sprouts, which I
had saved for transplanting, and both last spring
and this, they are rendered useless by its depreda-
tions.

These I call decided tests, and the application
is easier and more sure than that of boiling Avater,
or of paper or bark, which guards the body, but
not the roots of the tree. The soap is reduced by
water just so as to follow the paint brush freely,
and (the grass or weeds being first removed from
the tree) is freely applied to the trunk for the
height or two feet, and also to the roots near the
body, and two or three brushfulls are generally
sufficient. A slight discoloration of the bark suc-
ceeds and continues, which, together with the of-
fensive oily and alkaline properties, is very un-
grateful to the insect, though not injurious to the
tree. It should be applied immediately, in order
to destroy the yearly increase of the insect.

ShoreJiam, Vt., 1860. Kittredge Haven.

LOOK OUT FOR THE HEWS.
See that the hens are constantly supplied with
lime in the form of old mortar, or pounded oyster
or clam shells, gravel, bones, and vieat. Charcoal
is also a valuable article to have about the coop.
It is said that cooked food should never be fed to
hens or other domestic fowls when the Aveather is
sufficiently cold to freeze it in the crop and destroy
them ! A person once informed us, that this fre-
quently occurs. We think hens should have a
place provided for them that will not freeze the
food, even if it is out of their crops. This advice
may be useful, however, where foAvls have the
range of the barn, and no warmer place to go to.
In such situations, hens often do very well if they
are fed liberally Avith grain, and once a day Avith
hot, mashed potatoes and meal mixed AAith scraps.
There is no place they like so well as among the
hay and straAv in the barn, and to pick up the hay

296

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

June

and other seeds about the floor, and around the
cattle.

Fowls dislike damp places, and the cellar, though
warmer than rooms above, is not so good as a
loft would be, where the sun could come in through
windows in the roof, and which might be warmed
in the coldest weather from a stove below. They
require steady attention and care, and when they
receive it, will afford as much profit for the out-
lay as any item of the farm.

LADIES' DEPARTMENT.

MAY-BE, KTOT FOB YOU?
A connubial little sermon, from the text "Be
happy as you are,"' is thus preached by a contem-
porary print :

"Wife and mother, are you tired and out of
patience with your husband's and your children's
demands upon your time and attention ? Are you
tempted to speak out angry ■ieelings to that faith-
ful, but, perhaps, sometimes heedless or exacting
husband of yours ? or to scold and fret at those
sweet and beautiful ones ? Do you groan and say,
'What a fool I Mas to marry, and leave my fath-
er's house, where I lived at ease and in quiet ?'
Are you, by reason of the care and weariness of
body which wifehood and motherhood must bring,
forgetful of, and ungrateful for, their comforts and
their joys ? O ! wife and mother, what if a stroke
should smite your husband and lay him low ?
What if your children should be snatched from
your arms and from your bosom ? What if there
were no true, strong heart for you to lean upon ?
What if there were no soft little innocents to nes-
tle in your bosom, and to love you or receive your
love ? How would it be with you then ? Be pa-
tient and kind, dear wife : be unwearying and
long-suffering, dear mother ; for you know not
how long you may have with you your best and
dearest treasures — you know not how long you
may tarry with them. Let there be nothing for
you to remember which will wring your heart with
remorse if they leave you alone ; let there be
nothing for them to remember but sweetness and
love unutterable, if you are called to leave them
by the way. Be patient, be pitiful, be tender of
them all, for death will step sooner or later be-
tween them and you. And O ! what would you
do if you should be doomed to sit solitary and
forsaken through years and years ? Be happy as
you are, even with all your trials ; for, believe it,
thou wife of a loving and true husband, there is no
lot in life so blessed as thine own."

Restoring Damaged Velvet. — The Monitor
de la Salud publishes the following method of re-
storing velvet to its original condition. It is well
known that when velvet has been wet, not only
its appearance is spoiled, but it becomes hard and
knotty. To restore its original softness, it must
be thoroughly damped on the wrong side, and
then held over a very hot iron, care being taken
not to let it touch the latter. In a short time, the
velvet becomes, as it were, new again. The theo-

ry of this is very simple. The heat of the iron
evaporates the water through the tissue, and for-
ces the vapor out at the upper side ; this vapor
passing between the different fibres separates
those which adhere together in hard bunches. If
the velvet were ironed after damping, an exactly
opposite result would be be obtained ; it is, there-
fore, necessary that the substance should not come
in contact with the heated iron.

"WOMAN'S EMPLOYMENT CHANGED.

Within the course of the last few years, two
immense events have changed the lot of Europe-
an women. Woman has only two grand trades to
follow, spinning and sewing. The others (em-
broidery, flower-making, &c., are hardly worth
reckoning. Woman is a spinster, woman is a
seamstress. That is her work in all ages ; that is
her universal history. Well, such is no longer
the case : a change has lately taken place. First-
ly, flax-spinning by machinery has suppressed
the spinster. It is not her wages only, that she
has thereby lost, but a whole world of habitudes.
The peasant woman used to spin, as she attended
to her children and her cookery. She spun at Avin-
ter evening meetings. She spun as she walked,
grazing her cow or her sheep. The seamstress
was the workwoman of towns. She worked at
home, either continually, or alternating her work
with domestic duties. For any important under-
taking, this state of things has ceased to exist. In
the first place, prisons and convents offered a ter-
rible competition with the isolated workwoman ;
and now, the sewing machine annihilates her.
The increasing employment of these two ma-
chines, the cheapness and perfection of their
work, will force their products into every market,
in spite of every obstacle. There is nothing to be
said against the machines, nothing to be done.
These grand inventions are, in the end, and in the
totality of their effects, a benefit to the human
race. But these effects are cruel during the mo-
ments of transition. — Dickens's "All the Year
Bound."

Sewing on Black Cloth. — To remedy the
difficulty which persons with defective eyes expe-
rience when sewing on black cloth at night, the
Scientific American directs : Pin or baste a strip
of white paper on the seam of black cloth to be
operated upon, then sew through the paper and
cloth, and when the seam is completed the paper
may be torn off. The black thread will be dis-
tinctly seen on the white paper, and drawing the
stitches a little tighter than usual, good work will
be produced. This method is well adapted for
sewing by machinery as well as by hand.

The Old INIaid without a Disappointment.
— There is something touching in the lot of a wo-
man who has courageously got over an early dis-
appointment, and who sets herself to do good in
her generation, and give her neighbors as much
happiness as she can. But although there are old
maids whose disa])pointment is in this noble way,
there are other old maids whose disappointment
consists in never having had any disappointment
to bear ; and this is a trial which, at one period
of life, is hard to endure, and ought to awaken
more sympathy than it does.

\^kAlM](3)

DEVOTED TO AGRICULTURE AND _TS KINDRED ARTS AND SCIENCES.

VOL. XII.

BOSTON, JULY, 1860.

NO. 7.

NOURSE, EATOX & TOLMAX, Proprietoks. cTMOW BROWN EmTOR
O1FICE....34 Merchants' Bow. SIMOW BKOWN, EDITOR.

FRED'K HOLBROOK, ) Associate
HENRY F FRENCH, | Editors.

CALENDAR FOR JULY.

The fields are all alive with sultry noise
Of labor's sounds and insects' busy joys ;
The reapers o'er their glittering sickles stoop ;

******
Some o'er the rustling scythes go bonding on ;
And shockers follow where their toils have gone,
Heaping the swaths that rustle in the sun.

Clare's SheplierdU Calendar

ULY has come, and
the whole -world of
wealth 13 spread
out before us in
' prodigal array. —
What a sense of
fulness everything
about us has. The
old house on the
hillside, that has
stood out as blank
and bald as a flag-
staff for six months
past, is now hid-
den from view, or
its gable can only
' be seen through a
profusion of trem-
bling foliage. —
"The woods and
groves have dark-
ened and thickened into one impervious mass
of sober uniform green, and having for a Avhile
ceased to exercise the more active functions of
the spring, are resting from their labors. * * *
In winter, the trees may be supposed to sleep
in a state of insensible inactivity, and in spring
to be laboring with the flood of new life that is
pressing through their veins, and forcing them
to perform the offices attached to their existence.
But in summer, having reached the middle term
of their annual life, they pause in their appoint-
ed course, and then, if ever, taste the nourish-
ment they take in, and 'enjoy the air they

breathe.' And he, who, sitting in summer time
beneath the shade of a spreading tree, can see
its bare branches fan the soft breeze as it passes,
and hear its polished leaves whisper and twit-
ter to each other, like birds at love-making ; and
yet can feel anything like an assurance that it
does not enjoy its existence, know little of the
tenure by which he holds his own, and still less
of that by which he clings to the hope of a future.
I do not ask him to make it an article of his/aiVZt
that the flowers feel ; but I do ask him, for his
own sake, not to make it an article of his faith
that they do not"

Nothing can be more grateful to the mind thaa
this flush of animated existence — these promises^
of future crops ! How attractive and delightful
are the changing hues of the grain-fields. The ■
rye is turning yellow, indicating that its time of
ripening is at hand. The wheat and barley are
of a dull green, while the oats are whitening, and
all are gracefully bending to the summer breeze
as it passes over them. "What can be more beau-
tiful to look on, from an eminence, than a great
plain, painted all over with the party-colored hon-
ors of the early portion of this month, when, the
all-pervading verdure of the spring has passed
away, and before the scorching heats of summer
have had time to prevail over the various tints
and hues that have taken place."

How stately the trees stand on the lawn or
road-side, and how lovingly they have intermin-
gled their branches in the forest, and ever sing
in harmony that "the Hand that made them is
Divine." The influence of these trees on man
is neither small nor unimportant, for without
them our climate would probably undergo an en-
tire change. They furnish the soil with that un-
organized matter on which alone perfect plants
can live, by the decay of leaves, and ultimately
by the decay of trunks and branches. So the
waters of a country, the rivers and lakes, are ne-
cessarily affected by th-j state of the woods of that

298

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

July

country. These woods must, in all cases, act
more or less as a sponge in retaining the water
which falls on them ; and water must thus be
supplied more gradually to the rivers, in coun-
tries covered with wood, than in countries which
are cleared. The influence of forest scenery in
increasing the moisture of the atmosphere, and
in preventing a climate from being so hot in sum-
mer and so cold in winter, as it would otherwise
he, is now well understood. Trees modify both
the temperature and moisture of the atmosphere;
they are all-important as shelter, by checking the
force of the wind, as well as being condensers of
asmo spheric vapor, and affording both man and
beast a grateful shade from the scorching rays of
the sun.

If trees were taken from the streets, lanes and
yards our of New England villages, what equivalent
could be introduced to supply their places as ob-
jects of usefulness and beauty ? What art of man
could devise a substitute ! What, to meet the scan-
ning eye, or watchful ear ! How utterly poor and
powerless would all our attainments prove to sup-
ply this defect ! What traveller, seeking recrea-
tion and rest, would take his family to a treeless
village ! Our people are now appreciating the
value of trees, and their influence upon both mind
and matter. From some eminence our villages
have the appearance of a forest. The smoke curls
up from among waving branches, and the church
spire looks out from among green leaves, while
the tones of the church bell, so familiar to every
New England ear, roll away to the hillsides, mel-
lowed and subdued by the blossoms and foliage
of our village trees. Bonaparte was once walk-
ing upon the terrace at Malmaison, and was deep-
ly affected by hearing the evening bells of Ruel.
"If such is their efl"ect upon me," he said, "what
must it be with others ?"

What son of a New England village ever wan-
dered into the wide world, and forgot his New
England church, and minister, and village trees !
Some, alas, may have forgotten them for a time,
but the impression of them made in youth, can
rarely be eff'aced from the mind. The kind and
earnest words of a faithful teacher to the young
heart, will bear him in remembrance in all after
life, whether in the quiet seclusion of life, or on
burning sands, or stormy seas. Thousands in
these villages will say with the estimable Fuller,
"Our minister lives sermons — he is ever as hos-
pitable as his estate will permit, and makes every
alms two by his cheerful giving it. He loveth to
live in a well repaired house, that he may serve
God therein more cheerfully, and lying on his
death-bed, he bequeathes to each of his parish-
ioners his precepts and examples for a legacy, and
they in ret[uital erect every one a monument for
him in their hearts."

We receive many letters from the sons and
daughters of New England now residing in the
West, but rarely one that does not show a yearn-
ing for the hill and stream land of their birth.
They seem to say :

"Though not from crowded streets I came,
Methought 'twas long since I had round me seen
Such true repose ; though not oppressed with grief
More than time brings to all, I deeply felt
'Twas a heart-healing land. The country there
Seemed God's own country, for the use of man
Intended: *****

Woods for his health and pastures for his board."

The thoughtful farmer will pardon us for ^gom-
ing up from the furrows for a few minutes to stay
among the trees. He will remember that one is
as essential to his prosperity as the other, and
that both are the gift of an ever watchful and be-
neficent Being. We pray him also to ponder
well the blessings which come with this hay month,
fervid, busy JuLT.

HOOTS— THEIB EFFECT OK" SOILS.

Most plants throw their roots over a great depth
in disintegrated subsoils ; indeed, where soils are
imderdrained and subsoil plowed, after their re-
moval they leave in. the soil an amount of roots
nearly or quite equal to the crop removed, and
the portion percolating the subsoil and decaying
in place, furnishes new conditions capable of lib-
erating from the subsoil many elements which
have been before inert.

The joint action of atmosphere and moisture,
together with carbonie acid and other fertilizing
gases, all circulating the more freely through pas-
sages where roots have decayed, and which by
their decay have furnished the necessary ingredi-
ents, requires but the action consequent upon the
presence of these constituents, assisted by the
roots of a living organism, i. e., the next crop, to
insure the solution of new quantities of mineral
matter from the subsoil. Portions of the mineral
matter so liberated, are elevated into the surface-
soil, and there deposited, as excrementitious mat-
ter thrown off by vegetables, and with the decay
of roots thus enrich the surface-soil ; and this is
also assisted in degree by capillary attraction.

Some have argued that this continual uprising
of matter toward the surface-soil, consequent up-
on the continuous decomposition in the subsoil,
must eventually denude the subsoil of its more
valuable portions ; but it must be remembered
that the new conditions prodtlced are such as
continually to cause the liberation of new quanti-
ties, and that the entire soil being deepened, pre-
sents a greater area of surfaces of particles to be
acted upon by atmospheric and other influences.
To avoid using the material is like husbanding
perishable articles until they become worthless.

The roots of a currant crop often extend four
or five feet in length. Even the common onion
has roots eighteen inches long, the lucern and
other clovers by the decay of their roots, perco-
lating deeply into the soil, deposit carbon in place
of mineral matter which they take up ; part to be
returned to the soil by the decay of roots, and

18G0.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

299

part elevated into the upper soil, while the por-
tion of the crop removed is more nearly renewed
by liberating new quantities over greater depths,
than if the soil were cultivated on the shallow
sj^stem.

Every fact, empirical and scientific, goes to
prove that deep tillage renders the addition of
less quantities of mineral fertilizers adequate to
produce crops. — Wo7'king Fanner.

For the New England Farmer.

FALSE ESTIMATES— HEN LICE.

Mr. Editor : — You have often noticed the
proneness of men to be looking after, and admii--
ing great things. He who studies the character
and habits of the lion, the leopard, or tiger, is
engaged in a lofty and honorable pursuit. The
king of beasts ; who would not be proud of the
achievement, could he but slay a single specimen ?
Who would not consider a place among those
gathered to see the noble slain, a place of honor .^
But the man, can he be a man, who is seen look-
ing after bugs, and flies, and lice, who devotes
time to such an insignificant, childish purpose, is
viewed by the mass of his fellows as trifling with
his existence.

But what, sir, would be his position as a bene-
factor of his race, who should penetrate every jun-
gle on our globe, and destroy the best lion that
has made such his retreat, compared with his who
should destroy the wheat-fly, or midge-maker, an
insect so small that a score placed in the balance
against one hair of the lion's mane, would kick
the beam. The roar of the lion may frighten a
fine bushman, but the appearance of the fly caus-
es a nation to tremble.

But my subject, when measured by might or
bulk, is not the formidable giant, that he may be
compared with the fly, the bug, or the flea, but is
an animal so small that were you to put a gross of
them on the tail of a flea, it would scarcely make
it droop, or shorten the length of his jump by a
single line. And yet, as the skull-caps of the
animalcula? form masses of rocks, as the coral in-
sect builds islands in the ocean, and reefs on its
coasts, as moments make the whole cycle of time,
so then hen lice, when aggregated, will make an
extension, and give a visual angle which the hu-
man eye can appreciate; yea, more, will cover
the whole surface of the perches on which your
hens roost, will fill to overflowing every crack and
corner of your henery ; will cover you if you go
into it, and will bite you, if you have not the skin
of a Packadermata, most killingly.

Permit me to give you a little personal experi-
ence with these scamps. I had last spring about
adoz::'n hens. Their apartment was in the corner
of the barn, was about eleven feet long, four wide,
and eight high ; enclosed on all sides with matched
spruce boards, with a twelve light window in the
south side. The floor above was not matched.
Within was a box of dry ashes, nest boxes, etc.
Report came that the hens were troubled with
lice. Without examining at once to determine
the extent of the mischief, directions were given
to mingle sulphur with their food. Soon it was
said that the nests and eggs gave lice to those
who went to them. A thorough examination was
made ; there were more animals on a perch four

feet long, and three inches in diameter, than there
are men, women and children on this globe ; so
we believe ; and every part of the room was thor-
oughly stocked, and yet there were but few to be
found on the hens.

Now for war. Bought one pound of sulphur,
and four pounds of the leaf stem of tobacco ; set
in the henery a tub with some water in it as a
guard against fire, and in the tub an iron pot with
some coals ; filled the pot with tlie tobacco, and
sprinkled on the tobacco three or four ounces of
sulphur, and shut the door. After this had burnt
out, and the fogo had so far disappeared that ad-
mission could be gained, we re-filled the pot with
tobacco and sulphur, and gave them another dose.
This over, the premises were examined. The lice
had been warmed up just enough to make them
livel)'. Not even a cough or a sneeze was heard
among them. This was, therefore, a failure. The
floor above, and all the boxes, and movables with-
in were then removed, and purified by fire, and
the room drenched with boiling water oft repeat-
ed. This thinned the ranks, but was not eflectu-
al. The next step was to add to a thorough use
of hot water, a profuse sprinkling with dry ashes,
while the walls were yet dripping. This was re-
peated from time to time for one or two weeks.
The victory was complete ; harmony being re-
stored both to the henery and the kitchen. In-
ference No. 1, Never despise small things. In-
ference No. 2, Let your henery be plastered, and
often whitewashed. Inference No. 3, Give your
hens from time to time a little sulphur in their
food. Reed.

Pittsjidd, Mass., 1859.

For the New England Farmer.
THE POTATO ROT.

Mr. Editor : — There has been no lack of hy-
potheses, and arguments most ingenious and
plausible have been framed in relation to this dis-
ease, but the whole subject has been so thoroughly
discussed in every aspect and guise that it would
seem a vain attempt to seek to search the cause.
Professor Bolljian, a Russian Councillor cf
State, has published a jvork on the prevention c f
potato rot. He discovered accidentally, and has
subscquentl} verified by experiment the fact, tht.t
seed potatoes, thoroughly dried, will produc ;
a sound crop. Mr. Bollman's room in which his
first potatoes were dried was heated to about 72°.
By way of experiment, he placed others in the
chamber of the stove itself, where the thermome-
ter stood at 135°. It has been ascertained that
previous to the final decay the specific gravity of
the diseased potato becomes one-third more than
that of the healthy tuber, on account of the water
it contains ; when submitted to a dry heat of 200°
it loses its moisture, and the progress of decay is
retarded, if it be not stopped.

I was conversing with one of our farmers a
short time since in relation to potato rot and the
drying process. He said for nine years in suc-
cession he had practiced cutting off the seed end
sometime previous to planting and drying them
thoroughly ; when ready to plant he dropped from
four to seven in a hill, and he has had no rotten
potatoes since he adopted this method. He usu-
ally plants the early kinds. J. w.

:oo

NEW ENGLATsT) FAEMER.

July

For ihe Netc England Farmer.

LETTER FKOM THE SANDWICH
ISLANDS.

Makawao Maui, Hawaiian Islands, )
December 27, ISOO. \

Messrs. Editoks : — Gentlemen, — I have not
been able to make you out a communication, I
find, since Februai-y. Let me hasten to sj^cak v/ith
you ere the year closes. In my closing para-
graphs, I promised you something touclung Pele,
the once famed goddess of Hawaii, and of her
recent doings. Glad am I to say that I have
quite recently returned from a tour round that
island, in making which I revisited the crater
of Kilanea, and looked upon the lava flow as it
mingled its burning waters with the Avaters of the
Pacific. I think that I can say something of what
I saw on old Hawaii which will interest our
friends, the farmers, and others who read your
periodicals.

Hawaii is the largest island of the group from
which it receives its name, Hawaii, or Hawaii nei,
being the true appellation ; this island being 88
miles long and OS broad. Near the end of Octo-
ber of the present year, 1 landed from a small
schooner at Kohala, the north-west district of the
island. Some seven miles in a horse cart took us
to the station occupied by Rev. Elias Bond, Avho
has occupied the station some sixteen years. Ho
has been an active and successful laborer, and has
seen great improvements since ho commenced his
labors. He has an excellent, Avell-finished meet-
ing-house, and some seven school-houses, beauti-
ful, though small, structures of wood or stone.
These houses will accommodate meetings for con-
ference and prayer during the week. The coun-
try is a grazing one, also adapted to the cultiva-
tion of corn and vegetables. I\Ir. Bond has done
a great deal for the heathen population around
him ; many of them now have lands, and are pros-
perous farmers ; all might do Avell but for their
native indolence. I hope you may hear again
from this district. From Kohala we rode to Wai-
raca. Our road lay over the Kohala mountains,
6000 feet high, and as we ascended and ap-
pro.'.ched the summit, we came into the region of
Iri.sh potatoes, large quantities of which are raised
here for the Kawaihae niarket, fifteen miles dis-
tan^. Whale shij)s, after taking wood and water
at Kilo, touch at Kawaihae on their way to La-
haina and Honolulu, and purchase their potatoes.
Small vessels also take them to Lahaina and Hon-
olulu. I remarked, too, that cattle looked finely
in this mountainous region ; the feed seemed
scanty, but has the reputation of being very sweet
and nutritious, more so than the grass at Kohala,
■which is plenty, but coarse and unsavory. The
prospect on reaching the highest land 6000 feet
above the sea, and on descending to Waimea,
2000 feet below, was grand. To our left, Mauna
Kea, the highest mountain on the island, being
nearly 14,000 feet high, towered majestically,
showing signs of winter patches of snow remain-
ing near the top. To the right, Hualalai, 9000
feet, reflected the rays of the setting sun, while in
the centre, but at a greater distance, ^launa Loa,
like a vast dome, stretched upward to nearly the
height of Mauna Kea, and nearly spanned the
island in regular slopes. But alas ! with all its
grandeur, the sight was a deeply melancholy one.
^Before us lay an area of country, say 50 miles by

30, embracing the three huge mountains men-
tioned above. Between these there was stretched
a vast plain dotted with conical hills of various
sizes and heights, craters covered with red and
black sand and scoria. Through all this plain we
saw a single river, and such a stream ! Gentle-
men, may you never sec the like in New England.
It was a river of liquid fire, of molten lava, issu-
ing from the sloping side of Mauna Loa. This
was apparent by the columns of smoke ascend-
ing from the ignited mouths of several craters,
and we could easily trace the stream for many
miles by the smoke and gases along its course,
and by the fresh and shining lava which it had
thrown up in its progress. The whole plain
seemed a bed of lava — now, acres of slabs of pa-
hoehoe, like a pavement of immense dimensions,
and anon, fields of lava thrown into shapes almost
innumerable, from large boulders to pebble
stones, and from flat and smooth ones to the
sharp-like hatchel teeth and needles. Not a riv-
er, brook or fountain of water met our eye on all
this plain. Nothing but desolation spread over
these immense fields. How unlike the view I once
had in crossing the Green Mountains from the
east to the west side. As I looked down on vrest-
ern Vermont in the town of Chittenden, I think,
and saw the forests, the rivers, the cultivated
plains, the grazing herds, and habitations of men,
I was most pleasantly aflected with the goodness
of God to my country. You may Avell be thank-
ful, friends in New England, that you are spared
the seeing rivers of fire — thankful that rivers and
brooks of sweet water irrigate your plains and
make fertile your fields, and that your mountains,
even, are covered with forests and other vegeta-
tion. True, there are forests at the base and along
the sides of the Hawaiian mountains, but the up-
per parts of them are nothing but lava, ashes and
scoria, and Mauna Loa, as you have now seen, is
sending out her burning matter in constant
streams. More I will ttU you of this fearful phe-
nomenon, ere I am through.

On descending to the plains of Waimea I was
happy to find some mitigation of the desolate ap-
pearance of things as seen from the mountain
above. We found a small river or brook near
the station of Rev. L. Lyons. It issued from the
Kohala side of the island, and irrigated a small
portion of land about Waimea. Considerable im-
provement had been made here since, in 1829,
thirty years ago, I visited the place as one of a
Committee seeking in liehalf of the Mission a
health station. Then all was primitive — purely
Hawaiian. Now, there is a pleasant meeting-
house, two or three stores, and quite a number of
dwelling-houses ; cattle, sheep and horses were
plenty ; but I saw but little in -^he shape of agri-
culture, and I am sorry to say that the plains of
Waimea were covered with a wild and noxious
weed which threatens to destroy the hope ot the
husbandman. Yours, v/ith much esteem,

J. S. Green.

P. S. I must tell you more of Waimea lest ycu
think it, like Sodom of old, blighted by the wrath
of a holy God. I have given you Waimea only
as seen from the high lands which divide it from
Kohala. This portion of the district is certainly,
as a M-hole, sufficiently desolate and forbidding,
though the climate is cool, ond the prospect is

18G0.

NEW ENGLAND FAEMER.

301

one of the best on the island. Now please go
■with mo to Hamakua, the name of another dis-
trict belonging to Waimea. Waimea station is
about twelve miles from the sea at Kawaihae, and
about the same distance from the sea at Waipio',
on the north side of the island. We will visit
Waipio. The first three miles the road is level,
Jrunning through a woody land, large scattering
ohia trees — a species of oak — the soil light, but
thickly covered with the oi or noxious Vvced, so
that it is well nigh impervious to man or beast.
We soon began to descend, and found the travel-
ling more difficult. As we approached the valley
of Waipio we turned from the beaten path, riding
through the wilderness of ferns and coarse, high
grass, till we reached the head of the valley some
two miles from the sea. The scenery was exceed-
ingly picturesque. We stood nearly opposite a
waterfall which only needs a large supply of water
to leave your Niagara all in the back ground. The
stream is small. It comes down from the high
land back of Waimea, quietly wending its way
through the Avoody country till it reaches the pre-
cipice of Waimea. Here it takes a leap, a short
one at first, one hundred feet perhaps, into a ba-
sin formed in the rock ; then, after a short pause,
comes the final fall, which is said to be nearly or
quite two thousand feet ; — yes, two thousand feet
into the valley. Much of the water goes upward
in mist, but it drips from the rocks and joins the
water in the stream which runs through the valley,
watering numerous kalo patches, and emptying
into the sea. Another fall, full as high, was shut
from our sight by a projecting precipice, but we
could see the stream made by it. The valley is a
fruitful one, and has quite a population ; is the
glory of Waimea, furnishing mucli provision for
less favored places. The people here are making
preparation for building a large stone meeting-
house, which they propose to christen Sana Paulo
—St. Paul's.

DO ANIMALS COKTSTJME FOOD IN PHO-
POBTIOJT TO THEIR SIZE?

We suppose that this question will generally
receive an afEmativc answer. Mr. John Johnson,
of New York, whose success in fattening stock
has given his opinion on this subject equal au-
thority with his opinion on draining, has recently
written some advice to a young farmer on buying
and fattening stock, which answers our question
in the negative, at least so far as fatting animals
are concerned. He says, in an article published
in the Country Gentleman, that

"It takes no more feed to fat a lot of sheep av-
eraging 140 or 150 pounds, than it does the same
number averaging only 8o or 90 pounds ; there-
fore it is more profitable to feed heavy sheep than
light ones. It takes no more to fat a steer that
weighs 1400 pounds, live M-eight, than it does to
fat one weighing 900 or 1000 pounds, and the
largest v/ill always gain the most, with equal feed,
if they are of the same age. Then, when fat, the
largest are worth more per pound to the butcher ;
so there is a profit every way in fattening cattle
of a good size, according to their age."

In confirmation of this opinion, he adds that he

had heard those whom he regarded as men of
practical knowledge, say, that all animals, except
man, eat according to their size, and for a long
time he believed it, but when he come to feed
steers in stalls, some weighing 1000 pounds, some
1500 pounds, and found the largest putting on
the most fat and gaining the most in weight,
which they would always do, he found those men's
theories would not stand the test when tried by
practice.

For the New England Farmer.
FAnM FENCES— ]Sro. 2.

In my communication of Feb. 21, ISGO, I spoke
of the absolute necessity of fences, their immense
cost, their neglected condition throughout the
country, the consequent necessity for improve-
ment in them ; and the individual and national
benefits which would result from such improve-
ments ; also, some objections to the kinds in gen-
eral use, and also the necessity of calling the at-
tention of sensible and practical men to the sub-
ject.

As a general thing, agricultural writers and
speakers seldom even allude to it. I do not re-
collect of reading more than three or four articles
in any paper u]ion the subject, one of Avhich was
from the pen of Judge French, upon wire fences,
and the others were reports of the discussions at
the Farmers' Club of the American Institute where
one of the speakers recommended doing without
them, — an idea not quite original with him, for,
in some parts of the country, immense fields of
once fertile and valuable land, by bad manage-
ment, have been made a barren waste and "turned
out" as not worth the cost of fencing. At our agri-
cultural fairs, farms, farm implements and farm-
products, horses, oxen, bulls, cows, calves, sheep,
hogs, pigs and poultry, hens, so rare, so prolific
and so beautiful that a few years ago they would
have caused "a fever," corn, oats "peas, beans
and barley ;" splendid cheeses and immense
squashes, big cabbage heads and nice honey ; per-
formances, pedestrian, equestrian, and, I had al-
most said, ridiculous ; plows, harrows, cultivators,
corn-shellers, mowing machines and patent sau-
sage-fillers, steam plows and improved apple par-
ers, all compete for the glittering prizes, and re-
ceive commendations of committees and orator,
while fences, which, like watchful sentinels, guard
and protect them all, and are a more costly pro-
duction than all put together, are passed by as of
little worth, or consequence.

Let State agricultural societies offer liberal pre-
miums for specimens of the best new fences, and,
in a few years, we shall see fences much more
tasteful, durable and economical upon all well-
managed fimns, taking the place of those that are
now a reproach and burlesque upon the agricultu-
ral improvements of the age.

_ In my remarks, I wish not to be understood as
discouraging_ the building of all the kinds offen-
ces that are in general use ; there are cases where
stone wall Avould be a very durable fence, also
where it might be expedient to build one of brush
or logs, as it is sometimes l)ettcr to build a log
house than any other ; but I do Avish to be under-
stood as opposing with all earnestness the divid-

302

XEW ENGLAND FARMER.

July

ing and subdividing of fields with wall fences, or
the building of one -wall by the side of another
"to get rid of the rocks." A few years since, a
farmer in Worcester County, Mass., remarked to a
friend, that he had more than 20 miles of wall
upon the farm where he lived and an adjoining
one! His fields, as I looked upon them from
the road, very much resembled in their dimen-
sions, those necessary enclosures we find in al-
most every town, called the Common Pound. His
fences must have cost more than $6000, and have
put many acres of land out of reach of the plow.
On some farms, wall fences are built 10 or 12feet
in width, "to get rid of the rocks" — a fence so in-
conveniently wide that a pohtician could not pos-
sibly stand on both sides of it at the same time,
with any degree of comfort ! Building fences "to
get rid of the rocks" is not quite so bad as the
Irishman's arithmetic of taking one from two and
three remain, but is just about as absurd as his
proposal to dig a hole in the earth by the side of
another to get the dirt with Avhich to fill it !

But what shall be done with the rocks ? Many
farmers have yet to learn their value for road-
making. Fill all low and wet places any conve-
nient depth with them, putting in the large ones
fii'st, then fill the spaces with the small ones, and
cover with du't. Line the banks of sti'eams with
them, fill deep gullies, do almost any thing with
them rather than build unnecessary fences. Much
of this can be done in winter.

In the article upon wire fences written by Judge
French, he speaks of "their being invisible at the
distance of a few rods, "which he seemed to think
was a recommendation. I feel reluctant to ques-
tion anything from one so eminently qualified to
instruct in almost every thing pertaining to the
prosperity of the farm, not only above but under
the ground ; but my experience is unfavorable to
the acknowledgment of this particular merit of
the wire fence.

The next day after one was made by a neigh-
bor on his farm adjoining mine, a fine horse
which I had turned into the field next to it, hav-
ing no more regard for territorial rights than
some members of Congress, went straight through
it, breaking every wire from "turret to founda-
tion." The fence was made of No. 9 wire, 8 wires
high, and secured to cedar posts 10 feet apart by
spikes driven into them. My sheep, which may
be of the "creeper breed," inquired for in the
Farmer would often creep through between the
wires, and sometimes break them. I have but one
other objection to make to them beside their "in-
visibility," which is, that, for general purposes, as
they have been built in this section, they are just
about good for nothing.

At another time, I may say something of the
relative value of different kinds of fences, the
quantity of land they cover, and the qualities a
good one should possess. "The suggestions as
to the best size of fields on farms of fifty, and
those of one hundred or more acres," I much pre-
fer should come from some one better qualified to
make them. Chas. R. Smith.

Haverhill, N. E., May 1, 1860.

Cooked Food for Hogs. — We would refer our
readers to.-our volume II., p. 11, for a letter by
Mr. P. Mason, of Somerviile, N. J., on the use of

cooked food for hogs. Mr. Mason found that by
using cooked corn meal, from the middle of April
to the first of December, he increased the weight
of two pigs, from about 40 pounds to 602 pounds,
being a gain of one and a quarter pounds per day,
and that the entire cost of the pork was about
four cents per pound. This probably cannot be
brought about at so light a cost with uncooked
food. — Workinff Fanner.

THE OLD FAKM-HOUSE.

In a little grore of shade trees

Stands a farm-house, brown and old,
With a wealth of vines around it,

Gemmed with flowers of red and gold ;
By the path that makes a circle

Of white saml around the lawn.
Grow sweet Timothy and clover,

Kosy as a June-day dawn.

Around its door pale morning-glories.

Jump -up- Johnnies, dahlias, pinks.
Cluster — concentrated beauties.

Married by a thousand links ;
links of love, the works of nature's

BIjstery of hwidicraft ;
Links of glory, through which

Argosies of perfume waft.

And the gate that swings before it.
And the fence as white as snow.

Stand on variegated cushions.
Which the sun -fire sets a gloiv;

Crowning them with many colors —
Yellow, purple, green and blue —

As if rainbow there bad fallen,
, Melted into rai-est dew.

On its roof the greenest mosses

Catch the shadows from the trees ;
On its fides red honeysuckles

Make their curtseys t& the breeaje ;
And the ever-nervous willows.

Standing near the garden's boand.
Throw a web of shade fantastic

On the clover mantled ground.

O'er the well an arch of grape-vines,

Formed with heaven's directed cara.
Chains the shadows to the water.

Making cool the summer air ;
And a tiny church, its steeple

Piercing through a bower of leaves.
Is a sure and sac-red refuge

Where the wren her carol weaves.

The Late Hox. B. Y. French. — At the last
monthly meeting of the Massachusetts Horticul-
tural Society, after feeling allusion to the decease
of many of the original oflScer* and members of
the society. Col. Wilder officially announced the
death of Mr. French in eloquent and appropri-
ate terms, and concluding by offering the follow-
ing resolutions, which were unanimously adopted.

Resolved, That in the death of oar fellow-associate,
the Hon. Benj. V. French, wc acknowledge the afflic-
tive dispensation of rroviilence, in removing from our
Society one of its founders and former officers, who for
a long course of years sought zeahjusly to promote its
well-being and prosperity.

Therefore be it further resolved, That in common
with all who take a lively interest in rural art and
rural happiness, we will ever cherish a gi-ateful

1860

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

303

recollection of his devoted and honoraljle exertions to
improve the agriculture and horticulture of our coun-
try ; and especially of that frankness of character and
kindness of heart, which had gained him the confidence
and respect of a large circle of friends.

Resolved, That these resolutious be entered on the
records of the Society, and that a copy of the same be
transmitted to the relatives of the deceased as a tribute
to his memory.

I^or the New EnglaiuJ Farmer.
DBAININQ AND STUMP EXTRACTING.

Mr. Editor : — Supposing' that farmers would
like to hear of actual experiment in this depart-
ment,' I will give my experience. Occupying a
central position in my farm lands, was as forbid-
ding a swamp, of about fifteen acres, as can be
found in New England, with bushes and bunches
of maples growing as thick as they could stand,
perched on stumps of a former growth, around
which water stood the most of the year. When
the water overflowed this, it found its M-ay across
a twenty-five acre lot, through an open ditch 1000
feet in length, and emptied upon the surface of a
large cedar swamp.

A few years ago, the desire to subdue the swamp
first mentioned began to come into action. First,
I wanted the geography of the bottom ; to get at
that, I took a light iron rod, twelve feet long, and
creeping in among the thicket, thrust it down
where there was an opportunity. In these explo-
rations I found a depression of the bottom, of
about two acres, in which my rod would sink its
length in the middle. Here was a grand deposit
of peat, the muck in the rest of the swamp being
thin, generally- To obtain some of this peat de-
posit, I continued the ditch in the valley, through
the bushes, 4O0 feet, which took off the surface
water; then, by clearing away the bushes and
stumps, and making a piank road to the shore, I
managed to get out 1500 horse-loads, by digging
as in clay holes, leaving a dam of undisturbed
peat between the cuts.

In the meantime, I was reading the Farmer,
and there saw Judge French's letters and la-
mentations, as he travelled about, to see so many
places worse than useless, that could be made into
the most valuable land by the use of tile drains.
B}' those readings, my mind was opened to see
things in a more intelligent light. I then con-
ceived the plan, by laying a drain, of getting clear
by one operation of the ugly swamp, getting at the
great deposit of peat, which I found was of ex-
cellent quality, and making a grand reservoir for
sudden floods, and filling the nuisance of a ditch
that kept the valley below so cold and wet that
no useful thing could grow, besides being in the
way of all farm operations. A survey was taken,
and it was found that the swamp to be drained
was six feet above the cedar swamp, and by dig-
ging five foet on an average, one-fourth of a mile,
through a concrete of iron, clay and gravel, al-
most as, hard as stone, I should get four feet of
peat clear of water. It was a formidable looking
job, especially as we had to excavate under a rail-
road, beneath a culvert, and get almost every inch
of earth by hard blows of well sharpened picks.

I ordered 1400 pieces of five inch tile of Messrs.
Shedd & Edson, of Boston. In the summer of
1858, I -put down 1000 feet, and this last season,
put ill the remaining 400 feet, to the reservoir

from which the peat had been taken, and which
was full of Avater, holding about 10,000 cubic feet.
Having taken proper precaution to protect the
pipe from being filled, the last barrier was cut
away at five o'clock in the evening, and as the
stagnant waters suddenly sprang for the open
pipe, I flung my hat into the air, and the half
dozen spectators gave three cheers, sympathizing
with me, knowing what obstacles I had surmount-
ed in the attainment of so desirable an end. The
next morning, I visited the place, to see how much
the water had lowered, and to my surprise, it had
all gone, and everything appeared as though it
had been so for half the night! That is, 10,000
feet of water had gone one-fourth of a mile, in a
few hours, through a five inch tile, with a descent
of two inches to 100 feet.

Could I have seen the result of actual experi-
ments like the above, before I bought the tile, I
should have considered myself Avell paid in taking
the Farmer five years, to find it. Next I cut aa
open ditch through the swamp, above the reser-
voir, to let out all the surface water, and waited
to see the result when the next flood came. It
came in September, and it was a flood ; the sur-
face of the earth being dry, the water rushed in
from the surrounding hills, and filled the reservoir
and ditches, bank full. The rain ceased on Sun-
day afternoon. The next Wednesday morning,
all was dry as before. We have had quite a body
of snow go off this January, but it made but lit-
tle gain in the reservoir ; so it sums up thus : the
drain is a perfect success. The whole cost was
about $200.

Now I have the foundation laid for improving
the swamp and upland simultaneously, by carting
out the peat to the sandy lands, and making them
fertile. Then by having all the small drains con-
verge to where the peat is dug out, I can get a
thorough drainage in any direction in the swamp.

While going on with the work of draining, I
have also cleared oflf the bushes from a few acres.
The bushes are cut at the most convenient season.
August is the time to burn. If the bushes are
cut in winter, which is the best time, all things
considered, we pass over the fallen brush in Au-
gust with a scythe, and clip the shoots that grow
up through ; in a few days they become good kind-
lings to make the fire run. When it has been
dry weather about two weeks, I set fire at one
o'clock ; at that hour in a clear day a fire will run
briskly, and make sure death to most of the
bushes.

While approaching the point at Avhich I arrived
last fall, I had my eyes open to find in the papers,
patent office reports, agricultural fairs, ware-hous-
es, and other places, some machine to pull stumps,
that was cheap, portable, and not at all particular
what kind of a place it had to stand on. I found
windlasses and capstans on frames, with and with-
out wheels and runners, some requiring anchors,
some standing on their own work, lifting, as a
man would lift himself by his boot-straps; others,
twisting, with cattle ; all of which may be good
in some places, but would not apply to my swamp.

The pictures of these represented them as pull-
ing little stumps from surfaces that appeared like
a gentleman's lawn, having no more resemblance
in the size of the stumps and condition of my
ground, than a farthing candle has to the orb of
day. So I set to work, myself. First, I made a

304

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

July

puUins? screw, which would take up anything ;
but, like others, was not practical. Then I got a
better idea, and after spending $300 or $400 in
experimenting, testing and re-constructing, I have
got what I was after ; a machine that can be han-
dled with perfect ease by three men, stand any-
where, lift vertically, with tremendous power,
stumps, rocks, trees with frozen balls, sunken
ships, massive castings, or forgings at iron works,
or any heavy weights ; has no revolving shafts,
gears, bolts, or machinery, to get out of order ;
without friction, requiring no oil, all of iron,
weighing less than 300 pounds, excepting the tri-
pod from which it is suspended, when at work in
the open field.

What appeared the great obstacle in the way
of making the swamp valuable, vanishes, when
we have an implement that we can set over stumps
that measure from ten to twenty-five feet in diam-
eter, [circumference, Ed.] and hoist them out in
a few minutes, without digging, or cutting.

Kingston, Mass., 1860. Caleb Bates.

EXTRACTS AND REPLIES.

BEET SUGAR.

Your con'espondent, "W. D. L.," New Ipswich, in-
quires, "Can any one give mc the process of manufac-
turing the juice of the sugar beet into sugar ?"

Process of Makinr/ Beet Sugar.

Gi'ind the beets, put the pulp in a bag, press out the
juice, lieat the juice to 160 degrees, add cream of lime,
stir well. Let the mixture rest a little, then raise the
heat to the boiling point. When a sctmiis formed, stop
the boiling, and when the juice 1)ecomes clear take off
the scum completely, then evaporate as in making ma-
ple sugar, skimming off the Halving stuff from time to
time. When reduced to a thin syrup, filter through
animal charcoal ; let there be a coarse cloth strainer
placed over a vat or boiler, put the charcoal in the
strainer and cover it with another coarse cloth, said
strainer to be large enough to hold a given amount of
syrup; when filtered, Ijoil down till a lirittle thread is
formed from a little syrup placed between the thumb
and finger; it is then sulttciently concentrated to form
sugar.

Cream of lime is madeof lime and water; 40 grains
of dry lime to one gallon of thin syrup, more or less, as
experience may show needful.

Animal charcoal is made of charred bones — not cal-
cined bones.

The juice of beets is very liable to take on fermenta-
tion. Sulphite of lime will prevent that.

Full-grown beets will not yield so much sugar as
those will do which are a little short of full growth.

A cider mill will do to grind the beets. The residuum
may he fed out. The French white sugar beet is pre-
ferred. D. Fraseu.

New Lebanon, N. T., Ajiril, 1S60.

THE SECRET OF HAVING GOOD MILCH COWS.

I have twenty cows, mostly grade short-horns, all of
my own raising. I carry my milk to town every night,
and retail it to customers at five cents a (piart in sum-
mer and six in winter; liy so doing I save a great deal
of tunc by being at home mornings. As my pasture
is small, I raise a great lot of corn fodder, which I con-
sider the best of green crops for milk. I raise 1000
bushels of mangolds and 500 bushels of carrots yearly,
which I feed to my cows at noon each day, giving them
chop feed morning and evening, with four quarts of
shorts at each feed.

My cows average seven quarts of milk daily for the
year. I often hear persons complaining that their cows
arc doing poorly, but I think the men are mostly to
blame, as I anrsatisficd that a cow cannot give milk
on meadow hay and poor attendance.

Marblehead, Mass., 1860. Samuel Graves.

LEGHORN FOWLS.

In reply to your correspondent who asks for a de-
scription of Leghorn fowls, I would say that in size
and haliits they are very much like the Black Spanish.
I like them much better than the Black Spanish, for
while the latter are good layers only in warm Mcather,
and have dark legs and skin, the Leghorns lay young-
er, (mine being but four months old when they com-
menced, and have laid from that time to this without
offering to sit,) their legs and skin are yellow, their
color white tinged with yellow, except a few which are
Dominique or hawk color, with very large single combs
and wattles, much larger than the Spanish. I have but
eight hens, which average over six eggs a day, which I
am selling at one dollar per dozen. They hatch re-
markably well and are very hardy. L. II. Hewins.

Foxboro', Mass., May, 1860.

BUGGY peas.

I once tried an experiment, and to ray great satis-
faction found out something that I never knew befoi-e.
Finding an immense numlier of bugs in some peas
that I was about to sow, I thought to ascertain where
they came from. So after I had raised a crop from the
buggy peas, and as soon as they were ripe, I gathered
a phial part full of the aforesaid peas, and corked them
up tight so that nothing might get into them. I then
placed the phial in safe keeping, and in the course of
six or eight weeks examined it and found it swarming
with living bugs ; then I came to the conclusion that
they must have bred in the pea. By opening many of
them, lings would roll out like chickens from eggs, and
soon after uncorking the phial they left their place of
confinement. Now it remains a mystery to me to
know from whence they originated. If j'ou will inform
me of the mystery, and give me a remedy so that my
peas may not be eaten up by bugs, you will much
oblige a querist. For where stones and stumps occupy
so much of the soil, it is well that we make every pea
count. L. T. D,

Green Mountains, Vt., Ajjrll, 1860.

Remarks. — The pea weevil deposits its eggs in the
iilossom of the pea, where the young grub Is hatched,
and feeds upon the inside of the pea. Pour boiling wa-
ter upon the peas before you plant, let them stand in
it ten minutes and the bugs will be destroyed.

a VALUABLE SALVE.

I was the inventor of the "Golden Salve," which I
have used for more than twenty years. I have given
a receipt for making it to many of my friends, some of
whom are manufacturing it quite extensively. I con-
sider it the best salve or ointment, ever used for man
or beast. So valualde a receipt I thinlv I ought to
withhold from the puldic no longer. Many a poor
person could make it and sell to their neighbors, who
did not choose to make it for themselves.

Linseed Oil 2 qtg.

Beeswax 3 lbs.

Rosin 3 lbs.

Heat and stir the ai'ticles until well mixed.
Rutland, Vt., Mai/ 3, 1860. J. Westox.

HENS AND CHICKENS.

Keeping a few hens for the firsf^time, I thought I
would ask advice through your excellent magazine,
in regard to the feeding and care of them. I have fed
them on oats and what bits arc taken from the table.
About three times a week I have given them a gill of
flaxseed to every six hens, having a lot of it, for which
I had no use. My rooster, one of last June's chicks,
a black Spanish game, has died. He had no use of his
legs for three days ; he refused his food, but would
drink a large quantity. After death his comb turned
to a dark purple. I have a hen of the same breed tak-
en in the same way. If yon, or any of your farmer
friends, can give me light on this subject, you will
greatly oblige A Somerville Boy.

P. S. Is linseed oil in small quantities, as above,
good for them ? and would chicks thrive ou it ?

•1860.

^SE^V ENGLAND FAHMER.

305

THE COMMON" MILKWEED.— [Asclepias Corncti.]

TO KEEP POTATOS IN THE CELLAR,

Put them in a pile as deep as yon can conveniently.
I have for three or four years noticed that where the.v
were deepest they kept "the best. Last autumn I put
out about one hundred and twenty-five bushels in one
bin, and filled them two feet and a half or three feet
deep. They have decayed but little, and I found more
rotten ones near the top than anywhere else. My po-
tatoes are pi-incipally the "Lj^man Seedlings," a pota-
to originated and cultivated extensively in this region.
They are very good for tal)!e use, but little inclined to
decay, and yield much better than the average of vari-
eties. They are also good size, larger than the most,
and will keep good late in the spring, or I might say
until August. P. W. Lyman.

Eusthampton, Mass., 18G0,

Remarks. — Mr. L. will please accept thanks for the
samples of potatoes sent.

SOUTH DOWN AND LEICESTER SHEEP.

Mr. B. F. Knight, of Dcrl)y Line, Vt., we learn has
full-bred South Down and Leicester sheep for sale at
fair prices. One of his South Down bucks weighs 22-5
lbs. when in good condition,

PEACHES.

A correspondent of the Ohio Cultivator asserts that
the onh- way to make sure of a crop of peaches every
year is by grafting upon the wild plum stock.

at the
at tho

The generic name of this plant is
derived from the Greek name of
jEsculapius, to whom the genus is
dedicated. This species is called
Cornutus's Asclepias, or ^1. Cornuti.
It bears an other name given it by
the great botanist, Linnaeus, Asclepi-
as Syriaca, who, perhaps, thought it
was a Syrian plant ; but Dr. Dar-
lington says it is exclusively an
American species. It is also called
SiLKWEED, on account of the beau-
tiful silky hairs of the seeds, which
bear the latter to a long distance,
and thus sometimes scatter it over
extensive districts. When this plant
is wounded, it emits an abundance
of thick, milky juice, resembling in
both taste and color the juice of the
common garden lettuce. Indeed,
the milkweed is by some called Wild
Lettuce, we suppose on account of
the resemblance of these juices in
the two plants.

The milkweed is not specially ob-
noxious to the farmer, and is not
very difficult to exterminate, unless
it has for a long time been allowed
to occupy the ground, and get per-
manently established. It does not
take root like the chicory, where it
requires two men to pull up a single
jjlant.

In the engraving, the small figure
right represents a single flower, and that
left, the seed-bearing pods reduced in size.

For tho New England Farmer.

THE SEASON IN" IO"WA.

It is now a year since we had a drenching rain
in Iowa. The springs and streams are very low,
and a pinching drought at the opening of the sea-
son threatens another year of disappointment and
trial to the depressed farmers, and to everybody
else. In the spring of 1857 and 18.58, we were
obliged to pump the superfluous water out of our
cellars ; now we have little or none in our Avells.
INIany are resorting to the giant ditcher, which has
been used successfully in Illinois for seven years.
This is a kind of huge plow with a coulter running
down five feet into the hard clay, having an en-
largement somewhat like a flat-iron at the bottom,
which makes a drain five or six inches in diame-
ter, and secures a living stream of water, in low
ground, where none had been seen for months
before.

Our prospect for a large crop is very good, if
we may have but a seasonable rain. A large
amount of corn has been put in, and the wheat is

306

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

July

■well up, but suffering for want of moisture. The
late cold weather killed most of our fruit, the
trees being in bloom some two or three weeks
earlier than usual.

The emigration is large, this spring ; but al-
most'all of it going beyond Iowa, to Pike's Peak,
Kansas, &c. The increase of our population from
this source will be less, I judge, than for several
years past.

The great depression of all kinds of real estate
continues without abatement. Veiy nearly one-
half, on au average, property has depreciated
within the last three years. But, one good har-
vest would turn the tide upward again ; so we
are still ho])ing and looking for better days.

Tipton, la., May 15, 1860. M. K. c.

For the New England Farmer.

THE NEW ENGLAND FARMER, AND ITS
INFLUENCE.

Messrs. Editors -. — Are we aware of the value
of this important paper, and do we ])rize its worth
every week ? Is there not four cents' worth of
information in each of its numbers, and even
more at times ? Here we find things needful in
every department of manual labor. Says one,
"What do editors know in Boston about farming?"
But is it not the voice of the country people who
have had experience that we hear ? It is true
that the editors have a chance to see many good
things by observation, and give valuable hints
which may prove beneficial. What an influeix;e
Judge French has had on the subject of drainage.
Have not farmers saved by this in one year enough
to pay for this valuable paper, by getting his
crops in earlier, and more to the acre, than for-
merly ?

Fertilizers. — The Farmer gives us a history of
fertilizers, and their adaptation to our lands. It
also gives the market prices of most kinds of pro-
duce every week, and a good story for the children,
as well as a sermon to those that stay at home on
the Sabbath- I can look back twenty-five years,
and well remember Judge Buel's Cultivator, which
was the birth of agricultural papers, and it awak-
ened people to the improvement of the soil and
the mind. Now ride through the country, and
see how plainly you can tell where there has been
an agricultural paper taken ; about the farm things
look neat and tidy. But, alas, look at the oppo-
site, and you will see the carts and tools left as
last used, wood scattered all about, fences down,
and trees, and shrubbery, and buildings, going to
decay. Now put the Farmer into his hands, and
get his mind turned, and his trees will bear boun-
tifully, his vines will prosper, and cattle and sheep
look up smiling, and repay him in butter, and
cheese, and wool. He will have vegetables that
he did not once raise, will get his buildings paint-
ed, and cause a jubilee among his sons and daugh-
ters, and have reason to thank the editors for the
peace and harmony they have restored in the old

Homestead.

Marlboro' Depot, N. II., 1860.

Remarks. — We publish the above for a special
purpose, notwithstanding it has a little appearance
of self-laudation. That special purpose is to cor-
rect an ifiipression which seems to prevail with

some of our readers. Our correspondent says :
"It is true that the editors have a chance to see
many good things by observation, and give valua-
ble hints," &c. Well, we guess they do — but it
will not be amiss for us to say that our business
is that of a farmer : that is, we, Simon Brown,
Editor of the Agricultural Department of the
Neiv England Farmer, are a farmer, and not only
work upon the farm with our eyes and ears, but
with our hands, as well as with our tongue and
pen ! We furthermore find it a pleasant, and
health-giving, and money-giving business, and
we never felt more like a nobleman in our life,
than yesterday, INIay 22d, 1860, when we stood in
our orchard of about five acres, and beheld what
had grown up there from the labor of our own
hands ! What ! presume to conduct an agricul-
tural paper, without daily experience on the farm !
As well attempt to "make a whistle from a pig's
tail." We not only direct the work on the farm,
but we say "co?He," boys, not "go," as far as time
and strength will permit, — and we make experi-
ments in grasses, grains, potatoes, garden stuff,
fertilizers, and implements, and machines, every
year. Beside all this, wo go forth with our eyes,
ears, and note-book, if necessary, wide open, and
calculate to be up in the morning as early as any
man ought to be who means to hold out all day !
There, we have made a clean breast of the matter,
or, in common parlance, have done it up Brown,
and do not intend to refer to the subject again.

THE SEASON AND THE CROPS.

After the long and trying drought which had
prevailed for months, we had a timely rain last
week, and although less than an inch fell, it has
had a Avonderfully reviving influence upon all the
crops. The grass seemed to feel its revivifying
influences instantly, assumed a new color, and has
since grown with great rapidity. The trees also
expanded their leaves and blossoms as though by
magic, and now give great promise of an abun-
dant harvest.

There have been two or three frosts in this re-
gion, but not so severe as to cause general de-
struction of young and tender plants.

Spring work has not been interrupted by the
wetness of the land, nor by showers or storms, so
that the crops were early in th^ ground, and now
only M'ait the blessing of Heaven, and the watch-
ful care of the husbandman to carry them on to
maturity. With the single exception of the im-
pending disease among cattle, everything appears
cheerful and prosperous for the farmer.

Cranberry Plants. — We learn that Mr. Jo-
seph L. Daniels, of Milford, Mass., takes much
interest in the culture of the cranberry, and has
fine plants for sale.

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

307

THE CATTLE DISEASE CALAMITY.

We do not exaggerate in calling this disease a
calamity — it has already proved so, and we fear
its calamitous effects will not be circumscribed by
the limits of Massachusetts. Persons not famil-
iar with the extent of the cattle business in this
State, will undoubtedly entei'tain hopes that the
disease may be arrested, long after the hopes of
those who are acquainted with this business Avill
have vanished into thin air. The changes that
are constantly taking place among cattle are very
great, and they transpire in every portion of the
State. We know of dealers, who are not butch-
ers, but who own several hundred cattle annually,
and these hundreds are mingled with as many
more in collecting them, and in driving them
back and forth to their places of pasturage. Some
of these cattle are sent into the hill towns of the
State to be pastured, but the largest portion are
sent into New Hampshire, where buying, selling
and exchanging is carried on to a greater or less
extent every year, bolh in spring and fall. Thou-
sands are thus sent from Middlesex county annu-
ally, so that if the disease does exist in any of the
animals sent away, every favorable opportunity is
afforded for extending it. Looking at the matter
in this light, the cattle dealer, and those best ac-
quainted with the business, will see how prompt
and decided must be the work of those clothed
with the power to try to arrest it. Indeed, where
the opportunities of intermingling cattle are so
numerous and so widely extended, and the activi-
ty among cattle-dealers is so great, there is prob-
ability that all the wisdom and skill of man will
be exerted in vain. Still, it is his imperative duty
to do everything in his power to stay its fatal
march.

The people are now alarmed, and justly so. A
calamity is really impending, such as they have
never been called to contemplate before — it is al-
ready upon them, or needs but a single stride to
bring it to their door-ways, and perhaps to sweep
every animal from its accustomed stall, leaving the
farm desolate and helpless, and its occupants al-
most in despair. More or less cattle are always
sick in the spring, and it is quite common that
they have a slight cough : we have heard of sev-
eral deaths among them within a fev/ days, and
have visited many farms where it was feared the
fatal disease existed — but for the comfort of our
friends, we are able to say that in every case, with
a single exception, there were no evidences what-
ever of the disease known as pleuro-pneumonia.
This exception is on the farm of Mr. Andrew
Wellington, of East Lexington, where a single
cow, which we saw on Saturday last, exhibited
strong symptoms of disease, and some marked
ones in common with those of cattle whose lungs
we examined after thev were slaughtered. A cow

in health breathes some ten or twelve times per
minute ; this cow breathed from thirty to forty
times per minute. The eyes did not show the
strong symptoms which prevailed in those we saw
at North Brookfield, but they did not appear quite
natural and healthy.

The report that the disease had broken out in
Seekonk and Pawtucket Avas erroneous. We
have conversed with the person Avho lost the cow
at Pawtucket, and with the physician who ex-
amined her, and upon a compaiison of the symp-
toms these gave with those of cattle affected with
the pleuro-murrain, they were satisfied that the
cow did not die of the disease. And so it will
prove of many other rumored cases.

What we understand to be the meaning of
pleuro-pneumonia is — that the thin membrane
which surrounds the lungs, and called the pleura,
and the lungs themselves, are highly inflamed.
Human beings have pleuro-pleumonia every day,
and this we understand to be the condition ia
which their lungs are found. But such was not
the case in the lungs of the cattle we examined at
North Brookfield. Hero was little, if any inflam-
mation, but the lungs Avere enlarged, and the air-
cells so filled as to nearly solidify the lungs, so
that there was not room for a full inspii-ation, and
the breathing consequently became short and fre-
quent. These cells were not filled with pus, or
corrupt matter, but with something more solid
and less offensive, but equally fatal.

It is quite certain now that the disease is higli-
ly contagious ; that the most minute particles of
tainted matter are thrown from the lungs by the
breath of affected animals, and that these parti-
cles, or sporules, as they are called, utterly inca-
pable of being seen by the naked eyes, they are
so small, will impart the disease to other animals
receiving them into their lungs. These particles
may be communicated by one animal breathing
directly upon another, or they may be lodged vip-
on the stanchions, timbers, floor-way, or even the
hay in the barn, and from them be taken off by
healthy cattle.

We believe, therefore, that the term plettro-
pneumonia does not indicate the disease — but
that is it something beside, and vastly worse —
that it is a specific malady, a plague that will en-
compass the whole land unless the most prompt,
energetic and thorough measures are taken to pre-
vent it.

Now, what shall he done ? Let us suggest. Let
the farmer make up his mind to do most of his
work, for a few years, at least, with hoi-ses, and
introduce immediately upon his farm the best
breed of sheep he can find. These may prove
profitable substitutes in some cases, and in all,
perhaps, a partial compensation for the loss of the
i cattle. The sheep selected should be good aiut-

308

KEW ENGLAND FAR^FER.

July

ton sheep, as well as for wool, so as to supply the
deficiency in beef; and with the united advanta-
ges derived fi'om the sale of wool and mutton,
and the reclamation of thousands of acres of ex-
hausted pastures through the agency of sheep, the
cattle disease may prove in the sequel to bring
some important compensations with it, after all.

At any rate, let us keep up good courage, and
exercise daily a bright and earnest faith that all
will be well in the end.

For the New England Farmer.

NEW PLANTS.

The following article was read by Minot Pratt, be-
fore the Concord Farmers' Club, January 5th, 1860.

In attempting to say a few words on the new
plants that have been introduced to our notice for
cultivation within a few years past, I shall, for the
moment, consider all as belonging to that class
that were new to me ; though very likely some
that I shall name may be familiar to those who
have had a longer and a wider experience. And
in speaking of them, I shall give, in a brief way,
my own experience in their culture, leaving oth-
ers to form their opinion as to whether my con-
clusions are just or not.

Without further preface, I will begin with the
Chinese Sugar Cane, a plant that was heralded in
with a great flourish of trumpets, as something
that was'to make every farmer a rich man, and
sweeten his toil and his tea with an abundance of
cheap sugar, with molasses or syrup enough to do
up any other sweetening he might need, besides
furnishing for our cattle a cheap, palatable and
nutritious fodder. As a class, we farmers are said
to be slow to adopt great improvements. Some,
perhaps most of us, tried this sugar cane on a
small scale. It was introduced some five or six
years ago — can any one now give us the statistics
of its culture in Concord for the past year ? San-
guine, honest men advised its culture on trial ;
shrewd, speculating men urged us to go into it
with a rush — some of these may have had seeds
to sell, Avhich they sold at a small advance on
cost. Would it be going too far, to suggest that
those who bought the seed were also sold'? 1 be-
lieve the plain, common sense farmers of New
England are now nearly, if not quite, unanimous
in the opinion that the Chinese Sugar cane is not
a valuable addition to the plants now cultivated
here. It requires a longer season than can be
certainly depended on ; and, as a forage plant, it
has not been found superior, if even equal, to the
varieties of corn usually cultivated for that pur-
pose. It is of slower growth, less luxuriant in
leaf, and of harder texture in the stem. Not hav-
ing made any attempt to manufacture sugar or
syrup from it, I am not qualified to speak of it in
that connection.

The Dioscorea Batatas, or Chinese Yam, is
another of the new plants that were to work won-
ders among us. I bought some of the cuttings,
paying for them about three or four times their
v/eight in silver. After some pains to start them
in pots ill, the house, the plants were set a good
■iistance apart, in a rich spot, previously trenched

and manured in humble imitation of Capt. Moore's
method, piling it on till I thought there was
enough, so as to give our new friends enough to
eat, and a fair chance to spread. In due time,
though not till the weather became decidedly
warm, the vines started and grew ; not at a speed
that made it necessary to step quick to get out of
their way ; but they grew some three or four feet
in the course of the season. Of course, as autumn
approached, with this promising crop in prospect,
one's slumbers could no longer be troubled with
dreams of poverty and hard work ; except the
hard work of carrying to the cellar the magni-
ficent crop that was soon to be harvested. Vi-
sions of the new store room to be built, of the
wealth that was sui-e to come, of the ease that was
to be enjoyed, were quite natural, and excusable,
even in one whose day-dreams of great success
had been usually disappointed. The harvest day
so long and impatiently anticipated, at length ar-
rived. With spade in hand I Avcnt to work to dig
up the yams, beginning at a distance from the
plants so as not to injure the roots, and slowly
and carefully, partly with hands, and partly with
spade, the earth was removed, till at length the
long white tuber began to be visible. Then with
increased care the soil was scratched away to tht
depth of nearly tv,-o feet, and the whole prize was
brought up and laid on the ground to be admired.
The yams were all dug in about half an hour,
though they did not all come out whole — amount-
ing, as I now remember, to about two pounds in
weight. With the assistance of iMr. Pinkham, I
have made a nearly accurate calculation of the
cost and profit of this crop. Cost of cuttings, $3,
manure 10c, trenching 8c, planting 2c, hoeing
8c, harvesting 5c. Total expense, $3 33. Value
of the crop, estimated at $20 a ton, 2c, which,
deducted from the cost, leaves a loss of $3 31.
Mr. Pinkham decidedly agrees Avith me, that no
farmer can get a living and pay for a farm out of
such profits. This little bit of experience almost
convinced me that it would be unwise to depend
on the profits of unhatched chickens to pay a note
at the Concord Bank.

In regard to the possible profitableness of the
Dioscorea, it is safe to say that the crop must be
large in order to make it pay. The labor of har-
vesting must necessarily be great. The form of
the tuber is much like that of a carrot growing
upside down. At the same time, its texture is
very tender, and a slight pull breaks it, and leaves
the big end in the ground. Consequently, you
must dig a trench to the depth of 18 to 20 inches,
and withal be very careful, or many of the tubers
will be broken. With me, each plant produced
but a single tuber, running straight down, and as
this was the case in every instMice during several
years' trial, it is probably the habit of the plant.

The Chvfa, or Earth Almond, is another of the
new plants I have tried. It was distributed by
the Patent Office, and recommended as bidding
fair "to become a valuable crop for cattle and
swine," and a good substitute for coffee. The
plants grew well enough, and produced a large
number of small tubers, averaging about the size
of a cranberry bean, and of a pleasant flavor ; but
as they Avere closely covered with fine fibrous
roots, to which the fine dirt adheres, it was dif-
ficult to clear them for use, and their culture was
discontinued. The quantity grown, about three

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

309

half pints, was hardly sufficient to test their value
in feeding "swine and cattle."

The Vetch was strongly recommended to me hy
an Irishman some years ago, to bo sown with
oats, and used as green fodder for milch cows in
summer. I procured two quarts of seed, gave the
man liberty to select his land, and prepare it to
suit himself. The result was a total failure, so
far as the Vetches were concerned, very few of
them growing more than six inches high. Anoth-
er Irishman has since said that the soil, a strong,
clay loam, and rather cold, was altogether un-
suited to the plant — that in Ireland, it is put on
dry, gravelly soils. I feel disposed to give it
another trial, though very likely the differences of
climate will prevent its successful culture here.

Hungarian Grass, or Millet. — Several years
since I sent to an advertiser in Iowa for a small
package of the seeds of this grass. It was said to
grow so rapidly, that it would produce two heavy
crops of hay, and afterwards mature a crop of seed
the same season. I received about a table-spoon-
ful of seed, and sowed it in a row that it might be
kept clean, in a good lyamy soil, neither light nor
heavy, and made rich to give the grass a chance
to do the best it could. When it was beginning
to head out, a small portion at one end of the
row was cut, to test its power to produce a suc-
cession of growths. About one-half the plants
sent up rather feeble and slender stalks, and ri-
pened seed. The second year I sowed about an
eighth of an acre. The crop was small, decidedly
inferior to common millet growing by its side. It
was eaten with avidity by the cattle, who may be
supposed to be good judges-of its quality. But
after trying it two seasons, I came to the conclu-
sion that my soil was not able to keep the prom-
ise of those who introduced the plant. It has been
cultivated by others with various success ; some
finding it a valuable and profitable crop, while the
experience of others has been similar to my own.

A few years ago the Patent Office sent out some
Crimson Clover seeds, a paper of which came into
my possession. Though sown in Avhat I have
found to be good soil for the common red clover,
it sent up only single and small stems, flowering
the first year, and dying the winter following. I
sowed again the last spring on a dry, gravelly
soil ; here also the plants shot up and flowered in
a small, spindling manner, with every appearance
of being an annual, of no value to the farmer.

So far, I have named only those plants that
have not succeeded with me. The list might be
extended, but I have hardly left room and time to
say any thing of some valuable ones that have
proved equal to their recommendations. Among
these, there are several varieties of turnip. The
Orange Jelly, a round, yellow-fleshed turnip,
promises very well. It grows to a good size, keeps
well, is tender, and of very fine and delicate fla-
vor. I think no one who has eaten it, will will-
ingly discontinue its cultivation. The White
Strap-Leaf tMYm^, s. large variety, with large and
numerous leaves, more suitable for cattle, has
also yielded well, when sown as a second crop
among some seed parsnips. The Wliife Norfolk,
also a large leaved variety, and the Purple-topped
Aberdeen, have yielded satisfactory crops.

In conclusion, let me express the hope that the
iailure of some plants, that we experiment upon,
may not discourage from the trial in a cautious

manner, of whatever may offer itself to us with
good promise. AVe may meet with frequent dis-
apppintments, and few successes. But one real
success will counterbalance many failures. A fail-
ure here is a temporary affair, a disappointment
for the moment only ; but the discovery and
adoption of a new valuable plant is a perpetual
success ; it carries its benefits into the far future.

For the New England Farmer.
PAKMERS' HOMES AND CHILDKEN".

I have just been reading H. C. Merriam's arti-
cle on the '"Profits of Farming." I like it, be-
cause it speaks boldly and freely; let us look
the matter fairly in the face, and seek to under-
stand the case in all its various bearings. My
experience of farmers and farming is not great,
and therefore my opinions are of very small val-
ue, and I only hope they may provoke you to
write a good article illustrating my points.

Is not the real cause of continued Avant of pecu-
niary success on the part of the farmer, the fact
that he does not to any great extent put his brain
into his work ? May not a farmer think and read
as much as any human being ought to do ? Must
he not do so in order to cultivate profitably ? And
yet how much of their work seems to be done
without any forethought. My forming neighbors
cart out their manure in the fall and v^inter, be-
cause they have time then, and leave it in sti-ag-
gling heaps on their land, uncovered, for the earth
being then frozen, they can't use that to protect it
from bleaching, and the deodorizing eff'octs of
sun, wind and rain. Now Avould not that manure,
if kept in the barn-cellar until spring, and Avorked
over by hogs, be worth about twice as much, so
that they could save half the cost of moving it ?
Tradesmen, mechanics, merchants, all have to
work their heads pretty hard as Avell as their
hands ; why should not the rule apply also to the
farmer ? Can he, by any other means, expect to
see his calUng raised to the noble dignity of a
science ?

Is it not generally the case that the boys with
the most active intellects grow weary of the farm,
and go to the cities, leaving only the slower and
more obtuse minds to carry on the farming, and
would not this cease to be so if the farmer em-
ployed his mind more, and so kept the active
mind of the brighter one fully employed ? Does
not the boy compelled by any circumstances to
remain on the form, accept the doom somewhat as
the criminal accepts his sentence — because he
can't help it — and do you expect him to make any
progress with such feelings ? As he folloMS his
plow from year to year, does he not spend more
of his time in thinking of the many pleasures and
lighter labors of his city brother, than he does in
carefully and laboriously considering how to make
his farm pay better ? I say thinking laboriously,
for no good comes of anything short of real la-
bor, whether of hand or "brain ; light and tran-
sient thought will do him little good. In order
to be able to think more, he must work his body
less severely, and the result of applying his mind
to his business will be, more time and ability to
think. We must not expect to amend this evil
in a moment, but we can, at least, begin at once.
Let every farmer do more to induce his brightest

310

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

July

bovs to stop on the farm and give them early a
few of the superfluous acres that are now idle or
half cultivated, which is worse than idle ; induce
them to plant this land with fruit and other trees,
with a view, one day, of having their home upon
it, and they will find it hard to leave such pleasant
places.

But there is another side to this picture. Let
us look at' it. Every farmer's son who goes to
the city does not turn out an Amos Lawrence ;
nine out of every ton fail, and ultimately die in
hopeless poverty or in debt, which they don't try
to pay, because that would deprive them of the
means of living easily. How many of them strug-
gle on for years and years on a scanty salary, and
die without ever being able to command their
own time ; and then look, at that host of young
men in cities who spend their evenings in dram-
shops and gambling houses, and their nights in
places not to be named. Is it not worth some-
thing to escape the strong and often too powerful
temptations to such things as these ? I think it
is within the truth when I say one-fourth of all
the young men from the country are drawn in by
these terrible vices ; they don't all go down in
open sight, but how many tire scarred all over by
their sins, and still live along with a decent show
of respectability. Let any city man look back
forty years and see how his pathway is strewed
with the wrecks of his acquaintances. Now I ask
country fathers, and especially country mothers, if
they wish their sons to run this great risk for the
sake of more money than they really need ? If
not, then let them make their home so pleasant
that they can't be hired to leave it. The tempta-
tions to cheat in order to get rich are greater in
trade than elsewhere ; then let us pause before we
place our sons in the way of such strong tempta-
tion to coin their souls into dollars, a risk to me
as fearful as the others. Let farmers think more
and their labors will be lighter — use their brains
more and their hands less. x.

A VALUABLE PAINT.

For the information of all who are wishing to
obtain a cheap and valuable paint for buildings, I
■would say, take common clay, (the same that our
common bricks are made of,) dry, pulverize, and
run it through a sieve, and mix with linseed oil.
You then have a first rate fire-proof paint, of a
delicate drab color. Put on as thick as practica-
ble. If any one has doubts with regard to the
above, just try it on a small scale — paint a shin-
gle and let it dry. Recollect that it must be
mixed thicker than common paints.

The clay, when first dug, will soon drj', spread
it in the air under a shelter, or, if wanted imme-
diately, it may be dried in a kettle over a fire.
When dry, it will be in lumps, and can be pulver-
ized by placing an iron kettle a few inches in the
ground, containing the clay, and pounding it with
the end of a billet of hard wood, three inches in
diameter, three feet long, the lower end to be a
little rounded. Then sift it.

Any clay will make paint, but the colors may
differ, which can easily be ascertained by try-
ing them on a small scale as above indicated. By
burning the clay slightly, you will get a light red,
and the greater the heat you subject it to, the
brighter or deeper red. — Country Qeyitleman.

For tfie New Englaiid Farmer.
FEEDING CATTLE.

[Read before the Groton Farmers' and Mechanics' Club, Feb.
6, 1860, by George S. Boctwell.]

It is now the fourth winter that I have fed my
milcli cows upon cooked food. The food gener-
ally consists of the husks and stalks of corn, bar-
ley or cut straw, meal, (corn and cobs ground to-
gether,) shorts, and rice meal, mixed with boiling
water, and allowed to stand from nine to twelve
hours before it is given to the cattle. I am now feed-
ing together fifteen cows, three yearlings, and one
calf ten months old. I consider the nineteen equal
to eighteen cows, and their daily allowance of
food is as follows :

168 pounds of husks and barley straw, at $8 per ton 67

1 bush, shorts, 25c, \ bush, cob meal, 28c 53

\ bush, rice meal, 25c, 2 bush, mangold wurtzel, 40 65

100 lbs. hay, at $15 75

18)$2,60
Dally expense per cow 14 4-0

In this statement no account is made of the fuel
used or the labor of tending the cattle, the ma-
nure being ample remuneration therefor. The hay
is fed dry, and the roots are given at noon. It is
to be observed, in forming an opinion of the econ-
omy of feeding cattle in the manner above des-
cribed, that the fifteen cows are giving milk, many
of them feeding liberally, and that they conse-
quently consume more food than cows which are
not kept for that purpose. It is to be observed,
also, that the husks are estimated at a price fur
above their saleable value, and far above the re-
turn that they yield to farmers who feed them dry
and long. The cost per day, 14 4-9 cents, would
purchase about 19J pounds of hay at fifteen dol-
lars per ton, and this amount will support a cow,
but her yield of milk upon hay alone will be very
small. According to the foregoing estimate, a cow
that gives a trifle more than half a can of milk
per day will support herself; and good cows will
do more than this. I have a cow that gave from
the 16th of April, 1859, to Dec. 20, 1859, 259
days, an average of 21§ pounds of milk per day,
or 280^ cans in that period of time. Her yield
for the year will be at least 300 cans, which, at
22h. cents, the average price, will amount to
$67,50. The cost of keeping may be estimated as
follows :

For 180 days, at 14 4-9 cents per day $26,00

p'or 185 days, at 7 cents per day 12,95

For rent of barn 5,00 — $43,95

Yield for tlie year 67,50

Profit $23,05

I may also mention a heifer, three years old,
grade one-half Ayrshire, that* dropped her calf
March 30th, 1859, and that, by the 30th of March,
1860, will have given 275 cans of milk. These
are among the best milkers, but the poorest of
my stock will yield 200 cans. I mention these facts
to show that the food described is adapted to pro-
duce milk. I am quite confident that but few cows
will yield two hundred cans per year when fed up-
on dry hay in the winter, and I am also confident
that farmers generally overestimate the milk-giv-
ing properties of their cows. For a few weeks in
the summer the daily yield is very large, and the
estimate is based in good degree upon that, while
in fact there are nine months when the quantity

1860.

NEW ENGLAm) FARMER.

311

is materially less. The quantity and kind of food
described are not only productive of milk, but cows
usually gain flesh during the winter, nor is there
any perceptible weakening of the system. The
heifer mentioned has been kept upon cooked food
every winter. The cow has been so kept three
years, and they are large and apparently healthy.
I have never seen any ill effects from the course
pursued.

By the process which I have adopted I am able
to get a return from the corn stalks equal to
the return from an equal weight of hay. At
the present price of milk and hay, I think it is im-
possible to sell milk and get pay for the hay con-
sumed by the cows ; but by feeding upon stalks
and straw, these articles yield a return which
could not be obtained in any other way. Every
farmer ought to consume as much hay and grain
as he produces. There may be deviations from
this rule occasionally when these articles com-
mand high prices, but compensation ought to be
made by purchasing when prices are low.

The object sought is to feed out all the crops,
and obtain as much money as could be obtained
by sending it away. This can not be done by
raising cattle for sale, but it may be advantageous
to raise cows for milk, as, if proper measures be
taken, good ones may be bred with considerable
certainty. A farmer cannot afford to buy cows
that have been tested and proved, as the prices
are too high ; nor can he usually afford to buy
clieap animals, and run the risk of finding only
(me in two or one in three that he desires to keep.

The root crops may be made the basis of im-
provements in agriculture. My limited experi-
ence leads me to think that the mangold wurtzel
is a profitable crop. The culture is easy and the
product large. The land should be thoroughly
and deeply tilled and well drained. A heavy,
clayey soil is unfavorable. The land should be
well manured and kept clean. A young man,
John Tynan, of the age of eighteen years only, a
pupil in the Albert National Agricultural Institu-
tion, Glasnevin, Dublin, Ireland, has prepared a
prize essay upon the mangold wurtzel, and it is
not too much to say that it is not only the best
essay upon the subject in hand, but it is a model
for imitation by those who write upon agricultu-
ral topics. It has been reprinted in the Transac-
tions of the Massachusetts Society for Promoting
Agriculture, and it may be read with profit by any
farmer of the country. The experiments made
upon the Albert Farm and cited by Mr. Tynan
show that the mangold is superior to any other
root for its fattening properties, and for its milk-
producing qualities. The yield to the acre is al-
so large, being, at the maximum, about thirty-two
tons. Salt seems to be a specific manure for the
mangold, the crop having been materially in-
creased by its use. In one experiment, the treat-
ment was varied by the addition of 5 cwt. of salt,
at a cost of about two dollars, and the crop was
increased from 23 4-5 to 30 3-5 tons to the acre.
In twelve experiments, the largest crop of 30 3-5
tons was obtained by the use of 4} cords of ma-
nure, 4 cwt. of guano and 5 cwt. of salt to the acre.
The manure was estimated to cost $31,37, or a
fraction over $1 per ton of roots. Another acre,
which yielded 20 3-10 tons, was manured with 2
cw't. guano, 2 cwt. of superphosphate, 2 cwt. of
nitrophosphate, and 2 cwt. of salt, at a cost of

$13,50, or 66i cents per ton. In another exper-
iment, the same articles were used, two-thii-ds of
the quantity of each being taken, and the result
was a crop of 19 11-20 tons, at a cost for manure
of 40 cents per ton. Another acre, manured with
guano only, at the rate of 7^ cwt. per acre, yielded
17 17-20 tons, at a cost of 81,20 per ton for ma-
nure. I find, upon examination, that the charges
for manures at Glasnevin correspond so nearly
with the cost in this country that the difference
need not be considered. The expense of labor is
not given by Mr. Tynan, but if we assume it to be
fifty dollars per acre, the entire cost will be about
eighty dollars. A full crop of thirty tons would
give a cost of $2,07 per ton. With ordinary cul-
ture, my own product, in 3850, was at the rate of
more than twenty tons per acre. It may safely be
assumed that mangold wurtzel may be raised at a
cost of three, four and five dollars per ton, accord-
ing to circumstances, and at the highest rate they
are a cheaper food for cattle than hay or grain. It
is thus seen that mangolds arc produced at a cost
not exceeding 10 cents per bushel, while in my
statement of the expense of keeping cows I have
estimated them at twice that sum. Every farmer
will do well to raise a ton for every two animals
that he intends to feed during the winter, wheth-
er fat cattle, stores or milch cows.

It is generally understood, howov-er, that the
mangold does not attain perfection before Janua-
ry, but it may be kept until the 10th of May, or
even till the 1st of June.

If the view I have taken be correct, the thought
may occur to some that we have underestimated
the value of Indian corn as a profitable crop. And
so I think we have. It is the only crop that, in
cases of extremity, and often as a matter of con-
venience or profit, may be used as a substitute for
every other. If properly manured and cultivated,
it may be raised upon every soil, and not once in
twenty years, in this climate, is there a total fail-
ure. It will sustain man and beast, and it is, as
an article of constant use, more palatable and
healthful than the smaller grains. When fully
ripe, it Avill endure the severities of the climate,
and the husbandman may allow it to remain in
the field without fear of loss, while wheat, barley
and oats must be gathered at maturity, or serious
results will follow. The stalks, when green, are
among the best articles for soiling cattle, and,
when dry, their value is equal to a third of the
cost of the entire crop. May it not then be wise
for farmers to give more attention to . the culture
of roots and Indian corn for the sustenance of
their own herds, and if anything is sent to mar-
ket, let it be hay, which usually bears a price dis-
proportionate to its nutritive value ^

THE CRO"W.

In an article on Avinter birds, -we have this de-
fence in the Atlantic Montldij : "He consumes in
the year vast quantities of grubs, worms, and nox-
ious vermin ; he is a valuable scavenger, and
clears the land of offensive masses of deceased an-
imal substances ; he hunts the grain fields, and
pulls out and devours the underground caterpil-
lars, whenever he perceives the signs of their op-
erations, as evinced by the wilted stalks ; he de-
stroys mice, young rats, lizards, and the serpent ;
lastlv, he is a volunteer sentinel about the farm.

312

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

July

and drives the liawk from its enclosure, thus pre-
venting greater mischief than that of which he
himself is guilty. It is chiefly during seed time
and harvest that the depredations of the crow are
committed ; during the remainder of the year, we
witness OJily his services, and so highly are these
services appreciated by those who have written of
birds, that I cannot name an ornithologist who
does not plead in his behalf."

INCBEASIISrQ IIJTERE3T IN AGRICUL-
TUKE.

Agricultural revival — Circulation of Ag-
ricuUi'.ral papers — Matters forty years
ago contrasted with the present — I3ooks
— Let the boys ami pirls po who seem
tlctermined to leave the farm — Contact
with the rough world will send them
back

FEW weeks since, we alluded to
some of the evidences or re-
sults of an increased interest in
agricultural pursuits which Ave
had noticed in our recent visits
to several towns in our Com-
monwealth. The agricultural
revival, as we then called this
new interest in the cultivation
of the soil, is by no means confined to our own
State. It pervades the whole country. Perhaps
there is no more satisfactory indications of its ex-
tent and intensity, than that furnished by the Ex-
changes which lie upon our editorial table. With-
in our recollection there were, we believe, but two
papers devoted to agriculture published in the
United States : the old New England Fanner in
Boston, and the American Farmer in Baltimore.
And even these worthy pioneers, these able her-
alds of a better time coming, were coolly received
and poorly sustained. With the genius and wit
of a Fessenden, and the earnest common sense
and wise foresight of a Skinner, the combined
circulation of these two journals never reached
as many hundreds as that of several of the agricul-
tural papers before us now counts in thousands —
and we are not sure that we might not add another
cipher, and say that some farmers' papers of 1860
publish more tens of thousands of copies than these
pioneer papers ever did hundreds. But we cannot
stop to hunt up statistics. Forty years ago, then,
it is very near the truth to say, there were no ag-
ricultural papers, no agricultural books, and con-
sequently no agricultural reading. The man who
settled upon a piece of land wrought out, as far
as he could, his own idea of a farm. His modes
and his practice and his implements were such as
were common to the neighborhood, varied slight-
ly by his own taste, skill and judgment. Virtuallj'
he stood alone. His labor was solitary — his busi-
ness lonesome. He worked and experimented by
and for himself.

But now. with more agricultural papers than

we have States in the Union, the humblest tiller
of the soil feels the happy influence of compan-
ionship Avith a host of peers and fellows in the
common Avork of progress and improvement.
Thousands may be waiting for the results of his
experiments in the most solitary corner of his
out-of-the-way farm. A noble band of brothers,
these readers and contributors of agricultural pa-
pers. Social, sympathetic, united ! Well may
we congratulate ourselves on such an interesting
revival of agricultural interest among the people
of our Avhole country — East, West, North and
South.

But if the number of the papers devoted to the
interest of the farmer, which are now read and
supported by farmers, may be cited with hopeful-
ness and exultation, surely the talent and ability
Avhich are displayed in their management may be
regarded with the highest degree of satisfaction.

We might also refer to books on agriculture,
which are swelling our libraries to a size that
is fast assuming the solid proportions of the li-
braries of the professions — the great secret of their
respectability and attractions — and to the labor-
saving implements, which do the work of menials
and slaves, greatly relieving the severity of our
toil, but we do not propose to do so at the pre-
sent time.

We have already run on with these remarks till
we have hardly space left for the announcement of
the object, or idea, of this article.

In view of this increasing interest in agricultu-
ral pursuits, we wish to suggest that, in our opin-
ion, greater fi-eedom may be extended to farmers'
sons and daughters in the choice of a profession.
For ourselves, we are ready to sign a proclama-
tion that, henceforth, every one Avho desires to do
so may leave the farm and the farm-house, forth-
with ! ».

As the business of agriculture now stands, there
is little hope of success by any of those sick of
home, victims of fate plodders, who believe they
were made for mechanics, merchants, peddlers,
preachers, politicians or fiddlers. All these class-
es are wanted, but not on the farm. In the late
discussion of the question, "What will tend to
make farming pleasant and profitable as a pur-
suit ?" by the Legislative Agricj^ltural Society, it
was well suggested that a love of the business is
essential. People must take hold of it from choice,
and voluntarily devote to it the best energies of
their minds and bodies, or the business Avill not
be either pleasant or profitable.

Who has not often remarked, that, among the
strange whims of our common humanity, there is
a disposition to do those things which it has been
forbidden to do, and to leave undone those things
which it has been most persistently advised and
exhorted to do. Recoq-nizing this as a well-

1860.

KIEW ENGLAND FARMER.

313

known, but often neglected principle of human
nature, we do honestly believe there is danger
that the advice to farmers' sons to stick to the
farms may be too frequently repeated. Certainly
there is such danger, if those whom we seek to
influence by our advice see, or think they see,
either in the frequency, or in the manner of our
admonitions, anything that has the appearance of
coercion, or of an attempt to interfere Avith the
freedom of individual action. In the choice of a
profession and of a wife, young America brooks
no dictation. He may possibly bear advice of the
simplest kind on either point ; but if he mistrusts
that there is a particle of compulsion in its com-
position, it will be rejected, though by doing so,
he should be forced to act against his own convic-
tions of duty and policy. Under the influence of
this dogged wilfulness, mistaken for indepen-
dence, many leave the flirm, resolutely deter-
mined not to return, and with that determination
so positively and repeatedly expressed, that they
axe ashamed to return when fully satisfied that
such is their wisest course. With them, exclusive
familiarity all their lives with the business of
farming, has bred a hearty contempt, while dis-
tance has given enchantment to the view of other
occupations. Among our personal acquaintances
many of the most contented and successful farm-
ers are those who have, by personal experience or
observation, had the best opportunities of con-
trasting the advantages and disadvantages of the
various trades and professions with those of agri-
culture.

For the Neiv England Farmer.

AROOSTOOK COTJIyrTY, ME.

The Fanner for Mechanics — Soil of Aroostooli — Limestone —
Surface Undulatin;-c — Growth of Timber on Hi;j:h and Low
Lands — Grain Crops, Oat?, Wheat and Biicliwhcat — Corn —
Bucliwheat Straw Injurious to Pigs and Young Stock — Laying
New Sliiugles on Old Ones.

I like the Farmer very much ; although I am a
mechanic, and my farming is limited to a small
garden, yet I find much information profitable to
nearly all classes.

Aroostook is a large and extensive county,
with a rich and fertile soil, exceeding anything
this side of the far west. The soil is of a lime-
stone formation, a ledge of it underlying nearly
the whole country, from two to six feet deep from
the surface.

The surface is not rough, neither is it a dead
level, but undulating, or lying in swells. The
growth on high lands is beech, birch and maple ;
in the valleys, fir, cedar and spruce. There is very
little waste land in comparison to other parts of
the State. The crops average larger here than any
other place I have been acquainted with. Oats
average from forty to fifty bushels per acre, al-
though one hundi'ed are sometimes raised. One
of my neighbors in 1858 raised from four acres
382 bushels, averaging 35^ pounds to the bushel.
20 bushels of wheat per acre is an average, and
everything else except corn in proportion. 1 do

not think the soil suits com so well as it does
other crops ; corn is raised, but not to great ex-
tent. There is no end scarcely to buckwheat — it
is very extensively grown ; some farmers raise
two thousand bushels, and not one in twenty but
raises one hundred.

Some time last year I saw an inquiry in the
Farmer as to whether buckwheat straw was inju-
rious for stock to live on, and as I have never
seen an answer I would say that it is injurious to
young pigs, and if they lay in it, it will set them
crazy, and they will finally die. It is hurtful to
hogs and young stock to run through it when
green, making their head and ears sore and itch
very much.

I saw a suggestion the other day in the Farmer
about laying new shingles upon old ones : that is
practiced here, but we lay a coat of lime mortar
on the old shingles andjnit the new ones on while
the mortar is soft. This makes it safer on account
of fire. J. A. Hubbard.

Ilodgdon, Me.

For the New England Farmer.

THOUGHTS SUGGESTED BY MAY"
KTJMBEB OP M". E. FARMEB.

Page 202 — Hungarian Grass. — After reading
dozens, yea scores, of reports in reference to the
yield, value, uses and superior advantages of the
crop whicli is variously designated as millet, Hun-
garian grass, German millet, Egyptian millet, &C.5,
and after examining a large number of specimens;
of the seeds sold or held under some of the above-
names, (as also under the nameof "HoneyBlade,")/
together with some of the plants grown from these ■
seeds, I have come to the conclusion that they are ■
all of one genus or species, botanically, and that, ,
in common farmer phraseology, it would be prop- ,
er and of some advantage to speak of them all, as \
varieties of millet. We have a great many varie-
ties of oats and of wheat and of corn, and as it is
absolutely necessary in some cases, and of advan-
tage in almost all, when speaking of these grains,
to designate the particular kind or variety con-
cerning Avhich you may be making such or such
an assertion, — as there would be great confusion,
misunderstandings, and contradictions, without
such particularizing of the kind or variety spoken
of, — so is it now as to the difl"erent varieties of
millet. They are not accurately distinguished,
nay, they are supposed by many to be entirely
different kinds of plants, and both seeds and
plants of different kinds pass current under the
name of Hungarian grass. From these causes Ave
have much want of clearness in our descriptions
and our apprehensions of Avhat is said or written
about the subject. ItAvould, therefore, be a great
advantage if some one would do for the varieties
of millet, Avhat has been done for the similar va-
rieties or kinds of wheat, oats, corn, Sec, and of
apples, pears, cherries, &c.

I have been led to the train of thought which is
outlined in the foregoing remarks, partly in con-
sequence of repeated proofs in agricultural publi-
cations, and in talks with farmers, that the majori-
ty are ignorant of the fact that Hungarian grass,
honey-blade grass, &c., are nothing more than
new names for a grain long known as millet, or
for a mere variety of the same, and partly in con-
sequence of an attempt, in the article under no-

314

NEW ENGLAND FAH^IER.

July

tice, to base a distinction between Hungaiian
grass and common millet, on what seems no more
a characteristic of any special variety in millet
than the stiffness of the straw or the mode and
amount of tillering are characteristic of any gen-
eral or essential difference in wheat. The writer
says, "this grass never grows too large and stiff",
like millet, but each seed throws up from the root,
in anything like fair ground, from one to five or
ton stalks, and sometimes in rich land, sowed
thin, from ten to fifty of about equal size, each
covered vvith its own beautiful blades, and when
ripe, a heavy head." Let those who grow millet
of any kind this season make observations as to
this and other, real or supposed, distinctions be-
tween kinds passing under diff'erent names. Nu-
merous observations are yet needed to establish
the truth and put down the errors or misappre-
hensions in regard to this old, but recently re-
vived and improved crop.

It is not intended in anything I have said that
the varieties of millet introduced into this country
from other countries, known as German, Hunga-
rian, Italian, Egyptian or other millets, are not
superior to our old or common millet. The dis-
criminating reader will perceive that the contrary
of this is implied throughout. But it is intended
that all these, and especially Hungarian grass,
are nothing more than varieties of millet, and not,
as many seem to think, plants essentially or gen-
erically diff'erent, and that, to prevent misappre-
hension, these varieties should be made the sub-
jects of discrimination more than they have been.

Page 204 — Legislative Agricultural Meeting. —
In the attempts made by the several speakers to
decide what are the most profitable crops to raise
on Massachusetts farms, some things were said
which would be of value to almost every cultiva-
tor of the soil in that State, as well as in many
others, and which went to show that different men
have diff'erent ideas or experiences as to what are
the most profitable crops, at least for themselves.
And the only shape in which the question dis-
cussed can be satisfactorily or usefully decided, is
when each individual decides it for himself, the
local advantages, or disadvantages, and other cir-
cumstances of diff'erent farmers, rendering it im-
possible that any one system of cropping can be
the most profitable for all. And if each individ-
ual would thoroughly consider and judiciously de-
cide, every year, what crops it would be most prof-
itable for hi7n to raise, I am inclined to think that
many would find time thus spent in head-work as
profitable as that spent in any kind of hand-work.
In determining what crops I can most profitably
raise, I must take, as everyone must, many things
into consideration, such as the amount of the manure
on hand, the peculiarities of the markets most ac-
cessible, the price of help, &c., &c. Among the
many considerations which should have an influ-
ence on my decision, there is one to which I
would give more weight than to almost any other,
namely, this, that, as a general rule, tJiose crops
are the most profitable which can be consumed up-
on the farm and converted into such marketable
articles as milk, wool, butter, cheese, meal, live
stock, &c. Whatever crops can be made to pro-
duce the greatest amount of these articles, and
leave behind them the most valnable manure, are
svu-ely the most profitable in tlie long nm ; and as

M. P. has suggested in his article on page 211, it
is more economical to feed not only the more bul-
ky articles but even grain, to stock upon the farm,
if we can obtain a return of only 80 per cent, of
the cash or market value of these articles, than to
carry them off" to market. The manui-e is worth
the difference.

Page 20Q—The True Object of Fanning.— This
article, abounding in suggestions well deserving
of serious consideration, might have been, per-
haps, more appropriately headed, or titled thus :
How Farming may be made a more Ennobling
Pursuit. And if the methods here recommended
for making farming more ennobling and dignify-
ing in its influence upon those engaged in it were
habitually held in remembrance, and adopted in
daily life, there would be among us, even among
those in lowly life, more true ?ioblemcn than there
are of men, so called, among all the titled aristo-
crats and large land-holders of the sea-girt isle.
If a farmer, in virtue of a serious consideration of
the thoughts here presented to his attention, were
to resolve to aim at the several objects mentioned,
and to consider them habitually as of more imjjor-
tance than making money, — if he were to resolve
to conduct all his operations on his farm as God's
steward and co-worker, and to find out what meth-
od of management secured the largest amount of
His smile and approval, as evidenced in His caus-
ing the largest returns from that method, — if he
would resolve to make himself ever better and
better acquainted with God's great book of Na-
ture ever open before him, — if he were to resolve
to make his home and its surroundings as full of
gratifications for the sense of beauty as God has
made the fields, and all the works of His hands, —
if he were to resolve to make all things in his
pursuits and in his communion with Nature's au-
thor contribute as much as possible to educate,
enrich and exalt the minds of his children, — and
if, finally, he were to resolve that in all his deal-
ings with his fellow-men, he would do to them as
he would that they should do to him, and that this
golden rule of action should be extended even to
his feeding, working, management and care of the
animals committed to his charge, what a noble-
man would he be ! Surely it cannot be account-
ed presumptuous or at all inappropriate to add
here, that when such a farmer shall be called away
from his sphere of duty, labor and privilege hero,
to another province in God's illimitable universe,
he will receive a plaudit of "Well done, good and
faithful servant," and be assured that as he has
been faithful and wise in his administration of a
few things he will now be advanced to be ruler
over many things.

Page 213 — Carrot Juice in Bjftter. — Judging by
specimens of butter we have seen and eaten of
for several winters, I should say that the man or
woman would be weak and foolish indeed who
would wish any better color in winter butter than
that which good feeding and care, and especially,
perhaps, a good amount of clover hay, is capable
of imparting. And if the carrot or clover juice is
not put inside the cow, we are quite sure that,
though any desired color may be obtained by doc-
toring or dyeing the butter, yet the good, rich
relish and flavor of butter made from a well-fed
cow can never be had by any artificial means
whatever. ' More Anon.

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

315

For the New Ensland Farmer.
A GOOD HEIFER.

In the autumn of 1858, having on hand the
stover from half an acre of corn, I purchased from
a drove a small two-year-old heifer, paying sev-
enteen dollars for her. The corn fodder, with a
little salt hay, wintered her through. On the first
of May, 1858, she dropped her first calf. When
four weeks old it weighed, after being dressed, 80
pounds. During the month of June, with noth-
ing save her pasture feed, she averaged 18 quarts,
wine measure, per day. In July the drought,
shortening her su])ply of feed, she .shrank to 17
quarts per day. In August, dry weather contin-
uing, she fell away an additional quart. In Sep-
tember, I began to feed her with corn stalks, and
she averaged 15 quarts per day. In October, Avith-
out fall feed for second crop hay, she averaged 14
quarts per day. In November, 13 quarts. In Jan-
uary, February, March and April she averaged
quite 10 quarts per day.

The past winter she has been kept upon swale
hay, with about four quarts of shorts per day.

Assuming that while the calf was with her she
gave 17 quarts per day, her first year's lactation
amounts to,

May 527 qts.

.lune 540 "

July 527 "

August ..496 "

September 450 "

October 434 "

November 390 "

December 372 qts.

January 310 "

February 290 "

March 310 "

April oOO "

4946 qts.

"Which, at four cents per quart, what it has read-
ily brought at the door, except what was con-
sumed in my own family, amounts to $197,84.

The cost of wintering the first winter I roundly
estimate at $15.

Wintering $15

Pasturing 7

Past winter 25

First cost 17

Amounting to §64

I have been ofi"ered, and refused $75 for her
this spring. She is expected to drop her second
calf late in the coming summer.

Increased value, $58 ; added to the income of
the first year, making $255,84. Deducting the
cost of keeping for one and a half years, with the
first outlay, making $64, from the year's income,
with the increased value, leaves a net profit of
$191,84.

Those making use of her milk consider it of su-
perior quality. H. M. Coucu.

Georgetown, May 8.

EFFECTS OF SOAKING SEEDS IN
CHEMICAL SOLUTIONS.

The following is an extract from the Transac-
tions of the Highland Agricultural Society :

"I steeped the seeds of the various specimens
exhibited, in sulphate, nitrate and muriate of am-
monia, in nitrate of soda and potash, and in com-
binations of these ; and in all cases, the results
were highly favorable. For example, seeds of
wheat steeped in sulphate of ammonia on the fifth
of July, had by the tenth of August, tillered nine,
ten and eleven stems of neai-ly equal vigor ; while
seeds of the same sample, unsoaked and sown at

the same time, in the same soil, had not tillered
into more than two, three, and four stems. I pre-
pared the various mixtures, from the above speci-
fied salts, exactly neutralized, and then aadfcd
from eight to twelve measures of water. The time
of steeping varied from fifty to ninety-four hours,
at a temperature of GO degrees Fahrenheit. I
found, however, that barley does not succeed so
well if steeped beyond sixty hours. Ryegrass and
other graniferous seeds, do with steeping from
sixteen to twenty hours, and clovers from eight
to ten, but not more ; for being bilobate, they are
apt to swell too much and burst. The very supe-
rior specimen of tall oats, averaging 160 grains
on each stem, and eight available stems for each
seed, were prepared from sulphate of ammonia ;
they had an avei-age of thirty-four grains in the
ear. The other specimens of oats, which were
next the most prolific, were from muriate of am-
monia ; and the promiscuous specimens of oats
were from the nitrate of soda and potash — strong,
numerous in stems, (some having not less than
fifty-two,) but not so tall as either those from the
sulphate cr mui-iate of ammonia."

For the New England Farmer.
IS FARMING PROFITABLE?

Mr. Editor : — Sometime since I was much in-
terested in an article in the Farmer, by your cor-
respondent T. J. Pinkham, of Chelmsfoi'd, headed,
"How to Reckon the Cost of Farm Products." I
am glad he wrote it, for I believe it will result in
good to farmers. I recommend to all farmers the
practice of keeping a debt and credit account with
their farms in general, and with particular crops,
stock, &c., that they may be reliably informed in
regard to the cost of whatever they produce. One
reason, doubtless, why farmers know so little def-
initely in regard to the cost of a bushel of grain,
or potatoes, or of a ton of hay, and consequent!'.'
of their stock, is the fact of the changeable char-
acter of our climate.

I recognize Mr. Pinkham as the author of an
article entitled "Does Farming Pay ?" on pag ■
447 of Vol. XI. of the monthly Farmer, to whic'i
I replied on page 533 of the same volume, undc/
the same heading. At first I supposed him hardl
in earnest, and was surprised to find a bold en-
dorser at the end of the article. But finding frien '
P. quite candid, and really in earnest in his re-
marks, in which he seems to fi.gure so as to well
sustain his position, I hope he will pardon me
for being bold to review his last article on the
subject, on page 562 of the monthly, to which I
hope the reader will refer. That it costs much
more to cultivate an acre of corn on some kinds
of land than on others, even sometimes double, 1
admit ; and on the first reading, his estimate seems
a somewhat plausible one, but after carefully re-
reading it several times, and criticizing, I ob-
tained a different view. His bill of cost for cul-
tivating up to September, is a fair one for some
soils, under the method pursued — high enough
for almost any, and very high for soils of easy
culture. In regard to his ten loads of manure,
however, if he charges it all to the corn crop, there
may be a deduction of five dollars, only one-half
the cost of the manure being generally charged to
the first crop, and if the land be a stiff, gi-een

316

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

July

sward, such as 'would require two yoke of oxen to
plow, the corn would be likely to receive still less
benefit from the manure, in which case, the chief
fertilizing efi'ect of the manure would be seen in
the crops that follow the corn.

In the matter of harvesting, a fine saving can
be made in his items of cost, the common price
per acre for cutting up corn at the roots, and
stooking, in these parts, being one dollar, though
sometimes a dollar and a quarter to a dollar and
a half is paid for cutting vei-y stout corn — a sav-
ing of 2.5 to 50 per cent., on P.'s cost of merely
topping the corn, or cutting the stalks. Some
men will cut up and stook from one to two acres
of corn a day, depending upon its size ; by the
way, quite a gain over the old method of to])ping
the stalk and picking the corn. Two dollars is
ample renumcration for husking ; and in regard
to shelling, I will mention that I was one of three
men Avho shelled in one day, the present year,
corn that measured one hundred and twenty bush-
els after it was shelled and winnowed — in ten
hours' time — at a cost of not more than three dol-
lars, or seventy-five cents for thirty bushels ; and
as to marketing, it may l)e sold when at town on
other business, in part at least, and delivered at
any distance less than ten miles, for two dollars.
So, in fact, Avithout going further into particulars,
I find there maybe ordinarily — I do not intend to
adopt the minimum extreme in my prices — a sav-
ing of ten dollars in cultivating the crop, and five
dollars off' from the manure, reduces the charge of
expenses from forty-seven dollars to thirty-two
dollars, giving five dollars clear profits on the acre
of corn, or a return of sixteen per cent, on the
capital invested, after deducting for interest, taxes,
rents, &c., in short, all that is chargeable to the
crop, and allowing two yoke of oxen to plow the
ground, which is not the general custom, and
adds to the expense.

The planting may be done by hand at a cost of
seventy-five cents an acre, or with a corn-planter,
by horse power, at even less expense, when some
fertilizer maybe dropped in the hill, with only the
r.dditional cost of the fertilizer, instead of two
dollars and a half, as Mr. P. has it, which would
still lessen the cost of the crop, and makes the
l)rofit on the capital employed equal 22.5 percent.
Ill short, he seems to have taken a rather stubborn
piece of soil, and adopted (what would be consid-
ered intliis section) an expensive mode of cultiva-
tion, though he remarks that "it will be seen that
we have cultivated our crop in the most prudent
and economical manner."

A farmer living but a few miles from here, is
reported to have recently stated that he had raised
the present year an acre of corn at a cost, in la-
bor, of ten dollars and fifty cents, and had once
raised seven hundred bushels of corn on fourteen
acres of land, manured broad-cast. The cost of
raising the premium corn crops that are reported
in Agricultural Transactions, that generally range
from seventy-five to one hundred bushels to the
acre, and where the land is manured heavily, is
generally but little more than thirty dollars per
acre, and sometimes a little less than thirty.

And here let me add a statement concerning
the cost of raising a crop of corn on some of the
plain lands of Massachusetts, which are of easy
culture, ajid generally cultivated without manure,
aceordinc to the nhilosophv vour correspondent

recommends in the remarks that follow his state-
ment of the expense of corn xaising, (top of sec-
ond column on page 563.)

ONE Acre of Corn. Dk.

Plowing and harrowing $2,50

Planting and seeding 75

Hoeing twice 3,00

Cnttiug up and stooking 1,00

Carting, husking, stacking fodder, &c 3,00

Shelling, delivering to market, &e 1,75

Interest on land, taxes, &c., &c 1,50 — $13,50

Value op Same.

Twenty bushels of corn $20,00

Fodder, &c 5,00— $25,00

Net profit $11,50

instead of sinking ten dollars (or 21.5 per cent,
on the capital invested,) as a dead loss, as in Mr.
Pinkham's statement. And he further remarked
that, in his opinion, "there are but comparatively
few acres of corn planted in this State, but what
run the owner in debt more than this has !" and
adds, in all gravity, "what is true in regard
to this crop is true of most others ; only much
more so, (?) for aside from the hay crop, the corn
is the most reliable, as it is the most important
upon the farm." IIow, then, in the name of com-
mon sense, is it that hundreds and thousands of
farmers in New England, and in this State, even,
whose only income is from their farm products,
manage to get along a whole life-time Avithout be-
coming bankrupts ? Indeed, if P.'s statements
are correct, farming is a rcmarhahly disastrous
business, and any man who will follow it, must be
remarkabh/ stupid ! I fear that, after all, the facts
are against friend P., for if such a state of things
obtains in his vicinity, the case cannot be gener-
al. And I can assure him that hundreds of bush-
els of corn are raised in this section of the State,
at a cost not exceeding the above, and which often
not the cultivator a higher per cent, of profi.t.
Fifty bushels per acre have been taken from these
soils, without manure, when first subdued from
their natural state.

In regard to the net profits on the corn crop,
where manure is applied, I will refer Mr. Pink-
ham, and the reader, to agricultural reports on
premium crops of corn, where the per cent, of
profit is given as high as fifty to one hundred,
Avhich, if these are not fair premises to judge from,
at least show what the farmer may do by judicious
management.

I find a paragraph in the address of Gov. Wash-
burn, delivered in 1858, before the Middlesex
South Agricultural Society, which may well be
quoted in this connection. He says :

"Farming has always seemed to me to be like
theories in political economy. You may take
your slate and pencil, and sit down and cipher
yourself into a good income, or no income at all ;
you can demonstrate beyond contradiction, that
the country is going directly to ruin, by too high
or too low a tariff, just according to the data you
assume at the start. And yet, in the face of these
calculations, the country goes on prospering, and
the farmer finds himself better off at the end of
the year than at the beginning, though ruined, be-
yond retrieve, by figures which, it is said, 'do not
lie.' "

All farmers, I am sure, do not always realize
as good pay as first rate mechanics, who can com-
mand great wages and steady employment through-

1860.

NEW ENGLAKD FARMER.

317

out the year, but it is often owing to improper at-
tention to their business, or from their being locat-
ed on stubborn or worn-out farms. But any farmer
who has a hundred acres of New England soil at
his command, need have no fears of finding a
pauper's grave, if he but attends to his business ;
and if he is not free from debt, ho may soon be,
if he manages properly, and is industrious.

Let us now look at the figures Mr. Pinkham
has given us in reference to the cost of raising
calves. Here (I do not speak of elsewhere) the
hide of a very young calf is worth nothing, for it
cannot be sold, except rarely to a "tin peddler,"
%Tho will pay twenty-five cents "in trade ;" but
generally a young calf of the native herds will
bring one dollar for fattening, or to raise, if a
buyer can be found. But 62 9-i for tending a calf
during the first eight weeks of its existence, five
and one-fourth cents a day, seems an enormous
charge ; and then I can hardly conceive how so
young a calf can dispose of a buslicl and a half of
meal in the same time, about a quart a day, upon
an average, for the first two months. He may
possibly bo made to eat it, but it is much more
than is for his good, in connection with its milk.
I am raising a calf that is now two weeks old, and
I find that the attention he requires, does not oc-
cupy more than five minutes a day of any jierson's
time. The milk, I acknowledge, Mr. P. puts down
at a very low figure. "To eighteen weeks at grass,
at ten cents per week, $1 80." In this part of
the country, pasturage can be obtained for year-
lings, in their second summer, for eight to ten
cents a week ; and calves in their first summer,
of course, do not consume so much food. "To
twenty-six weeks' keeping in barn, at fifty cents
per week, .$13." This charge, I think, any farmer
who has hired stock kept in v^inter, or has taken
stock to keep, will consider much too high. I
have known full grown cows, when not in milk,
kept for that price. So I think it will not bo too
much to deduct one-half from Mr. P.'s estimate,
which leaves not a high price for a good yearling.
But I must confess I do not regard the raising of
stock, except under peculiar circumstances, as
profitable as many other branches of farming, and
think that generally there is but little to be made
from it, directly.

In other departments of agriculture, at least in
this part of the Connecticut Valley, a "handsome
profit, is realized by the farmers, and I know of
instances in which they are slowly but surely be-
coming "before-handed," as it is termed, simply
by cultivating farm products.

A gentleman, not very distantly related to the
writer, bought a piece of new land, containing
fifteen acres, for 816-3, a few years since, from
which pine timber had been cut the previous win-
ter. It was broken up and sowed to rye, yielding
two hundred and sixty-four bushels, which was
sold at one dollar per bushel, and with the straw,
gave a clear profit exceeding considerably the
original cost of the land. It was planted the fol-
lowing year with corn, though in an unfavorable
condition for a corn crop, and also suffered much
from the drought, yielding a fine profit above the
cost of the work in raising. I might give other
instances, with plenty of vouchers for their truth.

The same farmer, when he commenced business
as an agriculturist, ran in debt for his land to the
extent of several hundred dollars, some twenty

years since, and though having a family to sup-
port, has cleared himself of debt, and made ex-
tensive improvements in fences, buildings, &c.,
besides adding, by purchase, some forty acres
more to his farm, all of which is now free from
debt, with several dollars in surplus funds ; and
all obtained from the land by the raising of crops,
no "outside successes" having been met with,
notwithstanding the unprofitableness of farming.

I find that Mr. Pinkham and myself have ar-
rived at very difi'ercnt conclusions in regard to
the consequences of farming, while we both may
think we have based them upon reliable premises.
For my own part, I have endeavored to give cor-
rect siatements, and for that end have consulted
other farmers on many points.

I might extend these remarks much farther, yet
I must say, I did not find an answer to the ques-
tion, "Ilovvf is it, then, that farmers get along?"
which Mr. P. propounds, perceiving it to arise
from the view of the matter he has presented, and
claims he "can very easily answer," but I have
thus far looked in vain for a proper answer.

This subject is one of great importance to the
farmer, and it would be interesting to compare
facts and opinions in relation to it from diff'erent
parts of the country. J. A. A.

Springfield, 1860.

For tlte New England Farmer.

IKE POTATO ROT NOT CAUSED BY
INSECTS.

'Mr.. Editor: — When I wrote the article upon
this subject, which is now causing so much anxie-
ty and trouble in a certain quarter, I did not
know that Mr. Lyman Reed had laid claim to the
$10,000 avi'ard off'cred by the State of Massachu-
setts to the discoverer of the cause and remedy of
the potato rot ; nor did I know that he had ob-
tained a patent right for his pretended discovery,
backed up by a certificate from seventeen mem-
bers of Congress, who "devoted one whole day in
the Agricultural Committee Rooms of the Capi-
tol" in examining into the subject, but who can-
not be supposed to know half as much about the
subject as seventeen plain, shrewd, common sense
Yankee farmers, who have been carefully and crit-
ically examining into the subject for the last ten
or fifteen years ; but I did know that ^Ir. Alex-
ander Henderson, of New York, had attempted
to show that the potato rot was caused by insects.
It was not, therefore, against Mr. Lyman Reed's
claims and interests that I off"ered the seven rea-
sons to prove that the potato rot was not, and
could not be caused !)y insects. These seven rea-
sons were the result of careful observation and
long experience, and were stated so clearly and
forcibly, that even Mr. Reed himself seems to
quail before them. Why, otherwise, does he charge
me with using "vague generalities" and "hypo-
thetical theories ?" I used no vague, or ambigu-
ous expressions, indulged in no new fancies, hy-
potheses or theories, Init stated the simple, naked
truth in seven propositions or reasons, which it
becomes Mr. Reed as a gentleman and scholar,
fairly to meet, and logically to answer. If he feels
himself competent to do this, the quicker he does
it the lietter for himself, and for his claims upon
the public. John Goldsbury.

Wanoicli, May 14, 1860.

318

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

July

THE TIME TO CUT GEAIN" AND GRASS.
This is an important matter, and one that has
not received sufficient attention. Farmers are in
the habit of cutting their grain and grass at the
most convenient time, and without much regard
as to what effect such cutting has upon the weight
and nutritive qualities of the crop. They Avill con-
tinue to do this, because they have not bestowed
thought or investigation upon the subject, and
therefore do not realize the losses which they in-
cur by neglecting to harvest grains and grasses at
the proper time. The reasons of this loss are so
plainly set forth by Mr. Anderson, the learned
editor of the Farmers' Journal, published at Mon-
treal, that we prefer to employ them, to using
words of our own. He says that

"Grass, while still green, contains a large amount of
starch, gum and sugar. The sugar is perceived in the
sweetish taste of the juice ; the starch and gum, being
nearly tasteless, are not so readily perceived. The
principal nom-ishing ingredients in all kinds of food are
starch, gum, sugar, and some nitrogenous compound.
But the starch, gum and sugar are mainly cljangcd into
hard indigestiblu woody fibre when grass fully ma-
tures. If the ripening process be arrested eight or ten
days before its completion, and the phuit be dried rapid-
ly, dou))le and treble the amount of starch, gum and
sugar will be secured. The same reasoning holds true
of all kinds of gi-ain. Every one is ftimiliar with the
sweat taste of green corn, wheat in the milk, etc. When
the growth is completed, cut these crops and you save a
considerable amount of rich nutriment which Avould
othcnvise be changed to the woody fibre of the outer
shell. The only point to be looked to, is, to wait imtil
the accumulation of juices is completed, and then begin
the hai-vcsting at once. The only exception to this rule
is with crops designed solely for seed ; these may well
be left to the natural full ripening upon the stalk, espe-
cially when the seed is to be kept long.

The proper time for cutting gi-asscs is at the moment
the seed is set, or immediately after the fiowerhig is
over. Clover should be cut as soon as in full bloom.

A large number of experiments on wheat and other
grains indicate that the proper time for liar\'esting is
when the kernel is fully formed, but still soft enough to
yield to a moderate pressure between the thumb nails.
This is usually about ten days before maturity.'"

This reasoning is undoubtedly correct, not only
because it is founded on true scientific principles,
but also because it is confirmed in an abundance
of experience by those who have put the matter
to practical test. It would be safe, we think, to
say that millions of dollars would be saved to the
country annually, if this single item of business of
the farm were carefully investigated, and such a
practice adopted as the investigation would cer-
tainly suggest.

The Avant of a more accurate knowledge of the
business in which he is engaged, of a clearer in-
sight into matters which he cannot comprehend
at a glance, is one leading reason why the profits
of the farmer do not more constantly meet his ex-
pectations. It certainly is not because there is
any inherent defect in our soil or climate, or that
nature is not generous, even lavish in her favors,
but rather that the farmer does not closely ob-
serve the_,wants of the soil, the influence of cli-
mate and the effects of depositing seed, gathering

crops, or doing many other things at a wrong
time, or in an improper manner. He must be-
come a iJiinker, as well as worker, before the pro-
fession in which he is engaged will keep pace
with the progress of other arts, or afford him that
material aid and comfort which he fancies other
occupations confer.

In the coming harvest, there will be opportuni-
ty for every farmer to test the value of these re-
marks, by cutting a portion of his grain at that
moment when the kernei is fully formed, hut so
soft that when he presses it between his thumb
nails, he can squeeze it to a pulp, and notice a
slight milky juice in the mashed mass;. Theo
leave a portion ten or twelve days later, and upon
threshing and cleaning up carefully, compare the
results. If this course were adopted by one or
two intelligent farmers in every neighborhood,
and reported to the agricultural papers, it would
do much to settle the question and introduce a
uniform practice.

To test the value of hay cut early with that cut
later, may be a more difficult matter — ^but still, by
weighing portions of the two kinds, and by a crit-
ical observation of the manner in which the cattle
eat them, and then- apparent effects, somothiug-
may be learned that will be valuable. A pretty
fair test would be to lay equal portions of each
kind of hay, side by side, in front of the stan-
cheons before the cattle are tied up, and on bring-
ing them to their places, observe whether they
make a selection. 3t would be necessary proba-
bly to try this more than once, and if the p-efer-
ence of the cattle were uniform upon one kind of
the hay, we should feel tolerably safe m being
guided in our practice by their instincts.

We hope experiments will be made and reports
sent us that may be published for the benefit of
aU.

jFbt ilte New Engiand Farmeir.
IlSrOCULATIOlSr op diseased CATTLE.

Since it seems evident that the cattle disease is
much more extensive and troublesome than at fu'st
feared, and that the means taken to prevent its ex-
tending farther have failed, as might have been
reasonably expected from the first, would it not
have been both prudent and wise to have tried in-
oculation, which has been fron>J;he first stated to
be effectual, upon those portions of infected, iso-
lated herds, which were not already diseased?
Or do our commissioners and veterinary surgeons
esteem it their only province to kill ? It seems
to at least one person, that a far better way would
be to forthwitli inoculate every one of a herd where
the disease makes its appearance. Legislative
measures will prove powerless, unless a measure
of this kind is resorted to. I have been told, on
what I consider good authority, that cattle from
a diseased herd, several animals having died from
it, of the identical disease now prevalent in Mas-
sachusetts, have within a few weeks been sold in

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

319

the Philadelphia cattle market, and whether, or
how far they may spread the contagion, time only
can show ; and this fact, among others, shows the
propriety of immediate inoculation of the herds
where the disease appears. The cattle referred
to were not from this State. Killing evidently
affords no certain, and hardly a probable relief to
the disease. It is not improbable that the dis-
ease may be communicated from one herd to
another in the clothing of drovers, commission-
ers, surgeons and attendants of diseased animals.
Boston, May 25, i860. D.

For Vie New England Farmer.

LETTER FBOM KANSAS.

How to make Kens lay — Cottonwood Trees — Shingles — Forest
Trees in Kansas — Wild or Natural Fruits — Preserves.

Ms. Editoe : — Last week I was several miles
out into the territory, and stopped at night at a
cosy log cabin nestling among the timber upon
Walnut Creek. The next morning, after break-
fast, I was surprised to see my landlady go out,
and catching her hens, tie each one's legs togeth-
er and throw them upon the ground with "There,
be good." "What did you do that for ?" I asked.
"To make 'em lay," she answered. "Make them
iay, will that do it ?" I inquired. "La, yes," she
said, "didn't you ever hearn tell of that before.^"
I confessed I had not. In about an hour she went
out, and picking up the hens, sure enough, some
had laid ; those she let go, and they ran off, not
even cackling their gratitude. But those hens
who seemed disposed to be contrary, she struck
upon the back, saying, "You'd better lay, you'd
better lay, for you won't go till you do," and in a
while they, too, had recompensed their mistress
for feeding them so bountifully. She says that
she does so every morning, and that the hens
know well enough that "they have got to lay." So
you see even invention lives in Kansas.

But of trees. One of my friends has just cut a
Cottonwood tree upon his land in the river bot-
tom which measures tlu-ee feet in diameter, eigh-
ty-four feet from the ground. He computed that
it would make 800,000 shingles, which at $2 per
thousand, nets $1600, and there remains the large
top for fire-wood, which is three and four dollars a
cord. He bought forty acres of bottom land and
paid thirty dollars per acre, a year ago. His land
is thickly covered with such large trees. Five
years ago such timbered land could be had by
"squatting" upon it ; now it is worth fifty dollars
aii acre, and cannot be got for that. Every owner
knows how valuable his land is, since civilization
is marching through our forests to erect villages
over fallen trunks and upon our Western prairies.
The Cottonwood is an inhabitant of the whole
Mississippi Valley. It derives its name from the
blossom, which flowers out like cotton. The seed
is so natural in the territory that if a piece of
newly-plowed ground is allowed to remain uncul-
tivated a year, young cottonwoods spring up all
over it. The trees run up like an arrow to the
height of eighty or one hundred feet, and branch
out at the top large and full. The leaves are
full and shiny. The trunks grow sometimes very
large. Not far from our house is one tree meas-
uring ten feet in diameter. The young trees make
e3Ei;ellent flag-staffs, so straight and stout. Mul-

berry trees are also abundant, which make the
most durable posts, and burn as well green as dry ;
oak, black walnut, hickory, ash, hackberry, which
is the best for wagons, pecan and sycamores are
also abundant.

In their season, Ave have plenty of wild fruits in
Kansas, which is very gratifying to us Yankee pre-
serve lovers in this new land of barren orchards,
and, perspectively seen, cultivated fruit trees :
wild grapes, plums, elderberries, mulberries,
strawberries, blackberries, black raspberries or
thimbleberries, gooseberries, wild cherries, ground
cherries, crab apples, pawpaws, and other fruits,
the names of which I cannot now remember. So,
if we do give up the orchards of New England,
Nature does as well as she can for us here. Many
of the people that have been brought up in the
woods do not even know how to preserve fruits
for winter, and swear at "those Yankees" who are
always scouring the woods and "getting their
winter's living out of them." They had much rath-
er let the fruit decay on the bushes than have us
"Yankees" teach them how to preserve them !

Susie Vogl.

For the New England Fanner.
ANALYSIS OF THE GAKDEN EHUBAEB.

Mr. Editor, — Dear Sir: — Perhaps a chemi-
cal analysis of the leaf stalks of the garden rhu-
barb, (Rheum lihaponticnm,) may not be unac-
ceptable to the readers of your paper, and I there-
fore take the liberty of sending to you the results
of mv analyses of the juice of this plant made
June,"' 1859, and May, 1800.

The leaf stalks of the rhubarb when pressed
yield 90 per cent, of juice, and leave 10 per cent,
of cellulose and fibrous matter.

One thousand grains of this juice, after filtra-
tion through paper, on being evaporated in a wa-
ter-bath to dryness, yield 31 grains of solid mat-
ter. This burned gives 3.3 grains of ashes, or sa-
line ingredients, which consist of

Grfiins.

Potash 1-717

Phosphate of lime 0.3&0

Lime 0.002

Carbonic acid 1.200

The carbonic acid was combined with the pot-
ash and lime, and was produced by combustion of
the acid, with which these bases were originally
combined. One thousand grains of the filtered
juice, analysed for the acids, saccharine matter,
and mucilage, yielded

Grains.

Oxalic acid 3.53

Malic acid 7.30

Glucose, or grape sugar 9.63

Mucilage 3.30

The oxalic acid is chiefly combined with potas-
sa forming bin-oxalate of potash or salt of sorrel,
but there is an excess of this acid, which is not
taken up by any base present.

The malic acid, excepting the very minute quan-
tity required to saturate the lime, is in a free state.
It is obvious that, since no tartaric acid exists in
the juice of the rhubarb stalk, it is not suitable
for the manufacture of wine, and that the ferment-
ed juice has more the properties of cider.

Cil!lRles T. Jackson, M. D.,

State Assayer.

320

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

July

^— -■'^^Jo-*!^?^'^'^ '^•'

DUEHAM BUTiIi—CHICAGO DUKE.

The fine animal illustrated by this engraving,
is the property of the Hon. John Wentwokth,
of Chicago, Illinois, and was bred by R. A. Al-
exander, of Woodford County, Kentucky.

Mr. Wcntworth was born and reared on a farm
in New Hampshire, and all his early life was de-
voted to the noble and inspiring pursuit of agri-
culture. Like many other young men, however,
he wished cO see the world iu some of its other
phases, and left the farm for the printing-office,
"which is the best epitome of the Avidc world in
our knowledge. This led him into political affairs,
and these into Congress. He has been a working
man evcrywlierc — at home, in the ])rinting-officc,
caucus, on the stump, and iu Congress. But in
the midst of all these allurements, he never for-
got the farm, nor lost sight of that domestic bliss
■which oftener resides in the farm-house than in
any other place ; and although immersed in the
sea of politics as the editor of a paper, or in the
halls of Congress, or guiding the interests of the
people in a populous and progressive city, he has
always found opportunity to return to his first
love, and engage in some department of agricul-

tural life. One of his efforts has been to introduce
into the West a better breed of cattle, and the
"Chicago Duke," who is now looking at j'ou from
above, is one of the specimens of his introduc-
tion.

We have often spoken of the Durham cattle as
a breed, and do not think it necessary to devote
space to that point now.

Exhumation of Ruins. — There has existed a
long time a record wliich fixed the site of the
watch-house which was erected by the Plymouth
settlers, on Burying Hill, during tl^e late war with
King Phillip, in 1G75. The exact site and size of
ihe building has never been accurately determined
until Saturday last, when portions of the founda-
tion were hud bare. The foundation Avas of stone,
upon which were laid brick, made evidently of
clay taken from our shore. The building was
about tv/elve by sixteen feet, and was situated
about one hundred feet North of the original fort
erected by the settlers of 1G20, and upon that part
of the hill which commands a very extensive view
of every direction. These ruins were found but
about a foot below the surface of the ground, and
have been several times interfered with by the
digging of graves. — Plymouth Iiock\

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

321

THE CATTLE DISEASE.

No person who nas bestowed any consideration
upon this subject Avill wonder at the prominence
■which we have given it in our paper, or think the
space unprofitably occupied in which Ave have en-
deavored to arouse the community to a sense of
the imminent danger that is threatening one of
the most important interests of the Common-
wealth. In this State, in the year 1855, the num-
ber of milch cows (we copy from the Advertise);
not having the documents at hand) was 148,569,
and of heifers 35,441; valued together at ($4,892,-
291) a little short of five millions of dollars. Of
oxen there Avere 50,225, and of steers 27,286, val-
ued together at (.$0,246,341) more than three mil-
lions of dollars ; an aggregate exceeding eight
millions altogether. Of these 33,917 milch cows,
9444 heifers and 18,561 oxen and steers valued
together at $2,022,921, or more than one-quar-
ter of the Avhole, wore returned from Worcester
County, in the very heart of which is raging a di-
ease affecting those animals, as novel in this
State, as it is dangerous and destructive. Nor is
this all ; 8,116,009 pounds of butter, valued at
$1,678,557, and 5,762,776 pounds of cheese, val-
ued at $434,250, are returned as the annual pro-
duct derivable directly from the useful animals
tliat are now threatened Avith extermination by a
disease more destructive than any thing that has
ever affected neat stock in this country.

Could the disease be confined to this State alone,
it would be bad enough, but it threatens to spread
over the whole country. Cases are reported in
New Hampshire and Connecticut, Avhich can be
traced to exposure from the infected districts, and
the proper jn'ccautions arc being taken, avc trust,
.in time, to prevent its spread.

We often hear of its ravages in Europe, but Ave
doubt Avhether a tithe of our readers are aAvare of
the extent to which it has prevailed there, and
tlie enormous expense A\-hich it has entailed upon
the Government of Great Britain alone. We copy
the folloAving article from the Ncav York Tribune,
giving an account of the ravages of the pleuro-
pneumonia in England, in 1744, and in Holland,
in 1857 :

"In 1744, a farmer residing at Poplar, in England,
imported two calves from Holland, xnidcr circumstan-
ces exactly similar to those attending Mr. Clicnery's
importation. Starting from this point, sloAvly at tivHt,
but more rapidly as more means for its propagation
were cffercd, it !^prcad over the length and I'rcadih of
the land, destroying hundreds of thou.sands of cattle,
and continuing its devastating effects AviJx almost un-
mitigated severity doAvn to 17-51-5. Notwithstanding
the deep and painful interest Avhich this disease excit-
ed, and the efforts made hy the government to stay its
ravages, it AA'as ascertained by one of the Commi.^sion-
ers appointed to iuA'estigale the matter, that in Not-
tinghamshire alone 40,000 head of cattle perished in
six months, and in Cheshire npAvard of 10,000 in the
same space of time.
By a special act of Parliament orders were given :
1st, For the kilUug of all the infected animals, and

burying them entire Avith the skins on, 'slashed from
head to tail,' that they might not be used for the pur-
poses of the manufacturer.

2d, For the ))nrning of all the hay and straw used
ahout the animals.

3d, For the cleansing and fumigating of the sheds,
etc., and for no sound cattle to be put in them for two
months after the removal of the diseased.

4ih, For no recovered animal to be allowed to go
near others for a month after its convalescence.

5th, For no diseased cattle to be driven to fairs or
markets, nor for the llcsh to be used for dogs, etc.

Cth, For no healthy cattle to be removed from a
farm Avhere the disease had prevailed in less than a
month af;er its disappearance.

And, lastly, orders Avere given for the notice of an
outbreak to'be immediately sent l>y the farmers to the
proper authorities.

In one year, the third of the existence of the disease,
£135,000 Avere paid out of the public treasury as a re-
compense for the cattle killed according to the pre-
scribed orders. During the year 80,000 head of cattle
were killed because more or less infected, and nearly
double that numlicr died of the disease. The prompt
action of the Government, although it did not eratli-
catc the disease, yet much diminished its ravages, and
undoubtedly shortened the period of its sojourn iu
England.

In 1857 over 14,000 head of cattle were slaughtered
or died, in only forty-three villages in Holland, caus-
ing a distress among the peasantry of a lamcntaljlc na-
ture. What distress an C(]ual mortality among the
neat stock of American farmers, most of them not over
rich, Avould occasion, may be imagined. Let pleuro-
pneumonia once get to the prairie ciwntry of the West,
and SAveep aAvay 20 per cent, of the cattle from w-hich
thi^ city is supplied, and Avhat Avould be the effect
upon the railroads and cities, that even under existing
circumstances can barely hold their own ? We there-
fore think it highly necessary that Ohio, Indiana, Illi-
nois, and, coming EastAvard, Pennsylvania, New York
and NcAv Jersey should take their precautions before
they are invaded liy the disease. A competent com-
missioner should be chosen by each of these States to
go to Massachusetts, iuA'cstigate the disease, and report
to their several Legislatures the means of prevention
found effectual, that the necessary legislation might at
once be taken.

Once let the malady pass the boundaries of the State,
and an irrcti-ievaljlc injury may have been done. It is
almost unsafe to purchase a head of stock from Mas-
sachusetts, for, hovv'CYcr remote from the infected dis-
tinct, they may Iuia'c been diseased by reason of con-
tact Avitli some animal exported thence. AVhen the
State Commissioners are prepared to announce to the
public Avhich towns are and Avhicli are not infected,
the butchers in this city, and stock-growers and far-
mers throughout the country, Avill at least be able to
purchase understandingly.

As it is noAv, infected cattle from the Connecticut
Valley, or other parts of Massachusetts, may be sent
to this market, or to Allxuty, there sold to farmers for
the yoke, and thus Avhole districts be ravaged by the
disease. Not a single hoof should cross the borders ot
Connecticut except after being inspected, under the
heaviest penahies ; and the sooner this stringent regu-
lation is adopted, the better it Avill be for us all."

At the meeting of the Governor and Council,
on Thursday, May 24, it Avas decided that the
peculiar circumstances of the prevailing cattle dis-
ease Avere such as to render the calling of an ex-
tra session of the Legislature expedient. Gov.
Banks accordingly issued his proclamation, calling
upon the Legislature to assemble at the State
House, on Wednesday, May 30, at noon.

We have noticed fewer cases reported, the past
week, but they have generally come from new
quarters. Among the neAV cases is one at Pepper-
ell, Avhere the coav of Mr. Andrew Wood, Avhich
had been purchased in Brookfield, in April last,

322

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

July

was suspected of being diseased, and a subscrip-
tion having been raised to indemnify the owner,
was killed, together with her calf. Both ani-
mals proved to be suffering from the disease. It
was ascertained that another cow, in North Lan-
caster, had been exposed from the keeping of Mr.
Wood's cow in the same barn on her way from
Brookfield, and she exhibited signs of the disease.
She has been isolated until further action by the
Commissioners. It is asserted, says the reporter
of the Journal, and we have had the same assur-
ance from other sources, that, in every case yet
known to the Commissioners, a direct communi-
cation can be traced with Mr. Chenery's herd, or
with cattle exposed by others which had received
the contagion from that source. The fact is one
of much importance, and it ought to be made
known and well weighed, as an evidence of the
contagious and not epidemic character of the dis-
ease.

On Wednesday, May 23, the Commissioners
visited South Maiden, and, after examination,
ordered a cow belonging to Mrs. Susan Josslyn,
and animals of John McBath, James Moran, Zeb-
uion W. Davidson and Mr. Connors, thirteen in
all, to be confined in enclosures isolated from all
others- The cow belonging to Mrs. Josslyn was
purchased of Mr. Chcnery, of Belmont, but did
not develop the disease till quite recently. The
examination by the Commissioners resulted in
strong proof that it was affected by a virulent
lung disease. The other animals have been ex-
posed, and having ranged over the marshes, may
have given the disease to other cattle.

With regard to the spread of the cattle disease
into Connecticut, we have the following :

Some of the Connecticut papers express fears
that the disease has gained a footing in that State.
To remove all doubt, Dr. Dadd, of Boston, visit-
ed the .suspected district (Stafford S])rings) a day
or two since, and examined one or two animals,
and pronounced them infected with pleuro-pneu-
monia of the worst type. The people held a town
meeting, which was addressed by Dr. Dadd, and
a committee was appointed to confer with the
State Board of Agriculture upon the subject. The
animal butchered was taken from Stuz'bridge,
Mass.

On the other hand, the Hartford Courant, after
full inquiry, is satisfied that the cattle panic which
prevailed in Connecticut last week was unfound-
ed, and that the pleuro-pneumonia has not yet
been introduced into that State. It does not see
the necessity for the grant of a large sum of money
to keep the disease out of the State, but thinks
that Commissioners should be appointed, with
large discretionary powers, for a limited period,
to act in concert with the local town authorities
to prevent the moving of cattle through the State,
or their iiftroduction from Massachusetts,

May 28th, the House Committee on Agricul-
ture, at Washington, had another meeting on the
subject of the cattle disease in Massachusetts.
The Secretary of the National Agricultural Soci-
ety gave some further information relative to the
matter.

Dr. Calvin Cutter informs the Journal, that on
the 28th he was called to examine a cow at An-
trim, N. H., which was said to be diseased. He
found in the pasture of David Hills, two cows ex-
hibiting evidence of the disease. They were killed
and examined, and both exhibited pleuro-pneumo-
nia of an intense type. These animals were taken
from Acton, Mass., to New Hampshu-e on the 4th
of May. The citizens of Antrim held a meeting
on the 28th, to devise means for the safety of
their herds. Meetings were held in Dcering and
Weare on Monday, which passed resolves per-
emptorily prohibiting the passage of cattle across
the town lines. All the cattle in pastures adjacent
to other towns are to be removed into the interi-
or, and only horses will be kept in the boundary
pastures. The utmost vigilance will be used to
prevent contagion.

Several of our Agricultural Societies, among
them the Middlesex, South Middlesex and Frank-
lin Societies, have voted to dispense with the
show of neat cattle the next fall, and the rest will
probably follow their example. Indeed, we think
it would be the wisest course for all the New Eng-
land Agricultural Societies to avjid any possible
exposure of stock to the disease, during the pres-
ent season, at least.

Several cases have been reported in Holden,
Worcester county. Cattle killed there have
shown unmistakable proofs of the infection. The
Worcester Sj)y says :

"There is now danger that the disease will be intro-
duced liei-c liy cattle driven into the city from neigh-
horing towns. It is already rumored that a pair of ox-
en aliected with the disease have been driven into the
city fnnn Ilolden. Wc gave the p;'.rMculars of the
slaughter, on account of the disease, of Mr. Dike's cow
in liulden. Another cow that took the infection from
this, hiis been slaughtered there, and found very much
diseased ; and the disease has nppcarcd in a yoke of
oxen lielonging to the same herd. It is estimated that
from seventy-live to one hundred head of cattle have
been exposed in Holden. There is need of the utmost
caution."

The near approach of the disease naturally
creates much excitement in that vicinity. The
Mayor of Worcester, which adjoins Holden, has
issued a proclamation recommending the com-
plete isolation of individual herds in Worcester,
at whatever cost or inconvenience to the owners.
Also the erection of fences to separate contiguous
pastures by the space of twenty-five or thirty feet,
and that cattle be driven upon the highways only
in cases of absolute necessity, and then that con-
tact with others be carefully avoided. Policemen
are stationed upon the streets leading from tba

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

323

infected districts, with peremptory instructions
to prevent all ingress of cattle upon any pretext
■whatever,

A similar course is being taken by the farmers
of New Hampshire. The last number of the
Concord Patriot gives an account of meetings
held in Weare, Deering, Hopkinton and Hills-
borough. The people are determined to stop the
passage through their towns of all cattle, from
whatever direction. New cases have been found
in Hillsborough and Antrim. The disease has
not made its appearance in Weare, as yet, and
the authorities hope, by prompt action, to escape
a visitation.

A rumor is published in some of the papers
that the disease has made its appearance in York
county, Maine, and that several valuable cows
have died from its effects. A commission from
Maine, consisting of S. L. Goodale, Esq., Secre-
tary of the Board of Agriculture, Dr. E. Holmes,
editor of the Maine Farmer, and Dr. Amos
Nourse, of Bath, arrived in this city to attend the
extra session of our Legislature, with regard to
the disease.

New Jersey, also, is threatened by the scourge.

It has appeared in Newark. The Journal gives

the following statement :

In December last, Mr. Johnson, a Newark former,
bought six calves in the New York market. In a few
weeks two of them died, and he has since lost two
others. He has had five cases which he thinks enth'cly
recovered, and five are now sick. Last week one of hi§
animals died, and another was killed. These animals
were examined l)y competent surgeons and others, and
it is said that both cases presented every indication of
the disease existing in this State, and were pronounced
by Dr. Grycc, V. S., of New York, as well as the medi-
cal gentlemen present, unmistakable cases of pleuro-
pneumonia. A large portion of Mr. Johnson's herd
have been sent to pasture, where there are hundreds
of cattle together, and it is feared that disease has thus
obtained a sure foothold.

A commission has been appointed by the Gov-
ernor of Ohio, to visit this State, and investigate
the origin, causes and nature of the cattle disease.

The General Assembly of Rhode Island have
passed an act to prevent the introduction and dis-
semination of infectious or contagious disease
among the neat cattle in that State. It makes
stringent provisions against the introduction of
any cattle into the State in violation of the act ;
give town councils full power to take all mea-
sures they may deem necessary to prevent the
spread of the disease in their several towns ; pro-
vides for a board of commissioners, of one mem-
ber from each county, to attend to the faithful ex-
ecution of the act, and fixes severe penalties upon
the sale of any cattle known to be infected, and
upon transporting cattle from a town where the
disease is known to exist, to other towns in the
State. It takes immediate effect, and is to con-
tinue in operation until suspended by proclama-
tion of the Governor.

On Friday, June 1, before the special com-
mittee of the Legislature, Rev. Daniel Lind-
ley, recently from the mission at South Africa,
gave some interesting facts concerning the dis-
ease in that country. He said :

The distemper was introduced into South Afi-ica
about six years ago, by the importation of a bull from
Holland. He was on the voyage aliout two months, and
the disease appeared in about'six weeks, but its nature
was not known at first. The animal died, but not be-
fore the disease had spread. In that country the cat-
tle are kept in large herds, and wander over large
tracts of land. Oxen are u~^ed there for transportiug-
goods all over that c-ountry. When the existence oV
disease became known it was too fai^ spread to bo
stopped. Nothing was done by the government toi
stop it, and the desti-uction was extensive. The de-
struction thei-e has been such that many persons have
been obliged to give up CiUtle, and have taken to rais-
ing sheep instead.

He was anxious to bring the committee to realize
the importance of the subject. It has spread 1200
miles from Cape Town across the continent, and was
fast spreading along the coast. Animals died in about
eleven weeks after exposure. Inoculation was prac-
ticed by every man for himself, and was partially suc-
cessful. Mr. Lindicy explained the process of inocula-
tion, and the symptoms of the disease. He said that
some of the cattle died from inoculation whose lungs
were not alfected at all. There is no accounting for
this ; it is contrary to science and all general rules.
He had known animals that had died after inocula-
tion, that had taken the disease from an exposure. It
was hard to tell whether the animal died from the dis-
ease or from inoculation. Inoculation will not cure —
it is only a preventive. Some of the oxen get along-
very ■well after inuciilatiou,and some of them arc quite
sick. Others are worked all the time. In. Europe they
think less of inoculation than in South Africa. He did
not know how the climate would affect the matter
here. Where he lived, the thermometer ranged from
93° to 42°. He Avas confident that the disease- could
be stopped here Ijy isolation. He was certain that it
is a contagious disease.

A vote was taken allowing' the gentlemen from
Maine to ask questions, and the witness ■was exam-
ined minutely into the peculiai-ities of the disease iu
Africa, and as to his opinion concerning the simi-
larity of that disease with the one existing in Massa-
chusetts. He was quite confident that it was the same
disease. They have in South Africa the genuine pleu-
ro-pneumoma, which they know all about. This dis-
ease under discussion, came afterwards, and is very
different from it, in being contagious.

Health of Americans. — De Bow's mortality-
statistics, compiled from the last census, sho^w
that the people of the United States are the heal-
thiest on the globe. The deaths are three hun-
dred and twenty thousand per year, or one and a
half per cent, of the population. In England the
ratio is near two per cent., and in France nearly
three per cent. Virginia and North Carolina are
the healthiest of the States, and have six hundred
and thirty- eight inhabitants over one hundred
years of age.

FiBRiLiA, OR Flax Cotton. — Three address-
es delivered by Stephen INI. Allen, Esq., be-
fore the Legislative Societies of Massachusetts
and Rhode Island, and the Class on Agriculture
at Yale College. We gave the substance of these
lectures last winter in one of our reports of the
Legislative Agricultural Society. For sale by A.
Williams & Co., Boston.

324

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

July

SUMMER PBUNIIfG APPLE TRhlES.

We have often called attention to this subject,
and are happy to know that the practice of prun-
ing trees in the spring, while the sap is in mo-
tion, has been entirely discontinued by large num-
bers of our best farmers. For the comfort of
those who controvert the theory of summer prun-
ing, we wiil say that we are not acquainted with
any living horticulturist who is distinguished in
his profession, who is the advocate of spring prun-
ing ; nor do we know of any eminent writer on
the subject, either in this country, or in England,
or France, who would recommend the orchardist
to prune his trees while the sap is in active mo-
tion. No one thing, in our judgment, is so cer-
tainly destructive to bur apple orchards as to trim
them in the months of March, April and ^lay, and
if the season is a warm and early one, they had
better not be touched during the last of February.

At some moment of more leisure we will col-
lect the authorities which favor summer pruning,
and think they will be sufficient to settle the mat-
ter conclusively in any observing and unpreju-
diced mind.

These remarks have been suggested by noticing
in the Germantown Telegraph the following par-
agraphs. We have been on the grounds of Mr.
Freas, the editor of the Telegraph, have observed
his trees, and heard his opinions, and are happy
of an opportunity to lay the latter before the
reader.

It is a pretty well established fact that apple
trees — and we would add pear trees — pruned from
the middle of July to the middle of August, sus-
tain the operation with much more advantage
than if pruned at any other period of the year.
If pruned at this time, the wound will heal over,
and make, v/hat surgeons would say of a properly
amputated arm or leg, a handsome stump. If
the brandies be lopped in winter or spring, the
stump generally leaves a perpetual scar ; and if
after the sap has commenced flowing, a bare bone,
as it were, projecting from the living parts of the
tree, a'ad remaining there until it rots away, when
frequently the decay continues on, as a sort of
gangrene, into the very heart of the tree, much
to its injury. Who has not observed this in his
experience ?

We have more than once witnessed the benefits
of pruning in midsummer, and have always been
impressed with the advantages over the system
generally pursued. On one or two occasions,
some years ago, we adverted to the fact, and now
again call attention to it, especially as the season
for trying it is at hand.

Adulterations of Food. — We want a little
touch of French depotism in these matters. Every
drop of milk brought into Paris is tested at the
barriers by the lactometer, to see if the "iron-
tailed cow" has been guilty of diluting it — if so the
whole of if is remorselessly thrown into the gut-
ter ; the Paris milk is very pure in consequence.

If a tradesman adulterates any article of food of-
fered for sale, he is first fined, and then made pub-
licly to confess his fault, by means of a large
placard in his window, setting forth the exact na-
ture of the trick he has played upon his custo-
mers. Imagine some of our leading tradesmen
obliged to sit in sackcloth and ashes, and suffer
this moral pillory ! One or two rogues thus ex-
posed would have a marvelous effect in keeping
the sand out of the sugar and the burnt beans out
of the coffee, — Once a Week.

For the New England Farmer.

BEES.

Mr. Editor : — For several years past bee cul-
ture has been growing in interest throughout New
England, and among most all classes ; but more
especially among the mechanics and professional
men. The culture of the bee is a most fascinat-
ing employment, and one every Avay adapted to
the female department of the household. I am
often inquired of as to the price of a swarm of
bees. Let me say the spring of the year, before
swarming time, is the best time to purchase, be-
cause ordinarily you get two stocks instead of
one ; if you buy a new swarm, you get no cost
from it the same year. To ascertain whether the
swarm is a good one, say any time during the
month of May, try its weight, and see that this
is right ; a common hive will weigh about twenty-
five pounds. The Langstroth hive, as made by
Mr, Fryc, of this town, weighs about forty-five
pounds ; but it is too heavy ; the bees, five or
six, and the comb and honey, from ten to twenty-
five pounds ; though few of our common hives
have this quantity of honey in them at this sea-
son of the year. See that the comb looks bright
and clean. If it is two years old, it will be of a
darkish yellow color. The older, the darker the
comb will be ; observe also whether there are
bees between nearly all the sheets of comb. A
person who is accustomed to seeing bees often, can
tell pretty well as to their health. A good healthy
swarm will have a peculiar look about them which
cannot be described. There is a bright, brisk,
lively, wide-awake look and movement about
them which settles this question. If you can
purchase a swarm which answers this description,
with a fair hive, complete as to boxes, &c., any-
where within fifty miles of Boston, for ten dollars,
take it, if you want; it's cheap enough; and if
you give the bees the care they ought to receive,
it will pay you fifty per cent, the first year. Last
season bees did poorly in all this region. May
was too cold and wet for them, and few bee-keep-
ers "had a swarm in May (or Jmie) worth a load
of hay." This month and the next are the two
harvest months in bee culture in New England.
What extra honey is made by the bees after the
20th of July, will not be more than what you will
be obliged to give your stocks in the fall. Bees
require as much care during this month, as any
other during the year, and many stocks are lost,
dying of starvation, simply from want of a little
timely attention from their master, I find the
early morning the best time to attend to all bee
matters, where it is necessary to come in contact
with them. My rule is, whenever I am about to
do anything about the hive likely to disturb them

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FAIIMER.

325

much, always to be prepared for a fight, as feeling
safe from their sting, I take things "fair and
easy," and usually learn my bees so. During the
past winter, I left my stocks out exposed to the
■weather, with no protection but the hive, and they
stand on the north side of a high hill, and they
came out finely this spring, and I have never had
any which look better than mine at the present
time ; heretofore, I have always advised housing
them during the coldest months. N. Q. T.

King Oak Hill, May, 1860.

BUTTER AND CHUBNS.

"We have just come from the stall of one of the
neatest butter merchants in Boston market, — a
man whose personal appearance, at first sight, is
a guaranty that what he sends to your table as
good butter will be as fragrant as a June rose,
provided such can be found among the butter-
makers of New England or New York. This stall
is No. 1, Faneuil Hall Market, and the man you
will meet there, in a long frock, as white as the
driven snow, is Mr. J. W. Merriam. Upon ask-
ing him what proportion of Jirst rate butter he
thinks there is out of all brought into market, he
replied, "Oh?^ one i)ound in ten!" This is the
judgment of a man whose business of life has
been for many years to buy, and sell, and judge
of the article of which we are speaking, and he
states it as his opinion that only one pound out
of every ten brought to Boston market would be
pronounced by good judges asjirst rate butter !

It costs as much, ordinarily, to make a pound
of poor butter as to make a pound of good, so
that if we had the means of showing how much
is brought into this market annually, we could
show a loss to the farmer which would startle him
so as nearly to shake the very bones out of his
body ! But this shaking would not abate the pre-
judice of some against thought and investigation,
and they would still go on cutting their hay and
grain at improper times and attempting to cure
them without the use of caps, hacking their fruit
trees in March and April, and making miserable
butter that is a drug at ten cents a pound when
it might just as well command seventeen !

It is not a difficult thing to make good butter,
— but in order to do so, certain conditions must
be complied with, because they are absolutely es-
sential conditions, and without this compliance,
all the labor that can be bestowed upon it, to-
gether with the best materials, will be employed
in vain. The first prerequisite is cleanliness:
cleanliness almost to a fault, — and this must be-
gin with the milker. The cow's bag must be kept
clean, so that nothing adhering there shall taint
the milk before it passes into the hands of the
dairy-woman. This care must be observed in ev-
ery stage of the process. The milk and cream

should be kept in a room by themselves ; never
where there are turnips, onions, or other roots,
or smoked or dried fish, or any thing else that
imparts odor to the air of the room.

The next important consideration is that of
temperature ; this should be as even as possible,
not only while the cream is being gathered, but
especially so when it is brought out and put into
the churn. All the surroundings should then be
alike in temperature — the cream, the chum itself,
and the air of the room in which the churning is
going on. For the want of this uniformity many
a vexatious hour has been passed, beating the
cream into froth, but bringing no butter. It will
not answer to bring cream from a room where the
temperature is 62°, and dash it into a churn the
temperature of w'hich stands at 40°. An equal-
izing process immediately takes place between the
two substances, — the cream elevating the temper-
ature of the churn, and the churn depressing that
of the cream, so that the latter is in no condition
to be converted speedily into butter.

When the butter is made, and is really good,
its value in the market greatly depends upon the
manner in which it is put up. Mr. INIerriam
showed us two lots he had just received from the
town of R * * * * *, Vermont, and remarked as he
replaced the covers upon the tubs, "Allowing the
butter to be of the same quality, there is three or
four cents difference per pound in its value in con-
sequence of the manner of packing ! Look here,
there are no prints of fingers oti that lot, and the
cloths that cover it are adjusted with just as much
nicety, as though its sale depended entirely upon
that point. See how white the tubs are ! This
lot of butter is worth Jive cents a pound more than
the other." The most money can be made on the
best butter, both by the farmer and the butter-
merchant.

]Many persons impute great virtue to the churn
in butter-making, and seem to suppose that a
good article cannot be made, unless by the use of
a particular churn. But with a good deal of ex-
perience and observation in the matter, we have
found that any churn so constructed as to strike
the cream a frequent and smart blow, would soon
bring the butter, provided the other conditions
were right, good cream and a proper temperature
in the cream, churn and room. The common dash
churn is constructed upon the right principle to
bring the butter quickly, and the only objection
to it seems to be the hard work required to use it.

Several points more suggest themselves in re-
gard to this important baanch of farming, but our
remarks are already too long for us to enumerate
them. We trust this point will be remembered
by every dairy-w'oman, viz.. That the butter that
is made the best, and put up in the most careful
manner, willalioaus return the lorqesi nrn-fit !

326

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

July

For the New England Fanner.
A GOOD EXAMPLE IN FARMIiSTQ,

Mr. Editor : — Your correspondent, T. J. Pink-
ham, is laboring hard to convince us that farming
is a most unprofitable business, but I am one of
those that disagree with him in the matter. That
poor farming does not pay, I Avill admit, but does
poor anytliing-dse pay ? Will a merchant who
docs not take every possible means to keep him-
self thoroughly informed in regard to the various
details of his business ever succeed ?

I believe that farming, good farming, will pay
as well as any other business, all things being
equal ; that it requires labor, tact, energy, and a
good amount of common sense, I will admit; but
win a man succeed in any business without these
very desirable requisites ?

In walking with a gentleman in his pasture a
few months sines, we came across a sow of very
fair appearance ; says the farmer, I have realized
more than seventy-five dollars from the sale of
pigs from that animal the present season, and it
has not cost me five dollars to keep her ! An ac-
quaintance purchased late in the fall of '58, fifty
young ewe sheep at $1,25 a head — has sold avooI
averaging $1,90 per head, and fortj'-five lambs at
an average of $1,75 each, realizing over $3,50 per
head for keeping his sheep less than one year, the
cost of which will not exceed 88 cents, and has
his 50 ewes for another year's service \

A case in point came under the writer's notice
a short time since, in one of the towns not many
miles from Boston :

An elderly gentleman lived on, and carried on,
quite an extensive farm, but after many years of
hard labor and frugal econom)', found himself
largely in debt, there being a heavy mortgage up-
on his farm. A son of the old gentleman becom-
ing of age some five years since, bought the farm
of his father, agreeing to pay a small amount over
the mortgage, which nearly covered the value of
the estate. The young man commenced, without
capital, save stout hands and a good supply of
common sense, and to-day he has paid for his
farm to the last farthing, besides making valuable
improvements.

How has this been done ? Not by hard work
alone, but with good calculation and sound judg-
ment combined with his labor. What we want,
brother farmers, is a thorough knowledge of the
nature of our land, and its adaptation to certain
crops, and with deep plowing, high manuring and
judicious managing, if farming cannot be made
profitable, what business can ? Are not my ways
equal, saith the Lord, and who shall say that the
honest tiller of the soil shall not receive compen-
sation for his toil, equal to that of any other trade
or^n-ofession ? c. c. n.

Boston, 1860.

How TO LAY UP A RaIL FENCE IN A WORK-

MAN-LIKE Manner. — Set stakes for a single line,
then have one stake m.ade smooth with an arm of
tough wood reaching out tv.'o feet if your rails are
ten feet long. The end of the arm shows where
the rails are to cross. Lay the smallest and
straightest at the bottom, and the large ones on
top. After the worm is laid, put under the chunks.
Then, as y6u build, put the large ends of the rails
in the low places. Never notch your rails, if they

were split as they should be. When laying the
last course before staking, be careful to have a
small end come under the stakes. Be careful to
cross the stakes the right way, and lay the big
ends of the riders on top. Then the passer-by,
as he goes pondering along, will take notice, and
say: "T7«e man that laid up that fence knew
how." — Farmer^s Advocate.

EXTKAGTS AND REPLIES. '

THE DESTROYER OF CATTLE.

The concentrated wisdom of the Legislature of Mas-
sachusetts is to be brought to bear upon the cattle dis-
ease the present week. If they shall be fortunate
enough to have clear ideas on the subject, it will be
more than has yet been diffused in the community. So
far as I can Icara, all the certain cases that have oc-
curred in the Commonwealth have been traceable to
one soiu'ce — that is, to animals recently imported from
Holland — and further, its spread has been by contagious
influence. This contagion may be by direct proximity
of the animals themselves, or by fodder or other ob-
jects contaminated by them. Its development v/lien
imbibed is more or less rapid, according to circumstan-
ces. It may remain latent for months, so that there
can lie no certainty of exemption, where there has been
exposure.

I have great doubts of the propriety of seizing and
slaying a few animals when the disorder is already so
widely spread, and there are so many animals that have
been more or less exposed. This might have been well
at the lirst outset of the disease; now it would be bet-
ter to have its characteristics, and the treatment that is
applicable, from men of science — if there be such
among us. p.

Essex Co., Mass., May 28, 1860.

Remarks. — The question is quite often asked, "How
soon do cattle that have contracted the lung disease
show symptoms of it ?" and is very properly answered
above, "that it may remain latent for months." Cases
have been described to us of cattle dying quite soon
after the disease showed itself, where it was certain
that the animal had not been exposed for two months,
and other cases of the most decided character ■where
the exposure had taken place only ten days before the
death of the animal exposed. There is something in
the disease and its operations that is mysterious and
beyond the knowledge of the most learned. We trust
that exact scientific treatment will yet enable us to ar-
rest it, at least in some degree, and avert the calamity
that now threatens to pass over the entire State.

CULTIVATION OP PEAS.

On page 223 of the Farmer for the present month is
an inquiiy about raising peas. The pea crop is a very
important one in this country. Any good land will
produce a fair crop if well prepared. Greensward is
generally preferred for sowing ; they should be thor-
oughly harrowed in and rolled. I have never heard of
plowing in on greensward, and think they would not
come up the same season. Plastci'ls beneficial ; some
wet their peas and mix plaster with them when sow-
ing ; others sow the plaster broadcast after the peas are
up. In a wet season it is thought the plaster makes
too much vines ; but it does more good here than in
many places. Sow about two bushels of peas to an acre.

OTTER OR CREEPER SHEEP.

As the Mahie Farmer thinks this kind of sheep have
become extinct, I will say what little I know about
them. My father bought a pair of them in the town
of Pawlct, Vt., about fort3--five j'cars ago, and has had
them ever since. Wo have two ewes and a buck now.
They have raised no lambs for four or five years. They
have all the good qualities that the Maine Farmer
speaks of. We have had as many as twenty-five or

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

327

thirty sometimes. If I was going to raise sheep I
should prefer this kind to any I ever saw. Father says
he sheared 9''.! lbs. of wool from the ram last year. We
always called them "the short-legged sheep."

Branford, Vt. 0. H. Hoadley.

IIINGWORM ON CATTLE.

In the Farmer for the present month, on page 215,
is an in(|u:ry liy Charles S. Weld for a cure for the
above disease. I can inform him and others, that,
when a boy residing in Iscw Hampshire, I knew many
cases exactly similar to those he mentions. We gener-
ally greased the diseased parts well with what was
termed "pot skimmings," after boiling meat and vege-
tables, and I think it always effected a cure. The rem-
edy is simple and easily tried. L. Vaeney.

Remarks. — We notice two or three coiTespondeuts
of t\xQ Rural Neio-YorJier recommend tallow or lard
fbr the cure of warts on cattle. These remedies are so
accessible and simple, that we gladly recommend
thcu" trial. One of the correspondents of the Rural,
says he had a heifer, one of whose eyes "was complete-
ly covered with large red warts, and that one of her
ears was full of them," and that a few applications of
tallow completely cured them.

THE season

Has been veiy fovorable here so far — rather dry, but
the last three weeks have been warm. Apple trees arc
now in full bloom in this vicinity, though near the
lake and in other exposed situations they arc not so
fonvard. There is a veiy full bloom.

A sudden change in the weather occurred in the
night of the 19th. On the morning of the 20th, racr-
aiiy fell to 37 degrees, and the day was cold. A frost
was generally expected, but fortunately none came,
unless in some very frosty locations.

What is the most hardy vai'iety of raspberries suita-
ble for garden culture ? The white raspbeiTies ai'C
raised here considerably, but a great part of the bushes
were killed to the ground last Avinter, so there will be
but litilc fruit this summer. L. Vaeney.

Bloomfiekl, C. IF., 5 Mo. 2lst, 1860.

Remauks. — All the raspberries that we have culti-
vated do much better for a little protection through
the winter. Evergreen boughs thrown against them so
that they will remain in place ai'c excellent ; over them
may be thrown a little hay or straw. The Allen, from
Western New York, is said to be very hardy and pro-
ductive. The best way is not to attempt the cultiva-
tion of too many, but to protect those you have.

LEAD pipe for CONDUCTING WATER.

Having procured water on different farms for my
family and stock, both in lead pipes and bored logs,
by the natural fountain pressure and by the pump, like
your querist in Dayton, Me., please accept the follow-
ing in answer to his inquiries, as the result of no small
experience.

Wlien water is raised by a pump, let the distance be
longer or shorter, it is stagnant in the pipe during the
night and most of the day, and with the occasional use
of a private family, of course has great liability l)y cor-
rosion to 1)0 afiectcd by a leaden pipe, which I should
not consider safe, with or without tin coating for this
use.

For common aqueducts, I have found no bad effect
from lead pipes, where there was a constant circulation
by waste pipes, which will prevent freezing in winter,
and make it fresh and healthful.

1. White pine logs — easy to bore — always sweet — no
bad taste.

2. Say six or eight inches, sufficient besides the sap,
to leave an inch and a half without the splice.

3. An inch and a half bore will do, as much heart
outside.

4. Bark is of no consequence.

Holyokc, Mcr, 22, 1860. Benjamin Willard.

STRIPPING THE COW — TO PREVENT SUCKING HERSELF
— PRUNING ORCHARDS.

I wish to inquire whether it is injurious to strip or
milk a cow the second time ? Does it diy them up ?
Also, the liest way to prevent a cow from sucking her-
self, and the best time to trim young orchards ?

Slieklon, Vt., 1860. An Old Surscrieer.

Remarks. — Milk the cow gently, quickly and tJior-
ovghly, then let her alone.

We do not know the best way to prevent a cow from
sucking herself, having seen but one mctlicd tried,
that of placing pointed nails in a bow hanging upon
the cow's neck. There may be a better way.

With regard to the orchards, we do know. Trim
them with the finger by rubbing off the young shoots ;
but if knife or saw arc necessaiy, use them between
June 15 and July 10. If unable to do the work then,
omit it untQ the leaves have flillen in the autumn.

TO CURE SCRATCHES ON HORSES.

Take the gum that runs out on the end of pitch
pines, and put on some every day, and it effects a cure
in a few days.

I have tried the above, and found it an effectual cure.
One of my neighbors tried it, and it cured his horse
after he had tried almost everything else. ii. w. b.

Jacksonville, Vt., 1860.

HORSE PITCHFORK.

Will you, or your correspondent, "H. B. Wood, of
Chester, Vt.," describe the horse pitchfork spoken of
by him in the May number of the Farmer f

Little Compton, R. I. Juniper.

For the New England Farmer.
THE BENEFIT OF A PAKM.

Messrs, Editors : — The profit of farming has
been pretty ably discussed by your correspon-
dents in some of the last numbers of the N. E.
Farmer. I more than half agree with Mr. Pink-
ham in his opinion about the profit of farming in
the county of Middlesex. Merely the act of cul-
tivating the soil, or digging and plowing the
earth to raise roots and grain, unless the farmer
can do it with his own hands, will not prove a
tlu'iving business, as we now pay for labor. If the
farmer's prosperity and income depended entirely
upon what he could raise to sell from his cultivat-
ed crops, after deducting the price of labor, I
should fully agree with Islw Pinkhain, that farm-
ing was not very profitable. A farm is a great
piece of machinery ; every wheel must be kept in
place, and ready to act in concert, like all other
machinery, to make it profitablc\to the owner. It
is true that many professional men, traders and
mechanics, can earn more by the day, than the
farmer can by his labor, but the moment their
hands cease to act, that moment their incoifte
stops; while the farmer never need bo out of
business at some kind of pay. Almost every far-
mer has a family on hand, or one in prospect, and
we will make a comparison between him and one
of an other occupation.

Every farmer has buildings on his farm, and
frequently expensive ones, and almost afl in the
back towns are supplied with fuel from their
growing wood-lots ; they have plenty of work at
home for their children, Avhen not at school, in-
stead of herding with idle associates to confirm
them in vicious habits. They keep one or more
horses which they use for pleasure, as well as

328

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

July

work ; then there is the privilege of collecting the
various kinds of fruit and salads of spontaneous
growth, with a variety of other privileges denied
to people in cities and large villages. These priv-
ileges are not always considered as items of in-
come by the farmer ; but let him give credit for
them, at the price city folks pay, and the amount
will show a different aspect when added to the cul-
tivated productions of the farm. Farmers in the
county of Middlesex live in houses which would
rent in villages from §100 to $300 or more per
annum, which they little think of putting to the in-
come of the farm. Farmers' children are a great
deal cheaper, and I think better, brought up on
the farm, than they are in villages where there is
little or nothing for them to do when not at
school. Among other benefits of the farm, one
important item is, the farmer is his own boss, he
is not under the control of the bell, or the capri-
cious order of an overseer, has plenty of work al-
ways on hand for himself and boys, without solic-
iting it from richer men than himself.

It is utterly impossible to make out estimates
which will apply to general cases. I have known
farmers run in debt for poor farms, and get rich
from them, and have known others who had good
farms given them, grow poor in spite of industry
and science. After all, farmers in the country
towns, by some means, pay most of the taxes and
subscriptions, have every thing enough but con-
tentment, gewgaws and finery, which they can very
well dispense with, and can carry their heads up
pretty well, if they would only think so, and I can-
not see but they are as well off as other folks.

N. Wilmington. Silas Bkown.

For t!te New England Farmer.
OATS ANT> CLOVEH.

Friend Brown : — I am a constant reader of
the N. E. Farmer, as it comes to my family every
week. I feel anxious to give some of my expe-
rience as an old farmer ; for I have done with
labor years ago. I have been pleased in reading
questions asked, and views given in raising chick-
ens, turkeys, goslings, pigs, sheep, horned cattle
and horses. Also inquiries and answers given in
cultivating the soil, the managing of crops, fertil-
izers, &c.

I sup])ose most of your readers well understand
that all lands do not require the same treatment.
All the animal and vegetable manures do well on
all the earth, as iax as my ex])erience goes ; but
much better on some soils than others. There
seems to be a change somewhere ; for soon after
plaster became in use on interval land it worked
wonders ; the hill lands, with few exceptions, got
nojbenefit. At this time the hill f\u-ms receive
the most benefit from it. Ashes do far more good
than many years ago. As most farmers do not
understand how to analyze the soil, it is well to
try experiments. I have learned much in that
way.

Not long since I noticed an inquiry concerning
clover as a fertilizer. There are different opin-
ions concerning it. My views are to let the Avhole
crop remain on the surface until the following
spring ; if not, sow winter grain. In such case
plow a very short time before sowing. If any
man disputes it, let him try the experiment. On

land seeded to clover with oats, where the oats
lay in swath all through the next season, from
soon after the clover started to grow, until mow-
ing time, I have seen where every swath was
almost as far distant as I could see the field, there
being all of twice as much clover on the same
width of ground as between the swaths.
Walpole, N. H., 1860. An Old Farmer.

SPKIKG.

BT RICHARD C. TRENCH.

Who was it that so lately said
All pulses in thy heart were dead —

Old Earth, that now in festal robes
Appearest, as a bride new wed .''

O, wrapped bo late in winding-sheet,
Thy winding-sheet, 0 ! where is fled ?

Lo ! 'tis an emerald carpet now,

Where the young monarch, Spring, may tread.

He comes — and, a defeated king,
Old Winter to the hills is fled.

The warm wind broke his frosty spear,
And loosed the helmet from his head.

And he weak showers of arrowy sleet
For his strengholds has vainly sped.

All that was sleeping is awake.
And all is living that was dead.

Who listens now can hear the streams
Leap tinkling down their pebbly bed —

Or see them, from their fetters free,
Like silver snakes the meadows thread.

The joy, the life, the hope of earth.
They slept awhile, they were not dead,

O thou who say'st thy sear heart ne'er
With verdure can again be spread —

O thou, who mournest them that sleep,
Low lying in an earthy bed —

Look out on this reviving world.
And be new hopes within thee bred !

Prospects for Fruit. — A correspondent from
Port Kent, Essex county, N. Y., writes as fol-
lows : "We are suffering even more than last
season from the want of rain — but we never had
higher promise of fruit — our trees of every de-
scription are loaded down with blossoms." Port
Kent lies on the westerly side of Lake Cham-
plain, nearly opposite Burlington. The reports
from every direction are equally favorable. Even
the peach trees have waked up in many places,
and have given a pretty liberal blossom. The
letter of our correspondent was dated 18th — we
hope before this time that the clouds over Port
Kent have wept until the people have laughed.

Spayixg Cows. — The American Stock Journal
should have credited the article which it publishes
on this subject, and written by Mr. E. R. An-
drews, to the New England Farmer, as it was
Avritten by him at our special request.

1860.

XEAV ENGLAND FARMER,

329

TH3 EXTKA SESSIOZ^.

The Massachusetts Legislature rose on Wednes-
day morning, June 13th, after a session of four-
teen days. The subject which called them togeth-
er was one of grave moment to the Commonwealth,
and they have acted quite as promptly, and prob-
ably as Avisely, as could be desired or expected.
The bills relating to the cattle disease, as the}
finally passed, we present below, and those who
peruse them Avill get some idea of the extent and
novel intricacy of the subject, and the necessity
of consistent, fair and efHcient, as well as speedy
action. "For our part," says the Journal, and we
copy their remarks as expressing our own opinion
in the m.atter, "we think the State deserves great
credit for the manner in which it has dealt with
this mysterious visitation upon our herds. The
course of the Commissioners is now generally ap-
proved. The Governor did Vr^ell to summon the
Legislature as soon as the extent of the evil be-
came clearly apparent ; and the members of the
two Houses have met their duties in a becoming
spirit. The appropriations have been liberal ; and
as to these two bills, time and experience only can
disclose wherein they are defective. They seem
to us to be the best, on the whole, that can be de-
vised in the present state of information on the
subject matter. We trust now that the towns and
all public officers will see that the provisions are
rigorously carried out."

An Act

Concerning Contagious Diseases among Cattle.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives, in
General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same,
as follows :

Sect. 1. The Selectmen of towns and the Mayor and
Aldermen of cities, in case of the existence in this Com-
mouwcalth of the disease called plcuro-pncumoni;i, or
any otlicr contagious disease among cattle, shall cause
the cattle in their respective towns and cities, which
are infected, or which have been exposed to inlection,
to be secured or collected in some suitable place or
places within such city or town, and kept isolated ;
and, when taken from the possession of their owners,
to be maintained, one-fit'th of the cxpcn.se thereof to bo
paid Ity the town or city wherein the animal is kept,
and Ibur-lifths at the expense of the Commonwealth,
such isolation to continue so long as the existence of
such disease, or other circumstances, renders the same
necessary.

Sect. 2. Said Selectmen or Mayor and Aldermen,
when any such animal is adjudged hj a veterinary
surgeon or physician, by them selected, to be infected
with plcuro-pncumonia, or any other contagious dis-
ease, may, in their discretion, order such diseased .an-
imal to be forthwith killed and buried at the expense
of such town or city.

Sect. 3. Said Selectmen and Mayor and Aldermen
shall cause all crittle -"/hii-h, in their opinion, i-honklbe
killed, to be appraised Ijy Liirce Luiii[jcloni and disin-
terested men, under oath, at the value thereof at the
time of the appraisal, and the amount of the appraisal
shall be paid, as provided in the first section.

Sect. 4. Said Selectmen, and Mayor and Aldermen
within their respective towns and cities, are hereby au-
thorized to prohibit the departure of cattle from any
enclosure, or to exclude cattle therefrom.

Sect. 5. Said Selectmen and Mayor and Aldermen
may make regulations in ^Titing to regulate or prohib-
it the passage from, to, or through their respective

cities, or towns, or from place to place within the same,
of any neat cattle, and may arrest and detain at the
c:.st of the owners thereof all cattle found passing in
violation of such regulations, and may take all other
ncce.-sary measures for the enforcement of such prohi-
Ijiiion, and, also, for preventing the spread of any such
disease among the cattle in their respective towns and
cities, and the immediate vicinity thereof.

Sect. 6. The regulations made by Selectmen and
Mayors and Aldermen, in pursuance of the foregoing
section, shall be recorded upon the records of ''their
towns and cities respectively, and shall be published
in such towns'and cities in such manner as may be
provided in such regulations.

Sect. 7. Said Selectmen, and Mayor and Aldermen,
are authorized to cause all cattle infected with such
disease, or which have been exposed thereto, to be
forthwith branded upon the rump Avith the letter P, :,o
as to distinguish the animal from other healthy cattle ;
and no cattle so branded shall be sold or disposed of
except with the knowledge and consent of such Select-
men and Mayor and Aldermen. Any person, without
such knowledge or consent, selling or disposing of an
animal so branded, or selling or disposing of an ani-
mal known to be atrected with such disease, or known
to have been exposed thereto within one year previous
to such sale, or disposal, shall be punished by a line
not exceeding five hundred dollars, or by imprison-
ment not exceeding one year.

Sect. 8. Any person disf )beying the orders of the Se-
lectmen or Mayor and Aldermen, made in conformity
with the fourth section, or driving or transporting any
neat cattle contrary to the regulations made, recorded
and publi.-hed as aforesaid, shall be puni-;hcd by line
not exceeding five hundi'cd dollars, or by imprisonment
not exceeding one year.

Sect. 9. Whoever knows or has I'cason to suspect the
existence of any such disease among the cattle in his
possession, or under his care, shall forthwith give no-
tice to the Selectmen of the town, or Mayor and Alder-
men of the City where such cattle may be kept, audi
fur failure to do so shall be punished by fine not ex- •
ceeding five hundred dollars, or by imprisonment not
exceeding one year.

Sect. 10. Any town or city whose officers shall ne--
glect or refuse to carry into effect the pi'ovisions of sec-
tions one, two, three, four, five, six and seven, shalL
forfeit a sum not exceeding five hundred dollars fon-
each day's neglect.

Sect. 11. All appraisals made under the provisions of:
this act shall Ijc in writing, and signed by the apprais-
ers, and the same shall be certified to the Governor and
Council, to the treasurer of the several cities and towns
wherein the cattle appraised were kept by the Select-
men and Mayors and Aldermen respectively.

Sect. 12. The Selectmen of towns and Mayor and
Aldermen of cities are hereby authorized, when^ in
their judgment it shall be necessary to cany into effect
the piu-poscs of this act, to take and hold possession,
for a term not exceeding one year, within their respec-
tive towns and cities, of any laud, without buildings
other than Ixirns thereon, upon which it may be ne-
cessary to inclose and isolate any cattle, and they shall
cause the damages sustained I)y the owner in conse-
quence of such taking and holding to be appraised by
the assessors of the town or city wherein the lands so
taken are situated, and they shall further cause a de-
scription of such land, setting forth the boundaries
thereof, and the area as nearly as may be estimated, to-
gether with said appraisal by the assessors, to be en-
tered on the records of the town or city. The amount
of said appraisal shall be paid as provided in the first
section, in such sums and at such times as the Select-
men or Mayor and Aldermen respectively may order.
If the owner of any land so taken shall be dissatisfied
wiLh the appraisal of said assessors, he may by action
of contract recover of the toAvm or city wherein the
lands lie a fair compensation for the damages sustained
by him ; but no costs shall be taxed, unless the dama-
ges recovered in such action, exclusive of interest, ex-
ceed the appraisal of the assessors. And the Common-
wealth shall reimburse any town or city four-fifths of
any sum recovered of such town or city in any such
action.

Sect. 13. This act shall take effect from its passage.

Approved, June 12, 1S60.

330

NEW EXGLAXD FAraiER.

July

An Act

In addition to an Act concerninrf Contagious Diseases
among Cattle,

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives, in
General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same,
as follows :

Sect. 1. In addition to the commissioners appointed
under llic provisions of eliaptcr one hinKlixd and nine-
ty-two of the acts of the year one tliousand eight hun-
dred and sixty, the Governor, by and with the advice
and consent of the Council, is hereby authorized to
appoint two additional persons to constitute, with those
now in office, a board of commissioners upon the sub-
ject of pleuro-pneumonia, or any other contagious dis-
ease now existing among the cattle of the Common-
wealth.

Sect. 2. When said commissioners shall make and
publish any regulations concerning the cxtn-pation,
cure, or treatment of cattle infected with, or which have
been exposed to the disease of pleuro-pneumonia, or
other contagious disease, such regulations made by ihe
Selci'tiiicn of towns, and Mayors and Aldermen of
cities, upon the same sulijcct matter, and ihe operation
of the regulations made Jjy such Selectmen and Mayors
and Aldermen shall be suspended during the time
those made by the commissioners as aforesaid shall be
in force. And said Selectmen, and Mayors and Alder-
men, shall carry out and enforce all orders and direc-
tions of said commissioners, to them directed, as they
shall from time to time issue.

Sect. 3. In addition to the power and authority con-
ferred on the Selectmen of towns, and Mayors and Al-
dermen of cities, by the act to which this is in addition,
and which arc herein conferred upon said commission-
ers, the same commissioners shall have power to pro-
vide for the establi.-liment of a hospital or quarantine
in some suitable place or places, witji proper acconuno-
dations of buildings, land, ct cetera, wherein may be
detained any cat'lc l)y them selected, so that said cat-
tle so infected or exposed, may be there treated by
such scientific practitioners of the healing art as may
be appointed to treat the same. And for this purpose
said commissioners may take any lauds and buildhigs
ui the manner provided in the twelfth section of the
act to which this is an addition.

Sect. 4. The Governor, I)y and with the advice and
consent of the Council, is hereby authorized to appoint
three competent persons to be a Boartf of Examiners
to examine into the disease called pleuro-pneumonia,
who shall attend at the hospital or quarantine estab-
lished by the commissioners mentioned in the fore-
going section, and there treat and experiment upon
sucirnunibcr of cattle, both sound and infected, as will
enable them to study the symptoms and laws of the
disease, and ascertain, so far as they can, the best mode
of treating cattle in view of the prevention and cure of
the disease, and who shall keep a full record of their
proceedings, and make a report thereon to the Gover-
nor and Council, when then- investigations shall have
been concluded : j^rovided, that the expense of said
board of examiners shall not exceed ten thousand
dollars.

Sect. 5. The Selectmen of the several towns, and
Mayors and Aldermen of the several cities, shall, with-
in twenty-four hours after they shall have notice that
any cattle in their respective towns and cities are in-
fected with or have been exposed to any such disease,
give notice in writing to said commissioners of the
same.

Sect. 6. The commissioners are authorized to make
all necessary regulations for the treatment, cure and
cxtu-pation of said disease, and may direct the Select-
men of the towns, and Mayors and Aldermen of cities,
to enforce and carry into effect all such regulations as
may, from time to time, be made for that end, and
any such officer refusing or neglecting to enforce and
carry out any regulation of the commissioners, shall be
ptmished by fine not exceeding tive hundred dollars
for every such oflcnec.

Sect. 7. The Commissioners may, when in then-
judgment the pu1)lic good shall reiiuire it, cause to be
killed and buried, any cattle which are infected with,
or which have been exposed to said disease, and said
commission'ers shall cause said cattle to be appraised
in the same manner provided in the act to which this

is in addition ; and the appraised value of such cattle
shall )je paid, one-fifth by the towns in which said cat-
tle were kept, and the remainder by the Common-
wealth.

Sect. 8. Whoever shall drive or transport any cattle
from any portion of the Commonwealth cast of Con-
necticut river to any part west of said river before the
first day of April next,v.'ithout consent of the commis-
sioners, shall be punished by Ihie not exceeding five
hundred dollars, or by imprisonment in the county
jail not exceedhig one year.

Sect. 9. Whoever shall drive or transport any cattle
from any portion of the Commonwealth into any other
State before the first day of April next, without the
consent of the commissioners, shall be punished by fine
not exceeding five hundred dollars, or by imprison-
ment in the ccjunty jail not exceeding one year.

Sect. 10. If any person fails to comply with any reg-
ulation made, or with any order given by the commis-
sioners, he shall be pttnisiicd by fine not exceeding five
hundred dollars, or by imprisonment not exceeding one
year.

Sect. 11. Prosecutions under the two preceding sec-
tions may be prosecuted in any County iu this Com-
monweaJth.

Sect. 12. All appraisals made under this act shall be
in writing, and signed by the apjjraisers and certified
by the coiiunissioners, and shall be liy them transmit-
ted to the Governor and Council, and to the treasurers
of the several cities and towns wherein the cattle ap-
praised were kept.

Sect. 13. The provisions of chapter one hundred and
ninety-two of the acts of the year one thousand eight
hundred and sixty, except so far as they authorize the
appointment of commissioners, are hereliy repealed ;
l)ut this repeal shall not affect the validity of any pro-
ceedings heretofore lawfully had under the provisions
of said chapter.

Sect. 14. The commissioners and examiners shall
keep a full record of their doings, and make report of
the same to the next Legislature, on or before the tenth
day of January next, unless sooner required by the
Governor, and the said record, or an alistract of the
same, shall lie printed in the annual volume of Transac-
tionsof the State Board of Agriculture.

Sect. 15. The Governor, with the advice and consent
of the Council, shall have power to terminate the com-
mission and Ijoard of examiners whenever in his judg-
ment the public safe.y may permit.

Sect. IG. This act shall take ettect from its passage.

Approved, June 12, 1860.

TO KEEP TIRES TIGHT OM^ 'WHSBIiS.

The following, if reliable, will prove valuable.
A correspondent of the Southern Planter says :

"I ironed a wagon some years ago for my own
use, and before putting on the tires, I filled the
fellies -with linseed oil ; and the tires have worn
out, and were never loose. I ironed a buggy for
my ov,-n use, seven years ago, and the tires are
now as tight as when put on. My method of fill-
ing the fellies with oil is as follows ; I use along,
cast-iron oil-heater, made for the purpose ; the
oil is brought to a boiling heat, the Avheel is
placed on a stick so as to hang in the oil, each
felly one hour for a common-sized felly.

"The timber should be dry, as green timber
will not take oil. Care should be taken that the
oil be not made hotter than a boiling heat, in or-
der that the timber be not burnt. Timber filled
with oil is not susceptible to water, and the tim-
ber is much more durable. I was amused, some
time ago, when I told a blacksmith how to keep
tires tight on wheels, by his teUing me it was a
profitable business to tighten tires, and the wagon
maker will say it is profitable to him to make and
repair wheels, but what will the farmer who sup-
ports the smith and wheelwright say ?"

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

331

For the New England Farmer.
CAUSE OP BAKREK- GBAPE VIWE3.

In the Farmer of Oct. 20tli, 18j9, is a commu-
nication from "13. C," Burlington, Vt., giving an
account of a grape vine that blossomed, yet bore
no fruit. In your reply you recommend that a
fruitful vine should be planted beside it, for the
purpose of impregnating the barren vine.

Permit me to suggest that your plan v.-ould not
produce the desired result. I have seen hundreds
of such vines, and in every instance have found
them -wanting in the pistil or female organ.

All the vines "B. C." can plant around his vine
will never cause it to
bear a single grape. As
the season for the blos-
soming of the gi'ape is
near at hand, "B. C."
v/ill, by comparing the
fiov.-er of his vine with

4^4/^

Perfect.

Imperfect.

that of a fruitful one, see the difference. It is easy
to be distinguished by the naked eye. I send you
a drawing of the two flowers.

Winchester. E. A. Bk4.ckett.

RejVL\.RKS. — Our correspondent is undoubtedly
correct in his statement and illustration, as the
inquiry of "B. C." and others led us into an ex-
amination of the cause of barren grape vines, and
we found the fact as stated by him. "We have had
the flowers drawn greatly magnified, giving a
clear view of their formation. The cut above very
well illustrates the difl'erence in the flowers.

PUKE MILK.

Hall's Journal of Healtli for May contains the
following account of an association which exists
in the vicinity of New York for the supply of met-
ropolitans with pure milk :

"Within two years, a few gentlemen farmers
who had friends and relatives in the city appro-
priated ten thousand dollars towards a plan for
furnishing them pure milk, fresh from farm-house
cows, within a few hours of the milking, and at
the same price with the swill article. The friends
of their friends availed themselves of the oppor-
tunity, until it has now become a business, and
the demand is at times greater than the supply.
But for the purpose of keeping to the mark of
their original determination to supply pure milk
only, and it being necessary to have a number of
irresponsible employees, it has been found indis-
pensable to institute extraordinary means of watch-
fulness. A special agent comes to town with the
milk every day ; and more, under his eye the milk
is poured into cans on which are placed in metallic
letters the name of each patron ; the can is then
locked, the patron having a duplicate key. Fur-
ther, the agent is at pains from time to time to in-
quire of the customers if there is any fault to be
found with the milk or the milkmen.

But the farmers themselves, being in indepen-
dent circumstances, could not be expected to milk
their own cows, and must employ hirelings ; the
general agent has found it necessary to watch
these, and inspect the milk as it is delivered at

the railroad station, thirty miles from the city.
Within a few v/eeks the milk of one of the oldest,
richest and most honorable-minded members of
the association was found to be largely thinned
with water. The member was promptly and fear-
lessly acquainted with the fact, and that the mat-
ter must at once be investigated. Knowing his
own integrity, this gentleman did not knock the
agent down, but promjjtly sifted the matter, and
ascertained that only that once 'the boys' had ac-
cidentally spilled the milk, and thought to cover
their negligence by adding an equal amount of
water.

This milk is delivered in New York twice a day.
It is received by the agent, warm from the cows.
It is next stirred until the whole is thoroughly
cooled ; it is then surrounded with ice and sent
to the city. Thus the milk is uniformly rich, is
not partially converted into butter by the jolting
of transportation, and a drink of it is perfectly de-
licious to a citizen."

THE CATTLE DISEASE.

Some developments have taken place since our
last paper was issued, in relation to the sickness
among cattle, and among them is the intelligence
that it has appeared in New Hampshire. This in-
telligence is not based upon rumor, but upon well
authenticated facts. We have seen the certificate
of the physicians who examined the heifers killed
at Hillsborough, which were sent from East Lex-
ington. They have no doidit of the genuineness
of the disease in those animals. There are state-
ments that it has appeared in other towns in that
State, but we will not anticipate any calamity. It
is sufficiently impressive, without a particle of ex-
aggeration.

We have been informed by the Commissioners
that the disease has appeared in twelve difierent
towns in this State.

Some additional light dawns upon us, also,
from across the water. We have an interestinr
article before us from the North British Agricul-
turist, published in Edinburgh, Scotland, whicl:
says "there are very few practical men who d^'
not believe that the disease is contagious, anc",
who generally satisfy themselves that when the
disease does appear in their stock, it is to be
traced to some recent purchases in market, or by
their animals having come in contact with affected
animals, or from substances, such as straw, which
have been in contact with diseased animals.

In several English counties — especially those
around London, and in the counties of Derby and
Chester, the disease has been very prevalent dur-
ing winter and spring. It is also prevalent in
dairies In the Lothians, more particularly the dai-
ries in Edinburgh. The stock affected are princi-
pally cows, which have always been more subject
to pleuro-pneumonia than other cattle."

We are sorry to observe that some of our peo-
ple are disposed in the first place to find fault

332

NEW ENGLAXD FAR:\IER.

July

with the action of the Legislature, by suggesting
very wise counsels now as to what ought to have
been done, and then condemning the Commission-
ers for doing just what they were instructed to
do. Some of them quote the promptness and en-
ergy of the British government when the disease
has invaded that country, but do not tell us from
what source they derived their wisdom. On the
other hand, the writer in the North British Ar/ri-
culturist commends the energetic and decided ac-
tion of our State in this matter. It says :

"In reference to the introduction of the disease
into America, it is seldom that such direct and
conclusive evidence as to the contagious charac-
ter of pleuro-pneumonia has been presented, as is
furnislied in its introduction into the State of
Massachusetts. Had the British Government been
equally prompt on the first appearance of the dis-
ease in this country, it may be safely inferred that
its spread would have been greatly checked, or
perhaps wholly prevented."

There is another class of persons, including
some of the cattle dealers, who purchase cattle'to
fatten and sell again, who are so mercenary and
entirely incapable of appreciating an unselfish mo-
tive or a generous act, that they have denounced
in billingsgate terms those Avho have watched
the progress of the disease, who have done every-
thing in their power to arrest it, and to prevent a
panic among the people. These men found the
price of cattle low in consequence of the disease,
and their inordinate cupidity prompted them to
make large purchases, at extremely low prices.
They made brawling boasts of this in connection
with their denunciations of others, until the dis-
ease began to turn towards their possessions,
when they suddenly became as dumb and crest-
fallen as they were boisterous before. This is the
usual course with persons whose desire for gain
oveiTides all the promptings of principles.

On Saturday, June 2, we visited the remaining
portion of Mr. Chenery's herd at Belmont, 39 in
number, and with many others examined the
heifer and cow that were then slaughtered. The
following statement of the examination we copy
from the Journal, whose reporter was on the
spot.

It was mainly with the view of developing the
disease in a new and different aspect from that pre-
sented in the incipient and acute cases at Brook-
field that the examination of subjects in this herd
was made. Upon the arrival of the Commission-
ers a yearling calf was selected froiu a iiianlAr of
others as a fit subject to illustrate the effects of
the disease in cases where the animal has been
sick, and to all external appearances has re-
covered. The calf was taken sick in October last,
and for four or five weeks was so ill as to take no
other nourishment than gruel poured down its
throat. During the last three months the crea-
ture has gradually regained its appetite and con-
sequently its strength, and was supposed to be

recovering. Still it coughed, and upon percus-
sion exhibited dullness on the right side, and
strong tubercular respiralion.

The necessary preparations having been made,
Mr. Commissioner Lothrop introduced Dr. Mar-
tin, who stated in brief his diagnosis of the case.
He expected to find tlie most disease in the right
lung, and no doubt adhesions. The calf was killed,
the right shoulder and ribs removed, and the
chest laid open by Drs. Dadd and Thayer. There
was a strong adhesion of the pleura of the lung
to the ribs, diaphragm and heart case. The lung
indicated that it had been compressed into a small
compass, by serum, which had in the subsequent
progress of the disease been absorbed. The wind-
pipe contained a secretion of mucus, which prob-
ably produced the rattling heard before death ;
the membrane of the lung was very much thick-
ened, and the lung tissue nearly destroyed. The
cyst or bag of the lung was found empty, whereas
in cases of the disease in an acute form it has
been found to contain a large body of lung tissue,
or the substance of the lung. The theory of those
most familiar with the prevailing disease is that
the tissue in this case had been softened, and re-
duced to a liquid state or pus, and then taken up
by absorption. Tlic left lung was found to be
perfectly free from the disease. The ease was not
a fair sample of the disease, but it nevertheless
demonstrated the theory of the commissioners
that cattle once sick will never fully recover.

The next animal killed was a cow, which was
brought into Mr. Chenery's herd in December
last. She had never exhibited any signs of dis-
ease beyond a slight cough, and an external ex-
amination before death failed to discover any in-
dications. As the animal had been exposed to
the infected herd, it was a matter of cui'iosity to
ascertain whether she had taken the disease. Upon
a careful dissection of the lungs the disease was
found to exist in an incipient stage. The heart
was soft and flabby, as in all cases of this kind,
and there were other indications of the prevailing
contagion. This closed the investigation.

Causes of Raix, Snow, ILill, Fog. — Rain is
caused by a cloud moving into a stratum of cold
air, by which its particles are condensed, and run
into drops too heavy to float in the atmosphere.
Snow is produced by the cloud becoming frozen
before its particles have condensed into water.
Hail is caused by the freezing of the drops after
they begin to fall as rain. Dew is the falling of
their vapors of the day, Avhen they part with the
moisture in the cool of the evening. A fog is a
cloud floating on the surface of the earth, and a
cloud is a fog floating in the atm«spherc.

American Guano. — A correspondent, in speak- ,
ing of the American guano as a fertilizer, says :

About ten days ago I scattered a portion of this 1
article on an old grass-field. I hastily marked '
out some characters, and sprinkled on the guano
by the marks. To-day, where I sprinkled the gu-
ano, the words "American Guano," are distinctly
visible, in bright green letters, w"hich can be easi-
ly read an eighth of a mile off. Certainly this is
a very satisfactory result.

1860.

NEW EXGLAiST) FARMER.

333

For tlie New England Farmer.

IS FABMING PKOPITABLE ?

What is the most Profitable Crop to Raise in this State ?— Rota-
tion of Croi>3.

Mr, Brown : — For 28 years I have been ex-
perimenting in order to systematize agriculture,
so as to produce a desirable result, with a reduc-
tion of labor and expense. How well I have suc-
ceeded, you can best judge by looking at a page
of my experience. Perhaps I may give some clue
to an answer to the question at the head of this
article. First, I will take a course of crops for
one acre of land for 7 years :

Laxd. De.

Manure $40,00

Plowing? and harrowing 3,50

Compost, ashes, &c., for hills 3,00

Planting and clearing 5,00

Harvesting crop 5,00

Harrowing and sowing rj^e before March 20th 1,50

i J bushels rye, at $1 per bushel 1,25

2d year, in March, 10 1'ls. western clover, $1, 1 pck. herds

grass seed, $1, J bush. U. T., 50c, sowing 25c 2,75

Harvesting rye... .7 5,00

2 bush, plaster, sowed 3d year, in March 1,00

Getting hay 5 years, 2 crops clover 17,00

$S5,00

r^AVD. CE.

Corn crop $65,00

. Bye and straw 30,00

8 tons of hay, at $15 per ton 120,00

After feed 7,50

$222,50
Deduct expense 85,00

Years,

.7\$137,50

For use of land per year $19,64

Corn may now be planted with manure as be-
fore, or potatoes, as follows :

Lasd, Db.

Plowing and harrowing $3,50

Compost, ashes, &c., for hills 3,00

8 bush, moderate sized potatoes, at COc per bush 4,80

Planting and cleaning , 7,00

Harvesting 5,00

Cultivating, harrowing and sowing rye > 2,00

l^bash. rye 1,25

30 bush, ashes and sowing , . . .6,00

Grass seed as before 2,75

Harvesting and threshing rye 5,00

2 bush, plaster sowed as before 1,00

Getting hay 4 years 14,00

$55,30
Lasd. Ce.

Potatoes $60,00

Bye and straw. 30,00

5i tons hay, at $15 per ton... 82,50

After feed , 6,00

$178,50
Deduct expenses 55,30

Years 6^$123,20

^$123

For the use of land per year $20,53

Now I am prepared to return to the corn crop
with barn manure as before.

In this statement I have taken the lowest mar-
ket price for hay, and have not taken the largest
crop which I have raised, I have not, I think,
but in two instances, used 840 worth of manure,
frequently S30, and sometimes not more than $20
per acre. You can see, however, that the manure
might be raised to $.54, and not make but $2 a
year difference in the income, even though the
crop should be no larger than I have stated. In
the second course, the ashes might be (doubled) 60
bushels, and make but 81 a year difference in the
profit. I have received .$60 for an acre of rye and

straw, and more than $70 for the straw standing
in the field, for braiding for bonnets, I have al-
so raised double the quantity of potatoes per acre
and sold for a much higher price per bushel. I
have stated results which I think the great major-
ity of farmers in this State may reasonably ex-
pect, if they will become familiar with, and carry
into practice, the course which I have here des-
cribed. I say familiar with, because the hands
must be quick to perform, as well as the head
clear to direct.

I will also state that when this course is fol-
lowed and the work properly done, the land will
be increasing in productiveness, instead of dete-
riorating. It may be thought that the same al-
lowance for planting and clearing the crops is
quite too small, but if a healthy active man can-
not do it for that, he has something yet to learn
in practical agriculture, I have allowed §1 per
day for work, except getting the hay and rye, and
farmers probably will differ as to the expense of
harvesting these crops, according to their advan-
tages for doing the work,

I will remark, in conclusion, that we can see
the inconsistency of charging all the manure to
the hoed crops, or even all the plowing and clean-
ing, as they require but little more labor than
would be necessary to fit the land for roseeding
for grass, I think a rotation of crops is the most
profitable, S. M. Stanley,

West Attleboro\ Mass., March 21, 1860.

"HOKSE-POWEK" AS A MEASUKE OF
FOKCE.

The phrase or term "horse-power" is continual-
ly occurring Avhenever there is occasion to speak or
write of the force of steam engines. It is met
with almost daily in the reading of newspapers,
and of books or periodicals relating to science and
art. Is there one reader in ten who understands
what is meant by this term, or who attaches any
accurate idea of the amount of power intended to
this oft-recurring phraseology ? We very much
doubt it, and think, therefore, that a brief expla-
nation of this term, gleaned from Encyclopedias
and scientific works, may be both interesting and
useful to the generality of ordinary readers. The
term "horse-power," then, is used as the unit of
force in the description of steam engines. Instead
of saying that an engine has a power of lifting or
propelling so many pounds, it is said to be of so
much "horse-power." The power exerted by a
horse, is taken to be equal to the pull or lift of
33,000 pounds, at the rate of one foot per minute,
as this has been found to be about the mean of a
good many observations and experiments. It has
been found, for example, that a pair of horses will
draw a plow along with an average ])ull of 300
pounds, as shown by a dynameter, like common
spring steelyards, at an average rate of 2^, miles
per hour, or 220 feet per minute. Now, this is the
same as if those 300 pounds were pulled over a
pulley, or lifted that height in that time ; and 300
pounds lifted 220 feet per minute, is just the
same as 66,000 pounds, lifted one foot "high per
minute- The half of this performance of a pair
of horses gives us 33,000 pounds, as the force of
a single horse, and with this meaning it is used
by engineers. — Country Gentleman.

334

IS^EW ENGLAND FARMER.

July

HORSES NEED AIR AND LIGHT.

If anything can be done to add to the comfort
and health of the horse, no animal deserves more
to have »uch an effort made. Our stables should
be constructed with special reference to his com-
fort and health, and to these all other accessories
must yield.

Our fathers' and grandfathers' barns were of
the wide, old-fashioned sort, with all manner of
loop holes and air holes — between the vertical
boarding you could put your whole hand. They
were originally tight, but when M-ell seasoned,
there was light without windows, and the pure air
circulated freely ; here was perfect ventilation, and
yet talk M"ith those same men about the necessity
of ventilating a stable, and they are ready to prove
that they have kept horses all their lives, who did
well, worked well, were always in fine health and
spirits, and that a ventilator is only a fancy idea
— one of the new-fangled notions of the present
generation.

Our stables have been improved in architectu-
ral beauty, and in more permanent form of con-
struction ; they are pleasing to the eye, tight,
proof against the wind and weather, and with sol-
id walls of brick and stone, all of which the poor
horse would gladly exchange for the pure, fresh
air, of wliich he is now deprived.

In providing for the necessities of a horse, it
would be well to ask ourselves, how we should
like to be placed in the same situation. If it is
healthy for a man to live' day and night in a close,
damp cellar or underground apartment, then it is
healthy for a horse. If it is healthy for a man
to live on the lower floor, in an unventilated
apartment, with a manure and root cellar beneath
him, whose pestiferous miasmas are penetrating
every crack, mingling with the foul air he breathes,
and rising still higher, permeating the food he
consumes, then it is healthy for a horse. But
why argue against barn cellars and ill-ventilated
apartments ? The proof is abundant to all who
want it, and he that cannot be convinced, must
cease to wonder why his horses have diseases of
the skin, the lungs, the eye, etc., or the glanders,
the grease, the scratches, and other diseases that
are directly traceable to the impure atmosphere,
in which he compels them to stand and breathe.

We would, therefore, in the construction of a
stable, endeavor to ])rovide against these evils.
Build root cellars and other cellars entirely dis-
tinct from the barn — at least not directly under
the horse stalls ; let there be a free circulation of
air under the floor, and particularly so throughout
the stable apartments. Ventilate the horse stable
through the roof, and entirely independent of the
other portions of the barn ; let the connection
between the horse stable and the hay-mow be
closed tight, except when hay is being delivered.
Ventilate the carriage house through the hay-mow
and roof.

Let your horses' heads be towards the side or
end of the barn, and provide the head of the stall
with a fair sized window ; a horse wants, under
all circumstances, whether tired, sick, or well,
plenty of light. When there is light and plenty
of fresh air, it is a common practice to turn the
stalls the other way, and keep the horse some-
what in the dark. A good horseman knows that
a horse enjoys light and air as much as he does

himself, and he will thrive better in the coldest
winter on the lee side of a hay-stack, than he will
in a badly ventilated barn, however comfortable
it may be otherwise. It is stated that if the gas-
es exhaled from a horse's body were confined
around him by a gas-tight bag, they would cause
his death in twenty-four hours, allowing him at
the same time to have his head out, and to breathe
pure air.

If you want satin-skinned horses, in fiire health
and spirits, ready at all times to work, or to drive,
a thorough system of ventilation will be one very
important step towards it.

A manure shed should be built outside the sta-
ble, and sufficient only to afi"ord protection from
wind and rain, with a door connecting with the
barn, and running to floor of stable, which should
only be open when the stable is being cleaned.
The exhalations of the manure heap are then not
permitted to return to the stable — nor should any
of the gases generated in the stable, be allowed
to pass into the carriage-room or hay-mow.

As a matter of economy, it is just as cheap to
build a stable calculated to give a horse the great-
est amount of comfort, as to build it in any other
way. Cellars are handy arrangements, and in the
first cost it may be cheaper to put them under the
barn, but a few years' experience will show the
heaviest balance on the debit side. — Cor. Ameri-
can Agriculturist.

For the Neto Englsmd Farrser.

LETTER FROM THE SA]SrD"WICH
ISLANDS.

Makawao, Maui, HEWAnAN Islands, J
January, ISOO. ]

Messrs. Editors : — Gentlemen, — I find myself
entering upon a new year ere my communication
for you is finished. Let me then say "A Happy
New Year," to you who conduct, and to all who
read the New England Farmer. May the blessing
of God be upon you and the work of your hands.
May each of you not only succeed in your temporal
aff'airs, but may you, one and all, "sow to the Spir-
it, and of the S])irit reap life everlasting."

In my last, I had conducted you to Waipio
valley, on our way to Hilo. Our way lay through
the district of Hamakua,on the windward side of
the island. In passing through this district we
crossed many ravines, at first shallow, but grow-
ing deeper as we approached Ililo. We found no
water in any of them. The country was covered
with grass, and now and then a clump of trees,
the kukui, the ohia, guavn, and a small sprink-
ling of orange. Hamakua seems well adapted to
grazing purposes, though I saw very few cattle.
Indeed, the district is but sparsely settled, and
there is a great lack of fencing material. On enter-
ing the district of Ililo, we found the ravines still
more numerous, but through most of them ran
a sweet stream of water, some of them quite large.
But for these ravines, Hilo would be a very val-
uable district, not only for grazing, but for agri-
cultural purposes. The land is rich, and that part
of it near Byron's Bay especially, will be in much
demand. Ten miles ere Ave reached the bay, we
found an enterprising American, who has a large
tract of excellent land, on which he has a crop of
sugar cane, and where he is erecting buildings for
the manufacture of sugar. Between his place and

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

335

the bay we passed three sugar plantations, owned
and worked by Chinamen, all in successful opera-
tion, makina; excellent sugar. On reaching the
village of Hilo, once my place of residence, I
found striking changes, twenty-seven years hav-
ing elapsed since I left. These consisted in build-
ings ; a fine meeting-house, school-house, stores,
shops and dwelling-houses; in good roads; in
gardens and fruit trees ; in an increase of ships,
chiefly whale-ships, visiting the harbor. I did not
see that increase of industry among the native
Hawaiians that I desired to witness. There was
some improvement in their style of building, but
there did not seem to be much agricultural im-
provement. The whale-ships, of which there v,-ere
some sixteen in the bay while I was there, obtain
wood, water and a fevi^ recruits, such as oranges,
melons and a few vegetables, but their main re-
cruits they seek at other ports.

From Hilo we took our way to Kau, the south-
ern district of the island by way of Kilanea, the
active volcano of Hawaii. The distance from Hi-
lo to Kilanea, the volcano, is about 38 miles. And
such a road i Scarcely an acre of arable land did
we see after leaving Hilo. The whole covmtry
had, at a remote period of time, been overflown
.with iava over which lay our road, not alwaf s vis-
ible, though for the most part oin* horses succeed-
ed in picking their way. At Olaa, about mid-
way from the bay to the crater, thci e seemed to
be a little oasis in this wilderness of pahoehoe, or
fields of lava slabs. Here was a small village, with
a native or grass meeting-house. I think some
kalo, such as grows on dry land, is found here,
and perhaps a few potatoes, though a plow could
not bo used. I was glad to find a plenty of fine
guavas, and several orange trees, some of which
were loaded with ripe fruit. Leaving this village,
we pushed on to the house where those who visit
the crater lodge over night. Here we staid,
though the accommodations were primitive
enough, the house being a grass one, and poor at
that, minus of furniture and beds ; a fire kindled
in the middle of (he room to give us two smoke
to one fire. However, we mustered the tea-kettle
which is used for travellers, both here and at Kil-
anea, and having made a cup of tea, we covered
ourselves as decently as we could and got a little
sleep ; rose early and pushed on for Kilanea. Till
within two or three miles the way was gradually
ascending as it had been from Byron's Bay, and
rough. We then reached a plain of coarse sand,
over which our beasts galloped and soon brought
us to the far-famed crater of Kilanea. Of this let
me tell your readers something.

At an early hour in the day we reached the
northern bank of Kilanea, from which we so over-
looked the crater that we could see all below at a
single glance. As we were in need of water for
washing and breakfast, our guide, a son of Rev.
D. B. Lyman, of Hilo, led us to the pools of wa-
ter near by caused by the steam which was con-
stantly ascending from the fires in the pit through
chasms in the bank. The steam and vapor were
immediately condensed into drops of water by
cool mountain air, and dropped into little basins
formed by the lava. The water had collected in-
to small pools, deep enough to allow of being
dipped out with a cup, and was so warm that we
could scarcely bear our hand in it. The steam
and vapor were also uncomfortably warm, nearly

taking away one's breath, so to speak. On be-
coming cool, we found the water sweet, and we
used it for our drink. But for this provision of
nature, it would be much more inconvenient for
travellers to remain at Kilanea long enough to in-
vestigate the wonders of the place.

We next visited the sulphur banks at the north-
west corner of the crater. A good path led us
there over a tract of decomposed lava, on which
grew ohelo bushes, a species of whortleberries
which, in the days of Hawaiian superstition, fur-
nished offerings to Pele, the goddess of the volca-
no. The banks were some thirty feet high, and
perhaps four hundred feet long and seventy-five
feet broad. The ground was rent by fissures
through which the smoke and vapor were contin-
ually ascending. We could hear the roaring of
the fires beneath, and the vapor ascending through
the fissure^ was too hot to be endured. The banks
were covered with sulphur, and some of the crys-
tallized specimens which adhered to the rocks
were beautiful. We found specimens of sulphate
of ammonia. Salts are sometimes gathered here
in considerable quantities, and used for medicine.
Strong, but dirty.

We then descended into the crater of Kilanea
from the south side, not without difl[iculty, for the
banks are steep. There had been a great deal of
travel, so that the path was well defined, and we
reached it in safety, and paused on the edge of
this fearful pit, one thousand feet deep on this
northern side. The north part of the crater had
the appearance of a lake three miles square frozen
over, thawed in part, and the huge cakes of ice
driven by the wind till quieted by another cold
night. The whole area had been a mass of melt-
ed lava which had been boiled and dashed vio-
lently against the sides of the crater, which are
here per])endicular. Li cooling they had left huge
slabs of lava, some lying flat, others edgewise, and
some piled on each other. Over these we v>-alked
with caution, as there were many fearful crevices,
some so wide that we leaped them with difficul-
ty, and very deep. After walking about two
miles we reached a lake or chaldron in vigorous
action. It was sunken some twenty feet, I judge,
below the bottom of the crater. We stood on
the ledge above, and for two hours watched the
playing of the fearful element below. At one
time there were three fountains playing near the
outer edge of the lake boiling with intense heat,
and throwing their jets high in air, like the surf
breaking on the shore. Then, again, nearer the
crater of the lake, a bubble would rise to the top
or surface of the crater and break. Then another
and another, till it became a spot, say a rod
square, of boiUng lava throwing its jets higher
and higher, and increasing in size, till quite a
large area would lioil and roar and throw its an-
gry waves on every side, and to the height of
perha])s fifty feet. Then it would subside gradu-
ally, till in a few minutes all would be quiet. At
another time the whole area seemed to be in mo-
tion, and moving in several directions, meeting,
overlapping each other, till, opening in some par-
ticular place, huge cakes of hardened lava would
be sucked in and disappear, as would a sheet
of paper in a furnace of fire. The sight was
grand and fearful, and Ave left with admiration of
the dread power which kindled and sustained
these fearful internal fires. No thoughtful man

336

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

July

can look upon this display of the power of God
■without awe. Well is it said that our "God is a
consuming fire," and that "it is a fearful thing to
fall into His hands." May we, one and all, he
prepared for the day of God which seems to be
prefigured by the fires of the volcano. More
anon. Yours, with much respect,

J. S. Green.

For the New England Farmer.

FARM NEATNESS— PBEMIUMS.

Neatness no farming ! Why not, Mr. Editor ?
Is not the farmer one of the "lords of creation,"
and should he not be a pattern of every thing that
is neat, honest, high-minded, upright, true as
steel to principle, whoso word is a bond, and
whom society can illy afford to lose ? Neatness in
farming ! where can a better field be found for
the display of this virtue than on the farm ? To
make out my case, I will ramble over a few things.
In reading over the difierent reports of our county
agricultural societies, one thing in particular has
struck me as decidedly wrong in the arrangement
of their premium list. I mean this : Here are
two men in the same town, and it may be, side "by
side. One has the most ample means at his com-
mand for the purchase of the most approved im-
plements, manure and help ; everything about his
farm is conducted on a liberal scale of expendi-
ture. With ample means at his command, every-
thing about his farm is accomplished in the most
thorough manner. Now for the neighbor. He
may hold his farm free from debt, but probably
not — no means at command, but his two willing
hands, and a clear brain ; with these he goes to
work to obtain the capital necessary to bring out
the resources of his farm, and he does it. Cora-
paring his farm with what it was when he first
took hold of it, it would scarcely be recognized ;
im])rovement an 1 thrift is stamped upon every
field, fence and building ; a diligent hand and a
thinking brain is everyv^'here apparent. These
two men ofi'er their farms for premiums ; which
of the two usually gets it ? Not the latter, though
taking into consideration all the circumstances
attending the two forms, his is as far ahead of the
former, as the diff'erence was between their purs-
es at the commencement. The latter may possi-
bly get the second premium awarded him, though
justly entitled to both. Is there any fancy about
this ? Read over the difierent reports for the last
five years, and not only will this be found gener-
ally true, but it will hold good in regard to many
other things. For instance, what is to prevent
farmer number one from producing a ])remium
crop of corn or carrots ? Money goes a long way
in farming, as in everything else ; it is a power
in itself considered. Let any one interested, look
over our own Norfolk County agricultural reports
from its first show down to the last, and they
will please observe that the great bulk of premi-
ums have been awarded to a very few persons.
There is a desire to see the whole premium busi-
ness placed on a more just and equitable plan,
though, for aught I know, it may be impossible
to better the present system. I am in doubt about
it, however. I wish to see our societies hold out
greater encouragement to the smaller and poorer
class of farmers, with a reasonable prospect of
success to them.

But to my text. Neatness in farming ! Is it
possible for a farmer to be successful in his oper-
ations, without neatness, system, and a place for
every thing, and every thing in its place ? and he
should see that these things are carried out by
each and every person about the establishment.
It takes less time to be neat and systematic, than
to be slovenh^, and a "hilter skiltcr" method of
doing things. There is a charm about a neat, tidy,
orderly looking farm, however humble the build-
ings may appear, which always pleases. I do not
wonder that many farmers' sons hurry to be off
from the old home; its ap])earance, compared
with the city and its surroundings, either from
what he has seen, heard or read, disgusts him.
He longs to be somebody, and to be thought some-
thing of, which he feels he never will be, as long
as the old farm remains in its present condition.
If parents expect to keep their sons and daugh-
ters at home, they must strive to make that home
the happiest and j^leasantest place in all the
world ; and if this is done, they will remain at
home and love it, because it is lovely. There is
an instinctive love of the neat and beautiful, in
every human bosom ; a child appreciates this long
before it can talk. Now, ye farmers, make your
homes pleasant, and have every thing about your
establishment arranged with taste, suitable to
your means. Consider no cost too great, M'hich
makes home happy, and your wife and children
contented. It is not all money that is v/anted to
accom])lish so desirable an end. A piano and
costly furniture will not do it, though all proper
enough under some circumstances ; but it is the
thousand and one little and great things which all
must attend to in-door and out. O, for a pen for
the people, which Avould arouse them to an appre-
ciation of the blessings and privileges which sur-
round them, ])articularly in the case of the farmer.

King Oak Hill. Norfolk.

NE v7 PUBLICATIONS.
MiLCn Cows AND Dairy Farming. By CnARLES L. Flint, Esq.

We have before us a new edition of this popu-
lar work, which "comprises an account of the
breeds, breeding, and management in health and
disease, of dairy and other stock; the selection of
milch cows, with a full explanation of Guenon's
method ; the culture of forage plants, and the pro-
duction of milk, butter and cheese ; embodying
the most recent improvements, and adapted to
farming in the United States and British Provin-
ces," &c.

This work contains a large anj^unt of informa-
tion which must be valuable to most persons en-
gaged in stock-raising, or in any department of
the dairy. It is illustrated with numerous engrav-
ings of some of the finest cattle of the country, is
well printed on thick, fine paper, and will be
worth many times its cost to most farmers M'ho do
not own any similar work on the subjects consid-
ered. Published by Crosby, Nichols, Lee & Co.,
Boston.

The Horticulturist for June is an interest-
ing and valuable number.

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FAR:\IER.

337

THE DKAGOIf-FLY, (Libellula.)

This is the interesting little insect generally
known throughout New England as 'T/ie DeviVs
Darning Needle," — of whom all country children
have heard as the "ci-itter" that would come and
sew their mouths up if they indulged in making
naughty speeches. The French call them Dem-
oiselles, and the Germans, Wasserjungfeen, (Vir-
gins of the Water.)

Jaeger, in his North American Insects, says
the dragon-flies are hardly ever seen at rest, but
are in continual motion, flying past us almost as

quick as lightning, and winging their way through
the air, over gardens, meadows, rivulets and
ponds. The water is their birth-place.

"Instead of being mild and gentle, like the
butterflies or other winged inhabitants of the air
■who draw their nourishment from fruits and flow-
ers, these insects are savage beasts of prey, mer-
ciless assassins, who plow the airy waves for no
other purpose than, falconlike, to catch with
their claws all kinds of Avinged insects that they
meet, and devour them with their powerful jaws.

"It is, however, in this, their murderous char-
acter, and rapacious habits, that their chief use to
man consists ; for being themselves directly in-
capable of injuring him, they rid him of insects
that are directly capable of annoying him by bit-
ing and stinging. Thus, if a few dragon-flies be
shut up in a house for only a short time, they will
eflfectually purify it of all flies, mosquitos, or oth-
er troublesome blood-suckers.

"The dragon-fly, which may be handled by man
with perfect impunity — for it cannot bite or sting,
or poison him — is often a source of terror in a
house or garden, where it might be extremely use-
ful in destroying mosquitoes if allowed to re-
main."

These insects are not only usful to man in de-
stroying those that devastate his crops and annoy
his hours of repose, but they are exceedingly in-
teresting in some of their habits, and especially
m that of securing their food. Please listen :— !

In a calm summer afternoon towards the last of
June, or in July, at about five o'clock, sit down
on the bank with your face to the West, and have
a hill of corn or some other springing plant be-
tween you and the setting sun. What do you
see ? Not anything. Observe yet more close-
ly. What was that — a shadow ? Again and
again — it cannot be a shifting shadow, it is too
rapid for that. See ! it passes quicker than light-
ning, if possible ! Look a little fiirther off". Ah !
I see it now — there is the Dragon-fly, poised in
the air, apparently as motionless as death, with
wings outstretched, just as
they are represented in the
engraving above. What can
he be doing, so motionless,
hanging in the air ! He is
— but he is gone ! What
could have struck him out
of existence so suddenly ?
Look on the other side of
the corn. O, there he is,
just as still as ever. He is
watching his prey. Now
look between yourself and
the sun and you see insects
darting off" from the hill of
corn, so small that the eye
would not discern them unless in that peculiar
light. They dart from the corn, make a few gy-
rations and back again, that being the boundary
of their travels, and, alas, too often the boundary
of their little life. The dragon-fly does not rest
suspended in the air without an object — and eve-
ry time he passes back and forth, one of the tiny
dwellers upon the corn goes to make up his eve-
ning meal.

Will not these suggestions induce many to
study the habits of, and become more familiar
with, the beautiful and harmless dragon-fly ?

THE THISTLE BUTTERFLY, OR PAINTED LADY.

This insect will probably be recognized by
most readers, as a gay, beautiful thing. It is very
common in the United States and in Europe,

where it goes by the name of the "Painted Lady."
It sometimes appears in such numbers that their

338

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

JULY

larviB devour not only the leaves, but also the
blossoms of the thistle and burdock. As soon as
one of these caterpillars issues from the egg, it
draws the points of two leaves together, fastens
tliem with a silky thread, conceals itself therein,
and eats the substance of it until it attains its
growth. We are not aware that it injures any of
our crops.

THUMB AND i-INGER PRUNIWQ.

Now is the precise season, say from June loth
to July 10th, to perform one of the most impor-
tant operations in the apple orchard ; that of re-
moving the young shoots which started in the
spring, and have made a growth of from one to
six inches in length- These shoots start out most-
ly on the upper side of the large branches, grow
with great rapidity, and if not arrested early, form
that part of the tree which it is the most danger-
ous to cut off. If they are allowed to grow two
or three years, they are sometimes an inch through
at their base, and cannot then be removed by saw
or knife without leaving an ugly scar upon the
tree, and the wound becomes a dangerous one,
unless made when the tree is in a favorable phy-
siological condition, and it is treated with proper
skill.

It is natural for apple trees to throw up a thick,
bushy head. Whoever saw one that sprang from
the seed in a pasture, and that had not been fash-
ioned by the hand of man, that presented any
other form ? This original impress seems to re-
tain sometliing of its power even after the tree
has been budded or grafted, so that it requires
the constant watchfulness of the orchardist to
train his trees into those forms that make them
the most convenient for cultivation, and for the
harvesting of their fruit. In order to do this it
must be remembered that all our budded or graft-
ed trees are in an artificial condition ; they have
lost much of their original character by the pro-
cess of moulding them to the will and purposes
of man. It is just so with the peach, plum, po-
tato, celery, and many other plants. In changing
them as wc have, they have probably lost some-
thing of their native hardihood and vigor, and
will always require more attention than trees in
their natural condition.

The summer pruning is a part of the artificial
process.

There should be little use for the saw or knife
in an orchard less than forty years old, unless in
case of accident ; after that time, or perhaps ten
years later, some of the limbs begin to die, and
then these tools become necessary. The pruning
should be performed when it can be done with
the thumi) and finger, — and now is the time to do
it. Pass through the orchard, examine all the

limbs that start directly from the main stem of
the tree, and wherever young shoots are found
rub them off", being careful to take them so close
as to prevent an after growth. They should all
come off", with a single exception, viz. :

If the tree, by accident, unskilful pruning, force
of wind, or any other cause, has lost a proper bal-
ance, if one side has more branches than another,
or if the top is open, and too much exposed, then
leave one of these young shoots, and train it to
occupy the vei-y place you wish to have filled.

By this process of pruning, you will rarely need
to use the knife ; the trees may be brought up
smooth, and with symmetrical form, and they will
not be full of internal wounds to weaken them,
and hasten their decay in later years.

Let us urge upon the young orchardist, at least,
to try this method NOW, and if the knife and saw
are necessary, now is the time to use them.

For the New England Farmer.
MOWING MACHINES.

Notwithstanding the many trials of these im-
plements, and the many varieties before the pub-
lic, it is not easy for a person to satisfy himself,
what kind of machine he had better buy for use
on his farm. I was struck with this consideration,
on reading the remarks of Mr. N. W. Brown, of
Topsfield, which came to hand to-day, in the '
monthly Farmer for June, p. 280. Mr. B. I knov.'
to be a practical, sensible man, and he is situated
on an experimental farm, well adapted to try im-
plements, if not to produce large crops. He ap-
pears to have a preference for the Manny machine,
which he learned in the use of it at the West. I
know of good farmers, hereabouts, who have a
like preference. There are others who prefer Al-
len's, and some who think there is nothing that
will compare Avith the Buckeye. Can't you, ]\Ir.
Editor, honestly inform the public of Massachu-
setts, w'hat kind of mowing machine is best adapt-
ed to their use ? If you will do this, you will save
much perplexity of thought, and much of the
money of your brother farmers. p.

June 4, 1860.

Remakks. — No, sir, we cannot say which is the
best mowing machine among all that are used.
We have had practical experience with only three
or four out of the dozen in use, and do not feel
justified in giving opinions of-them until we have
used them under our own hands. If we were per-
fectly clear in opinion as to which the best mow-
ing machine is, in all respects, we should certain-
ly say so, without "fear, favor or afi'ection."

|^° Pigeons are very plentiful in the northern
part of Michigan. One man at Grand Xlapids has
shipped 164 barrels to the eastern markets this
spring, paying over $1500 for dressing, express j
charges, &c. Another person has shipped 52 barrels,
making over 100,800 birds. At one shot, 120 were
brought down while roosting at night.

18G0.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

339

AN AXE TO GRIND.

Not one of yoiu" political ones, by any means,
of which we hear so much just now, but a real
cast steel chopping axe, that has stood in the
wood-shed and been used whenever any of the
men folks or the Avomen folks have had occasion
to hack, hew or split, during the past winter.
Just see how blunt and thick the "edge" is.
What a grinding it must have !

But the grindstone — that is as bad off as the
axe is. True enough, you did resolve, as your
boys turned so reluctantly, and looked so tired
and disheartened, while grinding the scythes last
haytime, that you would have a better stone with
some of those friction rollers, and, perhaps, with
a treadle so as to be turned by the foot. But you
have not got it yet. That same little, worn-out,
hard-faced grindstone stands there still, with a
frame so low that a small boy must bow his
shoulders almost to his knees to reach the crank
which turns a gudgeon that must be kept wet or
it will squeak and groan dreadfully. What a thing
that is to grind a dull axe on. What a place, too,
for your boys to take first impressions of agri-
cultural labor, such an old grindstone is !

If the single experience of young Ben. Frank-
lin, one cold morning, in grinding an axe, has
added to the vocabulary of politicians one of their
most expressive phrases, who will venture to
compute the number of sea voyages that have
been planned by farmers' boys at the crank of
some old grindstone, or of resolutions formed
there to be merchant, mechanic, peddler, anything,
so that they shall not be obliged to grind dull
axes on miserable grindstones.

Much is said, now-a-days, and well said, about
the duty of striving to make farm-life as attrac-
tive as possible. But it seems to be one of the
weaknesses of human nature, in this as in other
cases, when looking about for the means to be
used in securing a desired object, that we are
prone to neglect those little every-day ones with
which our work might be easily and cheaply
commenced, and to fasten our eyes and hopes on
something great and striking, and stand still till
it comes ; in plain words, the rickety, worn-out
grindstone is neglected and overlooked, while we
are waiting for the mowing-machine or the steam-
plow to relieve us from the drudgery of hard
work, and to make our business agreeable.

But, as yet, axei, scythes, shovels and hoes, are
used upon the farm ; and our argument for a good
grindstone will be appreciated by all who know
the difference in th5 use of these implements when
■ sharp and when dull.

In looking over the premises of our agricultu-
ral friends, admiring improvements that have
been made, and discussing those that are project-
ed, we instinctively look for the grindstone. If

we find it an ancient, sad-looking affair, with
wooden gearing, and leaning, it may bo, against
the wall for support, we feel like saying what the
proprieties of the occasion would not warrant-
But if the grindstone is nicely housed, hung on
well oiled rollers, and with a treadle, so that one
man can sharpen a tool without raising his neigh-
bors or coaxing his wife to turn "just one min-
ute," we feel assured that all is right. Depend
upon it, as goes the grindstone, so goes the whole
estate.

FoT the New England Farmer.
FARMING IN KANSAS.

Still but very little rain. But Ave are now hav-
ing our March winds, j^erhaps April showers will
soon follow. Very few gardens have, as yet, been
planted, May 29, and if the rain does not be-
friend Qs, Ave shall be compelled to forego our
vegetable dinners this season. The Yankceshere
do not relish the idea of going without the Yan-
kee dish of "biled vittles," and the probability of
it makes them pray most earnestly for rain. Prin-
cipally corn and potatoes have been planted, and
then but half of the usual quantity Avill be raised
this year. Wlieat and oats entirely destroyed.
It is lamentable, as a large quantity Avas sown
last fall. We seem to suffer more from the
drought in Atchinson county than elscAvhcre, as
reports from other counties speak of some rain,
and corn to be groAving finely. Many are the
probable reasons given for this dryness, and the
more ignorant and superstitious charge the tele-
graph, Avhich has lately been passed through this;
country to Atchinson, Avith preventing the rain
from falling, and so insist upon having the wires
pulled doAvn ; for, say they, "when the telegraph
Avas first put up in Missoury, thar' Avas nary rain
the mor'n two year, and then the people pulled
for Avires down, and Ave had a poAverlul rain right
away. Telegraph wires aint of nary use, anyhoAv."
It is most amusing to hear their arguments, con-
firming their belief, that the telegraph Avires have
a visible effect upon the atmosphere.

^^Is Farming Profitahle'J" I have had my at-
tention much excited by the number of articles
upon this subject in the Farmer lately. Mr.
Pinkham labors earnestly and intelligently to
prove that farming is not profitable^ and that every
farmer loses $10 per acre for every acre of corn
he raises. A number of other correspondents
differ with him, and prove that they make a profit
of $14,72 to $2.3 per acre.

Mr. Pinkham is certainly in a bad fix, and I
think that he is out of his element, that farming
is not his forte, and that he was cut out for a
shoemaker, or something else better. Or, per-
haps, he does not understand farming it upon an
economical scale, and therefore labors day after
day, under the conviction that he is losing mon-
ey, as he certainly is, if he does not understand his
business, and does not labor cheerfully and wil-
lingly. If he expends $47 upon one acre of land
and receives only $37 back, he certainly has taken
the "back track." I agree Avith him in his asser-
tion of not coining wealth at his rate of farming,
but think another correspondent, "Investigator,"
cannot get rich much faster, if he expends even

340

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

July

$37,54 upon one acre of land. He must work
very hard and enrich the soil profusely with the
sweat of his brow to realize a profit of $14,72 af-
ter that great expenditure. I showed the article
to an old farmer, and after he had carefully pe-
rused it, he bluntly exclaimed, (I do not wish to
offend,) "That's all a lie, he would sink a fortune
at that rate." "Investigator" must either be a very
slow worker or have a very poor team, if it takes
him one day to plow one acre of land. Here Ave
can easily plow three acres. His account gives
one man one-half day to mark off one acre, when
one man can mark off three acres here. "Done
easily," the farmers say. Hoeing, plowing and
hilling is unnecessary work here. "Investigator"
estimates the wear and tear of tools at $4 per
acre. He must be "death" on tools, or buy those
of the poorest material and metal. It is an item
we seldom estimate here, except in breaking prai-
rie, and then it costs $2 per day. Yet we think
that 50 cents will pay all damages done to tools
on cultivated ground. But here is our estimate
of a field of three acres :

Three Acres of Corn. Dr.

To one man and one team of horses one day plowing $3,00

To one man and one team one-half day harrowing 2,00

To one man one-half day marking, (easily done) 1,00

To plant in}; and seed 1,00

To cultivating 2,00

To hauling in 1,00

To cutting up 2,50

To three days' husliing 3,00

To wear and tear of tools 50

To shelling and marketing at 5 cents per bushel 9,00

$25,00

The very loAvest average of corn is 60 bushels
per acre, although we often raise 75 bushels per
acre. When corn was plenty, it could be bought
at the field at 30 cents per buskel ; now it is worth
75 cents. So we will raise it at the present price :

Three Acres of Corn. Cr.

By 180 busliels of corn, at 75c per bushel $135,00

Byfodder sold 5,00

By 10 loads of pumpkins, at $1 per wagon-load 10,00

By 10 bushels of soft corn, at 30c per bushel 3,00

$153,00

I make the total cost of three acres of corn to
be $25 and the receipts for the same $153, leav-
ing $128 profit from the three acres. This may
seem enormous to an Eastern farmer, yet it is true,
and I venture to assert that a poor farmer can re-
alize $37 profit from every acre of corn he culti-
vates.

A farmer adjoining has 600 acres of land. He
cultivateg 140 acres in corn, and asserts that it
only costs him $5 the acre. He cultivates a large
vegetable garden also, and employs four men to
cultivate the whole, paying them $15 a month. I
have estimated the labor at $1 per day in my ac-
count. This man sold at the field last fall 2,700
bushels at 30 cents per bushel, and has sold corn
at various prices during the winter. If he had
kept all of his corn till now he would have real-
ized a large sum. He has also wintered 40 head
of cattle, 20 hogs, 2 horses and 4 mules.

Give a man two good horses, and he can culti-
vate 40 acres. A very old man near by cultivates
25 acres of corn, and says, " 'taint hard, neither."
He has quite a quantity of stock to attend to also.

Seventy.five miles from the river, corn is sell-
ing at 30 cents per bushel, and there, they say,

corn costs 12^ cents per bushel to raise. Fod-
der we seldom sell. We put up a large quantity
of hay. After the ears are stripped from the field,
each farmer turns his whole stock into the field
and there they remain until they have eaten up
everything clean. So farming in Kansas is cer-
tainly profitable. Susie Vogl.
Sumner, K. T., May 29, 1860.

AGiUCULTURAL LECl'UKES.

We have before us a pamphlet of nearly 200 |
pages, giving the outlines of the lectures delivered
before the Agricultural Convention at New Ha-
ven in February last. They Avere reported by Hen-
KY S. Olcott, Esq., and published at the time
in the N. Y. Tribune. Mr. O, has since corrected
his notes, and after a revision by the lecturers
themselves, they are brought together in this form i
for general use. They contain a large amount of i
valuable and reliable matter wlaich ought to be i
extensively before the peojile.

In one of Judge Fren'CII's lectures upon Drain- ■
age, Ave notice an item against the slovenly and
wasteful practice oi open ditches Avhich we cannot i
Avell refrain from laying before the reader. The '
extensive operations by draining, of Gov. Ham-
mond, of South Carolina, Avere alluded to, and the
reporter continues : "Two acres, if I recollect
aright, of this corn-field measured ninety-eight
bushels each, and the plantation crop amounted,
in the aggregate, to about 56,000 bushels. This
was raised on a SAvamp, just like many thousand i
other acres in South Carolina, but rendered thus
fertile by open ditching. Gov. Hammond's expe-
rience goes to corroborate Avhat yesterday Judge
French said against open ditches. In one season,
only, because of neglect to clean them out, the
ditches filled up, so that on the 1500 acres the
crop was shortened 30,000 bushels, and in one ,
year more, a further loss of 15,000 was experi- i
enced." I

These "Outlines" are published by Saxton,
Barker & Co., NeAV York, and we hope will find
their way into the homestead of all our farmers.

ABOUT EINQEONB.

I noticed in a late number,, an inquiry for the
cure of Avhat is called a ringbone, from a corres-
pondent Avho had a fine mare troubled with one
for something over a year, and the ansAver Avas,
that there was no cure for a confirmed ringbone.

NoAV tAvo years ago this Avinter, I had a fine colt
that had a ringbone on each of its hind feet, and
Avas so lame some of the time, that I could hardly
get it out and in the stable, I did not do anything
for it till spring, and they got so bad that the colt
had to Avalk upon its heels, with its feet turned
up, and I supposed that she was almost worthless.
Finally one of my neighbors told me that he had
a remedy for a bone spavin, and it Avas said to be
a sure cure for ringbone, and wished me to try it

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FAEMER.

341

It was this : Take common salt, and pound or

; fijriud it as fiue as you can possibly get it, and mix

it with spirits of turpentine enough to make it

something like paste, and rub it on the ringbones

(or spavin) once in two or three days, for three or

four times, and if they have not been of too long

, standing, I think you will effect a sure cure. This

colt of mine had but three applications of this

- medicine, and I then turned her out to pasture,

I and she soon grew better, and in a short time was

I entirely free from lameness, and has been ever

since. She is now coming three years old, and

: has as sound feet as any colt, though there arc

some bunches to be seen yet, but I think in two

years more, they will entu-ely disappear. — Cor.

Country Gentleman.

SCHOOLS OF AGRICUTiTURB.
BY JUDGE FRENCH.

There is much that can never be learned from
books or oral teaching. No man can learn hov/
to bo a horseman, or swimmer, or skater, in any
other Avay but by practice. So it is v.ith all that
belongs to the practice of the art of agriculture.
To be able to direct others with authority, the
farmer should have skill in all the manual pro-
cesses of fanning, to hold the plow, or to cWve,
to use the scythe, the ax and the hoe. There are
a thousand things to be learned by the farmer in
every department of his business, which can be
learned only by actual observation on the farm,
and which may be suggested in considering the
plan of such an institution as we recommend.
It may be premised, in the outset, that an experi-
mental farm makes a part of almost every system
of agricultural instruction that has ever been
adopted in the old world, or projected in the new.

Dr. Hitchcock says, in his report : "With a
very few exceptions, — I do not recollect any save
the University of Edinburgh, — a farm, or at least
a few acres of land, is connected with the school."

A school of agriculture with an experimental
farm, we propose as the one thing especially need-
ful in our present condition, to be established as
soon as practicable in each county.

We should abandon, for the present, the idea
of a "splendid university, where everything, in-
cluding the dead languages and abstruse mathe-
matics are to be taught.

The existing institutions of learning are suf-
ficient for Latin and Greek, and mathematics
in general, and common schools, with perhaps
some modifications with reference to prepara-
tion for schools peculiarly agricultural, are lay-
ing the requisite foundation for more advanced
education. While we admit the utility of lec-
tures and of farmers' clubs in the dissemination
of knowledge among those v.'ho are already farm-
ers, and therefore full-grown men, we conceive
tluit t'lpy furnish no substitute for schools for the
training of boys and youth.

Lectures upon science or art may amuse a gen-
eral audience ; but only they who have prepared
their minds by previous training, can profit much
by knowledge in so condensed a form. Farmers,
as we now find them, even in Massachusetts, have
not had the discipline to enable them to appre-
hend by a mere statement, the principles of chem-
istry, of geology, of physiology, or even the pro-

cesses of subsoiling, drainage, and the like, which
may be made very easy to a lad of eighteen, by
a regular course of instruction. In agriculture,
as in other studies, we must educate in youth ;
and farmers' clubs, however useful, must be lim-
ited rather to the diffusion of the knowledge ol
facts than of principles. Both lectures and farm-
ers' clubs are modes of instruction rather than
of education, if we may take the distinction indi-
cated by the derivation of the words, methods of
pouring out knovtledge upon those not well pre-
pared for its reception, rather than of deducing
it from principles which are fixed landmarks in
the mind.

We see no agency yet in operation which can
reach the class whom we have in view. Our aim
is to meet the present want of the community, to
give aid to a numerous existing class of young
men, Avho desire more knowledge of their busi-
ness of agriculture, and know not how to obtain
it. There are two obstacles in the way of grand
agricultural colleges, which have been met, it is
believed, in every attempt at their establishment
thus far in this country. First, the want of com-
petent teachers. Secondly, the want of pupils.
There are few scholars with special qualifications
to take charge of agricultural professorships, and
few young men ready to devote their lives to a
long and expensive course of study looking ex-
clusively to agricultural life.

There are many young men, of good general
education, who wish to learn thoroughly the art,
with profit, who have no means of advancement
in the knowledge of their peculiar business.
Hov/ can v/e teach them the best methods of man-
aging their farms ? The true answer is, by show-
ing them the best methods of cultivation, and
teaching them to perform with their own hands
the processes connected with them — by making
them thoroughly acquainted with the best farm
implements, the best farm buildings, the different
breeds of live stock, and their various qualities,
by teaching them system and habits of careful
observation, and by making them understand the
reasons of things, or the imnciples and science
of husbandry." — Essay in Transactions of Mass.
Ag. Society.

A ISTEW SOCIETY.

A new Society, called '■'■TlieNeedliam Horticul-
tural Society" has recently been formed in that
town. Its objects, as stated in its Constitution,
"shall be the promotion of Horticulture, and in-
cidentally. Agriculture, Floriculture and general
improvements. Its plan of action shall be by
meetings, discussions, lectures, correspondence,
exhibitions, premiums, prizes, planting of trees,
gathering of statistics, and making record of im-
portant local events."

The Society has been organized by the choice
of the following gentlemen as officers :

President— Vion. E. K. Whitaker.

Vice Presidents— C. E. Keith, Rev. A. Harvey, Galen Orr,
W. M. Stedman, W. N. Eayrs, Jona. Avery, J. M. Colcord, E.
P. Hollis, J. W. Shaw, Esqs.

Treasurer — Geo. Howland, Esq.

Secretary — H. N. Bachcller. Esq.

Standing Committee— G. W. Palmer, J. M. Harris, 0. E
Bowen, A. Eaton, John ilinchin, C. H. Dewing, M. NewelJ, M
S. Scudder, Chas. Blaisdcll, Esqs.

342

NEW ENGLAND FARilER.

Juo/

For the New England Farmer.

THE CATTLE DISEASE.
BY JUDGE FREN'Cn.

We have somewhat to say to the farmers of
the country on this topic. Travelling daily as
we do in the cars, reading all that is published
on the subject, and watching with careful interest
the evidence presented to the legislative commit-
tees, we have good opportunity for gaining infor-
mation, whatever use we may make of our privi-
leges. It requires some equanimity to hear with
serenity the stupidity of a portion of the com-
munity, who ought either to inform themselves,
or hold their peace on this vital question. Stu-
pidity is undoubtedly the unpardonable sin. A
lively, wide-awake, progressive sinner, we have
some hope of; but a dogged, mulish, thick-hided
old fogy, who rolls himself up in a heap, like a
porcupine, shuts his eyes, and sticks out his quills
in all directions, deserves such treatment as John
Quincy Adams advocated for the Chinese : a lit-
tle smell of fire and gunpowder, or one of its in-
gredients, to bring him into sympathy with the
breathing, moving world.

Grave and respectable old physicians at the
State House, and elsewhere, suggest doubts of
the contagious nature of this disease, and ques-
tion whether there is any necessity for killing, or
even isolating the diseased cattle ; and editors of
political papers, who are anxious for occasion for
complaint against somebody v,-ho is in public ser-
vice, echo the idea, and howl their jeremiads
over the graves of the slaughtered. Then the
cry is taken up by small politicians and second-
rate doctors in the small villages where the dis-
ease has not appeared, and knotty questions of
constitutional law, and knottier questions of the
constitutions of cows and oxen, are gravely dis-
cussed, and sage doubts are suggested of the
wisdom of the course of the Commissioners and
the Legislature.

"There is not sufficient evidence," say the grave
doctors, "that the disease is of a contagious, or
infectious character," and so there should be no
commissioners with power to interfere with the
cattle of our citizens. "And besides," says a
friend at hand, by way of hel])ing along the op-
position, "I believe these Commissioners spread
the disease themselves, by carrying it in their
clothes."

"What need is thereof the State interfering?"
asks another ; "the farmers can take care of their
own business as well as traders and mechanics ;
they will be sharp enough to keep the disease
from spreading, without any help." "And what
right," chimes in a third, "has anybody to mark
my cattle with a hot iron, so as to spoil my sale
of them in the market ?"

A large class who arc far enough fi-om the dis-
ease to be safe, are surprised that the whole coun-
try is so excited about a disease that is not knoAvn
to be contagious, and from which more than half
the cattle would recover, under judicious treat-
ment, cither by putting thom into warm stables,
with good keeping, so as to enable them to resist
consumptive tendencies, or by keeping them in
open, wcll-vcntilatcd, old-fashioned barns, "on
low diet ;" they don't exactly agree which. One
])hilosophcr suggests, in a daily paper, that the
disease probably is induced by the cattle feeding
on grass raised with those disgusting manures
from slaughter-houses, and the like ; but he fails
to give us any cologne or rose-water substitute
for these disagreeable substances.

Now, what are the facts as to the contagious
nature of this disease ? If any reliance can be
placed on human testimony, every case reported
in Massachusetts can be traced to actual contact
or actual association with animals known to be
diseased, and can be traced step by step back to
the cow imported from Holland by Mr. Chcnery.

A little more than a hundred years ago, the
disease was imported into England from Holland,
and in six months 30,000 cattle died of it in
Cheshire County, and more than 40,000 in Not-
tinghamshire. Parliament treated it as a con-
tagious disease, and paid out nearly $500,000 in
a single year, to compensate for cattle killed un-
der its authority. During that year 80,000 head
of cattle were killed in England as infected, and
twice that number died of the disease, and by
such energetic means the malady was finally erad-
icated. In Africa, according to the interesting
account by Rev. Mr. Lindley, the same disease
has been raging now for several years, and is
only stayed by the entire isolation of the sound
districts. It is there known and treated as con-
tagious.

In lSo7, 140,000 head of cattle were slaughtered
or died in only forty-three villages in Holland,
and there too the disease is regarded as con-
tagious. Regarding the disease as contagious and
alarming, the Governor of Massachusetts has
specially convened the Legislature to adopt meas-
ures to check its progress, the Commissioners
have unanimously recommended measures for
meeting the disease as contagious, and the joint
committee of the two houses has, after the fullest
investigation, reported bills in conformity with
this view. These bills, with slight amendments,
will doubtless become the law of the State, be-
fore these words are published. The States of
Ohio, of Maine, and of Connecticut, have each
sent Commissioners to this Commonwealth to
learn of the disease, and of the best modes of pre-
vention or remedy ; and the Legislature of New
Hampshire has invited a distinguished member

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FAEMER.

343

of the Massachusetts commission, Dr. Loring, to
address them on the subject.

What now is the duty of good citizens in this
matter ? It surely is to give every aid in their
power to the execution of the laws just enacted.
A man v.ho, with the evidence now before the
public, Avill contend that this disease is not to be
met and treated as contagious, ought to be shut
up in quarantine tUl he recovers from so danger-
ous a heresy. We believe that the Governor act-
ed wisely in convening the Legislature, for in no
other way could knowledge on this subject be so
well collected or disseminated, as by a thorough
public investigation, a publication of the evi-
dence in ten thousand copies, as has been or-
dered, and the return of the members to their ru-
ral homes, with full knowledge of the nature of
the disease, and of the measures adopted to limit
and exterminate it. The Legislature has done it-
self honor by the course adopted, which has been
marked with energy and unanimity in all that is
essential. On the important points as to wheth-
er more or less power should be conferred on the
Commissioners, or how appraisals should be made
of animals or other property taken for the public
good, lively debates have sprung up, but upon
the expediency of adopting the most stringent
and energetic measures to exterminate this terri-
ble scourge from the Commonwealth, there has
appeared to be great unanimity.

In the present fetate of public sentiment no
person will pui'chase, either for breeding purposes,
or for beef, or for the dairy, and no farmer will
take as a gift, any animal from an infected herd.
What, then, is the value of such a herd ? What
can be done with it ? Let those answer who com-
plain of the course that has been adopted in Mas-
sachusetts.

Walking Horses. — A correspondent of the
Country Gentleman suggests the offering of pre-
miums at annual county fairs, for fast walking, as
well as fast trotting horses. He says he knew a
man who kept from two to four teams at work, on
the road, and never allowed them to trot at all ;
yet he made the distance in quicker time than his
neighbors who made their horses trot at every
convenient place. He said that when a horse
walked after trotting, he walked much slower than
his common gait, if kept continually on the walk,
and thus lost more than he gained by trotting.

CuKious Effects of Camomile. — A decoction
of the leaves of common camomile will destroy all
species of insects, and nothing contributes so much
to the health of a garden as a number of camo-
mile plants dispersed through it. No greenhouse
or hothouse should ever be without it, in a green
or dried state ; either the stalks or the flowers
will answer. It is a singular fact, that if a plant
is drooping and apparently dying, in nine cases
out of ten, it will recover, if you plant camomile
near it.

YOUTH'S DEPARTMENT.

THE PO^WrER OF BEADING.

Benjamin Franklin tells us, in one of his letters,
that when he was a boy, a little book fell into his
hands, entitled Essays to do Good, by Cotton
Mather. It was tattered and torn, and several
leaves were missing. "But the remainder,'' he
says, "gave mo such a turn of thinking as to hav3
an influence on my conduct thi-ough life ; for I
have always set a greater value on the character
of a doer of good than any other kind of reputa-
tion ; and if I have been a useful citizen, the pub-
lic owes all the advantages of it to the little book."
Jeremy Bentham mentions that the current of his
thoughts and studies Avas dii'cctcd for life by a
single phrase that caught his eye at the end of a
pamphlet, "The greatest good of the greatest num-
ber." There are single sentences in the New Testa-
ment that have av,-akcned to spiritual life hun-
dreds of millions of dormant souls. In things of
less moment reading has a wondrous power. Geo.
Law, a boy on his father's farm, met an old un-
known book, which told the story of a farmer's
son, who went away to seek his fortune, and came
home after many years' absence, a rich man, and
gave great sums to all his relations. From that
moment George was vnieasy, till he set out on his
travels to imitate the adventurer. He lived over
again the life he had read of, and actually did re-
turn a millionaire, and paid all hii father's debts.
Robinson Crusoe has sent to sea more sailors
than the press gang. The story about little George
Washington telling the truth about the hatchet
and the plum tree has made many a truth-teller.
We owe all the Waverly Novels to Scott's early
reading of the old traditions and legends ; and the
whole body of pastoral fiction came from Addi-
son's Sketches of Sir Roger DeCoverley, in the
Spectator. But illustrations are numberless.
Tremble ye who write, and ye who publish writ-
ing. A pamphlet has precipitated a revolution.
A paragraph may quench or kindle the celestial
spark in a human soul — in myriads of souls.

WHESE ALL THE TOYS COME PROM.

The vast majority are made at Grunhainscher,
in Saxony. The glass comes from Bohemia. The
bottles and cups are so fragile, that the poor work-
man has to labor in a confined and vitiated at-
mosphere, which cuts him oft' at 3j years of age.
All articles that contain any metal are the pro-
duce of Nuremburg and the surrounding district.
This old city has always been one of the chief
centres of German metal-work. The vvorkers in
gold and silver of the place have long been fa-
mous, and their iron-work unique. This spe-
cialty has now descended to toys. Here all toy
printing-presses, with their types, are manufac-
tured ; magic lanterns ; magnetic toys, such as
ducks and fish, that are attracted by the magnet ;
mechanical toys, such as running mice, and con-
juring tricks, also come from Nuremburg. The
old city is pre-eminent in all kinds of toy diablerie.
Here science puts on the conjurer's jacket, and
we have a manifestation of the Germanesque spir-
it of which their Albert Durer was the embodi-
ment. The more solid articles -which attract boy-

344

NEAV ENGLAND FARMER.

July

hood, such as boxes of bricks, buildings, &c., of
plain wood, come from Grunhainsclior, in Saxony.
— Unce a Week.

A Hard-Hearted Schoolmaster. — A Ger-
man magazine recently announced the death of a
school-master in Suabia, who for fifty-one years
bad superintended a large institution, with old-
fashioned severity. From an average inferred by
means of recorded observations, one of the ushers
had calculated that, in the course of his exertions,
he had given 911,500 canings, 124,000 floggings,
209,000 custodcs, 130,000 tips with the ruler,
10,200 boxes on the ear, and 22,700 tasks by
heart. It was further calculated that he had made
700 boys stand on peas, GOOO kneel on the sharp
edge of wood, 5000 wear the fool's cap, and 1700
hold the rod. How vast (exclaims the journalist)
the quantity of human misery inflicted by a single
perverse teacher !

LADIES' DEPARTMENT.

A GOOD-NIGHT.

Sleep sound, dear love ! Though the winds be high

And the dark clouds drift through the troubled sky ;

Though the rising waters foam and roar,

And mournfiilly howl round the tortured shore ;

111 sounds from thy slumbers be far away,

And soft be thy dreams as a summer's day.

Sleep sound ! Though the world be weary with fears,

And eyes that love thee V^e sad with tears.

Yet never a sorrow break thy rest,

And never a pang shoot through thy breast ;

No shadows pass o'er thy closed eyes.

But their visions be visions of Paradise.

Sleep sound, sweet love I Till the morning's light
Lead up a new day with its fresh delight ;
Till the welcome sun, as it mounts above,
Recall thee to duty, and peace, and love,
To a calm existence, untouched by strife.
And the quiet round of a holy life !

Frazer's Magazine.

ALAKMlIsTG IWCBEASE OP CELIBACY.

This is getting to be an alarming fact to the
political economists, and, in an article on the sub-
ject, Once a Week thus remarks :

The probabilities of marriage of a maiden at
twenty are slightly superior to those of a bache-
lor, and incomparably greater than those of a
v«idow of the same age ; but with the lapse of
years the ratios change, the probabilities of mar-
riage at thirty-five being, for a bachelor, one to
twenty-seven ; for a spinster, one to thirty-five ;
and for a widow, one to five — the attractions of
the wido\y standing to those of the spinster in the
surprising relation of five to ono — or, poT'^hanco.
that number mystically representing her C;,mpar-
ative readiness to matrimony. Thus the chance
of finding happiness and a home diminishes with
years.

The growing disposition to celibacy among the
young men of this class, though in some measure
attributable to selfish and luxurious cynicism, is
chiefly due to the irrational expenditure conse-
quent on Marriage, and the unattractiveness of

prospective association with women so unlikely,
from their artificial habits, to yield domestic hap- :
piness. If this celibacy frequently defeats the \
economical consideration deciding to it, (as it
should,) and ends in much immorality and unhap-
piness among men, how immeasurably evil must
be its influence on the other sex ; and v/hat a vi-
olation of natural law must that social organiza-
tion be, which so harshly represses the afl'cctions,
and bereaves so large a class of the support and
sympathy they are entitled to from man. Is the
Rajapoot pride that slays a female infant, lest in
after life it should dishonor its parentage by a
plebeian marriage, more cruel than the selfish so-
cial system that devotes it to a solitary and weary
life of penury and regrets ?

TO KEEP MOTHS PHOM CLOTHES.

Nothing moths dislike so much as being dis-
turbed. The clothes, &c., should therefore be
taken out of the linen bag, (a pillow-case tied or
sewed at the open end is the best,) and well shaken
once a month. A bag of clothes left unshaken is
like an undisturbed fox covert, where there are
plenty of .rabbits, to a fox. He won't go away
till he is forced to decamp, by being hunted up.
Moths can't bear tallow, and if curtains, &c., are
put away for any time, I should recommend a
pound of the commonest tallow candles to be put
in paper, and placed in with them. In the muse-
um of the Jardin des Plantes, at Paris, they told
me they used benzoin coUas to keep the moths
out of the skins of the animals, and not a trace of
a moth did I see in their miles of galleries of
stuffed beasts. The other day, I was asked what
to do with a Crimean sheep-skin coat that had
got the moth in it. I had it well shaken, and then
benzoin coUas rubbed in. It is not the moth that
flies about that does the harm to the clothes, so
much as the grub from which the moth comes — a
white little creature with a red head. I collected
several of these grubs from the Crimean coat, and
having moistened the palm of the hand with ben-
zoin coUas, I put the grubs on it. They began to
twist and turn about, and were dead in a second or
two. I should therefore recommend benzoin col-
las to destroy moth grubs when present, and also
to keep them away. I have read somewhere, (but
I can't recollect where) that cyanide of potassi-
um v/as fatal to moths, and that they Avon't go
near it. It would be worth trying this ; and I
imagine the best form to use it, would be to buy
some of the soap that photographers use to clean
the nitrate of silver stains from their hands, and
place it along with the clothes. But, after all, fre-
quent shakings are the best antidotes for moths
and their grubs. — Cor. of London Field.

Wife. — This good old Saxon word {ivif,) is,
after all, the dearest and most sacred word in the
whole vocabulary of love. Around it clusters all
that is most beautiful, chaste and permanent in
the tender passion. Into whatever forbidden paths
the heart of man may wander, still it must return
at last, to the hallowed name of wife for consola-
tion and rest. Any other relation between the
sexes, however alluring to the imagination, inva-
riably ends in wretchedness, in shame and degra-
dation.

DEVOTED TO AGRICULTUIIE AND ITS KINDRED ARTS AJNTD SCIENCES.

YOL. XII.

BOSTON, AUGUST, 1860.

NO. 8.

NOURSE, EATOX & TOLJIAX, Proprietors.
Office.... 34 JIercuams' Row.

SIMON BROWN, EDITOR.

FRED'K nOLBROOK, ) Associate
HENRY F. FRExXCH, j Editors.

CALENDAR FOR AUGUST.

"All-conquering Heat, 0, intermit thy wrath'
And on my throbbing temples potent thus
Beam not so fierce !"

breathes upon
again like a
blast from the de-
sert, suggesting vi-
sions of mad dogs,
musquitoes, and
restless tossings
through the sultry
nights, on beds
apparently stuffed
with hot bricks.
We who live in the
city can't endure it
any longer, so we
Avill emigrate to the Isle of
Shoals, or Rye Beach, or to
whatever place is most
"convenient" to cur present mar-
tyrdom, and there luxuriate in the
cool breath Avhich ocean gives us. Vie will even
sport in the breaking billows, the wonder of all
young sharks and alligators who view from a dis-
tance this new inhabitant of their native element.
But we Avho live in the country will open our
windows to the air, full of the scent of new-mown
hay — so much sweeter than that "new-mown-
hay" you purchase at the druggists, put up in
small bottles, and which, by the way, you would
"throw to the dogs," (Shakspeare,) if you were to
take pains to inform yourself of its ingredients.

^'Patchouli" is said to be made of mummies,
and it seems quite probable, from the fact that
1 those venerable Egyptians Avere "put up" in spices.
i Little thinks that delicate young lady, little
■ thinks that embroidered young man, as they fin -
j ish their toilets Avith a drop of "Lubin,"that they
! are suggesting to some of their scientific friends,
the Pyramids of Egypt !

But here in the midst of our "rural felicity,"
we have all the perfumes of all the apothecaries
without alloy. There is "musk," and "mille-
fleur," and "sweet pea," and the clover blossoms,
now lying low, it is true, but still breathing out
a sweetness which Avould make the fortune of a
perfumer if he could only catch it and bottle it up.
Amidst it all, the "jolly hay -maker" swings his
scythe, and rejoices in such good haying weather,
caring little for any degree of heat, short of a sun-
stroke. The fact is, there is a breeze out there <
for him, which doesn't reach us at our window,. .
and, besides, he hasn't time to think much about
his sensations.

The farmer's wife, we rather imagine, has a
harder time of it than he himself does. Good,
patient soul, she doesn't complain, though, as she
works hard all day, a hot cooking-stove in doors
added to a hot sun oat of doors. She washes, and
bakes, and irons, and revels in the perfume of
soap-suds and boiled cabbage, instead of all those
refined odors, before mentioned, which come to
the nose of her lord and master.

It would not be strange if so many conflicting
and wearisome cares should sometimes wear out
her patience, were she a second edition of Job,
but oftener than not, she goes about her work
cheerfully, getting dinner ready for the "men
folks," and setting the table in a cool place, so
that they may enjoy their nooning. At night,
very likely, she adds to her own duties a part of
her husband's, during the busy season, and milko
his cows and feeds his pigs for him, and Ave hope,
at least, she gets reAvarded Avith appreciating and
pleasant words.

Yet Avork, although some people seem to have
more of it than justly falls to their share, is after
all a great preserver of virtue and hapjiiness. At
first vicAV, this remark may seem inconsistent
Avith the theory that labor Avas given as a curse,
but the truth is, that although elegant leisure is a
blessing, fcAV people are "fitted" for leisure, just

346

NEW ENGLAND FARRIER.

Aug.

as some people say our colored brethren are not

'^fitted" for freedom, although freedom is allowed
to be a very good thing. By a curious coincidence,
one of our good neighbors just passing along, re-
marks to another just proceeding to hang out her
clothes after a Monday's wash, "We are born to
labor." We did not hear what number two re-
plied, but she might have said, "It is well we are."
For how many men exempt from the necessity of
labor, Avould turn their attention to anything use-
ful or elevating ? Some few there are — poets, ar-
tists, sculptors — who, impelled by the inspiration
of genius, under any circumstances, would make
the world wiser, better, and more beautiful, and a
few more whom the necessity of earning their
daily bread has prevented from cultivating their
natural gifts — but to the majority of mankind.
Idleness is the Devil's harvest-time.

By this means, he gathers in every year great
crops of young men, who might be useful in
their day and generation. Plenty of money and
plenty of time sends them reeling in the broad
ways so easy to enter, so difficult to return from.
Most men cannot even be left a great deal to the
company of their own thoughts. It makes hypo-
chondriacs and suicides. Good, active employ-
ment is the best state for man and woman in this
present existence — employment which has a defi-
nite object in view. Nothing so effectually sweeps
away those cobwebs, which are always obscuring
the vision with minds of a certain stamp.

Which is the more likely to take cloudy views
of life, Bridget, singing over her pans and kettles
in the kitchen, or her mistress hemming a cam-
bric ruffle in the parlor ? Not Bridget !

These little every-day affairs help one to take a
healthy and practical view of life. For example,
there is no knowing to what flights of fancy one
might be led in musing over a summer landscape
like this, did not a field of "waving corn" and a
patch of tomatoes call home our wandering
thoughts to carnal matters, and then we sigh for
a double dose of dog-days, that these useful vege-
tables may have time to come to perfection.
What could be more aggravating than to see, as
we have for two years past, a fine bed of promis-
ing tomatoes lying pale and sickly, waiting in
vain for sun enough to ripen them, till the frost
came and blighted our hopes entirely ? But let us
trust that this month of August, eighteen hundred
and sixty, is going to do better things for us, —
that the fruits of the earth wiU be abundant
enough to make up for all that beef-steak of
which the cattle disease has deprived us, and as
Nature delights in compensations, we should not
be surprised if our hopes proved true prophets.

Farmers, kill your Thistles. — Several years
since the writer purchased a farm, and the first

year I sowed oats on a piece of ground which had
a crop of corn upon it the previous year, and was
greatly terrified to find one-fourth of an acre cov-
ered with a great growth of Canada thistle. The
succeeding year I had a stout crop of grass heavily
mixed with thistles. I mowed the grass about the
first of August, on a good, fair hay day, and ow-
ing to the appearance of rain for the next day,
I carted the hay into the barn on the very same
day. The next day was a heavy rainy day. The
result was that on the second year the thistles
had entirely disappeared and have never grown to
trouble me since, although I have since plowed
the same piece of land. — A Chesterfield Far-
mer, in N. H. Journal of Agriculture.

For the New England Farmer.
HIGH TAXES, AND DESERTED FABMS.

Messrs. Editors : — I do not agree with Mr.
Pinkham that farming is not a paying business,
but I do say that farmers cannot make a living in
this part of the State. Why ? Because our State
and County taxes have increased to such an enor-
mous rate that our best farmers are leaving their
farms, the buildings and fences are going to de-
cay, their once fertile fields are running to brush
and briers — are turned to pasturing, or are left
tenantless — and the once thrifty farmer is leaving
the State to go where taxation is not so burden-
some, in some neighboring State where there is
some economy used in the affairs of legislation.
Now it is a fact that over thirty of our best farms
have been left tenantless in the last ten years.
The farmer pays a larger tax, according to what
he is actually worth, than any other class of peo-
ple. What is this tax for ? It is to pay for an
indolent legislature, to sit twice a year, two
hours in a day for six or eight months in a year,
at three or four dollars per day, to legislate on
school aff'airs, or raising money to pay a board
of education, or a superintending school commit-
tee to take the educating of our scholars from
the hands of parents who are the best qualified to
see to the educating of their children themselves.

It would not be so great an injury to the State
generally if the cattle disease should sweep over
it once in seven years, as it would for our legisla-
ture to sit one-half the year, or over, spending
time and money in raising the pay from $2 to $4
per day, and the pay of many of our State, county
and town officers, and all uncalled for by the peo-
ple.

This is the general feeling of the farmers and
laboring classes that are left in this town, and I
hope that all newspaper editors who. are not
bought up by the Government of the State of
Massachusetts will declaim against it.

Ashhunifiam, July 2, 1860. Republican.

Remarks. — Our friend "Republican" sends us
his real name, but as he has a fancy to withhold it,
we assent. He must have written in "a fit of the
blues," or he has not investigated the matter upon
which he writes quite closely enough. While we
agree with him that we have too much legislation,
we cannot believe that our legislation or high tax-
es in this State are the cause of the deserted

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

347

farms of which he speaks. They are natural caus-
es— causes which puny man cannot control — and
instead of being evidences of poverty and decay,
they are to us clearly evidences of progress and
prosperity. That is, man has exhausted the soil,
cut off its timber, and carried off innumerable
crops of rye and corn, and herds of fat cattle, and
with these nearly all the minerals near the surface,
together with the vegetable matter that had been
accumulating by the agency of trees, bushes and
coarse plants, through the lapse of countless gen-
erations.

Why should he remain there longer ? If the
land is of easy access and cultivation, and he has
managed it skilfully and economically, he can re-
main forever and it will never fail to reward all
his labor and care. But if it is not of this char-
acter, his course is precisely that of the miner, —
he lays bare the vein, extracts the precious ore,
exhausts it, and then seeks another and more
promising spot, and in so doing proves himself
to be a man of discernment and progress.

We do not agree entirely with our correspond-
ent's views of the manner of educating the child-
ren of the State, as if there were no law compell-
ing it, there would soon be a fearful number who
could not read and write. But when we reach
that Elysian age Avhen all parents are qualified to
teach their children, and have leisure to attend to
it, we shall be happy to see the B oard of Educa-
tion and all superintending School Committees
ranked with the things of "old fogydom" — but,
■we guess not, until then. When do you think it
will be, brother farmer ?

We should not feel it a hardship to extend
these remarks much farther — for the subject is
prolific of thought — but other matters pressing at
present forbid it. We send by mail, a letter writ-
ten in August, 1856, describing the country we
saw at that time, and giving some of the reasons
why more than Jifty farms were deserted, which
we saw in the course of one day's ride by horse
power.

Open vs. Covered Drains. — Mr. Mechi thus
explains the reason why covered drains are so
much more effectual than open ones : '"A deep
open ditch will not drain the adjoining soil, be-
cause when the sides are dry the water rises up
tovvards the surface by capillary attraction, and
thus heads back the water behind it. Put pipes
into the bottom of this ditch, fill it up, and it will
then drain the adjoining soil."

Another Recommendation for the Apple.
— Chemical researches show that good varieties
of the apple are richer in those bodies which
I strictly go to nourish the system than potatoes
'■ are ; or, in other words, to form muscle, brain,
(nerve, and, in short, assist in sustaining and
building up the organic part of all the tissues of
the animal bodv. — Anon.

For the New England Farmer.
CULTUBE OF TOBACCO.

Mr. Editor : — In agricultural papers I often
see inquiries relative to the culture of tobacco.
And as often as I read a reply to such inquiries, I
am impressed with a sense of an unsatisfactory
answer. My method is this :

First, the soil should be naturally strong and
warm, that which has not been abused by over-
cropping. And then with the following treat-
ment a good and paying crop may reasonably be
expected. Plow as early as possible after the crop
of grass or grain has been harvested ; weeds then
growing will be destroyed, and by decaying, help
to enrich the land ; the seeds already ripe will
germinate in time to be killed by autumn frosts ;
if likely to ripen their seeds too soon for the
frost, they should be destroyed by a thorough
harrowing, which, by the way, will be no disad-
vantage to the ground. Tlie plowing should be
sufficiently deep and the furrows so carefully
turned over that the turf will not be disturbed ;
say seven to ten inches, according to depth of
soil and previous treatment. When dry, a heavy
roller passed over it previous to harrowing, will
be found beneficial. It is now in good condition
to rest till spring, and in the meanwhile receive
the benefits of rain, snow, air, light and frost.

As soon as in good working condition in the
spring, spread broadcast fifty ox-cart loads of
well-rotted manure to the cere ; and with a
Share's coulter harrow, cover it just deep enough
to ])revent its being sun-dried. If the season is
sufficiently advanced, the weather and soil warm,
give it a very thorough harrowing with a fine-
toothed harrow. Don't be afraid of harrowing too
much. Better use horse flesh in May, than your
own to drive the hoe in the hot summer months.
The ground is now ready to receive the seed ;
and here we come to the most important point.

I would prepare the seed thus : Soak it twenty-
four hours in pure rain water, caught as it falls
from the clouds, that the clean, pure tobacco seed
need not be contaminated by coming in contact
with the filth of the roof of a human being's dwel-
ling; then boil it eight and forty hours in a
bright copper kettle, and lest the seed should not
all germinate, plant five to eight grains of Indian
corn in each hill. The prospect is now good for
a crop that will support human life, and by pro-
moting health, leave the brain clear and healthy,
so that the soul may expand and rejoice in the
contemplation of the Creator and the created,
rather than sink to the level of the mountain
goat and tobacco worm. G. w. H.

Neio Bedford, 3d Mo., 20, 1860.

Tanning Skins with the Fur on. — Nail the
fresh skins smoothly and tightly against a doer,
keeping the skinny side out. Next proceed with a
broad-bladcd blunt knife to scrape away all loose
pieces of flesh and fat ; then rub in much chalk,
and be not sparing of labor ; when the chalk be-
gins to powder and fall off, take the skin down,
fill it with finely-ground alum, wrap it closely to-
gether, and keep it in a dry place for two or three
days ; at the end of that time unfold it, shake out
the alum, and the work is over. — Scientific Amer-
ican.

348

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

Aug.

For the New England Farmer.

AWOTHEB VISIT TO THE HOMESTEAD
OP FAKMEK ALLEN.

Last summer I made a visit to the homestead of
Farmer Allen, and subsequently wrote an ac-
count of some of the many doings that I saw dur-
ing my short sojovirn under his hospitable roof,
and it was published in the Farmer. I have just
returned from another visit to my friend, and I
found as many things to interest and amuse me as I
did at my previous visit in midsummer. The flow-
ers that then delighted me with their beauty and
fragrance had perished when the first rude blast
swept from over the distant hills, and the first
frost had appeared long ago in early autumn. The
birds that awoke me at early morning with their
merry songs had departed to a wai'mer clime. The
giant elms around the homestead were no longer
dressed with living green, and the cattle, that in
summer dotted the distant hills and valleys, had
been removed to the spacious barns, and many
other rural sights had vanished ; but in their
places I found as many things to delight me as I
did in the gorgeous summer.

The next evening after my ai-rival at the home-
stead the farmer invited me to attend with him
the regular weekly meeting of the

farmers' club.

I gladly accepted his invitation, for I longed to
hear the farmers talk among themselves of mat-
ters and things connected with their honorable
calling. The meeting was held in the town-hall,
and I was glad on arrival to find the spacious hall
well filled with an orderly and intelligent audi-
ence. As Mr. Allen was President of the Club,
and as the hour of opening the meeting had near-
ly arrived, those that had been standing talking
around the stove, and in various parts of the hall,
came and took their seats. I quietly followed
their example, and improved the few minutes that
remained before the hour of calling the meeting to
order, in looking round at the pleasant faces of
the robust farmers that mainly comprised the au-
dience. On the front seat sat a sturdy farmer with
his four healthful looking sons, and behind him
sat the village doctor, who seemed to take as much
interest in the subject as if he had been attend-
ing a medical lecture. He was accompanied by
his only son, who, in a conversation that I subse-
quently had Avith him, told me that he had made
up his mind to be a practical farmer. The lawyer
of the village was there, and the parsons of both
of the churches of the place, sitting side by side,
as if they were of one faith.

The President announced the subject for dis-
cussion for the evening to be "What breed of
cattle is the best adapted for our New England
farms V

In opening, he said that we had many breeds of
cattle that had been imported, besides our com-
mon native stock ; he alluded to the "Oakes
cow" as a native animal, and said it was well
known that our best stock, both for the dairy and
work, came from this native growth. In conclud-
ing he said the subject was one of much interest
and he hoped all would avail themselves of the
opportunity to speak upon it. He called on Far-
mer BoYDEN for his opinion of the matter.

Mr. Boy'den said he was in favor of the na-

tive breed, both for cows and oxen ; that he had
in his barn a cow from the native stock that he
thought would compare favorably with any of the
foreign stock. Deacon Farniiam said he consid-
ered the Devon cattle the best ; they would
thrive on poor hay, and the oxen made capital
roadsters. In concluding, he said he had some of
the Devon stock for sale, and invited all present
to give him a call, if in want of good stock. This
remark caused a smile on almost every face.
Farmer Tanner was in favor of the common cat-
tle ; he said that a young man just starting in life
could not afford to pay such a price for stock as
that demanded by those that had fancy stock for
sale. He once owned the famous Durham bull
"Berry," and found that a cross between the pure
Durham and our common cattle resulted favora-
bly to both breeds. But it is impossible for me
to remember one-half of the interesting things
that were said at this meeting; the time passed
speedily away, and when the old church clock
tolled the hour of nine, the meeting broke up,
each one taking with him some new idea, which,
if rightly developed, will result to his pleasure
and profit.

On my way back to the homestead, Farmer
Allen spoke to me of the great importance of
having these clubs in every village in the coun-
try ; he had found them to be a great benefit to
himself; and although the farmers' club had not
been established but a year in the place, yet in
that short time it had been the means of doing
much good. He mentioned one case as follows ;

Shortly after the club had been organized, and
while yet it was struggling for an existence, the
following subject was given out for discussion at
the next meeting, viz: 'TAe Preservation of
Farm Buildings."

There was living, in a distant part of the towm,
a man Avho had come into possession of a fair
farm soon after reaching his majority, but who had
suffered the buildings upon it to go to decay un-
til the cold winds of winter entered at every side,
and his poor cattle stood a fair chance of perish-
ing from the cold. His house had kept pace with
the barns, and the old hats and gowns stuffed in
at the windows were in keeping with its black,
weather-beaten exterior. Farmer Allen said he
thought if he could get this man at the meeting,
he could infuse some ideas into him that might
be useful ; he invited him to be present, which in-
vitation he somewhat reluctantly accepted. Far-
mer Allen also invited some of his city friends to
come out and take part in the meeting. They
came, as did also the invited guests. The speak-
ers told how much less fodder cattle would eat
that had a Avarm and comfortable shelter, than
those whose only shelter from the wintry blast
was the lee side of a hay-stack ; they spoke of
the beauty and comfort of having good buildings
on the farm, and described in glowing language
the advantages of keeping in repair the farm
buildings. About a fortnight after the meeting,
Farmer Allen, in passing by that way, was de-
lighted to hear the merry sound of the hammer
and saw in the direction of Neighbor Slack's
homestead, and on coming nearer, was still more
surprised at seeing a force of men engaged in put-
ting in complete repair the house, barn, stable,
and even the cow-house ! He said his delight
knew no bounds when his neighbor came to meet

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

349

him, and grasping him by the hand, thanked him
for inviting him to the meeting of the club ! Nor
did the march of improvement stop here — the
fields afterwards were better cultivated, the chil-
dren better clothed, the Avife happier, and the man
himself, instead of spending his winter evenings
at the village tavern, is now spending them with
his family, and on each Wednesday evening he
attends as Secretary of the Farmers' Club !

A few days after my arrival at the homestead,
I wished to write a letter to a city friend, and on
signifying my wish to Mr. Allen, he invited me
to walk into a room that he called

LIBRARY.

I entered a moderate-sized room, and found a
comfortable desk, with all the ntcessary writing
materials at hand. After I had finished my letter,
I looked at the cases of books that lined one en-
tire side of the room. I found them to be most-
ly agricultural works of wortli. Here was "Allen
on Farm Buildings," a well-known and reliable
work ; at its side was "Dadd on the Horse," "The
Complete Cattle Doctor," by the same author, and
Stephens' "Book of the Farm," "Cole on Fruits,"
"Youatt on the Sheep," and all the back volumes
of the "Monthly iVew England Farmer," neatly
bound. Judge French's new book on "Drain-
age" lay on the table, and had evidently been
studied with care. Freeman.

Sunnysidc, February, 1860.

S-WEENEY IN" HORSES.

Will you tell what you believe to be the best
remedy for curing the sweeney in horses, as it is
very troublesome to cure when it once gets fairly
seated, and is very painful to the horse ? A. A.

Ansicer. — The sweeney is a shrinking of the
muscles of the shoulder, usually caused by a sud-
den strain in drawing, or by alighting hard upon
the fore feet after a jump. We have had consid-
erable personal experience with this difficulty in
horses. If taken fresh, it is best to bleed the horse
in the leg from the vein on the inside of the arm,
called the plate vein, which will allay the inflam-
mation, but for an old case, this is nearly useless.
Also physic the horse, and apply fomentations
upon the shoulder blade, and the inside of the
arm. In all cases, take off" the shoes, and give the
animal rest in a pasture, or on a dirt bottom in a
large stall. If the case is not of too long stand-
ing, it is well to rub the shoulder with penetrat-
ing oils, like oil of spike. Our practice was to
rub with a corn-cob, and hemp crash cloth. When
once seated, be careful of overdriving and cooling
off, as you would for a case of founder. A long
rest in the pasture is the best remedy we ever
tried. — Ohio Cultivator.

Catching Bees. — A simple contrivance has
been invented by M. Dagon, of Moret-sur-Loing,
in France, for receiving and inclosing bees from
the hive, or Avhen swarming. It consists (says
the London Bulletin) of an elongated muslin bag,
distended on cane hoops, and opening and shut-
ting at the mouth by a running string. The bag
being attached to the branch on which the bees
are swarming, and the inside rubbed with honey,
all the bees will soon make their way to the bot-

tom, when the mouth can be closed, and the bees
conveyed away in the bag. The same contriv-
ance is applied to abstract the bees from the hive
and obtain the honey.

For the New England Farmer.

LUWAB IISTFLUENCE ON THE TEMPERA-
TURE OP THE EARTH.

Mr. Editor : — I did not intend to trouble you
with anything further upon this subject, but it
seems not well to cherish error when the truth can
as well be known. In your issue of Feb. 11,1 find
your correspondent, "N. T. T.," of Bethel, Me.,
has again responded on this subject, and wishing
to gratify him, and as many of your readers as
take an interest in the subject, and if possible set
the matter in a correct light, I send you the fol-
lowing list of observations on the occurrence of
frosts in September, and their connection with
full moon, for the last 20 years. And here, (as
my temperature tables cover only the last four
years,) I with pleasure acknowledge my indebted-
ness to Joseph Weatheriiead, Esq., of this city,
who has kept accurate meteorological tables for the
last twenty years, embracing temperature and ba-
rometrical, and of falls of rain and snow, &c.,and
who kindly granted me the privilege of consult-
ing them.

I have noted all the instances in which the tem-
perature has fallen to 39° in September, as a light
frost in some sections generally occurs at that
point, as well as every frost in August, and when
none occurred in September, the first that occurred
in October, as in 1841. I give the lowest observed
temperatures at each frost, and that the reader
may judge of their extent, will state : When the
temperature becomes reduced to 35° or 36°, a gen-
eral frost usually occurs, quite severe in marshy
localities; 34° will produce a severe frost in most
situations, and 32° or lower a very severe one, ca-
pable of destroying most tender plants. The rec-
ord is as follows :

Min. Full

Bate. Temp. Moon.

Date.

Temp. Moon

1840.

Sept. 4,

39^1

1851.

Sept

15,

32n

35 (

" 13,

16,

« 14,

31 J- 11th.

17,

37 J. 10th.
36 1

" 23,

23,

" 29,

32 J

25,

29 J

1841.

Oct. 1,

32" Sep. 30.

1852.

14,

39n

1842.

No record in Sept.

17,

39 28'^-

1843.

Sept. 13,

iri st-^-

18,

" 14,

30,

33 J

1844.

Sept. 7,

39^1

1853.

26,

30° ) lYtjj

" 23,

30,

28 j

" 24,

32 J. 26th.

1854.

17,

oo 1

" 27,

32 f

21,

" 28,

28 1

22,

36 y 6th.
39

1845.

Sept. 12,

39-;

32 <15th.

23,

" 13,

((

30,

" 17,

38 )

1855.

Aug

31,

3Sn

3^' I •'5th

1846.

" 17,

30°)

Sept

20,

" 29,

39 I 5th.

21,

37 (-'"■^•

Oct. 4,

32 )

«'

29,

33 J

1847.

No recori

for the great-

1856.

Sept

25,

37= 14th.

er part of Sept.

1857.

3S° )

Sept. 20,

39')

19,

39 > 4th.

((

Oct. 1,

37 S24th.

30,

30 )

" 2,

32 >

1858.

23,

34°-)
33 I

1848.

Sept. 13,

35' 1

25,

« 14,

26,

35 ^220.

» 17,

34 1 13th.

27,

» 27,

28,

" 28,

30 J

29,

32 J

1849.

" 3,

39 » 2d.

1859.

39' 1

1850,

" 14,

39')

-i Uth.

" 18,

37 ^21st.

li,

" 30,

34 >

15,

34 J

350

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

Aug.

It is true that in the above table there are sev-
eral instances in which a severe frost has occur-
red at full moon, and it is equally as true that as
many severe frosts have occurred at new moon as
at full moon, and that frosts seem to occur at ran-
dom, as far as the influence of the full moon is
concerned. There is no record in regard to the
frosts of September, 1842, owing to the absence
of Mr. Weatherhead during that month, and the
same occurs in the first half of September, 1847,
but otherwise the record is complete and reliable,
and these breaks cannot materially influence the
general result.

I have met with but little in my scientific read-
ings that bears directly upon the subject of the
moon's influence upon the heat of the earth. The
older philosophers, after very careful experiments
with powerful lenses, came to the conclusion that
the moonlight was incapable of producing heat.
Later researches, however, seem to prove the con-
trary, concerning which Humboldt observes :

"That the moonlight is capable of producing
heat, is a discovery which belongs, like so many
others_ of my celebrated friend Melloni, to the
most important and surprising of our century.
After many fruitless attempts from those of La
Hire to the sagacious Forbes, Melloni was fortu-
nate enough to observe, by means of a lens of
three feet in diameter, which was destined for the
meteorological station on Vesuvius, the most
satisfactory indications of an elevation of temper-
ature during the different changes of the moon.
Mosotti-Lavagna and Belli, professors of the Uni-
versities of Pisa and Pavia, were witnesses of
these experiments, Avhich gave results diff'ering in
proportion to the age and altitude of the moon.
It had not at that time, (summer, 1848,) been de-
termined what the elevation of temperature pro-
duced by Melloni's thermoscope expressed in
fractional parts of the centigrade thermometer,
amounted to."*

He further observes in a note: "It had al-
ways appeared sufficiently remarkable to me, that,
from the earliest times, when heat was determined
only by the ^ense of feeling, the moon had first
excited the idea that light and heat might be sep-
arated. Among the Indians the moon was called,
in Sanscript, the King of the Stars of cold, also,
the cold-radiaiing, while the sun was called a cre-
ator of heat. * * * * Among the Greeks it was
complained that 'the sunlight reflected from the
moon should lose all heat, so that only feeble re-
mains of it were ti-ansmitted by her.' "

It is to be regretted that this worthily world-
renowned scientist could not have given us more
definite information respecting the extent of the
moon's heating powers, and the period of her age
and altitude at Avhich they were the strongest. It
must seem evident, however, from analogy, that
the amount of heat must be in direct proportion
to the quantity of light and the altitude of the
moon, and consequently greatest at full moon and
high moon. Doubtless the calorific influence of
the moon is exceedingly slight, but whether slight
or other\yise, must, taking this vieAv of the case,
conflict directly with the prevalent opinion that
it is coldest at full moon. Without further spec-
ulating, I leave the subject, perhaps where I
took it up, although I fancy I have shown facts

* Cosmos, vol. 4, p. 143.

enough to prove the fallacy of this popular no-
tion. And there are many other equally well re-
ceived notions in regard to certain almost "infal-
lible" weather prognostics that I do not hesitate
to consider equally fallacious.

Springfield, Mass., 1860. j. a. a.

Remarks. — The above communication was re-
ceived many weeks since, but has been delayed in
consequence of the crowded state of our columns.
Now that the farmers have left the pen for the
plow, until their crops are perfected, we can make
room for it without driving out articles that were
written for, and applicable to, a pai'ticular season.
We hope this explanation will be acceptable to
our respected and valued correspondent.

EXTRACTS AND REPLIES.

GOOD PROPERTIES OF THE MILKWEED.

I noticed in the last Farmer a description of the
common milkweed ; but not :i word was said about its
ever being used for food, either for man or beast. I
was told more -than forty years ago, that it was excel-
lent for "greens;" and being urged by a sister to lay
aside my fastidiousness and just taste of it, I found at
once that it was indeed excellent — but little inferior to
gi'cen peas, wliich it as nearly resembled as anything I
could compare it to.

Now, mothers, don't be afraid of it because you find
numerous little insects ci-ecping over its beautiful
leaves, or snugly ensconced among its tiny blossoms ;
they doubtless know its good qualities, or you would
not find tlicm there. Gather them while the stalk is
brittle, say from four to six inches higli, break out the
little bud, and boil the stalk and leaves until soft and
tender. This, with a slice of good fat beef or pork, and
other "fixius," is good cnougli for Aunt IIhoda.

North Camibridge, Vt., 1860.

GRUBS AND CABBAGES.

I set out my cabbage plants a week ago, placing a
teaspoonfnl of salt at the bottom of the hole, because
tliose wliieh I set in this manner last year did well, and
were not molested by the grubs, but now aljout half of
the plants have been eaten off. I have applied ashes,
but without success. How shall I save the plants ?
I find the grub just beneath the surfixcc of the earth,
looking like a small worm, but under the microscope
exhibiting legs, which he uses about as awkwardly a.s
the elephant does his.

A few tomato plants have dropped off like the cab-
bages, but I find no grub at the roots. What is the
cause ?

DEAD HENS.

During the past year I have found some thirty hens
dead at diflerent times and in ditfercnt places about
the premises. The comb is always very black. Can
you inform me what the disease is, and of its cure ?

ilopldnton, June 11, 1860. o. A. A.

Remarks. — The remedy for the cabbages is to use
the finger about the plant, find the grub and kill him.
We know of no other. He will not stay his progress
for salt or snuff, but when the scissoi-s take his head off
he will confess himself a "goner." We cannot account
for the death of your fowls.

LEGHORN HENS.

I saw in the Farmer, three or four weeks ago, a
statement by Mr. L. R. Hewins, of Foxboro', recom-
mending the Leghorn fowl as superior to all others for
their laying qualities, &c. I took a trip to his house a
few days ago to ascertain moi-e aI:)out it, and was so
well pleased with the looks of the fowls and the infor-
mation that I obtained there, that I bought a doaon of

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

351

their eggs to put under a sitting hen. He, as well as
myself, had tried tlie Chittagong, which have one seri-
ous fault. When they want to set, after laying a litter
of some twelve eggs, it takes nearly as long to break
them up and have Uiem commence laying again, as it
docs for them to lay a litter of cgg.-^. Besides, being
large hens, they arc great caters. The Leghorn sel-
dom wants to set. I think Mr. Ilewins tolcl me that
his Leghorn fowls had laid regularly since last fall, and
have not wanted to set. The hens arc not large, most
of them white, with yellow skin and legs. Tlic males
have very large single combs and large wattles.
MansfieU, June, 1860. I. Stearns.

CATTLE IN THE BAIIN AND IN THE YARD.

I would like to inquire through the medium of your
paper if it is judicious to stable cows at night through
the summer season, or to let them remain in the Ijarn
cellar? The objection made to the former proposition,
is that it is unhealthy and uncomfortable for the cows
to be confined in the barn at night through the warm
weather; whilst the objection to the latter plan is, that
it fails to make as much manure as the former. Whicli
objection is the most weighty ? Please to answer as
soon as convenient, and oblige A Subscriber.

Woonsocket, June, 1860.

Remarks. — If we could have things just as we
pleased in regard to this matter, we should prefer a
large, well-sheltered yard, with ample shed accommo-
dations, and then leave the cows to lie down in the yard
or under the shed, to suit their own feelings. "We bc-
Jieve in the largest liberty for cattle, compatible with
their safety and our interests. There would not be
much loss of manure if the bottom of the j-ard and
shed were first covered with muck and then litter, as
they should be if the cattle are to lie in them. There is
no doubt on our mind that the cattle would be more
comfortable and healthy in such a yard than they
would be tied up in the barn.

THE ONION maggot.

I accidentally learned the following from a man who
said he ktieio how to raise onions, and not be troubled
with the maggot. He said he had a nice lot of onions,
and the maggot attacked them. He took a teakettle
full of boiling water and poured upon a few rows,
thinking if he did not kill them the maggot would.
This operation did not kill the onion, but it did kill the
maggot, and after applying the water to the remainder
he succeeded in raising good onions, and it always has
since, when tried. s.

Wliether a truth or a lie.
You may have as cheap as I.

North Charlestown, N. II., June 5, 1860.

A SUBSTITUTE FOR MUCK.

Farmers often complain of a want of muck on their
lands, and the degree to which they use absorbents for
liquid manure depends almost wholly on the presence
or absence of this valuable material. When a farmer
has a muck deposit on his premises, let him rejoice in
his good fortune, but why should those who have but
little or none feel hampered when making up their
compost heaps ? The entire contents of the heap are
destined for the tillage land of the fomi ; why then
might not the absorbent portion be taken from the
surface of the soil to which with the distributing of the
manure it will be restored ? j, j.'h, g.

Marblehead, Mass.

CORN AFTER BUCKWHEAT.

As the season has arrived for raising buckwheat, I
would inquire if the growing of it is injurious to the
raising of Indian corn on the same land afterwards ?
Hermbn Hall, Esq., of this town, says that after rais-
ing a crop of buckwheat on a piece of land he could
;jiot get a crop of Indian corn upon it, as he was in the
practice of doing before. i, s.

Mansfield, June, 1860.

AQUEDUCT PIPE.

I would like to get information through your col-
umms about the water cement aqueduct to bring water
from a well to my buildings. Is the water better than
when brought through lead pipe ? How should it be
laid, and the cost per rod ? A Subscriber.

Dcerfiekl, Mass.

Remarks. — Cement pipes are laid, and we Ijclieve
are durable when below the frost, but we know little
of the mode of construction or cost. There is nothing,
in our opinion, equal to good pine logs, cither for
health or economy.

HAYING AND HAT CAPS.

The season of hayings is near at hand, and it
will be a matter of comfort and economy to all
concerned in it to have every preparation made in
advance that will facilitate the gathering it quick-
ly and well.

Is the hay cart or wagon in order with proper
outrlgging, so that a ton or more can be thrown
on readily ?

Are the binding pole, or rope, the forks, rakes,
scythes, hay-poles, grindstone, all in order and
ready for use ?

Is a mowing machine selected for the smooth
farms where twenty-five tons of hay are cut, and
a good horse rake, or will you wait another year
in the hope of getting something better ?

Is the barn itself ready for the crop ? Are those
openings in the side, or that ugly leak in the roof,
repaired, so that the loss will not trouble you as
it did last year ?

"All these are ready." Very well, then. Now
by judicious management, that is, by good calcu-
lations, working moderately and living well — you
may get as much enjoyment out of this season as
the "gadders about" do in their trips to become a
little more fashionable, and spend their hard-
earned money.

Haying is a pleasant labor — it seems to inspire
all who engage in it ; the crop comes in so rapid-
ly, and there is such a wealth in the harvest, that
all the household have a cheerful animation and
desire to help it along — the women assisting in a
pinch, cheering on the labor with kindly words,
or devising some unexpected treat when the day's
toil is done. Bless the women, they are always
ready to help along a good cause.

Drying the Crop. — The idea is common that
hay cannot be made too much, but it is an erro-
neous one, and great loss is incurred by its prev-
alence. If exposed too long to the sun, and the
hot, drying winds, it becomes hard, brittle, loses
its leaves and a considerable portion of its nutri-
tive juices, and in this condition, if the grass is
coarse, the hay from it is not much better than
dried brush ; at any rate, its value is much depre-
ciated. The farmer may learn something of his
wife in this matter, if he will observe what course
she takes in preserving her sage or other herbs,

352

NEW ENGLAND FARjVIEII.

Aug

for culinary or medicinal uses. They are not cut
and spread in the blazing sun, and their juices
blown away by the winds, but when cut, are taken
directly into the shade, where they Avill dry slow-
ly. This is the practice with the Shakers who put
up large quantities of herbs for the markets ; they
incur heavy expenses for large drying rooms,
where their herbs are out of the sun, but in well-
ventilated rooms. "When these herbs are thor-
oughly dried so that they can be readily pulver-
ized, they retain very nearly their natural color
and original fragrance, so that one pound of them
is probably worth as much as two or three pounds
would be dried in the sun. But as we cannot pro-
vide rooms for drying our grass crops, we must
come as near that process as we can economically,
and that may be secured by the use of cloth cov-
erings, called

Hay Caps. — Any farmer's Avife or daughter can
make them. They should be two yards square,
with loops at the corners through which to thrust
pine sticks fifteen inches long up into the hay. Or
they can be purchased at a fair price, already
made, of the Messrs. CiusES & Fay, 233 State
Street, Boston, or of Nourse & Co., 34 Merchants
Row. A set of these caps, properly taken care of,
will last a farmer his life-time, as all the care they
need is to he kept dry lolicn not in use.

The course to be pursued in the use of caps is,
to cut the grass just at night, or early in the
morning, spread it and turn it before one o'clock,
and immediately after dinner cock and cover with
the caps. Cocks well made up, and covered Avith
such caps as we have described above, will come
out unharmed after a storm of three or four days.
After a rain, when the surface has become dry and
slightly heated, the cocks Avill need little more
than to be turned over and partially opened, for
it will be found that the process of making has
been going on admirably all the time — that the
hay is cured, not merely dried — that the leaves
adhere to the stems, and that it retains a lively
green color and a delicious fragrance. Take such
a cock of hay and compare it with a cock that has
not been covered, allowing the eyes, nose and
hands each to test it, and no unprejudiced mind
will longer doubt the usefulness and economy of
hay caps.

Valuables. — If your flat-irons are rough, rub
them v.'ith fine salt.

If you are buying a carpet for durability, choose
small figures.

A hot shovel held over varnished furniture
will take out white spots.

A small piece of glue dissolved in skim milk
and water will restore old crape.

Ribbons should be washed in cold suds and not
rinsed.

Scotch snuff put in holes where crickets come
out will destroy them.

For the New England Farmer.
THE CATTLE DISEASE.

In the American Agriculturist of 1843, I find
the following :

"The epidemic among cattle in Ireland is called
pleuro-pneumonia, or galloping consumption, and
is thus described. Acceleration of the pulse,
v/hich ranges from 80 to 120. The animal invari-
ably hangs his head, accompanied by dryness of
the muzzle ; the flanks heave according to the se-
verity of the disease ; a husky cough, weeping
from the eyes, total loss of appetite, grinding of
teeth, secretion of milk suspended, the belly
drawn up, a low moaning, together with a grunt
at every expiration, the lungs appearing, also, to
be filled by a painful effort only. These symptoms
are all progressive. The treatment should consist
of active blood-letting, v/hen the first symptoms
appear, to be repeated afterward if necessary, fol-
lowed up by sedative medicines and general spare
diet. When an animal is attacked, it should be
bled at once, this remedy being peculiarly appli-
cable to affection of the lungs, and the best ad-
vice should be procured. If this treatment be not
followed in the early stages, _ rapid effusion sets
in, and no power can save the animal. From ob-
servation, we are also of opinion that high bred
and high fed cattle are more subject to attack,
than those which have been less attended to."

You see by the heading of this piece, that the
disease is called an epidemic, which I have seen
disputed in your paper.

REMEDY FOR INFLAMJLVTION.

I find by trial, that lamp oil is an excellent
remedy for inflammation or hardness of cows'
teats and bag. I have had a cov/'s teat so hard
and feverish, that no milk could bo got from them
at night, and by applying lamp oil they would be
soft and well in twenty-four hours. A Reader.

NEW PUBLICATIONS.

The Yodno Farmer's Manual ; Detailing the manipulations
of the Fiirm in a plain and intelligible manner. With prac-
tical directions for layin.^ out a farm, and erecting buildings,
fences and farm (rates. Embracing also Tlie J'oung Farmer's
JForkshfip 1 giving full directions for tho selection of good
farm and shop tools, their use and manufacture, with numer-
ous original illustrations of fences, gates, tools, &c., and for
performing nearly every branch of farming operations. By
S. Edwaris Todd. C. M. Saxton, Barker & Co., N. Y. For
sale by A. Williams & Co.

This is the title of a new book just issued by
the enterprising agricultural book publishers
whose names are appended above. It clearly in-
dicates the text of the book, so that all we have
to say is, that it is evidently written by a man
who knows the farm intimately, and knows how
to talk about it to others. He has been fortunate
in selecting as one of his topics, the Young Far-
mer's Worlcsliop, and he does not give it any more
importance than it deserves. A farm without a
workshop ! We scarcely know how the farm can
be managed. Hamlet, without the Prince ! Well,
Mr. Todd, Ave shall keep shady about the farm,
but in the supplies arid skill exercised in the
Avorkshop, Ave cannot knock under to you, or even
your book. We hope everybody will purchase a
copy.

ISGO.

XEW EXGLAXD FAH?.IET1.

.3.53

THE HO"WEIiL PEAR.

This excellent pear was received
many years since, from Xcw Haven,
ivhere it was produced from seed, by
Thomas Howell, Esq. The growth of
the tree is erect and good. The fruit
is uniformly fair, and not liable to crack.
Size, rather large. Form, obtuse pyri
form, inclining to oval. Stem, long
and stout, frequently fleshy at the base,
and set without much depression. Calyx
open, moderately sunk in a shallow
basin. Color, pale clear yellow, with
fine blush on the cheek, mai'ked with
minute russet dots, and shaded with
some russet patches. Flesh white, half
melting, juicy, with rich aromatic flavor.
Maturity, October. Quality excellent,
nearly best.

The original of the above was fur-
nished us by Col. Wilder, from his
ample grounds at Dorchester, as well
as the description which now accompa-
nies the engraving. We have often
been able to embellish our columns with
portraits and descriptions of fine fruits
through his skill and kindness.

"WEEDING TIME.

The grocer who allows swarms of flies
and cockroaches to visit his sugar bar-
rels and eat at will, would not be set
down as an economical or thrifty man.
No less should the husbandman be
looked upon as a good manager who al-
lows weeds to rob his crops, by feeding upon the
substances which they need to perfect them.
Weeds are robbers, but it is robbing without
crime on their part. The foult of the matter lies
with those who allow them to rob !

When some younger than we are nov/, writing-
masters used to excite us by their proclamations :
"Writing made easy in four lessons," said they —
and we wondci-ed through what alembic we must
pass to acquire such an accomplishment in four
easy lessons. Then when we had to weed carrots,
and come out of the field at night in the shape of
a hoop, how we longed for something like the
writing-master's alchymy, whereby we could weed
the confounded things without turning oursclt in-
to a hoop-snake, or looking at night like a wilted
parsnip !

Now we have it. Blessings on the inventors !
Mann's Vegetable Wceder is the thing. Why, one
can almost ride on it and take a nap, and at the
same time do more and better work than with
any other implement we have yet seen. That is,
we think so now, after a trial of it of only a part

of two days. We hope to be more thoroughly ac-
quainted with it, and Avill stat.^ the result, whether
for or a":ainst it.

For Hie New E^igland Farmer.
IS FAEMING PEOS'ITABLE?

!Mr, Editor : — Much is sr.id in your columns
in answer to this question. I will relate a case,
which came within my earliest recollections, and
interest in farming.

Some forty years ago a young man took to him-
self a wife, and soon after, the young couple
moved on a farm which he had leased. The farm
was poor and hard to cultivate, and not worth
more than 81000. It contained about 100 acres.
The man and his wife were poor, and as he has
often said, "he could have carried all that they
both possessed on his back at one load."

His name for convenience sake, I will call Obed.
He managed to stock this farm and supply hmi-
:-Hlf with utensils as he could best do when, after
ihree years, he removed on a farm n^ar by, which
he cultivated "at the halves," a term which I be-
lieve is generally understood in New England.
Obed managed this farm successfully, to the entire
satisfaction of his landlord, I think for the term

354

NEW ENGLAND FAR]MER.

Aug.

of five years, when he purchased a farm for $2000;
Avhich is now worth, from his good care, and with
increase in farm property, $8,000 to $10,000.

Mr. Obed managed to pay for this farm, I think
in about three years, when he was free from debt,
and had greatly improved his estate. From that
time he began to hiy aside money, and would lend
the same on good security. lie has been blessed
with a large family of children, two of his sons he
has settled in the learned professions, one a phy-
sician and the other a lawyer, and he is now worth
$30,000 to $40,000, and for the last twenty years
of his life has been as independent as any one
could be.

Here is one witness that farming is profitable.
It will be seen that Mr. Obed labored hard. He
did so. He was attentive to his business, and
was prudent, all that. Who can succeed in any
calling without diligence and frugality ? It shows,
and shows conclusively, that money can be made
on a farm under very embarrassing circumstan-
ces. Mr. Obed and his wife commenced with the
determination to become independent, and they
did so.

No one ever has been successful in mercantile
life without giving his whole attention to his busi-
ness. A successful merchant, I acknowledge, will
accumulate money more rapidly, by successful
speculations, but take the average of traders from
the commencement of their business life, and they
■will not succeed better than did Mr. Obed.

Boston, June 12, 1860. D.

For the New Eyigland Farmer.
FARM HINTS— FARM FACTS.

Now, Mr. Farmer, never allow bushes to grow
around the walls and fences of your mowing fields.
No neat farmer does this — when you have done
haying, use the pick and nigger hoe.

Never allow your grass to stand too long, lest'
it become tough and wiry, and you lose its sugary
juices.

Never let your grains stand too long, lest they
shatter and sow the field for another year. When
the berry begins to harden, cut the grain at once
— it makes better bread.

Never allow your hay to lie over night in
spread or winrow — make it in large cocks, and
save all its aromatic sweetness Avhich constitutes
its nourishing value.

Never use the horse rake that scrapes to the
ground, taking with it sand, hassocks and earthy
matter that will give your horse the heaves and
assist your cows to a cough and consumption.
The less dust in your hay, the more healthy your
animals.

Never allow your colts or horses to stand on
their heated ofial month after month, by daily
bedding doAvn with straw for cleanliness. You will
surely propagate pinched hoofs, dry tender feet,
stiff ankles, heated, swollen legs and cough, from
strong ammoniacal exhalations — rather give them
granite, brick or lead as cooling substances to
stand upon, bedded down at night ; then their feet
are prepared for hard roads and ])aving stones.
How many farmers kill their horses with kind-
ness, or rather cripple them for life by standing
them in a manure pit.

Never dock or cut oif a horse's tail ; the bar-

barous pulleys and cleaver were never made to
mar the natural beauties of the horse, nor to give
him the excessive torture he is compelled to suf-
fer. If you would make a young horse look old,
chop off his tail. If you would keep him youthful
and eolt-like, let alone this natural ornament. It
was made for use — remember "fly time" — how
they bite !

Never plant small potatoes (less regarded than
any other seed ;) always cut off the "seed end" or
small eyes, and avoid "pig potatoes" in digging
time. None more skilled in potato growing than
our Long Island farmers. This is their practice.

Never sow your wheat without soaking in salt
pickle and raking it in wood ashes. See experi-
ments of the two brothers out West, published in
the Farmer recently. The pickled seed produced
nearly double in quantity, other advantages being
equal.

Never cultivate four acres of corn to get what
one of the same can be made to produce — yet,
this is one of the common errors among farmers.
It is nothing remarkable to get one hundred
bushels of corn to the acre.

Never put into the hands of hired men and boys,
old, lumbering farming tools, nor put the team to
a superannuated old ]ilow and expect a fiiir day's
Avork. When the tools are light and modern, la-
bor has a pleasant relish.

Never omit to have the barn-yard well covered
with soil at this season, nor to move the cows
around the yard and secure their droppings be-
fore they leave in the morning; then with a shov-
el dig a hole and bury — keeping the yard clean,
and saving the value of the manure from the dry-
ing sun.

Never allow your carts, wagons, sleigh-sleds,
or any farming tools, to be exposed to sun and.
rain when not in use, and even the draft chains
that are resting on the fence, put them all under
cover, if you would consult economy. How often
do we see a sled on the road-side, with its shoes
rotting on the ground, when a minute's labor
would relieve it by ]mtting under two sticks ?

But, i\Ir. Editor, I have no fear that I have of-
fended the well-ordered farmer by these sugges-
tions, neither do I vainly suppose they afford him
any instruction. It is those whose gates are off
the hinges, the bars down, the manure pile of last
winter at the end of the barn, that should now be
in the field to help the corn grow, that may take
and perhaps be benefited by these hints.

Brooldyn, L. I., 1860. H. Poor.

The Homestead, published at Hartford, Ct.,
is one of the best agricultural papers we see. It
has a powerful team of Editors, and they turn out
their work completely finished for public use.
Take and read The, Homestead, brother farmer,
and vou will soon become a wiser man.

Cranberry Culture.— "J. M., Orange, Mass.,"
Avill find his questions in relation to cranberry
culture fully answered in ^'Eastwood on the Cran-
berry," a valuable little work which costs fifty
cents. We could answer many of them, but it
Avould not be so satisfactory as would the book.

1860.

KEW ENGLAND FAR:MEII.

355

For the New England Farmer.
HONEY BLADE— HUJSrGABIAIT GRASS.

I write for further information than what the
New England Farmer has yet given, respecting
the Hungarian grass. Something over one year
ago I received several copies of a small pamphlet
of sixteen pages, (one copy of which I now send
you.) which magnified the good qualities of the
Hungarian grass, called in the pamphlet i\w
"Ploney Blade." The book cxtoUs the good qual-
ities of this grass beyond all belief. It says :
quoting an article from a writer from the Valley
Farmer of 1S>37, that "it is a crop that never fails.
Wet or dry, cold or hot, it has been a good heavy
crop." * * * "As hay, it is superior to Timothy,
that old and substantial favorite of every farmer.
Horses, changed from Timothy and corn to Hun-
garian, begin to thrive on half the usual allowance
of corn, and put on that fine glossy coat so much
admired by stock-grovt-ers.

"It is not the hay alone which gives value to
this crop ; it prodnces seed at the rate of twenty
or thirty bushels to the acre, which in nutritive
properties is much superior to oats ; it is heavier,
and contains a larger amount of oil. We know of
a fainner in this section, last season, who from
five acres threshed out one hundred and fifty
bushels of seed, which is sold at four dollars a
bushel, making six hundred dollars. A fiirmer in
Illinois sowed some land with this seed after tak-
ing a crop of spring wheat from the same land,
and produced three tons of good hay per acre."

A correspondent of the Albanij CuUivator, in
answer to an inquiry for the best substitute for
^ay, gives preference to the Hungarian grass
over every thing else. He says : "It grows at the
rate of six or seven tons per acre. The seed is of
K\\ oily nature, and horses or cattle will eat the
ceed before corn or oats, and the hay before Tim-
pthy, or clover. Horses having been fed on grain,
end good Timothy hay, began to improve imme-
iiately in flesh, and their coats more sleek and
Bhiny. Cattle will do very well on this hay after
the seed is threshed out. The grass has good
roots, grows deep in the ground, and will stand
dry seasons much better than any other kind of
§rass. After the grass is mown, it will sprout or
tucker very thick, and will make much more pas-
ture than Timothy and clover, after being mown,
iuring the summer and fall. In some sections
vhere Timothy sells for ten dollars per ton, the
-\ay of the Hungarian grass brings from twelve to
ffteen dollars per ton."

The New York Tribune quotes from a corres-
Dondentin Vermont, who is jubilant over his suc-
:;ess in growing the Hungarian grass. He pro-
duced two tons of dry grass, and twenty-five bush-
els of seed from four quarts sown. He claims for
ft an average yield of over six tons of dry grass,
and thirty bushels of seed per acre."

Au Iowa farmer, located in a section where this
iirodust has been well tested, states that the "usu-
il yield of the Hungarian grass, in that section, is
about six tons per acre ; but the premium crop
of this county, as returned to our late fairs, was
eight tons and some hundred pounds to the meas-
ured acre, of good dry hay, suitable to be put in
stacks, duly sworn to by disinterested parties, to
the satisfaction of the committee, in order to re-
ceive the premiums."

The above pamphlet states that the manner of
sowing is the same as for oats or v/heat. It says :
"An acre sown about the last of May, would, at
the first cutting in July, yield, at a fair average,
four tons, and at the second cutting, about one
month later, would yield two tons more, making
six tons to the acre. The amount for seeding an
acre should be about sixteen pounds." As one
bushel of the seed weighs forty-eight pounds, it
would be one-third of a bushel to sow an acre. It
is stated that it can be sown as late as August,
and insure a crop.

I will now state that after receiving the pamph-
let from which I have made the above extracts, I
sent three dollars by a Mr. Chase, whom I came
across in Mansfield, (his wife residing in the town
at her father's,) who said that all the seed which
was to be had in New York, came through his
hands as an agent, and off"cred to send me, as he
was returning to New York, a bag of the genuine
seed. But he never sent it. His wife, however,
jiaid me back the three dollars, but I got no seed.
This Mr. Chase said that the true geniune Honey
Blade Hungarian grass seed was black, or of a
very dark color, and that the light colored was
not. I have sent to the agricultural warehouse
connected with your office for some of the seed,
but have not yet sown it. I find that a small part
of that seed is black ; say one-tenth part. I in-
tend to pick out a small quantity of the black
seed, and sow it alone in a drill in my garden,
in order to ascertain if its product, when it ri-
pens, will be all black seed, and find out its differ-
ence from the other seed, which is of a yellow
cast.

I think if it is of half the value as represented
in the above pamphlet, it ought to be more gen-
erally known and cultivated. Will not some of
your readers furnish more information upon the
subject?

Thinking it possible that you have not seen
Mr. Felix H. Benton's pamphlet, I hereby for-
ward it to you, for your inspection.

Mansfield, June il, 18G0. Isaac Steakns.

Remarks. — We have seen the pamphlet re-
ferred to, and examined it with some care, and do
not believe one-half of the results which it states
can be realized in New England. We sowed the
Hungarian grass seed on land that would have
brought us fifty bushels of corn to the acre, and
got about one ton per acre, of what is called Hun-
garian grass, when made into hay. It is a variety
of millet, and will undoubtedly produce a large
crop when all things are favorable ; but it is an
annual plant, must be sown every spring, and
subjects the farmer to the cost of plowing and re-
seeding annually. Hope you will give it a thor-
ough trial, and give us the results.

Worth Knowing. — The great difficulty of
getting horses from a stable where surrounding
buildings are in a state of conflagration is well
known, and that, in consequence of such difficul-
ty, arising from the animal's dread of stirring
from the scene of destruction, many horses have
perished in the flames. A gentleman, whose

356

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

Au6.

horses had been in great peril from such a cause,
having in vain tried to save them, hit upon the
experiment of having them harnessed as though
tliey were going to their usual -work, Avhon to his
astonishment, they -were led from the stable with-
out difficulty. — Spirit of the Times.

A much more easy and expeditious v/ay of get-
ting a horse out of a burning building, or when
near one, is to take off your coat, throw it over
his head and shut out the sight of all objects. He
will then usually follow your lead anywhere.

For the New England Farmer.

THE POTATO BLIGHT AND EOT IS
CAUSED BY INSECTS.

Mr. Editor : — I answered Mr. Goldsbury
through your columns, May 12th, at his own re-
quest. His "seven reasons," of March 3d, I re-
futed by actually showing, attested by reliable
certificates, (as published in N. E. Farmer, May
12th,) that insects cause the potato blight and
rot. He attempts a reply, June 2d, denying in
vague generalities the facts which I have placed
before your readers. If he will not admit, and
does not refute the facts stated in the authorities,
it is useless to argue this question with him I
have frankly given him the authorities which es-
tablish beyond question the true cause of this
malady. It is traced to microscopic insects, sub-
sisting suctorially in their larva age upon the
roots. Mr. Goldsbury admits his ignorance about
microscopic research into this subject, never hav-
ing "looked through the microscopic glasses."
Thus ignorant, who will admit his hypothetical
theories, unsupported by one single authority or
certificate ? If he is right, why don't he give,
frankly, the names of the "seventeen plain, shrewd,
common sense Yankee farmers," who know so
much, and have searched microscopically into the
entomological and botanical condition of the po-
tato ? I respectfully ask him for their names, and
certificates of their investigations. ISIr. Golds-
bury and your readers have "Yankee shrewdness
and common sense" enough to understand, that
facts are better and more reliable than "logic ;"
therefore, I gave Mr. Goldsbury no "logical an-
swer," because I produced ocular facts to refute
his hypothesis and theories ; — facts attested to
by the highest authority in the nation.

Baltimore, June 5, 18G0. Lyman Reed,

Landscape and Ornamental Gardening.
— Our old friend and correspondent, R. M. Cope-
LAND, Esq., has associated himself with Mr. C.
W. FoLSOM, to furnish plans for the laying out
and improvement of cemeteries, public squares,
pleasure grounds, farms and gardens, and also
for the construction of buildings connected with
agriculture, horticulture and general improvement.
Mr. Folsom will give his attention to all branches
of civil engineering, such as the laying out of
roads, surveys for water works, railroads, &c.,&c.
They are skillful, competent and reliable gentle-
men, and are ^ible to connect with the principles
■which they well understand, a decided good taste.

For the New EnglandJFarmer.
EVERY MAN A KING.

ET R. n. TEWKSBURY.

New England ! land of labor,
Stalwart forms and iron wills !
How the wanderer's fondest memories
Linger 'monj,' thy granite hills ;
And, mapped upon the vision
Of thy absent sons who stray,
Lie the outlines of thy valleys —
There the mirrored memories play ;
Memories of the land that bore them,
What a wealth of joy they bring —
Land of maidens more than queenly,
Land of men, each one a king !

There are honors won in battle,
Mingling blood of friends and foes.
And a haughty pride that fattens,
On a suffering brother's woes :
Ve are nobler honors winning,
New England's sons of toil !
'Mong the workshops' clanging forges.
Or the boulders of the soil.
Though bloody deeds ye boast not,
Nor the battle trophies bring.
Every workman is a monarch.
Every toiling son a king.

Thrones there are, with gold encircled,
Radiant in a wreath of gems !
Robes with many a diamond sparkling
Fringed with burning sapphire horns !
Thrones there are, 0, fair New England !
In thy boundaries not a few,
Whence a thousand rulers give us
Blessings like the heavenly dew.
Where the plowman turns the furrow,
Where the beaten anvils ring,
In the modest robes of labor
Stands a true and royal king.

Plowing through the waves of ocean,
Breasting every rolling stream ;
Rattling through the vine-clad valleys,
Chaining e'en the lightning's gleam ;
Riding high in air above us.
Gliding o'er the rolling sea.
Heralds from the court of labor
Hail the rulers of the free,
Whose maces are sledge hammers,
Whose praise their anvils ring,
Hard and sinewy modern monarchs —
Every one a more than king.

Every click of workman's hammer
On the red and yielding steel,
Every pufTof lab'ring engine
Where the thundering car-trains wheel,
Every dash of rolling paddles
In the waters of the sea,
Echo far and wide the anthem —
We are rulers of the free !
Every blow of grim old forger
The song of triumph rings.
We have every one a kingdom !
And we dwell where all are kings.
Lawrence, Mass., May 30, 1860.

Wonderful Instinct of a Cat. On Thurs-
day of last week, Capt. Elijah Crocker, of this vil-
lage, sent a cat and two of her kittens to Boston,'
by the sloop S. P. Cole, Capt. Washington Farris.
The cat and kittens were taken on board Capt.
Crocker's vessel, the ship Ashburton, soon to sail
for Calcutta. But on Thursday morning it was

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

found that she had escaped ; and on Saturday
ni^jht, at 10 o'clock, she arrived home, at the res-
idoncG of Mr. Ebenczer Smith, of this village. This
is indeed a wonderful illustration of the instinct
of the cat. — Barnstable Patriot.

Well done. Major Phinney ! If you had told this
story about ajish, it would have been all nat'ral
enough, but such a whopper about cats beats
all natcr. Well, we can't afibrd to let you "go
up to the head" until we have told our story.

Mr. Charles Blake put a six months' old kitten
into a basket one Saturday morning, in the town
of Newton, seven miles from Boston, put a cloth
covering over the basket, and tied it down. He
then carried the basket to the cars, put it under
his seat, and when he arrived at the Station house
in Boston, opposite the U. S. Hotel, took the
basket in his hand and carried it entirely across
the city to Quincy Hall, his place of business.
There he let the little prisoner out, and she was
seen about the hall during the day, but on Mon-
day morning on going down to breakfast he found
his little friend back to Newton, all hale and
hearty, and ready for her cup of milk ! ! She had
escaped from the hall, traversed the entire width
of the city and seven miles through the country,
to the place of her birth ! ! Thank you for that
hat. Major !

For the New England Farmer.
CATTLE DISEASE.

Messrs. Editors : — Pleuro-pneumonia is rath-
er an uncouth phrase to be delivered by children
born of Anglo-Saxon parents who had no heredi-
tary Greek in their compositions. Pleuro is de-
rived from the Greek M'ord pleura, which signifies
the side, and pneumonia, from Pneumon, the
Greek word for lungs. There is a membrane which
lines the inside of the chest and covers the ribs
and then extends to and envelops the lungs. ISIan-
kind, cattle and other animals are ])rovided with
this membrane. When inllammation seizes the
membrane that lines the ribs it is called a pleuri-
sy, or inflammation in the side, which causes pain
in the side, and when it seizes both the membrane
that covers the lungs and that which lines the
ribs, the disease is called the pleuro-pneumonia,
or pleurisy and lung fever.

Names go for what they are worth, but disease
is a reality. From analogy, comparing the cattle
distemper with the pleuro-pneumonia which af-
flicts mankind, we might suppose that it com-
menced with a degree of inflammation which con-
tinues for a short time, and then degenerates to a
morbid and putrid state of the lungs, which ter-
minates the animal's life. Malignant diseases,
among mankind, whetlicr epidemic or from con-
tagion, are limited. When the ])lague, yellow fe-
ver, small pox, or any other desolating disease has
p:'evailed for a season, it gradually spends it vi-
rus and becomes more mild, so that physicians are
often led to suppose that they have discovered
some more effectual mode of treatment than at
the beginning of the disease. This process of at-
mospheric purification continues till every parti-

cle of the offending- virus is absorbed or expelled
from the atmosphere, and the distemper which has
caused so much terror and destruction becomes
completely extinct. Judging from analogy, Ave
may suppose that after a satisfactory number oJ
cattle have been sacrificed to propitiate the wrath
of the demon pleuro-pneumonia, that the atmos-
phere will become purified of all noxious influ-
ences, so fatal to cattle, and the plague will be
stayed. Silas Brq-wn.

North Wilmington, June, 1860. ^

POSTS nrVERTED.

"W. H." asks our opinion on the practice of
inverting posts. We have full confidence in its
usefulness. The conditions necessary to rapid
decay, are to be learned at the earth collar of the
post ; there where the moisture of the soil and
the atmosphere can exercise their joint action,
posts first rot, while the part above, as well as
below this point, remains sound for a much long-
er period.

When the style of wood is such as to permit
the post being turned upside down, the rotting
will be much slower, particularly if the butt be
cut angular or shelving, so as to pass off water
falling upon it. When the post is placed in the
same position in which it grew, viz., butt down,
the capillary tubes carry up moisture from the
soil, and thus it is always moist at or near the
earth collar ; when on the contrary the position
is reversed, this capillary action does not occur,
and with such there will be slower decay.

There are other methods, however, of preserv-
ing posts, all of which, by the by, may be added
to the inverting practice. Thus, with the invert-
ing practice, a hole may be bored in the top, a
small amount of corrosive sublimate ])laced in
and plugged ; this will disseminate itself, passing
downward through the post, and thus kyanizing
the wood by rendering the sap insoluble. The
portion of post intended to be placed in the ground,
may be stood in a vessel containing a dilute solu-
tion of corrosive sublimate, and be kyanized.
This operation, however, although it renders all
woods as lasting as locust itself, is expensive, and,
therefore, can only be appealed to in the vicinity
of chemical works, Avhere corrosive sublimate may
be had at moderate prices.

The lower portion of posts may be coated with
coal tar, or rosin oil, and then slowly carbonized,
by setting fire to this coating. This treatment
causes them to last a much longer time. The or-
dinary gas tar is frequently used for this purpose.

Immersion in a solution of common copperas,
chloride of zinc, and many other salts, has been
used with advantage.

It is quite strange that while farmers study econ-
omy, even beyond their truest interest, in the pur-
chase of fertilizing materials, labor-saving tools,
etc., still they will fence their farms with chestnut,
without the slightest preparation, repeating this
expensive operation, as far as the posts are con-
corned, at least as often as once in fourteen years ;
and this in the face of the fact that with the
means we have named, much greater economy
may be availed of.

It has been asserted that the cost of the fences
in the United States, is greater than the interest

358

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

Aug. /

on the national debt of Great Britain ; we believe
this, and therefore call the attention of our read-
ers to the necessity for economj' in fencing. Li
many parts of the country hedges are used with
advantage, but in some districts the land is too
valuable to be thus used, and in such locality econ-
omy in fencing becomes important. — Working
Farmer.

For the New England Farmer.

THE CATTLE DISEASE AND THE
LEGISLATUBE.

Mr. Editor :7— Is it not strange that the mem-
bers of the Legislature — the men selected by the
people to represent them — to act for them — to
promote their interests — the picked men of the
State, should conspire to reduce the State to the
verge of bankruptcy, to beggar their constituents,
to slaughter whole herds of the finest cattle in the
Commonwealth, to destroy the cattle upon a
thousand hills, to ruin the trade in beef and milk
and butter and cheese, to interrupt the business
of farming all ever the Commonwealth, to ruin
the drovers and butchers, and to discourage every
department of agriculture — and all for what P
Why, to make themselves popular ! To gratify
a few white-handkerchief gentlemen who have
got frightened because some cows have sick-
ened and died ? And in addition to all the above
accumulated evils which they have inflicted upon
the people, they have levied a tax upon them-
selves and their constituents of $100,000 ! to pay
a set of noddies for doing all this mischief. They
have allowed themselves to be convinced that the
disease among the cattle is contagious, notwith-
standing certain venerable doctors in Boston do
not think there is suflicient proof of the fact !
AVonderful ! Surely the Legislature will no lon-
ger claim to be the assembled wisdom of the Com-
monwealth. What can be the motive for im-
posing such an oppressive tax upon the poor peo-
ple ? Is the Legislature trying to ape the mon-
archical Governments of England, Holland, Bel-
gium and Prussia, who have expended some mil-
lions of dollars to extirpate the same disease ?
Have they been creating offices to reward politi-
cal partisans ? What can their motive be ? Be-
cause the Governor called them together, and gave
them an opportunity to vote themselves $50
apiece, did each member feel bound to do $50
worth of mischief ?

But seriously, has the Legislature reduced the
Commonwealth to the verge of banki'uptcy ? Has
it done irrem'?diable injury to the best interests of
the State ? Has the Legislature injured ]\Ir, Che-
ncry to the amount of $15,000 ? Has it convert-
ed the green j)astures of the Commonwealth into
a great slaughter-yard ?

It has simply recognized existing facts, and put
the people of the State upon their guard against
the prevalence of a great calamity, and furnished
them with the means of protecting themselves and
their interests. If ever men came together with
an earnest desire to ascertain the truth, and do
their duty, the members of the Legislature came
together with that desire, and devoted themselves
faithfully to their work. It is easy to say that the
commissioners have destroyed 640 cattle, and the
Legislature has laid a tax of $100,000. These
numbers sound, large to those of us who are not

accustomed to deal in large sums, and men who
like to find fault, and who are addicted to making
speeches, can ring the changes upon them, until
thcj' become a great aff'air.

But, Mr. Editor, let us look at a few figures in
another relation, and perhaps it may tend to allay
our fears. I have before me five numbers of the
Neui EiKjland Farmer. I take them up and look
at the number of beeves reported at Cambridge
and Brighton markets for each week, and I find
reported on

May 12 1700

" 26 1£00

June 2 1650

" 9 1282

" 16 1125

Here are the reports for five weeks in May and
June of the present year. The whole number
anlounts to 7,257. This divided by 5 gives 1451
as the average number for each of these five weeks.
Now, if we suppose each of these beeves to weigh
G cwt., and to be worth $6 per cwt., which is cer-
tainly a very low estimate, both as to quantity and
price, the whole value will be $52,236. We no-
tice that the sales have diminished about one-
third during those five weeks. But we suppose
this always occurs more or less at this season of
the year. Yeal is plenty and lambs are coming
into market. The stall-fed cattle are mostly used
up, and cattle are not quite ready to come in from
the pastures, and green vegetables are in the mar-
ket. But we notice especially the fact that the
number of cattle needed for the market of Boston
and vicinity is 1451 per Aveek, even for this sea-
son of the year. A reference to the reports for the
autumn and winter will, doubtless, show that the
consumption is more than 2000 weekly. The
Commissioners have killed 640 cattle, less than
half a week's supply for the Boston market. We
notice another fact ; the value of the cattle slaugh-
tered by the butchers of this neighborhood week-
ly is more than $52,000, or more than half the
tax of $100,000. Now we suppose the sale has
diminished in other parts of the State as much as
at the Boston markets. If so, it cannot be doubt-
ed that more than twice as many cattle have been
saved already, as the Commissioners have de-
stroyed, and as the $100,000 would hardly pay
for two weeks supply of beef, we think this sum
has been nearly saved alreat^y by the diminished
consumption of beef, and will be saved more than
twice over during the summer, so that we do not
see that we have any cause of alarm lest the
stock should run out, or the State be made bank-
rupt.

There have been fewer cattle driven to market
from this State, thus far this season, and will be
through the summer, than if there had been no
disease among us, and there can be no doubt that
there will be more cattle in the State, at the end
of the season, than if the Commissioners had not
killed a single animal, to say nothing of the num-
bers that will be saved from contagion through
their eff'orts.

No more of the tax vail be expended than may
be needed, and we think there is reason to hope
that not more than half the sum in addition to the
$10,000 previously appropriated, will be re-
quired. But the Legislature acted wisely in pro-
viding ample means, so that the Commissioners
may be al)le to carry out all the measures which

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FAEMER.

359

they shall judge necessary to ei-adicate the dis-
ease. They should not be crippled in their efforts
to accomplish the beneficent work in which they
are engaged.

The price of beef is lower than it has been for
some years, and probably will be so through the
season, and this is owing in part to the panic oc-
casioned by the disease.

The drovers, generally a very shrewd class of
men, purchased cattle in the spring, and turned
them into the pastures. They now fear they shall
not get the prices in the autumn which they an-
ticipated. Is not this the chief source of the hue
ind cry which has been raised against the Com-
missioners and the Legislature ? There are men
in the State, as experience has already shown,
who are willing to get diseased cattle, or cattle
which have been exposed to disease, off their
own hands, without regard to consequences —
such men cry out against any laws that restrain
their movements. But if the drovers should not
make as large a profit as they anticipated, the con-
sumers of beef will have no reason to complain.

Should the price of beef be less than usual, the
people of this State will not be the principal losers,
for at least seven-eighths of the beef brought to
our market comes from other States.

Yours, s.

For the New England Farmer,
SPAYED COWS.
About the first of May, 1859, a gentleman at
Nevvburyport had two cows spayed ; one a fine
Durham cow, four years old, six weeks after drop-
ping her second calf; the other, an old native
cow, eleven years old, but a good milker. In Oc-
tober, he had a third cow spayed. In April, 1860,
a fourth, and the seventh of the present month, a
fifth. The two first, which were altered more than
thirteen months ago, are now in good condition.
The young cow is tolerable beef. They give as
much milk as they did a year ago. The milk is
very rich, like the milk of farrow cows. The two
cows that were altered thirteen months ago, to-
gether with the one spayed on the first of Apiil,
this year, give regularly thirty quarts of milk, ev-
ery day. The cow that was altered in October,
has been troubled this spring with garget, but is
now getting well of it. The lumps in the udder
are disappearing, and she will doubtless soon
be in good condition. Their owner says he has
his milk fountain guaged ; he knows how much
he will have daily, and his milk is better than ev-
er before. He says he cannot afford to keep a
good cow without having her altered. There has
been no difficulty in the operation, and no inju-
rious effect has followed in either case. The
wounds all healed well, and the cows soon re-
turned to a full flow of milk. J. Reynolds.

"Tired and Sick of a jNIeecantile Life."
— We could be of more service to our corres-
pondent, "J. Subscriber" — who is "sick and tired
of a mercantile life," and who is determined to
try farming, — by a personal interview with him,
than by replying to his note through the Farmer.
Indeed, it is not in our power to reply in writing,
short of making a large pamphlet, or a book.

For the New England Farmer.
RAISING THE PEACOCK:.

Mr. Editor: — In the monthly Farmer for
June, "Oak Hill" would like information on the
raising of the peacock. If he would like my way
of telling him, it shall be very much at his service.

In the first place, the peacock does not gener-
ally care much about more than one mate, though
he will sometimes play the Mormon. They breed
at two years old, at Avhich time the cock has a
small tail ; at three years he is equipped in full.

The hen, a modest looking bird, lays, at two
years' old, from three to five large eggs ; she sets
on them five weeks, at which time they will come
forth perfectly fledged, and they generally go to
roost the first night. The hen lays her eggs early
in June — so, by the first or second week in July,
she is off with her young, which she is pretty sure
to bring out and bring up. There used to be a
fabulous story of the cock ; that he would kill the
young if he found them before they had the tuft
on their heads. The truth is enough to tell of him,
and about as much as he can bear. And for the
information of "Oak Hill," I will enumerate a few
facts. He will not be confined ; he will perch on
the top of your highest chimney, or the ridge of
your highest building, and give forth such screams,
that any one who is fond of such things, will be
induced to exclaim, delectable ! If you have a hen
with small chickens, he is sure to follow up and
sui'vey her brood with the most apparent inquisi-
tiveness, though he never appears to hurt them at
all, although extremely annoying to her. He ap-
pears to be determined on the mastery of the
feathered family, which he generally effects. The
young hen seldom lays more than three eggs, but
as she grows older, she lays more, and finally
comes up to nine or ten. They are easily raised,
require little or no care, and are excellent for the
table. Alf. Baylies.

Taunton, June, 1860.

SHOEING HENS.

"A friend of ours boarding in the country
found his hostess one morning busily engaged in
making numerous small woolen bags, of singular
shape. Upon inquiry he was informed that they
were shoes for hens, to prevent them from scratch-
ing. The lady stated that it had been her prac-
tice for years to shoe her hens, and save her gar-
den. These "shoes," (I believe they ai-e not pa-
tented,) were of woolen, made somewhat of the
shape of a fowl's foot with ease, after which it is
closed with a needle and sewed tightly on, ex-
tending about an inch up the leg. Our friend ob-
served that some of the biddies, possibly conceit-
ed with their new honors, appeared to tread as
though walking on eggs — particularly was this
the case when from the width of the shoe one
would conceive that their toes might be a little
pinched."

This is not a bad idea. We have seen hens
shod before, and with good results ; it is not ne-
cessary, however, to make a regular s/ioe for them ;
even a piece of cloth embracing their foot and se-
cured to the leg, the bag being large enough to
allow their toes to expand in it, will answer the
purpose very well. By such an appliance, hen-
yards and tight fences arc ur.necessary, the hens

360

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

Aug.

are alloAved their liberty all summer, and -will lay
better for it, and oven the garden and field will
be ke])t clean from many worms, bugs, flies and
other vermin that injure vegetation. But for
their sa'cdchinr/, hens do little harm and much
good on cultivated grounds. — Ilural Intelligencer.

Fur the Keio England Fanner.

HO"W FARMING WAS MADE PLEASANT
AND PROFITABLE,

AKD THE BOYS THOUGHT IT RESPECTABLE.

The recent discussion of the subject in the Leg-
islative Agricultural Society, and the attempts to
introduce agricultural education as a branch of
common school education, which seems to me as
proper as instruction in the trade of a carpenter
or mason, in a common public school, has led me,
who am at least not a known talker, to pen a few
lines for the Farmer.

Many years ago, in a remote country village, in
a neighboring State, I knew two gentlemen of
good education and public spu'it. One, the skilful
village physician, the other a tanner. The doctor
owned and lived on a large farm, which was car-
ried on by means of hired help mostly. The other
had only the usual half-acre attached to country
residences for the purpose of a garden. Both
were zealous and active members and officers of
the county agricultural society. In cacli of these
families was a boy, enjoying the ordinary six
months schooling of a country village, where tliey
learned to read, to spell, arithmetic, geography
and grammar. The doctor's son, at other times,
was accustomed to work on the farm ; he was al-
lowed to own and dispose of a sheep or two, or
now and then a colt, or to raise a heifer, or pair
of steers, his own possession. A small piece of
land was allowed him to experiment upon, and to
crop as he chose, and the proceeds to be his own.
The best agricultural paper of that day was taken
in the family, or by the boy. He was encouraged
by a wise father, and advised in his planting op-
erations, and not laughed at, if there was a fail-
ure ; and the proceeds of whatever he had been
taught to consider his own, were cheerfully and
promptly allowed him, either selling his crops and
cattle himself, or being paid their market value,
by the father. Quite an ingeniously constructed
cheese-press Avas made by him, for which his
mother paid him the most flattering compliment
of using for the cheese of a considerable dairy.
Afterwards, like most New England boys, desir-
ing a better education than common schools af-
forded, he fitted for, entered and graduated with
high honors, at a New England college. Being
little inclined to professional life, he went back to
the farm, and is one of the most successful practi-
cal farmers and stock-raisers of his county. Nor
does he disuse his literary pursuits and advanta-
ges ; occasionally, during the leisure portion of
the year, at the solicitation of his less informed
neighbors, he teaches school, wdu'ch affords their
children an opportunity to obtain an education at
a much better school than ordinarily accessible
to them. Occasionally he gives a lecture, or an
agricultural address, and diligently through the
journals of his State, instructs his brother farm-
ers from his practical experience. Such a man
elevates the pursuit he has chosen, elevates his

fellows by making more certain the results and
avails of agricultural labor. Query : Cannot a good
many farmers of this Commonwealth in like man-
ner grow farmers on their farms, and find it a
most profitable crop ?

In the rather miscellaneous library of the other
gentleman, between Shakspeare and Bunyan's
Pilgrim's Progress, stood Fessenden's New Eng-
land Gardener, and his boy, in addition to a thor-
ough reading of that, was made to weed the gar-
den, sometimes to sow it, and when he Avas larger,
was made responsible for its whole care and or-
dering, whereby he came to love flowers and
fruits, and vegetables, and to know how, and to
lilce to raise them all ; and always has retained
rather a weakness for "digging in the garden,"
ever since. "Would "botany, and agricultural
chemistry, and how to farm," taught in the com-
mon school, have better impressed these boys
witli a love of the earth, and knowledge to make
it yield its fruits ? Let the boys have good agri-
cultural and horticultural books and papers, for
winter reading, a bit of earth to cultivate, and a
share in its proceeds, and there will be more suc-
cessful formers, fewer idlers, disappointed trades-
men and professional men ; and it will go far to
answer the question, "How to make farming a
pleasure and profit." D.

Boston, February 28, 1860.

THE SHEPHEBD'S SABBATH SONG.

This is God's holy day —
Now, one last matin bell I hear,
Now, all is silent, far and near,

As in the fields 7 stray.

In prayer I bend the knee —
Sweet dread ! mysterious whispering sound !
As if unseen ones all around

Were worshipping with me.

The sky their glories ray, —
The stainless heavens, far and near.
Seen opening to my visions clear

This is God's holy day.

From the German of Uliland

For tlie New England Farmer,

MUSINGS AMONG THE MOUNTAINS OF
NEW ENGLAND.

May, charming May, has come and gone, and
with it came the singing of birds, the peeping of
frogs, the plowman's merry whistle, and the thous-
and and one happy associations that cluster about
the tiller of the soil, to cheer his spirits and make
his heart rejoice in the possession of his happy
vocation. Foolish is the man mIio foregoes the
sv,-eet comforts of rural life — the associations of
myriads of gay songsters that come up annually
among the mountains from the muggy South, to
warble their little notes of sweet eloquence to the
farmer, as he tills these beautiful hill-sides and
valleys — to snuff" the balmy breezes of the trio of
seasons, so richly freighted with the "balm of a
thousand flowers" — the sowing and planting — the
"merry hay day," the "rich golden harvest" — for
a life devoted to the accumulation of wealth alone.
Spring is the time for the singing of birds, but
we must wait until June for the rose, beautiful
rose ! the queen of flowers, how beautiful ! Has

1860.

KEW ENGLAND FAPv:\rEE.

3G1

the rose borrowed its hues of the rainbow, or has
the bow kissed the rose, with a blush on its
cheek ? Meanwhile we wait, the fruit trees are
white with incipient fruit, and from the instinct
of hope we taste fruit in the blossoms.

Next, and now, is June, sunny, i^enial, smiling
June ; the month of the rose and the lily, the em-
blems of beauty and modesty ! The rose, when a
bud, a hundred leaves blushing with delight, so
nicely fc^fl'^d over its glowing heart that the soft-
est breeze sighing over the green earth might not
suspect the secret of its being ; a perfect flower,
it breathes forth its fragrance upon the morning
air, and drinks in its dews, and unfolds its beau-
ty to the great sun of nature that has given it
birth. Of the lily, the pure white lily, waving so
gracefully upon its slender stem, scattering dust
like golden tears from its spotless bosom, when
disturbed by the winds, its lofty graces, its lovely
simplicity — emblem of purity — sacred by reference
— that which is so perfect cannot be described.
The most perfect art cannot imitate, nor bear
away the rich fragrance that lingers about it.
Love, purity, and gentleness are typified in the
rose and the lily, but in the material world these
graces are looked upon as weaknesses.

Those sweet little flowers that greet us so early
in spring, have gone, — the crocus, the violet and
their kindred, — gone to rest until another spring.
Would that spring were more frequent ; but then
'twould be less charming. If it were all spring-
time, then its beauties would be swallowed up in
the monotony of seasons. With bounteous rains
God has watered these hills and valleys — all nature
smiles in newness of life, and the little babbling
brooks are meandering to the waters that span
the globe. New England, the mother of the
school-house — the guardian of the church, the
birth-place of America's great men, whose hills
are so beautifully carpeted with nature's magnifi-
cent green, with scenery so sublime, so majestic
— who does not sigh for a home in New England ?
Lewis S. Pierce.
East Jaffrey, N. H., June, 1860.

For the New England Farmer.
SEASON, CROPS, FAITH AND PBACTICE.

Gentlemen : — For many weeks previous to the
first of the present month, a very uncommon
drought prevailed in this region, and the prospects
of the farmer looked dubious indeed ; all nature
seemed to wear a gloomy aspect ; the merry whis-
tle of the husbandman was seldom heard, while
an expression of fearful foreboding was visible in
their countenances, as they toiled with the plow
and the hoe ; but their troubles were not to end
here, for in the midst of all this, while our hearts
were still sad, and we were anticipating a very
meagre reward for our toils, news reached us,
that the cattle disease Avas advancing upon us at
a rapid rate, but, luckily,we were more frightened
than hurt. The town authorities have acted
promptly in the matter, and we think we have but
very little to fear in that direction.

The refreshing rains that have fallen the past
few weeks, have changed the face of nature veiy
much ; vegetation is advancing at a rapid rate,
and the prospect for an abundant crop of all kinds
with the exception of hay, never was better ; hay,

we think, must be very light in many places.
There is a prospect of an abundance of fruit of all
kinds, and the farmers are beginning to take cour-
age, showing a disposition to work while the day
lasts ; they read their Bible and New England
Farmer when night cometh, and leave the future
with Him who ruleth all things well.

The Bible shows us how and where to put our
trust — the New England Farmer teaches us how
to till the land, and if we carry out the instruc-
tions of the two, and let the flying reports in re-
gard to the cattle disease, &c., go to the four
winds where they belong, I think we have but lit-
tle to fear in the future. Our farmers, as a gen-
eral thing, spend too much time talking over fly-
ing reports, they give too much credence to the
thousand and one rumors afloat in the world in
regard to_ tbe farming interest, which has a ten-
dency to injure the different agricultural pursuits
more than anything else we have to encounter.
Dig more, and talk less,, is the advice of an old
farmer, and constant reader of the New England
Farmer. W. C. A. CUNTON.

Claremont, N. H., Jitne, 1860.

For the New England Farmer.
IN-DOOR FARMING.

Mr. Editor : — ;Much is being said in your pa-
per about the profits and pleasures of farming,
out of doors, but nothing is said of the in-door la-
bor, where the most of the hard toil without re-
muneration is found. It is healthy and pleasant
work, Avhen farmers get where they can have suf-
ficient help in-doors, as well as out.

But with some exceptions, the farmer's wife is,
as a general thing, the most hard-working class
there is ; she must be watchful, and never tiring,
for if she is not able to perform to-day's labor, to-
day, to-morrow she has got a double task to per-
form ; to be sure, she is not driven to it with the
lash, but the spur of necessity drives her on, and
with the cares and labors of in-doors farming, she
often has the cares of a large family. Farming
is not, as a general thing, found to be sufficiently
remunerative to allow of hiring in-doors work, so
that all the labor and care must come upon the
farmer's wife. If she has a large family, and the
prospect good for more, still she must make and
mend, bake and orew, v.ash and scour, churn and
make cheese, milk and feed hogs, Sec. Because
she knows, if she hires, the family wants must be
curtailed enough to meet the expense of hiring,
when, with all her planning and hard work, she
can get scarcely enough, for the husbandman is
too apt to think that the products of the farm are
sufficient, and all else are superfluities. So the
wife must wait for the hens to lay, for from tha.,
source often comes all the change that falls to
her share !

Please insert this in your columns, for if it does
not meet with the views of some of your corres-
pondents it may meet the case of their wives.
A Farmer's Wife.

Warner, N. 11. , 1860.

Plants found in New Bedford. — We have
before us "A Catalogue of the Phr.ts found in
New Bedford and its Vicinity, arranged accord-

362

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

Aug.

ing to the season of their Flowering. By E. W.
Hervey." Such a publication will lead to a better
knowledge of the indigenous and beautiful plants
that grow about us. We shall find it quite useful
in our labors. The author will please accept our
thanks for the copy.

AMERICAN POMOLOGICAL SOCIETY.

The eighth session of this institution will be
held in the city of Philadelphia, commencing on
the 11th of September next, at 10 o'clock, A. M.,
and Mill be continued for several days.

This society, the first national institution for
the promotion of pomological science, was organ-
ized in the year 1848. Its sessions have brought
together the most distinguished cultivators of our
country ; its transactions have embodied their va-
rious researches and ripest experience, and its cat-
alogue of fruits has become the acknowledged
standard of American pomology.

Its example has created a general taste for this
science, inspired pomologists with greater zeal,
and called into existence many kindred associa-
tions. Its progress has been remarkable and
gratifying, but it still has a great work to perform.
Its general catalogue should, from time to time,
be enlarged and perfected, and lociil catalogues
formed, embracing the fruits adapted to each State
and Territory of the Union. The last of these sug-
gestions was made by the chairman of the gener-
al fruit committee, at the seventh session of the
society, in the year 18-58. This has been careful-
ly considered, and is deemed worthy of special at-
tention. It is, therefore, earnestly recommended
that each State Pomological, Horticultural, or
Agricultural Society, charge its fruit committee
v.-ith the duty of collecting information, and pre-
senting the same, with descriptive lists of fruits
adapted to their location.

The importance of this subject, and the increas-
ing value of the fruit crop of the United States,
call for a prompt and cordial response to this re-
quest,— for a careful preparation of said list, and
for a full and able representation, at the approach-
ing session, from all parts of the country.

The various State committees of this society
are expected to submit accurate and full reports
of the condition and progress of fruit culture,
within their limits, together with definite answers
to each of the following questions. These reports,
it is desirable, should be forwarded to the chair-
man of the general fmit committee, Hon. Samuel
Walker, Roxbury, Mass., if possible, as early as
the 1st of September, or to Thomas W. Field,
Esq., Secretary, Brooklyn, New York.

What six, twelve and tioeniy varieties of the ap-
ple are best adapted to an orchard of one hundred
trees for family use, — and how many of each sort
should it contain ? What varieties, and hov/ many
of each, are best for an orchard of one thousand
trees, designed to bear fruit for the market ?

What six and twelve varieties of the ])ear are
best for family use on the pear stock ? What va-
rieties on the quince stock ? What varieties, and
now many of each of these, are best ada]5ted to a
pear orchard of one hundred or of one thousand
trees ?

What are tbe six and twelve best varieties of
the peach ? What are the best varieties, and how

many of each are best adapted to a peach orchard
of one hundred or of one thousand trees ?

Answers to these questions should be made
from reliable experience, and with reference to
the proximity or remoteness of the market.

Held, as this convention will be, in a city easi-
ly accessible from all parts of the country, it is
anticipated that the coming session will be one of
the most useful the society has ever held. Socie-
ties, therefore, in every State and Territory of
the Union, and the Provinces of British America,
are requested to send such number of delegates
as they may choose to elect. Fruit-growers, nur-
sery-men, and all others interested in the art of
pomology, are invited to be present — to become
members, and to take part in the deliberations of
the convention.

In order to increase as much as possible the in-
terest of the occasion, members and delegates are
requested to forward for exhibition as large col-
lections of fruit as jn-acticable, including speci-
mens of all the rare and valuable varieties grown
in their respective districts, and esteemed worthy
of notice ; also, papers descriptive of their mode
of cultivation — of diseases and insects injurious
to vegetation — of remedies for the same, and to
communicate whatever may aid in promoting the
objects of the meeting. Each contributor is re-
quested to make out a complete list of his contri-
butions, and present the same with his fruits, that
a report of all the varieties entered may be sub-
mitted to the meeting as soon as practicable after
its organization.

Societies will please transmit to the Secretary,
at an early day, a list of the delegates they have
appointed.

Gentlemen desirous of becoming members can
remit the admission fee to Thomas P. James,
Esq., Treasurer, Philadelphia, who will furnish
them with the transactions of the society. Life-
Membership, 820 ; Biennial, 82.

Packages of fruits may be addressed to Thos.
P. Jajvh;s, 630 ]\Iarket Street, Philadelphia.

Marsilvll p. Wilder, President.

For the New England Farmer.

TUBKEYS.

Gov. Brown : — My little boy wants me to put
into the Farmer an account of the wonderful feats
of our turkeys, and accordingly I submit the facts
to your disposal. We have fed white turkeys for
several years, the color,like the Caucasian complex-
ion, being transmitted by descent. Sometimes in
the autumn a flock of them on the hill-side look
like a shepherd's charge. Well, now for the Avon-
der. One of our turkeys laid fifteen eggs and went
to setting. The eggs in the nest still went on in-
creasing in number, so that we supposed another
turkey laid to her, and took care to shut her out
of the barn. Eggs, however, continued to be laid,
till they reached aljout thirty, Mhen the turkey
hatched the fifteen eggs she began to set with.
Meanwhile it turned out that the other turkey
had a nest of her own in another place, and she
had gone to sotting ; so we were forced to the
conclusion that the setting turkey must have kept
on laying. This was fully verified after hatching,
for she has still kept on laying, and has a nest
where she may soon be expected to set again.

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

363

What, then, some reader may inquire, Avill be-
come of her little turkeys ? Why, Mr. Gobbler
will look after them and brood them at night.
He is a very tender parent, I can tell you. Last
year a little turkey got lamed, and had much diffi-
culty in getting over -walls with the others. The
motlier with the ninety and nine would move on
despite his cries, but the old gobbler would fly
back and forth, never deserting the lost lamb till
some place was found where he could get over.

Turkeys are easy to raise if you are careful for
the first five or six weeks. They should then have
eggs boiled hard and chopped fine and soaked in
milk, afterwards some dough. They must be
kept in during storms, and while the dew is on,
during this early period. Afterwards the sum-
mer flies and grasshoppers will relieve you from
feeding, and furnish the turkeys sumptuous re-
pasts. They are useful in clearing the fields of
insects. They arc sad strollers, constantly per-
ambulating, like the restless spirits who sing,

"We'll wander this wide world over,
And then to another we'll go."

But if you have ample space, they are a profitable
fowl to raise. F.

Wayland, 1860.

PLUM CULTUKE.
BY PRUNUS GAGE.

There is no good reason why we should not
have good crops of plums. The most difficult en-
emy to be conquered is the curculio, and there is
evidence during the past season that this insect
could be beaten from the field if we only go at
him with a determination to "carry the war toex-
tremeties, and give no quarter." It is not right
that on our clay soils we should be obliged to give
up this delicious fruit ; and the full crops secured
by S. O. Knapp, of Jackson, the present year,
prove that plums can be grown. His trees the
past autumn were very fully laden with very lus-
cious fruit. But he attended to the curculio at
the proper season. His plan was the sheet and
mallet, every morning. Some of his trees had been
paved around for a few feet from the tree, and he
observed that the curculio did not work so freely
in the branches over the pavement as they did
where they were over the ground. Many try the
sheet and mallet, but leave it off" before the sea-
son is over. They don't stick to it. Others let
their poultry attempt the work, but the poultry
can only destroy a part, from the fact that the
curculio is a cunning insect, and soon buries it-
self out of the reach of all kinds of barn-yard
fowls.

That a crop of plums is one of the most profi-
table known there is no question. The point to
be come at, is how to raise them. The soil in ev-
ery case should contain clay, or be a somewhat
stiff loam, and in choosing a location, the yard
should be by itself, so that it may be separated or
fenced in whenever it is deemed necessary. A
yard a hundred feet square will aff'ord room for
about forty trees, set about fourteen or fifteen feet
apart in the rows, say seven rows of six trees in
each row. The ground should be well tile-drained
and should be trench plowed, before the trees
are set, and then the following seven varieties, a
row of each kind being grown, may be selected,

viz : the Imperial Gage, the Jefferson, Bolmar
Washington, McLaughlin's, Coe's Golden Drop,
Heine Claude de Bevay, Blue Imperatrice. —
The soil in the plum yard should never be permit-
ted to grow grass or any other crop whatever, es-
pecially after the- trees begin to fruit, or before,
unless absolutely necessary, then only such crops
as turnips, parsnips, carrots or potatoes. No corn
or grain should ever be permitted amongst fruit
trees of any kind.

After the trees have matured so that fruit is set
from the blossoms each year, then the ground
should be pulverized and rolled as solid as possi-
ble each spring before the season for the curcu-
lio. During the curculio season, we would again
roll it once a week, and turn in the poultry, es-
pecially broods of ducks, to devour all the insects
which might be found troublesome to the fruit.
Besides this treatment the trees should be shaken
every morning to dislodge the curculios, so that
they might come Avithin the reach of poultry, and
be destroyed. By this system it is claimed, first,
that the plowing turns down to a great depth the
insect, which has just reached the surftice and is
ready to commence operations with the arrival of
the season ; second, that the rolling consolidates
the surface, and makes it more difficult to work
his passage out, and presents a smooth surface,
so that should any of the larva fall from the tree,
they do not so readily find crannies and nooks
into which they can crawl and hide from the ento-
mological researches of the ornithological tribes ;
third, the jarring of the trees should be steadily
followed up, because, if any insects do ascend to
attack the fruit, the only plan to save the year's
fruit is to attend to their destruction at the prop-
er time, and on a rolled surface they are as easily
destroyed either by hand or by poultry, as though
they were on a white sheet.

In addition to this treatment, after the curcu-
lio season is over, the yard should be topdressed
with half a bushel of salt, and a couple of bushels
of air-slaked lime, with a good coating of marsh
muck compost late in the fall.

With this treatment a crop of plums may be
raised as easily as a crop of cherries, and every
tree in the course of three or fovu- years will easi-
ly yield a profit of from five to ten dollars for ev-
ery one invested. There are no difficulties in the
plum culture that cannot be conquered, if wo only
use the means which common sense points out as
necessary to follow. But it will not do to try for
one season, and imagine that all further work or
care is to be dispensed with. The work must be
performed every season, if we would have a crop
every year ; just bear that in mind. — Michigan
Farmer.

ONE BKIOK WKONG.

Workmen were lately building a large brick
tower, which was to be carried up very high. The
architect and the foreman both charged the ma-
sons to lay each brick with the greatest exactness,
especially the first course, which were to sustain
the rest. Plowever, in laying a corner, by acci-
dent or carelessness, one brick was set a very lit-
tle out of line. The work went on without its
being noticed, but as each course of bricks was
kept in a line with those already laid, the tower
v/as not put up exactly straight, and the highes

364

NEW ENGLAND FAEMER.

Aug.

they built the more insecure it became. One day,
when the tower had been carried up about fifty
feet, there was heard a tremendous crash. The
building had fallen, burying the men in the ruins.
All the previous work was lost, the materials
wasted, and worse still, valuable lives were sacri-
ficed, and all from one brick laid tvrong at the
start. The M'orkman at fault in this matter little
knew how much mischief he Avas making for the
future. Do i/07i ever think what ruin may come
of one bad habit, one brick laid Avrong, while you
are now building a character for life ? Remem-
ber, in youth the foundation is laid. See to it
that all is kept straight.

PRESEBVIITG SHINGLES ON" KOOFS.

The following article we copy from the Rural
Intelligencer, as worthy of attention by those who
desire to preserve the roofs of their habitations
and buildings :

"Some paint roof-shingles after they are laid.
This makes them rot sooner than they otherwise
would. Some paint the courses as they are laid ;
this is a great preservative, if each shingle is
painted the length of three courses. But al)out
as sure a way to preserve shingles, and that with
little or no expense, is a mode recommended in a
letter to us by Hon. David Hunter, of Clinton, on
the 23d of February last. We republish so much
of his letter as relates to this subject, in hopes
that it may be of service to many of our readers :

" 'There is one thing more that nearly all people
know, if they Avould only attend to it: that is, to
sprinkle slaked lime on the roofs of their build-
ings in rainy days. Put it on considerably thick,
so as to make tke roof look white, and you will
never be troubled with moss ; and if the shingles
are covered ever so thick with moss, by putting
the lime on twice, it Avill take all the moss off, and
leave the roof white and clean, and will look al-
most as well as if it had been painted. It ouglit
to be done once a year, and, in my opinion, the
shingles will last almost twice as long as they will
to let the roof all grow over to moss. I tried it
on the back side of mv house, ten A-ears aso, Avhen
the shingles Avere all covered over Avith moss, and
they appeared to be nearly rotten. I gave the roof
a heavy coat of lime, and have folloAved it nearly
every year since then, and the roof is better now
than it Avas then ; and, to all appearance, if I fol-
low my hand, it Avill last ten or fifteen years long-
er. The shingles have been on the roof over
thirty years. There is no more risk about sparks
catching on the roof than on a nCAvly shingled roof.
Those that do not have lime near by, can use good
strong Avood ashes, and these Avill answer a very
good purpose to the same end.' "

Tobacco. — Gen. John H. Cook, of Virginia,
has recently written a pamphlet entitled "Tobac-
co, the Bane of Virginia Husbandry." He says :

That tobacco is the bane of Virginia husband-
ry, will be shoAvn under the three folloAving heads :

1st. It requires more labor than any other crop.

2d. It is the most exhausting of all crops ; and,

3d. It is a deniorali'Jer, in the broadest sense
of the term.

EXTRACTS AND KEPLIES.

A QITEER HEIFER.

I have a Iieifer fifteen months old the 20tli of June ;
her bag began to groAV in April so that it attracted my
attention. It has increased in size from the first,
and about the fifteenth of May I found that her bag
contained milk, and concluded she mnst be Avith calf,
•IS her bag, too, has till noAV grown larger. But on
the eleventh of June she Avas in heat for the bull.

I do not milk her for fear of consequences, leaking
her milk, &c., hereafter ; think her bag might contain
a quart of milk or thereabouts. Think she cannot be
"springing" bag from natural causes ; and as it seems
to me a "strange freak," I report the case for Aviser
heads than mine. Will your readers please notice, (not
exclusively the Editor,) and inform me if they knoAv of
such instances, and the course pm-sued.

Manchester, N. II., June, 1860. James Walker,

Remarks. — We have a fine coat now, one that Ave
raised on our oavu f\irm, that gave an abundance of
milk before having a calf. We turned her to pasture in
April, at two years old, with other heifers. Her bag
was then hardly discernible, and of course, "as dry as
a charity box." On going to her ten days after, we
found her bag very much enlarged, and took aAvay
nearly or quite a gallon of milk from it. She contin-
ued giving a liberal mess until the middle of Septem-
ber iblloAving, v.iien she dropt a line calf, Avhich we now
haA'C, and is one of the handsomest yearling heifers
in our knowledge. Young heifers Avill have their own
Avays, as well as other folks, but avc cannot tell you the
Avhy or Avherefore !

CATTLE DISEASE IN CONNECTICUT.

The all-absorbing topic of conversation among us at
the iiresent time is the cattle disease ; and so high does
the panic run that there is scarcely a town around
Avhere there are not supposed cases of the disease al-
ready existing ; but probably there is not in reality a
case of it this side of the Connecticut riA'cr; yet there
is great reason to fear that it may at any time break
out in many places around us. Several droves have
been driven through here, and others arc lying back
ready to come, all of Avhich are supposed to have been
bought in Massachusetts near the infected district.

My nearest ncighl^or is an exile from Russia, is
highly educated, and is teacher of languages in our
family Ijuarding-schools. He has also been an officer
in t he armj'. lie says that in the earlier stages of the
disease it can be cured. He is to give a lecture before
the farmers' club in this place tomorroAV evening upon
the subject, and it is supposed that he is well acquaint-
ed with the disease and its ti-eatment.

June 10. — The lecture was well attended, and was of
such a character as to convince all Avho heard it that
its author, (M. Schmiedeberg,) is avcU acquainted Avith
the disease in all its stages, and also of its treatment in
his native country, he liaving lieen a veterinaiy sur-
geon in the Prussian army, and tAvo years a student in
the medical schools of that country. He has been Avith
us a year, and avus knoAvn in the county before he came
here. He has gained the re.-pcct and confidence of all
Avho kuoAV him, and it is fully liclicA'cd that no one in
our countiy is better qualified to treat the disease than
he, he having been familiar with its treatment in Ger-
many. T. L. Haut.

West Cormcall Ct., June 19, 1860.

HORSE RAKES — MOAVING MACHINES.

What is the price, each, of Bradley's and Whit-
comb's Horse Ilakcs, and of Wood's IMowing Machine ?
Rockville, June, 1860. J. II. Stark.

Remarks. — We have made inquiry, and cheerfully
answer the questions of our correspondent, but wish to
say that ice hace no connection icith any agricultural
warehouse, and when Ave ansAver such inquiries, are
obliged to go purposely to get the information.

Bradley's horse rake is $>10; Whitcomb's, with

1860,

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

365

wheels, is $22, and without wheels, $16. Wood's one-
horse mower is $>'70, and the two horse $80. All for
sale by Nourse & Co., 34 Merchants' Row, Boston.

CUT WORMS — COAL ASHES — WOOD ASHES — SQUASHES.

I should like to know if there is any remedy for the
cut worm which is so destructive on our New England
farms ?

Also, if it will be of any advantage to put a top
dressing of fine sifted coal ashes on and around pota-
toes and corn that are planted on new land ?

Are wood ashes of any advantage on squashes as a
remedy for the squash l3ug ? Any light upon these
questions will be thankfully received by g. e. m.

Someriille, June, 1860.

Remarks. — \^q are not aware that there is any
grand specific for cut worms — they are quite destruc-
tive at present, cutting down the young mangolds and
cabbages sadly.

Coal ashes are of some value to the com and pota-
toes.

Wood ashes, frequently sprinkled upon squashes, will
prevent, in some measure, the ravages of the squash
bugs. When they have performed that otBce they are
exceedingly valuable in promoting the growth of the
plants.

STUMP PULLER — QUERIES.

I have a piece of land containing about four acres,
which has until recently been covered with a heavy
gi'owth of pine. The land is somewhat elevated, all but
a small piece, which is low and moist. I wish to know
if it would be profitable to pull the stumps out and cul-
tivate the land ? (a.)

What is the price of a stumiJ-puller, and how many
men will it take to operate it, and how many stumps
can be pulled out in a day ? Could one be hired ? There
is no young growth coming up, and perhaps it would
be better to plant it with chestnuts. How should they
be planted, and what time of year would be ))cst ?

Granite State Reader.

Remarks. — (a.) Some persons would make it profi-
table and others would not. It depends upon circum-
stances, such as the possession of manure, skill, &e.,
and how much other land one has under cultivation,

A good stump puller may be purchased for $50 or
$75, Cannot answer your other questions.

superphosphate for turnips,

I have a piece of land from which I wish to raise a
good crop of turnips ; will you be kind enough to in-
form me which of the foreign fertilizers will be best to
use for that crop, how much to the acre, and the best
way to apply it ? The land is light, and not rich.

Tempkfon, June 27, 1860. Subscriber.

Remarks. — Use Coe's or Mapes' Superphosphate of
lime, 300 pounds to the acre ; sow broadcast and har-
row,

the axe is ground.

Having laid aside the little, worn-out grind-stone
with wooden shaft that groaned and squeaked so
dreadfully, about a j'ear ago, and adopted a good new
one, with friction rollers and a treadle so as to Ijc
t turned by the foot, I have managed to keep the axe in
pretty good condition for chopping ; it cost $5, it is
true, and a day and a half's work to get it hung and
properly trimmed down for grinding, but it has nearly
or quice paid for itself in the saving of time in putting
tools in order. When the scythe was dull, which was
often the case in this stony countr}', ojie could go and
grind instead of two, and do the grinding in less than
half the time it used to take on the old one, and do it
better too. Brother Farmer, don't use the old, hard-
faced, worn-out grindstone any longer — get a new one
and a good one — j-ou won't be sorry. E, a, d.

Ripton, Vt., June, 1860.

CRANBERRIES.

I wish to inquire through the Farmer whether cran-
ben-ies will grow well or flourish on narrow strips of
swampy land, or on the margin of small streams,
where the land is wet and swampy, but seldom over-
flowed with water ? A. E. Wilson,

Marlow, N. II., 1860,

Remarks. — Not on all such places, but on many of
them. Dig up the surface, haul on an inch or two of
sand or gravel, set the plants within six inches of each
other, and keep all grass and weeds out. Try this pro-
cess on a small scale, and if it succeeds well, enlarge,
and set the plants farther apart, and they will cover
the ground by spreading.

SEEDING potatoes.

I planted two bushels of what is called the black po-
tato, last spring, putting two small pieces in each hill.
The land was sward, plowed the fall before, manured
in the hill lightly and from the two bushels of seed I
got sixty-six bushels of as good, large and sound pota-
toes as I ever saw. I have tried large potatoes for seed,
until I am convinced it is worse than throwing seed
away.

the wheat crop.

On the 9tli of April last I sowed one aci-e of land
with one and a half bushels of wheat, and cleaned up
in December twenty bushels of good sound wheat. I
think the rats carried off one bushel, and that high
winds and i-ains injured it three or four bushels more,
I think our farmers can raise as much wheat per acre,
as they can anywhere in New England,

Deny, N. II., April, 1859. w. h. w.

Remarks. — The two or three short articles which
follow this happened to get "under the copy drawer,"
— not under the table — and only came to light to-day.
Some of them may be a little out of season, but their
appearance now will show that we appreciate the fa-
vors of our correspondents. Besides this, they will all
be preserved in the monthly Farmer for future refer-
ence, __

the wheat crop.

Most of our farmers raise from one to three or four
acres ; we have generally used ashes mixed with the
barn manure, but don't know which is best, to mix the
ashes with the manure or put them on separately. I
wish you would inform me which is the better way, or
whether lime, mixed or otherwise, would be beneficial
to a wheat crop. Minot R. Philips.

Nelson, N. II., April, 1859.

Remarks. — Sow the ashes on the land just before it
is harrowed the last time. Lime may be added in the
same way. It is always best, we believe, to use alka-
line substances by themselves.

SEEDING potatoes.

I was much interested in the remarks of H. Poor, in
the last number of the Farmer, upon raising potatoes.
Last year I purchased one bushel of a choice kind of
potatoes to plant, and wishing to make the most of
them, I cut otf the stem end of the largest potatoes, so
as to have one or two eyes ; the rest of the potato was
cut so as to have two eyes to a piece as nearly as could
be cut ; the smaller ones were cut once lengthwise.
Each kind was planted separately, one piece in a hill.
In the fall we dug thirty hills of each kind ; the yield
was as follows : the seed end 52 lbs., small size, and a
great many little ones; from the halves 52 '4 lbs.,
larger size, not so many little ones ; the stem end 5o)i
1))S, very lai'ge, nice potatoes and hut few little ones,

I never plant small potatoes if I can get large ones.
My custom for twcntj^-five years has been to plant
large whole potatoes ; but last year I cut them once,
applied lime, and put one piece in a hill, with occasion-
ally a row of whole ones. At haivest time, I was sat-
isfied that the yield from the cut seed was the Ijest.

Cabot, Vt., April, 1859, Milton Fisher.

366

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

Aug.

For the Nno England Farmer.
SI3B AND USE OF HAY CAPS.

Mr. Editor : — As I disagree Avith you in the
size of hay caps, I will state my reasons Avhy. You
say a "hay cap should be two yards square." I
prefer one four feet square to any other size to
use on hay, and I have tried all sizes, from three-
fourths of a yard to two yards square.

My first objection to one two yards square is
the cost. Few farmers would think they could
have a proper number of caps at the cost of the
two yards square. Every man who cuts much hay
wants at least one hundred caps. Now one hun-
dred caps a yard square will cost $10 ; one hun-
dred four feet square will cost $17, and one hun-
dred two yards square will cost from $40 to $oO,
as there is the sewing besides the cloth. Almost
any farmer v.-ould think he could spend $10 for
cai)s, while few would think of spending $40.

A hay cap two yards square will measure from
corner to corner, across the midst to the end of
the loops, three yards. Most folks do not cock
up hay in cocks large enough to take so large a
cap. The corners would reach to the ground. I
think it much the best for the hay to have it put
in small cocks, as the hay makes much better, and
it is much easier to cock up, open, &c., in small
cocks than in large ones.

A cap from a yard to a yard and a third square,
if well put on, will keep a cock of hay through a
storm so that you cannot tell the hay after it is
put in the barn from hay that had not been out
in a storm.

The best way to get hay caps is to buy the cloth
the width you want it, and tear it up into squares,
and put loops in the corners. The sticks should
be from eighteen to twenty inches long. I would
not let any one hem, paint or varnish mine, if
they would do it for nothing.

I make this statement, Mr. Editor, not to argue
the subject with you, but to encourage people to
get hay caps who would not think they could af-
ford to buy them at a cost that the two yards
square would be. I have often felt that every cap
that was on a cock of hay through a long storm
had paid for itself, just in that one use.

A man that outs forty or fifty tons of hay wants
two hundred caps. Caps properly cared for Avill
last a great many years. I think I have them now
in use that I have used for twenty years.

Hollis, N. H.y June, 1860. Ed. Emerson.

Remarks. — Excellent, friend Emerson. AVe
are not at all tenacious of our opinion about the
size, but recommend to all to try for themselves.
As we view it, large caps are no more expensive
than small ones, because you will not need so
many of them ; and then a small cap requires just
as many of the operations to put it on as a large
one, so that in this particular there is an impor-
tant gain. Try the cap — if the season is a
"catching" one, you will save more than their cost
tlds year.

To MAKE Steers hold up their Heads. —
Having seen in a former number of the linral an
inquiry from "(). W. T."how to make steers hold
up their heads while at work, I will give you my

own experience and observations in relation to it.
In the first place, be very careful that the yoke
has the right draught so that it will not choke
the steers when they are at Avork with their
heads up. Secondly, do not tire them, as it Avor-
ries and causes them to droop their heads. Third-
ly, when it is desired to stop the steers, make
them understand the Avord Avhoa ; speak quick and
distinct, and when they are stopped turn the butt
of the Avhip and tap them under their jaAvs light-
ly, until they bring their heads up to the proper
place. — Rural American.

FERMENTATIOJf OP MAIJUIIES.

It would seem from an article in a late number
of the Mark Lane Express, that although English
fai'mers are as Avell satisfied that fattening ani-
mals is a losing business, as our friend Piukham
is that raising corn don't pay, yet "shed-feeding,"
or as Ave should say, stall-feeding, is steadily ou
the increase there. The editor says,feAv look up-
on it as a profitable branch of husbandry ; the
general bearing of experience goes ta prove that
the food which is consumed in the "fatting-shed,"
is seldom paid for in the increased value of the
animals by which it is consumed, and yet it is
generally considered an essential accompaniment
of good management ? But instead of asking hoAV-
long it Avill take the English farmers to get rich
"at this rate," he finds a solution of the apparent
mystery in the manure produced. The impor-
tance of the proper management of the manure
heap is therefore discussed at some length. We
copy a paragraph on fermentation, A^^hich may-
have some bearing on the question Avhether ma-
nux-e does best in barn cellars or in the open air.

Without going into an explanation, Avhich Avould
be tedious to some of our readers and unnecessa-
ry to others, Ave may remind them that during the
time the manure is rotting we have great changes
taking place in the heap, and the most valuable
ingredients, as Avell as those of Jittle or no impor-
tance, alike take part in the fermentation. They
change their character, their form, and their prop-
erties, according to the circumstances attending
their management. Wo are all Avell aAvare, from
the light Avhich experimental researches have
throAvn upon the subject, that the ultimate value
of the dung as a fertilizer depends very much up-
on the product of this fermentation 5 so much so,
indeed, that two lots of manure, originally of the
same value Avhen taken from the bullock-shed,
may become of very different quality Avhen ready
for use upon the land, even Avhen equal care has -
been shoAvn to avoid loss by drainage. In fact,
the difference may be traced entirely to the man-
agement of the dung Avhilst it is rotting. This
fermentation is generally allowed to take its own
course. All that is done is to avoid loss by drain-
age, or injury from the fall of Avater upon it.
Valuable as these precautions are, still the latter
is capable of being carried so far as to become
productive of great loss. It has been very clearly
shoAvn that when the manure is fermenting it

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

367

should be kept moist, and we may even go beyond
this, and say that the raore rapid the dung heats
the more liberal should be the supply of moisture.
If it is not present naturally, then we would re-
commend its addition to the heap. We are fully
convinced of the great difference in the value of
manure, according as it has been kept moist — not
too wet — or it has been allowed to rot in a dry
condition. We feel that upon the production of
a good-quality manure much of the profit of shed-
feeding depends ; and as it has been said of old
''that a word to the wise is sufficient for them,"
so now also is it true of our readers. We trust
that the hint we give to watch more closely the
management of their manure heaps will not be
overlooked.

THE CULTIVATION OP NATIVE GBAPES.

The following is Mr. E. A. Brackett's report
to the Fruit Committee of the Massachusetts Hor-
ticultural Societj', in relation to the cultivation of
our native grapes.
To the Chairman of the Fruit Committee :

Dear. Sir : — To your request that I would
communicate to you my method of cultivating our
native grapes, particularly the Diana, the nature
of the soil, system of training, &c., I cheerfully
reply, not that I expect to throw any new light on
the subject, or that my mode will be found to dif-
fer materially from that of others. The growing
interest felt in this department, the certainty that
it must continue to occupy a prominent position
in the horticultural art, assures me that the ex-
perience of any one, however simple, may be of
service.

My little vineyard is situated on a side hill,
facing the west, and protected on the north by a
belt of pine woods. I should have preferred a
more southern or eastern aspect. The soil is by
no means what would be called a strong one ; it
consists of from four to fiix inches of turf mould,
with a reddish subsoil about two feet deep, resting
upon a bed of blue gravel. In prepai-ing for the
vines the ground was trenched two feet deep, and
the top soil put at the bottom. Stakes eight feet
long were then set at the distance of seven feet
apart each way ; one vine was planted to each
stake, and immediately cut down to two eyes.

And here let me say a word as to the time of
setting the vines. My experience is greatly in
favor of fall planting. A vine set in the autumn
(and it should be done as soon as the leaf falls)
will in three years be as strong and as capable of
bearing a crop of fruit as one of five years old set
in the spring. The training of my vines is at
once simple and ornamental. The first year two
shoots are allowed to grow, and as they elongate,
are carried spirally, both in the same direction,
about five inches apart, around the stake, and this
is continued until they reach the top. The late-
rals are allowed to grow at random. In the fall
they should be pruned back to within eighteen
inches of the ground, and the laterals to one eye.

Second year, continue the two canes from the
two uppermost eyes, as directed in the first year.
The laterals will require summer pruning. In the
fall cut back the canes to within eighteen inches
of last year's wood. Continue this course until
the vine is established the whole length of the

post — whatever surmounts it, is to be cut back.
The fruit is borne upon the side shoots, and the
pruning is on the short spur system. The form
of the vine may be shaped to the taste of the cul-
tivator ; that of the pyramid is decidedly the best.

Those who understand the nature of the vine
will readily perceive the advantage this system
offers. The vine is thus kept at home. The light
and air circulate freely through it. The buds
break evenly ; there is no tendency in one part to
rob the other of its due proportion of sap, and
when once established, requires less care than any
other mode of training.

Some of my vines, the first year after planting,
were watered with sink-drain water, and being
satisfied that it injured them, I have discontinued
the practice, and have since root-pruned them, in
order to check too free a growth of wood. Many
of my neighbors injured their vinos by giving
them large quantities of stimulating manures, such
as fresh stable manure, dead horses or other ani-
mal manure ; thereby exciting them to make an
increased growth of long-jointed wood. I grow
my viaes for the fruit, and am satisfied if they
make a few feet of short-jointed wood, and the
only manure (if manure it maj' be called) which I
now give them is a top-dressing of anthracite coal
ashes.

The Diana, with me, has proved a great grower
and free bearer — the bunches of good size, and
the berries large, some of them measuring seven-
eighths of an inch in diameter. It is a matter of
surprise that this, the most delicious of our native
grapes, should have received so little attention,
while new varieties, greatly inferior to it in point
of flavor, have been heralded as the greatest ac-
quisition to our list of hardy vines.

The past season has not been favorable to the
ripening of out-door grapes.

Respectfully yours, E. A. Brackett.

Fruit Growing at St. Joseph, Mich. — A
correspondent of the Ohio Farmer speaks in high
terms of the success of fruit raising in this section.

The certainty of a crop for a few miles along
the lake, and the facilities for marketing, the
cheapness of land, and the pleasant locality and
lake breezes, all combine to make it one of the
most seductive to the amateur, or market fruit-
grower, in the West. The trees are never injured
by the cold in winter, as the lake never freezes,
and the thermometer rarely ever gets below zero,
when a few miles east or south, it frequently is
down twenty degrees below zero. Many may
think this is an over favorable account of this lo-
cality, but I am only giving my experience here,
which is short, hardly enough to become acclimat-
ed— two winters. I came from ]Missouri, a little
over a year ago, and bought a place for three
thousand dollars, and my peach and pear crop
sold to a dealer here for nineteen hundred and
sixty-one dollars. I have only three hundred and
eighteen bearing peach trees, and one hundred
pear trees, the latter quite young. This is the
reason for the faith that's within me.

Remarks. — Dry your peaches, and send them
East — we will give you 13 to 20 cents per pound
for them.

368

XE^V ENGLAND FARMER.

AtJC.

COMPIiETB FAKM HOUSE ABTD STABLE.

Desiqsed for the New England rAr.:.rzTi, v.y G. E. Harney, Achitect, Linn, Mass.

In addition to the conveniences afforded by a
former design for a Complete Farm House, we
have included in our present plan a large shed
for the market-wagons, and a stable connected
with the main house, and furnishing room for
horses and carriages, pigs and hens, with ample
storage room for fodder in the loft. The arrange-
ment of the plans of the house and stable is as
follows :

No. 1, the veranda, is 8 feet wide and extends
across the whole front of the house ; it opens into
the main hall. No. 2, which is 11 feet wide and
2-1: feet long ; No. 3 is the parlor, 16 feet square ;
No. 4, living room, 16 feet by 20, furnished with a
large closet, No. 9, under front stairs. Crossing a
small passage, No. 8, where is also a door leading
to the yard, we reach the kitchen, No. 5, measur-
ing 16 feet by 18, and containing a large oven
and fire-place ; No. 6 is a large store-room, 8
feet by 9, opening directly into the kitchen ; No.
7 is a bedroom, 15 feet by 16. At No. 10 is an-
other entry, 3 feet wide, leading to the yard; here
are also stairs to the chambers and cellar ; No. 11
is a scullery or wash-room, 8 feet square, with a

chimney in the corner ; No. 12 is a tool-room and
shop, 8 feet by 13 ; No, 13 is a pantry, fitted up
with sink and shelves ; No. 14 is a dairy, 6 feet
by 13. From the work-shop a door opens into
the wood-house. No. 15 ; this is 13 feet by 16,
and connects with the open carriage-shed. No. 16,
13 feet by 24.

The barn is planned as follows : No. 17, pas-
sage leading to the privy and to the covered por-
tion of the pig-sty, No. IS, No. 19 is the yard
connected ; No. 20 is a hen-coop, 9 feet by IS,
fitted up with a couple of rows of nests, and open-
ing upon the hen and stable manure yard, No.
21 ; No. 22 contains stalls for three horses, with
feeding troughs in front ; No. 23 is a carriage-
shed and harness room, 18 feet square ; at No. 24
— in the yard — is a pump with a horse-trough at-
tached.

The second floor contains six bed-rooms be-
sides bathing-rooms and closets. The attic may-
be left unfinished, and used for storage.

Construction. — These buildings should bo built
of wood, covered with plank in the vertical and
battened manner, and painted some pleasing neu-'

1860.

NEW EXGLAXI) FARRIER.

369

tral tint, -with the verge-
boards, verandas, Avin-
dows and door trim-
mings a darker shade of
the same color. The
whole to he finished in
a plain but thorough
manner, inside and out.
Height of first story 11
feet, and of second stovy
9h feet.

Cost, in New England, about $4000.

G. E. II.

Iwr the New England Farmer.
NE-W ENGLAND.

Mr. Editor : — New England is a cold, rough,
inhospitable region ; the soil is for the most part
sterile and rocky — instead of level plains and fer-
tile valleys, we behold for its most common
scenery lofty mountains and rugged cliffs. Its
winters are long, cold and dreary, replete with
recollections of drifting snows and frozen limbs.
Its summers are hot and scorching ; the tillage
of the soil is a continual war between man and
nature. It would seem that at some previous
time, far back in long past geological epochs. New
England must have been the theatre of fearful con-
vulsions in nature, which rent its surface into al-
most every conceivable form ; even the very
streams seem to partake of the same spirit of strife,
for instead of flowing smoothly along in their ac-
customed channels, they clash furiously above
their rocky beds, agitated by a continual turmoil,
chafing and foaming in their impotent rage.

From the nature of the soil and climate, the
agriculture is necessarily limited, and is a very
laborious occupation, while its mineral wealth is
insignificant. Judging from all these circumstan-
ces, it would seem that it must ever be sparsely
populated, and that poverty, with its attendants,
vice and ifrnorance, must ever be the common lot
of those few. But how different is the reality.
AVe behold a denser population than in any other
part of the New World ; a country thickly dotted
with flourishing villages and populous cities. And
in place of poverty, we find vast wealth, both in-
dividual and concentrated ; Avhile a school-house
on almost every hill, w \n. high-schools and acad-
emies counted by thousands, and numerous colle-

ges and universities, from whose classic founts
have gone forth some of the greatest master spir-
its of the age, most effectually refute the charge
of ignorance, for a better educated people are not
to be found on earth. The inquiry naturally pre-
sents itself:

From what source is all this greatness derived ?
Whehce is it that a spot so ill-favored by nature,
so insignificant in appearance, should be capable
of wielding such an influence, not only in the af-
fairs of this great Republic, but also of the entii-e
world ? I would answer, that, under God, it is
owing to the people who inhabit it ; who by their
enterprise and indomitable perseverance, have
finally surmounted many of the almost impassa-
1)L obstacles which sun"ound them, and have made
New England what it is, one of the most inter-
esting and important places on earth. I will en-
deavor at some future time to state the compara-
tive influence which the various classes in society
have exerted their various duties, and particular-
ly the duties of New England farmers.

Belchertown, Mass. E. Norckoss.

For the Ncu' England Farmer.
EELICS OF OLD FIGHTING TIMES.

^Ir. Editor: — Much intercut has been occa-
sioned by the discovery not I'jng since, in this
town, of certain remains supposed to be those of
some of the unfortunate men who composed the
celebrated and ill-fated "Rogers's Expedition."

This expedition, after the destruction of the
Indian village which was the object in view, seems
to have divided into three parties, all of which
perished, with the exception of three men only,
who escaped half-dead with hunger and fatigue to
tell the mournful tale.

One party passed on the west side of Mem-
phremagog Lake, another on the east side, while
the third went farther to the east, and according
to certain indications, over the very place where
these relics were found. They consist of a gun
barrel of an old style called a fusee, with a ball
about half way down, the lock of which was brok-
en as if in a hand to hand fight ; two or three
clasp knives, which Avere open j several bullets of

370

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

Aug.

two sizes ; a number of silver or silver plated
buckles ; a drinking cup, powder horn, two or
three coins, two Indian stone pipes, and quite a
number of beads. There were also bones wl.~cb
on handling, fulfilled the prediction, crumbling in-
to dust.

Twentj'-five years ago, two guns were found
about half a mile south of where these were found,
leaning against a tree. Still farther south a few
miles, in Holland, Vt., a man found a gun, and
afterwards happening to dig a post hole on tlie
same spot, found seven or eight dollars worth of
Indian ornaments of gold, and three or four sun-
glasses, which he sold on Stanstead Plain.

It seems as if this party had been pursued as
far as the spot where the relics were found, that a
battle took ])lace there in which some white men
fell, and the Indians were entirely destroyed, or so
badly defeated that they did not attempt to fol-
low any farther. They must have been destroyed,
for the pipes and beads tell of unburied Indians.
None of their friends ever found them, or they
would certainly have been buried. The guns found
in tM'o places farther south, tell of a retreating
company passing southward. No longer pursued,
and unable to bear them farther, they left them to
be found a hundred years after, and indicate their
bloody path.

The place was a wet spot naar a small river. It
was a little piece of new ground being got in, and
fire running over it uncovered the remains which
had been covered with leaves ; the reason they
had not been discovered before, as the country is
well settled. No ramrod was found, though most
of the other parts of the gun were.

Stanstead, C. E., June, 1860. J. G. Field.

For the New England Farmer.
PRUNING TREES.

Mr. Brown : — What a beautiful season we are
enjoying. I go into the house each pleasant even-
ing, only when it is too dark to see anything more
abroad ! There is a great promise of apples. I
aever saw a fuller blossom ; and enough are stick-
ing on, and swelling up rapidly day by day.

I am spending a good deal of time with a saw
and mallet and broad chisel, trimming. The sum-
mer is the time for this work. I see every year
that some don't believe it ; think it better to slap
into the trees at their leisure in March and April.
The practice is a wrong one, I have proved it.
Wounds of any size made in those months will
bleed, and not soon heal.

Those who expect large, fine apples must take
a hint from Mr. Bull's method of raising such
magnificent bunches of grapes. His vines are
headed back, pruned, pinched, till the whole force
of Avell-supplied roots is driven into a few mouth-
watering clusters. Nature in trees provides
against casualties. There is an excess of limbs.
Some may be destroyed and the tree remain more
comely and productive.

I have always been a strong advocate for trees.
They are to the landscape what the hair is to the
head — an ornament and a defence ; and if fruit
trees well tended, particularly, a source of profit
as well as pleasure.

It is well to consider. On your farm there lies
buried, below the reach of the plowshare, much

richness that can only be of service to you when
penetrated to by the absorbing rootlets of thrifty
trees. By the aid of the tree, this otherwise lost
matter is changed into food for your family, or
load for the market-wagon.

But if trees work downward with benefit to their
owner, they work upward with no less. This mass
of leaves which has so rapidly spread over every
tree, is l)ut a great straining apparatus ; purifying
the air by breathing it over, but absorbing from it
floating atoms which they transform into wood
and fruit — silver and gold. w. D. B.

Concord, Mass., June, 1860.

USES AND VALUE OP MUCK--III.

now MUCK MAY BE BEST OBTAINED.

The circumstances under which muck beds are
placed are so various, that only a few general
rules can be suggested, which would prove useful.
Many of them cannot be approached with teams,
unless when the ground is frozen, and then the
springs and swamps being usually filled with wa-
ter, the excavation of the muck becomes an oper-
ation of extreme difficulty. Beds thus situated
often present so many obstacles to their remo-
val, that where the farmer is in possession of the
most ample supplies, he foregoes their advanta-
ges rather than encounter such diflieulties, and
consequently expenses, to procure it. The only
way in which we have been able to obtain it froui
such localities is, to take advantage of a severe
summer drouth, and throw up large quantities in
compact, high piles, and leave it to be hauled
away by sled or cart, when the surface is sufficient-
ly frozen to support a team. If near the high land,
and the muck is of good quality, it will justify tho
expense of wheeling it out upon planks laid for
the purpose. The valley muck, heretofore spoken
of, may usually be removed at once by teams, but
if thrown up and allowed a sufficient time to drain
and dry, the expense of carting will be considera-
bly reduced.

SOME OF THE MODES IN WHICH MUCK MAY BE
PREPARED FOR USE.

The most common way in which muck is used,
and the most practical and profitable, is to collect
and store it in a dry state in some place conve-
nient to the droppings of the stalls, and each
day spread upon them twice as much as the drop-
pings themselves. The late Elias Phinney, of
Lexington, Massachusetts, who introduced this
practice on a large scale, and whose ample depos-
its near his barns we have often seen, assured us
that he estimated three cords of manure compost-
ed in this manner at a higher value, than three
cords of the droppings alone. Perhaps no other
man in the county has given this subject so much
attention. He displaced acres together by cutting
deep ditches and taking their muck away, then
nearly filling them with .stones which obstructed,

.1880.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

371

his operations on tlu hl.^li Liiids, and covering
them with the ncai-est muck, and so continued un-
til the whole was accomplish-d. These grounds
were then enriched with the compost of v,-hich
they had furnished the principal j^art, and two to
three tons per acre of excellent Timothj' and red-
top hay was their product for some ten to fifteen
years in succession. His operations in this mat-
ter were extensive, conducted in a systematic
manner, and the conclusions to which he arrived
in relation to them, have been abundantly sus-
tained by other manipulators, and by careful an-
alysis by scientific men. His experiments, descrip-
tions and statement, have conferred benefits up-
on the agricultural industry of the country, which
are already appreciated by thousands, and will
continue to be by thousands more, as they gradu-
ally apply the rich treasures of inexhaustible muck
beds to their lean and famished fields.

As it is in this particular foi-m that the farmer
is to find his chief advantages in using this great
gift of nature, we will briefly present the practi-
ces and results of some of the systematic and
money-making cultivators, whose operations we
have long observed, and who stand as worthy ex-
amples for all. Next to the patient, long-contin-
ued and valuable efforts of Mr. PillxXEY, of Lex-
ington, no man has done more in this branch of
industry for the public welfare than the Hon.
Feederick Holbrook, of Brattleboro', Vt. The
Plow and the Muck-bed have been the themes of
his thoughts and conversation, until he has given
to one forms of beauty and utility that strike the
beholder with admiration, and has manifested to
thousands that in the other lie concealed the fu-
ture harvests that are to give our people a pros-
perity heretofore unexampled in the nations of the
earth. That out of these dark and neglected mass-
es shall spring, indirectly, plants and fruits here-
tofore unknown, cattle of symmetrical forms, and
horses competing with the wind ; that broad fields
shall be restored to more than their pristine vig-
or, and fair hamlets and villages shall cover the
land, and the homes of the farmer be made vocal
with thanksgiving and joy, through the blessings
of a material heretofore "trodden under foot, and
despised of men." His practice and his precepts
have gone hand in hand together, and their re-
sults have been so open and obvious, that the ca-
vils of critics have been hushed, and the fears of
the doubting dispelled. His fields and his garners
and his stalls have all been the witnesses of his
success, until prejudices have been overcome, and
those within his influence have gladly adopted his
plans. But the circle is comparatively small, and
the aid of newspapers and farmers' clubs must be
invoked to scatter the good tidings throughout
the land.
Several articles from the pen of Mr, H. have

been published in these columns, relating his
everj-day practice, especially upon muck and
barn manure, muck and ashes, and muck and
lime composts. Li relation to the first of these,
he says :

"The floor of my stables is just long enough for
the cattle to stand or lie down upon comfortably,
and no more. Five feet and three or four inches,
from the mangers or standards to which the cattle
are tied back, is a suitable length of floor for cows,
or for young cattle generally ; for larger animals the
floor should be proportionately longer. Immediate-
ly back of this floor, I have a water-tight plank
trench, four inches deep, and twenty inches wide.
Between the trench or the outside or boarding of
the barn, there is a walk or passage-way two feet in
width. This trench is the place of all places for
manufacturing compost manures. Some winters,
muck is put into the trench, and others, leaves and
vegetable mould collected in the w^oods. Last win-
ter, muck was used. It was dug in August previ-
ously, and piled on dry ground near the swamp to
drain and lighten ; a part of the heap was carted to
the barn as soon as the cattle were to be stalled in
the fall, and the remainder was hauled by the first
sledding and piled near the stable door or imder a
shed open on the south side. In the coldest weather
of winter, the frost penetrated the pile^Dretty deeph- ;
but the muck was easily cut up with a sharp pick-
axe, and it thawed very soon after being deposited in
the trench. I could have readily put the muck in a
place mostly free from frost, but preferred to have it
frozen ; for that operated mechanically to break
down the lumps, to divide, pulverize and improve it.

A bushel basket full was put behind each animal,
every morning. The droppings of the day and
night fell into the trench, upon the muck, the liquid
droppings completely saturating it, and the contents
of the trench, thus mingled, were thrown out in the
morning. In the very coldest days of winter, a thin
sprinkling of straw or other litter was placed over
the bottom of the trench, before putting in the muck,
which prevented the latter from freezing to the
trench. There were but few days, however, cold
enough to make this precaution necessary. The cat-
tle always had a bedding of straw or other coarse
litter, which was daily thrown out with the contents
of the trench, and served to swell the manure heap,
to keep it up light, and to promote fermentation.
The compost was nicely and minutely mingled every
day by this mode, and no shovelling ever afterwards,
was necessary. The droppings falling upon the muck
fresh and warm from the animals, and coming in
contact with every portion of it, produced an imme-
diate action on it, so that a much larger quantity of
muck w' as well prepared for use in the spring, than
could have been properly prepared with the same
stock, and by ordinary modes of composting.
********

"It has been a custom with me, for many years,
to collect from ten to twenty cords of this material,
composting it variously with the excrements of an-
imals, and applying it for the improvement of tillage
fields : and I have not yet seen cause to abandon
the custom. True, it would not be advisable to re-
move this mould indiscriminately from the forests ;
but if taken from the hollows and places where it
gathers in extra quantities, it soon accumulates
again siifticiently for the wants of the trees , and if
it be taken only from these places, leaving the knolls
and plains undisturbed, the injury, if any, to the
forests, will bo more than balanced to the owner by
the benefits imparted to his tillage fields and crops.
* « * If you winter fifteen to twenty head of cat-

372

NEW ENGLAND FAR:MER.

Aug.

tie, 5^ou can re-arrange your stable floor, and con-
struct a trench in it at an expense of about twenty
dollars ; and this will answer the purpose for years."

This mode of preparation requires no uncom-
mon skill, and commends itself to the practice of
all, because any common laborer of the farm may
accomplish it; and it needs no adjuncts from
chemistry or what are called the "specific" mca-
nures. When this course is steadily persevered
in, there will be little or no drainage from the
heaps, and very little evaporation ; and although
the heaps may compose the droppings of twenty
or thirty head of cattle, there will be scarcely any
odor from them perceptible to the nicest sense.
Such hca])s must retain nearly all the fertilizing
qualities that the droppings ever possessed, wheth-
er of ammonia, or any thing else. After lying a few
weeks in this condition, the whole mass is black,
pasty and moist, and may be cut through with a
shovel, as though it were a mass of fine moist
loam, or a soft new made cheese. Another mode,
and one which is claimed by some to possess ad-
vantages over all others, is, to deposit a plentiful
supply of well-spasoned muck in some spot con-
venient to the leanto, and then to cover the entire
floor where the cattle stand and lie, as well as the
trench and floor behind them, with the dry muck
to the depth of four or five inches. It is argued
that this not only catches every thing that falls,
but that it forms a softer and better bed for the
cattle to lie upon, than straw or meadow hay, and
that a bed of this kind is of essential service, es-
pecially to working oxen and cows that are kept
tied up a considerable portion of the time. Once
or twice a day, this bed is raked over, and all the
wet or moist matter dropped through the scuttle
into the cellar, or thrown out upon the heap, and
the bed supplied with fresh muck and levelled as
before. We have never adopted this mode from
the want of a suitable place to deposit the dry
,muck, but are inclined to think favorably of such
a plan.

BOOK KNOWLEDQE VERSUS PRACTICAL
KNOWLEDGE.

The prejudice against knowledge^ derived from
books, and the custom of opposing it_ to that
which is learnt by practice, originated in those
times when books were almost confined to theol-
ogy and to logical and metaphysical substances ;
but at present there is scarcely any practical
knowledge which is not to be found in books. The
press is the means by which intelligent men now
converse with each other, and persons of all classes
and all pursuits convey each the contribution of
his individual experience. It is therefore as ab-
surd to hold book knowledge at present in con-
tempt, as it would be for a man to avail himself
only of his own eyes and ears, and to aim at noth-
ing which could not be ])erformed exclusively by
his own hands. That experience which in exclu-
sion of all other knowledge has been derived

from one man's life, is, in the present day, scarcely
worthy of the name, at least for those who are to
act in the wider and higher spheres of duty. An
ignorant man in such a sphere, if too proud to
take advice, will ruin himself by his own blun-
ders, and if not too proud, by adopting the worst
advice ofi'ered. — Coleridge.

KEEPING FISH IN TANKS
AQUARIUMS.

AND

For nearly thirty years I have studied the hab-
its of fresh water fish in the rivers about London,
and though I am a bad hand at writing, having
spent more time at the water-side than at books,
I know that I have learnt much that may be of
use to those who are interested in the subject, but
have not had the advantage of practical experi-
ence.

There are many gentlemen now keeping aquari-
ums, and the questions I saw in "the Field" some
time ago, have led me to contribute my mite of
information as to the best way of keeping fish
alive and healthy. A few days ago, I went to the
Zoological Gardens to see the fish, and was dis-
appointed at their unhealthy appearance. I could
see where the fault was at once ; the water was
too deep, and ran in at the top, instead of at the
bottom. Now, if the Avater were to run in at the
bottom of the side of the tanks, it would cause a
stream and keep it all on the move ; but, as it is,
it is quite still at the bottom, and the fish are
without perceptible motion.

The trout in particular should have more stream,
as it would cause more air to be circulated through
the water ; and it should be borne in mind that
the bottom of the tanks, if water-tight, are also
air-tight — very diff'erent to the bottom of a river.
I saw they were trying to cause as much air as
possible by means of water-weeds, which Avere
giving forth their little globules as fast as possi-
ble ; that is very well, but to keep the fish alive
and strong, there must be more commotion
through the whole.

I have never yet seen an aquarium on the right
principle, as they all receive their supply of water
at the top instead of at the bottom. How I found
it out was as follows : I used to keep live baits
for fishing, and had a tank eight feet long, and
placed in a cool cellar, with a cistern above it. I
have had many hundreds of roach, dace, gudgeon,
bleak and minnows, with a favorite perch, and a
lively little trout at one time. At first I kept the
tank full of water, with a wire-Avork covering tc
prevent the fish jumping out ; and in hotAveather
I Avould sometimes find more than a hundred dead
a night.

This set me thinking as to what Avas to be done,
and Avhile I Avas at the Thames fishing one day,
and Avatching the fish at the bottom, the Avater be-
ing clear, a thought came into my head that I
Avould make a miniature river of my tank, and
cause a stream to run through it ; so, in the
course of a fcAv days, I made a hole at the end to
let the Avater off", only four inches from the bot-
tom, Avhich, of course, left the Avater four inches
deep in the tank. I inserted the supply-pipe at
the bottom of the other end of the tank. I raised
one end up by means of blocks underneath, so
that it Avas deeper at one end than the other, turned

18G0.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

373

the water on, put the fish in, and watched the re-
sult.

They were frightened at first, and all went into
the deepest part ; but next day I peeped through
a hole, and saw them struggling which should get
nearest the supply, their backs out of v/ater, for
at the upper end, "the water was not an inch deep.
I seldom lost many after that. — Alfred Gould,
in London Field.

For the New England Farmer.

SYSTEMATIC FAKMING.

^Ir. Editor : — It is a sound principle in agri-
culture that a farmer should return to his fields as
much fertilizing matter as he takes from them.
As I have extracted something of a fertilizing and
productive nature from your field of labor, I feel
constrained to make a small effort to return some-
thing to the xVezc England Farmer's soil, from
which I received it.

System is necessary to any enterprise, which
requires a process of labor. In no department of
business are orderly arrangements more necessary
than in agriculture. The seasons revolve in per-
fect order. Summer and winter, seed-time and
harvest, are established by an unchangeable law,
and each has its peculiar demands on the farmer.
Winter calls on him, in his loud, grum voice, to
prepare for spring. This cold season of the year
has work of its own to be performed. The barn
and the woodhouse call for special attention ; and
let their calls be attended to in their season. A
systematic method of feeding stock is not a small
item among the duties of the husbandman. When
stock pass from grazing to feed on hay, they need
that which is of good quality, for a short time.
As a farmer has fodder of difi"erent qualities, it
should be distributed at different times. Cattle
and sheep like a variety of food, as well as hu-
man beings ; and it is good economy to gratify
their taste. It is profitable to the owners, and
beneficial to the animals to have stated and regu-
lar times for feeding them, and to give them small
portions at a time. In this Avay they will leave
less food, and derive greater benefit. The win-
ter season is the right time to provide and pre-
pare implements for spring work. Another item
in the catalogue of farm work for the Avinter sea-
son, is the reading of the Xew England Farmer.
Here the farmer can gather a rich harvest for his
mind, and ]nck up rich droppings for his fields, to
be applied in the spring.

As soon as the ground ceases to be clammy, it
is time to plow. It is best to sow as early as the
soil can be well pulverized. The earlier spring
grain is sown, the more secure it is from blight,
and from insects. It may be asked by some, what
causes rust on the stalk of English grain, and
■what connection it has with the blight of the tur-
nip ? To this I reply : When the stalk has come
to its growth, and the kernel is in a milky state,
a warm and damp state of the atmosphere makes
the stalk tender, causes an increased rush of sap
upAvards, and the consequence is a rupture of the
tubular vessels of the stalk ; the sap leaks out,
moulds and is rust. The nourishment that was
going up to support and mature the kernel, leaked
out by the way ; the kernel received but a partial
support, and of course, came out lean or blighted.

If grain comes to maturity early in the season, it
will probably escape these sad effects.

If the ground Avas sufficiently manured for the
corn crop the last year, there is no need of ma-
nuring the present year. The soil is rich enough
for a profitable English crop, and for several grass
crops.

The summer is the time to gather the first har-
vest. Care should be taken to select the right
time to cut grass. Experience and observation
arc the best teachers on this subject. The two
great objects in cutting grass at the right time are
to make the hay most palatable, and most nutri-
tious to animals which are fed on it. These two
objects, I believe, do not conflict with each other.
When grass is in full blossom, it Avill make hay,
that Avill answer both purposes. If grass be cut
before this time, it has not acquired all its nutri-
ment, nor all its flavor. If it be cut after this
time, the nutritious matter, in some degree, is
converted into a Avoody substance, and into seed,
and the two leading objects are much impaired.
English grain should be cut as soon as the milk
of the kernel is changed into flour, and the ker-
nel Avill not shrivel by drying. Cut it earlier than
this, and the grain has not acquired its maturity.
Cut it later than this, and the flour has deterio-
rated. Cut grass or grain a Aveek later than they
ought to be cut, and that last Aveek will be more
exhaustive of the soil and manure, than any week
during their whole groAvth. There is a great loss,
and it should be avoided.

The latter part of August is the most favorable
time to cut bushes for the purpose of killing them.
At this time all the sap, for that season, (Avith a
few exceptions,) has ascended into the stems and
branches, — and this is the right time to cut them
off, and prevent its return to the roots.

The autumn is the time to gather the latter har-
vest. There is some difference of opinion among
farmers respecting the manner of harvesting the
Indian corn crop. Some prefer the old Avay of
cutting the stalks Avhen the kernel is a little
seared. Others prefer cutting up the corn and
stalks at the same time, stooking them, and let
time and Aveathcr produce their natural effect.
Without using argument or philosophy on these
tAVO methods of harvesting, let any farmer Avho
pleases, make the experiment on the subject, and
satisfy himself, and give a reason, if he can.

Another important item in systematic farming
is the early training of steers, and colts, and hogs.
Animals are more easily disciplined Avhen young,
than Avhen they have come to their full groAvth.
Before maturity they can earn a part, or the Avhole
of their living, and perform labor Avith greater
ease. Farmers' boys should be put early to work.
They should have good tools, and be taught hoAV
to use them. They should have good examples,
and encouragement to labor. They should have
a patch of ground to cultivate by their OAvn man-
agement and for their own profit, and they Avill
make farmers, and probably better ones, than their
fathers. h. m.

Milford, N. E.

Remarks. — We hope the reader will give at-
tention to Avhat our correspondent says above
about the time for cutting grass, and to several
other points of importance in his communication.

374

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

Aug. '

= 1

FROTH-HOPPBKS, OS FROG-HOPPERS.

It is curious and interesting to observe what
different plans insects have to protect themselves
and to propagate their kind. Some gather into
groups and enclose themselves with a thin, delicate
covering, yet one that seems to exclude rain and
wind ; others encase themselves in a tough, silky
covering, in short, barrel themselves up as tight as
a cooper could do it, and there Avait for a new
state of existence ! The little fellow whom we are
talking about, the Froth-Hopper, has
a way all his own, and quite likely
would laugh at any one Avho should
propose to build him a house better
than he can build one for himself.
Have you noticed on the grass, this summer,
or on twigs of the trees, an unusual quantity
of a whitish, frothy substance, clinging to the
twig or stem of the grass, and about an inch
or more long ? "Yes, and have often won-
dered what it could be." Well, this is the little
froth-hopper's house, where he remains until he
has completed certain transformations. And how
do you suppose he builds it ? It is said that af-
ter alighting upon the grass these insects perfor-
ate it "with their beaks and begin to imbibe the
sap, and they take in such quantities of it that it
oozes out of their bodies continually, in the form
of little bubbles, which soon completely cover up
the insects. We have several species of these
froth-hoppers in Massachusetts, and the spittle
with which they are sheltered from the sun and
air, may be seen in abundance during the sum-
mer on the stems of alders and willows, and on
the grass.

The head of this insect is broad, and extended
forward in the form of a triangle, and the face
slopes downward towards the breast, so that we
do not see it unless by critical examination. They
also possess a surprising agility. But this facul-
ty does not result from an enlargement of the
hindermost shanks, as in the grasshopper, but to
the bristles and spines with which these parts are
clothed and tipped. These spines serve to fix the
hind legs securely to the surface, and when the
insect suddenly unbends its legs, its body is then
launched forward into the air, two or three hun-
dred times the length of its own body ! In the
same proportion, "a man of ordinary stature
should be able at once to vault through the air
to the distance of a quarter of a mile !" The col-
or of the species whose habitat is on the grass, is
a pea green ; those found upon trees are darker,
nearly black. A little observation will enable one
to recognize the insect.

at the New Haven lectures, that by adding a ta-
blespoonful of fine salt to a quart of cream, as !
the latter is skimmed from off the milk and placed
in the cream-pots until enough accumulates for
churning, the time required for churning is re-
duced to two or three minutes. In a trial made by
the writer, he found this to be true, and his theo-
ry is, that the salt acts upon the thin coating of
the globules of butter, and so dissolves it that a
slight agitation breaks it, and the butter comes
at once. The experiment can easily be tried by
any butter-maker.

Salting Cream for Butter-Making. — A
writer in the Nomcstead reports a statement made

EXTRACTS AND REPIilES.

ketcuvm's mower — revolving rake.

I have used the Ketcliuni's mowing machine and
the improved wooden spring revolving rulcc ihis week,
and find that they Avorlc to perfection. Some of tlio
old farmers will say they don't Avant to use them, for
they prefer the old style of doing things ; but they may,
for all mo. They may start for Boston and ride on old
Dobbin, and I AA'ill take the iron horse and sec Avhich
Avill get there first ! If an)^ former Avill give the Kctch-
um iiuiivoved niuwer and the improved revolving rake
a fair trial, and they are not satisfied that they Avork'
Aveli, they may call at Robertson's Hotel and take din-
ner at my expense.

superphosphate op lime — moavino machines.

From my experience and obsei-vation I think if far-
mers Avould use more superphosphate of lime, it Avonld
pay them avcII for their trouble and good interest for
the money laid out on it, if it Averc for nothing but to
keep tlie worms aAvay, Avhich I am sure it Avill. I have
used it in various Avays, and always find it doing avcIL
This year I have used some of Coe's. I mixed it Avith
equal parts of ground bone and ashes, and put it on
tlie hill at the rate of 300 lbs. to the acre; and uoav the
result is, that there is not one hill missing in four acres
of corn, Avhen on another piece joining, Avith not even
a fence l>etween, at least one-fourtli of four acres is ru-
ined l)y the cut and wire Avorms. The diftcrcnec be-
tween the cultivation is, that my ncighVior ploAved
his once, and I plowed mine three times ; it Avas brok-
en up this spring. I broke up Avith tiic double univer-
sal plow, and then ploAved it twice. I have tried it in
the garden and the result is as good as on the field. I
put it on some cabbages and left one roAV Avithout any.
The Avorms Avould cut off those Avithout it every nigiit
until I put on the lime. I am satisfied that if any fiirmer
begins to use it he will not Avilhngly do Avilhout it.

Charlestoion, N. II., Juhj, 1860." J. p. G.

BONE MEAL FOR COAVS.

IMy father has two coavs that are disposed to chew
sticiis and bones Avhcn they can get liicm. Will bone
meal cure them? If so, please inform inc Avherc I
can obtain it pure, and Avhat quantity should ho, given
at a time. "W. I. Simonds.

Iloxbunj, Vt., Juno 27.

Remarks. — You can procure bone meal at Nourso
& Co.'s, 3-i Merchants' Row, Boston. Give each cow
a gill, and if she eats it, a gill more tAvo days after-
Avards. If she docs not eat it, mix the same quantity
Avith corn meal and feed it in that way. If you should
soAV five to ten pounds per acre upon your pasture it
Avould have an excellent effect.

UOAV TO MAKE CORN BEER.

Some time ago I noticed an inquiiy in the Farmer,
"HoAV to make good corn beer ?"

To two gallons of AA'ater, add one qttart of dry corn,
one pint molasses, one tal)le-spoanful ginger. Let it
stand in a cask or demijohn, and in one Avcek it is fit
for use. .Tlie same corn will ansAvcr for several brcAV
ings, but Ihc cask should lie scalded each time.

Eoxhimj, Vf., Jul,/, 1860. W. H. AV^vlbridge.

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

375

SETTING STRAWBERRIES.

Can you inform mc what season is the best for setting
out a strawberry bed ? Wliat is the best form for the
bed ? Wliat kinds are best to raise for mai-lcct, and at
wliat priee can the plants be procured ? u. c. c.

Southboi-o', June 30, 1S60.

Remarks. — August is a good time to set strawber-
ries, and so is April. Set the plants in rows two and a
half or three feet apart, and the rows one foot from
each other. Then put a row of beets in the centre be-
tween the rows and cultivate well. If the land is good
and the plants arc well tended, they will give great
crops for one or two years, when the runners that take
root in the centre of tlic rows may be preserved and the
old roots dug up. In this way the bed may be made
perpetual and vciy prolific.

Several kinds arc now brought to market, and
among them Hovey's Seedling, Early Virginia, Cut-
ter's Seedling, Jenny Lind, Brighton Pine, Wilson's
Albanj'-, McAvoy's Superior, &c. The price of these
varies from ^'1,00 to $^1,50 per hundred plants.

A WHITE GRAPE.

In the Noveml^er numl)er, 18-59, Mr. Gregory, of
Marblcliead, Mass., wishes to sec a native white grape.
In reply, I would say , that the article has grown by a
little brook in my pasture for twenty years past,
though not every j-ear. Should the vine bear this year
I will endeavor to send him a sample, hoping they
will not destroy their good name by l)lushiug before
his scrutinizing vision. D. F.Tucker.

West Northioood, N. 77., June2l, 1860.

CORN AXD BUCKAVHEAT.

In the Farmer of June 23d, "I. S.," of Mansfield, in-
quires if he can raise corn after buckwheat. I raised
buckwheat two years in succession on a light piece of
land ; the next year, (last year,) I put on a light spread-
ing of manure, plowed it in, and there was raised as
good a crop of corn on it as was raised in the neigh-
borhood.

CURE FOR THRUSH IX HOESES' PEET.

Clean all the dirt or filth out ai'ound the frog, jam in
fine salt, and then wet it with beef brine two or three
times a day, and a cure will soon be effected.

Methuen, Mass., June, 1860. D. w. n.

A LIST OF FLOWERS FOR A NORTHERN CLIMATE.

Will not some of your correspondents who arc well
acquainted with the cultivation of flowers give me a
list of flowers which are hardy, and will stand a Ver-
mont winter out of doors, say thirty to forty varieties
of biennials or perennials ? Will your North Hartland
correspondent give the information desired, and much
oblige a farmer's daughter ? Mary.

Rutland, Vt., 1860. _

A SICK cow. -

I have a cow which usually has given about ten
quarts of milk at a milking. This year she calved the
first of April, her udder being, as formerly when calv-
ing, much swollen. I took the calf from lier when one
week old. She has almost entirely lost the use of two
of her teats. She gives about a gill on an average from
each. Will you give the cause and remedy ?

Buck Eye.

Remarks. — ^^Ve cannot. Got cold, perhaps. Two
or three doses of aconite might cure her.

HOLDFAST.

I have a valuable steer that has a swelling on his
under jaw, called a holdfast in this section. You may
have some other name for it. It is a hard substance.
Will you, or some of your subscribers, inform me what
will cure it ? N. Matthews.

Ilenniker, X. IT., June 10, 1830.

TO STOP BORERS.

To Stop borers in fruit trees, I dig about old ones, and
put on the tree, near the roots, a wash of thin coal tar,
or gas-house tar. Put it on witli a brush. I think it will
not hurt the tree ; it has not mine, and the insect will
not trouble any such trees. G. L. Hitchcock.

Ashley, June, 1860.

Fur the New England Farmer.
CAUSE OF THE POTATO KOT.

Mr, Editor : — I must be permitted to express
my profound surprise at the reply of Mr. Lyman
Reed to the call I made upon him to answer the
seven reasons I had offered to show that insects
were not the cause of the potato rot. He says, "I
answered Mr. Goldsbury through your columns.
May 12th, at his own request. His seven reasons
of March 3d, I refuted by actually showing, at-
tested by reliable certificates," (of seventeen mem-
bers of Congress who spent one Avhole day in ex-
aniing into the subject,) "that insects cause the
potato blight and rot." Again, "I have frankly
given him the authorities," (the seventeen mem-
bers of Congress,) "which establish beyond ques-
tion the true cause of this malady." And again,
"I gave Mr. Goldsbury no logical answer, because
I produced ocular facts — facts attested to by the
highest authority in the nation."

Now, according to Mr. Reed's own showing,
my seven reasons remain untouched and unan-
swered ; he has given them no logical answer :
he has made no attempt to show that they are
unreasonable or untrue in point of fact ; he has
simply offered a certificate from seventeen mem-
ber of Congress, who have jumped at a certain
conclusion, because on a certain day at "Washing-
ton, Mr. Lyman Reed, by the aid of a microscope,
exhibited to their view certain insects on certain
potatoes which he had kept for that purpose. Now,
all this may be admitted to be true, and still
the potato rot may not be caused by insects, be-
cause the insects may be the consequent or con-
comitant of the rot, and not the cause of it. The
point to be proved is not that insects are found
u]5on rotten jiotatoes, but that they are the cause
of the rot. If Mr. Reed, who talks so much about
ocular demonstration and well attested facts,
would direct his attention to this point, — if, in-
stead of making so many assertions, and attempt-
ing to bolster himself up, on the certificates of
others, he would condescend to attack my seven
reasons, each and all of them, and endeavor to
show by the force of reason that they are unreas-
onable, he would be sure to secure my respect,
and stand some chance of making converts to his
cause. John Goldsbury.

Warwick, June 25, 18G0.

Preserving Lvdian Corn. — The Prairie far-
mers of the AVest preserve their Indian corn in
the ear, without the loss of a single grain from
heat and moisture, by piling it up in common
fence-rail cribs about 11 feet square and 9 feet
high, the mass being rounded off at the top and
exposed to the weather. Covered cribs are found
to be ruinous to the grain, as experience has
amply proved. So what Avould seem to be a shift-
less s'tyle of husbandry, is the result of skilful ex-
periment.

376

NEAV ENGLAND FARMER.

Aug.

A TBIP AMONG THE FARI.IEKS.

Dracut, Mass., June 29, 1860.
oviXG along at an easy
pace with my one-horse
power, I reached this
place at about eleven
o'clock ; the morning had
been sultry and hot, fol-
lowed by a copious rain,
and before night set in
there was a splendid dis-
play of fireworks and ar-
tillery. What a pity it
did not happen on the 4th
of July! What a world
of powder and crackers it
might have saved ! Glad to reach shelter from
the pelting rain, and still more to become ac-
quainted with the family of an old friend, we (for
I had a woman with me) turned aside at the invit-
ing homestead of Mr. Asa Clement.

The rain was very considerate, for after load-
ing the foliage, flooding the roads and drenching
everything else, it ceased, and Mr. Clement and
myself went forth to see what the month of June
had to show. And a splendid show it proved —
all beyond the power of my pen, aye, beyond the
power of any pen to describe. What fullness
everywhere — in the field and forest, in the orch-
ard and garden ! What a prodigality of foliage
and coloring, and what lavish promises of future
harvests ! If nature permits all this gorgeous
scenery to fade and decay, can she ever produce
its like again ? It seems impossible ! Look at
those trees, only a few days ago leafless and bare ;
now how their foliage shines — how dense and
gi-atcful is their shade in the fervid noon ! And
the flelds, how crowded with nutritious grasses
and fragrant blossoms, — the air is redolent with
their perfumes. But Nature is not content with
this wonderful display for the sense of smell and
sight, so she regales the ear with the voices of
singing birds and running waters ! How few
contemplate this world of beauty and mystery
aright, in thankfulness and love. How many
look upon it all as a matter of course, as nothing
but rocks, and grass, and trees, after all, instead
of so many infinite expressions of wisdom and
love.

These were my first feelings, and the present
condition and probable progress of agriculture
next occupied my mind.

Mr. Clement entered upon his farm with slen-
der pecuniary means, and whatever he has done
to make the desert blossom, to secure a reputa-
tion as a skilful horticulturist and good farmer,
or to gain a pecuniary competence and a substan-
tial and permanent home, has been done by ag-

ricultural pursuits alone. Among the present
objects of his care are some thousands of young
apple trees, for which he finds a demand pretty
much all over Middlesex county. His trees are
healthy, and so formed in the nursery as to need
little shaping after being transplanted. This
is a point of considerable importance to the
purchaser, and more especially to those who are
not particularly acquainted with the management
of young trees. His grounds are also stocked
with standard apple and pear trees, M'ith peaches,
a variety of grapes, and smaller fruits. Ascend-
ing the hill to his nurseries, I passed an exten-
sive peach orchard, but without a peach to be
seen, and the trees, though not old, had the ap-
pearance of age and decay. On passing higher
up I found another orchard of peach, intermin-
gled with apple trees, every tree of which seemed
to be fcadod with fruit — a sight my eyes have not
been blessed with before, this season. The cause
of this fruitfulness is probably altitude and shel-
ter, as the trees are not only on a high piece of
land, but are sheltered by the apple trees mingled
with them, and on the north and northwest by a
belt of forest trees four deep, and occupying a
space of about twenty-five feet in width. Out-
side of this belt, and entirely exposed to the
northwest wind, is a row of peach trees full of
fruit, which are undoubtedly protected by the
belt, though on the south side of them. The force
of the wind is obstructed by the belt, and the
sun's rays tempered so that the atmospheric
changes in the neighborhood of the peach trees
are not so sudden nor in such extremes as they
would be without it. In connection with the light-
er and warmer air than is found in the valleys,
these trees have the efl'ect of so modifying and
ameliorating the climate that the peach tree re-
mains fruitful.

This instance aS"ords a fine example of the
benefits to be derived from shelter. Indeed, suc-
cess can scarcely be expected without it, in the
cultivation of peaches, pears, and most of the
small fruits ; and our common garden crops, such
as beans, peas, squashes, «S:c., do much better
where they are protected from violent winds.

Mr. Clement has made an experiment with ap-
ple trees that I have not seen elsewhere, and
v/hich promises good results. In a pasture where
his cows run he found many thrifty young apple
trees which he transplanted into rows at quite
wide distances apart, and then grafted them so
high as to be beyond the roach of the cattle, aid-
ed a little by the brush which was cut up and
thrown around the stem of the tree. The brush not
only kept the cattle from rubbing against or brows-
sing the tree, but served as a mulch to keep the
soil moist about them. These trees were set seven
or eight years ago, and many of them are now in

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FARIMER.

bearing, with fine stems and heads, and their
limbs starting out so high as to be beyond the
reach of the cows. Being set at wide distances
and with their limbs so high, they do not materi-
ally, if at all, injure the pasturage. In a dry sea-
son, I am not certain but they may prove of ac-
tual benefit to the pasture, as they will act as con-
densers, and thus cool, moisten and modify the
temperature over it. I was much pleased with
the experiment and its results, and hope to see it
repeated in other localities. In the autumn it be-
comes necessary to clear the brush and dig the
grass away from the tree, as it affords a fine shel-
ter for mice, who find it agreeable to feed upon
the tender bark, and thus destroy the tree.

1 wish some of the gentlemen Avho read, and
even write for your paper, would visit Mr. C, and
while passing over his thrifty acres learn some-
thing also of his practical operations upon them.
They will find no mystery in anything he has
done. It has been plain, common-sense Head
Work, with moderate, persistent, Hand Work,
skill and labor combined, and each year produc-
ing a considerable surplus not wanted for the
immediate purposes of the family. This increase
has not been secured, either, by parsimonious
habits in the family circle, for the Home, and all
its surroundings, give evidence not only of thrift
and competence, but of highly-cultivated taste.
A family of children has been reared, or are
growing up, and educated in those elements ne-
cessary to the pursuit of agriculture or any other
common business of life, and in some branches
which are considered as accomplishments rather
than essentials. I have rarely heard a better
toned instrument or seen a more skilful pianist
than I found in one of Farmer Clement's daugh-
ters. The fine passages of some of the best com-
posers were as familiar to her as the cups and
saucers of the tea-table. And this is as it should
be. There is no reason why the farmer who can
afi"ord it — and there are thousands who can —
should not have his pictures, piano and carriage,
as well as the thriftiest merchant that ever sold
cottons or candles, or anything else. I do not
mention these things because I found them here
to-day, for they are quite common now among
farmers all over New England, but to wrest the
occupation as far as I can from that slough of
doubt and disrepute into which some well-mean-
ing but mistaken persons have contributed to
place it.

Passing the line of our good State into New
Hampshire, I called upon our old friend and cor-
respondent of the Farmer, B. F. Cutter. In a
former letter, two years since, I spoke of Mr. C.'s
family and farm at some length. My present ob-
ject v,-as to pay him my respects, and look at his
Seedling Strawberries on their native beds. One

of you had recently seen them in the grounds of
Mr. iSlAXNiXG, at Reading, and tested them at
his table, and if I mistake not, lingered at the
feast as though "they Avere not bad to take."

Last year Mr. Cutter placed some of his seed-
lings in a meadow by opening a hole and insert-
ing the roots into it in the midst of the thick
grass roots, for the purpose of testing their har-
diness. The crop of grass on the ground to-day
would make two tons of hay to the acre, and the
strawberries — well, perhaps, not quite so much,
but if a whole acre were covered as we saw some
particular spots, the crop would be enormous.
The stems were loaded with ripe and unripe fruit
standing six inches from the ground, kept up
clean and bright by the grass. Why is not this
a capital suggestion ? This is the habit of the
strawberry, as the finest I ever tasted grew on
burnt laud nevvly laid to grass. They were not
so large as some of the cultivated ones, but were
altogether superior in fiavor. Gathering the fruit
in this position would tread down the grass some-
what, to be sure, but that loss might be incurred;
in a small way. The Cutter Seedlings have two or ■
three excellent qualities, perhaps more. They are
very prolific, grow large and up from the ground,
and continue in fruit from thirty to forty days.
When I saw them on the grounds of Mr. Plan-
ning, in Reading, I understood him to say that
they were more productive than any other variety
in his extensive list, with the exception of the
Wilson's Albany. No person of observation can
visit Mr. Cutter and his farm without deriving
benefit from it : it is the place to get ideas.

When the big clouds had passed over our
heads, and the thunder seemed to be cracking
away over yours, we made another stage in our
journey, but had scarcely gone ten miles when we
were driven by stress of weather under the hqspi-
table roof of Mr. W. W. Cook, in the ancient
town of Derry. The surface of the earth where
level was soon flooded by the drenching shower.
But thanks to the disturbed elements — for they
were the indirect means of introducing us to sev-
eral pleasant acquaintances on the way. Mr.
Cook entered upon the old Gen. Derby place
about one year since, intending to make it a stock
farm, and has already made his mark there. He
has erected one of the finest barns we have seen,
and such other outbuildings as are necessary on a
large fL^rm. The land is admirably adapted to his
purpose, and if he does not attempt to do too much
in too short a time he will succeed. He has the cap-
ital, and the field for enterprise before him ; it only
remains for him to know hotc, to make the farm
productive, and at a handsome profit. If he takes
it for granted that any body, of any profession,
can at once become a good farmer, ihcit iJ.ca will
quite likely prove delusive, and may be an expen-

378

NEW ENGLAND FARjMER.

Aug.

sive one. "Slow and sure," should be the motto
of the young farmer, or of the beginner.

If these sage suggestions do not compensate
Mr. Cook for the shelter afforded us, the kind in-
vitation to tea, the hearty reception we received
from his mother, (his wife being absent,) and the
pleasant chat with his children, the next time we
pass that Avay we will cancel the bill with the
hard, unfeeling cash.

It was gratifying to me to find a man in the
prime of life, with means at command, entering
upon a large and neglected farm with well-defined
views as to v/hat he means to accomplish, and
with a determination to make it pay a fair inter-
est upon the capital invested. I wish him all suc-
cess in his new enterprise, and using the license
conceded to an older man, ask him to remember
the injunction to "i>e sloio and sure."

But, bless me, what a long letter. Who will
read it ? Well, friend, take a saucer of straw-
berries and cream as you read, and it will not
seem too long. Truly yours,

Simon Brown.

Messrs. Nourse, Eaton & Tolman.

THE ■WOOL SBASOUr OF 1860.

The past ten days have formed an important
period in the commercial history of our State for
the current year. In that short space of time up-
wards of one million dollars eastern capital has
been actually paid out to our farmers for their
wool clip — an amount of wealth calculated, in the
present impoverished state of our money market,
to work an untold influence for our commercial
prosperity. The clip has been a heavy one, and
it has brought fair prices. The season is consid-
ered to be about three-fourths over. It has been
characterized, so far as this State is concerned, by
more determined competition than has ever be-
fore been known. As was announced in our com-
mercial columns at the commencement, prices
were' expected to have ruled five cents below last
year's rates. This expectation was based upon
the difficulty of selling old wool this spring at a
reasonable advance on its cost last season, togeth-
er v/ith the unbettered prospects of the market for
manufactured goods.

The feeling was general that the best wools
should be taken at a price not to exceed forty
cents. As the season fairly opened, a larger num-
ber than visual of heavy manufacturers and deal-
ers entered the market. Those who had hitherto
purchased in this field conceived that there was
an attempt to drive them out, and they exerted
themselves to the utmost to maintain possession
of the territory, where year after year they had ob-
tained theii- supplies. Wool-growers having found,
by the experience of the two past seasons, that by
holding back they could command their own
prices, adopted this course. Thus the market
opened plowly. There were rumors of the ability
of purchasers to pay last year's rates, but as yet
they remained firm in their determination to buy
for less.

In a small Vay competition had already com-

menced, and as high as forty-six cents had been
paid at a few places, when on Monday, the 18th
inst., the ball fairly opened by a certain heavy
manufacturing company giving their agents carte
blanche to purchase at current prices, whatever
they might be. Others, of course, had to do the
same, and a general advance was the result. For-
tj'-five and forty-six cents now became the com-
mon offering prices, with forty-seven and forty-
eight cents, and in some of the principal battle-
fields of competition, even fifty cents was not un-
frequently paid for choice lots. Thus the market
opened, and at these rates the bulk of the clip of
1860 has been sold. The same prices still prevail,
but the trade has assumed a quieter phase,
which v.ill continue with little variation till anoth-
er clip comes in. — Detroit Advertiser, June 11th.

OUR FAEMERS.

Their homes are their castles — their hearthstone a throne —
They rule with no sceptre the kingdoms they own ;
The stalks, and the vines, and the fruit-bearing trees,
Are subjects that bend not to tyrants the knee ;

But bend with the weight of the orchard and field,
Ever loyal and faithful, a harvest to yield ;
No planning and plotting among them is known —
No traitor the sovereign would strike from his thone.

He stands 'midst his acres of grass, wheat and maize.
Like Crusoe, "the monarch of all he surveys."
His banks are the earth banks that stand on his farm —
The banks that are safe when the jDanics alarm ;

The stock is the cattle — nol fancy in braed ;

The shares are tlie i:\ovi-shcti-cs that score for the seed —

Not quoted on 'Change in the broker's array;

But shares on which Nature will dividends pay.

Their banks are not those that the widows condemn-
No officers pilfer deposits from them —
If small the potatoes that in them are found,
Yet none are as small as we find out of ground

The farmer with appetite ever can eat
The bread on his table, "as good as the wheat ;"
And, loving most dearly his wife, he may utter,
"My bread and my wife ! I'll not have any but her!"

With juice of the apple, the wife then may fill
The glass in which lingers no tremors or ill ;
And she may respond that, whatever betide her.
Most happy she'll be with her husband beside her!

There's many a hearth where the embers are glowing ,
There's many a heart with its joys overflowing ;
The hearths and the hearts from the world's rude alarms
Are safe in the homes that are reared on our farms.

The Spider's Thread. — That a creature could
be found to fabricate a net, not less ingenious than
that of the fisherman, for the capture of its prey ;
that it should fix it in the right place, and then
patiently await the result, is a proceeding so
strange that, if we did not see it done daily before
our eyes by tlie common house-spider and garden-
spider, it would seem wonderful. .But how much
ia our wonder increased when we think of the
complex fabric of each thread, and then of the
mathematical precision and rapidity with which,
in certain cases, the not itself is constructed ; and
to add to all this, as an example of the wonders
which the most common things exhibit when
carefully examined, the net of the garden-spider
consists of tvro distinct kinds of silk. The threads

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

379

forming the concentric cii'cles are composed of a
silk much more elastic than that of the rays, and
are studded over with minute globules of a viscid
gum, sufficiently adhesive to retain any unwary
fly which comes in contact M'ith it. A net of av-
erage dimensions is estimated by Mr. Blackwcll
to contain 87,360 of these, and a large net of 14
or IG inches in diameter, 120,000 ; and yet such
a net will be completed by one species — Eperia
apoclica — in about forty minutes, on an average,
if no interruption occurs. — Introduction to Zool-
ogy-

For the New England Farmer.
A TRIP INTO MISSOUKI.

We were tired of the quietude of Sumner, and
angry at this dry weather, and at the hopelessness
of our getting anything to eat this summer, so
we have been into Missouri, to see if there could
be any prospects of filling our empty stomachs,
and if v/e should be sure of apples this fall, for we
have a Yankee's voracity for apples.

Three years ago, this town was the home
of a deep forest, but several "Massachusetts Yan-
kees," with their speculative principles, and the
obstinate, daring, clear-the-track spirit of a Yan-
kee, selected this spot as the starting point for
'•the greatest city in Kansas or Missouri." At the
close of a year, we had nearly 200 houses up, in-
cluding a large brick hotel, several smaller ones,
stores, steam-mills, &c. We numbered about 1200
inhabitants, including 400 voters. We kept
school, and performed our own housework in a
little, unlathed and unplastered house, or rather
room of 16 by 24, for the use of which we paid
$10 per month rent. It was surrounded by grand
old forest trees, down by the river bank, where,
all the pleasant summer nights, the Katy-dids kept
up their everlasting information that katy-did-it,
did it, did it. Did what ? we would like to know.
We liked the fun of teaching 16 year-old boys
their a, b, abs, and older boys the multiplication
table, and more especially, learning in a rough
way to "do housework." We liked it, because
we had none of the ceremony and ennui of the
city to discourage us.

13ut Atchison, our rival town, finding that we
were going ahead, began to fall into the hands of
Free State men, the fighting chai-acters dispersed,
and nov/ Atchison is a fine town, rapidly growing,
with railroad, telegraph, churches, schools, and is
one of the chief starting points for Utah, the Gold
Regions, Nebraska, Szc. Sumner is taking a rest-
ing spell, after having worked so hard, and in a
short time will "pick up its legs" again, and run
ahead. But this is not going to Missouri. We
crossed the river at Atchison ; they have laid out
an embryo city on the opposite side, called Win-
throp. All along through the lov/, rich bottom for
a mile, are planted the city stakes.

Coming out of this prespective town, we trav-
elled for tvfo miles over a dangerous, muddy road,
through a dark, almost impenetrable forest of large
trees. Many of the trees are six feet girth, run-
ning upward for a hundred feet, Avithout meeting
a single twig, or branch. After coming upon the
bluff road, we travelled along very pleasantly by
pretty farms, but yet very retired and wild. About
six miles from the river, we came to Rushville, a
town built among the bluffs, but which looks best

at a distance. It is fifteen years old, built in an
unhealthy place, and has a wide creek running
through its middle, breeding fever and ague.

Passing through Rushville, we travelled a good
road for another six miles, and then entered
Bloomington. What an old, tumble-down place
it is. The stores are built in a square, and the
dwelling-houses are scattered about, many of them
looking like the "last shad." It is tv^-enty years
old, has some 1500 inhabitants, has an excellent
site, and with the well-settled surrounding coun-
try, might make a flourishing town, if a little more
energy could be manifested. The inhabitants are
lazy Missourians, who prefer to lounge about, and
drink whisky, of which the stores sell any quan-
tity. Yet they have some respect for religion, for
they have built two good churches, an ornament
to the town.

After leaving Bloomington, we stopped at the

farm of Mr. P . They have a large, cultivated

farm, a splendid orchard, and plenty of stock,
Mr. and ^Irs. P. are a very substantial couple,
weighing together 500 pounds. They are great,
over-grown persons, with heads as large as water-
buckets. They have always lived on the frontiers,
worked hard, lived on coarse food, and seem like-
ly to live a hundred years. Their children are as
proportionably healthy and fat.

Here we met an immense flock of blackbirds
migrating North. Thousands upon thousands
were there congregated, covering the trees and
ground for a long distance. My mouth watered,
as I remembered the old nursery rhyme,

"Four and twenty blackbirds baked in a pie."

We next stopped at the farm of Mr. D , an

old bachelor, where we were to remain over night.
He owns 3,000 acres, cultivating only 500, with
the assistance of his ten negroes. He owns but
one woman, the mother of two children. She does
the cooking, milks the cows, and raises chickens,
&c. All his slaves have good, comfortable cabins,
and healthy food. Each is allowed several acres
to cultivate for himself, and from which they fre-
quently clear $200 a year, which they spend im-
mediately. They raise broom-corn, and during the
evenings, make brooms to sell for their own ben-
efit. Many a Missouri negro might earn his free-
dom in a few years, but they think that they are
too well off as they are. At sunset, they rctii-e
from work, and after that time are paid $1,25 per
hundred for cleaning hemp. They are allowed
two suits of clothes a year, and one pair of boots,
and one pair of shoes. Hearing a violin in their
cabins, I expressed a desire to witness their dan-
cing, and Mr. D. called them. Two ebony fellows
came reluctantly in, and jilaycd excellently, while
another jet fallow "heeled and toed the mark," to
my intense amusement. One of the negroes earns
$75 per year by playing at parties. The negro
woman has all she can make by raising chickens,
ducks and geese. She is a saucy thip.g, and
threatens to kill any woman that ]Mr. D. will mar-
ry. She "don't want any missus bossing her
round." Mr. D. and his men raise large quanti-
ties of wheat, hemp, corn and stock every year.
He has some of the finest horses that I have ever
seen. He has a large number of buildings on his
place, and is now building a large store-house to
store away his hemp for a couple of years,
when the price docs not suit him. Yet how mis-

380

NEW ENGLAND FARIMER.

Aug.

erably lonesome and dirty it was there. I
would not remain for the whole farm, neL!;roes,
and all. Not a book or paper to be found on the
place, and the slaves do very much as they please.
Mr. 1). showed me some potatoes so large, that
while one end was roasting in the fire, I could sit
on the other end, and not be incommoded by the
fire. Have you any such potatoes in the East ?

The next day was the Sabbath, and rainy. We
we-e obliged to kill time during the day, by im-
patiently watching the clouds. Towards evening,
we could go to the adjoining farm of Mr. W.
We waded through the mud and rain, and soon
were beside their cordial fireside. What a difi"er-
enco in the two firesides. The old bachelor's cold,
dirty and cheerless ; Mr. W.'s bright and cosy,
and I rested better in my bed, for I knew that a
negro's dirty form had not pressed it.

What a cheerful influence a good woman exerts
over a household. Iler hand and will places every
thing in its proper position, and her happy influ-
ence draws the thoughts and love of man towards
the central point of his existence — his home, and
the humanizing ties found there. She it is who
makes the fireside so Ijright and cheerful ; she it
is who makes home so beautiful and dear ; she it
is who exerts an influence upon the prosperity of
the State, by the good, or bad men that go from
beneath her influence, out into the world to form
the future nation. Take her away, and how de-
serted and cheerless is home — is life. And yet
men are very seldom willing to give to woman
her just praise, seldom willing to own her influ-
e.icc, seldom willing to own that to her work they
are indebted for their life's happiness. O, man,
love and respect thy mother and wife, for without
them, thy life is distasteful and weary ; without
them, life would scar-jc be worth the taking.

Mr. W. cultivates about 200 acres. He owns a
very large orchard of thirty diff"ercnt varieties of
apples. Last f.dl, he picked 3,000 bushels, for
which he found a ready market at $1 per bushel.
They own seven negroes, who know their duty,
and perform it faithfully. Mrs. W. was always
amongst slaves, and knows how to treat them.
Her household is well managed, and she superin-
tends and parcels out the negroes' work. They set
an excellent table, and everything is neat, not at
all like the majority of the Missouri farmers, who
live in dirt, and are always contented with corn-
bread and bacon. She makes all the negroes'
clothes, and they all look neat, and outwardly
hapi:)y and contented.

The next morning we started for home, and at
night stopped at the farm of Mr. Hoosier, a hoo-
sier in character, as well as by name. Before we
reached the house, we met an unfortunate horse,
who had uiion his back two women, each with an
infant and four children scattered indiscriminate-
ly upon the horse. A parcel of dogs assailed us
as Me drove up to the cabin, but soon dispersed
at the old woman's cry of "Clar out;" and an-
swered to our request to stay all night, "Wa-all,
I reckon." The woman brought out a basin of wa-
ter, and we Avere obliged to use the earth as a
wash-stand. After washing, we sat down to a sup-
per of the universal corn-bread and bacon, cold
cabbage and coffee. The table was spread upon a
wide porch, and as the wind blew too violently for
a light, it was placed in a window back of us, and
we swallowed bur food in rather a dubious state.

both mentally and optically. The mistress of the
house was a great fat, bare-legged, bare-footed
woman, weighing only 276 pounds, who slept like
an elephant, and breathed like one. She said she
was "too fat, and it was mighty unpleasant this
powerful hot weather." She was troubled "right
smart" with fever and ague, but it did not make
her any poorer. They have lived on this place
eighteen years, and yet it is about as wild as a
Kansas claim. So are most all the river bottom
farms. The occu])ants do not know how to do
any thing, but cultivate hemp, wheat, corn and
stock, drink whiskey and smoke, and arc content-
ed to live drudgingly and ignorantly. Mr. H. has
some oOO hogs, cows, horses, and any quantity of
hens and chickens. They are very ignorant, and
nowhere could I find at least a paper. They sup-
posed that Pike's Peak was on the river borders
of Kansas, and would not go such "a heap of way
for the gold." And yet they were only 25 miles
from the vein. I noticed a clumsy wooden article
upon the porch, and asked its use ; they replied,
surprised, "It's a loom, didn't you ever see nary
one before ? Why, whei"e was you raised ?" "In
Boston, Mass." "Wa-all, I knowed ye wa'n't
raised in this country, else I reckon you'd know'd
what that air is. I suppose Boston is a heap of
way from here, as far as Kentucky?" "O, yes,
twice as f.ir." "That's a heap of ways ; did you
come all the way in a wagon ? La me, it seems
as if Boston must be on the other side of the
world, it is so far off." The old man insisted that
I was wrong about the location of Boston. "It is
on the other side of the ocean, ain't it ?" And so
throughout the whole evening, they astonished me
]:)y their ignorance. At night we slept, twelve,
men women and children, in one room, and I soon
became conscious of other than human occupants
in my bed. Before breakfast, the old man brought
out the whiskey bottle, and filling a glass half
full of the raw article, offered it to me, saying, it
would "give me an appetite." I declined, but the
rest, including the women, took a liberal share.

That day we travelled over a miserable road,
and only made twenty miles ; got lost in the
woods towards night, and were compelled to re-
main the whole night in the wagon, exposed to a
fine shower. The next morning we travelled three
miles before Ave found a cabin, to get breakfast,
and as we reached our own plain, but neat and
cosy house that evening, we most heartily echoed
the song,

"Be it ever so humble, there's no place like home."

Yes, how pleasant it is to have a home, bo it ever
so humble, if it is only surrounded by attractive in-
fluences to make it dear.

In Missouri, especially in Buchanan county, the
people live in log-houses year after year, and ac-
cumulate land and stock. They think it useless
to embellish their homes, and a "pi-anna" or well-
stocked book-case is scarcely noticed, and certain-
ly scornfully appreciated. Those who have not
slaves, the "poor white folks," .as the negroes
scornfully call them, get up by daylight, go early
to the field, work hard all day, and after a hearty
supper of bacon and corn-bread, go to bed. When
they are i.ot working, they lounge in the whiskey
shops, or perhaps get intoxicated. If we wish
to reckon the worth or activity of a person,
when we say "he is only a Missourian," we had

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

381

rather hunt farther for a shoot from some other
State.

In Missouri, the crops look better than they do
in Kansas, and -we hope to get our supplies from
there, if ours fail us. Now, we seem to have no
money, no crops, no people, no prospects, no any-
thing. But we expect better times, soon.

Susie Vogl.

Sumner, K. T., June 25, 1860.

For the New England Farmer.
CULTURE OF POTATOES AND THE BOT.

Messrs. Editors : — Having had not less than
sixty years' experience in growing potatoes, and
having made extensive research and observation
at home and abroad, I beg leave to lay before
your readers my views upon the potato rot. The
rot does not arise from one cause alone, but from
several causes combined. The fault is in man
himself, and there is no patent vermifuge that will
prevent it.

The first fault is improper cultivation — the soil
is robbed of something needful for the plant. The
manner of cultivating and keeping, after ripe, is
entirely different from what it was formerly. In
olden times the soil was newer and more perfect.
The plow was put in deeper than some do it now ;
the seed was pure ; the hills were made three
times as large ; the seed planted on a soft bed
and covered a good depth, protected from the at-
mosphere ; they v.ere dug right into a basket and
carried to a dark cellar, or they were emptied di-
rectly into a pit dug for them and covered with
boards or straw, and then earth put on so as to
raise a heap that would shed the rain, and in the
spring they were fresh and good, like new pota-
toes.

The cause of more than half the rot of potatoes
is mud instead of insects. Forty-five years ago
I planted a plot of ground by the side of a mill-
stream with potatoes. The vines were fresh and
green, the tubers about as large as hens' eggs, no
insect near them — but there came an unusual
flood and covered them for an hour, and in 24
hours afterwards there was not a sound tuber in
the lot ! The same thing happened with me once
since, and it has always been so on Connecticut
River in case of a heavy flood reaching the tubers.
I have been into a field where the owner com-
plained of rotten potatoes, and told him where the
rotten ones were, and where the sound ones were,
by the situation of the hills ; he dug, and found as
I said. No sooner do we have a great shower
than the word is, I guess this will rot the pota-
toes. I guess so, too, but it don't rot mine. I
plant them in soft, mellow soil, and so that sur-
plus water will drain from the roots, cover them
a good depth, and am careful to have good seed,
if possible, seed not previously inclined to rot.

If a man has not wit enough to go in when it
rains he will get wet, and if he exposes his pota-
toes too much to mud or to the air, he must suff'er
the consequence.

The potato is not like the turnip. It requires
a dark, cool place. A man on Long Island had
dug half his crop on a fiek' of six acres, which
were worth one dollar per bushel, and they were
all sound — he dug the other half, and they were
mostly rotten. The field, cultivating and seed

were all the same, and planted the same day ; the
cause to mo is very plain : they were all brought
out early in the morning and a part planted im-
mediately ; the rest stood in the open air and
were planted in the latter part of the day, having
the disease in them, which increased and spoiled
their progeny.

Another man told me he dug his potatoes and
carried one load into the cellar ; the other load
remained out all night in the moonshine and
they most all rotted, while the first were sound !
The lunar influence was light and air.

But what is the practice of those who hf\,ve rot-
ten potatoes ? No care is used to \have sound
seed ; the ground is plowed shallow, seed planted
on the subsoil, with scarcely earth sufliciently to
cover them, and then small hills. A shower
comes, and the tubers become muddy, and a hot
sun scalds them. When ripe they are hooked
out and are one day in the hot sun, and then car-
ried to a light cellar or to market.

PniNEAs Pratt.

Deep River, Ct, July, 1860.

Trial of Mowing Machines. — The Provi-
dence Journal, in relation to the trial of mowing
machines in Providence on the 26th, each machine
being required to cut half an acre, states, that the
"New England Mower cut its allotted portion in
eighteen minutes, the Manny's in about twenty-
one, Wood's in about twenty-three." On the
trial of two horse mowers. Buckeye in twenty-one
minutes, Ketchum twenty-three, Wood twenty-
five, Manny twenty-seven.

Remarks. — There are many things beside the
mere time consumed to be considered in forming
an opinion of the merits of a mowing machine. In-
deed, whether a machine will cut an acre in thirty
minutes, or in sixty, we consider of comparative
little consequence. If it is capable of doing it in
sixty minutes, cutting the grass evenly, at a prop-
er distance from the ground, and with a moder-
ately easy draft, it is enough for a one-horse ma-
chine. If with two horses, an acre and a half per
hour where there is a ton of grass to the acre may
often be accomplished.

Rapidity is not so valuable a quality, as cer-
tainty, and ease, so that one can continue in the
operation for several continuous hours, if he de-
sires to do so. With a good machine, requiring
only a moderate draft, and having a five foot cut-
ter bar, a pair of horses would cut an acre in for-
ty minutes easily. The trouble has been that so
much time is required for the horses to rest, and
the frequent stops, perhaps just after they have
rested, to clean out the clogged knives, or some
other obstruction.

l^^ Forty years ago, a man at Newburyport
placed one hundred dollars in an old stocking,
where it remained till last week, when it was dis-
posed of at an advance of four or five per cent, for
old silver. If the same money had been placed in
tlie Savings Bank, it would have increased to a
thousand dollars.

382

NEW ENGLAND FArv:MER.

Aug.

A MORNIKTG- "WITH THE BJESSS.

At six o'clock on Friday morning last we had a
call from Mr. R. S, ToRREY, of Bangor, Me., a
gentleman who has for many years given his un-
divided attention to the cultivation of bees, and
whose success with them, both as a matter of
pleasure and of profit, has been somewhat sur-
prising. We witnessed some of the results of
his skill at the State Fair in Maine last fall, which
-\vere quite as gratifying to us, as the liberal pro-
fits vrere to him. The subject was not new to us,
— having devoted time and observation to it for
several years, we felt competent to look the mat-
ter over, and judge whether Sir. Torrey's new hive
had points of merit not common to other hives,
and we soon arrived at the clear conclusion that
it had. Among these points are the following :

1. The form and size of the hive are right, judg-

ing from an experience of twelve years with
them.

2. The condition of the bees can be seen at any

time, in front, in rear, and at the top of the
hive.

3. The most scientific and perfect method of ven-

tilation.
The merit contained in this particular point
surpasses that of any other hive we have exam-
ined,— and it is of great importance to the bee-
keeper, because a large proportion of all swarms
that die in the winter, die for the want of -proper
ventilation. We have lost half a dozen swarms
in a single winter from this cause, and have a
friend who lost four times that number during
the same period.

4. The peculiar arrangement of the^ platform upon

which the hive stands.

5. Arrangement for feeding.

6. No frost or ice in the hive in the winter.

The proper ventilation prevents the frost or ice,
and the mode of doing it is as simple and cheap
as it is ingenious.

7. A trap which prevents the ravages of moths.

8. No filth or dead bees can accumulate between

the combs in winter.

The above are the leading points of merit not
common, we believe, to other hives, but it has
others — perhaps all others — found in the best, —
such as that

The surplus honey can be taken away without
disturbing the bees.

Taking it away in boxes.

Changing the combs.

Fighting prevented.

Transferring the bees.

Swarming prevented, &c.

While the , hive is exceedingly simple, every-
where, having no changes or subterraneous pas-

sages to perplex, it is cheaply constructed, and
we have not a doubt will prove efRcient. It will
be efRcient, because its accommodations will cor-
respond with the natural wants of the bee, and
render the little worker those facilities which it
finds in its normal condition in the forest. It is
so simple that a child can understand its con-
struction and the mode of using it, with five min-
utes' explanation.

We found Mr. Torrey a skilful and judicious
manipulator, removing honey and transferring
bees with accuracy and ease. So we passed the
entire morning, robbing the bees here and there
of a portion of their delicious hoard, carrying por-
tions to a weaker family, and giving to others the
means of working out some little device not to be
found in their records of industry !

When our grand Bee-Hunt comes off with Mr.
Torrey in the forests of Maine, the reader shall
be put in possession of its incidents.

We shall be glad at some other time to state
the processes through which lie came to the con-
clusions to form such a hive as he presents to the
public. They are new and ingenious, and will be
interesting to all levers of the bee and honey.

For the New England Farmer.

CODTSTTY AND 1!OWl^ AGRICULTUEAL
SOCIETIES.

Mr. Editor : — Wliich will best promote good
farming, county or town societies ? This is an
important question, deserving the careful consid-
eration of every farmer, and of all the friends of
good farming. So far as my knowledge extends,
it has never been publicly discussed in any of the
newspapers or j)eriodical.s of the day. It is true,
that town societies have occasionally been men-
tioned in terms of approbation by the gentleman-
ly editor of the Neto England Farmer, and per-
haps by others, but never in a way to point them
out as rivals, in usefulness and influence, to coun-
ty societies. They have usually been addressed
under the homely but modest name of "Farmers'
Clubs," but never as taking rank with county so-
cieties. The question, therefore, is comparative-
ly a new one; It has never been discussed, or,
if it has, it has never been decided. At least, its
true merits are not generally known. In order,
therefore, to come at this question so as to satis-
fy ourselves of its merits, Avithout exciting the
jealousy and. prejudice of county societies, with
their vested rights and State funds, it will be best,
perhaps, to institute a direct comparison between
the different sides of the question ; in other words,
to throw the question into the great scale of even-
handed justice, and see which side of the question
preponderates, and which kicks the beam.

Of the countif societies I need not attempt a
particular description. Their character and ob-
jects are generally so Avell known, as to supercede
the necessity, and it is no part of my object to
borate or to underrate their usefulness. They all
exist by legislative enactment. Tliey are all un-
der the patronage of the State, and receive assis-

1860.

?sEW ENGLAND FARMER.

383

tance from its funds. Some have existed for
about forty years ; others are comparatively of
recent date. Each society receives about six hun-
dred dollars from the State treasury. In some
counties, there are two, three, and even four so-
cieties, each receiving the State bounty of six
hundred dollars ; so that there is a great dispar-
ity in the amount received from the State by the
different counties — one receiving twenty-four hun-
dred dollars, while others of equal territory, pop-
ulation and business, receive only six hundred
dollars. This inequality — this giving four times
as much money to one county as to another of
equal rank and influence, is the cause of much
jealousy and dissatisfaction.

But the chief causes of dissatisfaction with
county societies, and those ■which greatly impair
their usefulness and influence, remain to be men-
tioned. It is not the unequal amount of money
drawn out of the State treasury by the different
counties, so unjust in itself, but it is the way and
manner in which the money is appropriated, and
the objects to which it is frequently appropriated,
that give the most dissatisfaction.

The State bounty was undoubtedly given with
a view to encourage and promote good farming —
economical and profitable farming — such as may
be denominated skilful and scientific ; whereas, it
has frequently been applied by some of the coun-
ty societies to purposes and objects wholly in-
consistent with the interests of good farming, and
of the several towns in the county. It is sufiicient
for my present purpose to mention only the man-
ner in which a jiortion of the State bounty is ex-
pended in building up the county towns to the
exclusion of the other towns which take no inter-
est in the society ; in erecting buildings and other
fixtures therein for public exhibitions ; in pur-
chasing and grading lands to be kept and used
for a public race-course, and thus encouraging
horse-racing, with all its attendant evils, by the
sanction and authority of the State ; in bestov/-
ing premiums, not only upon the fleetest horses,
but upon the best specimens of female equestrian-
ism, and upon all monsters and prodigies, both in
the animal and vegetable kingdom.

If we now turn our attention, for a moment, to
the toivn societies, with their cattle-shows and
exhibitions, in which the whole population, men,
women and children, take the deepest interest,
and for the success of Avhich they exert them-
selves to the utmost, we shall find a very differ-
ent state of things. They have no funds to lav-
ish on objects of questionable or doubtful impor-
tance ; no race-course, no fast horses, no fast
women to ride them, no monster premiums for
any of the monstrosities of nature or art ; no,
they have none of these things ; but, in their
stead, they have honorary premiums, or certificates
of premiums for all the objects which legitimately
come under the heads of good and profitable farm-
ing, and of domestic industry and economy.

The number of tow'u societies in the State is
unknown to me. They are increasing in number
every year, and all very flourishing. The oldest,
and perhaps the most successful, in the State, is
in the town of Hardwick in the county of Wor-
cester, which has existed for about thirty years.
There are no less than three town societies in the
county of Franklin, which compare very favora-
bly with the county society.

The question, then, recurs, which will best pro-
mote good farming, county or tovni societies?
They both possess the means of doing much to
promote good farming. The county societies have,
in their hands, the State bounty w'ith which to
reward those who excel in good farming ; but
they have no means of compelling those who hap-
pen to live ten, fifteen or twenty miles off to be
present at the fair with their stock and produce
to witness the exhibition and to listen to the ad-
dress. Therefore, as we can not bring the people
to the cattle-show, we must carry the cattle-show
to the people, for their instruction and enligliten-
ment. In this respect, town societies have great
advantages over county societies.

Warwick, Mass., 1860. John Goldsbury.

AGBICUIiTUKAL SCHOOLS.

The youths at West Point are obliged to per-
form the duties of common soldiers, and in so
far as they understand these, they make the bet-
ter commanders. A body of these young men
would win more battles than three times the num-
ber led by ignorance, and commanded by the same
quality, however strong or muscular it may be ;
and the youths of ovn* naval school will be far
more efficient seamen and commanders by being
taught the practical details and the philosophy of
their profession at the same time. The same in-
fluence will be exerted on agriculture, when those
who do its work are made intelligent by educa-
tion, or made to feel that they are engaged in an
occupation as full of honor as any other.

These schools are not to be established for a
class. All who enter them must labor. Agricul-
ture is to be learned in its most minute details,
and all idea of degradation in the plow, the spade,
the manure heap, is to be utterly excluded. Our
country wants a complete displacement of that
kind of false pride that leads the young men of
the country to imagine there is something too hu-
miliating, too plain and simple, in the operations
of a farm for their vaulting, high-ste]3ping ambi-
tion— that to rush into cities, to crowd into trades
and professions, to live by one's wits, to demean
one's self by servility, to learn arts, tricks, cun-
ning, till dishonor too often follows the access of
their fortunes, has in it something more gratify-
ing to their self-conceit, more plausible, more
flattering to a vanity that has not been made mod-
est by disappointment, or broken by necessit3^

Farmers, as a class, know little of any labor
but that of the body. Their minds are dulled by
toil, and routine and custom take the place of
thought. As a general rule this may bo true ;
but it must be borne in mind that necessity haunts
them through their lives ; that pfiinful, exacting
and severe labor are the attributes, and elements
their avocation ; and beginning, as most of them
do, with debt and a small capital, it is an evidence
of the most earnest industry, of the hardiest exer-
tion, to meet, to endure and to conquer the weight
of incumbrances, the rough handling of mental
solicitude, and that array of troubles that beset
them in the vicissitudes of the seasons, which He
down with them at night, rise with them with
each morning's sun, and move with them step by
step throughout their lives. To such men, or the
sons of such men, it would be foppery to offer an

384

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

Aug.

education burdened with the refinement of sci-
ence ; they could not appreciate it, and it would
be their ruin to accept it. To work is their duty
and their necessity; from this there is no escape;
and no farm school can prosper, or be useful,
even in a small degree, in which the impression
of this imperious necessity is not firmly fixed,
and the mind of every youth made to feel not
only that personal toil is honorable, but that his
character, his success and his fortunes rest up-
on it.

It is schools of this kind we wish to see estab-
lished ; that the class to which we allude may re-
ceive such an education as will give them an intel-
ligent view of their profession, in all its details, and
lead them to love and to study the high purposes
of nature, and all the magnificent objects, she lays
lavishly bL;fore them. There is no difficulty in es-
tablishing schools which may, by courtesy, be
called agricultural, where the taste for agriculture
may be created and cultivated ; where even its
practice may form some part of its design. As
far as they go, these are valuable ; but they are not
intended for the working farmer, and it would be
unfortunate for him if he entered the walls of one
of them. Their design is to give men of liberal
means a more extended field of knowledge, to
widen their sphere of action ; to put them in con-
tact, and make them familiar with the great and
substantial basis of the industry of nations. So far
they are of great importance, and should in every
way be encouraged. But beyond this, they do not
avail much. They may form a sympathy for labor,
but they do not create a love for it. They may give
an esteem for the child of labor, but form no desire
to share his toil. They may encourage a love for
the country, in itself an immense good ; for there
is in the depths of every, or nearly every bosom,
a poetical sentiment, a natui-al and irresistible
affection that draws men towards rural scenes
and rural life ; and there have been very few of
the best, or most eminent men, the Avearied man
of business, the harrassed man of care, the per-
plexed man of thought, who have not, at some
time, looked to them as offering all the world can
give of tranquillity and repose.

But it is not worth while to establish schools
for the development of the poetical sentiment, or
to attract men to the country, or to give oppor-
tunities, or increase the desire for retirement.
To the great mass of m.ankind life is a stern, prac-
tical reality. To very few does it ever offer more
than a passing wish, or a fugitive hope, that it
may be something else, or something better. No
one feels this more than the man of labor ; to
him there is no other poetry in his occupation
than in the increase and amount of his profits ;
and no one has a more bitter assurance of this
than the farmer, who too frequently sees, upon
the inclined pfano of his fortune, the expenses
goinv up, and the profits going down.

The education to which we allude, and to which
we give our adherence, is not one that sharpens
the mind, but debilitates the machinery with
which it works ; nor one that, while it makes ag-
riculture a liberal occupation, at the same time
creates a contempt for toil and practice of it.
To follow a plow is in fact as worthy as a trade ;
and to manage a farm requires far more mind,
vigilance, attention and labor than most of the
departments of. business. It is true that it has

enemies to encounter, more generous, and less
artful than man ; that storms and vicissitudes of
seasons, the immediate representations of the
powers of heaven, baffle his efforts; still nature is
his constant friend, and her smiles lighten his la-
bor, and make it prosperous. — Quarterly Journal
of Agriculture.

FLY CLOTHS.

The Messrs. Chases & Fay, 233 State Street,
Boston, have made a light and good-looking cov-
ering for horses, of a kind of grass cloth, which
is cool, and we think ought to be extensively used.
We have no doubt that such use would save
hundreds of bushels of grain. A hungry swarm
of flies preying upon a horse when harnessed and
buckled up so that he cannot drive them off, must
exhaust his resources in some degree. So if he
stand in his stall and kicks the planks upon which
he rests, he exhausts his powers, beside spoiling
the stable, as he would in travelling on the road
or plowing in the field, only it is less in degree.

There are two ways of protecting a horse from
flies. One is to keep his stall dark, which the
horse would probably object to, if he could speak,
and the other to admit a moderate amount of light
and then throw over him some light and cool cov-
ering, such as Ave have mentioned. This protec-
tion is still more important when the horse is on
the dusty road, and occasionally passing through
forests where the green flies dart upon the poor
beast and bring blood at every stroke. But it is
a matter of strict economy, as Avell as a Christian
duty, to keep all the animals under our care com-
fortable and healthy.

"A merciful man is merciful to his beast."

I-'or the Netc England Farmer.
CULTIVATING THE WILLOW.

The vast amount of Avillow employed in various
manufactures, at the present day, renders it ex-
pedient to engage in groAving it in sufficient quan-
tity to supply the demand, instead of importing
it from abroad. The purposes to Avhich the Avil-
loAV is applied, are too numerous to particularize,
and some new article made of this material is
seen in the market at short intervals. Eaton, in
the seventh edition of his manual, published
twenty-four years since, describes forty species of
the AvilloAV, nearly all of Avhich are indigenous to
North America ; probably many species have been
added to the number since that time. It Avould
be remarkable if among so many kinds there were
not some adapted to the manufacturer's use. That
the climate and soil are adapted to its groAvth is
evident from the abundance Avhich is met with on
streams and low grounds in this region. There
are many tracts of land AA'hich are unproductive,
and nearly Avorthless to the owners at present,
Avhich, if planted with the best varieties for making
wares of that description, Avould yield a ])rofitable
return for a small investment. O. V. Hills.

Leominster, July, 18G0.

1860.

XEW ENGLAND FARMER.

385

THE EUEOPEAN SILVER FIR.

The Silver Fir was esteemed by
the Romans for its use in carpentry
and for the construction of vessels ;
Virgil speaks of

"The fir about to brave thetlangersof theseas,"

and in describing the scenes of a
particular locality,

"Hills clad with fir to ;,-uarJ the hallowed

bouiv.l,
Rise in the raajesty of darkness round."

They also used its wood for javelins,
and the Emperor Caligula had an
obelisk transported from Egypt to
Rome, which required the out-
stretched arms of four men to en-
circle it. In England, its wood has
been chiefly used for flooring. It
often grows to the height of eighty
or one hundred feet, raising its dark
foliage above any of the surrounding
trees, but has no special claims as
an ornamental tree. It requires a
comparatively low situation, and a
deep, rich soil, though it sometimes
grov.'s well on heavy clay. Its roots,
like all the pine tribe, do not pene-
trate the soil deeply, but spread
themselves extensively near the surface, and are,
therefore, easily affected by drought.

&ta^$%<

a RR-C9SI.

HILL AND FLAT CITLTirilE,

When our attention, many years ago, was first
called to the subject of flat culture, we determined
to give it a fair trial by the side of the common
system, noting carefully time, labor, and general
results. We began with corn, then beans, next
potatoes, etc., and with results so satisfactory,
that we at last adopted the principle of drawing
earth up to no plants, except for the purpose of
blanching. After considerable experience, we do
not hesitate to give "flat culture" a distinct appro-
val. It is the system for our dry atmosphere,
■warm sun, and frequent droughts, as the hilling
system may be the best for the moist climate and
wet soils of England, especially where those soils
are undrained. Both systems have their advo-
cates those of the hilling system preponderating;
but the other is making its way, slowly but surely,
and we have no doubt it will at no distant day
meet a hearty approval throughout the country.
The advocates for "hilling' principally claim that
it "retains moisture," "decreases the evapora-
tion," and "strengthens" the plant, but how they
do not explain ; but we question the truth of these
points. It is manifest to us, and it accords with
observation, that a plot of ground with a level
surface kept well pulverized, will retain a more
uniform degree of moisture than one broken into
hills. It is precisely in a time of drought, when
we are dependent upon the small amount of mois-
ture contained in the atmosphere, that the ad-

vantages of "flat culture" make themselves mani-
fest. The leaves of plants condense the moisture
of the atmosphere, and in diff'erent modes shed it
on the ground, but principally by means of the
stalk. Now if we take corn, for example, which
has been hilled, this moisture, so much needed,
is thrown oft' from the plant, and very little is ab-
sorbed ; in fact, these hills and ridges make good
water-sheds, and, becoming br.ked during dry
weather, lose the power of ab.sorption. Where
flat culture prevails the soil can always be kept
open and porous, and its absorbent powers more
fully retained. In regard to "decreasing the
evaporation" by hilling, it is so transparent that
evaporation is increased by tho operation, that we
leave ihat point without further comment for the
present. It is well understood that hilling and
ridging were introduced to get rid of surplus
moisture. Hilling, also, it is said, "strengthens"
the plant, the word being generally used in a me-
chanical sense ; for example, it is contended that
corn, when hilled, is less liable to be blown down.
We know, however, that such is not the fact ; and,
so far as maintaining an erect position is con-
cerned, facts are all in favor of flat culture. Para-
doxical as it may seem to some, corn that has been
hilled will blow down sooner than that which has
not ; and when both are down, that which has been
grown by flat culture will soonest and more fully
recover itself, because it has less resistance to
overcome.

But we must now be content with stating what
we conceive to be the advantages of "flat culture"
as compared with "hilling," leaving details for
another occasion ; these advantages are principally

386

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

Aug.

the following : It demands less labor for a given
amount of results ; it admits of a more thorough
cultivation of the soil ; it lessens the evils of
drought; it admits of the continued use of the
best imj)rovcd implements of culture ; and, not
among the least of its claims, it pi-esupj^osos a
thorough ])reparation of the soil, etc. Hilling,
undoubtedly, has its place and its advantages, and
these are chiefly found in a moist climate and a
wet, heavy, undraincd soil. Flat culture, we think,
will prove the system for our climate, and im-
proved modes of culture. Let it be more com-
monly tried, and adopted as its advantages may
seem to warrant. — UorticxiUurist.

For the New England Farmer.
GKOWIWG "WHEAT— AMMONIA, &c.

Passing food through the body of an animal docs
not increase its ultimate fertilizing power ; it adds no-
thing more to it for plants, at least for wheat, than the
food which the animals consumed. It is contrary to
nature to use plants which are capal^lc of sustaining
animal life, for the purpose merely of furnishing food
for otlicr plants.

Fertilizing matter famished by decayed clover is
not as appropriate food for wheat as the droppings of
animals that live on clover. It contains too much calca-
reous matter, the very matter which animals need to
keep up the heat of their bodies and to form fat, and
which, when the clover is fed to animals, is "burnt
out" while the nitrogen remains in the tbrm of ammo-
nia, or in compounds which readily decompose and
form ammonia. This is what we need most. It not
only increases the crop, but up to a certain point ac-
celerates early maturity.

These remarks will also apply in some degree to
poor stravv'v, leached, weathered manure. There is not
enough ammoina in a ton of such stuff as many far-
mers call manure to make hartshorn enough for a la-
dy's smelling-bottle. Instead of plowing in so much
clover for wheat, then, let us convert it into beef and
mutton, and if we can give our sheep peas or beans or
oil-cakc in addition, it will tell wonderfully on the
manure and on the crops to which it is applied. — Jo-
seph Harris's Yale Lectures.

Now, in the first place, on what principle it
is that Mr. Harris can have seed pass through
the body of an animal, unless it becomes thor-
oughly masticated and digested, I am not in-
formed. Yet it Avould appear by this remark that
he had found out some canal through the body of
an animal whereby food could go through with-
out digestion, or only partly masticated. We are
also told that this operation adds no fertilizing
powers to the food thus passed through ; but that
the droppings of animals are a more proper food
for plants, at least for wheat, than the food which
the animals consumed. Again, how it is that he
separates this plant food, after it once enters the
animal's stomach, from the after droppings, is a
matter not made quite so jilaiu as wanted.

We are also told that it is contrary to the econ-
omy of nature to use plant food to sustain plants
that are capable of sustaining animal life. To
which Ave beg to say that we are not aware of any
ordinary plant food that is not fully capable of
doing both ; that is, sustaining both plants and
animals, as may be. As to the economy of the
two plans, both have their proper places and ef-
fects ; a heavy crop of clover turned under, or of
buckwheat, might create what the farmers call a
"vinegar soil," in making too much acid for the
wheat crop. As a general thing, however, no
great failure heed be feared from this plan of

turnj:ig under clover for the wheat crop. I should
prrfer to put on animals to feed the clover down
through the season, either for grain crops or any
farm crops to follow. But we are told, also, that
what is most wanted in the wheat crop to carry
it out, and to ripen it early, is ammonia. Very
well. And also, there is not much danger of our
getting too much of this ammonia for the wheat
crop. Now, let us see what Dr. Webster says :
"Ammonia, volatile alkali, a substance which in
its uncombined form exists in a state of gas. It
is composed of three equivalents of nitrogen and
one of hydrogen." This is all that Dr. Webster
says about this most tremendous word in agri-
cultural science, namely, ammonia; not a very
pleasing explanation for working, practical far-
mers to get through their heads, at best.

In fact, the term when applied to agricultural
science in combination of plant life, is rather a
vague afl'air for the practical man. In fact, our
idea is that when the practical man has studied
the character of his soil as to wheat-growing, that
all the ammonia that is necessary for to catch and
measure in a thimble, will to him be of no conse-
quence on wheat-growing. As to how much am-
monia might be found in a load of straw or
weather-beaten manure, is a point we shall not
cavil about. The lady could take her salts bottle
to this manure heap to be filled, or to the drug-
gist, as she liked. Again, we are told by a certain
writer on "Irrigation" by rain-water, that what
causes the grass to grow where the water runs
out of the street in a rainy day, is, that the young
grass picks up the ammonia from the rain-water.
And this is what he calls "irrigation ;" also, soil
washed from the woods and hill lands down on
to the meadows in a rainy day, is irrigation.

The first of these we should call "road-wash,"
the second "land-wash" from the hill-sides. —
Now, letting the ammonia in rain go as it may,
our idea of the fine growth of grass caused by
rain-water is, that the fine particles of soil and
droppings of animals from the street washed on
to the grass, cause this grass to grow heavy as
far as this muddy wash reaches. But irrigation
proper means living running water from brooks,
ponds or lakes, conducted on to the meadows,
through the season, as Avanted. This writer
claims that running water from hard or lime wa-
ter countries, is not good for the grass, but rather
an injury, and only water from soft water streams
is good for irrigation. Our idea is that all run-
ning water is good for irrigating grass lands, but
that the soft water streams are much the most
valuable for growing grass and for general soil
improvement.

Again, as to the best plan and most economi-
cal for improving poor lands that are capable of
being plowed well, I have but one opinion, name-
ly, that it can be done at a much faster and
cheaper rate by the use of the plow, and by grass
seed sown and the grass turned under, than by
keeping cattle on the soil to feed down Avhat lit-
tle poor grass grows on such thin soils. It may
be true, that on such thin soils at first the culti-
vated grasses may not grow. In that case, a crop
or two of buckwheat and oats of equal parts sown
together, and then plowed under, would improve
the poor soil so that grass seed after it would
take. The oats sown with the buckwheat would
have a tendency to correct the acid in the greea

1860.

SFAV ENGLAND FAIl]MER.

387

buckwheat, so that the soil should not become
too sour by turning under the green crop. —
In thin sand)- soils that will drift by the winds
for want of vegetation on the surface spurrey
might be sown or planted. This plant is now-
grown extensively in Flanders and other Europe-
an countries ; the roots spread in a tangled mass
together, so as to hold the sand and thus help to
form a soil. That sandy drift on North Haven
(Ct.) plains would be a good place to try the
value of this plant.

After grass had got a fair start on thin soils,
then cattle and sheep could be put on, which will
improve soils constantly. In plowing under a
heavy crop of clover for wheat or any grain or
farm crop, instead of turning it under when in the
blow, I think it would be better to wait till the
crop is about half ripe, or half the heads are dead.
In this way a good share of tlie acid would have
left the stock, so that decomposition woidd read-
ily take place without at all souring the soil.

Derby, Ct. L. Dueand.

Fur the New England Farmer.
IS THEBB AUY PROFIT IN" FARMING ?

Mr. Editor : — Having read T. J. Piukham's
views under this caption, some months since, in
the Farmer, I felt inclined to answer ; but hav-
ing worked on a farm for sixty years, my sight
imperfect, and my hand somewhat palsied, I wise-
ly left the pleasing task to younger heads and
hands. I think the answer has been well given.
But as Mr. P. has come out in your last issue
with a somewhat clenching rejoinder, and called
earnestly for figures, I will endeavor to give some
facts which have fallen under my notice.

Sixty-four years ago this present winter, I was
born in a small log-house, covered with bark, and
a hovel of the same materials, and sheltering a
cow, our only stock, occupied the exact spot where
I sit writing. On this piece of land, consisting
of 100 acres of forest, ray father, with no capi-
tal but a firm constitution and strong nerves,
converted this forest into a farm, on which he
reared his family of five children, and gave them
such an education as the stinted facilities of that
time afforded. Forty-two years ago, my father
sold me this farm for $1000, and personal prop-
erty considered worth $500, for which I was to
pay $750 to my brother and three sisters. With
the remainder I was to erect buildings, fence and
stock the farm, and provide for my parents, at
that time verging on the helplessness of age.

Now I would respectfully ask friend P. if this
can be accomplished from tilling the soil, and
cultivating this small farm alone ? And can it
be kept in a good state of cultivation without for-
eign manures ? And if so, is not farming, even
on a small scale, at least a living business P

Now for facts ! And here let me say that every
dollar has been drawn from this one source, la-
bor on the farm. In the first ]dace, I paid the
debts to the heirs, and to my aged parents ; have
erected buildings, and have added some 30 acres
of land. This farm, which is now occupied joint-
ly by myself and son, who is still a young man
with a young family, is worth four times its value
at the time it came into my hands. For the last
twenty years it has paid a small yearly profit ; so
that \\-e have invested in land, stocks, &c., a sum

equal to $5000. This is not an isolated case. I
live in a town of small farmers ; the present oc-
cupants have inherited their farms from their sires,
who broke the forests, while some others have,
in their younger dajs, Morked for wages, until
they had obtained a sum equal to the price of a
Vvild lot, of fifty or one hundred acres; while etill
others have ])urchased their land on credit. These
have made their farms, and many of them are
now independent, and have laid by something ef-
fective for sickness or old age. I have in my
mind an individual who worked with one of my
neighbors for $10 a month, some years since;
his wife also was dependent, for her means of
house-keeping, on her weekly earnings, and neith-
er of them had a shilling but the earnings of their
own hands. What is now their condition ? They
have a fine productive farm, with good, conve-
nient buildings ; a stock of cattle and horses, that
any man might be justly proud of ; he has given
his three oldest children an academic education,
and has recently purchased and jiaid for another
farm.

These are a few, out of many encouraging re-
sults of farming on a small scale, without capital ;
without the aid of foreign manures ; without the
aid of science, except that gained by hard expe-
rience. I am awaie that farming in the old town
of Chelmsford is a different business from what it
is in northern Vermont. But I would ask friend
P. if he knows how much his town paid for their
poor farm, on the old turnpike road, some thirty
years since, and how much money it has put in
the town treasury, after paying for itself in the
first eight years ; and whether this was the result
of the profit of the orchard and wood lot ? iMy
own experience, from a long life of toil, with a
proper proportion of draw-backs, from frosts, un-
fruitful seasons, and the multiplicity of ills that
attend farming, as well as other callings, teaches
me that farming has its proportion of blessings
f.nd encouragements, and if a fortune can not be
made as rapidly as by some other calling, still it
is a paying business ; and though the farmer's
progress is slow, it is sure. "I have been young,
but now am old, yet have I not seen the industri-
ous, prudctit, temperate farmer forsaken, or his
seed begging bread." J. Mudgett.

Cambridge, Yt., Dec. 17, 1859.

Seaweed for Manure. — From the able pen of
S. P. Mayberry of Cape Elizabeth, in the report
of the Secretary of the Board of Agriculture, in
the Maine Farmer, is an article upon scav/eed —
its uses on the sea as well as on land. I agree
with Mr. M. on the value of seaweed as a man-
ure. Almost every farmer on the coast, if he
Avould take four parts of rockweed to tv/o parts of
his barnyard manure, two parts of muck, have
them thoroughly mixed by swine, then piled up
to heat, can produce more from his farm, and at
one-half the expense, than he can by using any of
the high-sounding fertilizers which are recom-
mended in most of the papers. On five-eighths
of an acre I cut three tons of hay the first crop
It was done by composting the manure. I would
not plo\v in manure to raise grass, more than
three inches ; dress it with a light coat of top-
dressing every year, and you v,-ill have large crops
of hay.

388

NEW ENGLAND FAR^MER.

Aug.

ON SHOEING- HORSES.

Blacksmiths, like persons engaged in other oc-
cupations, are not always good workmen merely
because they stand by the forge and smite the hot
iron. Another person, who never passed half an
hour in a smithy, might explain the true prin-
ciples of shoeing better than he who has passed a
lifetime in the actual practice of the art. It is
not the hand, but the Jicad, which makes the skil-
ful and accomplished workman ; and no men In
the world are so tenacious of their opinions as
those who have been practicing under an error
all their lives. They will not listen to the philos-
ophy of the matter which they assert, for the rea-
son that their habit of mind has never run in
that channel. These remarks apply equally to
other trades, and to teaching and farming. ISIany
of the best farmers in our knowledge, men whose
principles and practices run together and produce
the most profitable results from the capital em-
ployed, are retired merchants, artisans, ship-
masters or ministers ; and many of the most slov-
enly and unskilful farmers in our knowledge are
those who were born and brought up on a farm,
and never engaged in any other occupation ! It is
mind that makes the man, the blacksmith, the
carpenter, seaman, or anything else of this na-
ture,— not the fact that the man has been engaged
in the occupation for thirty or forty years.

These remarks are suggested by reading an ar-
ticle in the Manchester (N. H.) Mirror, upon the
subject of horses and horse-shoeing. The lively
and versatile editor of that paper knows a thing
or two about horses himself — and he is deter-
mined that all the rest of mankind shall know as
much, if he can only get it out of the smiths, and
the world will read his paper. We hope he will
succeed in securing both — for the horse-knowl-
edge is greatly needed, and the Mirror is no lag-
behind, but a living, moving hebdomadal, that
will wake the reader up, and be useful to him, un-
less he is dreadful sleepy !

But without some of friend Clark's expurga-
tions, emendations, additions, alterations and
corrections, w'e doubt whether his "hundreds of
letters from smiths already received" will eluci-
date and settle the knotty question, how shall a
horse bo shod ? As a sample of these letters he
gives one from Bristol, vvhich he says is "sensible
and practical for the most part, but its theory of
shoeing interfering horses will be controverted by
high authority." The same letter goes on to tell
us how over-reaching horses can be made to trav-
el clear by shoeing. He says — "This is not so
■well understood by blacksmiths, generally, as in-
terfering. Long shoes should be used in order to
remedy this ; the forward feet should be pared
low at the heels, and leave the toe so as to cause

the foot to rise at the heel and give the hind feet
a chance to shoot under as the others rise. The
hind shoes should be set on as usual, but should
be made with a heavy toe, and turned to give the
forward one a chance to get out of the way."

As we understand this matter, the exact reverse
of this teaching is the philosophical view of it.
For instance : a horse strikes his hind foot against
the forward one, because the forward foot is not
taken away quick enough. What is the remedy ?
Certainly not to have the forward feet "Zozy at the
heels," for that would keep the foot down longer
and make the interference worse. Nor is it de-
sirable that the hind foot should pass under the
forward one. To prevent over-reaching, then, try
this plan, which can be done without paring the
hoof at all. Make the Jieel calks on the forward
shoes a little longer than usual, so that, the foot
being raised a little behind, the horse will take it
up quicker than he has been accustomed to. Now
make the heel calks of the hind shoes a little low-
er, and what is gained by accel-erating the forward
foot and keeping back the hind one, will give
time to get the fore foot out of the way, and there
is no more over-reaching. We have cured very
bad cases of over-reaching by this simple pro-
cess, and never knew it to fail when properly at-
tended to.

We have as much faith in the skill of black-
smiths in 'their business as we have in that of
those engaged in other occupations, and the more
of them that read this article the better, if it only
leads them to regard principles more and theo-
ries less.

THE HEARING OP THE HIPPOPOTAMI.

The managers of the Jardin des Plantes in Paris
have had a series of bad luck in the rearing of
hippopotami. Their maternal hippopotamus has
now given birth to three young ones, but each
has been lost when but a few days or weeks old ;
one, if not tv,-o, were killed by the m.other, and
the last, saved from a similar fate by immediate
removal, died with convulsions brought on by
teething. The circumstances are given with af-
fecting detail. The birth was on the 18th of May,
and the infant animal (a male) was received on
the brink of the basin of the rotunda, in the arms
of his keeper, and immediately taken away. The
maternal hippopotamus had no time to see her
ofi'spring, and yet she indulged in a long fit of
anger. Without the aid of an enormous vthip
with which the keeper was furnished, he could
hardly have secured his retreat, but by its aid he
succeeded in getting out of the basin and shut-
ting the grate behind him. The young hippopot-
amus was placed in a basin exposed to the sun,
and he immediately took to svi-imming and splash-
ing about as though he had taken lessons from
his father and mother. He was fed on warm
cow's milk, which he drank with avidity ; in four
days he consumed nearly three gallons of it.
He slept a good part of each day on a bed of straw

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

389

covered with a flannel blanket ; the rest of the
time he amused himself in a basin of warm wa-
ter. His keeper, who did not leave him for a mo-
ment, could not make the least movement but
his nursling would open his eyes enough to as-
sure himself that his adopted lather was not go-
ing to leave him. At night he slept with his
head on his keeper's breast, and slept well until
daybreak. When he wanted to drink he roared
like a calf, which indeed he somewhat resembled
in form. He measured about four feet in length,
and weighed 130 pounds at birth. His skin, soft
moist and mellow to the touch, had nothing of
that rose-tint which characterized the two other
hippopotami born in the menagerie in 1858 and
1859. It was blackish in some places, and in
others of a grayish-white. There was also a very
queer orange tint about his lips. On the 2d of
June it was noticed that several teeth were com-
ing through. While they were wondering at this
precocity, the poor animal was taken with con-
vulsions, and died in a few minutes.

For the New England Farmer.
FARM HINTS AND FARM FACTS.

Never set out an orchard with a view that in
future time it will take care of itself. Remember
first to subsoil, and like your hills of corn and po-
tatoes, manure the land heavily from season to
season ; plant with potatoes or carrots to keep
the earth mellovi' ; avoid a grain crop, as in ripen-
ing, it reflects too intense a heat for young trees.
This was my experience in a winter wheat field
two successive years.

Never plant trees on poor soil, and expect
thrift with large fruit.

Never crowd your trees, which is a very com-
mon error. Calcylate their spread when fully
grown, so that a good crop of hay may be taken
off'. Give them the full range of sun and atmos-
phere.

Never cultivate caterpillars instead of apples —
the crops are uncongenial. One is money in the
pocket, the other dirty, destructive and unprofita-
ble. Give the farm boy a penny a nest, start
him with the rising sun, and my word for it, his
eagle eye and love for pennies will clear away
this orchard-pest, and return to you five dollars
for every penny out of pocket. They are easily
seen when the nest is found.

Never cease to fight the canker worm ; while
the lion and tiger are easily slain, this inferior
creeping thing has successfully battled and out-
generalled the whole staff" of horticultural wisdom.
Would not the fumes of fire and brimstone mixed
with tar be a good application when the worms
are feeding ?

Never move among young trees without a heavy
jackknife in your pocket, and an eye upward to
redundant limbs ; cutting here, sawing there, and
giving shape early for the future, always remem-
bering that the displaced limbs and twigs are by
root and sap made up at once to the remaining
hranches. The Porter or Northern Spy incline to
spiral or distalTtops; the Greening and Russet
to spreading branches ; the Baldwin and Hub-
bardston Nonsuch to close brushy tops. Here the
pruner must exercise judgment ; how much easier
to gather fruit when the tree is well opened, how

much larger and fairer the fruit ! It is- the sun
that draM's out the full blush and gives the fuil
flavor. Prove tliis by eating the apple or peach
from the sunny or the shady side.

Never cultivate shade trees in your fields by the
road-side, — rather make them fruit trees, that
blossoms and fruit may charm tlie traveller and
reward the farmer with a good round income.
Anything out of place is not ornamental. Give
the shade tree a place in the roadway and around
your buildings, especially; it shows taste and re-
finement. The New England towering elm is the
unrivalled eml)lem of majesty.

Never neglect the little quince tree that can
grow in niches and corners ; cultivate it as a tree,
and not as usual, as a bunch of bushes. A fine
stone wall interlined Avith a quince tree hedge at
eight feet distances is highly ornamental and
profitable. How easy to grow quinces.

Never forget the birds whose music awakes you
at early dawn, and who sing you to sleep in the
late, lingering twilight. Give the robin an extra
cherry tree and a strawberry bed. Build a house
for the wren, the martin and the swallow ; help
them to feed their twittering young. How much
are they daily helping you ! Cultivate their (and
all birds,) acquaintance socially, not as enemies,
because their tastes are so refined as to love your
strawberries and cherries.

The crow offends by pulling up your corn, yet
he is the unpaid scavenger in removing offal and
numerous vermin that annoy you. The hawk af-
fectionately dips into your chicken brood, show-
ing a decided relish for uncooked poultry, but he
had been hunting and sailing all over your prem-
ise for snakes and mice to satisfy his hunger, and
found none.

The owl robs your hen roost in the blackest
night. Educated thieves go to prison for this
same offence. Which of the two are the better
members of society ? H. PoOR.

Brooklyn, L. I.

For the New England Farmer.

PROFITS OF FARMING.

Mr. Editor : — From careful reading as well
as observation, I have come to the conclusion that
there is some fallacy in the manner by which farm
accounts are kept, or the way in which the differ-
ent operations of the farm are passed to debtor
or creditor. How, otherwise, arc we to account
for the very different conclusions to which some
writers come, on this subject ? That the farmer,
with a fair sized farm, free from debt, with or-
dinary buildings, stock and tools, is among the
most independent men which this world can show,
ought to be plain to all. That he has every means
at_ command for getting a good living, and sus-
taining his family respectably, and often putting
by something for old age, or a rainy day, is a
generally conceded fact, and it is patent to any
observer of this very large class throughout the
country, especially in New England, "where if
anywhere in the United States, farming is hard
work. That there are thousands of this class,
whose area of land is less than one hundred acres,
who so manage thus to live, and who are in more
senses than one the right arm of the State, is
another fact. That they have to work hard, and

390

NEW ENGLAND FAR^N'IER.

Aug,

practice rigid economy, I do not deny ; but that
they live respectably and comfortably, some few,
indeed, luxuriously, go to meeting with good
clothes on, with wife, sons and daughters well and
fashionably dressed, with horse and carriage, good
enough for a lord ; whose families are mentally,
as well as bodily, well cared for, is another fact,
which any person may prove for himself, by at-
tending church on the Sabbath, in almost any of
our country towns.

If, as some who have lately written, as pub-
lished in the Farmer Avithin a short time, say,
the farmer does not, or cannot, make a living by
attending solely to his legitimate business, that it
is a non-paying pursuit, how is it, or why is it,
that these things are so ? Here is a fair and large
field for investigation. If farming, as generally
practiced in New England at the present day, is
a non-paying business, contrary, it seems to me,
to the common idea, then let us know it, and
have a fair understanding of the whole matter, so
that none may "go it blind," or spend his strength
for naught. That the majority of farmers are
not so particidar in keeping a correct account
■with their various operations, I am willing to ad-
mit. I think they would find it interesting and
profitable to do so ; at any rate, they could at any
time ascertain their exact standing with the world,
and v.'ith their diff"orcnt operations, and self-inter-
est ought to prompt them to do this. Why should
they not do so, as well as the trader, manufacturer,
lawyer, or doctor ? Certainly their operations are
no more complicated than theirs ; while, if they
kept such an account, all guess work would be re-
moved, and the farmer would be able to tell at a
glance, what branch of his business paid and what
did not, much better than under the old system
of going by the guess book. But that farming
does not pay, and is poor business to follow in
order to insure a good living and fair profits, I
am not willing yet to admit. I concede there may
be poor farmers, as there are poor doctors. Sec,
and until the majority of farmers cease paying
their debts and go into insolvency, I probably
shall not. Let this matter be fully discussed, and
individual experience brought to the test. I am
open to conviction. Give us your ideas on this
subject, brother farmers ; facts will settle this mat-
ter, I think, much sooner than any theory, or
statement. Norfolk.

King Oak Hill, 1860.

The Idea of Fire among the Ancients. —
According to Pliny, fire was for a long time un-
known to some of the ancient Egyptians, and
■when Euxodus, the celebrated astronomer, showed
it to them, they were absolutely in raptures. The
Persians, Phenicians, Greeks, and several other
nations, acknowledged that their ancestors were
once without the use of fire, and the Chinese
confess the same of their progenitors. Pompa-
nius, Mela, Plutarch, and other ancient authors,
speak of nations who, at the time they wrote,
knew not the use of fire, or had but just learned
it. Facts of the same kind are also attested by
several modern nations. The inhabitants of the
Mariana Islands, which were discovered in 1521,
had no idea of fire. Never was astonishment
greater than theirs, when they saw it on the de-
scent of MagL^Uan on one of their islands. At first

they believed it was some kind of animal that
fixed to and fed upon v^-ood. The inhabitants of '
the Philippine and Canary Islands were formerly '
equally ignorant. Africa presents, even in our
own day, some nations in this deplorable state.

Fur the New England Farmer.
■WATEE, PIPES.

Mr. Editor : — As there have been several in-
quiries in the current volume in regard to pipes
or tubes for conveying Mater to farm buildings
for the use of the stock and domestic purposes, I
thought to add a few words.

As good pure water, and a constant supply,
too, is very important, and as but few farm build-
ings are so situated as to have a full supply in the
right places till it is conveyed there through some
means, it becomes an important question, what
shall we use for this purpose ?

j\Iy experience has been with wood and lead
pipes, or as they arc called here, "aqueducts,"
wooden or lead, as the case may be. Lead was
formerly used quite extensively by those of com-
petent means, till it was found to be very liable to
get out of repair, and injurious to those using the
water which was thus supplied, however healthful
it was at the fountain, generally. Yet to this day
it seems, by your columns, some deny the delete-
rious effects imputed to the poisonous lead ;
though perhaps difficult of demonstrative proof,
yet experience of the many, and analogy, ought to
be sufHcient warning to one and all against lead
pipe. The wood generally used is fir, spruce, pine
and hackmatack or larch ; but wcra I to have my
choice, it would fall upon the larch.

Timber should be cut in the fall or early in the
winter, and in size six to ten inches in diameter,
and of such a length as can be handled and bored
conveniently, say about 10 feet. The bore should
not be more than Id inches, instead of 3 to 4
inches, as one correspondent recommends, be-
cause the water will not stand in the logs near so
long before it is used after leaving the fountain
head ; they will last longer, are much easier bored
of this size, and are not near as liable to freeze
up in "cold snaps," like January, 18d9. The beau-
tiful, lively sparkle of the water in the fountain is
retained only through constant change ; hence the
smaller amount confined in the conducting pipe, of
any kind, the better will it come from the faucet.

In regard to durability there will be a great va-
riation, even irt-ith the same kind of wood, in dif-
ferent situations. I ha.ve seen fir logs that had
been laid 20 to 30 years, that were then in good
repair, and I have seen them where they had been
laid but 10 years, so decayed that it was necessary
to relay them, or put new logs in. Those which
had lasted so long v.'cre in soil that kept thcni wet
or moist iA\ the time, while the others were wet
and then dry at times, or nearly so, being in a
yellow, ledgy soil.

The cost will vary materially in different local-
ities. Here in Franklin Co., Me., it costs twenty-
five cents per rod for boring and laying, upon an
average, when done by those who are responsible
for a good job, beside boarding the hands. The
cost of the logs, digging, trenching and filling,
according to local circumstances. o. 'W. T.

Eha Tree Farm, Ihrinc.

1S60.

NEW ENGLAND FARI^IER.

391

"WIND POWBB FOR GRINDING CORN.

Having suffered much inconvenience in getting
corn ground at a distant mill, and being dissatis-
fied Vv'ith the corn, and cob, and grist mills, ad-
vertised, I fell back on my own resources, and
after some preliminary experiments, I fixed a mill
as follows. It is successful :

I cut ofi" a post oak 11 feet from the ground,
and made a (i inch tenon, 5 inches diameter on
top ; split out a puncheon 7 feet wide, 5 inches
thick ; 3 feet from one end I morticed a hole to
fit tenon on tree, and mounted it to its place ; 18
inches from centre of tenon, on each side nailed
pieces 4 feet long, G inches wide, 2 inches thick,
fore and aft the tree and parallel to it ; a piece
of the same dimensions fixed on to lower ends
of the same, horizontal and parallel to puncheon,
on both sides, and reaching aft to end of do.,
braces from each end of puncheon to meet these
at the lower end of perpendiculars on both sides,
completes a firm and strong frame which revolves
on tenon ; transverse pieces on each side the
tree, fore and aft, bind the sides together, and if
they project a little, form a support for a plank
to stand on.

Now for the shaft. A piece of pine 7 feet long,
hewed to 8 inches square, and the corners taken
off, an iron band on the end for the hub, divide
the circumference into six, the number of arms,
which gives a distance of 60 degrees, and four
inches from the band, mortice three holes 2 inch-
es square, through the hub ; then cut out a neck
5 inches diameter, and 5 inches long. Get two
pair of friction wheels, such as are used for a
grindstone ; screw one pair clown to front end of
puncheon, and the other at after end of shaft, for
the shaft to run on ; nail a collar on the end of
puncheon to fit loosely on to neck of shaft, just
in front of friction wheels — it is not to bear any
weight, but merely to keep the shaft from jump-
ing'off. Of course, the after wheels have a neck
of the same dimensions. The mill is bolted on
to a short post, fixed on to after end of puncheon
at right angles to it ; the axle of the mill is re-
ceived into a square hole in a plate screwed on
to end of shaft. As the mill requires to reach
somewhat over the puncheon to obtain firm sup-
port, the shaft must be fixed accordingly ; a hole
through the puncheon conducts the meal, in a
sleeve, from the spout of the mill to a barrel or
bag placed on the stage beneath.

Thus, it is is easily seen that the whole power
of the wind acts on the grinding surface of the
mill fJlredhj. Three pieces of well seasoned scant-
ling 2x2 inches, well balanced and fitted into
mortice holes, making 6 arms 8 feet long from
centre to hub. Strong domestic, 5-4 wide, and
5 yards long, making a square, which, cut cross
cornered, will make the two sails and a sleeve to
each to fit the arms ; which may thus be put on
and off" readily. The edges should be strongly
hemmed and drawn somewhat tight, so as not to
flap ; the corner tied to the next arm by stout
string. This will be found power sufficient
to grind in a light wind ; if the wind is strong,
three sails only need be spread.

AVith such a wind-mill I have ground meal for
the house — have fed five horses and six hogs on
meal too.

T consider the saving of feerlinf^ horses equal

to one-third — certainly one-fourth. A wood hop-
per to contain one bushel of corn can be attach-
ed ; then the farmer can wedge his mill in the
right position and go on with his work, having
the satisfaction of hearing his corn crack half a
mile off! If we had an improved steel mill to
the common hand mill it would be an advantage.
One to stand like a clock, for instance, and to
screw down to puncheon. — Southern Cultivator.

Usefulness of Soot. — This article is often
wasted, being thrown into the ash-heap, or
dumped on the ground at the back door, and no
use made of it. i3oth science and experience show
that it is a valuable manure. If used as a top-
dressing to grass, it produces a marked effect.
When sown broadcast, some of its anmionia be-
comes volatilized, and is wasted in the atmos-
phere. Therefore, it should be mixed with wa-
ter, and applied as liquid manure. Twelve quarts
of soot to a hogshead of water make a pow^erful
fertilizer.

LADIES' DEPARTMENT.

MATRIMONY SANS PATRIMONY.

"I am a clerk, with eight hundred dollars sala-
ry, and yet my wife expects me to dress her in
first-class style. What would you advise me to
do — leave her ?" These words I unintentionally
overheard in a public conveyance. I went home,
pondering them over. "Leave her !" Were you
not to blame, sir, in selecting a foolish, frivolous
wife, and expecting her to confine her desires as
a sensible woman ought, and Avould, within the
limits of your small salary ? Have you, yourself,
no "first-class" expenses, in the way of rides,
drinks and cigars, which it might be well for you
to consider while talking to her of retrenchment ?
Did it ever occur to you, that under all that friv-
olity, which you admired in the maid, but deplore
and condemn in the wife, there may be, after all,
enough of the true woman, to appreciate and
sympathize with a kind, loving statement of the
case, in its parental, as well as marital relations ?
Did it ever occur to you, that if you require no
more from her in the way of self-denial, than you
are willing to endure yourself — in short, if you
were just in this matter, as all husbands are not
— it might bring a pair of loving arms about your
neck, that would be a talisman amid future toil,
and a pledge of co-operation in it, that would give
wings to effort ? And should it not bo so imme-
diately —should you encounter tears and frowns
— would you not do well to remember the hun-
dreds of wives of drunken husbands, who, through
the length and breadth of the land, are thinking
— not of "leaving" them, but how, day by day,
they shall more patiently bear their burden, toil-
ing with their own feeble hands, in a woman's re-
stricted sphere of eflbrt, to make up their deficien-
cies, closing their ears resolutely to any recital of
a husband's failings, nor asking advice of aught
save their own faithful, wifely hearts, "what course
they shall pursue ?"

And to all young men, whether "clerks" or
otherwise, we would s»y, if you marry a humming-
bird, don't expect that marriaffo will instantly con-

392

KEW ENGLAND FARMER.

Aug.

vert it into an owl ; and if you have caught it,
and casjod it, Avithout thought of consequences,
don't, like a coAvard, shrink ft-om your self-as-
sumed responsibility, and turn it loose in a dark
■wood, to be devoured by the first vulture. — Fan-
ny Fern.

DOMESTIC KECEIPTS.

To Put up Cucumbeus, Melons, Tomatoes,
Peaches, &c., for Pickling. — As good vinegar
is not ahvays at hand, the best way is to prepare
a brine in a tub or barrel, and save your pickles
as they grow. The brine should be made of com-
mon salt and water, and strong enough to bear an
egg. When the tub is full of pickles, allow the
brine to cover them ; then cover them over with
cabbage leaves, and a board and weight to keep
thom in the brine.

They should be soaked in fresh water three
days and nights before using to extract the salt,
frequently changing the water. The great art in
making good pickles is to have good vinegar. The
best vinegar for pickHng is made of apple cider.
After your pickles are sufficiently soaked, put
them in a brass kettle with vinegar enough to
cover thom, and scald fifteen or twenty minutes,
put them in jars, and pour hot vinegar over them ;
flavor them with cloves, ])lack pepper, an onion
or two, and a little horse radish and ginger. For
making mangoes, the filling should be made of
nasturtiums, small beans, small cucumbers, onions,
white mustard, horse-radish, allspice, black pep-
per, mace, cloves and ginger ; tie up a tcti-cupful
of turmeric, and put it in a jar ; after being stuffed
and tied up, they are made as cucumber pickles.

To Make Riiubaeb Wine. — Trim off the leaves
and grind and press the stalks in any cider or
other mill. To each gallon of juice, add one gal-
lon of Avater, and six pounds of refined sugar, and
fill the casks, leaving the bungs out. A moder-
ately cool cellar is the best place to keep it. Fill
up occasionally, either from juice kept on pur-
pose, or with sweetened water, so that the impu-
rities which rise to the surface while fermentation
is going on, may be worked off. When sufficient-
ly fermented, which will require from one to two
or more months, bung tightly, and let it remain
until winter, when it may be racked off into
other casks or bottled. Some persons refine it l)e-
fore bottling, by putting into each barrel two
ounces of isinglass, dissolved in a quart of wine.
— American Agriculturist.

Soups. — Soups, when properly made, are very
■wholesome, and an almost indispensable append-
age to a dinner. But how few cooks know how-
to make it wholesome and palatable. To prepare
good soup requires more skill and labor than al-
most any other principal dish, and few ever learn,
and those who know how, seldom go to the trou-
ble of making it right. In a majority of families
— we are safe in saying nine out of ten — really
good soup is never eaten, or soup that is not in-
digestible. They think that to be good, it must
look very yellow, and made so by half an inch of
grease on the top. Now, the truth is, there should
be little or no grease about soup. It should be
made of lean meat boiled, or rather simmered, for
a long time — say half a doaen hours — and then
strained and boiled again. A little brown flour,

prepared as the Germans do for their "burnt meal
soup," gives it a dark color. Some add a little
sugar. Above all things, keep away grease from
soup, commonly known as "fat," if you want the
soup to digest in the next six or eight hours.

Delicious Veal Cutlet. — First take your cut-
let and beat it with the flat side of the cleaver or
rolling-pin. Beat it for about five minutes, then,
having thrown a quantity of butter, eggs and flour
into a frying-pan, when the mixture is hissing
hot, put your cutlet in, and there let it stew. The
mixture will penetrate to the core, and is imbibed
in every part.

To Destroy Flies. — To one pint of milk add
a quarter pound of raw sugar, and two ounces of
ground pepper ; simmer them together eight or
ten minutes, and place it about in shalloAv dishes.
The flies attack it greedily, and arc soon suffocat-
ed. By this method, kitchens. Sec, may be kept
clear of flies all summer, without the danger at-
tending poison. We copy this from an anonymous
source. It is easily tried ; and if effective, will
be valuable.

Cure for Corns. — Take two ounces of gum
ammoniac, two ounces of yellow wax, and six
drachms of verdigris ; melt them together, and
spread the composition on a jjiece of soft leather
or linen. Cut away as much of the corn as you
can with a knife before you apply the plaster,
which must be renewed in a fortnight, if the corn
is not by that time gone.

LADY JANE GKEY'S CHABACTER.

Jane Grey, eldest daughter of the Duke of Suf-
folk, was nearly of the same age with Edward.
Edward had been precocious to a disease ; the ac-
tivity of his mind had been a symptom, or a cause,
of the weakness of his body. Jane Grey's accom-
plishments were as extensive as Edward's ; she
had acquired a degree of learning rare in ma-
tured men, which she could use gracefully, and
could permit to be seen by others without vanity
or consciousness. Her character had developed
with her talents. At fifteen she was learning He-
brew and could write Greek ; at sixteen she cor-
responded with Bullinger in Latin at least equal
to his own ; but the matter of her letters is more
striking than the language, and speaks more for
her than the most elaborate panegyrics of admir-
ing courtiers. She has left a portrait of herself
drawn by her own hand ; a portrait of piety, pu-
rity, and free, noble innocence, uncolored, even
to a fault, with the emotional weaknesses of hu-
manity. While the effects of the Reformation in
England had been visible in the outward domin-
ion of scoundrels and in the eclipse of the heredi-
tary virtues of the national character. Lady Jane
Grey had lived to show that the defect was not in
the Reformed faith, but in the absence of all faith
— that the graces of St. Elizabeth could be ri-
valled by the pupil of Cranmer and Ridley. The
Catholic saint had no excellence of which Jane
Grey was without the promise ; the distinction
Avas in the freedom of the Protestant from the
hysterical ambition for an unearthly nature, and
in the presence, through a more intelligent creed,
of a vigorous and practical understanding. —
Fronde's History of England.

DEVOTED TO AGRICTJIiTUIlE AND ITS KIISTDEED ARTS AND SCIENCES.

VOL. XII.

BOSTON, SEPTEMBER, 1860.

NO. 9.

?!IY,^.''^' fr.?±tl^'^lt^' PnoP.x..ous. ^,^^^ 3^^^^ ^^,^^^_

Office... .34 Merchants' Row,

Fr.KD'K HOL'RROnK, ( Associate
HEXUY F. FKEXCli, j Ki-itoks.

TALK ABOUT SEPTEMBEIl.

"There is a beautiful spirit breathing now
It3 mellow richness on the clustered trees."

_^^ (Q^

EPTEMBEPv IS, per-
haps, the most
beautiful month of
the twelve. It has
not the east Avinds
of spring, the in-
tense heat of sum-
mer, nor the cold
northerly blast of
later autumn. Yet
a shadow rests up-
U on its beauty, be-
■^^ cause we begin to
see signs of decay.
We know that the
turning his back up-
on us, and that we must
soon bid farewell to the
verdure that has charmed us for a
little while. A few yellow leaves are,
perhaps, all the positive evidences
of decay yet visible, but a general sereness has
diminished the rich green of summer, and ban-
ished that freshness which will return no more
for many months. But then it is never wise to let
the storms and inclemencies that are going to he,
cloud the sunshine that is.

For further consideration we have the fact
that summer did not depart till her work was
done. Her bright suns and pleasant rains gave us
plenty of cherries, currants, berries, &c., &c., and
left the premises for the months of the garnered
sheaves, and gathered grain — of apples, pump-
kins and other delightful things which glad the
hearts of industrious Yankees. And autumn will
finish the work summer laid out for her, for Na-
IulTC is, in the main, very reliable. She will not
bring us a cold, stern winter, without first supply-
ing us with life's comforts. Our vegetables and

fruits shall ripen, our pigs and turkeys grow fat,
and then we can retire to our dens (figuratively)
and defy "rude Boreas" and all his train.

The changes of the seasons are, on the whole, a
pleasant variety to most people. Even a perpet- •
ual spring would become a monotonous affair af-
ter a while. But how different are the voices of
autumn, and the voices of spring — both delight-
ful in their way. Already we miss many voices
from the full chorus that saluted us a few months
ago. The frog, whose voice came from every bog
and meadow and brook in the warm twilights of
April, has said his say, and retired from the
stump, like a sensible orator, when he has ex-
pressed his sentiments. Or, if we do hear him at
all, it is but a faint peep — he has evidently lost
the zeal which characterized his first efforts. The
robin, having seen her family through their state
of babyhood, has settled quietly down to a matter-
of-fact existence. The blackbirds, who, while
planning their summer's work, are perfectly tu-
multuous, have long since ceased to hold their
caucuses on every tree. The whip-poor-will is not
heard much after July comes in — but he can hard-
ly be said to belong to the full choir of which we
have spoken, as he only comes abroad in the
night when all but owls and people with unquiet
consciences are' sleeping. Where does he go, and
why does he leave so early ?

We have spoken of the voices of spring. Now
what are the voices of the autumn ? They are
few and generally mournful. An occasional note
from a solitary bird, the caw of the crow as he
flaps lazily through the air — the tree-toad predict-
ing rain with more certainty than the weather-
vane that points East on your barn. These are
the sounds we hear on a quiet autumn day. The
chirp of the grasshopper and cricket are saying,
too, "Summer's gone — summer's gone !"

Our fields and gardens, also, bear witness of
the same thing. Instead of the moiljst but fra-
grant little flowers, that came when the snow first

394

NEW ENGLAND FARMEE.

Sept.

went away, — or the roses and syringas of a later
date, we have now beds of flaunting, gaudy, but
almost scentless phloxes — the dahlia, marygold
and aster. Then the cardinal, whose scarlet blos-
soms made the meadow so gay in August, has
had its day, and the clematis has changed its
white blossoms for a feathery mass of little curl-
ing tendrils.

At home, too, we insensibly glide into a differ-
ent way of life. Instead of gathering about the
great front door, or sitting out on the piazza of
an evening, we come to the bright parlor lamp,
and say to each other that the evenings are grow-
ing chilly, although nobody likes to insinuate that
it is time for fires yet. It doesn't come amiss,
though, if we can get a seat near the kitchen
stove, accidentally, while the tea is being pre-
pared.

There is something very pleasant in this reas-
sembling of a family group around a common cen-
tre, after the more wandering habits of hot weath-
er, and the social delights of autumn and winter
evenings go far to compensate for the loss of the
delicious romance of summer.

As a farming community, we have had, on the
whole, our usual prosperity during the present
season, although the disease among the cattle has
caused pretty serious inconvenience in some lo-
calities. But we hope that time, and a better ac-
quaintance with the disease, will remedy the evil.

There have been, perhaps, about the usual num-
ber of events capable of furnishing subjects of
talk at stores and depots, and the corners of the
streets. There was the tornado at the West which
carried cows and horses through the air as if they
had been so many insects — and the storm in this
vicinity which did not "spare that tree" on Bos-
ton Common, — a comet with a tail about as large
as that of a good sized rat, and a partial eclipse
of the sun. So much in the way of meteorology
and astronomy.

Then, to descend to a lower sphere, there have
been the Presidential nomination, a visit from
those diminutive specimens of humanity, the Jap-
anese, and the sailing of Dr. Hayes toward that
Unknown Sea, and tlie unknown regions that may
lie beyond, the search of which has already cost
so much in money and human life. Success to
the brave navigator.

When the stray items of another summer are
gathered up, may pleasant returns from him and
his crew brighten our recording page !

Fine Diffusion of Gold. — Professor Faraday
supposes that if a leaf of gold, which is only
1-280,000 of an inch thick, and weighs about 8.2
of a grain, yet covers a superfices of nearly ten
square inches, were diff'used through a column of
solution having that base, and 2.7 inches in

height, it would give a ruby fluid equal in depth
of tint to a good, red rose ; the volume of gold
present being about the one five hundred thous-
andth part of the volume of fluid. — Timbs' Curi-
osities of Science.

For the New England Farmer,
CUTTING AND CURING OF HAY.

There is no part of the farmer's employment in
the month of July of more importance than this.
When and how grass shall be cut for the making
of hay, are inquiries that will be likely to be an-
swered, according to the education and practice of
those who answer. I have supposed that grass
should be cut when grown, so as to produce the
greatest weight when cured — say between the
bloom, and the maturing of the seeds. If suffered
to remain longer than this, it becomes hard and
wiry, and loses that aromatic flavor which is the
beauty of new-mown nay.

My attention has been drawn to this point, by
the assertion of gentlemen of experience, that it
is best to let grass stand until fully ripe, before
it is cut, because it will then be quicker and easi-
er made into hay. I cannot concur in this opin-
ion.

How shall it be cut, with a scythe, or with a
mower, by horse-power ? I had supposed it to
have been demonstrated, again and again, that
full one-half the expense of cutting can be saved
by the use of a mower of approved construction.
I know nothing to the contrary of this, unless it
be, that the expense of fitting up mowers will be
disproportionate to the wants of small farmers.
Where this is so, several farmers, in the same
neighborhood, may unite in the owning of a ma-
chine ; and have a common operator to guide it.

A machine can be used for the cutting of ten
acres per day, without unreasonable fatigue to
man or beast. This would require the labor of ten
men — as work is usually done with a scythe. I
therefore unhesitatingly approve of dispensing
with the use of man-power, when it can be done
so advantageously as in the cutting of grass. m

Essex Co., Mass., July, 1860. * "

Remarks. — So mote it be, Mr. *. Prejudice is
more than a "monster of frightful mien" — for if
it would frighten some persons into a sense of
their own interests, it would be well. But it does
not, for they worry along for years fighting di-
rectly against their own comfort and interest,
merely because they are determined the world
shall go no faster than they do.

COLIC IN HORSES.

A' correspondent of the Farmer''s Advocate, (E.
S. Phelps, Jr.,) gives the following recipe for colic
in horses :

"I knew a horse taken with colic while on a
tread-wheel to a carding machine, so that the
owner thought he could not live. He got three
veterinary surgeons, and they did what they could,
and all decided the horse must die. The man's
wife, who believed and practiced hygiene, from
the time the horse was taken, tried to persuade
her husband to use a wet bandage, but he insisted

i860.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

395

it -would do no good. After all had given up that
the horse could no longer live, by her entreaties,
(the doctor saying it could do no good or hurt,)
he took a thick bed-comforter, bound it around
the horse, went to the well and drew water, anc
pom-ed it on till thoroughly soaked. It steamed
like a pot boiling. In less than fifteen minutes
from the time he commenced the watering process
the horse was up and eating, to the great surprise
of the horse doctor, who knew he could not live.
The horse did good service afterwards. This recipe
I gave several years ago, and it was copied into
most — as I was told by an editor — of the agricul-
tural, and many other papers of the United States.
Many have tried and proved it. Try it, brother
farmer.

THE CROPS OF 1860.

The general evidence from all quarters is to
the effect that the crops of 1860 will be abundant.
Of course, in some sections of the country the
farmer has not been so fortunate, and particular
crops show the effects of the drought, the storm, or
the insect — but such cases are merely the excep-
tion which prove the general rule.

In New England the hay crop is generally short,
from one-quarter to one-half less than the aver-
age. Fruit, grain and vegetables promise unusu-
ally well. We present a few extracts from our
exchanges in various parts of the country.

The Lewiston Falls (Me.) Journal states that
on now fields in Lewiston and adjoining towns
there will be nearly as much hay cut this year as
there was last, but on old fields there will not be
more than one-half or two-thirds as much. On
boLh old and new fields the hay is heavier accord-
ing to bulk, and of a much superior quality. It
will be secured in better order than for a number
of years. Grain, corn, potatoes and other crops
look remarkably well, considering the long
drought. In Somerset county grass looks remark-
ably well. Wheat sowed from the 15th to the
30th of April goes clear of the weevil, and will
produce from sixteen to thirty bushels of first
quality grain per acre, if storms do not injure it.
Corn never looked better. On Friday and Satur-
day nights of last week there was a slight frost
in many places in the State of Maine.

The Burlington (Vt.) PJicxnix says that the hay
crop in that county promises to be greater than
that of last year, and that was larger than any one
preceding it for a number of years. Since the
middle of June the weather has been unusually
propitious for its increase, and although late, the
growth in moist, uncut fields still continues. Corn
and oats are exceedingly thrifty, and the crops of
both will be large.

The Rochester (N. Y.) Advertiser says the far-
mers are now securing an abundant harvest of
Genesee wheat. All concur in saying that the
yield is not only handsome, but the quality is re-
markably fine. The Oswego Palladium says that

many pear and apple trees in that vicinity are

struck with blight.

The wheat and corn crop of Ohio promises to
be large. The rejiorts are pretty much like those
from Illinois and Indiana. The papers complain
of a blight in the apple trees in certain sections
of that State. It resembles the fire blight, which
affects the pear, and seems to fall only upon trees
that are full of fruit. The grain crop of 1800 now
bids fair to overtop any of previous years, even
the bountiful harvest of 1857, when the respective
crops were as follows :

Corn '. 82,555,186 bushels.

Wheat 25,397,614 "

Oats 25,000,000 "

Other small grains 3,000,000 "

Aggregate 135,952,800

This aggregate, large as it is, will probably be
increased in 1860. The Cincinnati (raze^^e thinks
the wheat and corn crop may be more, the oats
not as much.

A private letter, recently received from one of
the largest South Carolina planters, says : "We
are in a terrible drought and heat here. It is set-
tled that the corn crop of the South will be very
short. As to cotton, greatly damaged now, no
one can say for a month to come what it may do.
I am now mainly a corn planter. Six weeks ago
I expected to make 70,000 bushels ; I will now
compound for 40,000. I expected, also, 600 bales
of cotton, but now only count on 400, but may
make a little more."

From every quarter of Canada the prospects
of the coming harvest are most cheering. The
only exception to the productiveness of crops is
said to be that of hay, which is light ; but even
of that the quantity is expected to be much larger
than the yield of last year.

On the whole, we consider the reports exceed-
ingly encouraging, and another proof, if that were
wanted, of the unfailing fulfilment of the promise
that, "while the earth remaineth, seed time and
harvest shall not fail."

The Pennsylvania Oil Springs. — Less is
said, perhaps, than formerly, about the newly-dis-
covered oil springs in western Pennsylvania, but
the oil is there, and all the original local excite-
ment ; and when railroads shall have been built
through the region, and arrangements made for
working this source of incalculable wealth, the
new branch of industry will assume no m; an pro-
portions. There are now within the radius of a
mile from Franklin, Pa., over one hundred oil
springs, in only eight of which pumps have been
put to work. Some of these yield forty barrels a
day, while the general average of all the wells is
twelve barrels. But barrels cannot lie got, and
when got the facilities for getting to market are
of the worst kind, so very little is being done,
now, more than to prospect for new bores and
hold on to the old ones. Proprietors will not sell
at any price, and calculate their springs freelv at
anywhere from $10,000 to $100,000. The oiHs
of good quality, and worth in its crude state thir-
ty cents a gallon in New York.

396

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

Sept.

DIVISION OF LABOR IN" FARMING.

Within the recollection of middle-aged people,
great changes have taken place in the household
industry of farmers' families. Many who now
buy their own, and much of their children's cloth-
ing ready-made, were dressed in their childhood
with garments that were spun and woven, cut
and made, by their mothers and sisters, with a
few days' assistance, perhaps, on the winter coats,
by the tailoress of the neighborhood. The transfer
of the loom and spinning-wheel from the family
to the factory is very differently regarded by dif-
ferent individuals. Some think that the result
of this change will be the gradual loss of that
industry, tact and independence, which has given
character to the people of New England, while
others take a more hopeful view of the subject.

Whether we lament or rejoice over this change,
it can be regarded hut as a manifestation of that
"spirit of the age," an evidence of that tendency
of our times, which merges the individual in the
mass, which substitutes associated for solitary
labor, and thus makes even the baleful atmos-
phere of the factory more attractive than the pure
air of heaven. Hence we are not surprised to
see by the census returns, that, while our cities
and villages are rapidly increasing in population,
many thinly settled portions of the country are
gaining but slowly, some are stationary, and not
a few are actually decreasing in population.

Farming has been generally regarded as neces-
sarily an individual or solitary business. The
hand that fells the trees, must drive the team,
thresh the grain, guide the plow, swing the scythe,
sell the produce, buy stock, dress the pigs, and
do up all the various jobs and chores, in doors
and out, that fall to the lot of the farmer.

The division of labor, which, anomalous as it
may sound, must be called the first principle of
association, and the use of machinery, which may
be termed its second principle, has been sup-
posed to be inapplicable to farming, except to a
very limited extent.

These limits are, however, extending every
year. At the West, it is common for one indi-
vidual to equip a "breaking-up plow," and devote
himself exclusively to this one branch of farm-
ing, during the entire season. Another goes the
rounds with a patent reaper, and some one else
with a threshing-machine. Several individuals
in Massachusetts have purchased machines, and
have done up the mowing for their neighbors,
during the past two or three seasons. It is also
a common practice near large towns, for milk-
m.en to do the marketing of this article for their
neighbors.

We find, however, in the Oliin Farmer, an ac-
count of a new application of this principle. Mr.
Lysander Pelton, of Gustavus, Trumbull county.

Ohio, has established a cheese factory, where the
curd from more than two hundred dairies is man-
ufactured into cheese. He has erected suitable
buildings, with sufficient shelving for three hun-
dred and fifty tons of cheese. In April, he con-
tracts with all the farmers within a district of
eiglit or ten miles square, who are willing to sell
their curd, which is collected by Mr. P. and M'hich
employs from six to eight teams. The agreement
is that the curd shall be sweet, and that ten pounds
of it shall make seven pounds of cheese. "For
two years past the price has been 4A cents per
pound net." The curd from each dairy is sepa-
rately tested at the factory, and its amount of
shrinkage, Avhich is various, determined by ex-
periments ; if over 30 per cent., the excess is de-
ducted ; if less, it is added. The curd is sliced
and ground fine by machinery, and the whole es-
tablishment is arranged in factory style, and with
strict regard to convenience and neatness, and
great pains are taken to retain the best possible
flavor. Mr. Pelton contracts f(*r his cheese di-
rectly with shippers, and it Is stated that ''no one
who has dealt in his cheese has lost on it," al-
though country merchants in Ohio generally com-
plain of losing money by their operations in this
article. The last season, Mr. P. contracted for
all the cheese he could make, not to exceed three
hundred tons, but in consequence of the drought
he does not expect to exceed two hundred tons.

The Avriter of the article which we have thus
condensed, believes that these two hundred dairy-
men would realize less money from the sale of
their cheese if manufactured at home, than they
now do from the sale of the curd ; thus making
a clear saving of the labor and care of manufac-
turing, preserving and selling thcin — a saving
which no dairy-woman will call a trifle. The rea-
son for this belief is, that if manufactured in
these various households, there Mould be not only
two hundred different sizes and shapes of cheese,
but as many qualities, which, when carried to
market, a few at a time, would be sold for less
money than Mr. Pelton pays for the curd.

Of itself, this Ohio speculation may be a small
affair ; but, as suggesting the possibility of ap-
plying to agriculture those principles of combi-
nation, of labor-saving machinery, and of the di-
vision of labor, which have done so much for
manufactures, we regard Mr. Pelton's cheese
factory as one of those signs of the times that
deserve a passing notice and a passing thought.

Land Measure. — Every farmer should have a
good measure, a light stiff pole, just sixteen and
a half feet long, for measuring land. By a little
practice he can learn to step a rod in five steps,
which will answer very well for ordinary farm
work. Ascertain the number of rods in width and

1860.

NEAV ENGLAND FARMER.

397

length of a lot you want to measure, and multi-
ply one into the other, and divide by one hundred
and sixty, and you have the number of acres, as
one hundred and sixty square rods make a square
acre. If you wish to lay off an acre square, meas-
ure thirteen rods on each side, and you have the
thing very near.

SOUTHEKTT AND NORTHERN" CORN-
FIELDS.

A correspondent of the Scientific American
writing from Kentucky communicates the follow-
ing, which may interest our agricultural friends :

"It is a curious fact that the Yankees, with all
their ingenuity, have never learned to plow a
straight furrow, while every negro in the South
will lay off a field, however large, without having
a bend of a foot in a single row. The furrows are
not only straight but parallel, the last one in a
field a quarter of a mile square, always coming
out parallel with the fence. A Virginia farmer,
60 years of age, told me that he never had a short
row in one of his cornfields in his life. In the
new States, whenever you see crooked rows you
may know you are among people from New York,
New England and Ohio, and whenever the rows
are straight, you will find that it is a settlement
of Southerners. This accuracy is owing to the
method of laying off the ground. If it is desired
to have the rows three and a half feet apart, two
stakes are cut, each seven feet long, one for each
edge of the field. One of these is set perpendic-
ularly seven feet from the end of the field, and
the plowman, proceeding to the opposite edge,
makes a mark there also, seven feet from the end,
and runs his furrow straight to the standing stake,
operating in a direction to keep the unfurrowed
portion of the field at his right hand. Returning,
he splits the seven feet strip with a furrow, thus
hawing round — or, as the Southerners say, 'turn-
ing haw' — at both edges of the field. The failure
of Northerners to learn this simple art is mainly
ov.'ing to the inveterate conservatism characteris-
tic of farmers — their fondness for walking in the
paths of their fathers — but it is also partly to be
attributed to their mode of guiding their horses.
I think that for driving a team attached to a wag-
on, the two or four reins used at the North are
preferable to the plan of riding the near-wheel
horse and guiding the team by a single line on
the near leader, which is in universal use at the
South. But for plowing, the single line is decid-
edly better than anything else that I have ever
seen."

Ceedit. — The CJieshire Eepuhlican, published
at Keene, N. H., will undoubtedly feel happier by
crediting us with the article in its issue of July
19, entitled "A Few Words about Haying." "We
like to see our children going about the world do-
ing good, but always with the badge of their pa-
ternity upon them. We lay no claim to the arti-
cle entitled "How to Mow," hitched on to the
breeches of our own bantling !

To remove mildew from linen or cotton goods,
dip the articles in soft soap, and spread them in
the sun, on the grass.

For the New England Farmer.

LETTER FROM THE SANDWICH
ISLANDS.

Messrs. Editors : — From Kilanea we pushed
on for Kau the next station. We rode along near
the sulphur banks, down the west side of the cra-
ter, past the burning lake which we visited yes-
terday, and for nearly twenty miles travelled
through a country blighted with the overflowing
scourge of lava which has destroyed at least sev-
en-tenths of this noble island. We then found a
better country, and staid over night at the house
of Frederick Lyman, a worthy son of Rev. I). B.
Lyman, of Hilo. Mr. Lyman has one of the best
places I saw on Hawaii, a grazing farm of some
two thousand acres in the district of Kau. The
next day we rode through the district, passing the
wheat fields of the last year. Some two thousand
bushels were here gathered. Of this I may speak
again, ere I am through.

In 1829 I passed through this district. Every-
thing was then primitive Hawaiian, and little im-
provement. Now, Christian civilization exhibits
its fruits in meeting-houses, school-houses, and in
better habitations than formerly ; in roads ; in
increased industry ; wheat raising, cattle raising,
better clothing, &c Kau, however, is a hard dis-
trict, exceeding stony as a whole, and fit chiefly
for pasturage. Goats are being raised in great
numbers, chiefly for their hides and tallow, and
pulu from the fern is plenty in the mountains,
and is becoming an article of commerce. Rev.
W. C. Shipman is the pastor of the church.

From Kau we pushed on for Kona. We rode
some thirty-five miles the first day over an exceed-
ingly rough country. All lava, and nearly all the
aa or clinkers, small lava stones. Near night we
reached the sea and took a canoe. The sea was
smooth and the mountain breeze took us on de-
lightfully, so that at dawn of day we had entered
Kealakeakua Bay, and we landed and rode to the
residence of Rev. John D. Paris, at Orange Hill,
South Kona. His people, Hawaiians, are mostly
at the sea, the bay where we landed, and at the
coast which we passed during the night in the ca-
noe. His principal meeting-house is at Kealakea-
kua, near the place where Opukahaia, (Obookiah,
as written inEnglish,) used to live. With Mr. Paris
we visited IIonai>nau, the ancient place of burial
of kings, and a large ancient city of refuge. Mr.
Paris' residence is about two miles from Keala-
keakua, and only one mile from Kaawaloa, where
Cook fell in 1779. This spot we visited, as also
his monument, which, at a cost of some two or
three dollars, perhaps, not more, his brave coun-
trymen have erected to his memory.

We found quite a number of foreign residents
on Orange Hill, the place of Mr. J. D. Paris.
From his house there is a very good road for six
or eight miles. The land on each side of this road
is owned by foreigners, and every half mile you
see a very decent framed or stone house built by
a foreigner. These men are cultivating their land,
raising coffee, oranges and other things. Till
lately the prospect was flattering that the coffee
crop would be large, but much of this year's crop
has been destroyed by an insect which causes
both the orange and coffee to blight. There is a
strip of land, including this Orange Hill, which
may become some of the most valuable on Ha-

398

KEW ENGLAND FARMER.

Sept.

•waii. It may be, (it has not been measured,) for-
ty miles long, and from three to five broad. It
has been overflown with lava, and is now very
stony; but so much of it has been decomposed
that there is a rich soil. It cannot be plowed, but
fruit trees grow luxuriantly, and native produce
and corn and beans do well. If the place is pre-
served from the fires of Pele, we shall hear from
South Kona again ere long.

Wishing to see one more exhibition of Pele's
doings, we rode to Kiholo, thirty miles from Mr.
Paris'. As we left the settlement of Kona, the
roads became exceedingly bad where they were
not covered with gi-ass spread over the lava stones,
and trodden down. The last six or eight miles,
the road lay through fields of lava horrible to be-
hold. Now, for a mile or two, we pass through a
region which was overflown, I judge, one hundred
and fifty years ago. It is a perfect wilderness of
lava grown grey with age, decomposing on the
upper side, but judging from old fissures it must
be from ten to fifteen feet deep. Again we enter
another belt of a mile or two of a more recent
age, but ancient and wilder, if possible, than the
last. Not an inch of ground, not a spoonful of
dirt, is seen over all these horrid fields. And so
for miles, we found belt after belt, each of differ-
ent age, till we reached Kiholo, and stood upon
the lava caused by the eruption of 1859, still
smoking, sending up steam and vapor. We
walked over what had been a fine fish-pond filled
with mullet ; now nothing but a huge pile of lava
slabs. A little further, and we came upon the
lava stream now running on a level, and now
rushing down a fall of a foot or two. Approach-
ing one of the streams, I thrust my stick into it,
and drew out some of the matter for a specimen.
The matter was of the consistency of thick tar,
more adhesive perhaps. This Kiholo is about
three miles from Wainanalii, the fishing village
where the molten river just reached the ocean,
Jan. 31st, 1859. It has been piling up its matter
as it has cooled, till it has reached the place
where we saw it. In the evening we took canoe
and were rowed a mile and a half to a place
Avhere the stream leaps into the Pacific. The
wind was light and southerly, driving the steam
and gases from us. Our canoe approached to
within sixty feet where we sat and drank in the
grandeur of the scene. There were three streams
rushing down a precipice of some twenty-five feet
high. We judged that one of these streams was
two fathoms wide, the others one fathom each.
At times the flow into the sea was regular and
the commotion of the water and the ascent of the
steam constant. Again, the lava, just at the place
of falling into the water, became obstructed, a
large mass collected, till the stream above pressing
hard, the pile became detached, and tons perhaps
fell in at once. ♦At such times, the boiling, roar-
ing foaming of the maddened waters v/as terrible,
while the clouds of steam which ascended upward
reflecting the light from the burning river added
greatly to the grandeur and terror of the scene ; I
retired from this exhibition, quite satisfied with
what I had witnessed of Pele's doings — grateful,
too, I hope, that no such burning, desolating river
is seen at ]n-esent on Maui. Well may you, too,
be grateful that no such destroying element is
eating your fail? and fruitful fields.

Let me now tell you of our wheat crop in 1859,

and of our troubles from another source. We
had our usual troubles with the cut-worm and the
caterpillar. These being ended, the wheat did
well, was harvested and threshed, crop abundant,
— grain good. The wheat was taken down to our
little harbor, and sold till 20,000 bushels bad
been taken to the mill of Honolulu, and a consid-
erable quantity stored at the sea. Just then the
flouring company sent peremptory orders to their
agent to cease purchasing wheat. And thus some
5000 bushels remain on our hands. It has caused
much suffering among my people, and there seems
no little cause of complaint as the company have
all along urged the farmers to put in the wheat,
and did not suggest any limits to the quantity to
be raised. Considerable of this surplus wheat
has been sold for fifty cents per bushel. We need
more competition in the sale of flour, and I trust
that by another year there will be another flouring-
mill, so that bread will be cheaper. For a time 1
thought there would be less Avheat sown another
year, but as there is so much on hand, I now
think the quantity will be as great as last year.
Some think even greater.

There is much complaint, just now, of the hard
times. The poor success of whalers for the last
year or two, is one cause, I sup])ose. One of our
wheat growers, a man from Georgia, U. S., was
basely murdered on the night of January 1, of this
year. He was an intelligent and industrious man.
The murderers have not been convicted, though
three young Hawaiians are under arrest for trial.
We have had a very dry season, and our fields
are still suffering.

Yours, with much respect, J. S. Green.

Makawao, Maui, January, 1860.

HOW MUCH HAY FOR THE HORSE?

This is a question which we have seen proposed
in some of the journals of the day. If put in &
general manner, you might, with as much pro-
priety, ask how much horse for the hay ? The
quantity of hay for the horse must depend on
many contingencies — such as the size of the horse,
the proportion of oats or other provender which
he receives, his general health, &c. &c.

A Wisconsin man has sent a communication to
the Wisconsin Farmer, on this subject. He says
he has had experience in keeping horses, and tried
careful experiments in regard to feeding them.
He thinks that on an average Jive pounds at a
time, and three feeds per day, with twelve quarts
of oats per day, or their equivalent in shorts, is
enough for a good sized horse. He considers "a
good sized horse" one that will weigh 1150 lbs.
He recommends cut feed as being vastly prefera-
ble to any mode of feeding horses. He also con-
tends that horses so fed have no cough or heaves,
which he believes to be inseparable from feeding
with clover or dusty hay, unless it be eut and well
dampened.

Those who have tried the method, say that a
feed of carrots, say a peck once per day, to horses,
will be better than large allowances of oats, or, in
other Avords, a few carrots will be better to take
the place of part of the oats usually given. The
reason assigned for this is the following : Car-
rots contain an ingredient called Peci!/c acid, which
acid is a great aid to the gastric juices in digest-

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

399

ing the food of the horse. When this is supplied
in the case of feeding with carrots, both the hay
the horse ?ats and the provender is more easily
and more thoroughly digested.

We all know that horses that labor hard,
whether in slow or quick draft, must have more
concentrated feed than hay, in order to keep up
their strength and animation. Still it will not
do to feed them wholly on concentrated feed.
Their stomachs and digestive organs were made
to receive and digest bulky food, like that of grass,
hay, straw and the like, and they cannot do with-
out it. In order, therefore, to insure the best of
health, they must have fibrous or bulky matter to
give that distension to their stomachs their na-
ture requires, and this, as a matter of course,
must depend upon the size of the horse, or on the
size of the stomach and digestive organs. Hence
a strictly definite answer to the question, how
much hay for a horse ? must be answered by each
individual horse for himself. — Maine Farmer.

CUTTDSTG AND CURING GEAIN.

Experiments have pretty well settled the fact
that wheat should be cut while the grain is in the
state called doughy. The conclusion was, indeed,
reached several years since in regard to wheat,
but it has, by the experiments of Voelcker, been
clearly shown to be applicable to oats ; and it is
also known to be equally applicable to Indian
corn. At first, it was feared by some that there
would be a great shrinkage of the grain cut in
this stage, which would amount to absolute loss.
It is proved, however, that the sap of the stems of
straw is sufficient to perfect the grain, and that
the grain, under such circumstances even pos-
sesses some valuable properties which it has not
when it remains uncut till dead ripe.

Mr. Colman states that he found by many in-
quiries in England that thf) "best rule for har-
vesting is not when the stalk below the head has
changed color, and the circulations have conse-
quently ceased, but when the grain, though it has
ceased to yield any milk upon pressure, is yet
soft." The advantages of cutting at this stage
arc briefly given as follows : "Wheat cut early af-
fords more grain, yields less bran, makes better
flour, wastes less in gleaning, gives better straw,
and enables the farmer to do the work more lei-
surely."

C. W. Johnson, in the Farmer's Encyclopcedia,
observes — "Grain, if not reaped until the straw
is wholly yellow, will be more than ripe, as the
ear, generally, except in the late seasons, ripens
before the entire of the straw, and it is observa-
ble that the first reaped usually afl'ords the heavi-
est and fairest sample. The indications of ripe-
ness in wheat are few and simple. When the straw
exhibits a bright golden color, from the bottom of
the stem nearly to the ear, or when the ear be-
gins to bend gently, the grain may be cut. But
as the whole crop will not be equally ripe at the
same time, if, on walking through the field and
selecting the greenest heads, the kernels can be
separated from the chaff when rubbed through
the hands, it is a sure sign that the grain is then
out of its milky state, and may be reaped with
safety ; for although the straw may be green to
some distance downwards from the ear, yet if it be
quite yellow from the bottom upwards, the grain

then wants no further nourishment from the
earth, and if properly harvested will not shrink.
These tokens will be found to suflficiently indicate
the ripeness of wheat, barley and oats ; but that
of rye arises from the straw losing some of its
golden hue, and becoming paler."

Some of the most valuable experiments which
have been reported on this subject, are those of
Mr. Hannam, in the 12th and 13th volumes of
the Quarterly Jouriml of Afjricidture. The trials
were made under his own direction, and Avith
great care. He cut samples of wheat at five dif-
ferent times, as follows :

No. 1, was cut a month before fully ripe.
" 2, " three weeks " "
" 3, " two weeks " "

" 4, " two daj's " "

" 5, " when fully ripe.

Of these lots, 100 pounds of grain of each
yielded as follows :

No. Flour. Seconds. Bran.

1 75 pounds 7 pounds 17 pounds.

2 7S " 7 " 16 "

3 80 " 5 " 13 "

4 77 " 7 " 14 «

5 72 " 11 « 15 "

Thus it appears that No. 3, which was cut two
weeks before it was fully ripe, was superior to the
other lots ; giving more per bushel than No. 5,
(cut when fully ripe,) by 6;^ pounds of flour, and
a gain of about fifteen per cent, on the flour of
equal measure of grain ; 100 pounds of wheat of
N^o. 3, makes 80 pounds of flour, while 100 j)ounds
of No. 5, yields 72 — showing an average of eight
per cent, in favor of No. 3. In grinding, it Avas
found that No. 5 ground the worst — worse than
No. 1. There were in No. 5 a greater quantity of
flinty particles which would not pass the bolt,
than in any of the other lots. The bran from No.
5 was also much thicker and heavier than that of
No. 3.

Mr. Hannam concludes, therefore, that in cut-
ting wheat two weeks before it is fully ripe, there
is a gain of fifteen per cent, of flour upon equal
measures, a gain of fourteen per cent, in the
weight of straw, and a gain of 7s. Gd. sterling in
the value of every quarter (560 lbs.) of wheat.
Many trials have been made in this country in
cutting wheat at various stages, and the results
agree, generally, with those above given.

But when grain is cut before it is ripe, it is
necessary that it sliould undergo a process of cur-
ing, before it can be safely stored in the barn or
stack. Hence it is usual to ])lace the sheaves in
shock for several days, according to the state of
weather, or the degree of moisture in the straw.
But it sometimes happens that loss is occasioned,
more or less, by the sprouting of the grain while
it stands in shock — especially in warm, showery,
or damp weather. To guard, as well as possible,
against loss from this cause, the shocks should be
put up in the best manner. — Albany Cultivator.

United States Agricultural Society. —
The annual exhibition of this Society will be held
at Cincinnati, commencing Sept. 12, and contin-
uing to the 20th. The premium list amounts to
$20,000. No cattle will be received on account
of the pleuro-pneumonia disease, but large pre-
miums will be oflered for horses, machinery,
steam fire-engines, &c.

400

NEW ENGLAND FARIMEIl.

Sept.

AGKICULTUKAIi SOCIETY.
Through the kindness of Dr. O. W. True, we
have before vis a nicely printed pamphlet of fifty-
two pages, giving an account of the transactions
of the North Franklin Agricultural Society in
Elaine, for the year 1859. It also contains a brief
history of the Society, from its beginning in 1852,
giving the names of the persons who have de-
livered the Annual addresses, and of those per-
sons who have been elected as members of the
State Board of Agriculture. The pamphlet is al-
so illustrated with good specimens of cattle,
sheep and swine. The address last year was
given by Andrew C. Phillips, Esq., and is
an excellent production, full of sound teach-
ings and interesting and important facts.
After speaking of the fertility of the soil of
the county, of the clear mountain air, of the
rich intervales and crystal waters, of the
lakes studded with islands, and of the water-
fails and forests about them, he says :

"With all this, are you discontented —
your thoughts wandering to some distant
State or Territory, and your imagination
captivated with' visions of rich prairie lands
in the West ? Consider, first of all, the
probable or even possible loss of health from
the change, for which no worldly gain is an
equivalent. Don't forget the shady side of the
picture — that distance lends enchantment. —
Contrast your present comfortable homes, with
their commodious arrangements, with a diminu-
tive log house, its walls plastered with mud, with
its stick chimney, its solitary room answering the
manifold purpose of cook-room, slec])ing-room,
sitting-room and parlor, with a multitude of swine
standing guard at the front door, grunting for ad-
mission, and improving every opportunity to ef-
fect it. AVould you, who have been accustomed
to have your cattle comfortably housed in the
winter, enjoy seeing them, without a roof to pro-
tect them, stand shivering beside a hay-stack,
vainly endeavoring to shield themselves from
those cold, piercing, biting Avinds, that, unob-
structed by forests, or a single elevation of land,
t)low over the Avestern prairies? Call your children
about you, and look upon their young faces, now
radiant with the glow of health, and think if it
Avould be a ])leasing sight to mark those cheeks
grow ])alo, those lips livid and those eyes hollow,
under the effects of impure water and miasmatic
air. Don't forget your social privileges, your
neighbors, some of them perhaps your own kin-
dred, all at least Americans. Don't forgot your
churches and schools — all your present means of
intellectual and moral culture. Lastly, don't for-
get— for the dollar is, after all, the grand consid-
eration— don't forget, when you compare the
amount of products, to compare prices and facili-
ties of market, and the cost of what you are
obliged to purchase."

grown in the open air south of the northern line
of North Carolina and Tennessee. Eighteen thou-
sand plants have been sent into the Southern re-
gion, and eight tliousand more have been distrib-
uted to persons in the Northern States, owning
green-houses, as objects of curiosity.

THS "WILD CABROT.

This is a variety of the common carrot, culti-
vated in the fields and gardens, and a poor thing
it is ; much like the boy, neglected, crowded down

and abused ; he is a boy to be sure, but a dread-
ful poor specimen of the genus. The wild variety
is extensively naturalized in New England, and
threatens to become a troublesome pest on our
farms. We have, seen it growing on gravelly
road-sides, and even extending itself into the
hard, beaten track, much as the neglected boy
pushes his vices into the proprieties of life.

When this })lant makes its appearance on the
premises of the careless farmer, it soon multiplies
so as to become a source of annoyance to the
whole neighborhood. It should be carefully de-
stroyed before it matures its seeds. Dailinglons
pleasant book on Weeds and Useful Plants will
give the reader a more lull account of this, and
the ox-eye daisy.

The Tea Plant. — The progress of acclimatiz-
ing the tea plant, so far as heard from, is favora-
ble, and there is reason to believe that it can be

A Valuable Table.— The following table,
which will be found valuable to many of our read-
ers, we republish at the request of a friend :

A box 24 inches by 16 inches square and 28
inches deep, will contain a barrel — 5 bushels.

A box 24 inches by 16 inches square and 12
inches deep will contain half a barrel.

A box 26 inches by 15.8 inches square and 8
inches deep will contain 1 bushel.

A box 12 inches by 11.2 inches square and 8
inches deep will contain 1 peck,

A box 8 inches by 8 inches square and 4.2
inches deep will contain 1 gallon.

A box 4 inches by 8 inches square and 4.8
inches deep AviU contain a half-gallon.

A box 4 inches by 4 inches square and 4,1
inches deep will contain 1 quart.

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FAnMER.

401

THE OX-EYE DAISY — Leucanthemom.

This plant is well known all over New England
by the name of WTiite-Weed. It has become com-
mon on many farms, so that the fields present a
surface of white as though covered with snow. It
is not considered valuable for fodder, either in a
green or dry state, for even when feed is short in
the pastures, the daisy stands untouched by the
cattle, giving evidence that it is not palatable to
them. It is a strong grower, and unless checked,
will drive out most of the gi'asses we cultivate. It
propagates itself rapidly, so that when it once has
possession of a field, nothing short of plowing
and cultivating a succession of crops will eradi-
cate it.

"\^nienever it first appears in the fields, the far-
mer Avill do well to pull out every plant. In this
M'ay a few moments' labor each year will keep
his premises free from the invasions of this showy,
but as at present understood, worthless plant.

Indications of the Approach of the Mil-
lennium !— It would be strange, indeed, if there
were not one sensible man in the world who is
rich. That there has been one, is certain from
the account of a remarkable wiU appended below.
How strange it is that, in all the millions that
have been bequeathed, scarcely a dollar, with very
rare exceptions, has been appropriated to the en-
couragement of agricultural pursuits, or to teach

the young the urinciples and practices of this im-
portant art !

It is quite certain, that the "good time" we
have read and heard of so long, is at hand, it
must be the foreshadowing of the millennium it-
self, an "era of good feeling," when three hun-
dred ihousa?id dollars are bequeathed by a single
individual, "for the education in agriculture of
indigent white children," in the city of New York.
That man shall have an enduring monument in
the hearts of our people, whether he has one of
brass or not. But we must not keep the reader
too long from the account of this

Remarkable Will. — The will of Mr. John
Rose, a retired merchant of New York, whose de-
cease was announced some weeks ago, made a
conditional bequest of $1500,000 to the city of New
York, for the education in agriculture of indigent
white children. The condition is that a corres-
ponding sum should bo appropriated by the city,
or raised by charitable contributions, for the pur-
chase and support of a farm in the neighliorhood
of New York, to be devoted to the education and
training to agricultural pursuits of ])auper chil-
dren. If this purpose be not carried out, the
$300,000 goes to the American Colonization So-
ciety, for the deportation and support of free
blacks in Liberia. The decedent was a bachelor,
and a bachelor brother of large wealth is consti-
tuted his sole executor, with the remainder of his
estate, about $550,000, placed in his charge for
benevolent and charitable institutions. The only
personal bequests are a gift of $20,000 to his ex-
ecutor, and $12,000 to another brother, now ad-
vanced in years. The whole value of the estate,
principally in productive stocks, is reckoned at
$880,000. The foundation of this large wealth
was laid in one of the Southern cities.

For the Neio England Farmer.

THE COUNTRY FOR THE CHILDREN".

Messrs. Editors : — I have been often tempted
to write a few words for your highly prized pa-
per, but have never found time, from the same
cause that a farmer's wife complains of in the
number of June 30, whicli I have just read. There
is more truth in her remarks than every man is
aware of, whether he is a farmer or not. Hard
work, and a plenty of it, is the order of the day
with a stirring fanner, but not the order of the
night, as is often the case with the wife, who has
but one pair of hands to do with, and one head to
think what is to be done in the daily round oi
every day business. Still, I would not have my
boys or girls brought up anywhere else fbr all the
ease and luxury that any Boston lady enjoys; and
why ? you may ask. I will tell you. In the first
place, it is much better for their health on a farm,
and less trouble in finding something to keep
them out of idleness, which is the parent of mis-
chief. What if they don't get so much book learn-
ing or so ipuch genteel education as their city
cousins ; their minds are kept more pure, whilst
they arc forming acquaintance with the cattle,
pigij, poultry, birds and flowers, helping father
take care of the farm, and mother cook, wash, iron,

402

NEW ENGLAND FAHMER.

Sept.

make and mend, and make butter and cheese, all of
which they should be early taught to do with grace
on the farm. I once heard an aged lady say that
it requires the wisdom of Solomon, the patience
of Job and the goodness of God, to bring up a
family just as they should be. I will say to our
farmer's wife in Warner, N. H., that she has the
right grit, and if she has the health which she
needs, will see better days when the children get
large enough to help her, if she teaches them as
well as she can, that she cannot always do every
thing ; and if her husband does not appreciate her
worth as he ought, he will sometime, if he lives.
A Farmer's Wife.

WATEB PIPES.

For several months past we have had frequent
inquiries as to what is the best pipe for con-
ducting water for farm and domestic purposes.
Some of these letters, making particular inquiries,
we have answered at the time, thinking that, when
a favorable opportunity offered, we would give a
more extended reply to the general questions
stated. Considerable prejudice has always exist-
ed against metal pipes, from the fact that iron
rusts, and lead is known to give in some cases a
poisonous quality to the water, which, after con-
stant use for a length of time, undermines the
health, and lays the foundations of a painful and
lingering disease. Other metals have found a
sufficient objection in their cost. Iron pipes
coated on the inside with glass have been intro-
duced, but are quite expensive in themselves, and
occasion increased exjienses from the difficulty of
laying them. Cement pipes, made by coating
sheet iron or tin pipes on the inside with cement,
are not expensive, and in many cases have proved
to be all that was desired. Pipes of hydraulic
cement, made by moulding the cement around a
rod of iron or wood, and then withdrawing the
rod before the hardening of the cement, have also
been recommended, and in cases where not much
pressure has to be resisted, answer every purpose.
Within a comparatively few years the multifarious
applications of India rubber and gutta percha to
domestic purposes have suggested their use for
conducting water, and both materials are now
manufactured into pipes for that purpose.

Having thus stated the most important kinds
of pipe, we shall now proceed to express our views
concerning them, and the reasons we have for
entertaining them. For aqueducts, when the sup-
ply of water is to be conveyed from a spring or
stream, we know of no pipe we should prefer to
wood. Wood seldom, if ever, taints the water
which passes through it, is easily procured, and
if properly laid will last for a longer time than
iron. In the country the expense attending it
would be small, compared to other materials which
would have to be transported from a distance.

Logs for pipes should be used whole, the bore
should be through the centre, or heart-wood, and
in laying them, they should be placed at such a
depth as to secure as uniform a temperature and
state of moisture as is possible. This last is the
great point to observe in laying wooden pipes.
A depth of four feet in clayey or meadow land,
and six feet, or even more, in sandy soil, is not
more than is required to secure durability to the
aqueduct, and if this is not observed the labor
will have to be repeated at altogether too frequent
intervals to be profitable. The old Jamaica pond
aqueduct, which for many years supplied a por-
tion of our city with water, and the one still in
constant use, we believe, at Springfield, which
was constructed by the late Charles Stearns, of
that city, some twenty years ago, prove that when
the conditions we have named are observed there
is no materaal so valuable as wood for works of
any size. Of course, for conveying water for the
use of large cities, where millions of gallons are
consumed daily, this material would be found en-
tirely insufficient, and iron must be adopted.
We intend our remarks to apply only to such
works as are needed for single estates, or neigh-
borhoods.

The objections to lead pipe are sustained by
the evidence of our best chemists, and we should
not make use of it where the water conveyed is
to be used for drinking, or in the preparation of
food.

The cement pipe made at Jersey City, N. J.,
has come into use to some extent. A corres-
pondent of the Farmer writing from Middlefield,
Ct., in 185G, says of this pipe, "I have the ce-
ment i)ipe, and see no reason why it should not
last for centuries. It is made by coating the in-
side of a pipe made of sheet iron, or tin, with ce-
ment. This pipe is made in pieces of from six
to ten feet in length, which are united when laid,
and all is covered with cement two inches thick.
If properly laid it is perfectly strong and tight at
the joints, and will sustain a great amount of
pressure." We have before us an unpublished
letter of recent date, from another correspondent,
who is an engineer, and has superintended the
construction of works of this class, in which he
says, "The towns of Plymouth and Pittsfield have
extensive water works where the cement pipe is
used v/ith entire success, the water flowing through
the pipes, which are from one-half an inch to
twelve inches in diameter, as pure as if conveyed
through solid stone."

But the principal demand for a pipe for con-
veying water seems to be for one that will be
most profitable to use in short distances, and
where not a large supply is needed ; a pipe from
an inch to an inch and a half, or two inches in
diameter. For this purpose the new candidates

18G0.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

403

for public favor deserve a consideration. We
are frequently asked whether India rubber or gut-
ta percha will not give an unpleasant taste to the
water conveyed through them. This may be the
case for a few days or weeks, but we do not think
it will continue for any length of time. These
materials are both used to a great extent for pur-
poses where metals have been found unsuitable,
and we do not know that this objection has been
proved against them. The natural elas-ticity of
these substances is sufficient to allow them to ex-
pand and contract under the action of heat and
cold, under almost any form of manufacture, so as
to prevent all danger from bursting on account
of freezing. Were we about laying a pipe for
our ov/n use, we should use one or the other of
these materials.

The India rubber pipe made by the Boston
Belting Company possesses several valuable qual-
ities. A section of the pipe shows its construc-
tion to be as follows : Cloth heavily coated on
both sides with rubber, is wound round some
three or four times, and coated again on the in-
side and outside with pure rubber. This makes
the thickness of the one inch pipe, about three-
eighths of an inch, and having cloth for its basis,
obviates all liability to flaws and weaknesses in
its manufacture. It can be bent with ease into
curves of small radius, making the labor of lay-
ing it upon uneven surfaces and around angles
no more difficult than upon a level and straight
course. The pipe seems to have nearly the same
degree of elasticity in cold weather as in warm,
so that there need be no resort to artificial heat
when laying it in cold seasons. The gutta per-
cha pipe possesses some of these qualities, but
its sensitiveness to heat makes a great objection
to its use. It also becomes very rigid under the
action of severe cold, so that in our opinion there
is danger of its being fractured at such times.
It can never be safely exposed to the action of the
sun or fire, and can never be used for conveying
hot water. Its extreme lightness, and the ease with
which it can be jointed when necessary, are much
in its favor. Chemists have pronounced in favor of
both these materials, as far as imparting any del-
eterious properties to the water is concerned, and
both are worthy of trial from any one about lay-
ing a pipe for conveying water.

The cost of these two materials varies but lit-
tle. The one inch rubber pipe costs twenty-four
cents, the gutta percha tvv^enty-five cents per foot,
the former warranted to stand 200 pounds pres-
sure to the inch, the latter tested to fifty pounds.

The cement pipe spoken of above, costs about
twenty-five cents per foot for two inch pipe, when
laid. But the pipe to be used,— wood, cement, In-
dia rubber, or gutta percha,-"to secure the desired
ends, and at the same time consult economy, must

depend somewhat upon circumstances. To se-
cure entire satisfaction, the object to be gained
should be first fully understood ; and we believe
that the material which will most fully supply the
requirements of the case, whatever it may be, and
whatever its first cost, will prove to be the most
economical.

For the Neio England Farmer.
FIGURES, AND A FARM.

Mr. Editor :— The problem of "P. J.," in the

monthly Farmer for March, so far as the figures
have to do with it, is not a difficult one to solve.
But the question, "Will said farm ever be paid
for, from the farm ?" I will answer, by saying, if
he has been able to meet his annual payments
and annual interest promptly through the hard
times that farmers have met from 1852 to 1860, a
reference to the following figures, showing the
amount of each yearly payment of principal and
interest, will give him high hope of success.

1852. 1853. 1854. 1855. 1856. 1857. 1858. 1859.
Principal, $200 100 ICO 100 100 ItO 100 100
Interest, 129 123 117 111 105 99 93

Total,

$200 229 223 217 211 205 199 193

1860. 1S61, 1862. 1863. 1864. 1865. 1S66. 1867.

Principal, $100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100

Interest, 87 81 75 69 63 57 51 45

Total,

$187 181 175 169 163 157 151 145

1868. 1869. 1870. 1871. 1872. 1873.
Principal, $100 100 100 100 100 160 2,350
Interest, 39 33 27 21 15 9 1,449

Total, $139 133 127 121 115 159 3,799

"P. J," will notice that he will have paid
$3,799, principal and interest, in 1873, $1,449 of
which is interest, April 1, 1860, he will have
paid of principal $1,000 ; interest, $864,

I like the reply of Ed. Emerson to "C. L, W,,"
in relation to the 9.^ acre firm, and he might
have added among his other arguments against a
small farm, that the expense of the family is the
same on a small as on a large farm. Let me
have plenty of "elbow room" to farm it profitably.

Goshen, Vt., March, 1860. o, w. D.

APPLES FOR FEEDING,

For cattle, sweet apples are found to be an ex-
cellent substitute for roots — promoting both
growth and health.

For swine, nothing equals an apple pie, either
for relish, or for fattening power. The pig is not
very dainty about his pie, however. If you mere-
ly cook the apples, and stir in a little bran, he
won't refuse the dish ; substitute shorts, or corn-
and-cob-meal, or ground oats, or buckwheat, and
it will suit his palate, and pile on the fat amaz-
ingly. And, for finishing up a piece of pork, an
apple pudding, thickened with good corn-meal,
is as far ahead of hard corn as the corn is of raw
pumpkins.

Pork made with apples is sweeter, and quite as
free from shrinking, as the "corn-fed,"

But to the question — "Would it be profitable to
raise sweet apples for feeding to cattle or swine?"

Altogether so — unless the apples will bring in
market much more than they cost to feed the hu-

404

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

Sept.

mans on ! True, it takes time to start an orchard
and bring it into bearing ; but then the outlay is
small, and the ground may be profitably used for
other crops while the trees are growing. When
onee in bearing condition, what other crop will
pay as well as apples ? For swine, they may be
made to save half the corn used in fattening pork.
For cattle, they are worth nearly, or quite as
much as roots. Plant out the apple trees ; they
must prove profitable. — Genesee Farmer.

LOSS OF THE CUD.

Literally, there can be no such thing as "loss
of the cud." Ruminating animals are never fur-
nished with an appendage so ridiculous as a cud,
to be used as "gum," in the mouth of a school-
boy, which if lost, must be supplied, with an ar-
tificial "cud ;" as if the operations of nature must
be suspended until this prepared artificial panacea
is supplied, to take the place of the natural "cud
lost."

By a slight investigation of anatomy and hab-
its of ruminating animals, this very common de-
lusion would be dispelled, and the slight under-
standing of the "cud," the causes of its "loss,"
and the means necessary to be used to restore it,
■would be more clearly understood.

By ruminants, or ruminating animals, we mean
those having a complex stomach with four cavi-
ties so disposed as to allow of ruminating, or the
act of at once laying in a large stock of food,
slightly chewed, and afterward to return it to the
mouth, and there more thoroughly masticate it,
and fit it for digestion. Digestion is always pre-
ceded by this action in this order of mammals, and
they are exclusively confined to a vegetable diet.
Now if debility, loss of appetite, disease of the
stomach and digestive organs, or sickness from
any other cause ensue, this order of nature may
for the time be suspended, and the animal have
no need to perform the act of rumination. The
ordinary operations of a healthy animal are not
called into requisition. Hence, we hear of "loss
of cud." The only "remedy" for this "loss" lies
in restoring the animal to health, and if we know
what is the disease, we can the more certainly ap-
ply the "remedy." But all the "made cuds" that
ej-cr entered into the materia medica of quack-
dom can never compensate for the folly and igno-
rance of applying one.

The stomach of ruminating animals is espe-
cially organized for the performance of its pecu-
liar functions. It consists of four distinct cavi-
ties, all communicating with a muscular canal at
the termination of the ccsophagiis. Coarsely mas-
ticated food passes from the beginning of the
muscular canal into the first cavity, called the ru-
men, or paunch. Water is received into the sec-
ond cavity, called the reticulum, and almost ex-
clusively occupies the honey-comb cells of that
cavity, and is gradually mixed with the coarsely
divided food which is undergoing mastication in
the rumen. When this is sufiiciently advanced,
a portion of the mass is raised into a muscular ca-
nal, is there moulded into a ball, and by a spas-
modic action of the muscles of the gullet is forced
into the mouth, where it is perfectly masticated
\i leisure, mixed with saliva, and again swallowed.
It now passes directly into the third recess called
the psalter iim. Here the superfluous fluid is

absorbed, and the thoroughly subdivided mass
passes gradually into the fourth recess, called
the ahomasus, where it is completely digested,
and from which it passes off into the lesser intes-
tines.

Ruminating is a most interesting process of
nature, and it is a most pleasing study to observe
and note in its manifold operations, and to wit-
ness the supreme satisfaction of a well-fed animal
"ruminating," or elaborating by this wonderful
provision of Providence, — the mastication of food
by delugition, ejection and final swallowing — oth-
erwise, "chewing the cud." When we become
more thoroughly familiar Avith the beautiful econ-
omy of animated nature, and its most wonderful
organization, we shall no more hear of the "loss
of the cud," but will attribute the effects to their
proper causes, and call things by their right names.
— J. V. H. C, in Gen. Farmer.

THE IDYIi OF A -WESTERN WIFE.

Br ELLA FARMAN.

Straying here at dusk, I, a housewife merry,

Lean upon the fence and listen through the gloom,
Watch the sunset fade from yonder gleaming ferry.

Harking with my heart for Joe's light whistle home.
*******
All so quaintly built, brown and low our house is :

Naught but simple-hearted honest folks are we,
But we live content as our own moss-roses,

Though the noisy world doth mind not Joe and me

Rustic king and queen of these rural riches ;

Humming hives of bees, and many flocks and herds,
And a beautiful and fruitful orchard which is

Full of sweet, sweet clover grass, and nests of birds.

By a silver, broad, lone and silent river,

'Twixt the river and the mossy, ancient wood,

In our rustic house ; and the wood fowl ever

Crieth all day through this peaceful neighborhood.

By the summer's fair, greenest-kirtled fairies

In the woodbine's flowering, dark-leaved sculpture laid

In a cornice rare round our stoop ; and there is

Love's own arbor seat and moon-paved promenade.

O'er it do the tall, clambering morning-glories
Spill at morn their dainty cups of perfumed dew ;

There walk Joe and I with our household stories —
I and Joe, good farmer Joe, when day is through.

0, how happy we ! through the summer evening walking.

As the happy ones of ancient Arcady !
O, how happy we ! — rustic married lovers talking.

Though the noisy world ne'er heard of Joe and me.
*******
Straying here at dusk, I, a housewife merry.

Lean upon the fence and listen through the gloom ;
Watch the sunset fade from yonder gleaming ferry,

Harking with my heart for Joe's light whistle home.

N. Y. Evening Post.

Old Peas and Beans. — If you have any old
peas or beans in your granaries, which have be-
come mouldy, pour boiling water over them, and
after drying them thoroughly, grind and give them
to your swine. Treated in this manner, and es-
pecially peas, they constitute a most valuable and
nutritious food for swine. But beans, unless
cooked and mixed Avith other substances, are the
most valuable for sheep.

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FARRIER.

405

GKADUAIi DIMINUTION" OF RAINFALL
IN ENGLAND AND SCOTLAND.

In the January numbei" of the Valley Farmer
for 1859, we gave an article on the annual dimi-
nution of the fail of rain in the United States, the
'jause, and the probable effects upon the agricul-
tural interests of the country, &c. In England,
the annual fall of rain, in inches, is probably one-
half less than it is in the United States, yet in
England there are at least one-third more rainy
days in a year than there are in the United States.
But in the former country it only rains, Avhile in
this country it often pours. The causes that pro-
duce this effect in this country have been, com-
paratively, but a few years in operation, while in
England and Scotland they have been for centu-
ries. These changes are so marked, and the re-
sults so important, that the Scottish Meteorologi-
cal Society offer a reward of £20 (8100) for the
best essay on the following questions: 1. Wheth-
er the amount of rainfall in the western part of
Europe, and particularly in Scotland, is less now
than it formerly was. 2. Assuming this fact to
be established, what are the most probable causes
of it ? With reference to the first of these ques-
tions, the Secretary of the Society, A. Keath John-
son, says :

"Notice maybe taken of the popular belief that
springs of water have been gradually diminishing,
or altogether drying up, especially in arable dis-
tricts ; and the following statement in the report
of the Registrar General for England, for the quar-
ter ending June, 1859 : 'The deficiency in the
fall of rain from the beginning of the year, is 1|
inch. The deficiency in the years 1854, 1855, 185G,
1857, 1859, amounting to the average fall of one
year, viz.., 25 inches. From a careful examination
of the fall of rain (year by year) from the year
1815, it would seem that the annual fall is be-
coming smaller, and that there is but little proba-
bility that the large deficiency will be made up by
excess in future years.' With reference to the sec-
ond question, notice may be taken of the supposed
; effects of deep drainage, and deep culture of the
soil, in raising the temperature both of soil and
1 atmosphere, in lessening evaporation, and dimin-
ishing the condensation of vapor."
i This is not only an interesting, but an impor-
itant subject for investigation, and we hope that
we may chance to meet with a copy of the prize
; essay when it is published, that we may compare
;the views with those we have expressed.

NATIVE CATTLE.

We have a breed of cattle in the Northern
States which pass under the appellation of "na-
tive cattle," but there appears to be a stock in
Texas better entitled to the name. A Texas paper
says :

"We are informed by those most familiar with
the facts, that these cattle were of uniform color,
as much so as buffaloes — a black brown, ap-
proaching black ; short glossy hair, beautiful
turned horns, large in size, with broad chest and
bodies, v,-ell-rounclcd quarters, and generally ex-
hibiting excellent forms for beef and draft. The
] half-breed fully sustains this description, and is
not only a valuable work-ox, but, when fat, would

rank as a first class beef. One object in alluding
to the subject, is to invite inquiry as to whether,
if not too late, our common stock of cattle may
not be improved by preserving this wild breed
and crossing it. It is probable there are some
still in this country in a domestic state. Another
point of considerable interest, and one that we
have on various occasions heard discussed with-
out any satisfactory result, is, whence came this
distinctive family of cattle, all of the same color
and general exterior, which make them entirely
different from the domestic stock of the United
States, Mexico, and the Creoles of Louisiana, all of
which are new to Texas."

EXTRACTS AND REPLIES.

FAKM MACHINERY.

A good many men, and boys too, will give a hearty
amen to your praj'cr for blessings on the Mann who
invented the "Vegetable Wecdcr," if it comes up to
the recommendation you seem disposed to give it. I
hope it will be in the market Ijcforc another season for
weeding comes round. The "good time" seems to be
coming for the farmer. Machines are almost daily
brought to public notice intended to save the wear and
tear of human muscle in farm labor. Mowers, reap-
er?, ditch-diggers, rock-lifters, &c., are multiplying in
all qixartcrs, till there seems to be little hard work
left to l)c accomplished by mere manual labor.

A friend at my side names a farmer of Grafton, who
has imagined (though I do not think he has made any
attempt to realize his imagination) a machine for
milking cows, to be worked by the motion of the
cow's tail. To the objection, that this could only be
worked during the fly season, the same friend suggests
the use o^ artificial ^ias ! Here is a line chance for me-
chanical genius. J. Doolittle.

VERMIX IN THE POULTRY HOl'SE.

In reading your last number of the monthly Farmer,
I noticed a piece about hen-lice ; and thinking that I
could give a little information in regard to the exter-
mination of these troublesome vennin, I take the liber-
ty to reply to Mr. Reed's article. Last fall, having
moved a short distance from the city, and taking a
fancy to hens, I purchased two hens and a rooster.
Finding that by good treatment they can be made to
pay, I have since increased my flock to thirty. Having
a l)arrel of lime which I had no use for, I thought it
might be a good idea to sprinkle a little on the floor of
my coop to make it white and clean, but I have since
found that it not only sen'cs that purpose, Init others.
It puriflcs the atmosphere, keeps the coop white and
clean, and last, but not least, I think I can safely say
that it keeps the poultry-house free fi'om all vermin,
for since I have used it, I have not had any trouble
with my hens in regard to lice or other vermin. In fly-
ing from the roosts or nests ir gets in amongst their
feathers, which keeps them healthy and in good condi-
tion. A. p.
Westhrook, Juhj, Me., 1860.

FARMING OPERATIONS IN ESSEX COUNTY.

I have recently seen Manny's and the Buckeye
Mowers most successfully operated on the farms of
Messrs. Ware and Merrill. Mr. W. has tinished the
cutting of his gi-ass with Manny's, and as he holds and
drives himself, his opinion is worthy of confldence.
While looking at his mowing, I glanced at his extend-
ed Adds of onions — several "acres of which have been
replanted with carrots, by reason of the ravages of the
worm at the bottom. Some of them were still found
operating. He hopes for a good yield of cari'ots though
planted since July came in. The crop of grass is not
large the present season — the cold and drought of the
spring operated against its starting well. Never have
I witnessed a more vigorous growth upon trees of
every variety, and never have I seen the fields cov-
ered with an aspect more luxuriant. v

July 12, 1860.

406

NEW ENGLAND FARIMER.

Sept.

SrPERPHOSPnATE rOR TVENirS.

About the first of July, last year, I plowed about an
acre and a quarter of old mowing land ; soil, a sandy
loam on the higher part, good strongloam lower down
the slope, and running to the edge of a peaty swamp.
Spread on 400 poundsof Coc's superphosphate of lime,
haiTOwcd it well, sowed fourvarieties of turnips, about
one-half in rows with a seed-sower, and the other half
broadcast and harrowed in. The season was dry for
several weeks afterwards, but the seed came up well.
When the young turnips had very slowly put oat
about four leaves, the tips of the leaves began to blight
and became dry and crisp, and so continued through-
out the season. At harvesting, the whole <crf>p was not
worth half the cost of the superpliospliate. All the va-
rieties of the turnip, on all the varieties of soil showed
the same appearance of blight. This was my first ex-
perience with superphosphate of lime as a fertilizer for
turnips ; and I leave you to decide whether this ef-
fect should be attributed to the superphosphate, to the
dryness of the season, or to some other caxise.

'Concord, July 9, 1860. Minot Phatt.

IS FARMING PHOFITAHLE ?

If Mr. Pinkham is not satisfied that farming is prof-
itable, I would commend to his attention the following
facts. About ten years ago, a lady in this vicinity was
left a widow in the occupancy of a farm incumbered
with some .$1800 of debt. She has hired all the work
on the place, and has, in the ten years, reduced the
debt to $'300, besides educating two daughters to the
ages of eleven and twenty-one, respectively, and bear-
ing the extra expense of two severe sicknesses in her
own person. As to repairs, improvements, &c., I onl.v
know that I have sold her several thousand feet of
lumber in the last four years, for fences, ncv/ roofing
barns, &c. She has sold some timber, but only enougii
to cover the expense of a family carriage, and a piano
for the eldest daughter, which articles she has pur-
chaf cd in the meantime. If that farm has not aflord-
ed a profit, I hardly know what business has or can.

Arlington, Vt., July 9, 1860. A. B. CoxE.

CROPS IN CONNECTICUT.

The last week in June was a hot sultry week with
us. Since then the weather has been changeable, a
few days hot and then cool again, with easterly winds.
We had a fine rain on the 5th of July which will carry
out the grass crop. As a general thing, grass is a fair
crop in this section as far as I have seen, though old
meadows will be light. P^ye and oats look well on the
gi-otmd, oats in particular. Corn and potatoes stand
well at present. There is a prospect for a fair fruit
crop. Apples look well on the trees. Cherries and
strawberries have been good. L. Dlrand.

Derby, Ct., July, 1860. _

■WATER PIPES.

I have seen several comunications in the Farmer re-
lating to pipes for conducting water, and I wi.>h to in-
quire through the Farmer more fully. I wish to know
the best kind where the water stands in the pipe one
hundred feet and is drawn from thence by pump, and
the price per foot for one-inch pipe ? Also, if wood
will not injuriously affect the water where it stands so
long a distance in it ? Any other information relative
to the subject will be gratefully received.

Daniel Hill, 2d.

Goodwin's Mills, York County, Me., 1860.

Rkmauks. — See editorial remarks in another col-

CURE FOR HOLDFAST IN CATTLE.

In reply to the inquiry of "N. Mathews, of Henni-
kcr, N. H.," for an article for the cure of what he terms
"Holdfast," I think that oil of spike applied once or
twice a day, for three days, and leave ofi'the use of it
for three days more, will cure in a short time. Oil of
spike is composed of sulphuric acid 1650 sp. gr. and
spirits of turpentine, equal quantities. Put an ounce
of spirits of turpentine in a strong bottle and add sul-
phuric acid in small quantities till you have added an
ounce.

Ripton, Vt., July 7, I860.

SOWING GRASS SEED.

I noticed in the monthly Farmer a piece written by
0. L. Dow, on "Seeding grass land." In sowing the
seed before plowing, I wish to inquire if he sows his
grain at the same time he sows his grass seed ? I have
a piece I wish to sow with wheat and grass seed in the
fall, and aa answer to this question will much obhge
me. Lt?KE Newell.

Mason, July, 1860.

GETTING the VALUE OF HAY.

Seeing an article in the June number of the Farmer
entitled "Value of a Load of Hay," reminds me of a
more simple method which I have found very useful;
viz : multiply the price per ton by five, and you will
have the price per cwt. For example, suppose the
price per ton to be i^'15, multiply 15 liy 5 and you have
75, which is the number of cents per cwt. Perhaps
you have heard of this, but I have found many men
who had not. A Subscriber.

cow SUCKS HERSELF.

Can you tell me the best way to prevent a cow from
sucking herself? I have a good one that will occasion-
ally do it, much to my loss and inconvenience.

Orange, Vt., 1860. A Subscriber.

Remarks. — A bow on the neck, with shtirp pins in
it, or a muzzle of leather above the nose, with picked
iron pins, and fastened to the horns, will prevent this
bad habit.

TO cure "WENS ON CATTLE.

Soft soap made thick Mith salt, and rubbed on smart-
ly, will ciu'c wens on cattle, if done in time.
Brownsville, Vt., 1860. Hoh.\ce Spalding.

A big calf.
Mr. Eustis Baker, of West Dcdham, owns a cow
that dropped a calf on the 7th mst. weighing 126 lbs.
Durham bull. Ayrshire cow.

■WHITE DORKING EGGS.

Can you inform me through the Farmer where eggs
of the White Dorking fowls can be obtained, .^nd at
what price ? s. s.

Stonghton, July, 1860.

Remarks. — Probablj- at some of the agi-icultural
warehouses.

VrS\N7" OF OHIO AGmCUIiTU.KE.

The Annual Report of Norton Townsend, the
President ol the Ohio Board of Argiculture, to
the Legislature of the State, is published in the
Ohio Cultivator. lu respect to the amount of
staple agricultural products, he thinks the past
year cannot be regarded as favorable. The spring
gave promise of an abundant harvest, but severe
frosts in the month of June blighted the prospect.
Although the north-western part of the State
nearly escaped this destructive visitation, the in-
jury to the wheat crop in other sections "was so
great, that not less, probably, than one-fourth of
what had promised to be an unusually good yield
was destroyed, involving the loss of perhaps eight
millions of bushels. The corn crop also suffered
severely from the frost, but by prompt replanting,
the crop may have been neaidy up to the general
average. Oats and barley have been better than
usual. Potatoes much better than -was anticipa-
ted in the early part of the season. The grass
crop the past season was injured by the frost to

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

407

an extent never before known ; in pastures the
growth of grass was checked, but meadows were
still more seriously injured. In some portions of
the State where the frosts had been most destruc-
tive, they were followed by a drouth of long con-
tinuance, which was even more hurtful to the
grass than the frosts had been ; consequently the
quantity of butter and cheese, and the number of
fat cattle and sheep, furnished from those sec-
tions, were much less than usual. The anticipated
scarcity of fodder compelled many farmers to sell
young stock to be slaughtered, the loss of which
will be felt for several years. This drouth served
to demonstrate that only well drained and deeply
tilled lands can be relied on in a dry season, for
on such lands the herbage was often luxuriant
and fresh, while old and untilled pastures were
almost worthless. At no distant day arrange-
ments will doubtless be made in Ohio for irriga-
tion wherever it can readily be done. Draining
tiles and mole plows were exhibited at many
fairs, and the manufacture of tiles has been com-
menced in various parts of the State.

The President is gratified to report that farm-
mers' clubs are becoming more common in vari-
ous parts of the State, and that the standard ag-
ricultural works which have been placed in Dis-
trict school libraries by the State Superintendent,
are extensively read and highly prized by the
families into which they are received. He regrets
the decrease of more than 30 per cent, in the num-
ber of sheep fronf 1854 to 1858, by the annual
destruction of $150,000 worth of this kind of
property by dogs. The great expense of fencing
out other peoples' animals should no longer be
imposed on farmers.

seems to flourish alike in the West, the South
and New England. It is anticipated that, with
good weather, the Ohio vineyards will yield this
year 1,600,000 gallons. There are also extensive
vinevards in Missouri and other Western States,
and in North and South Carolina, Georgia, Ten-
nessee and Texas. The culture is also extending
in Connecticut. Grape growers say this is to be
a great wine year. — Cincinnati Press.

OBlGrlN OF PLANTS.

OHIO GRAPE CULTUKE.
Mr. R, Buchanan, of this city, who has been
identified with grape culture since it was first at-
tempted in Ohio, for wine-making purposes, says
there are now about four thousand acre? laid in
Ohio, of which about half are in the immediate
vicinity of Cincinnati. The yield last year is es-
timated at 350 gallons per acre, for the whole
State, which is much above the usual average.
From a careful estimate of the vintages for the
twelve years, the average yield of the Ohio Val-
ley is 200 gallons per acre ; on well cultivated
vineyards, in favorable positions, 300 gallons,
which is about the average product in France and
Germany. In Missouri and Illinois the yield did
not exceed 200 per acre, owing to the prevalence
of the rot, and in Tennessee, Georgia and South
Carolina, it is very much reduced by a destructive
frost in April. It is said that the amount as well
as the quality of the various wines produced in
the different States of the Union is steadily gain-
ing. The business is as profitable as any branch
of agriculture — perhaps more so at present prices
— two or three dollars per gallon. The culture
of the grape has become very extensive in this
country. It is not confined to any section, but

Should the following record interest our read-
ers as it has us, it will fully repay the space it oc-
cupies in our columns.

Madder came from the East.

Celery originated in Germany.

The chestnut came from Italy.

The onion originated in Egypt.

Tobacco is a native of Virginia.

The nettle is a native of Europe.

The citron is a native of Greece.

The pine is a native of the East.

Oats originated in North Africa.

Rye came originally from Siberia.

Parsley Avas first known in Sardinia.

The pear and apple are from Europe.

Spinach was first cultivated in Arabia.

The sunflower was first brought from Peru.

The mulberry tree originated in Persia.

The gourd is probably an Eastern plant.

The walnut and peach came from Persia.

The horse-chestnut is a native of Thibet.

The cucumber came from the East Indies.

The quince came from the island of Crete.

The radish is a native of China and Japan.

Peas are supposed to be of Egyptian origin.

The garden beans come from the East Indies.

The garden cress is from Egypt and the East.

Horseradish came from the south of Europe.

Zealand flax shows its origin by its name.

The coriander grows wild near the Mediterra-
nean.

The Jerusalem artichoke is a Brazilian product.

Hemp is a native of Persia and the East Indies.

The cranberry is a native of Europe and America.

The parsnip is supposed to have been a native
of Arabia.

The potato is a well known native of Peru ard
Mexico.

The currant and goosebeiTy came from South-
ern Europe.

Rape seed and cabbage grow wild in Sicily and
Naples.

Buckwheat came originally from Siberia and
Tartary.

Barley was first found in the mountains of Him-
alaya.

Millet was first known in India and Abyssinia.

Writers of undeniable respectabiHty state that
the cereals and others of these edible productions
grow spontaneously in that portion of Tartary
east of the Bela Tagh and north of the Himalaya
mountains. — Porter'' s Spirit.

When Sheridan was asked at an amateur play
which performer he liked best, ho replied, "The
prompter ; for I saw less and heard more of him
than of any one else !"'

408

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

Sept.

EXTRACTS ABTD KEPLIES.

DROUGHT IX VEUMONT.

We are litci'ally consumed by drought and grass-
hoppers ; every crop on our little farm Las failed, and
the cattle are crying for food and drink.

Middlebunj, tt., 'jithj, 18G0. E. E. Hagar.

Remarks. — While we are drenched with daily show-
ers, and our crops are plethoric M'ith fatness, our
friends m portions of Vermont are suffering sadly for
the want of rains. The earth is parched and the crops
are wilting and drying up, while thousands of grass-
hoppers devour the little that is left. A gentleman
from Addison county informs us that year before last
he cut and secured one hundred tons of hay ; last year
he secured about thirty tons, but this year his whole
hay crop will not reach one-third of that of last year.

We learn, also, that the drought is so severe m some
parts of the State of Maine that but little gi-ass, compar-
atively, will be cut.

The ci'op in all parts of Massachusetts, we believe, is
abundant, and under the improved method of making
hay under caps, will be secured in good oi-dcr, not-
withstanding the great amount of rain.

SWAMP LAXD

I have purchased a piece of swampland, and mMsIi to
know which is the best way to get it into grass ? It has
muck varying from one to four feet deep, with a white
sand or gravel pan. There are bunches scattered over
the surfice where the wood grew, and they are of all
sizes and shapes. The swamp is easily drained by a
small brook or ditch. N. B. Derby.

South Wctjmoiith, July, ISGO.

Remarks. — The first operation in reclaiming a
meadow should be to drain it so as to get the water out
of the way and leave the surface in a condition to be
trodden upon both by cattle and men.
Care must be taken, however, not to drain
too much — for if the water is taken en-
tirely away from a loose, highly porous
meadow, it will become so drj' that seeds
will not sprout in it, and if fire is applied
in a drj' time the whole meadow will
bum about as freely as a pile of dry
wood. Reduce the water so that it Mill
stand from twelve to twenty inches below
the surface, according to the nature of the
land.

When the water is off, you cannot only
work more comfortably, but more rapid-
ly than while the water stands about j-ou,
or if the meadow is M'ct and becoming
muddy wherever you are at work ; the
roots and rubbish which are collected
will also drj' better and Ijurn more thor-
oughly.

Plowing is the most effectual mode of reclaiming, and
in the end the most economical, unless the meadow is
difficult of access, or is too soft to support the team. If
only too soft, the plowing may be done by the use of
pullics, keeping the cattle all the time on the hard
land, if the border of the meadow is pretty level and
not covered with trees. If j-ou cannot plow, use the
bog hoe. Cut off the bunches and burn them, and
break the surface as well as you can.

When the surface has been broken, haul or wheel
from some neighboring bank near by fifteen or twenty
ox-cart loads of sand or fine gravel per acre and spread
evenly ; then add whatever fine manure you can spare,
sow the grass seed and rake it in.

If the meadow is plowed and is sufflcieotly dry to
receive a crop, nothing will ameliorate it more than to
plant potatoes and tend them well. After that opera-
tion the ground may be laid to grass with ease, and
will jjroduce great crops.

cattle disease.

In the July number of the Farmer, in speaking of the
cat lie disease, you say on the farm of Andrew Wel-
lington you saw a cow which exhibited strong symp-
toms of the pleuro-pneumonia. That cow has since
been killed, and upon examination proved to be en.
tirely free from that dise:ise. There was an adhesion of
the apex of the heart to the pericardium or heart case,
which caused the rapid breathing which you noticed.
There was another cow killed at the same time, which
also proved to be free from the disease, and the com-
missioners decided that there was no disease in the
barn.

Please make this correction, and greatly oblige

Andrew Wellixqtox.

TLast Lexington, July 25, 1860.

WESTERISr APPLES.

The outlines which Ave present to-day are prob-
ably those of Western apples. Whether they have
been cultivated east of the State of OhJo, we do
not know. We copy them from ElliotVs Fndt
Book, as worthy of introduction to our present
list of fruits.

BETIILEIIEMITE.

This is a variety somewhat resembling the
Newton Spitzeiiberg, and we have testimony of
one or two who say they know it under that name.
We are not, however, satisfied of their indentity,

and as the really good qualities of this fruit are
such as to make it desirable in all collections, we
have no hesitation in recommending it. Thus
far all specimens we have seen were from trees
grown in rich, loamy soils, and all we can learn
of its history is that it came from Bethlehem, in
Ohio. Size, medium; form, roundish, flattened,
tapering slightly to the apex ; color, pale yellow
ground, striped and stained with two shades of
bright red, dotted Avith irregular shaped brown
dots, some russet about the stem ; calyx, medium
sometimes large ; basin, deep, broad, irregular,
somewhat farrowed ; stem, short ; cavity, narrow,
irregular ; flesh, yellowish white, tender, with a

1S60.

NEW ENGLAND FAPt:MEE.

409

mild sub-acid juice, and exceedingly pleasant
flavor ; core, small, compact ; seeds, obovatc, ob-
tuse pyriform. Season, November to January,
but keeps until April. Trees, upright, strong
growers.

bullock's pippin.

American Golden Russet, I Golden Russet,
Sheepnose, | Little Pearmain,

Fall Winesap, errvruiously.

American. Tree, ultimately of only medium
size, with a round, regular head, shoots erect, rath-

handling and paring, I devised an easier method
of keeping the malady sufficiently at bay to allow
the sheep opportunity to get in suitable order for
the market. I first made an inclosure on a dry,
clean grass plot, and an aperture therefrom just
wide enough to admit the egress of the flock, sin-
gle file. Then I placed in this opening, on the
ground, a Avater-tight box or trough of same width
and three or four feet long, so protected on the
sides and above as to force the sheep to step into
the box. Then, in dry weather, when the hoofs
of the animals were clean, a weak solution of vit-
riol was put in the box to the depth of two or three
inches, and the sheep were turned into the yard
and made to pass through. In this Avay, without
touching a sheep, or without severe labor of any
kind, a flock of considerable size received cheap-
ly an application to each foot, which would so
check the disease for a season that it would not
materially interfere with their thrift. This prac-
tice was continued throughout the summer, as
often as the case required, till the entire flock was
fitted and sold for the shambles."

er slender, admirably suited to rich soils of South-
ern Ohio, Indiana, etc. Grown south, the fruit
is almost entirely covered with russet ; north, and
on sandy soils, it is a warm, rich yellow, with only
marblings of russet. Size, small to medium ; form,
roundish, ovate, tapering much toward the eye ;
color, generally rich golden yellow, overspread
with soft russet, and in sun a marbling of red ;
stem, slender ; cavity, narrow, regular ; calyx,
small, closed ; basin, shallow, sometimes fur-
rov/ed ; flesh, yellowish, tender, juicy, almost but-
tery, delicate, sprightly ; core large for size of
fruit ; seeds, full, ovate, pyramidal. Season, De-
cember to March.

FOOT-KOT IN" SHEEP.

A correspondent of the New York Eural, after
detailing his efibrts to eradicate this disease by
paring the hoofs and applying an ointment of lard
and blue vitriol, by which only temporary benefit
was secured, and alluding to the hard work of
doctoring for months several hundreds of sheep
in this way, — made disagreable beyond measure
by the off"ensive odor of decaying hoofs and the
disgusting sight of crawling vermin, gives the
following account of the course he pursued with
his flock :

"At last it was decided that to eradicate the dis-
ease from the flock was the irext thing to an im-
possibility, and that it was best to sell out. To get
the sheep in condition for profitable sale was the
next step, and having become heartily sick of

For the New England Farmer.

TWADDLES AND WADDLES OOT AGHI-
CULTUBAL EDUCATION".

Twaddles. — I meant to have spoken to you the
other day, Mr. Waddles, in our conversation on
general agriculture, upon the subject of agricul-
tural education, as it is one which interests me
much, but time did not permit. You must know
that there is much controversy at present upon
this matter, and encouragement is given by some
of our first men to introduce agriculture, as a de-
partment of education, into our common schools,
with the prospective view of establishing an ag-
ricultural college in this State, something like
those in Europe, which are in so successful ope-
tion. You must also know, ]Mr. Waddles, that
such education is much needed, especially by the
rising generation.

Waddles. — Yes, sir, I know there is much dis-
cussion upon the subject, but I question whether
such facilities are as much needed as the educa-
tion ; and I am far from thinking that European
farming, with all its objectionable appurtenances,
is proper for us to adopt. It Avould require a
thorough revolution of all our laws and customs,
which would be a great detriment to the real hap-
piness of the people, and more particularly to
the small, independent farmer.

T. — That I think is not proposed. But you
must admit that farmers should be educated for
their business.

W. — Certainly ; and has not every man fn?.
best means for such education, who has a farm to
till, books and papers to read, and lectures to lis-
ten to ? who gets his theories from his own re-
flection, the experience and suggestions of others,
and tests them in the general course of his ope-
rations on his own land ?

T. — Why, Mr. Waddles, I suppose not ; he
wants it taught him. And do you not know that
agriculture in America has fallen behind the age,
and that the only way to bring it up to par value
and dignity, is to educate, thoroughly educate, all
who intend to engage in it ?

TF.— No, Mr. Twaddles, I respectfully deny that

410

NEW ENGLAND FARRIER.

Sept.

agriculture has fallen behind the age, although
in this State it may be necessarily passing out.
But if our journals, books, fairs and lecturers
have not kept it up, pray what can ? Have all
these, which have been thought so useful, been
in vain ? And as to the means of education, a
farmer is perpetually at school, conning his great
volume, and studying the special capabilities of
his own farm, and consequently is, or can be, as
well educated for his business as others of dif-
ferent vocations are for theirs. Farmers are not
so ignorant of their calling as many soft-handed
scholars suppose them to be, though they may be
hampered for want of means. As to the dignity
of farming, the easy, professional man has al-
ways looked down upon the hard laboring man
in all vocations. It is a whim of society, and no
schooling or colleges can regulate it, any more
than they can make the sky rain potatoes. Take
England, with her numerous agricultural schools
for the poor, which are proposed partly to be cop-
ied, and do we not find the mass of the farm la-
borers only little above sln.ves l)oth in morals and
intellect ? So fully did Mr. Colman notice this
fact, that his Reports may be regarded as Books
of Lamentations. And I think you will not deny
that they are considered infinitely more degraded
than those here, Avhere we have no such schools
or colleges, of any influence, to dignify them.

T. — Well, freely I admit it and regret it. But
you forget the tenant farmer. He is generally an
intelligent, well educated person ; is thought —

W. — Well of, I suppose, because he superin-
tends on his pony, and doesn't do what the more
aristocratic class regard as drudgery. Excuse me,
but I suppose you don't intend to make tenant
farmers here because they only are respectable
there.

T. — No, sir, that would be folly ; for here our
land-owners are too numerous, and large tracts
of land in one man's possession too uncommon.

W. — Certainly ; let this whim of dignity take
care of itself, as it must ; the less farmers think
and say of it the better. In spite, however, of
the schools, the man who lives at his ease will al-
ways be distinguished from the thousands whose
necessities oblige them to labor. Upon this sub-
ject a philosophical discourse might be written.

T. — Or a sermon preached.

W. — Yes ; and this reminds me that you are a
clergyman.

T. — True, but I once worked on a farm.

W. — And feel an interest in the education of
the laboring classes, and particularly the farmer,
though you from some cause or other left his hon-
orable vocation.

T. — I left for education, but my sympathies are
with him.

W. — You ought to have returned with both.
And you and others say, virtually, that he is ig-
norant and degraded, raises meaner crops than
they do in England, and don't understand his
business, as you unfairly suppose from this latter
fact, that there is no uniformity or system in ag-
riculture, and that i\\ this land of freedom each
one does as he pleases on his own soil.

T. — Why, yes ; I suppose I must make a gen-
eral plea of guilty.

W. — Now sup]5ose your agricultural parishion-
ers should politely say to you, through some "Res-
olutions," that your theology is very feeble, unca-

nonical stuff, that you don't preach as satisfacto-
rily as others do, that you have some crude notions
of your own, that you preach upon an indefinite
system, if upon any, that you learned nothing
useful at college, and that you don't understand
your business. Would you not consider it in
them (even whose servant you are) the concen-
tration of impudence ?

T. — Most certainly I should ; for I think I un-
derstand my business.

W. — Think ? Is not that presumption ? Do
you know that you understand your business, and
that they are ignorant of theirs ?

T. — But, Mr. Waddles, they don't understand
theology.

W. — Haven't you taught them ? Do you un-
derstand agriculture ? Pray, is theology, with
its thousand phases, better understood, and more
definite than agriculture ? Do we know anything
more about God than we did a hundred years
ago ? Cannot the farmer justly say, that religion,
so ably represented by a learned profession, is
behind the age, with as much force as the clergy-
man can aver that farming is ?

T. — But theology is a very dark and abstruse
matter, and it is not my fault that there are so
many religions extant, represented by ' equally
learned men.

W. — No, sir, it is not. But you regard agri-
culture as so mysterious a science, that it requires
learned men to successfully prosecute it. Upon
this system of collegiate education, will not learned
farmers be as likely to differ as learned theologi-
ans ? If I become sick by digging ditches for
tile, or by hard labor, or indiscretion, and die, is
the learned physician to be told that he don't un-
derstand his business ? Perhaps he don't. But
who can teach him ? The best lose patients, just
as some good farmers occasionally raise poor
crops. Nor because some one cures a certain dis-
ease in Europe, while many fail in it here, will it
do to charge the American physicians with igno-
rance. There are a great variety of circumstan-
ces to consider. In England, however, generally
speaking, the learned profession of medicine has
been lately styled "a withered branch of science."

T. — Why, Mr. AVaddles, nobody does so charge
them.

W. — Perhaps not ; but they might with as much
consistency, as some farmers are charged.

T. — Ah, but please recollect that it is appoint-
ed for all men to die, and medicine is an uncer-
tain science.

W. — So is farming ; and it seems also to be
foreordained that the elements should sometimes
destroy the crops. That is a sprig of my theology.
Now as to the other learned profession, the law.
Can any member of this profession innocently
charge a farmer with ignorance, seeing defects in
his operations, while he himself daily becomes
entangled in the proverbial intricacies of his own
vocation ?

T. — Good. I don't see how a lawyer could.

W. — Well, then, it would seem that agriculture
here, without colleges, is still up even with theol-
ogy, medicine and law — the three learned profes-
sions which requu'e such profound erudition from
the schools.

T. — But, Mr. Waddles, you forget that no vo-
cation is perfect.

W. — No, sir, that's just what I've been telling

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

411

you ; they are not. Agriculture is imperfect.
But with its present literature, I think nothing
better for its advancement than individual tests
on the soil, by men having strong common sense,
and loving their business. Farmers may find a
profit in splitting rails, but not in hairs. They
who till the soil for a livelihood cannot stop long
to ascertain whether ])lowing ten inches deep is
better than nine, or whether manure buried four
inches is more advantageous than that of three.
It is enough for them to get their plowing at an
ordinary depth, and plenty of manure to apply in
the ordinary way. Neither is it necessary that
they should know the name and history of every
weed that falls under the hoe in their gardens, or
that carbonic acid enters largely into the organi-
zation of plants.

T. — But you ought not to overlook chemistry,
botany, vegetable physiology, geology, &c. Cer-
tainly, these sciences every farmer ought to be
conversant with.

W. — That would be a laborious accomplish-
ment ; a little tending to the superfluous and or-
namental ; and if all those who live upon the
products of the earth were obliged to wait for
their fool till such farmers produced it, farming
would not be likely to be profitable afterwards,
even if a few passed through the famine to do
the raising \

T. — Strange ideas of education ! Well, now
tell me frankly, are you not in favor of those sci-
ences I alluded to being taught in our common
schools, so that youth, when they come upon the
farm, may know something of, and love these
studies ?

W. — Yes, voluntarily and with discrimination.
They are now so taught in our high schools and
academies, and in some of our common, district
schools, when the parents or scholars wish them.
You, I know, are in favor of teaching children
something that will be useful to them in after
life. So am I, and so is every sensible person.
But if I do not intend my son to become a farm-
er, I do not wish him to spend his time in study-
ing these branches with a view of becoming a
farmer, because, forsooth, farming may be the
most important vocation of the State. And I
would not admit that the Board of Agriculture,
or the Government should dictate to me what was
best for him to pursue in after life, and educate
him accordingly, whatever his, or my wishes.
This idea is education become rabid. The com-
mon or high school is not the place to learn trades,
but merely to get the rudiments of a general (not
special) education.

T. — But I trust you don't regard agriculture
as a trade. I look upon it as the most compli-
cated science known.

W. — So it is ; unfathomable in mystery ; nev-
ertheless, it's a trade, the practicable" opera-
tions of which are as easily learned as most any
other manual vocation ; and it has been well
said that the unscientific farmer can raise as
good crops as the ablest chemist. Or it is an
art, the thorough understanding of which is of
more importance than its scientific aspect. The
tilling of the earth being the common and natu-
ral business of mankind, (of which all others are
the exception,) it w^ould be cruel in the Creator
to make the conditions of good crops so compli-
cated as to defeat the purposes of agriculturL'.

r.— But, Mr. Waddles, I don't see but your
system of education would keep every boy at
home, or at least, you would have no institutions
to teach the professions we have just alluded to ;
viz. : law, medicine and theology.

TT''. — Not at all. If I had a son who wanted
to study medicine, (and the Board of Agriculture
had no objection,) I would send him to a medical
school ; for a farm would not be the best place to
study this science. And so, also, of law and the-
ology ; these studies being necessarily more in-
tellectual, for which a well conducted farm would
furnish but few facilities. But if I wanted him
to become a fanner, and carried on a good farm
myself, I would keep him at home, or put him
with some good agriculturist ; where, probably,
instead of creating a debt of several hundred
dollars, he might earn a portion of the sum.
And this would be his institution, and a very
proper one. If he wished to study this subject
at school, fifty cents would furnish him with the
proper books. But this should be voluntary on
the part of parents and children. The State ob-
viously should not assume to teach agriculture in
the common schools any more than any other
useful vocation ; for instance, that of a builder,
machinist, shoemaker, engraver, &c.

T. — Well, sir, if the town schools did all this,
would it not be better than spending years in
teaching the useless dead languages and the high-
er mathematics ? Besides, what objection can
there be to teaching agricultural chemistry, bota-
ny, &c., even if they do not give the rudiments
of other callings ?

[To be concluded iu another number.]

For the New England Farmer.
A TEST OF CHABACTEK.

Messrs. Editors : — At the commencement of
this century and ])reviously, farming was the prin-
cipal business of New England ; and rearing swine
and fattening pork was one of the most impor-
tant items in farming. Almost invariably swine
run at large during the spring and summer. You
could hardly pass a farm-house without seeing from
two to twenty, old and young, in the highway, or
squealing, or wrangling about the trough w"here
they \fere fed, all yoked and ringed according to
law ; for so the statute provided ; that swine "go-
ing at large, be ringed all the year round so as to
prevent their doing damage by rooting," and
"yoked from the first day of April to the last day
of October." Yokes were often made of a crotched
stick with a bar put across below the neck upon
the two prongs. If this were not done by the
owners of the swine, every town had its board of
hog-reeves, usually young married men, duly qual-
ified, whose duty it was to yoke and ring till that
were found in the highway not so accoutred.
The fee for yoking and ringing every swine was
"twelve pence," before the Revolution, afterward,
"eighteen." Most farmers, of course, took care
of their own swine. Hence hog-yokes upon ev-
ery farm were an important article.

I remember an anecdote, which, in my boyhood,
I used to hear my father relate of one of his
neighbors, Avhich may be worth preserving, for
it has a moral that may apply to other times and-
other occupations. He was accustomed to hire

412

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

Sept.

young men, in the spring, to work on his farm.
When a young man presented himself, he would
ask him, "When was the right time to cut hog-
yokes ?" One would say, in the spring, another
in the fall or winter ; others, not knowing what
else to say, thought it was in the old of the moon,
or in the new. To all such he would say, at once,
"Well, you may go along ; I don't want you." At
length a young man called, no hrighter nor smart-
er in his appearance than others, to whom he put
his usual question, "When is the right time to
cut hog-vokes ?" "Well," said he, "I always cut
them when I come across them." "Then," said he,
"you are the man for me. You may go to work."
Verily, there is a time and season for every work
that is done under the sun. N. s.

Monadnock, No. 4, 1860.

Remarks. — The questions put by the father
were a pretty good test of a man's ajytness, or
that peculiar characteristic of the Yankee to take
advantage of every circumstance to facilitate his
business. Now a hog-yoke is a thing of peculiar
form, and if one were to start into the woods to
hunt for one, he might spend hours or days in
vain, so that it will be seen that the answer of the
young man was a shrewd one, — that he cut them
whenever he came across them.

DEADENTNG- "WALLS AND C3ILINGS.

Men of ingenuity, lend us your ears. There
is no greater nuisance in modern houses than
that of the transmission of sound through parti-
walls. Any practical, inexpensive and efficient
means of deadening sound will be a great boon.
Solid walls and solid floors transmit sound in the
highest degree. The Metropolitan Building Act
provides that all parti-walls shall be solid and of
a certain thickness in proportion to height and
length. How is the evil to be overcome ? "P'or
■ eight years," writes a studious friend to us, "I
have occupied a house in London ; and during
the whole of this time, there have been neighbors
having young families. They are musical, and,
I must confess, labor most industriously at the
scales ; morning, noon and night one or other
child howls and strums, apparently without mak-
ing any progress." There is no objection to
neighbors' children learning music and singing
— quite the reverse ; but it is most objectionable
that walls should so readily transmit sound, and
render the ladies' efforts so widely known. Some
persons always take a corner house, so as to be
free from such nuisance on one side at least. Is
there no remedy ? The late Mr. Cubbitt had some
(rouble at Balmoral with certain floors, and re-
membered in taking down an old palace floor
(many years before,) vast quantities of cockle-
shells fell out from betwixt the joists. These had
been used in plugging. The idea was acted upon.
Cockles were dredged, and brought ; the shells
were cleaned and dried, and used, v.'ith beneficial
eflect. The cellular spaces thus produced ab-
sorbed sound. Some highly cellular texture may
be applied to walls, ceilings and floors, which
shall resist fire and ordinary decay, allow of fin-
ish, and yet .deaden sound. Who is to invent
and introduce such materials ? They may patent

the invention and make a fortune, if they will
only abate the existing nuisance, and enable us
to have solid parti-walls and fire-proof floors
without being compelled to hear what is going
on up stairs and in the next house. — The Builder.

For the New England Farmer.

CATTLE DISTEMPEK.

Two Cows Slauqhteeed by Tns Commissioners at East
Lexington, 11th inst.

A short time previous to the extra session of
the Legislature, I expressed my doubts, in a com-
munication to the Farmer, of the contagiousness
of the disease prevailing among Mr. Chenery's
cattle and others, and intimated some lack of con-
fidence in the post mortem examinations that had
already been made, as they betrayed, to my mind,
a pitiful ignorance of physiology and pathology.
Nothing has transpired since to remove my
doubts.

A week before the extra session of the Legisla-
ture, a meeting of the State Board of Agriculture,
the cattle commissioners and other interested was
held at the State House, when Dr. Bartlett asked
why it was, if the disease was so contagious as
represented, that Mr. Chenery's cattle had not
communicated the disease to any of the adjacent
herds, &c.? Dr. Loring replied that every precau-
tion had been taken to prevent its communica-
tion, and the reason why no cattle had become
diseased from Mr. Chenery's was simply because
they had had no opportvmity. That it was con-
tagious was as "obvious as foot-prints upon new
fallen snow."

When the disease was raging among Mi*. Che-
nery's cattle last season, a part of the herd was
turned out to graze adjoining a pasture occupied
by the herd of Mr. Stearns Smith, with nothing
but a common stone wall to separate them. At
this time, two, at least, of Mr. C.'s cattle (calves)
died in the pasture, and one of them was not no-
ticed till decomposition had taken place. Mr.
Smith's cattle have not appeared to be affected
in the least. No town in the State is more free
(Mr. C.'s farm excepted) from cattle disease and
panic than Belmont.

Last A])ril Mr. Chenery's oxen canie'to Mr.
Peter Wellington's barn for hay — they had been
there not long before. Last November these ox-
en were thought to have the catlle distemper —
pleuro-pncumonia — but had recovered at the time
of getting the hay. Mr. Wellington had several
cows in and about the barn, three of which, at
least, were tied up in the barn while the hay was
being loaded. Two of these were boarders, and be-
longed to Mr. Edward Mulliken of North Cam-
bridge. The third belonged to Mr. Peter Wel-
lington, and ate from the same crib with Mr. C.'s
oxen while in the barn.

Last week, Wednesday, the Board of Cattle
Commissioners met the full Board of Selectmen
at Mr. Peter Wellington's barn and after exam-
inations and consultations, Mr. Mulliken's cows
were slaughtered by Dr. Thayer, who, with oth-
ers, had pronounced one of the cows, at least, to
have diseased lungs. She had coughed a little,
but appeared to be perfectly well. On examining
the lungs of each cow, they were unanimously pro-
nounced to be as healthy as those of any cow in the

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

413

State ! Dr. Oramel Martin, of Worcester, was the
only one present of the appointed Medical Com-
mission, and he stated that a peculiar appearance
of the lungs, which at previous examinations he
had pronounced diseased, was not disease, but
was not uncommon in health, and '"further obser-
vation had led him to back out of that belief."
Dr. Thayer frankly confessed that in the lungs be-
fore him the disease which he had diagnosed Vi^as
not to be found.

Mr. Wellington was given to understand that
the third cow would be slaughtered, probably, at
some future time, and his son, Mr. Andrew Wel-
lington, particularly requested that it might be
deferred as long as practicable, for his infant
child ivasfed exclusivehj on the milk of that coio!

Lexington f July 19, 1860. RusTicus.

THEOBY OF CUBI]!3"a HAY.

QUESTIOXS TO THE POINT.

We are just in the midst of the haying season.
Believing that to husband this most important
crop in the best manner possible, it is necessary
to understand the chemical changes which take
place during the curing of hay, or when it is dam-
aged, I submit to you a few questions, which
please answer through the columns of the Home-
stead.

1. When a handful of well-cured hay is allowed
to be saturated v/ith dew, how is it damaged ?

If it does not drip, nothing soluble is carried
off. When the hay dries, I cannot see but that
an analysis would give just as much sugar, just
the same quantity of albuminous compounds, and
just the same quantity of fatty matter; but it is
damaged. How ?

2. Is grass only wilted damaged as much as
cured hay by dew ?

3. Can it be that grass cut when the dew is on
will not make as good hay as that which is cut
free from dew or rain ?

If it will not, please give the reason. I cannot
see how it is. It may take less labor to make the
hay, but is it much or any better ? I should be
glad to see how it can be damaged.

4. Is it the flavor of hay that is destroyed when
It is exposed to the sun for the length of time far-
mers generally do ?

5. When hay is dried excessively in the sun, is
there not the same quantity of sugar, albumen, &c.,
in it ?

6. Is the per cent, of water in old and unsalted
hay the same, without regard to the species of
grass from which it was made ; or will different
kinds of grass dry away and retain the same quan-
tity of water ?

In answering the foregoing questions you will
confer a favor on yours truly,

Oxford, July 12th, 1860. Benj. Wood.

Answer. — It is a real pleasure to be subjected
to a discriminating catechism like the foregoing.
We might play Sir Oracle, and endeavor to im-
press our readers with the stores of wisdom which
we have to draw upon for their benefit ; but the
fact is, our correspondent touches upon subjects
very difficult to discuss, for lack of facts and full
investigations. We must argue from facts proven
fn regard to other things, and from those practi-

cally demonstrated, and perhaps take as true the
statements of theorists which have led to success-
ful practice.

It may be that the various changes occurring
in grass and similar vegetables, under the circum-
stances incident to hay-making, have been inves-
tigated by some competent chemist and vegetable
physiologist ; but we know of no record of such
investigation, and it is very much needed.

The juices of plants must be regarded as living
or vitalized fluids, and the changes which they
undergo in drying or dicing, must be regarded not
as if they were mere solutions of sugar, gum, mu-
cilage, albumen, etc. It is true that if we dry a
solution of a mixture of many of such substances,
in which no fermentation is active, we shall sim-
ply dry it without change ; but if such a solution
be in fermentation, changes will take place whicli
a certain degree of drjTiess will check, and which
will be recommenced whenever sufficient moisture
is present. There is a vast difference in the chan-
ges thus induced which occur in different plants,
and in the rapidity or ease with which they take
place. Whoever preserves plants for an herbari-
um, knows that if he would preserve the natural
colors of the flowers and leaves of many plants, he
must secure very rapid drying before fermentation
commences. The leaves of most of the lily tribe
are of this character, and show by turning yellow,
the least commencement of fermentative changes,
and in this respect are vastly more sensitive than
the foliage of most other plants.

Changes in vitalized organisms may be regard-
ed as solely, or chiefly at least, in the fluids, and
in the solids only as they are acted upon by the
fluids, — so the juices of grass are our chief con-
cern. These juices are, in the first place, living
fluids, and as such, liable to change ; they pass
readily into fermentation, and in this condition
are liable to certain other changes. The changes,
while still there is vitality, are of a character sim-
ilar to natural growth, — formation of cellular struc-
ture and woody fibre from soluble or partially sol-
uble matters of the juices, maturing of the seed,
&c. The changes induced by fermentation, on the
contrary, are of a degrading character, — that is,
tending towards decomposition. Fermentation
changes starch into sugar, and this into alcohol,
and alcohol into vinegar — each a less complex
body than the preceding. It is incipient decaj'.

All these changes are arrested by a certain de-
gree of dryness. If the dryness is excessive, we
suppose that the vitality of the fluids of the grass
is destroyed, and fermentation commences when
there is sufficient moisture more readily than if
the juices are so dried that a uniform thickening
of them takes place, and they remain unchanged
in other respects. There are, however, plants
which may be dried to a good hay dryness, and
still, when moisture comes, revive and live, strik-
ing root perhaps, or at least maturing seed.

The sunlight exercises, as we all know, a most
powerful influence in promoting chemical changes.
This can be scon in hay as well in anything else ;
but a few familiar examples not of the field may
illustrate it better. Brown linen has a peculiar
odor, a greenish brown color, etc. ; it is bleached
by dew and sunshine, white as the driven snow.
Solar light contains what are called chemical rays,
because this influence can be separated just as
blue from yellow in the spectrum, and a great va-

414

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

Sept.

riety of chemical processes depend upon these
chemical rays, — the blackening of indelible ink,
all photogx'aphic processes, etc., are familiar ex-
amples.

Plants of all kinds possess certain odors arising
from volatile ingredients, usually volatile oils ;
these give the peculiar flavor to different kinds of
hay to a great extent, and certainly have a very
beneficial influence on digestion. Exposed to the
action of the sunlight alone these are lost or
changed to a great degree. Who would ever
think of drying aromatic or sweet herbs a day or
two in the sun ? or especially, leaving them to be
exposed to dews ? The flavor would be woefully
wasted. The good granny who takes care of such
things, dries them on the warm attic floor, or on
a salver in the sun, covering them with a double
thickness of newspaper, and watching them that
they do not get too dry b'efore they are bundled
up, and laid or hung in a closet of uniform tem-
peratui-e, neither moist nor hot. She understands
that the exclusion of sunlight and quick drying
are both essential to the preservation of flavor in
her herbs.

We can hardly set too high a value on flavor in
hay. The relish with which food is eaten is con-
nected directly with the ease of digestion. Musty
bread is just as nutritious as any, as regards its
chemical constituents, but it is not so good food.
So really relishable food is much better and goes
further with man or beast than that which does
not relish, be it of positively bad or of no good
flavor. Admitting that this is the only evil of
sunlight, viz., to deprive the hay of a portion of
its aroma, this is enough to lead us to expose it
as little as possible to the sim. But how much
the sunlight aids in the formation of hard, woody
fibre from the soft cellulose or from the fluids of
the hay, we do not know, though it is not improb-
able that it does so.

Very slow, continuous drying, or drying under
such circumstances as not to induce fermentation,
allows changes to take place which result from vi-
tal action ; thus the hardening and formation of
the woody fibre almost inevitably occurs, reduc-
ing the soluble cellulose, the starch, sugar or gum,
in like degree.

The whole aim of the plant is to mature seed
and store in its roots food to give it a good start
in the spring, or protect it against the accidents
of close browsing, etc. ; so when cut the little re-
maining vitality is directed to the seed, and in
connection with its ripening, the increase of woody
fibre in the stem inevitably occurs. AVe argue,
therefore, that quick drying is desirable ; but if
this is impossil)le, fermentation, (heating in the
cock) sufficient to destroy vitality, though not suf-
ficient to cause essential changes in the substance
of the hay should be secured.

We are now prepared to discuss the questions
proposed by our correspondent ; and must do so
most briefly.

(1.) Well cured hay is injured by dew, because
it is moisture alone of the conditions necessary to
fermentation that is wanting in well cured hay,
and when this is supplied by the dew it recom-
mences injuriously. (2.) Grass only wilted is
still possessed of vitality, and is not as much dam-
aged by dew, if it be really damaged at all. (3.)
And so grass cut with the dew on is not injured
by the dew ; but if the drying is essentially inter-

fered with, and the exposure to the sun necessari-
ly increased, it is an evil, to be considered, but
probably of no great moment, except as it makes
more work. (4.) We have already given our
views in regard to the loss of flavor caused by the
sunlight, and Avould answer //e.? to the fourth ques-
tion. (5.) The fifth question we cannot answer ;
and (6.) We have no doubt different kinds of
grass made into hay and in the same mow contain ,
different percentages of water. — Homestead.

For the New Ungland Farmer.

LINES,

On finding a Dead I'oMn? Bird in the Corn-field, tchUe Hoeing
June 9th, 1860.

BY THB PEASANT BARD.

Poor little bird ! 'tis sad to see
Thee lying here so sorrily,
Lost from thy native sheltering tree,

And leaf-roofed nest.
Beside this hill of corn shall be

Thy noteless rest.

Did wanton school-boy hurl the stone ?
Or murderous villain aim the gun ?
Or, yester evening, when the sun

.Sank down the hill,
Did the cold rain-rills round thee run,

To drench and chill ?

Now, bright around thee pours the day j
The springing corn-blades waving play,
And all thy sportive mates are gay

With tuneful breath.
O, do they know that here you lay,

Songless in death }

'Tis thus with selfish man, I know :
He sees a fellow mortal go.
And, saving when he feels the blow

Strike home and near.
He little heeds the sufferer's woe.

The mourner's tear.

Ah, me ! I'd once a birdie sweet.
Whose days, like thine, were winged and fleet f
The angels came ; her little feet

Had weary grown.
And with them to the blest retreat.

Long since, she's flown !

Theory of Curing Hay. — We copy witli much
pleasure from "The Ho7nestead" of July 26, an ar-
ticle upon the subject of curing hay, a business
which, in our opinion, is still imperfectly under-
stood. We ask for it a careful perusal, and es-
pecially so by our haymaking friends of the
"Hingham Agricultural Society," whose intelli-
gent investigations on this and kindred points
are worthy of all commendation.

An Excellent Use for Dogs. — An exchange
says the most profitable use that nine-tenths of
all the dogs in this country could be applied to,
is to mix about five dogs with a ban-el of lime and
ten cartloads of muck in a compost heap. A bar-
rel of wood ashes may be added to help the de-
composition of the bones. We believe that a dress-
ing of this compost, applied to sheep pastures,
would greatly enhance the production of woqL

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

415

For the New England Farmer.
THOUGHTS SUGGESTED BY THE N. E.
FAKMER, JULY, 1860.

Page 301. — Do animals consume food in pro-
portion to their size'? — The afRrmative answer to
this question, that which ninety-nine out of every
hundred of farmers would give to it, seems so
perfectly in accordance with the dictates of com-
mon sense, and with general experience, as to
make it next to impossible for us to believe that
a man, who uses his head to so much good pur-
pose as Mr. Johnston is well known to do, could
possibly intend, in the paragraph here quoted
from an article of his in the Country Oentleman,
to contradict flatly this affirmative reply, or give
a directly negative one. Though his words may
seem to imply such a negative, yet we believe he
does not really intend to say that the common
opinion in reference to the amount of food re-
quii-ed to sustain animals in their present condi-
tion, or in statu quo, is incorrect. He was not
writing in that article about common feeding of
stock, or such feeding as would just carry them
through the winter in statu quo, but about buying
and fattening cattle and sheep. Hearing of Mr.
Johnston's superior good judgment and success
in this department of the farmer's manifold oper-
ations, a "young farmer" had asked ■Mr. J. to give
him some information about buying and fattening
stock. In reply, Mr. J. informs "young farmer"
that it is better economy to buy sheep and cattle
of rather large size or live weight, as the large-
sized will lay on flesh and fat upon the same
amount of extra feeding, quite as fast as those of
smaller size, or even faster. He does not say any
thing, as we understand him, about the whole
amount of what they will consume, including grass
or hay, but speaks only about their extra feeding,
or of the meal of cake or grain, which must be
given them in order to make them fat, or in con-
dition for the shambles. He does not say that an
ox of 1400 pounds, will not eat more grass or
hay than one of 900 or 1,000 pounds, but only
upon an equal amount of meal, along with what
grass or hay each may choose to eat, the heavy ox
will fatten quite as much or as fast as the lighter
or smaller one, or even more so. This, surely, is
not hard to believe ; and this, surely, must be
Tyhat is meant. It is not hard to believe, for we
see every day, both among men and among do-
mestic animals of all kinds, that some make moi-e
flesh and fat out of equal amounts of food than
others do. This is especially noticeable in the
case of swine, some breeds, and some individuals
in every kind of breed, laying on flesh and fat
much faster than others with exactly the same
imount and kind of feeding. Then as to Mr.
fOHNSTON's meaning, one reason why we think
■.hat it must be Avhat we have stated above, is this,
;hat he says nothing about the amount of hay
which is consumed, but states only the quantity
of meal, three or four quarts a day — which he
gives to each ox, while we learn from this and
other articles from Mr. J.'s pen, that he does not
confine his fattening cattle to the stable all the
time, but allows them out in the yard the most of
the time, where he feeds them hay in boxes, which
they go to at their pleasure. Now, as Mr. J.'s
hay is of the best quality, and as his fattening
stock eat of this as much as they please, the rea-

son why the largest fat the fastest, may be that
they consume more hay, though no more meal ;
or it may be that an animal, which at the same
age, weighs much heavier than another, possesses
a power of manufacturing more flesh and fat from
its food, than the smaller animal of the same kind ;
or it may be partly both of these.

With such an interpretation of the language of
Mr. Johnston, and such an understanding of his
meaning, farmers will not be under the necessity
of supposing that Mr. J. has made a great mistake,
or that they have the testimony of a man of so
much sagacity and experience against them, when
they believe that animals consume about two to
three per cent, of their weight of hay, or its equiv-
alent, per day ; while those engaged in buying and
fattening stock may thus receive from him a val-
uable hint, for which they may, when verified by
their own experience, feel under much obligation
to him who so readily imparted of his light for the
guidance and benefit of his brethren. Let them
read the whole of the article from which the. quo-
tation is made, and we think their knowledge of
their business — buying and fattening stock — will
be materially increased, their obligation to Mr. J.
more sensibly felt.

Page 304. — The secret of having good milch
coios. — The whole of the secret or art is not given
in this brief article ; but undoubtedly a large
share of it is. Corn fodder, roots, and other food
naturally succulent, or made so by cooking, as
Mr. BouTWELL tells us at page 310, he prepares
the food of his cows, is one of the essential requi-
sites to having good milch cows. This article,
and that of Mr. Boutwell above referred to,
contain information or hints which might be
made of more value to many than the cost of the
Farmer, either weekly or monthly, for a series of
years.

Mr. Graves' cows average about 2,500 quarts
a year, and the poorest of Mr. Boutwell's stock
will yield, he says, 200 cans, or about 2,000
quarts, while some of the best have given a little
under, and others a little over 300 cans, or 3,000
quarts. Mr. B. is confident, as well he may be,
that few cows will yield 200 cans (2,000 quarts)
of milk per year when fed on dry hay in winter.

Page^\5 — A good heifer. — The yield of milk ia
this case, 4,946 quarts in a year, is so much larger
that that of the best of Mr. B.'s cows, that we
would really like to know more of her winter
keeping and other particulars. More Anon.

Fine Wool at the South. — In reply to a
correspondent, who asks whether a warm climate
is unfavorable to the growth of fine wool, the ed-
tor of the Georgia Southern Cultivator remarks :

"Our observation during the last six years on
the produce of Merino sheep, brought from the
very best flocks of Vermont and New York to
Georgia, is, that while there is no loss in the
weight, there has been a decided gain in the fine-
ness of the fleece. If a 'South Carolinian' will
just prepare good pastures, and then get good
Merino sheep, he will find that he can raise fine
wool at a greatly less expense than is possible at
the North. We are not speaking hastily when we
express the conviction that wool growing, proper-
ly conducted, is, by far, the most profitable branch
of agricultural labor at the South."

416

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

Sept.

DESIGN FOB A TUDOK COTTAGE.

D2SIGSED FOR THE NEW ESGLAXD FAr.rjSR. BY G. E. HaEKEY, ARCHITECT, LyNU, MASS.

We here present a design for a country or su-
burban cottage of stone.

The situation most suitable for a dwelling of this
class would be on an estate where two or three
acres could be devoted to pleasure grounds alone.
In this case we should have the lawn — somewhat
undulating, if possible — surround two or three
sides of the house, at least, leaving the fourth for
domestic purposes, containing kitchen garden,
orchards, stables and other out-buildings, and
shielded from public view by plantations of ti-ees
and shrubbery. On the lawn, which should be
surrounded by a border of irregular plantations —
with the exception of openings left here and
there for agreeable distant views — we would
plant large trees and shrubs, singly and in
groups, and so plant them as to bring into view
from th^ principal points the most pleasing vis-
tas, and hide those objects which are disagreea-
ble to the eye.

We have supposed that the best views of the
surrounding landscape may be obtained from the

front entrance to the house ; hence we have de-
signed the arcade to occupy that position, shield-
ing the front doors, and at the same time form-
ing a very pleasant lounging-place or summer
evening retreat. The double glazed doors open
into a vestibule, No. 2, on either side of which is
an arched recess for clothing, and in front a Goth-
ic arch divides it from the hall proper, No. 3,
which is 10 feet wide and 18 feet 6 inches long ;
on the left, two doors open into the drawing-
room, No. 4, measuring 15 feet by 18 feet 6
inches, and lighted by a muUioned window in
front, a large bay on the side, and a window on
the rear reaching to the floor, and opening upon a
veranda, No. 10.

At the end of the hall a door leads to the libra-
ry. No. 9, 12 feet by 15, containing two closets,
with a recessed window between. No. 5 is the
dining-room, 15 feet square, and opening upon a
back entry. No, 6. At No. 7 are the back stairs
above and below. No. 8 is the kitchen, 14 feet
6 inches by 15 feet, containing two la,rge closets,

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

417

in one of which is a dumb wait-
er from the cellar kitchen. No.
12 is a portico over the side en-
trance. In the cellar are cellar
kitchen and scullery under No.
8 ; drying-room under No. 9 ;
store-rooms under the dining-
room, and common cellar under
the hall and parlor. The second
floor contains four large cham-
bers with closets, a sewing-room
over the vestibule and hall, and
a bathing-room over the back
entrj^

Construction. — We have de-
signed this cottage to be built of
rough stone and covered with
cement, or with a wash of some
neutral tint. The trimmings to
be of freestone, or any dark
stone contrasting in color with
the walls, and the details of
wood painted to correspond.
The interior finish should be of
a plain, simple character, cor-
responding in stj'le with the exterior.

The cost of this cottage will depend more upon
the locality than a frame house. In situations
where stone of a suitable quality is plenty, it may
be built and finished throughout for $5000.

U. S. AGKICULTUBAL SOCIETY.

Eighth National Exhibition, at Cincinnati, Ohio, September
12, 13, 14, 15, 17, IS, 19 and 20, 1800.

Rooms United States AGRictJLTURAL Society, )
Washington, D. C, July 20, 180O. j

Sir : We have the honor to inform you that the
Executive Committee of the U. S. Agricultural So-
ciety, who were authorized at the annual meeting
in January, to locate and to make all necessary
arrangements for the Eighth National Exhibi-
tion, have decided to accept the liberal offer of
grounds, fixtures, &c., and the guarantee of a
twenty thoufiand dollar premium list, made by
Professor Gary, Vice President for Ohio, ia be-
half of citizens of Cincinnati. This location was
presented by Professor Cary to the attention of
the Society at the annual meeting in 1859, and
(it may be proper here to state) no objection was
made from any source, until after it had again
been presented by him at the annual meeting in
January last, and fcvmally accepted by the Exec-
utive Committee at its subsequent meeting, on
conditions which have been fulfilled in the most
generous manner.

The Eighth National Exhibition will be held at
"the Park" near Cincinnati, an area of sixty acres,
on the line of raiboad leading to Columbus. The
grounds will be fitted up in the best manner, and
there will be a track one mile in length and forty
feet in width, for the exhibition of horses. Every
facility will be offered for the exhibition and trial
of implements and machines ; and as the Exhi-
tion will extend from the mcrning of Wednes-

day, the 12th, to the evening of Thursday, the
20th, (eight days,) it is much to be hoped that
there can be those "tests" so necessary to give
value to awards. The animated contests of Ex-
hibitors for the Medals and Diplomas of the
United States Agricultural Society, prove the
high estimation in which these awards are held,
and it is but right that they should be bestowed
with discrimination, after a thorough examina-
tion. The delay which has heretofore attended
the distribution of medals vviU be avoided, as
they have already been ordered at the U. S. Mint.
Premium Lists will be sent by mail to applicants.

The Agriculturists, Stocli-breeders, Horticul-
turists, Pomologists, Mechanics, Artists, and oth-
er industrial citizens of the Republic, and of the
adjacent British Provinces, are respectfully and
earnestly solicited to contribute to this Exhibi-
tion, that it may be one of general interest in all
its departments. No labor cr expense will be
s])ared to render it creditable to the "Queen City
of the West," and worthy of the great i\gricul-
tural interests of the country, which the Society
represents.

With sentiments of the highest respect, Ave are
Your obedient servants,

Henry Wageb, Presideiti.

Ben ; Perley Poore, Secretary.

Ornithology,— In another column we present
the reader with the first of several articles which
we are promised by our intelligent and obliging
correspondent, "J. A, A." Our columns have al-
ready been enriched by his contributions, in me-
teorological and various agricultural matters, and
the reader may safely anticipate interesting and
profitable reading in the forthcoming articles.

418

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

Sept.

For the New England Farmer.
LAOTD AJNTD MANURE.

Mr. Editor: — When will our farmers learn
that, to form with profit, thoy must cultivate no
more land than they can manure well ? Being in
one of the towns in New Hampshire a few months
since, and having an opportunity to learn some-
thing of the farming operations of several of the
largest cultivators of the soil in the town, I learned
that a large majority of them manured only at the
rate of from ten to twenty loads to the acre, and
this upon uplands that have had the same treat-
ment for many years, which of course is entirely
insufficient to have any lasting benefit. The con-
sequence is, that many of the farms from which
two tons of hay to the acre were cut years ago,
now barely produce one-half that quantity, and
very many farms of from one to two hundred
acres, and which ought to be a large source of in-
come to the owners, barely afi'ord them a support ;
and this on land naturally productive.

Now there maybe various reasons for this state
of things, but in my opinion, the principal cause
arises from the miserable policy of cultivating
more land than they can manure sufficiently to
keep it in its original state of productiveness. I
believe it is just as impossible to keep an upland
farm in a state of cultivation that will renumerate
its owner for his labor and capital, without suf-
ficient manure, as it is for a man to labor without
sufficient food to nourish and strengthen him. If
farmers will look into this matter, and act up to
its truthfulness, my word for it, you shall hear less
about farming as being so very unprofitable. Some
fifteen years ago, in one of the hilly towns in New
Hampshii-e, a man purchased a farm of about 150
acres, which was pretty well worn out, but natu-
rally productive land, i)aying but a small portion
of the cost down, as he had but a few hundred
dollars to begin life v/ith. One of the first things
this man did, was to go to the village, and engage
manure, and draw it full two miles to his farm,
and up hill at that. The farmers about said to one
another that neighbor Jones could not afi'ord to
buy manure and haul it such a distance, as he was
yet in debt for his farm, and they prophesied
speedy bankruptcy for him. But neighbor Jones
still continued to buy manure, and the consequence
was that he got the best crops of any man in town,
and to-day he has the richest and most productive
farm in that vicinity, all paid for, and his neigh-
bors say it is worth at least ten thousand dollars,
and I believe still continues to buy manure as oc-
casion requii-es.

It was my privilege to visit this town in Au-
gust last, and from an eminence I could overlook
some twenty-five farms, and where almost every
other one was parched and dried up, neighbor
Jones's was green and luxuriant, showing plainly
the eff'ects of high cultivation. c. c. H.

Boston, July 20, 1860.

The Curculio. — Having seen our own apples
so thoroughly hacked for the last six or eight
years, that we have found it difficult, some sea-
sons, to select a single specimen which did not
bear unmistakable evidence of the operations of
the curculio, we are not a little surprised to find

the following paragraph in the published proceed-
ings of the Ohio Pomological Society.

"Much general conversation was had on the
subject, and no one present was of the opinion
that the curculio ever committed any ravages up-
on the apple. Dr. Waixler, ^Ir. Bateham and
others expressed the belief that the injury observed
by the gentleman in Washington county, was the
work of the apple worm, and not the curculio.'

HYMlSr OF THE HAKVESTERS.

We gather them iu — the bright green leaves —

With our scythes and rakes to-day.
And the mow grows l>ig, as the pitcher heaves

His lift in the sweltering hay.
O ho ! afield ! for the mower's scythe,

Hath a ring as of destiny,
Sweeping the earth of its burden lithe,

As it's swung in wrathful glee.

We gather them in — the nodding plumes

Of the yellow and bearded grain,
And the flash of our sickles' light illumes

Our march o'er the vanquished plain.
Anon, we come with the steed-drawn car— ,

The cunning of modern laws ;
And acres stoop to its clanking jar,

As it rocks its hungry jaws.

We gather them in — the mellow fruits,

From the shrub, the vine and tree.
With their russet, and golden, and purple suits,

To garnish our treasury.
And each has a treasure stored,

All a'neath Us tinted rind.
To cheer our guests at the social board,

When we leave our cares behind.

We gather them in — this goodly store —

But not with the miser's gust,
For that great All-Father we adore,

Hatlr given it but in trust:
And our work of death is but for life,

In the wintry days to come —
Then a blessing upon tlie reaper's strife,

And a shout at his Harvest Home.

For ike New England Farmer,
POTATO.

A variety of potato originated from seed is
generally considered in England to continue
about 14 years in perfection ; after this ])eriod it
gradually loses its good qualities and becomes un-
productive. Without endeavoring to account for
the origin of the potato rot, they say that in the
present state of this disease, clay soils should
be avoided, for out of 1G3 cases in England, 129
were returned as having suff"ercd much by the dis-
ease. Out of 32 cases on peaty soil, cultivated
with moss in the hill, 5 suff"ered much, and 17
little, while 10 escaped altogether. The conclu-
sion to which they arrived was, that in pure, well
drained peat moss, potatoes suff"er very little from
disease. Wood ashes are a safe manure when
applied by themselves, and crops have sufi'ered
little or nothing by disease, throughout Great
Britain, when manured with them alone in the
proportion of 27 to 4, but when mixed with farm-
yard dung, the success has been ns 54 to 15, that
is, in the former case 4 sufi'ered much, while 54

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

419

nearly escaped. Over-luxuriousness, from what-
ever cause, was highly favorable to the progress
of the disease, and vice versa.

Mr. Marcy, in his address before the Hampden
Society, remarked, that "potatoes have been stim-
ulated to death. The potato rot, whether it be
an insect, or a fungus, or some internal organic
disposition to decay, is, we believe, due to artifi-
cial stimulating fertilizers. The best potatoes we
have seen this year, the cleanest, fah-est, the most
free from rot, the most perfect every way, were
raised on sandy soil, upon Avhich nothing but peat
had beey placed for several years." I.

THS MONSTER PETRIFIED TREE OF
BLACK ROCK.

Some doubts having been expressed as to the
truth of the discovery said to have been recently
made in the Black Rock region, of a petrified tree
of some seven or eight hundred feet long, J. E.
Stevens, the captain of the late silver prospecting
expedition in that region, and who fathered the
wonderful story, writes to the Marysville Demo-
crat on the subject. He says :

"Our party of thirty-five men encamped at the
lower end of what we termed the Little Canon,
about three miles from which we found this fa-
mous petrification, and which is truly a great cu-
riosity and a wonder of the age sufficient to arouse
the credulity of those who passed through the
'High Rock Canon' in 1849. At a short distance
from this monster of a former age, it seemed to
us to be a well-defined line of drift-wood deposit-
ed along the line of high water mark of some an-
cient river, whose bed is now an elevated moun-
tain ridge ; but on closer inspection, we unani-
mously pronounced it one tree, as we found it
distinctly marked from the upturned roots to its
forks, and its two well defined forks to what was,
when standing, an altitude of 666 feet, or 2L'2 such
steps as a western frontier man takes when step-
ping ofi" his distance to shoot at a target, or any
man would take in pacing off a turnip patch.

At about 400 feet from the roots, the tree is di-
vided into two parts, or forks, about equal in size,
and at 520 feet from the root, I took oft' a speci-
men from one of these forks, having on its sur-
face at the time the outer and inner bark of the
tree, and which specimen is now in the office of
Dr. Thompson, on D Street, between Third and
Fourth. From the curves of the lines of growth
we estimated the diameter of the branch from
which it was taken, to be from 8 to 12 feet, and
this, bear in mind, at a distance of 520 feet from
the root of the tree and only half the tree at
that. This estimate may be too high, or it may
be too low, but in the height of the tree, Ave can-
not be far at fault in saying that it measured
when standing some TOO or 800 feet in height."

Capt. Stevens adds that J. B. Dorr, lumber
dealer, Capt. McKenzie, formerly of the steamer
Petaluma, and several other gentlemen of un-
doubted integrity, who reside at San Francisco,
will not only confirm the truth of the existence of
the petrified tree, but show specimens thereof.

Useful Receipt. — The Scienfifc American
advises the ladies, when they wish to Avash fine
and elegant colors, to boil some bran in rain wa-

ter, and use the liquid cold. Nothing, it is said,
can equal it for cleaning cloth, and for revivifying
effects upon colors. Try it, ladies.

RAISING GRAPES BY HORSE-POWJ3R.

We have been amused by the following state-
ment of a "clericus" correspondent of the Canadi-
an Agriculturist. The writer remarks that he had
been reading an English work on grape-growing,
in which "horse-power" Avas strongly recommend-
ed in the production of grapes, and that he fell
into the mistake, very common Avith amateurs and
novices in gardening — that because a little of a
thing is good, a great deal must be better ; and
that because an application Avas beneficial to a
heavy, cold clay soil, it must be equally so to a
light, dry soil.

"Having selected a Avell sheltered spot, some
sixty by eighteen feet, it Avas dug perhaps thirty
inches deep. At the bottom Avere laid one hun-
dred and twenty bushels of bones, to obtain Avhich,
the boys Avith" laudable zeal scoured tAvo town-
ships. " On these Avere placed several horses, and
to keep them company, a prize bull and a span of
oxen. On these again were deposited road scrap-
ings, sand and black mould, fourteen inches in
depth. This having been levelled, all Avas ready
for planting. Such was Mr. Robert's prescription.
The vines Avere obtained. Black Hamburgs, Black
St. Peters, Zingindal, Royal Muscadine, Golden
Chasselas, Pitmaston, AVhite Cluster, Macready's
Early White, Red Frontignac and Tokay. They
grcAV the first season marvellously. By the au-
tumn, the canes Avere long and stout, and bid fair
to bear all that it Avas prudent to permit them to
do. The foUoAving season they Avere lifted, Avashed,
carefully and constantly pruned, thinned and
trained. They bore abundantly ; many beautiful
bunches, beautiful for size and color, rewarded
the expenditure of toil and expense. But the next
season, the third, in Avhich I looked for a large
and remunerating crop, Avhat came then ? Then
Avhen the roots had fairly reached the soddened
mass, and their tender extremities Avere scorched
and burnt, then mildeAV overspread them all.
There Avas no exceptions ; Isabellas and Cataw-
bas, and the little hardy black cluster, Avhich were
treated in the same manner, one and all, present-
ed a mass of blackened foliage and mildewed fruit.
This Avas raising grapes by horse-power with a
vengeance. I knoAv better noAv. No fresh horse
goes into my border now to force an unnatural
groAvth, and then to burn the delicate fibres just
as they stretch out to seize the proffered nourish-
ment. Not that the possession of one or many
such carcases is not desirable, but before applying
them, they should be covered Avith mould, and
suflered to decay ; such mould will, indeed, be
rich, and if applied to the plant in srnall quanti-
ties at a time, Avill nourish it and cherish it to its
heart's content. I tell you all this, dear reader, in
confidence. I have never told it before. I can-
not noAv wonder at the wry faces of those who be-
held my preparations, nor at their solemn assev-
erations, that they Avould never eat grapes raised
by such a method. Alas, they never had the
chance !"

420

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

Sept.

KAISING PIGS.

First. In selecting the pig to raise for a breed-
er, count the teats. One with twelve fully devel-
oped teats will infallibly be prolific and a good
nurse — good for milk and careful of her young.
Fourteen teats should be preferred ; but never try
to raise pigs from a sow with less than ten good
teats. I risk my swinish character on the correct-
ness of this rule.

Secondly. We come now to one of the most im-
portant points in the rearing of all animals, es-
pecially the hog, viz. : education. I do not mean
that it is absolutely necessary that your swinish
breeder should be taught to read — though I am
not prepared to say she is not capable of learning
even that ; but I do mean to say, that she should
be so potted as to become fond of the person who
has the care of her, and thus lose the natural fe-
rocity of her kind, and not be disturbed by his
presence when she brings forth her young.

Thirdly. It now remains to offer a few observa-
tions on keeping. The provident wiU make the
animal earn half her living in manufacturing ma-
nure. At all events, she should have sufficient
space and exercise to insure good health and the
use of her limbs. If she can occasionally have an
out-door run, and a chance to root the ground, it
will be beneficial. Give a sufficiency of food to
keep in good flesh and growing, a sufficiency but
not an excess of salt, and an abundance of drink.
Keep warm in the winter and cool in the summer.
A pailful of cold water, occasionally dashed on to
the animal on a hot day, is very reviving and con-
ducive to good health. The hog goes with 3'oung
sixteen weeks. They seldom vary 24 hours from
that time. The feed should be gradually increased
as much as eight weeks before they bring forth.
For two days after, she should have no food ex-
cept a little thin warm gruel, not to exceed half a
pint a day of meal. She should have all the warm
water she will take, which will sometimes be two
pailsful in a day. This is very essential, as it
helps the flow of milk and prevents fever. You
may now gradually increase the feed till the
pigs are two weeks old, when she should be full
fed. If you have no better feed, good Indian meal
mixed with milk will answer very well, if you
give enough and feed regularly. The pigs should
be taught to eat with their mother as young as
two weeks, which may be done by having a broad
shalloAV trough, and gently putting them into it
■when the mother is eating.

By pursuing the foregoing course, I have not
failed once for the last thirty years, when I have
tried, in raising a healthy litter of pigs. Some
years of the thirty I have not kept a sow, but have
often raised tv.'o or three litters in a year. I am
considered one of the lucky kind. By trying this
plan, and avoiding breedmg in-and'in, some of
the unlucky ones may possibly change their luck.
• — J. II. Willard, in Maine Farmer.

Seeds from Syria. — The Patent Office is in
the receipt of a very large and fine assortment of
seeds and cuttings from Syria, at the very modcr-
ate expense of ^1000. They were collected by
the Rev. Dr. Baixlay, missionary there. There
are varieties of wheat, barley, grape-cuttings, ol-
ives, scions of fruits, vegetable products and use-
ful plants. The' scions, cuttings, &c., will be sent

to the propagating houses for experiment and in-
crease, and no distribution of the remainder will
be made before the fall. Among the interesting
plants is the lessaban, from which it is said the
crown of thorns was plaited. It is very orna-
mental, and makes excellent hedges. There are
also seeds of melons, squashes, camels' food, dates,
walnuts, equal to the English, and probably well
adapted to the Southern or Middle States. The
seeds of the mais tree, which is esteemed as me-
dicinal or prophylactic, were procured from the
inclosure of the Temple of Solomon.

The next Patent Office report is to contain di-
rections as to the proper manner of sowing seeds,
as it is known that many of the failures to repro-
duce from the seeds distributed by the Patent
Office arise from ignorance of the proper methods
to procuring germination. — Washington Letter.

NEW BOOKS.

Natukal History. For the use of Schools and Families. By
Worthington Hooker, M. D. Illustrated by nearly 300 engi-av-
ings. New York : Harper & Bros., 1860. For sale by A.
Williams & Co. 1 vol., 12mo. Price $1.

There are few things that aff'ord us more pleas-
ure, than to find well analyzed and well-printed
books upon natural history, philosophy, chemistry,
agriculture, or upon any of the useful arts or
sciences, taking the place of the exciting and mis-
erable works of fiction which have been paraded
before the public for the last twenty years.

Illustrated works on natural history are always
attractive and acceptable to the young, and the
one before us cannot fail to find its way into thous-
ands of schools and families, and exert a most
happy influence there. It contains a mass of mate-
rial, which every well informed person ought to
know, "but the grand practical benefit to be de-
rived from the study of Natural History, is the
discipline which it gives the mental powers. It
cultivates the perceptive and reasoning powers to-
gether, thus forming that habit of intelligent ob-
servation, which makes its possessor, as a matter
of course, a person of extensive general informa-
tion, and is an essential element of success in al-
most any pursuit in which he may engage." The
book is printed on large type and good paper,
and illustrated with fine engravings of the animals
of which it treats.

The Hand Cooe ; or, Annual Rscord of Horticultural and Ag-
ricultural Statistics, compiled from \arious sources. By Wm.
r. Sheppard, New York.

This work treats of some of the general prin-
tiples of farming and gardening, and gives a de-
scriptive catalogue of culinary vegetables, and
other garden plants. It has, also, a list of new
plants, and sonie useful tables of statistics.

The CiTTLE Disease.— There is nov/ every rea-
son to believe that the wise and energetic precau-
tions taken by the authorities of Massachusetts
have operated as an eff'eclual check upon the pro-
gress of the terrible disease which at one time
threatened contagion and death to the cattle herds
of New England.-— il/awe Farmer,

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FARiVIER.

421

WHAT CONSTITUTES LEGAIj UNSOUND-
NESS IN HOUSES.

A Knee-sprung horse can hardly be said to be
unsound. He may be a very fast horse, and caii
endure with ease the labor of any common, ordi-
nary horse, although there is an alteration of struc-
ture which unfits him for the race-course. This
would not be likely to produce disease or lame-
ness ; he would bo more likely to grow bettor
than worse, if used for common purposes. But,
if so bad as to produce stumbling and falling, he
would be unsound, and a warranty should be taken
against such defects.

Capped IIoclvS cannot be considered unsound-
ness, if produced by an uneven stable floor, or by
kicking ; but, if produced by a sprain, and a per-
manent thickening and enlargement of the mem-
branes, there would be unsoundness. A special
warranty should be required in such cases.

Contraction of the Hoof is a considerable de-
viation from the natural form of the foot, but
does not necessarily constitute unsoundness. It
requires, however, a most careful examination by
the purchaser, to ascertain that there is no fever
or ossification of the cartilage ; that the frog is
not diseased ; that the animal is not tender-foot-
ed or lame. Unless some of these symptoms are
indicated, he must not bo pi-onounced unsound.
A special warranty should be required, where the
feet are contracted.

Corns manifestly constitute unsoundness. Al-
though few men lay much stress on this malady,
still much inconvenience, and many times serious
difficulties, must be encountered by them, as they
are seldom thoroughly cured. Many horses are
almost constantly lame with corns, through a
scrofulous habit of the system. A warranty
against such animals would be safe.

Trembling Knees. — This cannot be considered
unsoundness ; yet it is a precursory symptom of
hnee-sprimg. Trembling of the knees, after a
smart exercise, indicates weakness, and should
be regarded as objectionable.

A Cougli constitutes unsoundness, however
slight or of short standing. If a horse is noticed
to cough before the purchase, or immediately af-
terward, he is diseased ; but if v;arranted sound,
and the cough is not discovered till one or two
days afterward, he is not returnable ; for a few
hours is sufficient to contract a cough, by taking
cold while standing in a damp, musty stable, or
by eating different feed, musty hay, &c.

Roaring, Wheezing or Whistling, is unsound-
ness, being the result of alteration of structure,
or disease in the air passages. Although there
have been decisions to the contrary, courts and
jurors are often at a loss, for the want of intelli-
gent witnesses ; and if a veterinary surgeoh is
called to the stand, not having seen the animal, he
is liable to be mistaken from misrepresentation.
Broken TTuicZ is still more decidedly unsoundness.

Crib Biting. — A difference of opinion exists as
to this being unsoundness, and courts have given
opposite decisions in respect to it. There are
cribbcvs that can scarcely be said to be unsound,
as they are not perceptibly injured, and it does
not interfere with their condition or endurance.
Others inhale and swallovv a great amount of
wind ; they bloat and are subject to colic, which

interferes with their health and strength ; this
would constitute vuisoundness. A wan-anty should
always be taken against injury from cribbing ;
then if he breaks his teeth or injures himself,
recompense may be had.

Curb constitutes unsoundness as long as it
lasts, and perhaps while the swelling remains, al-
though no inflammation exists ; for a horse that
has once thrown out a curb, is liable to do so
again on the slightest exertion. A horse, however,
should not be returned, if he spring a curb five
minutes after purchase, for it is done in a mo-
ment, and does not indicate any previous unsound-
ness.

For the New England Farmer.
ANOTHEB GREAT ELM.

In the Farmer for July 7th, is an account of
the old elm on Boston Common. Thinking it
would not be uninteresting to your readers, I here-
with send you the dimensions of another. Girth
of trunk at surface of the ground, 29 feet ; girth
at 18 inches above surface, 19 feet; girth at 5
feet above ground, 15 feet ; height to first limb,
9 feet ; height of tree, 78 feet ; average diameter
of greatest extent of branches, 96 feet.

The tree stands in the yard of Mrs. Norman
Boardman, in Salisbury. Although it cannot boast
of having counted as many years, or hearing as
many famous speeches, or of having performed
the friendly office of gibbet, whereon to hang he-
retical quakers, yet I think it may boast of a more
rapid growth. Long after Capt. Joel Boardman,
who is now living, settled in this vicinity, he tried
to pull the tree, which Avas then a sapling, up with
his hands ; not succeeding, he let it stand. A
few years later, or about the year 1800, it had at-
tained such a size, and there being a crotch in its
top, Mr. Boardman cut it out to make a harrow,
which accounts for the shortness of its trunk.
About that time holes were morticed into it, and
it was used for a bar-post. It is remembered as
a tree of about a foot in diameter, fifty years ago.
Although it stands without the bounds of the
road, it throws its gigantic arms nearly across it,
forming a delightful shade, wherein the weary
traveller may rest. A. K. Marvin.

Salisbury, 17., Jidrj, 1860.

THE PINE TREES.

The pine is trained to need nothing, and to en-
dure everything. It is resolvedly whole, self-con-
tained, desiring nothing but Tightness, content
with restricted completion. Tall or short, it will
be straight. Small or large, it will be round. It
may be permitted also to these soft lowland trees
that they should make themselves gay with show
of blossom, and glad Avith petty charities of fruit-
fulness. We builders with the sword have harder
work to do for man, and must do it in close-set
troops. To stay the sliding of the mountain
snows, which would bury him ; to hold in divid-
ed drops, at our sword points, the rain, which
would sweep away him and his treasure-fields ; to
nurse in shade among our brown fallen leaves the
tricklings that feed the brooks in drought ;_ to
give massive shield against the winter wind,
which shrieks through the bare branches of the
plain ; such service must we do him steadfastly

422

Ts^W ENGLAND FARRIER.

Sept.

•while we live. Our bodies, also, are at his ser-
vice ; softer than the bodies of other trees, though
our toil is harder than theirs. Let him take them
as pleases him, for his houses and ships. So also
it may be well for these timid lowland trees to
tremble with all their leaves ; or turn their pale-
ness to the sky, if but a rush of rain passes by
them ; or to let fall their leaves at last, sick and
sore. But we pines must live carelessly amidst
the wrath of clouds. We only wave our branches
to and fro when the storm pleads with us, as men
toss their arms in a dream. And finally, these
weak lowland trees may struggle fondly for the
last remnants of life, and send up feeble saplings
again from their roots Avhen they are cut down.
But we builders with the sword perish boldly, our
dying shall be perfect and solemn, as our warring;
we give up our lives without reluctance, and for
ever. — Buskin.

For the New England Farmer.
OBN-ITHOIiOGY.

The wood, the mountain, and the barren waste, the
craggy rock, the river and tlic lalcc, arc never searched
in vain ; each have their peculiar inhabitants, that en-
liven the scene and please the philosophic eye." — Mon-
tague.

Nature has, indeed, left no void, no bare hia-
tus in the great circle of her creations. The closer
our observations, the more extended are our dis-
coveries, and the more wonderful and interesting.
Throughout the great chain of nature there is no
vacuity ; everywhere is teeming life, in vegetable
or animal forms, concerning which something new
may be learned by observation every day. Our
New England landscapes are burdened with beau-
ty ; the rolling hills, luxuriant in pasturage and
noble forests ; the valleys laboring Avith manifold
crops and fruits ; the more distant mountains,
clothed with excessive verdure, rising grandly in
the blue distance as they meet the purer blue of
the sky. The flowers that spring up by the way-
side, in the forest and over our fields, are full of
beauty and interest to cheer the hearts of the not
too grovelling, and furnish delightful subjects for
investigation and thought to the observing. But
not less conspicuous in our surroundings are the
birds ; for they not only cheer the sight with their
restless activity, but charm the heart with their ef-
fluent music that often awakens the noblest emo-
tions of the soul. Their graceful forms and varied
colors never fail to please ; and that man who, in
the beautiful spring-time, when all nature is
awakening to new life and beauty, can listen to
their matin and vesper songs, and feel no thrill of
noble pleasure, must possess a grovelling soul,
capable at most of but little real enjoyment.

The habits of birds are instructive, ever-varied
and interesting, each species possessing some
peculiar characteristics of its own. The study of
their habits and instincts aftbrds the highest recre-
ation, and, the mass know not how much of the
pleasure of existence they lose by counting these
minor things as beneath or unworthy their notice.
Adapted to various and widely-different modes of
life, some live almost wholly on the wing, as the
swallows, subsisting on insects, and never alight-
ing for food, but with a velocity outstripping the
gale, course ether from morning till night — now
almost lost to sight in the higher regions of air,

and now skimming close to the meadow, the
fields and the waters of the rivers or lake, as their
insect prey is found to roam high or low in the
ambient air. Others subsisting on the same food,
watch from some convenient perch, and dart upon
the unsuspecting insects as they pass by them,
returning again to their watch ; while still others
of the insectivorous birds hunt their prey amid the
leafy thickets, the boughs of the orchard, or the
tree-tops of the forest, seldom alighting on the
ground. Others, as the finches, sparrows, and
many others, with feebler powers of flight, and
members better adapted for Avalking, seek their
food upon the ground, subsisting chiefly upon the
seeds of plants and the larvae of insects. Some
are found to feed wholly upon insects, some upon
insects and fruits, a few almost wholly upon juicy
fruits, others chiefly upon seeds, and others, of
omnivorous habits, upon all. Still others, again,
of aquatic habits, frequent the marshes and the
shores of the rivers and the lakes, and the ocean,
probing the mud for their peculiar prey, or watch-
ing for reptiles and unwary fish ; while others, fit-
ted by nature for floating along the surface of the
water, or diving beneath it, variously pursue their
varied food. Others still, more rapacious in their
character, prey upon birds and quadrupeds, in"
fact, upon all animated nature, exhibit great
strength and courage, and spread terror among
the weaker animals wherever they appear.

Among the three hundred or more species of
birds found in New England, but a very few can
be set down as injurious to the agriculturist, the
greater part rendering him immense service in his
labors ; a few neither prey upon his fruit nor as-
sist him in his toils, and those who claim a tithe
of his products render ample remuneration in di-
minishing the insect hordes ; and I am convinced
that there are none absolutely injm-ious to his in-
terests. Certainly, then, we may well ask, why
persist in their destruction ? Why, in ridding
ourselves of a small evil, invite a greater ? No
kind of cultivation is aff"ected extensively, and
even this may, in a great measure, be prevented.
Experience proves that it is not so with insects
and their ravages ; "the fate of the locust, the a.p-
ple, the pear, and many other trees, shows, that if
insects fasten themselves upon one of them, we
must give it up as lost, for all that we at present
know. Surely, then, of two evils we should sub-
mit to the one which may possibly be prevented,
rather than invite and encourage one over which
we have no control."

Of the birds embraced in the ornithology of
New England, but few are permanent residents ;
a few are rare and irregular visitants ; a few oth-
ers come to us in winter from the far North, to
escape the greater rigor of a more northern cli-
mate ; many merely pass through our region on
their journey to the distant northern parts of the
continent, whither they repair in spring, to pass
the period of incubation, and again on their re-
turn in autumn, to a more southern clime ; and
probably not more than half of our regular visit-
ants are known to pass the breeding season with-
in our borders. But few, comparatively, are
known to people in general, and very many only
to the closely observing ornithologist.

Observes that renowned ornithologist, Alexan-
der Wilson — "For to me it appears that of all in-
ferior creatures, heaven seems to have intended

1860.

NEAV ENGLAOT) FAR^EEK

423

birds as the most cheerful associates of man ; to
soothe and exhilarate him in his labors by their
varied melody ; to prevent the increase of those
supernumerary hosts of insects which would soon
consume the products of his industry." Indeed,
then, are they worthy of our attentive study, of
cur protection, and not a small share of our af-
fection.

In concluding this somewhat desultory article,
I would say that I have long hoped to see some of
the able ornithologists, correspondents of the
Farmer, take their pens to inform your readers
concerning the history of our rarer birds, and the
interesting habits of our more common species ;
and hoping to invade no one's province, I pro-
pose, with your permission, Mr. Editor, to offer
occasional articles on the birds of New England,
noticing briefly many interesting species wholly
unknown perhaps to farmers in general, vindicat-
ing or censuring the habits, as they seem to de-
serve, of the better known species ; and in gen-
eral, hope to interest some of the cultivators of
the soil in the history of their feathered friends,
that so abundantly surround them. J. A. A.

Springjield, Aug. 1, 1860.

AH" INGENIOUS PIECE OP WOBK.

Mr. Nicholson, a journeyman carpenter of Phil-
adelphia, has just completed a fac simile, in min-
iature, of the National Washington Monument.
The miniature contains 6480 pieces of wood of
American trees. It is built on a scale of one-
eighth of an inch to a foot, and when completed, it
stands five feet eight and three-quarter inches
high. The base is composed of 3681 pieces, ar-
ranged as a tesselated pavement. The wood, in
this portion of the structure, includes white oak,
walnut, oak from the frigate Alliance, red cedar
and ash. The pantheon is composed of 308 pieces
consisting of live oak, walnut, cherry, red cedar,
boxwood (from the Paterson farm of New Jersey,)
maple, mulberry, buttonwood, elm (treaty elm,)
gum, walnut, hackmetack, locust, spruce, plain
maple, birdseye maple, paper mulberry, red cedar,
poplar, white pine, yellow pine, white oak, live
oak, and wood from the charter oak, the frigate
Alliance, the ship Constitution, and Fort Du
Quesne. The star at the top of the obelisk is
made of a piece of the old Independence bell. The
whole is most neatly joined, over three years hav-
ing been occupied with the work. As the model
now stands, it carries out the same design in wood
as is proposed to be carried out in marble by the
erection of the national Washington monument.
If the Scientific Americanos definition of ingenuity
is right, viz : that it is a "very complicated com-
bination of devices to produce a result that is not
very useful," Mr. Nicholson's piece of work is very
ingenious. — Philadelpliia Ledger.

The Wild Carrot. — A Stonington correspon-
dent of the Homestead cautions farmers against
the spread of this plant. He says :

"Ox all the pests of the soil in this section, and
most difficult of extermination, is the wild carrot.
It is spreading rapidly through the south-eastern
part of this State, infesting the meadows, pastures,
and roirl-si'los. e.ich ntalk vi-ith its head of half a

gill of seed, to be wafted in all directions. It is
but three or four years since I first noticed the
wild carrot in this section. I find now in what-
ever direction I may ride, more or less of the wild
carrots, sometimes whole fields covered with it.
Farmers say that it seems almost impossible to
exterminate it, or prevent its spreading."

USES AND VALUE OF MUCK--IV.

OF MUCK COMPOSTED WITH BOXES.

In spading, and perhaps in plowing, the observ-
ing farmer has noticed more than once how rank
and luxuriantly, and with what a dark green color
plants grow, that have fortunately sprung up in
the imm.ediate vicinity of a large bone, deposited
there, perhaps years before, by some provident
dog, or sent from the farm-house as a nuisance
that the inmates were glad to have abated by
burying the thing out of sight. It is now partially
decayed, having a sort of honey-comb appearance,
and through it, and interlacing every part of it,
are the delicate rootlets of plants, having travelled
some feet, perhaps, in that particular direction to
feed upon the phosphate of lime and the phos-
phoric acid with which the bone abounds. Now
here are circumstances over which the farmer may
pause, longer than Burns did over the mouse he
turned up in his furrow, — and here are sugges-
tions made, and lessons to be learned, which, if
patiently attended to, will lead to many happy re-
sults ; such as rich fields of corn and fruits and
grain, fertile meadows and pastures dotted with
fat and thrifty cattle, and consequently, liberal
profits, and casTi in hand, the ultimate object of
his operations. Here is "the evidence of things
not seen," the fact laid bare, that bones ivill make
plants grow, provided they come in contact. Is
it not, then, the part of wisdom, not only that all
which come from the kitchen of the farm-house,
be carefully preserved, but that every pains be
taken to accumulate it in large quantities, and ap-
propriate it to the advancement of our crops ?
Suppose this to have been done, and the muck
ready for the compost, then the bones must in
some manner be brought into a powder or paste ;
the latter is the best form in which to use them,
and they may readily be brought into it, by weigh-
ing the bones, and then, to every one hundred
pounds of bones, adding fifty pounds of sulphuric
acid, the common oil of vitriol of the shops, and
costing about three cents a pound by the carboy.
If the bones have been ground, half that quantity
of acid will be sufficient. Take a half hogshead
tub, place it in some convenient spot, and sur-
round it nearly to the top with moist litter or the
drier portions of the horse manure heap, and then
if the tub leaks during the operation of reducing,
the leakings will be saved. First dilute the acid
with three times its bur: -^ water; place the

424

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

Sept.

bones in the tub and turn on one-half of the acid
and water. In twenty-four hours afterwards, sLu*
the mass, and if the bones are not all dissolved,
pour on more of the acid and water, and so con-
tinue to do, until the whole is reduced to a pulp
or paste. Another method of accomplishing the
same result, is by making a heap of the bones on
the barn or other floor ; but it is not so safe and
economical as the first method we have described.
When this has been affected, dry finely-pulver-
ized muck should be intimately mixed with it, un-
til the whole will bo in such a dry state as to enable
a person to scatter it with a shovel or by hand,
evenly over the pile of muck with which it is in-
tended to be composted. There is no loss in using
the sulphuric acid, as it decomposes the silicates
(sand) of the soil, forming new elements which
are decomposed by the living plants, and are fed
on by them. Now, then, the materials all being at
hand, the pile may be constructed by a layer of
the muck, six inches in thickness, then a sprink-
ling of the bone-dust scattered evenly over it,
and so on, until the materials are all used. This
compost we consider in value next to that of muck
and barn-manure, and plenty of examples might
be cited to sustain this opinion were it necessary.
Professor J. P. Norton, Elements, p. 9S, says,
"Two or three bushels of these dissolved bones,
with half the usual quantity of yard manure, are
sufficient for an acre. This is, therefore, an ex-
ceedingly powerful fertilizer. One reason for its
remarkable eftect is, that the bones are, by being
dissolved, brought into a state of such minute di-
vision, that they are easily, and at once available
for the plant. A peculiar phosphate of lime is
formed, called by chemists a superphosphate,
which is very soluble ; and in addition to this,
■we have the sulphuric acid, of itself an excellent
application to most soils." In gardening, and
especially on the light lands commonly used for
that purpose, this compost is one of the most
convenient to use, quick in its effects upon the
plants to which it is applied, and yet permanent
in its results. The farmer cannot exercise too
much care in this branch of his industry, for none
of his labors will more amply reward him, or pro-
duce to him more gratifying results, than those
which he bestows upon his compost heap of
muck and bones.

Farming and Boot-Making. — In giving an
account of the late shocmaking strike, the Editor
of the Boston Cultivator makes the following
statement :

"We have in mind a first rate bootmaker that
followed the business until his health failed him —
his only choice being between an early grave and
farming. He somewhat reluctantly chose the lat-
ter, and having been brought up on a farm, as

was his wife, was successful, and in the course of
ten years, found himself possessed of property
worth $jOOO, with health improved, and with an
apparent lease for a long and happy life amid a
large and thriving family. Had his health per-
mitted of his following the employment of boot-
making, he would not have abandoned it, and
would, probably, have reached life's terminus just
about even with the world. Now if he lives to the
age of threescore and ten, he will, according to
present prospects, possess a real estate worth
$20,000, besides having trained up and educated
a large family."

ICE WATEB.

If the reader is down town or away from home
on a hot day, and feels as if it would be perfectly
delicious to have a glass of lemonade, soda wa-
ter or brandy toddy, by all means let him resist
the temptation until he gets home, and then take
a glass of cool water, a swallow at a time, Avith a
second or two interval between each swallow.
Several noteworthy results will most assuredly
follow.

After it is all over, you will feel quite as well
from a drink of water, as if you had enjoyed a
free swig of either of the others.

In ten minutes after you will feel a great deal
better.

You will not have been poisoned by the lead
or copper which is most genei-ally found in soda
water.

You will be richer by six cents, which will be
the interest on a dollar for a whole year !

You vi'ill not have fallen down dead from the
sudden chills which sometimes result from drink-
ing soda, iced water, or toddy, in a hurry.

No well man has any business to eat ices or to
drink iced liquids in any shape or form, if he
wants to preserve his teeth, protect the tone of
his stomach, and guard against sudden inflamma-
tion and prolonged dyspepsias. It is enough to
make one shudder to see a beautiful young girl
sipping scalding coffee or tea at the beginning of
a meal, and then close it with a glass of ice wa-
ter ; for at thirty she must either be snaggle-
toothed, or wear those of the dead or artificial.

Fr-^sh spring or well water is abundantly cool
for any drinking purpose whatever. In cities
where water is artificially supplied, the case is
somewhat different ; but even then there is no
good excuse for drinking ice water, because, even
if the excuse v/ere good in itself, the effects on
the stomach and teeth are the same.

Make a bag of thick woollen doubled, lined
with muslin ; fill it with ice ; have in a pitcher
F.n inch or two of water above the faucet, and let
this bag of ice be suspended from the cover within
two inches of the surface of the water. The ice
will melt sloM-ly and keep the water delightfully
cool, but not ice cold. A still better cficct will
be produced if the pitcher is also well enveloped
in woollen. Again, water almost as cool as it
can be, unless it has ice actually in it, may be had
without any ice at all, by enveloping a closed
pitcher partly filled with water, with several folds
of cotton, linen or bagging, and so arranging it
that these folds are kept wet all the time by wa-
ter dripping from another vessel, on the principle
of evaporation. — Hall's Journal of Health.

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

425

For the New England Farmer.
FARMING AS AW AVOCATIOI7.

Friend BRO^YN : — It has been a long time
since I have contributed anything to the Farmer,
though I have been a constant reader, and, I trust,
have read with profit. I look forward with much
interest to your monthly visits, and am sure ever
to find something that is new and much that is
valuable.

The profitableness of farming has been fully
discussed in the Farmer, but it is still a mooted
question. Much may be said, both for and against.
Science has much to do with forming, but farming
is, by no means, to be ranked among the certain
sciences. The modes of culture — the methods of
procedure, are almost as numerous as the opera-
tors. In farming, as in other vocations, while one
man will get rich, another with equal zeal and in-
dustry, and under equally favorable circumstances,
will become poor.

It is safe to conclude, then, that in husbandry
as in government, that system which is best ad-
ministered is best, and that Pope's distich, whose
orthodoxy, as applied to matters of religion, may
well be questioned, is true when applied to the
tillers of the soil :

" 'Bout modes of faith let praceless zealots flght
His can't be wrong, whose life is in the right."

There is a great deal of thrifty farming still,
even in Nev.' England. Agricultural societies and
papers have done much by diffusing information
and awaking a spirit of inquiry. Multitudes have
got out of the old ruts and are driving on pros-
perously in the highway to thrift. But the masses
are still plodding along in the old paths which
their fathers trod.

The prejudice against "book-farming has not
been entirely removed. Multitudes scratch the
surface of their grounds, instead of plowing it ;
plant four acres, when they should plant but one ;
put a bushel of manure in the hill, when they
should spread a cart-load evenly over the ichole
surface ; manure for the crop, when they should
manure for the land and the crops ; look for im-
mediate returns, when they should rather look
and labor for the future, embracing five, ten or
twenty years ; dodging about among stumps, rocks
and bushes after a scanty crop of poor grass when
by a little resolution, and one-half the labor, they
might enjoy the plcasui-e of cutting a good crop of
good grass from a smooth surface ; plunging an-
nually into a quagmu-e and tugging and flounder-
ing among bogs to secure a few loads of sage grass,
so sour as to ruin the dispositions of their cattle,
to say nothing of their physical condition ; when
this same swamp might and should be made the
most valuable and productive land on the farm,
and contribute largely to the improvement of all
the rest ; and so on to the end of the chapter,
showing that the Avork of improvement is not all
done yet. But the leaven is at work, and I hope
and trust that you and your coadjutors, who are
diffusing your light broadcast over this fair land,
will not be weary in well-doing.

The farming prospects hereabouts are decidedly
good. Of grass there is an unusually large crop.
Winter grain about middling. Spring grain un-
commonly good. Wheat and oats never looked
better. By the way, wheat is becoming a staple
in this region. Thirty years ago it was as rare»to

see growing wheat, as now it is to see flax. Now

most of the farms in this valley have a plat of
either winter and spring wheat. It is found that
wheat may be grown as easily and surely as rye,
and with about double the profit. Land that will
produce good corn will l)ear wheat.

Apples are abundant ; and what is remarkably
gratifying is the fact that our old enemies, the cat-
erpillars, have entirely disappeared. I have not
seen one this season, and the webworm, which for
a few seasons past has made such terrible havoc,
has also left us, and those disgusting fiUibusters,
the cut-worms or the army worms, have likewise
taken offense and left us, mayhap to turn up in
Central America about this time.

Yours, &c., R. B. H.

Amherst, Mass., 1860.

A NEW MOWING MACHINE.

A few days since, Mr. O. Hussey, of Baltimore,
sent us a mowing machine of a new and peculiar
construction for trial. It has two driving wheels,
each about two feet high, is exceedingly compact
and simple, having but very little machinery
about it, the whole machine occupying a space
only about three feet by two. It is intended for
one horse, and has a cut of three feet.

On the first day of August, Mr. Hussey came
to our farm to set it in motion, and in a few min-
utes it was ready, and perforrjing its duty in the
field. At first a ten hundred horse was attached
to it, and driven round an acre three or four times.
Then an eight hundred horse was hitched to it,
and the acre finished. The draft did not seem too
heavy for the lightest horse, and the grass was
cut well, although badly lodged in some places,
and quite wet with the rain of the previous day.
The ground was meadow, and rather soft. The
trial was entirely satisfactory to Mr. IL, and grat-
ifying to the spectators. The machine had never
been used before, with the exception of a thirty
minutes use when first put together. Its weight
is about 4-30 pounds, and Mr. Hussey thinks it
can be sold when it has received some improve-
ments suggested by this trial, for $75, and per-
haps a little less.

There is a steady advance in the ability and
value of this important labor-saving machine.
Some of the early ones had wheels, and cogs and
metal enough in a single one to make two or three
of this, and then were without half its effective
power. The idea that a good mower must weiph
seven or eight hundred pounds has gradually
given way to the practical tests of the machi.ie,
and, at the same time that they have been made
lighter, friction has been reduced so that only
about one-half the power to draw them is now re-
quired. With two or three changes in Mr. Hus-
sey's machine, unimportant in cost, we think it
will compare favorably with the best in our
knowledge.

426

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

Sept.

THE W^OOL CROP OF 1860.

The Sliipping List of the 8th inst., in speaking
of the wool crop, says : —

We have several times alluded to the high
prices paid for the new clip in the producing dis-
stricts, and the following from Walter Brown's
New York Circular of August 1, confirms our
statements made at the time, as follows : — "The
month of July has been characterized by an un-
precedented competition in the producing dis-
ti-icts; so great has been the eagerness among
buyers to secure a portion of the clip, that in
many instances far above the real value of the
wool was paid, and in some particular cases, sev-
eral cents per pound higher than the ruling prices
in the Eastern markets for the same grades. This
ii-regularity arises from the disposition on the
parst of some agents to secure their commissions,
regardless of the interests of their employers ;
very much to the injury and disadvantage of more
judicious purchasers. It also operates directly
against the more liberal and enterprising growers,
for these variations are almost always on lots of
low and ill-bred wools. From all the information
we have obtained, it would appear, that the aver-
age price which has been paid for the clip through-
out the country will range from 1^ to 2c per. lb.
above that of 1859. In this State the average
is thought to be fully 2c above last year, and in
Ohio the excess is quite as great. In some locali-
ties wool was picked up in smaller lots at prices
quite as low as last season, and in some very
early districts, perhaps even lower. It_ remains
to be seen whether or not the markets will justify
this advance. To yield our dealers even a fair
commission for handling the wool, the ruling fig-
ures must be from 3 to oc above the average prices
obtained last season. During the month,_ prices
of such desirable domestic wools as remained in
market, both fleece and pulled, advanced from 2
to 3c per lb., and with very few exceptions these
lots Avere taken by consumers ; and about the
same advance on last year's prices has also been
realized on some lots of new wool. As the pros-
pects for fine crops throughout the entire West
are very flattering, and the promises for a good
Fall and Spring trade quite encouraging, and as
our Woolen Mills are all running, we may look
for an active season in the raw material. The fact
that so many of our manufacturers Avere willing
to go forward to the country and pay high prices
for a year or a half a year's stock of wool, is an
evidence of their confidence in the future demand
for their goods, which, though somewhat at vari-
ance with the impression which has heretofore
recently prevailed as to the remunerating charac-
ter of that important branch of industry, is never-
theless very gratifying."

The Cattle Disease. — Inquiries are frequent-
ly made of us in relation to the cattle disease ;
as to what its present condition is. We have the
pleasure to state that very,few new cases are re-
ported to the Commissioners, and that the prob-
ability is that there v.ill not be many during the
summer months. We learn, from various sour-
ces, that where the disease has raged in Europe,

it shows itself but little during the summer sea-
son. It will be exceedingly fortunate for us if it
does not assume a new type as the cold weather
approaches.

The Hon. Adam Ferguson, a distinguished
farmer at Woodhull, Canada West, in writing to
Mr. Secretary Johnson, of the N. Y. State Socie-
ty, says : "The Massachusetts Legislature have
done themselves great credit ; and the trading
public are greatly indebted to you all, delegates,
&c. My friend, D. Henderson, is professor of
Pathology in the University of Edinburgh, and
is in high medical practice. He assured me that
Aconite was used as a specific, if given in time,
before the lungs were seriously affected, and that
he had saved scores of valuable cows." A watch-
ful prudence, we trust, will prompt all to be cara-
ful, however little they think they may be ex-
posed.

EXTRACTS AND REPLIES,

THE CROPS IN AVINDSOK COUNTY, VERMONT.

I frequently see accounts of the crops in various sec-
tions oftlio country, and I tliought some of your read-
ers might 1)0 interested to hear about the crops, &c., in
Vermont, especially iu Windsor county. As it was very
dry through the months of April and May, people gen-
ci'ally anticipated a light crop of liay and grains, but
the wet weather through June and July lias allayed
our fears. Hay, so tar as I have had opportunity to
know in this section, will bo an average. We are now
in the midst of our haying. Wheat, oats and barley
promise good crops. Corn and potatoes look well. We
shall get a larger crop of fruit than wo have for several
years. Apple and plum trees arc well loaded and an
abundance of cherries. We have frequent rains which
keqj the ground moist, so that vegetation comes for-
ward very rapidly and retards haying, but the grass is
gi'cen and growing yet.

Can you, or any of your correspondents, inform me
where the genume Norway Rag Scythe Stone can be
obtained, and at what price per dozen ?

Andover, Vt., July 30, 1860. G. W, Putnam.

Remarks. — Wc have inquired of Nourse & Co. for
the Rag Stone, but they have none on hand at present.
The price is from 75 cents to one dollar per dozen.

CULTURE OF AVHEAT.

Wheat will grow in Massachusetts as well as else-
where. Of this I had ocular demonstration on the
grounds of Gen. Wm. Sutton, bordering on Aborn
Street, this morning, Aug. 1. His crop now stands full
five feet high on an average, with heads as plump and
well filled as can be desired. No blight or insects of
any kind about it. Should nothing occur to injure the
crop, I should say the prospect was fair for thirty
bushels to the acre. The seed was raised on the same
land last year from some that grew in California. The
lesson I draw from this culture is, be sure to obtain
good seed, and you can be certain of a good ci'op. If
any one douljts this, let them examine the field.

Aug. 1, 1860. _ p.

Will yon inform me what is the best preparation
sold for the manuring of dwarf pears, peaches, cher-
ries, grapes and strawbeiTies ? and is it advisable to
use any one article for the various kinds named above ?

Aug. 2, 1860. D. w. h.

Remarks. — We cannot infoi-m "D. W. H." as to

what special manure is best suited to the particular
plants he names. The best manure is undoubtedly the

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

427

manure of the stable or barn. A good dressing of ashes
will be excellent for tbera, and especially so for the
grapes. The peach does not require high manuring.

A FINE CROP OF GRASS — FOWL-MEADOW.

About the middle of August last I plowed one acre
and a quarter of rather low land, and spread on, after
rolling and harrowing, not a large quantity of well
composted manure, tlien haiTOwcd and seeded liberal-
ly with lierds-gra.ss and red-top, and tlien Ijushed it in
smootbl3^ It came up and looked finely last fall, and
this day, July 10, I have cut not less than three tons of
first quality hay on it, where last year it was hardly
worth cutting. Now I intend to plow another acre ad-
joining, but lower and wetter, and think of seeding
with fowl meadow, and wish to iuqixire what other
grasses Avill do Ijcst to mix with it ? F. K. Cragix.

Wobimi, Mass., July 24, 1860.

Remarks. — If you mix other grasses, we know of
nothing better than herds grass and red top. But why
mix other grasses with the fowl meadow ? The latter
will cover the ground, bring you a valuable crop and
continue itself for many years, if you allow a portion
of it to ripen and shed its seed upon the ground.

SEASON AND CROPS IN NEW YORK.

The season has been favorable for farmers ; though
it has been rather dry, the crops look promising. The
wheat is being harvested and we hear veiy little of the
midge — all the hoed crops look well. Peaches ai-e a
failure in some portions of western New York, but in
some localities a good crop. Apples a full crop. Pears
abundant. All the small fruits have fruited and arc
fruiting abundantly, and fanners are surrounding
themselves with these cheap comforts, which tickle
the palate and "make glad the heart of man."

Lyons Nursery, N. Y., 1860. Sylvester.

THE barometer.

Have you a barometer in your house, or do you know
of any one that has (farmers, of course,) and how much
dependence can be placed on them in haying time ?
How good a barometer is Mr. T. R. Timby's ?

AViLLiAM H. Savage.

Harvard, Mass., July, 18G0.

Remarks. — "\Vc have not consulted the barometer
in regard to forming operations, and have no acquain-
tance with any person who has. We have seen arti-*
clcs in the newspapers, purporting to be from farmei-s,
that speak of the barometer as of great value to the
farmer, and especially so iu haying time.

The wheat crop of Western New York last year
was of better quality and yielded more to the acre
than it had done before in twenty years. Thus
encouraged by the exit of the midge, a much lar-
ger breadth of wheat was sown last fall, and a
glorious crop, unspoiled by the insect, is now be-
ing well secured.

The effect of such increased cereal crops is not
only to encourage and enrich the farmer, but to
give life to trade generally, and to the shipping
interest in particular, which has been so long de-
pressed, both on the ocean and the lakes. In the
region of Lake Michigan in the fall of 1858, ves-
sels bought salt and coal from Buffalo for ballast,
gratis, and then had to load back with wheat at
three cents a bushel ; now the freight on corn and
wheat from Chicago and Milwaukie to Buffalo, is
about seven cents a bushel, with the prospect of
advancing rates when the new Avheat crop comes
in, and the lake risks are increased. — N. Y. Times.

TH3 GREAT COMING GKAIN CBOPS.

The London Times forebodes trouble in Eng-
land, owing to bad weather, and consequent short
crops. The prospect of the grain crops in France
is also said to be unpromising. On the other
hand, the cereal crops in the United States and
Canada never promised better. A larger crop of
wheat than we ever had before, by perhaps one-
fourth, is now secured, or in the process of har-
vesting. The crops of hay and oats are also large,
and the promise of the king of our cereals — Indi-
an corn — was never better. Nothing short of a
large export demand can keep the price of this
abundant cereal from falling below remuneration
to the grower. Of the last year's crop, it is said
that the large farm cribs of Illinois are still near-
ly full of last year's corn, yet the receipts at Chi-
cago have averaged over 100,000 bushels a day
from the Illinois canals and railroads through the

A NEW TRIAL OF AN OLD MACHINE.

On Friday, Aug. 3d, we had an opportunity of
looking at the operations of one of Nourse, Ma-
son & Co.'s Ketchuni Mowing Machines, on the
farm of J. B. Shurtleff, Esq., of North Chel-
sea, which lies about four miles from Boston. The
field was favorable for the work, and the grass
standing upon it varying from one and a half to
two tons per acre. Before any other person had
arrived upon the spot we paced the piece to be
cut with as much accuracy as possible, and found
it to contain one hundred and eighty rods, or
one acre and one-eighth, and this was cut admi-
rably, in twenty-seven minutes, or at the rate of
an acre in twenty-four minutes'. The weather
was excessively hot and close. The same team,
machine and driver operated upon an adjoining
piece of land the day before, which was cool, with
a fresh, elastic breeze, and we were assured by
Mr. Shurtleff, and several of the bystanders, that
an acre was cut, and the work handsomely done,
in fifteen minutes ! The knife-bar was six feet
long, so that the swath averaged about five feet
and six inches. The horses, a noble pair belong-
ing to the farm, started off on a brisk walk, and
so continued until the whole piece was cut, paus-
ing only a moment, twice, to clear a rock or some
other obstruction.

This item of mowing is one of some consequence
to Mr. Shurtleff, as he will cut some tico hundred
and fifty tons of hay this year, will thresh out
between ybwr and five hundred bushels of rye, and
sell one hundred thousand heads of cabbages, to
say nothing of a world of other stuff that the
people in the city which he overlooks hunger for
every day.

Our stay was too brief for visiting his stables,
and various other parts of the farm, and looking
into the details of his extensive operations. That
pleasure is left for a future opportunity, which we

428

NEW ENGLAND FARINIER.

Sept.

hope soon to improve, and then will tell the read-
er what we see and hear.

Some of the stereotyped anti-progressionists
in our midst would find profit in visiting Mr,
Shurtleff's farm, if they would listen to his words
while "toting" them over his broad acres in his
easy wagon !

BORING AKTESIAN "WELLS.

The greatest bore of any artesian well in the
world, is said to be that just completed in Bir-
mingham, England. The diameter fixed was the
unprecedented one of twenty-six inches, and was
accomplished by new and improved machinery.
The machine thus employed is described as con-
sisting of a very heavy bar of cast iron, armed at
its lower end with a number of cutting chisels,
and suspended by a rope, which was in connec-
tion with a steam engine at the mouth of the well.
As it is wrought up and down by the engine, the
tension of the rope gives a circular movement to
the bar of iron sufficient to vary the position of
the chisels at each stroke of the instrument. The
apparatus of some Avcll-borers has around the
chisels a cylindrical chamber, which by means of
single valves, receives and retains the abraded
portions of the rock. This chamber, which would
not hold many pints, had, of course, to be raised
to the surface at short intervals for the purpose of
being emptied of the debris, thus involving much
loss of time. But, by means of the improved ma-
chine, this operation is performed in a very dif-
ferent Avay. A cylinder is employed, eight or
nine inches in diameter, having a piston fitted to
it so as to form a pump, with one valve at the
piston and another at the bottom of the cylinder.
When the pump sinks to the bottom of the well,
the piston, by its own gravity, sinks also to the
bottom, and suddenly reversing the engine and
drawing up the sucker, not only is the crushed
debris drawn up, but also pieces of rock, six or
eight inches in diameter. By this means, six or
seven tons of matter are drawn up per hour.

For the New England Farmer.
PLUMS— COE'S GOLDEN DROP.

Mk. Editor : — Having had some conversation
with you respecting the plum culture, I send you
herewith a specimen of what mij plums promise
to be the present season. It is a small branch,
broken by the weight of the fruit. You will per-
ceive that the curculio has made no impression
upon it ; and it does not look as though this most
delicious of all fruits (in my estimation,) is in any
particular danger of "subsiding," in this region,
as some croakers have predicted. This specimen
is a fair sample of two trees of the kind (Coe's
Golden Drop,) in my garden ; and I have other
varieties equally promising.

Last year I had very few plums on account of
the curculio ; but I took especial care to shake off"
the bitten fruit and bury it "too deep for resur-
rection," before the maggot left it to go into the
ground. This season, very little of the fruit has
been bitten by the curculio. I believe this pest
can be eradicated, provided fruit-growers Avill act
in concert, and take sufficient care to destroy the
punctured fruit for a few years in succession.

As to that other strange pest of the plum tree,
the black wart, I know of no better way of over-
coming it than the one I have pursued — namely,
by applying the knife freely whenever and wher-
ever it makes its appearance. I have thus far
been able to keep it down, though at the expense
of disfiguring some of the branches of my trees.
I am inclined to believe that it is caused by some
insect that bites through the bark and deposits
an egg, which, turning to a maggot, poisons the
sap, and causes it to exude and form a fungus
around the spot. By cutting into the fungus or
wart, you will almost always find a little worm,
and, though I am not fully satisfied on the point,
I think the theory is a plausible one that the worm
does the mischief. E. c. P.

Somerville, Aug., 1860.

Remarks. — Nine beautiful specimens of Coe's
Oolden Drop on a single twig scarcely quarter of
an inch in diameter — more fruit than we have on
three good-sized trees.

For the New England Farmer.

TWADDLES AND WADDLES ON AGRI-
CULTURAL EDUCATION.

[Continued from page 411.]

Waddles. — The dead languages and the higher
mathematics certainly would be useful to some
classes of pupils as much as agriculture would
be to others. Each should study, as well as prac-
ticable, what may be called into requisition in af-
ter life, and not what would be unlikely to be.
Nothing hardly could be more improper than
forcing a complete system of agriculture into our
schools, as has been recommended — not only in-
to those of the rural districts, but into those of
our large towns and cities, and among children of
both sexes — which would not only embrace chem-
istry, botany and vegetable physiology, but also
the "raising of stock !" One gentleman of the
Jioarl of Agricultui'C, (in his undefined zeal to do
something for the cause,) gave it as his opinion,
that the question, "What was the best bull," was
very proper to introduce into a promiscuous
school of children ! These studies are useful,
but they have their time and place. It might l^e
equally proper to teach them from the pulpit ; for
it there is much that is useless taught in our
common schools, no candid and unprejudiced
mind wiH deny that the former institution is less
open to the same objection.

Twaddles. — Shocking ! But certainly you can
have no objection to the schools teaching how
plants grow and arc fed, for our life as a people
depends upon this knowledge.

W. — No, I have not. Some attention should
be given to the subject, by those who desire it,
and such is in fact the case now. But I object,
as before hinted, to shaping the minds of youth
in our common schools either to this or that call-
ing, exclusive of others. Probably no one of the
Board of Agriculture would submit to it in regard
to his own children. It is a matter of domestic
concern.

T. — Bless you, Mr. Waddles, they do so in Eng-
land, and see what crops they raise !

11'. — True ; but in this republican country the

1860.

NEW ENGLAKD FARMER.

429

government are not pei-mitted to exercise that
control over the laboring classes that it does there.
England has a queen, and an order of nobility ; but
the practical farmer is far from being comprised
in this latter department ; and their agricultural
schools are the ordinary schools for the farming
class, who expect to be forever so, and trained
expressly for that calling, with no hope or hardly
the bare possibility of rising into the dignity of
small land-holdei's, or of citizenship. I ask you
if the true object of agriculture is fulfilled in a
country like that, where, though they may get
greater crops than we do in some productions,
these crops, by the stern forcing system of large
capitalists, are wrung from the bodies of the thou-
sands of half-housed and half-famished farm la-
borers ? English crops, produced (shall I say by
human bone-manure ?) as they are, ought perhaps
to be regarded as disreputable to the British Isles.
England, probably, has more to leara of us than
we of her, not only in agriculture, but in politics
and law, and perhaps in all the industrial pur-
suits. English farming is not so much "capital
and science," as capital and oppression.

T. — But we propose here to get the science
without the oppression. You are probably aware
that a committee of gentlemen of the Board of
Agriculture have given it as their opinion, that
if a system of agricultural education were intro-
duced into our common schools, in twenty years
"the productive value of the lands throughout
the whole State would be doubled."

W. — I am ; and I have great respect for the
gentlemen. But it is to be very much questioned
whether the enlightened practical farmers of the
State woidd affirmatively respond to such an opin-
ion. Whoever has heard of the eccentric mer-
chant of Boston, who, one bright morning before
breakfast, made two thousand dollars by marking
all his goods higher, may have the story brought
to mind.

r.— That's a joke.

W. — Isn't the other ?

r.— That's to be seen. But, Mr. Waddles,
Just think of the millions of dollars added to our
agricultural products if we were to succeed in
raising the enormous crops they do in England.
You must admit that now the difference is a loss
on our part.

W. — Not at all. We gain it in the freedom
and happiness of our agricultural population. If
farming is ennobled anywhere, it is and must be
in America. If the mass of our farmers had an
annual rent which must be paid for their farms,
like the tenants of England, they might be hard
enough to force greater crops. But fortunately
they are under no such necessity. Yet of what
crops they do raise, they take enough to supply
their oivn wants, which cannot be so well said of
the tillers of the soil whose "science in husband-
ry" we are required to emulate. Surely, if Eng-
land is the land of bountiful harvests and fat cat-
tle, it is also the land of lean and disfranchised la-
borers. Probably agriculture may be better taught
to a few in Britain than in America ; but with
what we do teach here, we also inculcate the sci-
i ence of humanity, and the divine maxim, that
*"The laborer is worthy of his hii-e."

r.— True. No one should shut his eyes to the
many laboring poor in England, and throughout
Europe ; but then we should only copy the good.

W. — But of this we feel no necessity. If our
general system of agriculture is more productive
of happiness than theirs, we may not be very
ready to copy from them ; though, perhaps, there
are no important agricultural experiments institu-
ted in that country, which do not have more or
less influence in this. But the ill-defined idea of
establishing an agricultural college from foreign
hints, with a view of advancing agriculture into
one of the learned professions (considering the
little harmony and unity among those already
counted learned,) has always struck me as tend-
ing to the ridiculous. And if the working farm-
ers of Massachusetts were and are not similarly
impressed, the enterprises already started with
great names would not have suffered an early
blight. When they ask for manure, will you give
them a college ? "Scholars always make a foolish
piece of work in trying to improve that which is
already well enough ; and hence it is that the
common sense of the people will not respond to
them. They would "paint the lily," and "throw
a perfume on the violet." And they are too apt
to think that a man who springs up like a Bart-
lett or Seckel pear, and can bear good fruit in
any soil, is a fit subject for their influence. Wash-
ington and Franklin, who belonged to no learned
profession, -will be remembered when Adams and
Jefferson are forgotten. Very much depends up-
on the character of the man himself, as to his
success, whether in agriculture, or in any other
business.

T. — Yes, sir ; I readily grant this ; but the
American farmer's knowledge, although sufficient
in quantity, is not systematized, and our agricul-
tural college or schools, I am quite hopeful, would
supply this great defect. Besides, such an insti-
tution would give tone and character to the agri-
culture of the State, and, properly managed,
would greatly redound to its honor.

W. — I do not readily perceive how such a school
could systematize (rather a vague term,) our
knowledge, for it could only bring good sense to
bear on what is generally known from year to
year, and this every sensible man can do himself.
Much, however, would depend upon the charac-
ter of the teachers. If they, in fact, were wiser
than the best farmers, they might accomplish
something ; but it is not to be supposed that
practically they would be. If they were merely
learned in chemistry, and the collateral branches
of agriculture, merely theoretical, speculative men,
and intended to try experiments, then their ope-
rations would be very expensive, and of doubtful
utility, and they could not be regarded as repre-
senting agriculture in its best eclectic attitude. If
they inculcated what they thought the most sci-
entific for the time being, then their teachings
(so freaky and delusive has agriculture occasion-
ally shown itself ever since the ground was cursed
for Adam's sake !) would be in danger of becom-
ing systematized ignorance. They undoubtedly
would do something, and the probability is, that
some leading, ambitious spirit among them would
seize the reins, intimidate the rest by the crack
of his whip, and — "go it blindly." Prof. Porter's
ideal extravaganza of uniting the hydrogen of the
ocean with the nitrogen of the atmosphere, to
form a universal, inexhaustible, omnipresent fer-
tilizer, might not be realized ; the potato and cat-
tle diseases would probably fare no worse, and

430

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

Sept.

the curculio, and all the mischievous members of
entomology, •would very likely commit their rava-
ges as if in utter ignorance of such an institution.

r.— Not at all, Mr. Waddles. I should antic-
ipate a good degree of harmony. We hear noth-
ing of the kind in the European schools.

W. — But we know that the scientific men of
Europe do iTot agree upon those very matters
which an agricultural college ought to teach. Our
agricultural professors, perhaps, would be as wise
as our present Board of Agriculture ; no one,
probably, thinks they would be wiser ; for they
are the most eminent men in their calling, select-
ed from all parts of the State. Yet does our
Board do everything harmoniously and satisfac-
torily ? It is not to be expected, though a hin-
drance. The only thing which I ever heard of
their being unanimous about, was upon the reso-
lution to petition the Legislature to introduce a
system of agriculture into our common schools.
So said one paper, at least. The Secretary's Re-
port says, "almost" mianimous. Yet with all this
unanimity, only two of them appeared to discuss
the subject at the Legislative Agricultural Meet-
ings. And that's the last I have heard of the
matter. On the whole, I am inclined to believe
that a faculty of professors would not be able to
permanently advance the cause of agriculture, and
would not throw more light upon the subject of
vegetation than some of our best farmers — so dif-
ficult is it to find and tread a path not already
beaten.

T. — Well, then, I must say it would not be
properly managed. They ought simply to teach
what are regarded as the best methods of soil
culture.

W. — That is, the system well known.

T. — Nothing more nor less.

W. — But who would go, or send a boy to a
school to learn that which is usually known and
practiced among farmers ? A purely agricultural
college on this basis, would fail for want of pat-
ronage, as a lad would go on to a well-managed
farm and earn his livelihood. If of a general,
scientific character, scholars might attend, but not
to learn farming, as they have at the Michigan
Agricultural College.

T. — But I proceed upon the presumption that
it be properly instituted, and well managed. What
that would be, I frankly confess I can't at pre-
sent say.

W. — Again, Mr. Twaddles, I am inclined to the
belief that such an institution would be more po-
litical than agricultural, especially if endowed
by the State, with the Governor and Council hold-
ing the appointing power. Would such an insti-
tution give tone and character to agriculture in
Massachusetts ? And provided it were all its
friends could wish, and was not, as some think it
would be, a useless expenditure to the State ; that
it fulfilled its mission, and was an honor to old
Massachusetts ; would you not feel prouder to
point out to a foreigner, a hardy, independent,
well fed, well clothed and well housed yeomanry,
than to a stupendous and successful agricultural
college ?

T. — Certainly, I should ; but I would prefer to
do both. Yet how do you propose to educate
farmers — not by merely drudging on the soil —
toiling, sweating, eating and sleeping — all hand-
work, and no head-work ?

W. — By reading, reflection, in connection with
the farm, and by seeing what others have done.
Surely, no man need be at a loss for books and
papers. In Great Britain, where it is said not so
many agricultural journals are in circulation an-
nually as are struck off by a single press here,
farm schools or colleges may be more important.
With so many facilities as we have here in Mas-
sachusetts for improvement in the cultivation of
the soil, I should consider the establishment of
an agricultural college as an act of supereroga-
tion— merely a fifth wheel to a coach, upon which
some of the larger insects would fasten, and mar-
vel at the dust they raised. Men working their
own farms would shout in derision at it, and half
of the agricultural journals would wage a perpet-
ual war against it and its management. The an-
imadversions upon the Patent Office doings and
Reports, in this department, may give us some
hints. And here I may observe, for want of a
better opportunity, that M. Lavergne freely ad-
mits, in spite of the agricultural schools of France,
the superiority of British husbandry.

T. — Well, you can think as you choose ; but I
still go for more head-work, and less hand-work.

W. — Yes ; but knowledge must be executed.
Much head-work is too apt to make mere fancy
farmers, and as you must know, has been the ruin
of many. The Board of Agriculture could point
to you instances of such, perhaps in its own cir-
cle. A knowledge of chemistry, botany and ge-
ology, will not hoe one's corn, or dig his potatoes.
Then again, when a farmer becomes learned and
somewhat refined, he is very apt to leave his ma-
nure fork to harder muscles and coarser brains.

T. — ^Yes, sir, so he is ; and that's the reason
why we need to mal^e agriculture more attractive,
by some method or other, to keep the young
farmers at home.

W. — Pray, how can you talk so when your own
example has been against it ? Some men will
make formers of some of their sons, but would
you do it ? I question whether there is a single
member of the Board of Agriculture that would
forcibly encourage a bright boy of his to engage
in farming ; and perhaps he thinks there is no
necessity of it. You know very well, that an am-
bitious lad who has been reared on a farm, longs
to quit it, and go out into the varied world, and
try his fortune. It is all very well. Such as he
may return some time or other, with capital and
contentment to remain. But if they do not, the
presumption is that they choose to remain away.
Then there are some Avho had rather remain at
home, having no taste to battle for a livelihood
in the checkered throng, or to become a merchant,
minister, or tin-peddler,

T. — But if we educate the farmer as we do some
other classes, the ambition of nearly all would be
to remain in agriculture. Why should not the
farmer know as much as the clergyman ?

W. — He certainly does of his calling, and may
have as much native sense. But an extended ru-
dimentary education will not save young farmers
where the certainty of a life of hard labor is be-
fore them ; and if it did, what would become of
all the educated farmers ? Learned professions
are apt to be overstocked.

T. — Go to the West, on the new lands.

W. — Yes ; land is too dear, and rapidly becom-
ing otherwise occupied in Massachusetts for them j •

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FABMER.

431

but there they might increase too fast for their
own advantage, and the profitable sale of their
crops. So there is some danger in this line of
argument. Now I go for a free egress and ingress
in regard to agriculture ; and I am inclined to be-
lieve that it will well regulate itself in all its im-
portant relations, and that no one need feel
alarmed that competent hands will not be found
to till the earth. But you perceive this subject
is endless.

T. — Well, your plan, so far as study is con-
cerned, ought to be designated, "Farming made
Easy !"

W. — Thank you for the honor. So important
a calling in the progress of civilization ought to
be made easy, not complicated ; and blessed is
the man who confines agriculture to the fewest
simple rules, so that the honest, industrious young
man, with comparatively small means, who in-
tends to pursue it, may not be obliged to labor
through a term of two or three years of misty and
fallible science before he can engage respectably
and profitably in that universal labor calculated
to insure his happiness and feed increasing mil-
lions.

Oak Cliff, on the Mystic, July, 1860.

HOBNLESS CATTLE.

A correspondent of the Rural New-Yorker
closes a strong commendation of Polled Breeds
with the following pai'agraph.

Some few acquaintances have suff'ered utility to
'take the place of horns amongst the cattle, and
are rejoicing at the progress in their change of
fancy, as they can see beauties in good cattle
without horns. One yard confines together with-
in an area of less than 50 by 80 feet, well sheltered
and watered, seven hornless cows and heifers, and
sixty valuable Cotswolds, that would not be suf-
fei'ed for a moment to be in like condition if the
cattle had horns. They are harmless, social and
peaceable, as if all were sheep, and the owner fre-
quently passes amongst them in the dark without
fear of running upon even a "short horn," and
feels quite sure none of them will die in the spring
with the "Horn-ail." His feed boxes are so con-
structed, that a cow or sheep cannot get the oth-
ers' fodder, although within the same inclosurc.
His judgment and fancy have become so bewil-
dered by their smooth, innocent, harmless-looking
heads, that he thinks there is not so much beauty
and value in any other seven cattle, of the same
age, belonging to any other yard in town. But
enough. I Avait to learn if any body can say suf-
ficient against well-bred "Moolys" to subject
them to any real disrepute whatever.

Wool Trade in Michigan. — It is stated in
the Detroit papers that the clip of wool for this
year will exceed that of last year by about a quar-
ter of a million of pounds. Last year's clip was
estimated at 3,000,000 pounds, and allowing the
clip to be this year three and a quarter millions of
pounds, the income of the State will be about a
million and a half of dollars. The gain to the
State bj' the increased production and the in-
crease of price is estimated at one hundred and
ninety million dollars.

For the New England Farmer.
WINTER WHEAT.

Mr. Editor : — It would be very interesting to
know the general success of those farmers of New
England who have been raising winter wheat the
past season. Abundant crops must have been se-
cured, judging from the season which has been so
favorable to all cereals in your region. The suc-
cess of one farmer should certainly stimulate an-
other, and I know of no better mode of communi-
cating it than through the medium of your valua-
ble paper. To those who doubt, it may induce
them to begin, and to those who may be indifier-
ent, it might prove a spur to their negligence, for
they all believe, or ought to, that it should be one
of the most important farm crops of the New
England husbandman. No farmer among you
should allow himself to buy a barrel of Western
flour. He can raise wheat for one dollar a bush-
el, or as cheap as he can raise a bushel of rye.
Four bushels of Svheat is equal to a barrel of flour
for his family, and should there not be mills to
bolt so close, wheat meal is far more healthy for
his family. Perhaps some of your dyspeptic read-
ers can answer.

Take that piece of mowing field that needs to
be turned over, salt your wheat in pickle twelve
hours, roll it in ashes or lime, and get it in the
last week in August or first week in September,
as deep as you can, to insure a good root, which
makes it doubly secure against winter kill, and
the farmer will be as sure of this crop as he is of
his winter rye. These refreshing rains are pre-
paring an excellent fallow or second crop for
plowing in. Again, Mr. Editor, I want your far-
mers to tell us what they are doing with winter
wheat. H. Poor.

Brooklyn, L. I., Aug., 1860.

Rehl^rks. — It aff'ords us sincere pleasure to
state to our zealous correspondent that his re-
peated promptings, or something else, have result-
ed in numerous fields of as fine looking wheat
as we ever saw, in various parts of New England.
It is now, August 9, being harvested without any
sign of midge, mildew, or anything else to lessen
its value.

The Sound of Growing Corn, — Did you ever
hear corn grow ? You have probably heard the
remark, "our corn grows so fast that you can hear
it," That is supposed, by people who don't know,
to be a figure of speech only ; but the remark
cut here is a literal fact. Go into one of these
"bottom" corn-fields forty or fifty rods on a warm
July daj', or August night, Avhen a bright moon
is up (for vegetation grows faster in moonlight
than in darkness,) and a few hours after a heavy
shower that has fairly wet the earth, and waked
up the drowsy corn to its influences, and as the
main stalk stretches and swells in its new
strength up through the contracted lips of the up-
per blades, they crack and burst around you like
the stifled reports of ten thousand rifles ! That
corn field will be some inches higher at sunrise
the next moi-ning than at the last sundown. There
is no mistake about it. We have heard corn grow,
many a time, and so every farmer along in the
Sciota valley will tell you. — Corres. N. Y. World.

4-32

NE^\^ i-:ngi>anT) farmer.

Sept.

THE GUINEA HEN.

The plumage of this bh-cl is singularly beauti- '
ful, being spangled over with an infinity of uliite
spots on a black ground, shaded with grey and
brown. The spots vary from the size of a pea to
extreme minuteness. Occasionally the black and
white change places, causing the bird to appear
as if covered with a net-work of lace.

Of all known birds, this, perhaps, is the most
prolific of eggs. Week after week, and month af-
ter month, see little or no intermission of the daily
deposit.

A Bantam hen is the best mother, being lighter,
and less likely to injure the eggs, by treading on
them, than a full-sized fowl. She will well cover
nine eggs, and incubation will last about a month.
The young are excessively pretty. When first
hatched, they are so strong and active, as to ap-
pear not to require the attention really necessary
to rear them. Almost as soon as they are dry
from the moisture of the egg, they will peck each
other's toes, as if supposing them to be worms,
will scramble with each other for a crumb of
bread, and will domineer over any little Bantam,
or chicken, that may have been brought off in the
same clutch with themselves. No one, who did
not know, would guess from their appearance, of
what species of bird they were the offspring. Their

orange-red bills and legs, and the dark. Zebra-
like stripes with which they are regularly marked
from head to tail, bear no traces of the speckled
plumage of their parents.

"When designed for the table, they must be
killed before coming to maturity, as the flesh then
becomes tough and dry.

By their continual clamor and watchful nature,
they are useful in protecting the other poultry
from the hovering hawks.

Curious Alleged ])iscovery in Floricul-
ture.— It is said that Mayor Tiemann, at his paint
factory in Manhattanville, has accidentally made
a discovery which threatens to revolutionize flor-
iculture. One of the factory hands having thrown
some liquid green paint of a particular kind on a
flower-bed occupied by white anemones, the flow-
ers have since made their appearance with petals
as green as grass. The paint had in it a peculiar
and very penetrating chemical mixture, which Mr.
Tiemann has since applied with other colors, to
other plants, annual, biennial, and of the shrub
kind — the result being invariably that the flowers
so watered took the hue of the liquid deposited at
their roots. By commencing experiments early
next year, during seedtime, and applying difl"erent
colors, wo shall no doubt soon be enabled to "paint
the lily," which was Solomon's ambition. — N. Y.
Tribune.

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

433

For the New England Farmer.
ADVANCE OR KETREAT?

Mr. Editor : — It is admitted by all, I believe,
that we live in a remarkable age. But whether
our age be distinguished above all others for its
advancement and progressive improvement in all
departments of knowledge, or whether, in some
respects, we have receded and fallen behind other
ages, is a mooted question among farmers in our
vicinity. Farmer A, who stands at the head of
the alphabet, who is the oldest man we have
among us, and who ought to know as well as
others, boldly and confidently asserts, that our
age is more eminently distinguished for shams
and humbugs, than for any thing else. He says,
that his great progenitor and namesake, Adam,
exhibited more real scientific knowledge in giving
names to the animal creation, than is now pos-
sessed by any one man on the face of the globe ;
and, in fact, that it is quite doubtful whether
mankind, on the whole, have made any great pro-
ficiency in scientific knowledge. Farmers B and
C, his two nearest neighbors, and equally vener-
able for their age and sagacity, coincide with him
in opinion. Farmer D, like Wouter Van Twiller,
a former Dutch governor of the State of New
York, surnamed the Doubter, is not prepared to
give an opinion upon the subject, but, like his il-
lustrious predecessor, who, v,henever any question
of importance was proposed for his consideration,
would put on a mighty mysterious, vacant kind
of look, shake his capacious head, and having
smoked for five minutes with redoubled earnest-
ness, sagely observe, that "he had his doubts
about the matter." But D is not the only doubter
amongst us. There are others who, if they be not
doubters, are double-minded. They have no de-
cided opinion of their own ; but they sail with the
current of public sentiment in their neighborhood ;
and perhaps, as soon as they have given an opin-
ion, they immediately vote the opposite.

Without pursuing this train of remarks further,
it does appear to me, that there is a straight for-
ward and progressive course ; and that there is
no room for doubt, for dogmatism, or for retro-
gression. In every department of knowledge,
there are works and improvements that, not many
years ago, were wont to fill us with trepidation and
awe at their boldness and costliness, but are now
dwarfed into absolute insignificance by the gigan-
tic projects that come teeming from the brain of
science, and the panting heart of enterprise. More
improvements have been made in the arts and sci-
ences, for the welfare and happiness of man, for
the adornments and accomplishments of life, dur-
ing the last fifty years, than during whole preced-
ing centuries. Tell me not, that we have made
no improvements since the days of Adam and
Eve, or any subsequent period. Tell me not, that
all our progenitors understood all the arts and
embellishments of life as well as we. Our age is
strongly marked with characteristic improve-
ments— improvements which were unknown to
the inhabitants of the world at any former period.
The present exceeds all former times in invention,
in intellectual, moral and physical power, and in
mechanical development. That fiery, iron-ribbed
camel, with its burden of thousands, dashing
along with the i-apidity of lightening — that migh-
ty leviathan of the deep, whose back is crowded

with living souls, and whose belly is crammed with
the products of every clime and nation, marching
with the speed of a sunbeam over the pathless
ocean, in spite of storms and tempests, are the
rich fruits of the present era's intellectual gTowth.
And the time will soon come, when similar im-
provements will be introduced into all branches
of business. John Goldsbury.

THE FAMILY.

The family is like a hook —

The children are the leaves,
The parents are tlie cover, that

Protective beauty gives.

At first the pages of the book

Are blank anti purely fair.
But Time soon writeth memories,

And painteth pictures there.

Love Is the little golden clasp

That bindeth up the trust ;
0, break it not, lest all the leaves

Shall scatter and be lost.

Country Gentleman.

ITALIAN BEES.

During the early part of last year the Commis-
sioner of Patents at Washington authorized Mr.
S. B. Parsons, of Long Island, N. Y.,to proceed
to Italy, and inquire into the habits of Italian
bees, and if, upon investigation, he found them
possessing qualities of value which our native
bees do not possess, to procure a certain number
of swarms and send them to the Patent Office.

He entered upon the duties assigned him, and
arrived in the country of the Italian Lakes in
April, 1859, After wandering about among the
hills of that delightful region for some months,
his researches were arrested by the approach of
hostile armies, and he was not able to resume
them until the following September, when he met
an intelligent Bavarian who had established him-
self in the Orisons, and had devoted himself to
the culture of pure Italian bees.

The result of his researches convinced him that
these bees possess qualities superior to those of
our own, and he ordered for the Department to
the full amount which he was authorized to ex-
pend, and directed them to be sent by the Arago
on the 18th of October from Havre, but by some
unaccountable delay they were not shipped until
December 28th, ft-om Genoa.

In his investigations, Mr. Parsons says he came
to the following conclusions in relation to the
Italian bees ;

1. That they will endure the cold better than
ours.

2. That they swarm twice as often.

3. That they are abundantly more prolific,

4. That the working bees begin to forage ear-
lier, and are more industrious.

5. That they are less apt to sting, and may be
easily tamed by kind treatment.

434

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

Sept.

6. That the queen may be so educated as to lay
her eggs in any hive in which she is placed, while
the bees of such a hive, deprived of their own
queen, will readily receive her.

7. That its proboscis is longer, and it can reach
the depths of flowers which are entirely beyond
the efforts of the common bee.

8. That a young queen, once impregnated, will
continue fertile during her life — from four to sev-
en years. This quality will insure pure broods,
till the Avhole country is filled with them.

9. That they are far more brave and active than
the common bee ; will fight with great fierceness,
and more effectually keep the moth out of the hive.

Having read the statement of !Mr. Parsons,
and learning that Mr. Brackett, of Winchester,
in this State, a gentleman who has gained some
celebrity as a skillful cultivator of several varie-
ties of grapes, — had introduced the Italian bee
into his colonies, we visited his place a few days
since, and examined both bees and grapes for our-
selves. In the midst of his delightful retreat,
surrounded on all sides but the south by the nat-
ural forest, he nestles on the hillside with his
pleasant family, his forcing houses, grapes, and
other plants, and his twenty odd swarms of bees!
He is full of zeal in regard to them all, — and that
zeal is so admirably tempered with knowledge,
that one cannot fail to gather valuable sugges-
tions upon any of his favorite topics. Mr.
Brackett was early called into consultation with
Mr. Parsons, and one or two other distinguished
apiarians, in regard to the course to be pursued
with the Italian bees, and as a part of the policy
he has introduced eight pure queens into his col-
onies, having first by a most ingenious device
driven all the drones, or males, of the common
bee from his hives. The queen of the common
bee and the drone brood being taken away, and a
new Italian queen introduced, the natural work
was at once entered upon of forming new queen
and brood cells, so that the eggs deposited by the
new queen would produce the pure Italian bee !

From the experience thus far gained, Mr. Brack-
ett is inclined to confirm the statements made by
Mr. Parsons. He thinks their merits have not
been overrated, and states that they are more ea-
sily managed, and less sensitive to cold than our
bees.

From a little work by H. C. Hermann, the Ba-
varian referred to above, we learn that the yellow,
Italian bee is a mountain insect ; it is found be-
tween two mountain chains, to the right and left
of Lombardy and the Rhetian Alps, and comprises
the whole territory of Tcssir, Veltlin and South
Graubunden. It thrives up to the height of ioOO
feet above the level of the sea, and appears to
prefer the northern clime to the warmer, for in
the south of Italy it is not found.

It differs from our common black bee in its
longer, slender form, and light chrome-yellow col-
or, with brimstone-colored wings, and two orange-
red girths, each one-sixth of an inch wide. Work-
ing bees as well as drones have this mark. The
drones are further distinguished by the girths be-
ing scolloped, like the spotted water-serpent, and
attain an astonishing size ; almost half as corpu-
lent again as the black drones. The queen has
the same marks as the Avorking bees, but much
more conspicuous, and lighter ; she is much larg-
er than the black queen, and easy to be singled
out of the swarm on account of her remarkable
bodily size and light color.

We engaged with Mr. Brackett in some manip-
ulations, such as taking out the queen bee and a
drone or two for examination, and peeping into
some of the nuclei which he is forming.

For the New EnglatuJ Parmer.

CEMENT PIPE FOR CONDUCTING
WATER.

Mr. Editor : — In reply to a subscriber in your
paper dated June 23d, 1860, I would say I have
had considerable experience in cement pipe, hav-
ing been in the business, more or less for the last
three years. I laid down over 100 rods last year
at East Fairfield, Vt., where the pressure was over
100 feet, and let it lay six months, and it will hold
any pressure, when laid carefully, and large enough.
It can be afforded from 50 cents to §1,25 cents
])er rod, according to the pressure, and the time
that you keep the water off. It can be let on,
where there is no pressure, in one week, and I
can lay it just as it is wanted, large or small. It
is very smooth, looking like polished stone when
in the ditch, and as round as a stove-pipe, having
moulders for the purpose. The water is as good
as at the fountain. We have used it two years
now, so I know something about it. Lead, when
laid down, is apt to be more or less poisonous, ac-
cording to the kind of water that runs through
it ; but cement is not. I think the time is not far
distant when there will be more cement laid for
fetching water than logs, or lead, or anything
else ; for there is no one that ever knew of its
ever wearing out ; nor indeed can it, for it be-
comes like a stone. J. Converse.

Bakei'sfield, Vt., July, 1860.

Softening of the Brain. — Professional, but
more frequently business men, are its subjects. The
predisposing cause is sumptuous living. After a
morning fully occupied with business matters, a
man comes regularly to a dinner of various and
highlj'-seasoned dishes of fish and fowl and flesh,
with every adjunct to excite and gratify the appe-
tite. He partakes freely of food and wine, in ex-
cess to be sure, though perhaps never to the ex-
tent of gluttony or inebriety. The papers are
read, cigars are smoked, a few hours are passed
socially, and the evening closes with a hot supper,
and abundant punch. If a man living thus con-
tinues successful in his plans and his business, he
may go through life with no other physical or

18G0.

NEW ENGLAND FARMEE.

435

mental infirmity than the pain and irascibility of
fi;out or the distress and gloom of dyspepsia. But
if it be otherwise, if he meet -with a reverse of
fortune, or if some grief or chagrin come upon
him, then he is exceedingly liable to this fatal
disease, which is the joint product of luxurious
living and some torturing anxiety or disappoint-
ment.— Report of Dr. John E. Tyler, Superinten-
dent of the McLean Asylum.

BXTBACTS AND REPLIES.

CORN AFTER RUTA BAGAS — MUCK AND ASHES COMPOST
— WIRE-WOUMS.

"We, farmers, take for grautcd that you of the agri-
cultural press are pleased and able to answer all ques-
tions on farming that we choose to put. Here arc a
few.

Neither corn nor tobacco will grow after ruta bagas.
Why not ? What will ?

What is the modus operandi of composting muck
with lime or ashes ?

Is there anything to prevent the ravages of the wire-
worm ? No method which I have seen given will do it
— they continue their ravages now by eating into and
destroying the full grown stalk. They are often in
muck grounds in great numbers, and in composting
muck is there not danger of introducing this pest when
the muck pile is spread ? t. m.

South Iladley, July, 1860.

Remarks. — You inquirers will find that you can ask
a thousand questions which we "of the agricultural
press" cannot answer, even were we as wise as we may
think ourselves.

We can raise corn after ruta bagas, and so can you,
by putting on manure enough. The bagas are great
robbers, and the land must be highly fed after a crop
of them. If tobacco will not grow after ruta bagas, we
are quite satisfied — it ought not to be cultivated any-
where. You may follow ruta bagas successfully with
any other crop, we think, by heavy manuring — at
least, we find no difficulty in doing so.

For suggestions in relation to composting muck
vrith lime or ashes, see Patent Olflce Report for 18-56,
pages 192, 193. We will endeavor to give an article on
that subject in the course of a few weeks.

We have i-arely seen wire worms in muck, and do
not think there is danger of introducing them in it.

HOW TO USE LIQUID MANURES.

Will you, or some of your friends, through the me-
dium of the Farmer, inform me how liquid manure
can Ije best applied to plowed fields, whether it is best
poured on to heaps ot compost and hauled with the
compost, or applied in some other way ?

Northjield, Auy., 1860. Inquirer.

Remarks. — If you can obtain a plenty of muck by
hauling it one mile or less, it will prove the best ab-
sorbent we know of to receive liquid manure, and when
thoroughly saturated with them, will form one of the
best fertilizers for top-dressing that is used. The liquid
may be applied l)y horse power through a sprinkler,
but they are expensive, and can be used only for that
single purpose. If the muck is on hand, and is dry, it
may be composted at any moment when the liquids
have accumulated, and the heap thrown aside for use
whenever it is convenient to use it. We believe the
value of the muck, of itself, will more than pay the
cost of carting it in and out again, especially if it is to
be used on sandy lands.

CURE FOR head MURRAIN.

I have long thought that j'our pleuro-pneumonia or
cattle disease is nothing more nor less than the head

muiTain. This disease begins at the roots of the
tongue, and runs from thence to the lungs, and thus
destroys the vital parts. It can easily be ascertained
l)y any one whether I am correct or not, by feeling of
the throat near the roots of the tongue of the animal
diseased, and ascertaining whether there is an enlarge-
ment there or not ; if this is the case with the affected
cattle in your vicinity, I think I could cure them for
twenty-five cents per head.

My method in curing cattle troubled with the head
murrain is, to cut a slit under the throat as near as
possible to the roots of the tongue. Cleave off the skin
from the flesh and crowd in a quantity of fine salt.
When this becomes dissolved, put more salt into the
slit, and continue to do so as long as the yellow matter
will run. Cattle m'cU attended to may be cured in a
week. Taken early, four or six doses of salt will gen-
erally answer. John Conn.

Salem, Vt., Aug., 1860.

vermin on cattle.

My cattle last spring and now are troubled with
black lice. I would like to ask through your valuable
paper (which I commenced taking last spring) the best
and safest way of getting rid of them ?

Also, if lice will remain in a barn from the spring
to the next fall so as to trouble cattle, and if so, the
cheapest and best method of destroying them ?

A New Subscriber.

Romney, N. II., Aug., 1860.

Remarks. — We have rarely known simple oil of
any kind, lard oil, sweet oil, or even common lamp
oil, fail to destroy lice on cattle if judiciously and per-
sistently applied. It must be added a little at a time,
and rubbed in upon every part with patient persever-
ance. If this does fail, a little unguentum, rubbed on
in the same way, will bring the desired result. Do it,
however, in mild weather, and see that the cattle are
not exposed to cold winds or storms for a few days
succeeding its use. •

CURE FOR HOLDFAST IN CATTLE,

I notice in your last monthly information is wanted
by N. Mathews, of Henniker, N. H., in reference to
the cure of a hard substance called holdfast, on the
jaw of a valuable steer. If it is the same thing as we
call a wen (which no doubt it is) it may be cured in the
following manner : take good soft soap, any desirable
quantity, put with the same about half the quantity of
fine salt ; heat the mixture and apply warm ; rub it in
once a day, or oftener, if convenient, and the bunch
will soon disappear. The same will cure the horn dis-
temper by applying it very hot to the hollow, Imck of
the head. I know it from experience.

Ripton, Vt., Aug., 1860. A. A. Atwood.

RHUBARB WINE.

I saw a receipt in your last paper for making rhu-
barb wine. Can you give the best time for making it ?
Springfield, Aug., 1860. Reader.

Remarks. — Mr. Asa Clement, of Lowell, Mass.,
will tell you all about it. We do not know.

The Schoolmaster's Difficulty. — A country
dominie had a hundred boys and no assistant. "I
wonder how you manage them," said a friend,
"without help." "Ah," was the answer, "I could
manage the hundred boys well enough ; it's the
two hundred parents that trouble me — there's
no managing them."

Farming as an Avocation. — We welcome to
our colmnns again, Avith pleasure, our old corres-
pondent, "E,. B. H.," of Amherst, Mass., and hope
that now his pen is on the wing again, he will di-
rect bis flight this way often.

436

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

Sept.

FACTS FROM THE CENSUS.

HE taking of
the census,
•which is now
going on, is
revealing
some facts in
regard to the
^business and
population of
New England
which seem
considerably
to surprise
some of our
people. By
this census, the fact is made apparent that the
population of a considerable number of the agri-
cultural towns in New England has decreased
since the taking of the last census, in 1850. This
fact will be considered by some without connec-
tion with other facts, and will be taken as evi-
dence of decay, and that farming is not a profita-
ble employment.

When the full returns of these towns are before
us, so that we can see whether the decrease of
population is followed by a corresponding decrease
of agricultural products and taxation in the town,
we sha!l examine them with interest, and hope to
turn to the subject again. In some cases, the val-
uation of the town will undoubtedly become less
with the depreciation in the population — but they
will be those rocky and mountainous regions that
never ought to be used for any thing but the for-
ests which they produce, and the pasturage which
may be made to succeed them by burning the
refuse wood after the timber is taken away.

After taking off the timber from a township of
land, and manufacturing it into valuable articles
for domestic or foreign uses, and then cropping
the same soil several years with rye, or depastur-
ing it with herds of cattle or flocks of sheep, the
leaving it to grow up to forest again is no evi-
dence to us that the people who have occupied it
have lost their energies, or are any the less thrifty
than those of other towns who still remain and
cultivate the soil. Let it alone, and the earth
will recuperate itself, so that many a young man,
who now leaves only barren hills, will live to re-
turn and find them clothed with an ample crop of
timber from which he may carve out a fortune. It
would be an evidence of bad judgment and un-
thrift, if they should remain upon the barren hills
and attempt their cultivation, when there is an
abundance of land richer in fertilizing agents and
so much more easily wrought.

A writer in the Boston Journal, dating at War-
ren, N. H., in the valley of Baker's River, makes

some statements in point. His letters are quite
interesting. He says the population of the town
of Warren has increased 322 since 1850, but gives
as a local cause, the existence of a copper and
lead mine in the eastern part of the town, which
continues to be successfully worked. The land is
favorable for grazing, so that large quantities of
butter and cheese are made, and "more maple su-
gar is made here than in any other town in the
State, the amount last spring having been eighty-
five thousand pounds!"

The population of Wentworth has decreased,
which the writer ascribes to a local cause — there
has also been a decrease in the towns of Orford,
Dorchester and Lyme. The writer adds, "it is
probable that the census of nearly all the purely
agricultural communities in New Hampshire will
show a falling off" in population during the last
ten years, the gain, if there has been any, having
been in the manufacturing places." Although the
population in the town of Lyme has decreased, its
wealth has increased. The letter referred to,
states that it is one of the richest agricultural
communities in the State, and probably has more
sheep than any other, the number now owned in
the town being from twelve to thirteen thousand.
The production of wool this year is estimated in
value at $25,000. The farmers raise all the wheat
which is used in the town. We doubt whether
there is another town in New England which can
say the same.

These remarks sustain the views we entertain,
and have more than once expressed, in regard to
the depreciation of population in our rural towns
being an evidence of the unprofitableness of farm-
ing as an occupation. We find in these instances
that where the land is in a favorable position, and
the soil is fertile and of easy cultivation, the la-
bor of the husbandman is abundantly rewarded.
The township of Lyme lies on one bank of the
Connecticut river, and a considerable portion of
the land is rich, and may be cultivated with ease.
The town of Dorchester lies upon the hills, and
quite likely a considerable portion of it which is
devoted to farm purposes would be found more
profitable in the end if it were left to go back to
forest again. A portion of the township of Or-
ford lies on the same river, but if we mistake not,
a much larger portion upon the hills.

The reason, then, of this depreciation of popu-
lation in the rural towns, whatever else it may be,
is not that the farmers of New England manage
their business with less interest or skill than
formerly, or that the occupation itself receives
less consideration, but that it springs from nat-
ural causes :

1. That, aided by a better knowledge of the Art
of Husbandry, and by better varieties of

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

437

plants and breeds of stock, a better knowl-
edge of the modes of securing them through
the winter, and the advantages derived from
the use of labor-saving machinery, vastly
more is produced than formerly on the same
extent of land.

2. Farmers have found that mountainous and

rocky lands, remote from markets that de-
mand vegetables and grains, are more valua-
ble for timber which they will produce once
in twenty to forty years, than to be devoted
to any other purpose — and that in nearly all
cases, the moist low lands are the best ad-
apted to cultivation.

3. The forests of the hills being cut off for manu-

facturing purposes, the persons living in their
vicinity are naturally called upon to aid in
the process of the manufacture of innumera-
ble articles of convenience and value that
find their way into the remotest regions of
the earth. So that it is neither a want of per-
ception, nor decaying energies that prompt
them to leave the farm, but an intelligent
foresight that induces them to engage in
some remunerating employment, while na-
' ture in her steady processes of beneficence
recuperates the soil and restores the crops
which man had exhausted for his convenience
and comfort.

HAY FOR ONE SHEEP.
In reply to the question. How much hay will a
sheep consume during the winter months, the
Michigan Fanner remarks as follows :

"The usual rate of the consumption of food
is at the rate of 3^ pounds of hay daily for every
100 pounds of live v»-eight. If we take the aver-
age of flocks the live weight of 100 common sheep
would be about T.jOO pounds, or from that up to
8000. It is rare that a whole flock of fine M'ooled
sheep will average more than 70 pounds for each
head, though it maybe that this Aveight is exceed-
ed in some instances. At the rate mentioned, a
flock of 100 sheep should use up or consume 280
pounds of hay per day, or a total of 2.5 tons in the
winter season that lasted 180 days. This would
also equal 501 pounds to each single sheep, or it
may be stated as a general rule that a full grown
Merino sheep averaging in live weight from 75
pounds to 100, will consume during the winter
season a quarter of a ton of hay, or its equivalent,
if comfortably kept. If grain forms a part of the
ration, of course some of the hay may be saved ;
but if the animal is to be kept growing wool, it
will need its full ration of hay, and a little grain,
too."

Agricultural Papers. — The following testi-
mony of Horace Greeley to the value of agricul-
tural papers, we presume will have weight even
where liis political opinions would be deemed he-
retical :

"Th(.'V;5 are at present some fifty or sixty peri-

odicals published in our country devoted to farm-
ing— as many, I presume, as in all the world be-
side. They have been built up at great expense
of talent, labor, and money ; for when Col. Skin-
ner started the first of them at Baltimore, some
forty or fifty years ago, the idea of teaching farm-
ers anything in that way was hooted by them as
ridiculous, and he found it hardly possible to give
his early numbers away. Hundreds of thousands
of dollars have been spent on these publications ;
and they are this day, in my judgment, doing
more to promote the true growth of the country
and the substantial, enduring welfare of our peo-
ple, than Congress, the Army and the Navy, for
the support of which they are taxed some forty
millions per annum."

SUMMER PRUNHSTG OP FRUIT TREES
AND THE VINE.

A system of pinching off" the shoots of trees in
the growing season, is gaining favor constantly ;
as yet, however, it is only followed, so far as we
have observed, by gardeners bred and by ama-
teurs. It is anticipating pruning, by preventing
the growth of any thing to be removed in prun-
ing ; hence it is performed on the same princi-
ples as pruning, that is, to accomplish the same
ends by similar means.

It has many advantages over pruning, as may
be readily perceived, especially in directing
growth, and checking it so as to secure perfect
maturity of the young wood. It is performed by
pinching off" between the finger and thumb, espe-
cially making use of the thumb-nail, shoots as soon
as they pass the fixed limit. It may be performed
throughout the growing season, but in some cases,
too early pinching causes an undesirable growth
of lateral branches, while in the proper season,
this same growth of laterals is what makes the
practice so useful in directing growth, and form-
ing the branches exactly to suit the orchardist.

Barry quotes Dubreuil at considerable length,
and we give the heads under which the objects of
pruning are classified :

I. The vigor of a tree, subject to pruning, de-
pends, in a great measure, on the equal distribu-
tion of sap in all its branches. This may be done
by the following means :

1. Prune the branches of the most vigorous
parts very short, and those of the weak parts long.

2. Leave a quantity of fruit on the strong part,
and remove the whole, or greater part, from the
feeble.

3. Bend the strong parts ; keep the weak erect.

4. Remove from the vigorous parts of the su-
perfiuous shoots as early in the season as possi-
ble, and from the feeble parts as late as possible.

5. Pinch early the soft extremities of the shoots
on the vigorous parts, and as late as possible on
the feeble parts, excepting always any shoots which
may be too vigorous for their position.

6. Lay in the strong shoots on the trellis early,
and leave the feeble parts loose as long as possi-
ble.

7. In espalier trees, giving the feeble parts the
benefit of the light, and confining the strong parts
more in the shade, restores a balance.

II. The sap acts with greater force, and produ-
ces more vigorous growth on a branch, or shoot
pruned short, than on one pruned long.

438

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

Sept.

III. The sap tending always to the extremities
of the shoots, causes the terminal bud to push
•with greater vigor than the laterals.

IV. The more the sap is obstructed in its circu-
lation, the more likely it Avill be to produce fruit
buds.

V. The leaves serve to prepare the sap absorbed
by the roots for the nourishment of the tree, and
aid the formation of buds on the shoots. All trees,
therefore, deprived of their leaves, are liable to
perish.

VI. Where the buds of any shoot or branch do
not develop before the age of two years, they can
only be forced into activity by a very close prun-
ing, and in some cases, as the peach, this even
will often fail.

ADVANTAGES OF SMALL FAKMS.

It has always been a question among political
economists, whether large or small farms were
most advantageous to the State. Without un-
dertaking to settle the controversy, we will make
an interesting extract in relation to this point,
from the Abbe St. Pierre, who thought that the
laws ought to prescribe bounds to the accumula-
tion of landed property. The reader will observe
that his inquiry is, as to which "is most advan-
tageous to the State ?" We presume that in the
matter of agriculture, what is the best for indi-
viduals will prove to be the best for the State.

Whether a man can manage a large, or a small
tract of land to the best advantage will usually
depend upon two things, — capital and skill. If
he possesses enough of these, why should he not
manage a thousand acres as well as one hundred,
in a country like ours, where land is abundant ?

As a general thing, however, with the resources
that our New England farmers possess, we have
no doubt that a lai-ger per centage is realized on
moderately small farms, than on large ones. The
Abbe says : —

The Romans had censors, who limited, in
the first instance, the extent of a man's possessions
to seven acres, as being sufficient for the sub-
sistence of a family, understanding hy an acre
as much land as a ijoJce of oxen could plow in one
day. As Rome increased in luxury, it was ex-
tended to five hundred acres ; but even this law,
thougli indulgent in the extreme, was soon in-
fringed, and the infraction liastened rapidly the
ruin of the republic. "Extensive parks," says
Pliny, "and large domains, have ruined both our
own Italy and the provinces which the Romans
have conquered ; for the victories which Nero,
(the consul,) obtained in Africa, were simply owing
to the circumstance of six men being in possession
of nearly one-half of Numidia." Plutarch informs
us, that in his time, under Trajan, a levy of three
thousand men could not have been eflfected in all
Greece, which had formerly furnished armies so
numerous ; and that sometimes you might have
travelled a whole day, on the high-roads, without
meeting a human being except now and then, per-
haps, a fev,' solitary shepherds. The reason was
that Greece had been })arcelled out among a few

wealthy proprietors. In countries where proper-
ty is so unequally divided, conquerors have al-
ways met with a "feeble resistance. We have ex-
amples of this in all ages, from the invasion of the
lower empire by the Turks, to that of Poland, in
our own days. Overgrown estates destroy alike
the spirit of patriotism, in those who have every
thing, and in those who have nothing. "The shocks
of corn," says Xenophon, "inspire those M'ho have
raised them to defend them. They appear in the
fields as a prize exhibited in the middle of the
theatre, to crown the conqueror."

Such is the danger to which the great inequality
of property exposes a state from without : let us
view also the mischief which it occasions within.
An old comptroller-general having retired to his
native province, made a considerable purchase in
land. His estate was surrounded by about fifty
small manors, the annual rent of which might be
from sixty to eighty pounds sterling each. The
proprietors were honest country gentleman, who
for many generations had furnished their country
with gallant officers, and respectable mothers of
families. The comptroller-general, desirous of
extending his lands, invited them to his castle, en-
tertained them magnificently, gave them a taste
of Parisian luxury, and concluded with an offer
of twice the value of their estates, if they thought
proper to dispose of them. The guests, to a man,
accepted his ofier, imagining they were about to
double their revenue, and filled too with the hope,
no less fallacious to a country gentleman, of se-
curing a powerful protector at court. But the
difficulty of placing out their money to advantage,
a taste for expense, occasioned by the possession
of sums which they had never before seen in their
coff'ers, and frequent journeys to Paris, soon re-
duced the price of their patrimony. By degrees
these respectable families disappeared ; and thirty
years after, one of theii- sons who could reckon
among his ancestors a long succession of cap-
tains of dragoons, and knights of St. Louis, was
found wandering on foot over his paternal inher-
itance, soliciting the place of a keeper of a salt
office, to keep him from starving.

Such is the evil iufficted on the citizens by the
accumulation of many estates in the hands of a
single proprietor ; and the injury done thereby to
the land itself is not the less to be deplored. I
was some years ago, at the house of a gentleman
in affluent circumstances, in Normandy, who cul-
tivated himself a very considerable grass farm,
situated on a rising, ground, of a very indiff'ercnt
soil. Wo walked together round his vast enclos-
ure, till we came to a large space completely over-
run with mosses, liorsetail and thistles. Not a
blade of good grass was to be seen. The soil in-
deed was at once ferruginous and marshy. He
had intersected it with many trenches to drain clT
the water, but all to no purpose : nothing would
grow. Immediately below there was a series of
small farm-houses ; the land belonging to them .
M'as clothed with grassy verdure, planted with ap-
ple trees that were loaded with fruit, and enclosed
with tall alders. The cows were feeding among
the trees of the orchards, while the country girls
sat at the doors of their houses, with their spinning
wheels, singing as they worked. Their rustic and
simple lays, repeated from distance to distance,
under the shade of trees, communicated to this
little hamlet a vivacity which increased the de-

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

439

pressing solitude of the spot where we stood, and
1 asked its possessor how it happened that lands
so contiguous should present so diflereut an as-
pect ? "They are both of the same nature," said he,
"and there formerly stood upon this very spot,
small houses, similar to what you see below. I
purchased them, but greatly to my loss. Their
late inhabitants, indeed, having an abundance of
leisure, and but little ground to cultivate, cleared
away the mosses and the thistles, manured the
soil and had a plentiful crop of grass. If they
wished to plant, they dug trenches, and having re-
moved the stones, filled them with good mould
which they collected from the bottom of the
ditches, and along the sides of the highway. Their
trees took root and prospered. But these opera-
tions would cost me so much time and expense,
that I should not be repaid even the common in-
terest of my money." This gentleman, it must be
observed, wretched steward as he was, but excel-
lent in heart, Avas relieving at that very time, by
his charity, most of the ancient farmers who had
no longer wherewith to live. Here, then, is anoth-
er instance of both men and lands rendered use-
less by the injudicious extension of property. It
is not upon large domains, but in the bosom of
industry, that the Father of mankind pours out
the precious fruits of the earth.

LADIES'- DEPARTMENT.

For the Neto England Farmer.
BAISINQ GRAIN— CORN"— PICKLBS.

Messrs. Editors : — Some of your readers may
be interested in the subject of raising grain, and
as I have had considerable experience in the mat-
ter, I will state a little of it. It is thought that
oats sometimes changes to rye or barley, or bar-
ley to oats, and your columns have contained some
inquiries concerning it.

My first experiment was with barley. I select-
ed the seed from a lot where oats were mixed with
it, sowed it in rows in the garden, and had a fine
crop of barley, but not an oat appeared. My
next experiment was with oats. I sowed a strip
about four rods square, and mowed it as directed
in an article which I saw in the Farmer. I also
sowed clover and herdsgrass seed with the oats, both
of which caught well, and finally gave me a fine
crop of grass, but not a spear of rye has showed
itself. I cropt the oats off several times, suppos-
ing that would have an influence to change the
crop, according to the theory of those who state
that^hese grains change from one to the other.

My opinion about this matter is, that if grains
are sown separately, that like will always produce
like.

I had a small parcel of corn in the spring which
was brought from Peru. It has been planted now
nine weeks, in a garden without extra manure,
and it averages five and a half feet in height.

I send you a jar of pickles put up last season ;
they are not quite as good as they would have
been had they not got a little chilled in the cellar
last winter ; but I hope they will prove both ac-
ceptable and palatable. Henry J. DuRGlN.

Shaker Village, N. E., 1860.

Remarks. — The jar was safely received, and its
contpnts pronounced "excellent," by all who test-
'' edthaii.

SLEEP.

There is no fact more clearly established in the
physiology of man than this, that the brain ex-
pends its energies and itself during the hours of
wakefulness, and that these are recuperated dur-
ing sleep ; if the recuperation does not equal the
expenditure, the brain withers — this is insanity.
Thus it is that in early English history, persons
who were condemned to death by being prevented
from sleeping always died raving maniacs ; thus
it is, also, that those who starve to death become
insane ; the brain is not nourished, and they can-
not sleep. The practical inferences are these :
First, Those who think most, who do the most
brain-work, require most sleep. Second : That
time saved from necessary sleep is infallibly de-
structive to mind, body, and estate. Third : Give
yourself, your children, your servants — give all
that are under you, the fullest amount of sleep
they will take, by compelling them to go bed at
some regular early hour, and to rise in the morn-
ing the moment they awake ; and within a fort-
night, nature, with almost the regularity of the
rising sun, will unloose the bonds of sleep the
moment enough repose has been secured for the
wants of the system. This is the only safe and
sufficient rule — and as to the question how much
any one requires, each must be a rule for himself
— great Nature will never fail to write it out to
the observer under the regulations just given. —
Dr. Spicer.

A Word to Mothers. — Consider it your re-
ligious duty to take out-door exercise, Avithout
fail, each day. Sweeping and trotting round the
house will not take its place ; the exhilaration of
the open air and change of scene are absolutely
necessary. O, I know all about "Lucy's gown
that is not finished," and "Tommy's jacket," and
even his coat, his buttonless coat, thrown in your
lap, as if to add the last ounce to the camel's
back ; still I say — up — and out ! Is it not more
important that your children in their tender years
should not be left motherless ? and that they
should not be born to that feeble constitution of
body which will blight every earthly blessing?
Let buttons and strings go ; you will take hold of
them with more vigor and patience, when you do
return, bright and refreshed, and if every stitch is
not finished, at just such a moment, (and it is dis-
couraging not to be able to systematize in your
labor, even with your best efforts,) still remember
that "she who hath done what she could, is enti-
tled to no mean praise. Your husband is un-
doubtedly the "best of men ;" though there are
malicious people who might answer that that is
not saying much for him ! Still, he would never
to the end of time, dream what you were dying of.
So accept my advice and take the matter in hand
yourself. — Fanny Fern.

Camphor is the most powerful agent to drive
away mosquitoes. A camphor bag hung up in an
open casement will prove an effectual barrier to
their entrance. Camphorated spirit applied as a
perfume to the face and hands will act as an ef-
fectual preventive ; but when bitten by them, ar-
omatic vinegar is the best antidote.

440

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

Sept.

DOMESTIC RECEIPTS.

Peach Preserve. — A lady of Philadelphia,
whose peaches keep beautifully and retain much
of their delicious flavor, takes half a pound of su-
gar to each pound of peaches. The sugar is put
into a presorving-kettle, with half a pint of water
to every pound of sugar, heated, and the surface
skimmed. Into this syrup the peaches, after be-
ing pared, are placed, and boiled ten minutes.
The peaches are then put into the cans while hot,
and immediately sealed up.

Cojipote of Peach. — Pare half a dozen ripe
peaches, and stew them very softly from eighteen
to twenty minutes, keeping them often turned in
a light syrup, made with five ounces of sugar and
half a pint of water boiled together for ten min-
utes. Dish the fruit ; reduce the syrup by quick
boiling, pour it over the peaches, and serve them
hot for a second-course dish, or cold, for dessert.
They should be quite ripe, and will be found deli-
cious dressed thus. A little lemon-juice may be
added to the syrup, and the blanched kernels of
two or three peach or apricot stones.

Blackberries. — Preserve these as strawber-
ries or currants, either liquid, or jam, or jelly.
BlackbeiTy jelly or jam is an excellent medicine
in summer complaint or dysentery. To make it,
crush a quart of fully ripe blackberries Avith a
pound of the best loaf sugar ; put it over a gen-
tle fire, and cook it until tiiick ; then put to it a
gill of the best fourth-proof brandy ; stir it for
awhile over the fire, then put it in pots.

Blackberry Syrup. — Make a simple syTup of
a pound of sugar to each pint of water ; next
boil it until it is rich and tliick ; then add to it
as many pints of the expressed juice of ripe black-
berries as there are pounds of sugar ; put half a
nutmeg grated to each quart of the syrup ; let it
boil fifteen or tsventy minutes, then add to it half
a gill of fourth-proof brandy, for each quart of
syrup ; set it by to become cold ; then l^ottle it for
use. A table-spoonful for a child, or a wine-glass
for an adult is a dose.

Blackberry Wine. — The following is said to
be an excellent receipt for the manufacture of su-
perior wine from blackberries ; Measure your ber-
ries and bruise them, to every gallon adding one
quart of boiling water : let the mixture stand
twenty-four hours, stirring occasionally ; then
strain off the liquor into a cask, to every gallon
adding two pounds of sugar ; cork tight and let
stand till the following October, and you will
have wine ready for use, without any further
straining or boiling, that will make lips smack as
they .never smacked under similar influence be-
fore.

Blackberry Cordial. — We avail ourselves of
the kindness of a friend to publish the following
excellent receipt for making cordial. It is recom-
mended as a delightful beverage, and an infallible
specific for diarrhoea or ordinary disease of the
bowels :

Eeceipt. — To half a bushel of blackberries, well
mashed, add a quarter of a pound of allspice, two
ounces of cinnamon, two ounces of cloves ; pul-
verize well, mix and boil slowly until properly
done ; then strain or squeeze the juice through
homespun or flannel, and add to each pint of the

juice one pound of loaf-sugar ; boil again for some
time, take it off, and, while cooling, add half a gal-
lon of best Cognac brandy.

Dose. — For an adult half a gill to a gill ; for a
child, a teaspoonful or more, according to age. —
Godei/'s Lady's Booh.

YOUTH'S DEPARTMENT.

OLD MARCO, THE TAME BEAR.

A nobleman in France had an old bear named
Marco, which he kept in a little cabin built inside
his barn. The winter of 1709 was a very severe
one, and many poor people almost froze to death.
Some peasants were accustomed to come into the
barn to sleep, and among them was a little child,
who, seeing Marco had a snug nest, crept in to
share it with him. Old Bruin was not accustomed
to such liberties taken with his dignity, but he
seemed to take the matter kindly, and instead of
injuring the little intruder, he took him tenderly
between his paws, and hugging him up to his
shaggy breast, kept him warm and comfortable
till morning. It was a nicer bed than he had slept
in for many a night, and Avhen evening came
again he returned to his new lodging, where he
found old iSIarco glad to see him, and again went
to sleep in his great paws. While he slept the
bear never stirred, lest he should disturb him, and
after this, he saved part of his supper for his hun-
gry little friend, who was very thankful to the
kind old bear. The friendship continued till the
little boy's death, when Marco grieved for him a
long time, scarcely taking any food.

The white bear lives in the cold northern re-
gions, where vast numbers of them are found, in
proportion to the other animals of that locality.
They are sometimes found floating on a fragment
of ice a long distance from land ; and then, if the
boat of a poor Grecnlander chances to come quite
near, a bear will sometimes spring into it, and if
the boat is not capsized, he sits down quietly like
any other passenger, and allows himself to be
rowed to land, M'hen he walks off without stopping
to pay his fare.

A little boy three years old was blessed with
a new little sistei*. The day following he was re-
quired to be very still, and the reason given there-
for, that his mother was very weak, and his sister
too. He obeyed the injunction carefully. In4;he
course of the day, some playmates came to the
house ; he rushed to the door, and putting his lit-
tle finger up to check their noise, said, "Be very ,
quiet — I have got a little baby sister, and she is
very weak and tired — for she has walked all the
way from Heaven to-day, and you must not dis-
turb her."

The spaces of the Solar System, or some of
them at least, appear to be thickly peopled with
small planets or asteroids, invisible to the naked
eye or by the ordinary telescope. No less than
forty-seven of these young planets are now known
to exist between Mars and Jupiter, and every few
months we hear of a new discovery. The largest
of them is said to be only forty miles in diameter,
and the smallest only four.

DEVOTED TO ^GRICUTiTUBB AND ITS KIJ^iTORED AB.TS AISTD SCIENCES.

VOL. XII.

BOSTON, OCTOBER, 18G0.

NO. 10.

XOrnSE, EATON & TOL^rAN, Proprietors. ^jT^n-Kr uwowivr TriTTmj FRED'K HOLBROOK, ) Associate

0FfiCE....3i Mebchaxis' Row. SIMON BROWN, EDITOR. HENRY F. FRENCH, 1 Editors.

CAIiENDAK FOR OCTOBER.

"Solemn, yet beautiful to view,

Month of my heart 1 thou dawnest here."

CT OBER IS
again, and

here
now
, we know that Au-
tumn has come in
good earnest. All
through September
there lingered a
memory of Sum-
mer. There were
warm suns, and
balmy airs, and
Ij green leaves, and
we could scarcely
realize that change and
decay were so near. But
with this month of Oc-
tober, there come such de-
cided tokens of another pres-
ence as to dispel all illusions, and we
may as well bid farewell to the warm
precincts of these cheerful days, nor
cast one longing, lingering look be-
hind. The cold, frosty mornings and ever short-
ening twilights are indications which we can-
not mistake. It seems but a few days since
the sun remained above the horizon an hour or
two after our evening meal — since little children
played "I spy," and "ball," out on the green,
till almost nine o'clock, and when the mother's
voice sought to gather the little flock under shel-
ter for the night, they said, "why, mother, it is
red in the west." Then in shaded lanes and qui-
et streets might have been seen the country youth,
his face beaming under his broad-brimmed hat,
sauntering slowly, with a muslin-robed damsel on
his arm<» Pleasant summer rambles, which care-
worn men and women will look back upon with
mournful pleasure some twenty years hence.
But the little children must not play out there

these chill October nights, and it is quite too
cold for romantic evening walks. The listless
saunter is exchanged for a brisker pace, and the
broad-brimmed hat is hung on its peg to await
the coming of another season.

The sad leaves are falling, too. Their gorgeous
colors will soon fade away, and the "evergreen
pine," the hemlock, spruce and firs, will come in-
to repute. Tliey have not made much show among
the elms and maples this summer. But modest
merit is sure to succeed at last, and persistent ef-
fort wins the day.

Yes, the sad leaves are falling, and few are so
thoughtless as to witness their fall without some
mournful, and yet salutary musings. Perhaps you
followed some friend to the grave on an October
day like this, many years ago, and you have never
forgotten how the leaves rustled under your feet
as you moved along toward the old red gate of
your village grave-yard, nor how, as you passed
under the great ti-ee that grew at the entrance,
two or three yellow leaves fluttered slowly down,
and rested on the pall-covered bier. But you
thought it was a more fitting time to restore dust
to dust, than if the world were just blooming into
spring.

But to those who have no special and person-
al associations connected with this season of the
year, it always speaks lessons of earth's changes
and earth's frailty — lessons trite and oft-repeated,
yet ever new and impressive.

"I look to nature, and behold

My life's dim emblems rustling round,
In hues of crimson and of gold —

The year's dead honors on the ground ;
And, sighing with the winds, 1 feel, ,

While their low pinions murmur by.
How much their sweepini? tones reveal

Of life and human destiny."

But Autumn's tones are not au minor. There
are other voices that speak to us, besides those
which tell of decay and death. There is a bracing
atmosphere which brings strength to the enervat-
ed frame, and which makes us feel like walking

442

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

Oct.

erect, as becomes the lords of creation, and tak-
ing in full draughts of the divine elixir.

In the orchard there are red and golden apples,
some of which are ready for immediate disposal,
and some are suggestive of winter evenings,
when we

"gather round the evening fire

And crack stale jests, that never tire."

There are pumpkins, large, round and yellow
as a rising moon, and squashes, which, with their
long crooked necks, look as if a flock of geese
might have lain down among the withered vines
and suddenly become transmuted to gold ! Then
there are rows of turnips, potatoes, cabbages and
other vegetables, of humble pedigree, and of lit-
tle beauty to the eye, but very useful in their day
and generation. As we walk over our acres, and
look at all these things, we have a little private
"Thanksgiving" in our hearts, quite forestalling
the one the Governor is going to appoint for
November.

Out in the woods, there are chestnuts, which
our juvenile friends will not forget if we do, for
"going chestnutting" is one of the events of boy-
life, — and the more delightful, we fear, because
there is just enough of the savor of "stolen wa-
ters" about it to inspire an adventurous boy !

Most of us remember the additional zest given
to a foraging expedition of this kind, when "Old
Brown" or "Old White" came stalking under
his own trees as if he were the thief, and loe lords
of the domain, till he came, as he thought, with-
in collaring distance of some small culprit — but
didn't we dodge him ! Didn't we show him a
clean pair of htels, and then when safely on the
other side of the fence, derisively laugh as he
stood shaking his cane at us in impotent rage,
and vowing vengeance if ever we invaded his pas-
ture again !

It was all very wicked, no doubt, but ever since
the earliest "clearing" was made in this country,
wild nuts and berries have, by tacit consent, been
considered the lawful spoil of the first comer, and
Young America does so hate to part with any in-
herited rights !

Thus have we strung together a few random
thoughts suggested by the season, which we gra-
ciously leave our friends to pursue at their leisure.

If ever we are disposed to grumble at the ap-
proach of winter, let us remember our polar
neighbors with their whale oil blubber, and be
content. Or if, on the other hand, we only look
mournfully back and sigh for the vanished sum-
mer, let us consider that it were wiser to enjoy
the present season as much as possible, because
a much sharper one is at hand.

"So October endeth,
Cold and ruost perverse —
But the months t!i:U fijUnw,
Suie will pinch us worse 1'-

For the New England Farmer.
HAY AND STOCK IN VERMONT.

Mr. Editor : — Although the busy season of
"haying" is not quite over, yet it will not do to
neglect the journals, though I must confess it is
rather dry times. Haying is nearly completed in
this section of country, and the result is, from
two-thirds to three-fourths of the usual quantity.
The same bulk of hay is much heavier than last
year's growth. Wheat never looked better, and is
nearly ripe. Potatoes, ditto. Oats tolerable. Corn
first-rate, stalks bulky, and earing thick. We had
a "killing frost" the 27th of July, (if I mistake
not the date,") on some very low grounds, and a
very light one the morning of the 24th ult.

There are many wonders now-a-days for the
marvellous, and among others was the "meteor",
which was truly a splendid sight. Then there has
appeared lately, a fiery red star, in the south-east.

It is no doubt the evening star, but the story is
circulated quite freely hereabouts, and is believed
by the credulous, that it is a "fire balloon," sent
up from the top of Moosehillock mountain, as it
appears before dark, and is very bright But the
most splendid, and surprising sight I ever saw,
was witnessed on the evening of the 4th inst. It
was a rainbow by moonlight. As the moon was
just rising, the bow was nearly a half-circle. The
colors were discernible, but not quite so bright as
in the daytime ; it lasted about fifteen minutes.

No doubt the speculating drovers will find it
out soon enough without telling them of the fact,
i. e., that many of the farmers in this section will
be obliged to sell off', or kill many of their cattle
and horses. ISIany a poor man is trimming up the
road-sides and wet pastures, to get something to
keep a cow on, but many will be entirely without
hay when fodderhig time comes.

Now we want you to give us a little advice.
Hay is now worth twelve dollars a ton, and very
little to be brought at any price ; will it pay to
winter a cow, that usually would bring $10 or
.$12, or a horse, that in times of hay, would bring
S2.5 or $30 ? Will stock of any kind bring enough
more next spring to pay ? Our market for stores
has usually been southern New Hampshire, and
Massachusetts. 1 suppose it is useless to expect
any such market this year. T. P. Bailey.

Nen-bury, Yt., August 7, I860.

Remarks. — The above communication has been
inadvertently delayed. We hear of no special de-
preciation in stock that has not existed for some
months past. The true policy is, we think, to
winter all the stock you can, and feed it well,
rather than to sell what hay you have, because if
you cut off" the stock, you cut off" the means of se-
curing future crops. There will be a demand for
a great deal of good beef, before the disease will
show itself much, if, unhappily, it comes at all.

The Birds of New England. — The attention
of the reader is called to a highly interesflng and
instructive article in another column, upon this
subject, the first of a series of numbers from our
accomplished correspondent, "J. A. A."

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

443

AMERICAN" AGRICULTURAL IMPLE-
MENTS.

The leading editorial article of the Mark Lane
Express, an agricultural ])a]ier printed in London,
of Oct. 31, 1S59, is based on a fact that maj' well
flatter American vanitj' as much as it seems to
wound English {iride.

The article commences with a eulogy on the
commercial enterprise of the English people, which
introduces a very flattering notice of the energy
of British farmers. The writer congratulates the
agriculturist that he is assuming to himself more
and more of the national character. Like the
merchant, the British farmer, when his own mar-
ket gets a little dull or overdone, looks out for
another ; and just now is especially intent on
making the most of every opportunity and of ev-
ery available offer. Nor does he look in vain for
new markets and new customers. "Brother Jon-
athan and his first cousin in the colonies," says
the editor of the Express, "will buy his Short-
horns and Herefords at their hundreds or thous-
ands each. The Emperor of the French will give,
we hai-dly dare say how much a pound for his South
Down mutton, and Yorkshire men have audience
with the crowned heads of other countries by the
favor of a Cleveland stallion, or a famous char-
ger. The Esterhazys, and such leviathan culti-
vators of the Continent, have become accredited
purchasers of our prize implements ; while Boy-
dell's traction-engine winds its way through the
sugar fields of Cuba ; and Crosskill's clod-crusher
is in work on the plains of Athens."

Leaving these and many similar statements, so
agreeable to the taste and feelings of English
readers, to make their appropriate impression, the
writer changes the subject and the scene.

It is in the middle of October, 1859, and the
Agricultural Society of the Cape of Good Hope,
iu Africa, is holding its annual exhibition at Cape
Town. As with us, it is a show of both stock
and implements, — imported cattle and sheep, val-
ued at upwards of five thousand dollars, being
entered. The display of machinery is still more
imposing, and estimated at four times the value
of the beasts. That is to say, there are some
twenty thousand dollars' worth of implements on
the ground for the Cape farmers to pick and
choose from. Among these there are no less than
furtij-two varieties of plows. The editor of the
Express is not present ; but, seated in his office
in London, he writes as follows :

"We might even go so far as to imagine that
Mr. Sutton, Mr. Barrett and Mr. Cole were on
the scene, politely distributing their catalogues,
and descanting on the premiums they had taken,
and the wonders they had done. Alas ! however,
it is too well known that some of the finest flights
of our ])oets, and some of the gr::ndc'st efforts of
our artists, have been to dopict tlieir heroes in

actions that they really never took apart in. And
so would it be with our ]5a^an over what Granthan,
Ijiswich or Bedford did at the Cape Town plow-
ing-match — for there was not one of them there.
Of these forty-two varieties of plows for the En-
glish colonists to purchase, every one of them was
of American manufacture."

He also asserts that, not only was there no Eng-
lish plow on the ground, but in the whole twenty
thousand dollars' worth of machinery, there was
scarcely anything whatever of English make.

After noticing the declaration of some Ameri-
can, that better Shorthorns will be soon grown
in the United States than in England, alluding to
the fact that a colt brought over by Mr. Ten Broeck
is "the first favorite for the Derby at this very
time," and confessing that "in some descriptions
of machinery wc only follow their lead, and the
best of our reapers and mowers are either invent-
ed or improved upon by Americans," the editor
concludes his article with the remark : "We are
unwilling to see ourselves 'cut out' in any quar-
ter, but more especially among our own kith and
kin."

It is a seasonable moment to introduce this
subject, just as our favorite Mechanics' Fair is
about to hold its Ninth Exhibition. We hope
it may be the means of calling out every variety
of implement and machinery used upon the farm,
and that the farmers, with some portion of their
families, from every part of New England, will
visit the renowned Faneuil and Quincy Hairs-.on
this occasion. It may be made a holiday turned
to pecuniary account.

LONG ISLAND LANDS.

We have before us a very interesting pamphlet
upon "The Plains of Long Island, N. F.," by
WiNSLOW C. Watson, Esq., of Essex county, N.
Y. From this pamphlet it appears that Mr. Wat-
son has given those lands a close investigation,
and his researches show them to be of a highly
valuable character. He says, "I found it to be
the general impression with intelligent men, that
the farmers of Long Island enjoy, on account of
the mild temperature of the climate, an average
of about forty working days in the year more than
those above the Highlands. * * It seems to he
admitted that the island rarely suffers from
drought. The sea air, always charged with mois-
ture, constantly refreshes vegetation."

Mr. Watson speaks of the qualities of soil, cost
of clearing, value of crops, &c., and shows that
when a fair degree of intelligence and skill is ex-
pended upon them, they v^all return the most re-
munerating crops. The lands are certainly in the
midst of the best markets in the world, with evei y
cheap facility for getting their products to tl «
cjusumer.

444

NEAV ENGLAND FARMER.

Oct.

For the New England Farmer.
JERSEYS AND AYRSHIRES.

I notice in the Boston Cultivator, of the 11th of
August, an article of great interest to our farm-
ers, on the "trial of Ayrshire cows" made in Scot-
land, in consequence of a prize offered by the
Duke of Athol, for the cow which should give the
largest quantity of milk in five days. Twelve cows
Avere offei-ed for premium, and the results of the
four best are given, as well as the richness of the
milk as tested by the lactometer.

If I am right in my figures, the four cows pro-
duced an average of one hundred and ninety-two
pounds of milk in one day, and the average of the
richness of the cream is twelve per cent. This is
certainly a large yield, but the richness of the
milk is not as great as I should have expected. I
own four, and but four pure bred Jersey cows,
and their milk is carefully and separately weighed
at each milking, and tested by lactometers, hold-
ing a pint each, once during every month. I have
taken at hap hazard a day's milking, the last that
has been entered, from the slate, July 31. I find
on that day that they gave but seventy-seven
pounds of milk, against one hundred and ninety-
two pounds given by the Avrshire cows, but the
average richness of the milk was twenty-one per
cent., against twelve per cent, by the Ayrshires,
tested by the lactometer. My Jerseys giving but
seventy-seven pounds of milk, made over sixteen
pounds of cream, while the Ayrshire?, giving one
hundred and ninety-two pounds of milk, made
but twenty-two pounds of cream.

It must be recollected in comparing the quantity
of milk, that we are in ignorance as to the mode
in w'hich the Ayrshires were fed — we only know
that they were all kept up and treated together —
nor do we know their condition as to the time of
calving ; but this we do know, that they were the
four best out of probably the twelve best cows in
the AjTshire district where the trial took place.
My Jerseys are not probably more than average
specimens of their size, and have no grain, shorts
or oil cake, feeding upon a rough, coarse pasture,
and only now getting in addition to their pasture,
the thinnings from my roots night and morning,
in very small quantity. One of thcra is but two
years old last winter, and dropped her first calf in
April, and another calves early in October. All
these considerations must be taken into account,
in making any comparison, and if they are fairly
weighed, it will, I think, satisfy almost any one
that the old idea that Jerseys are poor milkers
does not apply to them at the present time ; the
superior richness of their milk over all other
breeds has never been disputed.

Now, Mr. Editor, I am not a rich, or a great
man, like the Duke of Athol, but I will place in
your hands fifty dollars, equal in value to the
prize off'ered by the Duke, to be given to the own-
er of a pure bred Jersey cow which shall give the
greatest quantity of milk in five consecutive days
in the same month and days of the month on
which the Ayrshii-e trial was made, the richness
of the milk to be tested by the same sized and
proportioned lactometer, provided you will un-
dertake the task of seeing that the trial is accu-
rately and fairly made, and provided twelve con-
testants can be found, willing to take a little pains
for the purpose of ascertaining the maximum

product of milk that a good Jersey cow will pro-
duce. I do not think it necessary the cows should
be kept together, though it would be better that
they should be treated alike. If kept separately,
an accurate account should be given of the meth-
od of feeding, &c. Essex.

Remarks. — The time when the trial of Ayr-
shire cows spoken of took place, was last April,
so that if any trial is desired here, there will be
ample time before that month comes round again
to make any necessary arrangements. The liber-
al proposition of our respected correspondent is in
keeping with his constant and well-directed zeal
in the cause. It will give us pleasure to second
his eff'orts by any means in our power.

For the Neic England Farmer.

SUPERPHOSPHATE OF LIME IW CORIf
HILLS.

Compost of Superphosphate and Muck — A fine field of Corn —
Improvement of a tract of worn-out "plain land" — Benefits
of deep plowing and high manuring.

I have to-day been looking at two or three corn-
fields which are worthy of notice. My neighbor,
R. Bradley, Esq., has a field of eight or nine acres
of corn, on which he is trying an interesting ex-
periment in the use of superphosphate of lime.
The land having been for several years in grassj
the sod had become too closely boimd to produce
well ; and although it Avas not convenient to ma-
nure the land much this year, yet it was deemec?
expedient to plow it up and cultivate it in corn,
preparatory to giving it a heavy dressing of ma-
nure next year. The field was broken up in No-
vember last, eight to nine inches deep, and in
May last harrowed, then marked out in rows three
and a half feet apart each way, a tablespoonful of
superphosphate dropped in each hill, and the piece
planted with corn, covering the superphosphate
an inch deep with earth before dropping the corn.
In one row, however, reaching through the mid-
dle of the field, a compost of superphosphate and
muck was used, putting about a pint of muck and
a tablespoonful of superphosphate in each hill.
The compost was made up several days prior to
use, so as to allow the strength of the superphos-
phate to become difi'used through, and thoroughly
absorbed by the muck.

I have been several times to see this row of
corn, before to-day, that I might, at different
stages of its growth, observe the effects of the
mixture used in the hills. The corn in this row
came up more evenly and vigorously than that in
any other row in the field, and has maintained a
superiority over the rest in color and size, at all
times so apparent to the eye, that the row could
at once be picked out. Not only is the growth of
corn greater in this rov/ than in the other rows,
but the stalks are also more fully set with ears,
and those larger than elsewhere in the field.

Where superphosphate is dropped raw into the
hills, and comes in near contact with the corn, it
is apt to eat off the young tender roots, and keep
the corn back awhile, or until the earth has in a
measure absorbed its strength, and thus more or
less of the crop is retarded at a time when it

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FARMEE.

445

ought to be coming forward rapidly. But by com
posting the super[)hosphate with muck, it is so
diffused and absorbed by the muck that the com-
post is in a state to nourish the tender roots at
once, and send the plant forward with a rapid and
healthy growth, giving it a remarkably deep green
color. Then, too, the muck is sweetened and mod-
ified by the superphosphate, and furnishes a little
fine vegetable food to nourish the corn in the fore
part of the season, as well as makes a little mel-
low place for the roots to expand in. I can have
no doubt, after what I have observed this year and
last, but what if superphosphate is to be used in
the hill for corn, it will pay well to mix it with
old dry pulverized muck, in such proportions as
to allow about a tablespoonful of superphosphate
■with about a pint of muck to each hill. The com-
post should be made a week or two previous to
use, mixing it in a shed, or the barn floor, aiid
keeping it under cover till used, and freeing the
muck from lumps, sticks, &c., before mixing. If
muck is not conveniently to be had, rich loam, or
fine rotten mould from the woods, may be used
with good effect.

Four or five years ago, Mr. Bradley purchased
3. tract of thirty or forty acres of old worn-out
"plain land," and has from year to year since been
bringing it, say eight or ten acres each year, into
high cultivation. This year, he is redeeming the
last portion of it, about two acres, from its sterile
state, and has it in two fields of perhaps the very
largest and best corn I have anywhere seen this
season. The surface-soil of this plain had been
quite exhausted by a long course of shallow plov/-
ing and close cropping with winter rye, as fre-
quently repeated as the land would bear six or
eight bushels of grain per acre. The soil had been
so skinned to the depth of four or five inches, that
ten acres of it would not support one cow decent-
ly through the summer — indeed, there was noth-
ing of any value growing on it, after about the
middle of July each year. The growth last year on
the land which is now covered with such stout
corn, was occasional sweet-ferns, mulleins, shrub
pines, with here and there a few feeble poverty-
stricken grasses.

This tract of land has however one important
redeeming quality. Underlying the shallow-plowed
and worn-out surface, there comes a fine-grained,
salvy, unctuous subsoil, in texture between a
sandy and * clay loam, which, when brought to
the surface by deep plowing, exposed to atmo-
spheric influence and mingled with compost ma-
nure, becomes a very active and desirable soil for
tillage purposes, one which stands dry weather
well, and does not bake or become hard and crust-
ed over in a wet season. When first brought to
the surface, it is of a pale yellow color, but by ex-
posure to the air and to cultivation, soon changes
to a good deep brown. The unctuous quality of
this subsoil, as it is taken in hand and worked by
one's fingers, does not exist in the surface-soil ;
that is gritty, and crumbles in loose particles ;
while the subsoil is soft and waxy. Mr. Bradley
early determined that his best chances for speedi-
ly converting this tract into productive tillage
land, lay in bringing up and cultivating the sub-
soil ; and accordingly each portion of the plain
when taken in hand for tillage, has been plowed
deep at once.

In November last, the portions now in corn

were plowed with the sod and subsoil plow, ten
to twelve inches deep. In May last, the plowed
land was manured with forty ox-cart loads of com-
post to each acre, about thirty-five bushels to each
load, made of about equal parts each of muck and
stable manure. The compost was plowed in, four
to five inches deep, with a light, sharp plow,
guaged to the proper depth by a roller on the
beam. The manure was thus placed where the
mellow soil closed all around it, absorbing and
holding its goodness, and yet keeping it near
enough to the atmosphere to undergo a speedy
and fertilizing decomposition, and where it is
readily available to the growing crop in all stages
of its progress.

After plowing in the manure, the field was light-
ly harrowed, then marked off each way in rows
three and a half feet apart, a tablespoonful of su-
perphosphate was dropped in each hill, and the
corn planted, covering the superphosphate well
with earth before dropping the seed. The corn
came up well, and has been twice hoed, using the
cultivator each way between the rows, at each
hoeing. The corn at this time is of vei-y large
growth and splendid color, the great lusty ears
standing out in every direction, presenting a
striking contrast with the vegetation standing on
the same land one year ago — indeed, one wonders
at the change, as he realizes how great it is, and
he is struck with what the art of man can do in
the improvement of land, when rightly directed.
The present crop of corn — accidents before har-
vest excepted — will fully pay every expense that
has been laid out on the land on which it stands,
leaving a greatly improved field, for the produc-
tion of good crops for several years to come.

The other portions of this tract of land have
been treated in precisely the same way as that
above described, so that now the whole has been
brought from a sterile, unsightly barren, to hand-
some, smiling fields of grain and grass. The first
portion, deeply plowed, highly manured, and
planted with corn three years ago, is now in mow-
ing, producing a good quality and quantity of
grass. The next portion, in corn last year, was
sown with oats, and stocked to grass this season.
The men are now harvesting the oats, and the
crop is very stout, and the catch of grass perfect
— showing the excellent qualities of this upturned
and cultivated subsoil for resisting drought and
taking grass kindly ; for at sowing-time, we had
hereabouts very dry weather, which lasted well
into June. Preparatory to sowing the oats, the
land was plowed one or two inches deepet than
when the manure was plowed in last year for corn,
so as to bring the manure within immediate reach
of the roots of the oats and young grass, and yet
a litsle below the surface, to keep it from drying.
Probably two tons of hay per acre will be cut
next year on the land that produced oats this
year.

It appears to me that the improvements effect-
ed on 'Mr. Bradley's old worn-out plain, are a sat-
isfactory demonstration of the advantages of deep
plowing, accompanied with high manuring, where-
ever there is a good subsoil to operate on. As I
have remarked in former communications to the
Farmer, many of the fields in the older settled
districts of New England have a compact, fine-
grained and fertile subsoil, but wholly or mostly
unavailable to the crop,s, because, by a coui'se of

446

NEW ENGLAND FAllMER.

Oct.

invariably shallow plowing, an artificial hard pan
has been formed within four to six inches of the
surface, through which the roots of the crops sel-
dom or never penetrate. By at once breaking
through this crust, bringing up the subsoil, and
exposing it to the atmosphere and to high cultiva-
tion, a remarkable freshness, mellowness and vig-
or is given to the land, the labor of the after-cul-
tivation is much lessened, the soil, thus deepened
and improved in mechanical texture, better re-
sists the effects of extreme drought or moisture,
the roots of vegetation having an enlarged range
for food, moisture, &c., the crops are thereby in-
creased, and when the land is again laid down to
grass, the sod does not quickly become bound, be-
cause the roots, having a deep range, do not so
soon web themselves together near the surface.
The writer has seen some fine illustrations ot the
advantages of this kind of cultivation, several of
which he has heretofore described in the Farmer,
and about others of which he will have something
to say hereafter. Notwithstanding that "tradition"
is against him, he will not let the subject rest.

F. HOLBROOK.

Brattleboro', August 10, 1860.

VAIiUE OF TAWNER'S BARK.

Seeking shelter from "a gust," the other day,
we entered the new and fine barn of Mr. Albert
Gates, of Stow, Mass., and after getting away
from the wind and rain, which were becoming a
little furious, about the first thing we noticed,
was, that the leanto floors were sprinkled with
dry tanner's bark, and that an ample quantity of
it was conveniently stored up for daily use. Mr.
Gates said, "most people look upon it as value-
less, that it possesses no fertilizing properties
whatever, and that the value of its mechanical in-
fluences upon the soil Avill not pay the cost of
carting and apjilication : but he thought differ-
ently. He had used it on sandy and gravelly lands
with good efl"ect, and he liked it on his leanto
floors in the summer."

Though possessing some qualities capable of
rendering it highly efficient when appropriated to
purposes of enrichment, this article is yet rarely
applied in this country as a stimulant to growing
cropsl Large accumulations of spent bark may
be seen in the vicinity of most of our tanneries,
where it might be obtained in any desirable quan-
tities, and at a very low cost.

The following remarks, which we copy from the
Mark Lane Express, (English,) relative to the
value of this agent, are deserving of some regard :

"New Manure. — Immediately adjoining the
farm I occupy, is a tan-yard, with about twenty
acres of poor clay land attached ; it is so situated
that I can, from my own fields, survey the whole
at a single glance. A few years since I observed,
in the middle of one of the fields a small piece
which was at the time tilled to wheat, and look-
ing very luxuriant ; knowing that no manure heap
had been placed there, J went to examine the

cause, Avhen the tanner, who is an experimental
farmer on a small scale, informed me that he had
taken from the yard, four or five barrels of waste
hair, and spread it upon this sjjot of about two
yards. He has likewise turned to account the
rotten tan from the yard by placing it thick in the
orchards, and seldom fails of a good crop of ap-
ples ; the trees look very healthy, and throw their
shoots very strong ; he is now drawing the waste
tan on the roads to be trodden up, preparatory to
its being used as a manui'e for land."

The author of the foregoing is Mr. DoBLE, an
English gentleman, distinguished alike for his
high scientific attainments, and his warm attach-
ment to the farming art, which he has indefatiga-
bly labored to improve.

Where pure tanner's bark is used as a manuri-
al application, it should be mixed with a consid-
erable quantity of lime in a caustic state, and
permitted to remain some time to rot, before be-
ing spread. In the foregoing case, the tan bark
was doubtless oak bark — the English tanners em-
ploying that article, exclusively, in the prepara-
tion of their leather for the market. By mixing
the refuse of the tan-yard with mould, muck,
lime, crude ashes, &c., and composting it, — tak-
ing care in all cases that the quantity of caustic
lime, or unspent ashes be sufficient to destroy
the remains of the tannin in the bark, it may, no
doubt, be made to contribute essentially to the
fertility of any soil to which it may be applied.

In the centre of one of the pleasant villages of
New Hampshire, there is a piece of land that was
several years ago a mere tract of sand, that had
never been known to produce any green thing
upon it save here and there a half-starved running
blackberry vine, or a stunted product of some
hardy weeds. This land is now said to be the
most pi'oductive piece of land in town. The own-
er informed us that he brought it to its present
state of fertility mainly by the use of spent tan
— that he applied it plentifully at first, and plowed
it under ten inches deep, added a little manure
and planted the land. This course he continued
for several years, encouraged annually by the in-
creasing crops, until he brought the whole field
to its present high state of fertility.

In many of our New England towns there are
large quantities of this material which may be
had at trifling cost, and the success of this exper-
iment may encourage others to make trial for
themselves.

1^° The Country Oentleman says : We are in-
formed that the amount of butter sent from the
Greenfield station to Boston, for the year ending
July 1"), 1860, reached a total of 201,576 lbs.,
100 1576-2000 tuns. The number of cars of stock
sent to Cambridge during the year was 242 ; of
which 142 were sheep, averaging 12,780 sheep;
100 were cattle, averaging 1500 cattle ; total,
14,280.

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FARISIER.

447

For the Neie England Farmer.
^WOMEINT AND FARMING.

Messrs. Editors : — I notice that one or two
farmers' wives have made an etibrt at being heard
through the columns of your paper, and if you will
allow a farmer's daughter a similar honor, she will
be much pleased. It is a well established fact,
though not often discussed, that farmers' wives
are the most hard-working class of ladies in exis-
tence, for the reason that they are actually com-
pelled to be thus. We would ask if farming can-
not be made sufficiently profitable to relieve every
housewife of that amount of extra care and labor
which she endures beyond what her physical
strength is really capable of enduring ? if not,
young ladies have a reasonable excuse for not
choosing farmers for husbands. Not that we
would in the least depreciate so noble an employ-
ment, but would awaken the sympathy of the
"lords of creation" for those wives and mothers
who are compelled to bear up so bravely under
ceaseless toil ; whose vigils are disturbed only by
the sonorous slumber of their husbands or the
care of infancy ; whose knowledge is rarely in-
creased by time for reading and study, and whose
ideas of human nature and the world are lim-
ited to their own native village.

I would refer to a young lady, a farmer's daugh-
ter, whose nature seems averse to the life she leads.
She possesses more than an ordinary thirst for
education, but alas, the profits of the farm are not
sufficient to furnish means to expand the bright
germs of intellect. She is excessively fond of mu-
sic too, and can say,

"Music, 0, how faint, how weal£,

Limgiiage fades before thy spell ;
Why shoulJ feeling ever speak,

When thou canst breathe her soul so well?"

Yet when she suggests the propriety of a piano,
father says, "The washboard must be your piano,
for I have not the means." It may be said the
shrewd can have means, but 'tis not always true
of the farmer, and I would ask, should this young
lady marry a farmer, or not ?

Permit the farmer's wife to labor reasonably,
provide her with books, pictures, music, and such
things as accord with her taste and nature, and I
venture to say she will be the most happy and
honored among women, and truly adapted to her
station, as mother and teacher. She can under-
stand the teachings of nature, she can appi-eciate
the loveliness of Spring, the fragrance of Summer,
the rich harvest of Autumn, and the sublimity of
Winter's storm. And with the farmer's wife thus
educated, could we not hope for the elevation of
a future generation ? Why will not mankind see
to it, and if possible render farming profitable as
well as pleasant, and the farmer's wife educated
and useful. No class of ladies can be better sit-
uated to embrace life truly, or develop refinement
and genius, than the farmer's wife, if she can be
allowed sufficient time and means.

A Farmer's Daughter.

Etifield Centre, N. H., 1860.

Remarks. — If "A Farmer's Daughter" who
writes us, has been a mechanic's wife, or has lived
for a series of years in the family of a mechanic,
we will confess that she is qualified to judge

whether "farmers' wives are the most hard-working
class of ladies in existence," or not. We think
she is in an error, while we think at the same
time, that the wives of most farmers do work too
hard. The piano and* pictures, and many other
articles of taste and luxury, are already on a good
many farms, and are still finding their way there
every day.

Does no mechanic ever say to his daughter, —
"the wash-board must be your piano, for I have
no means" to furnish any other ? And are all
professional men exempt from the necessity of
such a reply — the clergyman, lawyer, physician,
judge, artist and literary man ?

It would be scarcely gallant for us to pronounce
upon the fate of the young lady you introduce. We
can only say that if she were our daughter, or sis-
ter, we should prefer her marriage to a farmer,
rather than to a fourth-rate lawyer, or a doctor
starving in his circuit of thirty or forty miles per
day.

It is an evidence of intellect and power to rise
above what are called adverse circumstances, to
put them under our feet, and acquire those posi-
tions or things which we desire by a well-directed
and indomitable will. All will not succeed, but
many will.

IMPORTANT DATES.

The following will refresh the minds of our
readers as to the dates of the most important in-
ventions, discoveries and improvements, the ad-
vantages of which we now enjoy :

Violins invented, 1477.

Pumps invented, 1425.

Paper first made of rags, 1417.

Almanacs first published, 1470.

Spinning wheels invented, 1330.

Spinning jenny invented, 1759.

Camera Obscura invented, 1515.

Printing invented by Faust, 1441.

Engraving on wood invented, 1460.

Roses first planted in England, 1505.

English shilling first coined, 1505.

Diamonds Cut and polished, 1489.

Punctuation first used in literature, 1520.

Gun locks invented at Nuremberg, 1517.

Watches first made at Nuremburg, 1504.

Soap first made at London and Bristol, 1504.

Theatrical exhibitions first given in England,
1378.

Muskets invented and first used in England,
1421.

Post offices established in England, 1464.

Printing introduced into England by Caxton,
1474.

Maps and charts first brought to England,
1489.

Fortifications built in the present style, 1500.

Sugar refining first practiced by the Venitians,
1503. — Wisconsin Farmer.

He that would know what life is must have its
trials as well as its joys.

448

NEW ENGLAND FAfi:MER.

Oct.

THE COMMOlSr, OR SMOOTH, SUMAC.

This shrub, or sometimes
small tree, is occasionally in-
troduced into the grounds
about dwellings, and whero
it has plenty of room to
branch out, forms a fine con-
trast with other shrubbery and
trees. It branches yery ir-
regularly, which leaves an
open head, so that other plants
are readily seen through it. It
flowers in June, and its berries
are matured in September or
early October, and may be
found all over the eastern slope
of the Union. Whether it is
common in the West, or not,
we have never learned.

A vigorous plant, and one
that has fully fruited presents
a very pleasant appearance,
after its berries have assumed
their autumnal purple hue.

The berries are used in coloring
are a somewhat important article in commerce
We are not aware that it is injurious to the far-
mer, otherwise than, as it is a hardy plant, it
propagates itself rapidly when left unmolested.

morocco, and

For the Netv England Farmer.
CROPS TN IOWA.

Not until to-day has our crop of wheat been
really secure, though we have seen reports to that
effect, in the Eastern papers, for weeks. Two days
ago, nearly one-half the wheat in Cedar, and ma-
ny other counties of Iowa, was un stacked, with
frequent showers and a very warm and sultry at-
mosphere, which, had it continued a short time
longer, would have essentially damaged a large
amount of our ample, excellent, and now secure
crop. The late showers have put the corn and
potatoes out of danger from drought, and our
prospects for unprecedented harvest are very flat-
tering.

I have frequently, and honestly, written discour-
aging letters about the West. I can now, as
honestly, write one of a different tone. Indeed, I
might almost rc])eat what I wrote some four or
five vears ago, about a certain "farm in Iowa,"

be Dought in Cedar Co. for $5 an acre ; and cer-
tainly that can be paid for in one year, like the
present. And there is my friend McNeil, "the
bee man," (one of your subscribers,) rather badly
in a year ago ; but this year making honey and
money, at the same time, at a rate that will clear
him up, if no unusual disaster occurs, in another
year. With Langstroth's hive, and a perfect pe/i-
chant for bees and their work, he is like David
"as a Avonder unto many." In fact, it seems to
run in the blood, for a bee seldom stings either
him or his children, though they are among them
all the day. And if a unamiable "worker" hap-
])ens to light on the baby, as one did yesterday,
it hardly hurts him enough to make him cry.

On the whole, we can now venture to invite
our Eastern friends to come to see us, and buy a
hit of land, which is as cheap as it ever can be,
and as anybody ought to desire. M. K. C.

Tipton, Iowa, Aug. 10, 1860.

Impoktation of Stingless Bees. — Our old
friend, A. O. MoORE, Esq., who has done a world
of good by his agricultural publications, and who
went to Central America last year on account of

his health, has just returned from Guatemala, and
which coct the owner .$S an acre, and which he ! has brought with him two swarms of the stingless
proposedjo nearly^payfor, with the first crop of bees common to that country, which he has giv-

whcat. Why not ? Figures, properly used, Avill
not lie.

Here is my neighbor Starr, for instance, with
2.5 bushels of wheat to the acre, on land broken
for the first time last year. At 75 cents per bush-
el, the current price at Muscatine and Davenport,
that would be .518,75 per acre. Allowing one-
half for cost of raising and harvesting, and we
shall have left $9,37^ per acre.

But, just as good land as his or mine, can now

en in charge of Mr. Parsons, of Flushing, who
will propagate them for the Agricultural Depart-
ment of the Patent Ofl[ice, which Avill in due time
distribute them, if it is found that they can be
kept in any part of the United States.

Satan is on the tongue of him who slanders,
and in the ear of him who listens.

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

449

For the New England Farmer,

INFOBMATION" ABOUT "WINTER
WHEAT.

Mr. Editor : — I seem already to have been
anticipated in ray inquiries in part, on the sub-
ject of wheat-growing, by your intelligent corres-
pondents, "P." and "R. B. H."

It is well known to you and your numerous
readers that I have been for the past fourteen
years a zealous, and by some thought a fanatical
advocate for wheat-growing in your midst. In
my early attempts, which were eminently success-
ful, an open iniluence was brought to bear preju-
dicially by a popular agricultural journal, which
doubtless palsied the energies of many who were
ready to move. But the thing now is a well de-
veloped, well established fact, and should deeply
interest every New England man that tills the soil.

Your welcome correspondent, "R. B. H.," truth-
fully says, "By the Avay, wheat is becoming a sta-
ple in this region." "P." briefly says to the point,
"Wheat will grow in Massachusetts as well as
elsewhere."

Most heartily do I confirm both statements by
an experience of six consecutive years with win-
ter wheat, (a much safer crop than spring,) in the
good old town of Andover, giving me an average
of twenty-five bushels to the acre for the Avhole
terra. This story has been so many times told to
your i-eaders, they may look upon it as a familiar
tale, but I beg to say, it would be a profitable cat-
echism to remember and put in practice, the last
of this, or the first of next month.

Never have I despaired since the commence-
ment of my own experience, that New England
would, in due time, raise all the wheat necessary
for her rural population, and more or less for her
seaboard and inland cities.

Fifty times repeated have I said, no grain
crops will produce half the money per acre with
wheat. A trial will prove it.

The mowing patches, alluded to in my last, not
yielding over one-half to three-fourths of a ton of
hay per acre, well manured, vi^ould yield 2.3 to 30
bushels of wheat, or lo to 20 bushels without it.
Now in the coming season of leisure, how quick,
cheap and easy a few acres of wheat can be made
for next year. Your hay on this laud would be
worth $3 to $7. The lowest calculation — say 15
bushels wheat, worth $30, and the straw in mar-
ket is worth more than the hay. Your wheat is
clear gain. Facts are stubborn things, Mr. Far-
mer. Is it not an object to try it ? Sod land is
best for winter wheat. H. Poor.

Brooklyn, L. I., Aug., 1860.

The Haw of the Horse's Eye. — A corres-
pondent of the New Y'ork Commercial Advertiser
communicates the following description of this
membrane from Sir G. Stephen's adventures in
search of a horse :

"There is another variation between the horse's
and the human eye, of a very important and pecu-
liar character. At the inner angle of the eye is a
dark membrane that, apparently at the i^leasure of
the animal, is shot rapidly over the eye lilce a veil ;
it is instantly withdrawn, and in its rapid transit
cleans the eyeball of dust or foreign particles that
may have accidentally lodged upon it. This mem-

brane is called the hav: It is not muscular, but
Its action is curiously explained ; it is projected
from its place by the compression, or rather de-
pression of the eyeball into the socket, occasioned
by the retractor muscle. When the eye is de-
pressed by the play of this muscle, the elasticity
of the fatty substance behind the eyeball causes
the haw to extend itself from the corner of the eye,
over the visible surface; when the retractor mus-
cle ceases to act, the eyeball resumes its ursual po-
sition, the fat returns to its place behind, and the
haw returns to the socket from which it lias been
momentarily pushed forward.

For the Nctc England Farmer.
THE BIRDS OF BTEW EWGLAlKrD— KTo. 1,

Upon commencing a series of articles upon the
Birds of New England, it may be well, in the way
of a few introductory remarks, to present some
general observations upon that class of beings
called birds ; and more particularly upon their
classification by naturalists, and the terms em-
ployed to designate the different groups, with
which the general reader may hardly be supposed
to be familiar.

Birds are regai'ded as holding the second rank
in the scale of animated nature, in point of in-
telligence and perfection of form, regarding man
as the type ; and though falling below quadrupeds,
yet far surpass fishes, and the other lower classes
of animals, both in sagacity and perfection of
structure. As a class they are strongly marked,
and widely separated from all the others. Their
whole form adapts them eminently for flight in
the yielding air ; and though difi'ering greatly
among the different orders, are yet connected, in
many instances, by almost im])erceptible grada-
tions, so that from the powerful, soaring eagle to
the swimming and wading water fowl, or to the
little, harmless wron, there is no sudden transi-
tion ; and, indeed, it often happens that there is
so much alliance between the different species of
some groups, that they are only distinguished by
close comparisons.

Birds are chiefly distinguished from the other
warm-blooded, vertebrated animals, by their ovi-
parous generation, in being clothed with feath-
ers, and having the anterior members modified
into wings, or organs of flight, and are the only
animals possessed of true flight, save the bats,
that have an internal skeleton. Their whole body
is light, the bones hollow, and their general form
is well adapted to cleaving the air. There are
birds, however, whose wings are too small to sup-
port them in the air, but assist them in running,
as in the ostrich, or in diving and swimming, as
in the auks and penguins. The lungs of birds
are very extensive, and their respiration is very
perfect; their blood is found to be 12° to 16°
warmer than that of other warm-blooded animals.
The organs of the senses are similar in birds to
those of mammalia; the sight, however, is de-
veloped in a remarkable degree, and the eye pos-
sesses great powers of accommodation to dif-
ferent distances. "Birds perceive even small ob-
jects distinctly, at distances at Avhich they v,-ould
be quite indistinguishable to the human eye, and
are thus enabled to seek their food. Birds of prey
also appear to possess in great perfoetion the sense

450

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

Oct.

of smell ;" but touch and taste are not much de-
veloped, save the latter to some extent among
the parryt tribe. Hearing, however, is exquisite
among the owls, and many nocturnal water birds.

The number of species of birds now existing,
is variously estimated at from 5000 to 8000 ; and
among this multitude, possessing widely different
habits, and inhabiting various situations, we may
look for modifications of their members, adapting
them for these varied situations and circumstan-
ces. And upon these raodificatious are based the
natural division of birds into orders, families, and
genera, &'c. ; but more particularly confined to the
beak and the prehensile organs, or the feet ;
though their general form, and anatomical struc-
ture are taken into account. The first division
into land and water birds is sufficiently obvious ;
but naturalists differ much in respect to the num-
ber and value of the minor divisions ; thus, while
Linnaeus and Cuvier make but six orders, others
erect from twelve to sixteen, and still others,
among them many eminent modern ornithologists,
reduce them to five, by including the order scan-
sares, of Cuvier, as a tribe, or sub-order, among
the ijviessores.

The birds of prey are generally placed first in
the list, constituting the ordcvraptoros, (or accip-
itres, of Cuvier ; Latin, acclpiter, a hawk,) and
are characterized by their daring and cruel spirit,
powerful structure, hooked beak, and strong,
curved claws, and by their preying upon birds,
and the weaker quadrupeds. They include the
vultures, eagles, hawks, buzzards, kites and owls.

The second order, and by far the most numer-
ous, comprises the so called perching birds, or
insessorcs, which will be more fully noticed here-
after. Cuvier observes, "Its character seems, at
first sight, purely negative, for it embraces all
those birds which are neither swimmers, waders,
climbers, rapacious, nor gallinaceous. Neverthe-
less, by comparing them, a very great, mutual re-
semblance of structure becomes perceptible." The
climbers, however, will be treated of as a part of
this order.

The third order, rasores, embraces the poultry,
or gallinaceous birds. The fourth order, grallato-
res, includes the wading birds ; and the fifth or-
der, natatores, will embrace the swimming birds.
These last orders will be more fully noticed here-
after.

The orders admit, upon natural characteristics,
of divisions into tribes, or sub-orders, and these
again into families and genera. The birds of prey
are generally divided into diurnal and nocturnal ;
the former including all the proper rapacious
birds, except the owls, which constitute the latter
division.

Of the diurnal birds of prey, we will first no-
tice the rather limited family of the vultures,
4vulturida,) of which, however. New England can
hardly claim a representation. They are birds of
the largest size, of indolent and excessively filthy
habits, feeding on any animal food that they can
easily tear in pieces, and the most putrid and
loathsome carrion does not come amiss. They
are cowardly, and generally inoffensive, seldom
attacking living animals, and only when pressed
by hunger, and in companies. They detect their
carrion food at a great distance, by the sense of
smell, as is generally supposed, and often gorge
themselves till they are unable to rise from the

ground. Chiefly inhabiting very warm climates,
they most effectually perform the office of scav-
enger, and are generally protected by law, in the
countries they frequent, for the valuable services
thus rendered.

The noted condor of the Andes, (vulUir gri/phus,
Linn.,) of great size, and said to fly the highest
of all birds, soaring to the height of more than
20,000 feet, or about four miles above the sea lev-
el, belongs to this family ; as also does the cele-
brated bearded vulture, lamb-killer, (vidtur ba?'-
hatiis, Gmel.,) of Europe, but approacties the
eagle in its more courageous spirit, attacking
lambs, goats, and the chamois, and it has been
known to carry off children !

Of the vultures inhabiting the United States,
the California vulture, {cathartes Californianns,
Cuvier.) inhabiting California, is the largest, ap-
proaching the condor in size. The black vulture,
or carrion crow, {cathartes atratus, Rich and
Swain,) though common in the Southern States,
is seldom found to the northward of North Caro-
lina, but inhabits the whole continent southward
to Cape Horn. They are of quite singular habits,
as the following extract from Wilson's American
Ornithology indicates :

"Li the towns and villages of the Southern
States, particularly Charleston and Georgetown,
South Carolina, and in Savannah, Georgia,
the carrion crows may be seen sauntering about
the streets, sunning themselves on the roofs of
the houses and the fences, or if the weather be
cold, cowering around the tops of the chimneys,
to enjoy the benefit of the heat, which to them is
a peculiar gratification. They are protected by
law, or usage, and may be said to become com-
pletely domesticated, being as common as the do-
mestic poultry, and equally familiar. The inhab-
itants generally are disgusted with their filthy,
voracious habits ; but, notwithstanding, being
viewed as contributive to the removal of dead
animal matter, v/hich, if permitted to putrefy dur-
ing the hot season, would render the atmosphere
impure, they have a respect paid them as scaven-
gers, whose labors are subservient to the public
good."

It is also said they are extremely indolent, and
that they will not eat of a carcass until it has be-
come putrid, unless pressed by hunger.

The only representative of this singular and
repulsive, yet useful class of birds that New Eng-
land can lay claim to, is the turkey vulture, or
turkey buzzard, {catJiartes aura, 111.,) which is
said to inhabit as far north as Nova Scotia, but
is exceedingly rare in the Northern States, being
only met M'ith occasionally, but is quite common
towards the South. In the zoological report of
Massachusetts it is not mentioned as one of our
birds ; but Dr. DcKay, in the Natural History of
New York, speaks of it as occasionally seen in
that State ; and probably it sometimes strays into
the southern parts of New England, iu the warm
season. They, however, breed extensively in the
deep recesses of the solitary swamps of New Jer-
sey, hatching in May. No nest is made, but the
eggs, two to four in number, of a dirty white, or
pale cream color, splashed all over with choco-
late and blackish touches, are deposited on the
rotten wood of a hollow stump, or log. Upon
the ajiproach of any one to the nest, with attempts
to handle the young, "they will immediately vom-

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

451

it such offensive matter, as to compel the intruder
to a precipitate retreat." They are of the usual
indolent and repulsive habits of the vultures ; and
Mr. Audubon, comparing them to a garrisoned
half-pay soldier, observes : "To move is for them
a hardship ; and nothing but extreme hunger will
make them fly down from the roof of the kitchen
into the yard."

The turkey buzzard is two and a half feet in
length, and measures six feet, two inches, across
the extended wings ; possesses a lofty, soaring
flight, and, in common with the other vultures,
has the head and neck bare of feathers ; the un-
der parts of the ]dumage are of a sooty brown
color ; the upper, black or brownish black glossed
with green and bronze, with puri)le reflections.
They are gregarious and harmless in their habits,
never attacking living animals. J. A. A.

Fur the Neiv England Farmer.
CUIiTUEE OF WHEAT.

A few days since, I adverted to a fine field of
■wheat, now standing, on an average, more than
five feet in height, on land of Gen. Sutton. I
have since heard of other fields of equal promise,
on lands of Mr. Brown, Mr. Berry and others.
What surprises me is, that so few should culti-
vate a crop so desirable, when it can be grown
with so much certainty, and with so little chance
of blight. jSIost farmers, when about to lay their
land down to grass, use barley or oats, and not
wheat. Would not wheat be twice as valuable,
and equally favorable for the coming crop of
grass ?

Perhaps the reason why blight does not come
upon the grain while growing, is, that care has
been used in the selection of the variety to be
grown. If by a little care thus applied, a bounti-
ful harvest can be secured, of one of the most pal-
atable and essential supports of life, is it not the
duty of all who have land suitable, to see to the
growing of this crop ? If my recollection is right,
Bome thirty years since, there Avere many farmers
in Massachusetts, who grew their own wheat.
Then, for some cause, I know not v,'hat, the cul-
ture of wheat fell off; and a field of wheat became
almost as rare a sight, as that of a white crow. I
entertain the hope that a better time is coming,
and the fields before mentioned give evidence of
this. P.

August 6, 1860.

NUMBEKING SHEEP.
A correspondent of the Battle Creek, Mich.,
JejJ'ersonicm gives the following description of a
plan for ascertaining the amount of wool produced
by each sheep of a flock belonging to a New Eng-
land friend whom he had recently visited :

"We were handed a sheet of paper upon which
was noted the weight of fleece of each sheep in
the flock ; opposite was set the number of the
sheep, a corresponding number having been brand-
ed upon the animal itself at the time of taking
its last clip, by applying a mixture of lampblack
and tar with cast-iron figures. This course had
been pursued for some years, and its results were
apparent in a wool crop brought up from an av-

erage of four pounds to over five, and a corres-
ponding increase in the size and quality of sheep.
The practice had been to slaughter and otherwise
dis])ose of all animals ranking lowest in weight
of fleece and to improve upon the quality of the
remainder by judicious crossing."

EXTRACTS AND REPLIES.

Lwllow, J'L, Aug. U, 1860.

Mr. Beown : — After an illness of over five months —
au illness resulting from conlinement to a scilentary
employment in your cit.y — I am once more enjoying
the mountain air and the mountain prospects of my
native State. To appreciate my enjoyment of the rides
and rnmljles which I am now taking among these hills
and valleys, one must have experienced the pleasura-
ble sensations of returning health under similar cir-
cumstances.

Vegetation looks finely. There has been no drought
here this season, and crops now give promise of an
alamdant harvest. There is some complaint about hay
bcmg rather light. There is considerable yet to be cut,
and I believe fiirmcrs generally admit that the quality
of hay is good, and the amount nearer an average than
was expected early in the season. Showers have been
frequent for about a week, and yesterday and to-day
have been decidedly rainy. Fears are expressed that
the grain which is cut and stooked in the fields will be
damaged by sprouting. Considerable wheat is raised in
this vicinity, and this, as well as other grain, is said to
be well filled and heavy.

Garden crops lo'>k remarkably thrifty in this town,
so far as I have observed ; aud particularly is it true of
those in the village, where nearly every square rod of
spare land is waving with an almost tropical richness
of vegetation. Fruit trees are well laden, and even
plum trees are bending with the weight of clusters of
fair, smooth plums. I have looked at the fruit in sev-
eral gardens, but have not seen a single mark of the
eurculio ; and it seems to me that other troublesome
insects are far less destructive here than in Massachu-
setts.

There is a woolen factory in this village, at which
the operatives commence work at 5 o'clock in the
morning, after half an hour's ringing of the Ijcll, and
close their day's labor at 7 o'clock in the evening, with
a vacation of "half an hour each for breakfast and din-
ner. Is not thirteen hours a day too manj' to compel
l)oys and girls, men and women, to work in the noise
and confinement of a factory ? For a few weeks in the
hottest weather, the dinner-time is extended to three-
fourths of an hour. Yours truly,
* A City Mechanic.

Remarks. — ^We are delighted to hear of the return-
ing health of one of our valued friends and most intel-
ligent correspondents, and fervently wish that firm
health and a prosperous life may long be his right and
left hand supporters.

CULTURE OF WINTER WHEAT.

I wish to know how to raise winter wheat ; I shall
make the attempt this season, and wish for all the in-
formation within reach to assist me

Inquiring among my neighbors, I almost invariably
get for an answer, "Don't know ; never grew it ; can
buy cheaper;" &c., &c.

Now, will you be so good as to insert in the Farmer
as soon as convenient, replies to the following ques-
tions :

1. The depth the ground should be plowed ?

2. Best kind of seed ?

3. Time of -sowing?

4. Quantity per acre ?

5. How deep to cover the seed ?

6. What quantity and quality of manure ?

West Roxbunj, Aug. 9, 1860. w. D. H.

Remarks. — We cannot do better than to give you
the practice of Mr. N. F. Morrell, of Sanbomton,
N. H., as contained in a letter of his published in the
monthly Farmer, for July, 1859.

452

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

Oct.

"Hundreds of farmers in this State do not raise this
grain, simply because they thinli they cannot. I have
tried both upland and intervale, and find it does best
on upland where I never manure it. I always select
good warm pasture land, (the older the better,) free
from strong winds and standing water, and where
the snow remains on as long as on anj^ part of the
farm. Break it up any time in July or August. Sow
from the 20th of August to the 1st of September,
at the rate of one and a half bushels per acre. Get it in
two or three inches deep, if possible, -with a plow or
cultivator. After it is up, a coating of plaster, lime or
gnano, will help it very much, especially if dr}\ Pre-
pare the seed the same as f>_)r spring wheat. Wash
thoroughly, pickle in strong brine twelve hours or
more, and mix with ashes or slaked lime.

In this way I get from twelve to fifteen bushels per
aci'C, and thhdi it doing well without manure. Have
never tried manure on upland, but presume it would
do well.

The kind of wheat called the White [Winter ? Ed.]
Blue Stem stands winter best. I have raised the above
quantify, per acre, without applying anything but dry
wheat, and simply harrowing it in."

SLATED EOOFS AND LIGHTNING.

In conversation with a friend a few days since, (a
practical slater,) on the subject of electricity, he re-
marked that buildings covered with slate were as sure-
ly protected against the evils of lightning, as they
could be 1)}' the rods commonly used ; and in confir-
mation of the fact stated that lightning had not been
known to strike within a distance of forty miles of
slate quaiTics that arc wrought. This was to me a new
idea, altogether; and, if true, a fact of too much
worth not to be generally known. The trifling differ-
ence in cost of roofs lietween shingle and slate is more
than compensated in the protection which may be af-
forded in the use of slate. Now, sir, as you ai-c sup-
posed to know about everything, and have access to
almost everybody, I hope that through this medium
the facts may be brought out ; and by so doing, you
will render great service to your countiy. m.

WilbraJmm, Aug. 9, 1860.

Remahks. — We are fortunate in having a large
number of intelligent querists and correspondents, and
have no doubt some of the latter will shed light upon
this subject.

FOWL meadow grass SEED.

I last week made inquiries as to the best kinds of
grass seeds to mix with fowl meadow to be sown on
low land. I now wish to inquire where the fowl
meadow grass seed can be obtained, as I have not been
able to find it ? F. R. Cragin.

Woburn, Aug., 18C0.

Remarks. — When it can be procured it is sold at
the agricultural warehouses in Boston. The supply
for three or four years past has not been equal to the
demand. As the grass is an exceedingly valuable va-
riety, and the seed is in demand, we hope large quan-
tities of it will be brought to market.

GRAPE CULTURE.

In the August number of the monthly Farmer 1 find
an article on "Grape Culture" from the pen of Mr. E.
A. Briickctt.

Reading that article has suggested to my mind sev-
eral questions which I should be pleased to have Mr.
Brackett answer.

First, wi'.h regard to the manner of preparing tlje
ground. Is it advisable to trench a strong, heavy soil
as deeply as he did his ? Would not one foot answer
as well for such a soil, as two for a light sandy one ? I
have thought sudi deep trenching might favor a late

growth of wood which would not be so well ripened as '
it would be if the roots did not penetrate so deeply.

Secondhj, Are his vines protected from the winter ? '
If so, how ? I do not sec how it would be possible to '
lay down vines trained upon the pyramidal plan.

Thirdly, With regard to the" Diana grape, Mr.
Brackett speaks of it as our most delicious native
grape. Does he consider its quality superior to the
Delaware, and is this last-named variety likely to
prove to be as well adapted to this section as the I)iana
is ? w. D.

Leominster, Mass., Aug., 1860.

CORN AND SQUASHES.

I noticed in the last number of the Farmer a short
article from Henry J. Durgin, of Shaker Village,
N. H., which induced me to measure the height of a
field of corn growing here in old Massachusetts. Its
average height is aliout ten feet ; it is uncommonly
well set with ears, many stocks containg three and
some four cars. It was planted about the first of June ;
no manure has been applied to the land this season.
Last season it was planted to cucumbci's and manured
in the hill. My largest squash measures over five feet
in circumference, and is growing rapidly. Yours for
"some squashes" and "some corn." w. u. w.

Shaker Village, Aug. 11, 1S60.

MOUITTAIISr CBANBEr.RIBS.

The demand for cranberries is every day in-
creasing, and their cultivation is getting to be
quite a study. Among the expt-riments which
have for several years exercised the spirit of Yan-
keedom, is the endeavor to cultivate the common
bog cranberry on upland. Where the upland is
pretty moist, a tolerable degree of success has at-
tended many of the experiments.

There is, hov/ever, a variety of mountain berry,
belonging to the cranberry genus, which \\c think
might be cultivated more successfully than the
lowland kind. We last fall received a jar of this
last kind from Rev. Mr. Pierce, of East Winthrop,
who obtained them from Washington county,
where they grow on the waste lands, and high
lands in the Quoddy region. He also sent us a
specimen of the vine which produces them. It
proved to be what botanists have named Vaccini-
um litis Idcca, and called, commonly, "mountain
cranberry," "rock cranberry," and "cowberrj-."
We have seen it growing on the summits of the
White Hills, and sides and peaks of other of our
mountains. In the eastern section of Maine, it
seems they are quite abundant, and are gathered
in large quantities by the Quoddy Indians, and
others, and brought into the market. They pre
a smaller berry than the lowland cranberry, but
of a pleasant, acid flavor, and by some preferred
to the others. We think this variety deserving
some trials of culture as well as the other, and we
also think success would follow the trial. — Maine
Farmer.

Beautiful Thoughts. — Among some of the
South Sea Islanders the compound word for hope
is beautifully expressive. It is raanolana, or the
swimming ikovghi — faith floating and keeping the
head aloft above water, when all the waves and
billows are going over one — a strikingly beautiful
definition of Hope, worthy to be set down along
with the answer which a deaf and duml) person
wrote with his pencil, in reply to the question,
"What was his idea of forgiveness?" "It is the
odor which flowers yield when trampled on."

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

453

TO THE READERS OF THE NEW ENG-
LAND PARMER.

Nearly ten years have now elapsed since my in-
troduction to you as the Agricultural Editor of
these columns, and during all that time the com-
munication between us has been harmonious and
unbroken. This communication has been per-
sonal, as well as through the press, for I have
from time to time visited you in every section of
the State, mingled with your families, replenished
my pen with your practices and their results in
my favorite art, and more than one hundred
times addressed you publicly in the endeavor to
promote its interests.

In the progress of these events, the people of
my native State have several times called me, un-
solicited, to accept some public trusts. These I
have accepted, and, — without forgetting the great
leading objects of my life, the objects in which
you are so directly interested, — have endeavored
to discharge the duties of those trusts with
promptness and fidelity.

One of the trusts thus confided to me was to
act upon the Board of Trustees for the State Re-
form School at Westboro', an ofRce to which no
compensation is attached. I entered upon its du-
ties in June, 1856. The law requires that I
should visit the Institution eigM times each year.
The record there shows that I liave visited it
twenty-Jive times each year, and the savie record
proves that once in each quarter I have made a
private and tlwrough examination of every de-
partment of the Institution, and that a report of
each of those examinations has been carrfvlhj
considered by the full Board, and its suggestions
or recommendations adopted or rejected, as they
tommcnded themselves to the judgment of the
Board. What / have done, each of the other Trus-
tees has also done, with scrupulous fidelity.

On the 21st of July, three members of the
Governor's Council, namely,

Eliphalet Trask, of Springfield,
J. M. Churchill, of Milton,
Jacob Sleepek, of Boston,

made a short visit to the Institution ; they had
been there previously on the 6th of July, and then
ascertained that three boys were confined in some
wooden lodges, and this second visit was to in-
vestigate the causes and nature of that confine-
ment. I will not occupy spac'e in giving their
description of those lodges, or cf the alleged
treatment of the boys, for they have been laid be-
fore you in the papers of the day, as well as in
the news department of the Farmer. The refuta-
tion by the Trustees, of the Committee's charges,
has also been laid before you in the public pa-
pers, and it is not necessary for me to dwell upon
them here.
I have mingled pretty freely with the world

through a period of half a century, and for two
thirds of that time have been actively engaged in
its business and cares, both of a private and pub-
lic character, and in all my experience, I have
never met a company of men that were, in my
judgment, so assiduously and conscientiously de-
voted to any public trust, as the Board of Trus-
tees of the State Reform School at Westboro'.
And tlie School to-day, in all its Depaitmcnts, un-
der an impartial investigation, will testify to this
devotion !

One or two charges made by the Committee,
and not alluded to by the Trustees, in thtir state-
ment, I will briefly notice. It is to be inferred
from the language of the Committee, that the Su-
perintendent M-as guilty of gross misconduct in
employing one of the boys to report the language
and conduct of others. With regard to this, I
will say, that such service is usually voluntary on
the part of the boys, and at any rate, is only re-
sorted to in cases cf considerable danger to per-
son and property. It forms nojjart of the system
of government of the Institution.

Complaint is made that "no record is kept of
the causes or extent of punishment in the Insti-
tution." The truth is, there has been so little in
the nature of punishment inflicted, that it had not
occurred to the Trustees that a record was neces-
sary. By refining to the report of one cf my pri-
vate examinations previous to the fire, I find that,
although there were more than six hundred boys
in the School, there was not one in the correctional
department, and that it had been entirely unoccu-
pied for three months in succession ! In tlie ear-
ly days of the Institution it was the practice to
inflict corporeal punishment, but that practice
was abandoned by the present Board, and has
only been resorted to in a few instances of the
most flagrant misconduct. My preference has
been to deprive the rebellious of their personal
liberty, to feed them on a plentiful and whole-
some, but light diet, and "keep the door of mercy
open to them," and by that earnest persuasion,
evidence of which is contained in Rev. Mr. Himes'
letter, to induce them to return to duty. But as
the committee are horriflcd by this mode of pun-
ishment, and have suggested no other, it is a fair
inference that it would be more agreeable to them
to let the boys run riot, trample upon the rules
sanctioned and required to he enforced by the
Governor and Council, until all government was
lost and the School broken down and ruined by
its own internal dissensions.

I beg my friends to look, for a moment, at the
very uncourteous attitude, (to use the mildest
term that will apply,) in which this committee has
placed itself. They went to the Institution with-
out giving notice to the Trustees, and there ex-
amined six of the most criminal boys, took their

454

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

Oct. '

testimony, — the testimony of persons of whom
society had purged itself, bo it remembered, —
and gave it full credence against the Trustees and
Superintendent of the Institution ! The crimes
of these boys — rather men ? — have been related
in the defence.

Now, let us see who these Trustees and Super-
intendent are, whose reputation is left at the mer-
cy of six criminals, and without an opportunity
either to examine or rebut their testimony !

Parley Hammond, of Worcester, is the se-
nior member on the Board. He has long been
the cashier of a bank, is the Treasurer of the In-
stitution, both on the part of the Government
and the Board, and sustains a high reputation
wherever he is known.

Simon Brown, of Concord.

Thomas A. Greene, of New Bedford, long a
successful and distinguished Teacher, a worthy
member of the Society of Friends, a gentleman
of intelligence and practical wisdom, whose name
is synonymous Milh benevolence and love, and
who has been on the Board of Trustees from the
foundation of the Institution.

JosiAH H. Temple, of Framingham, a Clergy-
man, in good standing, and a thorough scholar.

Henry W. Cushman, of Bernardston, a Farm-
er, the President of a Bank, and who is doing
more than most men in the State to educate its
youth. His reputation needs no exposition from
my pen.

JuDSON S. Brown, of Fitchburg, a Manufac-
turer, a sincere and earnest Reformer, — willing
to devote his time and talents to the cause of hu-
manity,— an upright Christian gentleman.

Theodore Lyman, of Brookline, a son of the
Founder of the Institution, who, with his ample
fortune, is devoting his time, and his rare powers
of mind, to works of benevolence, and the diffu-
sion of useful knowledge among men.

Five of these persons have been members of
the popular branch of the Government, and two
of them have been elected by the free suffrages
of the people as Lieutenant-Governors, and had
an honorable seat in the Council Chamber.

Having enjoyed these privileges, it will be pre-
sumed hy the good people of the Commonwealth,
that they ought to know something of the usages
of the Council. They do know, that the follow-
ing were, if they are not novi-, rules of that dig-
nified body :

1. That when a man is accused, their knowl-
edge of the accusation should be held sacred
and inviolate until he could be heard in his own
defence, and that any infraction of this rule
was a gross breach of privilege.

2. That not only ]irivato "l°r,kasos" v,-ere repre-
hensible, retailed in a sm;;ll wav, but that all

information imparted to publishers, whereby a
partial and imperfect knowledge of the transac-
tions of the Chamber should be made public, was
a gross violation of justice and decency, as well
as a violation of privilege.

3. That all memorials, petitions, and papers of
every description, that related to public affairs,
and that were respectful in their terms, should
receive the careful and impartial consideration
of the Chamber.

I will not enlarge upon this point, but leave it
to you to say, whether you have not seen para-
graphs in the public prints, relating to public af-
fairs, pregnant with "mischief a-foot," when noth-
ing had appeared as official from the Council
Chamber. A proper sense of justice, nay, of com-
mon fairness, ought to have impelled the Council
to present their charges to the Trustees, in the
first place, and to have allowed their explanations
and extenuating circumstances, if there were any,
to have had their proper weight. If, then, the
Trustees had continued their alleged "cruel and
barbarous" Duke of Alvaisms* upon the boj's,
they should have removed the whole Board, and
then, — and not until then. — ^justified their acts by
a publication of the facts in the case. The pub-
lic had no right to these facts before, and if this
publicity was made through ignorance, it was a
'■^blunder," which has been said to be "worse" in
a high public functionary, "than a crime," for the
Council "were bound to know what they ought
to know." It was ten times a blunder, on the eve
of one of the most important elections we have
ever had ! Can this furnish the reason why, af-
ter the report had been "unanimously accepted,"
no action Avas taken to remove these guilty offi-
cers, and that the Institution was suffered to pro-
ceed under the alleged horrible "cruelties" prac-
ticed in it ? Does not this furnish the highest
evidence that the authors of this report had no
confidence in it themselves"}

The Institution is a noble one, and is doing a
noble work, — more, by far, than its most sanguine
friends ever expected of it. But it has its imper-
fections, and these are organic, not administra-
tive, and they have been repeatedly pointed out
to the Legislature in the annual reports of the
Trustees. It is governed in the principles of pa-
rental love, of kindness and personal attention
to ifs inmates. It is governed by a rigid SYSTEM,
but a humane one. There is no looseness or
guess-work about it, and harmony of feeling and
action abound within its walls, — but, in the lan-
guage of its munificent Founder, "the institution

* The Duke op Alta was a General of Philip II., of Spain,
and his historian says of him : "The world has agreed that such
an amount cf stealth and ferocity, of patient vindictivenessand
uriTt'r-:al hlondfhii'Ftinojs, wore never ffmn(! in a saraee beast
'if iho Inresr. ai.J Imt rarely in a liuraau bosom." — See I\Mleiff

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

455

should be considered a place of punishment as
well as a place for reform. It will otherwise do
little good." If it were judged by the infallible
test of Holy Writ, that, "i?7/ their fruits ye shall
know them" it would wring the meed of praise
from its boldest detractors. At the dedication
of this Institution, Horace Mann said, that "if
it should be the means of saving a single boy, it
would repay the people of the Commonv/ealth for
all their care and outlay." On coming out, some
one asked Mr. Mann whether he did not overdo
the matter a little, and if he really meant that
saving one child would be a sufficient remunera-
tion. "If it were MY boy, I should think it would,"
was the quick reply.

Now, let us see what the institution has done.
In the estimation of Mr. Mann, if but one boy is
saved, all the cost and care is well expended —
but I can show you by irrefragable evidence, that
EIGHTY-THREE out of every one hundred of
the boys subjected to the discipline of the Insti-
tution have been saved ! And while this noble
result has been secured, it has been done at a less
expense, with a single exception, than by any
other similar institution in the country.

I have been constrained to make these state-
ments to my readers that my good name might
not suffer in their estimation by the aspersions of
the committee, — for, as one of the Trustees, I feel
"bound to know what I ought to know," and will
not shift upon the Superintendent blame for
wrongs imputed to him for official acts Avhich I
have authorized. I have been cognizant of his
management as Superintendent, and believe it
has uniformly been judicious and merciful, and
that he has always treated the boys in a fair and
honorable manner, and in a truly Christian spirit.
I also believe that any investigation by an impar-
tial tribunal, however searching it may be, will
prove the charges of the committee unfounded.
Such investigation I invite, as a member of a
branch of the State Government, which, if not
co-ordinate with that of the Council, is entitled
to fairness and respect. I have acted under a con-
stant sense, that

"He serves hest the Father, who most serves man,
And he who wrongs humanitij, wrongs Ueaven."

Before closing, I desire to say, to each one of
you who is in the habit of reading these columns,
and under a deep sense of accountability to my
final Judge, that, in my belief, there is No just
cause, whatever, for a charge of cruelty against
the Superintendent, or of any neglect of duty in
the Trustees. What the motive is for such accu-
sations, is not entirely clear. This is not the first
attack, from high places, upon an institution that
reflects credit upon the State, and upon humani-
ty)— and these attacks have prejudiced the public
mind, and embarrassed and injured the discipline

and prosperity of the Institution more than did
the calamitous fire which occurred about a year
ago. But, whatever the motive may have been,
it seems clear to me, that the Committee, although
emanating from the Council Chamber, became the
complete dupes of several shrewd, but wicked and
designing boys, and had not sufficient penetra-
tion to discover it.

Finally, how are we to stand before the world,
as a State, and especially before our Southern
brethren, with an institution in our midst, charged
with "cruelties" and "barbarities" akin to the in-
human atrocities of the Duke of Alva, as de-
scribed by Motley, who sent his victims to the
executioners by scores, and who was the terror
and scourge of an unoffending and unprotected
people ? This is the execrable wretch, fiend, the
incarnation of all human wickedness and deprav-
ity, who affords the committee of the Council a
parallel for the conduct of some of the officers of
the State government ! The newspapers stated that
the report of the Committee was accepted by the
Council. That term does not always mean that
a measure is adojyfed. But whoever sanctioned
the report, is equally guilty with its perpetrators.

These charges are not only grave in themselves,
but they derive important weight in the source
from which they come. If they were the hasty
assertions of some disappointed politician, or the
gloomy lucubrations of some editor, out of office,
they would become the wonder of a day, and leave
no taint behind. But such is not the fact. They
have proceededyrom the Government oftlie State
— from the fountain of Mercy and of Justice,
where we are taught that the balances hang even,
and resentments never come ! The victim of this
power is principally a humble individual, and he
stands before it appalled with its injustice, bat-
tered, and broken, and helpless in the impending
ruin which surrounds him. Nothing now can
save him but the Public Voice, and to that Voice
I confidently appeal for him and for myself.

Simon Brown.

Secret of Speed in the Horse. — One great
secret of the speed of "Flora Temple" has Ijeen
discovered. It has been found by measurement,
that her stride — small as the animal herself is —
is equal to that of a sixteen-hand horse. She wins
by her long, low, locomotive style of going, which
works with the saving exactitude of machinery,
and wastes no ])ower in imnecessary action, or
in what is graphically termed "style."

The Horticulturist, for August, is filled with
capital articles, is handsomely embellished, and is
well sustained by the new Editor, Peter B.
jNIead, Esq., aided by the skilful and honorable
publishers, Messrs. Sa?:to.v 8z Earkeii, 25 Park
Row, N. ?.

456

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

Oct.

For the New England Farmer.
FARM FEjMCES— Wo. 3.

Mr. Editor : — In a former communication 1
mentioned that I might say something about the
relative cost of fences, the quantity of hind they
cover, and the qualities one adapted to general
use should possess. In my estimate, I do not
claim perfect accuracy, as the cost of fencing will
of course vary in different places, according to the
price of lumber, the cost of labor, &c. These es-
timates will be taken in part from those made by
sensible and reliable men, and for the rest I shall
have to rely on my ov/n judgment.

The average cost of the ordinary post and board
or post and rail fence is said to be about 80 cents
per rod, and the average duration of such fences
not more than ten years.

The quantity of land covered by this fence will
not exceed two square feet to the rod, but the
plow cannot be run conveniently nearer than>to
within one foot of any fence, which makes a loss
of two feet in width on both sides of any fence
for tillage purposes.

To enclose an acre of land 20 rods in length,
and 8 rods wide, would take 5G rods of fence.

66 rods of fence, at 80 cents per rod $41,80

Valuy or land covure I by f ,>nce, at $50 per acre 21

Loss of land for tillage purposes 2,2 )

Cost offence and value of land covered by do $43,01

Cost offence, and value of land lost for cultivation 47,01

Average cost of wall fences $1 per rod — 56 rods $56,00

Average wi;!th of do. 3ft., value of land covered by fence.. 3,17
Value of land out of reach of the plow 5,30

Cost of fence and value of land covered by same $J3,1"

Cost of do. and value of land lost for cultivation 61.30

Average durability of fence 20 years.

To build the zig-zag or Virginia fence, it is es-
timated, will require 14 rails per rod, and that
cedar or chestnut rails are worth $G per hundred,
which, witii drawing and building the fence, will
amount to $1 per rod.

56 rods, at $1 per rod $56,00

Loss of land on both sides would be nearly or quite 13,00

Cost of fencs and loss of land for cultivation $69,00

Probable duration 20 years.

The cost of wire fences, as per schedule of
prices of the New York Wire Railing Co., is .$2,40
per rod, with posts and screws.

For a fence 7 wires high this would amount to $134,40

Value of land out of reach of the plow 2,20

$136,00

Here are figures which will enable any farmer
to see that improvement is very much needed in
this matter of fencing. The qualities a fence for
general use should possess, I will venture to sug-
gest, should be, in the first place, simplicity. Any
farmer with a little experience should be able to
build it. It should be cheap, in ordinary cases
not costing much more than the common post and
board fence, nor requiring more than 40 feet of
lumber to the rod. It should be straight ; no
"wavy lines," no zig-zag fence — the most crooked
thing the ingenuity of man has yet lieen able to
invent — shouhl be tolerated by any farmer whei-e
land and lumber are of much account, if a better
fence can be had.

Farmers ! just think of 14 rails to the rod, and
$13 worth of land lost for cultivation, tn fencing

an acre of land. "Rail Splitting" is certainly an
honorable occupation in some cases ; but a man's
energies had better be employed in something
else than in buildiugthis kind offence. It should
be firm, — it should be able to withstand both
winds and unruly cattle. It should keep its po-
sition on the very worst heaving soils, and resist
ordinary currents of water. And last but not least,
it should be durable. Every part of it should last
at least 30 years, in ordinary cases requiring, no
repairs.

These are the requisites for a good farm fence,
and no farmer should be satisfied with one that
falls much short of them. Chas. R. Smith.

Haverhill, N. IL, Aug., 1860.

FATTETTING AOTIMALS-
SHEDS.

-STALLS AND

In Scotland, where everything in farming is re-
duced to system, several experiments have been
made in order to ascertain the relative value of
the two modes of fattening cattle, above named.
The animals were in one instance selected and
divided as near as possible in regard to weight,
&c.; five of them were placed in an enclosure well
sheltered, and allowed a sufficiency of room, and
the other five were placed in boxes or stalls. At
the commencement of October, it was ascertained
that those in the sheltered enclosure eat, daily,
one hundred and thirty-four pounds, while those
in the boxes or stalls consumed but one hundred
and twelve pounds, thus demonstrating the doc-
trine of Professor Liebig, that warmth is an
equivalent for food.

Towards the end of April — the experiment hav-
ing occupied seven months — the animals were all
slaughtered, and the following results were noted
down :

Cattle fed in boxes, beef, 3,462 lbs.
tallow, 376 lbs.

Cattle fed in yards, beef, 3,216 lbs.
tallow, 301 lbs.

The present is an appropriate time for the far-
mer to give attention to this matter, and we hope
experiments similar to the above will be made,
and the results made public.

How Carrots affect Horses. — The carrot is
the most esteemed of all roots for its feeding
qualities. When analyzed, it gives but little more
solid matter than any other root, 85 per cent, be-
ing water ; but its influence in the stomach upon
the other articles of food is most favorable, con-
ducing to the most perfect digestion and assimi-
lation. The result, long known to practical men,
is explained by chemists as resulting from the
presence of a substance called pcc//ne, which op-
crates to coagulate or gelatinize vegetable solu-
tions, and this favors digestion in all cattle. —
Horses are especially benefited by the use of car-
rots. Thev should be fed to them frequently wfth
their other food, — American Stock Journal.

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FARIVIEE.

457

For the New England Farmer,

DOCTomisra domestic animals.

Mr. Editor : — I have noticed in the Farmer
that its editor, in advising for the treatment of
sick animals, goes in for what I will call "The
progressive treatment." We will put no "pathy"
to it. This is as it should be, and in accordance
with reason and common sense, as I understand
the matter. EveiT farmer who has stock of any
kind, will sometimes have them sick. Sickness
and death are written on every living thing. The
farmer can often save himself much trouble, and
sometimes expense, by the timely use of a few
simple remedies, combined with a little knowl-
edge. A little knowledge is not always a dan-
gerous thing. My wonder is that there are not
more sick animals, when we see the shameful
manner in which many persons treat their dumb
beasts. As I have seen this, I have thought the
beast knew the most of the two, and if let alone,
would be the better off. For some years past I
have paid much attention to the diseases incident
to our domestic animals. The subject is some-
what a difficult one, and it is often no easy mat-
ter to make out a correct diagnosis of what the
real disease is ; but I have found this more par-
ticularly the case in regard to the hog ; and after
being satisfied on this point, it is still more difficult
to administer the remedies', from his "hoggish na-
ture and his dirty home." We must judge of the
diseases of animals as we do those of children —
from the history of the case, and the symptoms
present. Still I have found it much easier to sat-
isfy myself as to the diseases of cattle than hogs ;
however, experience and close observation will
enable us to come to pretty correct conclusions.

In my treatment of sick animals, I have always
acted on the principle that what would be good
for man, under like circumstances, would be for
the animal, and I have never had occasion to feel
dissatisfied with this course. The greatest "pud-
ding head" out thinks himself qualified to pre-
scribe for a sick animal, judging from what I fre-
quently see ; whereas, to treat them properly, re-
quires long and close study, combined with obser-
vation among the sick, and a correct knowledge
of their anatomical structure, though this is not
absolutely necessary ; but the former are ; and I,
and every farmer should rejoice that veterinary
science is taking its proper place among the pro-
fessions. We need ten, where now we have one,
skilled in this branch of study ; and I do not
doubt, if we now had them, they would find it a
paying business if they were properly located
about the country. Here is a fine field open to
our young men, who have a taste this way ; one
eve' y way worthy of the highest order of talent ;
W. o leads ?

llefore closing this article, I will mention a few
remedies, which every one having a cow or a horse,
will do well to have always on hand ; they are the
leading medicines for cure in most diseases, par-
ticularly of an acute character. The really skill-
ful physician makes but little use of the materia
medica ; his remedies are few, and not compli-
cated.

First, Aconite tincture stands at the head of the
list. In all cases of fever and inflammation this
medicine is useful, and I have never found any-
thing yet that would take its place. Rivera of

blood have been saved to mankind by its use, and
mayyetbe to cattle-kind. It is always safe. Dose:
Put a teaspoonful of the tincture into a pint of
soft pure water, and give a wineglass full once in
four to eight hours ; more frequently if the case
is urgent.

Second, Arnica tincture must be placed in the
first class of remedies ; though this is better
adapted to use externally than internally. In all
cases of strains, injuries, bruises, soreness, lame-
ness arising from any of the foregoing causes,
and the like, there is no other thing which will
compare with it. If any one doubt this, try it ;
that will settle the matter. It may be given in-
ternally, the same as aconite, in cases of severe
injury. For external use, put three teaspoonfuls
into a quart of soft water, and bathe the parts
affected frequently. In the case of horses, where
the legs are the part affected, I have often ban-
daged them, and keep wet with the medicated wa-
ter, and rapidly reduced severe swellings.

Third, Bryonia tincture is another important
remedy, and in connection with numbers one and
two, about all that are necessary for the treat-
ment of any acute case of disease the farmer may
have to deal with among his domestic family. It
may be prepared the same as number one, and
given the same.

Case : Called to a fine young horse, which the
night before had been driven seven miles at full
speed, and left for two hours in a profuse perspi-
ration, standing in a damp, chilly night air. The
horse refused to eat, was dull, and quite stiff; his
pulse quick, strong and full; skin hot and dry;
would drink all the water offered him. In fact,
his owner considered him a "used up horse," and
he certainly appeared like one. He wanted him
bled, but this I refused to do. Treatment : To
be deprived of all food, except a little meal stirred
into a pail of warm water. Of this he was to
drink often ; to be lightly covered, and well rubbed
with a cloth, twice a day, and to give the aconite
as above every two hours. At my next visit, the
follov/ing day, the horse was every way better,
and his owner thought him not quite so poor prop-
erty as the day before. His breathing was more
easy and free, but he had some cough ; ordered
the treatment continued, and to give bryonia in
connection with the aconite, alternating once in
four hours ; without following the treatment fur-
ther, suffice it to say, that in less than a week the
horse was as well apparently as he ever was ; not
so strong, of course. I may take this subject up
at a future time. Farmers, use your brains more,
and save your hard-earned dollars. N. Q. T.

King Oak Hill, 1860.

Remarks. — We hope so. This is the kind of
instruction most of us need.

Where do Sea-Birds Slake their Thirst ?
— The question is often asked, where do sea-birds
obtain fresh water to slake their thirst ? but we
have never seen it satisfactorily answered till a
few days ago. An old skipper with whom we
were conversing on the subject, said that he had
frequently seen these birds at sea, far from any
land that could furnish them with water, hovering
around and under a storm cloud, clattering like
ducks on a hot day at a pond, and drinking in the

458

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

Oct.

drops of rain as they fell. They will smell a rain
squall a hundred miles, or even further off, and
scud for it with almost inconceivable swiftness.
How long sea-birds can exist without water, is
only a matter of conjecture, but probably their
powers of enduring thirst are increased by habit,
and possibly they go without for many days, if
not for several weeks. — California Spirit of the
Times.

For the New England Partner.
THE BABOMETEE,.

Although one of the web-foot fraternity, yet I
take a deal of pleasure, and gain considerable in-
formation in perusing your valuable paper. I have
noticed lately, inquiries of the usefulness of the
barometer on a farm. 1 am no farmer, but hav-
ing been a constant observer of that instrument
for fifteen years or more, I give a few remarks for
those who are interested, from my own experience.
Henry Ward Beecher's laudation of the instru-
ment would lead one to suppose that with the
barometer for a guide, they would know precisely
when it would rain or not. My experience does
not lead to such conclusions. The words on the
barometer, "Set Fair." "Fair," "Stormy," &c.,
are no guide whatever, as the barometer, proper-
ly graded, seldom falls to "Stormy," or rises to
"Set Fair;" neither does a fall in the barometer
always indicate rain ; or a rise, fair weather ; it
may be owing to a change of wind — an increasing
or moderating wind — or it may be owing to a
storm or changing weather going on at some dis-
tance from us, but which may pass us by without
any change of weather in our immediate vicinity.

With a southerly wind and a low barometer, we
often hear people say, "How heavy the air is,"
because it causes depressed feelings ; but the cause
is, the lightness of the air, with which the barom-
eter (showing the snecinc gravity) stands lower
than with a northerly and bracing air, in which it
is really heaviest, causing the mercury to rise.

With a "north-west wind," a falling barometer
generally indicates a change to south-west ; with
a rising barometer, it indicates a change to north-
east : with which wind, in fine weather, the bar-
ometer stands highest ; and a falling barometer
with the wind north-east, indicates a change to
the south, or rain. With a south wind, a falling
barometer indicates, sometimes, more wind, or
rain ; and it seldom rises before a change to the
west ward, or north-west. But these rules are by
no means invariable, and the barometer can only
be depended on as an aid to form a judgment of
what the weather may be, by those who have
studied its variations for at least one year ; and
then they may very often be mistaken. As an aid,
it has been very valuable to me as a shipmaster ;
but to a farmer who is inexperienced in its use, I
think an investment in hay caps would pay much
better ; in fact, I have been deceived so often by
its apparent indications, that I am almost tempt-
ed to say I never would use one again — but as it
has been the means of saving many sails and
spars, perhaps life, I still advocate its use by
shipmasters.

I have known many heavy squalls and showers
to pass unnoticed by the barometer. On one oc-
casion I experienced quite a severe gale, and rain

tinually rising barometer. This was in the vicin-
ity of New York. The farther from the equator,
the more the weather affects the barometer ; and
a south wind in south latitude has the same ef-
fects on it as a north wind in north latitude.
There are many kinds of barometers, from the
costly mercurial to the cedar and pine wood ones
by the Mexicans, or a cracked bone of the human
system. I heard of a captain v.'ho said he could
tell by the skull of his second mate, (which had
been fractured) when a storm was approaching,
better than by any barometer. My experience
has been Avith the mercurial and aneroid barome-
ters ; generally considered the best. Hoping to
see an account of some of the new kinds, and
their usefulness, by those who have used them, I
remain, yours, Jack Crosstrees.

Boston, Aug7ist 16, 1860.

Remarks. — Thank you. Captain Jack, you are
the very man to tell us about the barometer. In
an easy chair and slippers, how we should like to
hear some of your ocean "yarns" in connection
with that instrument. Please write again.

For the New England Farmer.
FLO"WEH.S.

Mr. Editor : — Having noticed in your issue
of July 14 the inquiry of Mary as to the varie-
ties of flowers best adapted to our New England
seasons, I offer for her benefit, as I hope, some of
my experience in that line.

To select from among manj^ things that I have
for some time proved, as well as from more recent
acquisitions, those which endure without any es-
pecial care the cold of our winters, would dis-
pense with many which must ever be favorites
with the lover of flowers, and yet embrace very
many of our choicest varieties.

Of the earlier blooming plants, the Narcissus
and Tulip must ever prove desirable, both of
which I have in their perfection, without trouble,
the first white, and very fragrant ; the last red,
yellow and variegated.

Nearly or quite at the same time I have the
Iris, white and yellow, the Ragged Robin, rose
colored. Dwarf Phlox and Paionies, of which
there are many varieties ; those, however, which
I have cultivated longest, and prize very highly,
being white, pink, rose-scented and single.

For hardy vines I have the Clematis or Moun-
tain Fringe, Trumpet Honeysuckle, (monthly,)
and Calistegia, this last bearing double, rose-
colored flowers about the size of a damask rose,
and continuing in bloom until severe frosts take
from our gardens all that makes them beautiful.

Of Roses, some dozen of the choicer varieties
should by all means be included. Of Lilies, or-
ange, straw-colored and white. This last is more
nearly allied to those requiring protection during
winter than any other here mentioned, but so ex-
quisitely beautiful and so fragrant, that for all
care needed the grower will be most amply re-
paid.

The Wax Flower, white, though grown by me
this season for the first time, will I presume, from
its appearance, prove hardy. The Canterbury
T^flV^, 'vh'^n ^i-nvri in vW s^nf^ps, f"n"^ white to

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

459

dark blue, are most beautiful. The double Holly-
hock, especially the rose-colored, is really deserv-
ing of mention.

Again, for variety, we have Monkshood, blue,
Barometer, blue. White Immortal, and Fall Phlox,
with Pinks of various kinds, including the Pico-
lee, a fine bedder.

Last, but by no means least, the Pansies, which
are often in bloom before snow leaves the ground
in spring, and after it has fallen in autumn or
early winter, should it partially thaw, I having
picked them as late as December. Of these we
have an almost endless variety, than which per-
haps nothing we have is more frequently admired.

I have thus hastily given the names of some-
thing like the number mentioned, of biennials
and perennials as spscified. Annuals I will not
now refer to, except to say that for late blooming
there are many most desirable and quite hardy, of
which should it be desired, I will speak at some
future time.

If "Mary," or any of your readers, should wish
to obtain any of these, or other ])lants or seeds,
and will give me their address, I can, perhaps,
help them to obtain whatever they wish, at con-
siderable less than usual prices, and offer some
suggestions that may prove useful to inexperi-
enced florists, should they be thus. A letter di-
rected to Box 23, Richmond, Mass., care of the
postmaster, will reach one who for the present
will be known only as Louie,

Aug. 14, 1860.

For the New England Farmer.

best prepabatiow fok the matfue-
IjSTg of dwarf pear trees.

My Dear Sir : — A correspondent in your pa-
per of the 11th inst. inquires for "the best pre-
paration sold for the manuring of dwarf pears,
peaches," &c., making a very difficult question for
any one to answer to his advantage, unless they
have more knowledge of his soil than he has seen
fit to communicate. For instance, it cannot be
supposed that the same "preparation" Avould show
equal benefits on a sandy or gravelly soil, that it
would on a loamy one, or that the applications to
a loam Avould produce the same effect, and to the
same extent, that it would on a stiff clay.

In materia medica, it is an established fact, that
the same remedy will not apply to all diseases. It
is no less true that in the same disease, when the
type varies, the prescription must vary to meet
it. So the eonstitutional temperaments and hab-
its of men vary, and the medicines that may be
salutary to one, may be death to another. There
are considerations without number to be regard-
ed in the healing art, and minutia there, are
worthy of close attention.

Climate, like constitutional temperament, has
close connection with individual health and com-
fort, so that not only a change of food is often
found necessary to the success of the individual
who travels, but it must have a different prepara-
tion in widely difierent localities. If the Esqui-
maux should change his living to that of tropical
fruits, it would probably be fatal to him at once.
Let him change his residence for one in the burn-
ing zone, and live as the natives live there, and a
more speedy fate would overtake him. The air

and his diet would both be averse to his organs
of respiration and digestion, which have grown
and matured for a more bracing air and less rap-
id digestive powers, so that stronger food is neces-
sary to meet his demands.

The native of mountainous regions, where the
air is always fresh and the water gurgling from
the rock always pure, in the valley finds a want
of those elements so sustaining to physical vigor.
The damp fogs engendered with miasma from
stagnant or sluggish waters, prey upon his vitals,
while those who have inhaled them through life,
scarcely feci their influence. His constitution is
not adapted to the atmosphere, and it becomes
ruinous to life and health.

Vegetables, trees and plants, like men and ani-
mals, have constitutions and physical adaptations
to certain circumstances. The rush that luxuri-
ates in mire, will not grow on the dry soil of the
hill-side. The oak that assumes a giant's form
among trees on the mountain, would pine and die
in the low morass or shaking quagmire.

To cultivate his fruit trees, then, your corres-
pondent has only to find what they lack in climate
and constituents of the soil. And first, the soil it-
self.

Once, and for many long, beautiful years, out
New England soil was well adapted to fruit grow-
ing, as the old orchards, now going into the decay
of age, so faithfully testify. But two hundred
years of exhausting culture has impoverished this
soil. AVTiy should it not? What acre of tilled
land has not had many times in value in produce
carried away from it and sold ? How little of the
price of these crops has been returned to the
land to renumerate for the exhaustion it has suf-
fered ? Man who plowed and sowed, and gathered
into the garner, has been too careful to absorb all
the profits in payment for his labor, while poor
mother earth, compelled to toil on to gratify his
pride, has been stinted, year after year, in her
daily food. It is in no way strange, that with such
management, the strength and beauty of youth
have fled from her countenance, that toil-worn
and weary, she has become hard and unyielding,
that the very pores of her surface are clogged, so
that the surplus moisture cannot be throv/n off,
only as the slow process of evaporation absorbs.
In a word, the soil of New England has, to an
alarming extent, been roughly, shamefully man-
aged, and the first and best preparation to be sold
for manuring it for fruit trees, that we have ever
tried, or can recommend, is steel, — well tempered,
sharp, polished steel. Our mode of application
would be to put the point of this steel, down into
the earth so low and so sure as to open water
courses sufficient to take off all superfluous mois-
ture. This done, we would give it another appli-
cation, and that would be to probe the whole sur-
face to be set to trees to such a depth as to loosen
the earth eight, ten or twelve inches deeper than
any plow has ever penetrated. No matter if it is
hard pan or clay, even. Bring up and expose it
to the atmosphere, and if the land is well drained,
it will make a good, friable soil, one that trees or
any other plants will delight to thi'ow theii* roots
abroad in.

We have no doubt that many of the failures in
fruit tree culture at the present time, arise from
neglecting a proper preparation of the soil by
thorough drainage and deep pulverization, and

460

KEW ENGLAOT) FARMER.

Oct.

■we fully believe that a few trees well set, where
these particulars are regarded, will, all expense
counted, yield a quicker and larger profit than the
many set out, without.

Manures for fruit trees. — In a climate like
ours, whose summers are short, and whose win-
ters are subject to great and often rapid changes
of temperature, it is an object to secure a healthy
growth of well-matured wood, rather than a rapid
and spongy one. Consequently, heating, or very
exciting manures are as likely to do injury as
benefit. The very best we have ever tried, was a
compost with muck for its basis, with lime or
ashes as neutralizers. If leaves, bones or soil, or
even a moderate quantity of yard manure, is mixed
with these, it will increase the quantity and may,
perhaps, improve the quality somewhat. But
where only one material is to be had, I prefer the
muck in preference to yard manure. It contains
more of the elements of vegetable growth, and is
less liable to collect and harbor insects injurious
to the tree. It does not give off" its food so rap-
idly as animal manure, but continues its effect
for a longer period. And what makes it still more
attractive, it is cheap, costing most farmers only
the digging and preparation, and may be fed to
the orchard in any quantity without impoverish-
ing the grain field. Willl^m Bacon.

Richmond, August, 1860.

For the New England Fanner.
BUTTBRNUT TREES.

A lady recently informed me, that the above
tree was injurious to fruit and vegetables in its
vicinity, and consequently unfit for a garden.

I do not remember having ever heard or seen
any statement of this kind before, and having a
young tree at the bottom of my own garden, have
examined carefully its surroundings. I find an
asparagus bed near by has only one or two stalks
within about three feet of it, although the bed
was made originally within about six inches of
where the tree was since planted. From this it
would seem that asparagus is one of the things
injuriously affected. On the other hand, rhubarb
plants, on the other side, appear to thrive, though
mine have not been prolific, and the stems have
been small. This, however, might have been
caused by want of manure. There has been no
appearance of blight.

A large purple plum tree, about ten feet dis-
tant, bears profusely, and nothing else appears to
suff'er. The butternut has not yet borne fruit.

If it is a fact this tree is injurious to vegeta-
tion it seems desirable that the fact should be
known. Can you inform us ?

Will asparagus beds made in the fall, be as
likely to do well as those made in the spring, if
well protected from cold ? l. t. s.

Brookline, August, 1860.

RejL'VUKS. — We have had no experience with
the butternut tree, and hope those who have will
respond.

In regard to the rhubarb roots, we cannot see
why they should not do as well set in the autumn
and properly protected, as the apple tree, or any
of the plants which are set in the fall.

For tJte New England Farmer.

THOUGHTS SUGGESTED BY AUGUST NO.
OP N. E. FARMER.

Page 345. — Calendar for August, (Labor and
Leisure.) — In this article we have some note-
worthy observations upon Labor and Leisure, in-
tended to counteract the too common and vastly
pernicious error that the former of these is a curse,
a painful infliction, a hardship and a necessity to
be avoided and evaded as much as possible, while
the latter is a thing to be desired, courted, and
secured as much as it possibly can be. This is
truly a most egregious and pernicious error, and
so widely prevalent, and productive of evil in so
many forms, as to make every effort to expose,
eradicate and neutralize it a most commendable
one. There are, doubtless, not a few who pass,
with themselves and with the world, for good cit-
izens and well-meaning members of society, who
harbor this error in their own minds, and by their
example and conversation countenance it in oth-
ers, but would give it countenance no longer, if its
mischief-working tendencies and results were once
vividly and persuasively presented to their minds.
Let it be considered, then, that crime in all its
manifold forms, and criminals of all kinds, the
pests and nuisances of society — are the legitimate
ofi'spring of this prevalent and pernicious error.
For what is the root of crime ? Is it not obvi-
ously, the desire or disposition to supply one's
wants by fraud or force, by begging, borrowing or
stealing, or by some similar methods, all of which
are made by this delusive error to appear easier
than the Providence-appointed way of supplying
each one his own wants by his own labor, or by a
fair and equitable exchange ? Let this fact, then,
be duly considered, that nearly all the crimes by
which society is infested and injured are the fruits
of this wrong idea as to labor, and who, but the
laziest of the lazy, will any longer tolerate or
harbor this dread of work, this monstrous error
which is productive of such results !

Let the reader of these "Thoughts suggested,"
turn to the article under notice, and re-peruse
those paragraphs of it which relate to Labor and
Leisure, for they well deserve serious considera-
tion by every one who has any regard, — even were
it but a spark — for the welfare of man and the in-
terests of society. Every such person will be
persuaded, after reading and duly pondering the
remarks referred to, that the law of labor is a wise
and beneficent one ; that work is the well-spring
of a thousand streams of manifold benefit and
blessing, as well as the preventive of the vice and
wretchedness which flow almost universally from
indolence and idleness ; — that few are fitted to
make a good use of leisure or exemption from the
necessity of labor ; — and that active employment,
especially for high and noble ends, is the best state
for man or woman in the present world. Those
who endeavor to plant such convictions In the
public mind are laboring for an excellent end ; and
when such convictions shall have become so com-
mon as to form an influential portion of public
opinion, then will the lazy, the idle, the unproduc-
tive and all those who evade work, be judged and
dealt with veiy diff"erently from the way they are
thought of and dealt with now. Now, those who
are too proud or too lazy to work, are too generally
held in honor. Then, they will be considered the

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

461

worst enemies of the interests and welfare of so-
ciety, as they countenance and practice upon the
very disposition which we have shown to be the
root of all crime — the disposition to supply their
wants fi'om the products of the labors of others.
The idler is not very distantly related to the crim-
inal.

But the practical importance of the theme in
hand, and of the reform needed in public senti-
ment as to labor, is leading us to extend our re-
marks perhaps to an undue length. We close by
thanking the editor for those words of his which
have suggested these thoughts, and by saying that
honor and praise is due to all those who make
similar efforts to correct the errors which do gen-
erally prevail as to the desirableness of exemption
from labor.

Page 347. — Culture of Tobacco. — A very sen-
sible talk upon the subject. Those who follow
the directions here given will be sure to obtain a
very excellent crop !

Page 349, — Sweeney in Horses. — A long rest in
the pasture is a good remedy — often the very best
— not only in this disease, but in several other of
the diseases and lamenesses of horses.

Page 355. — Honey Blade — Hungarian Grass.
— Two things are settled about this much puffed
crop : 1, That the yield obtained by the editor,
— about one ton per acre — is much nearer to
the amount usually obtained than the large yields
reported by those who have seed to sell at ex-
travagant prices ; and 2, That all the fine or fraud-
ulent names which have been, or can bo, invented
for this plant, will never avail to make it anything
else than a species, or variety rather, of millet.
One thing more, I regard as settled and sure, viz.,
that the getter up of the pamphlet referred to is
an arrant .

Page 360. — Hoio Farming was made Pleasant
and Profitable. — Undoubtedly agricultural books
and papers in a house, a piece of ground for the
boys to cultivate, with a share in its proceeds,
will prove very effectual as an agricultural educa-
tion, perhaps more so than studying botany and
agricultural chemistry in schools or colleges ; still
the latter must help to make better farmers in 50
or 75 out of every 100 of such pupils, and though
the former may be better than the latter, yet both
are better than either alone, and better than even
the best of the two. Let parents and the State
authorities govern themselves accordingly.

Page 363. — Plum Culture. — There is much in-
genuity and good sense manifested in the direc-
tions here given, and those who follow them,
will be pretty sure to succeed.

Page 365. — Superphosphate for Turnips. — Be-
fore purchasing any superphosphate, farmers
would consult their interest if they would procure
and read a report on some of these articles by
Prof. S. W. Johnson, Chemist to the State Agri-
cultural Society of Connecticut.

Page 370. — Uses and Value of Much. — Who-
ever may adopt the hints given in this ai-ticle will
have good cause after a year or two to thank the
writer, and to esteem the N. E. Farmer as a valu-
able visitor and fireside instructor.

More Anon.

Seeds and Cuttings from Stria. — Ninety-
four boxes and two barrels, containing a fine as-
sortment of seeds and cuttings, have been re-

ceived at the Patent Office from Syria. The as-
sortment is composed of varieties of wheat, bar-
ley, grape-cuttings, olives, scions of fruits and
vegetable products. The cuttings, scions, &c.,
will be sent to the new propagating houses for
experiment and increase, and no distribution will
be made of the remainder until fall. Among the
interesting plants may be mentioned the Lessa-
ban. It makes an excellent article for hedges,
and as a tree it is very ornamental. There are
also seeds of melon, squashes, &c., camel's food,
dates, walnuts, equal to the English, and proba-
bly well adapted to the Middle and Southern
States. The raais tree is esteemed as medicinal,
or rather prophylactic. The seeds sent were pro-
cured from the tree growing within the enclosure
of the ancient temple of Solomon. It was not
to be expected that all these articles would arrive
in good condition. The length of the voyage at
this season, with other circumstances, have caused
the loss or death of a large proportion of them.
But enough are left to yield a rich return for the
moderate sum (one thousand dollars) invested in
their purchase. — Baltimore Sun.

PLABTT-POOD AT THE SUBFACE OF
THE SOIL.

We are continually asked by correspondents
whether manures should be plowed deeply under,
or placed at the immediate surface. It is difficult
to answer questions of so abstract a kind ; if soils
are underdrained and subsoil plowed, so that in
all their parts they contain at all times the exact
amount of humidity which would cover their par-
ticles, then a very large class of fertilizing mate-
rials may be placed at or near the surface. Those
which are not volatile in their nature may indeed
be used as top-dressings with full efi"ect, for the
dews and rains will gradually carry them into the
soil, and in their passage downward they will un-
dergo a greater amount of subdivision than if
buried far beneath the surface ; while in their de-
scent will come in contact with, and so feed a
greater number of roots. If of a soluble charac-
ter, they will be carried on the surface of particles
by moistures, from particle to particle, thus im-
buing all surfaces, and disseminating themselves
so as to do the greatest amount of immediate
good to roots of growing plants. Not only will
their efforts be thus rendered greater, but in their
chemical effects upon the organic matter in the
upper soil, new compounds will be formed re-
quired as plant-food, before their descent where
the inorganic portion requires their assistance.
Indeed, those proximates formed at the surface,
and soluble in their character, being carried into
the subsoil, deepen the available amount of fer-
tile earth. None need fear that any material of
value will sink below the depth to which the soil
has been disturbed by the subsoil plow, for na-
ture's laws prevent any such descent. The fact
that pure water is to be found in wells, fully ex-
plains the fact that soluble matters cannot leach
downward to any greater depth than that to which
the soil has been disturbed, and that a greater
depth of disturbance in the soil is called for, is
proved by every post-hole from which the post of
an old fence has been removed, for there the tuft
of grass is always the tallest.

Lime, if used, should always be put on the sur-

462

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

Oct.

face, and never be plowed under, for the form of

its ultimate particle is such that rains and dews
are sure to carry it downward between tlie parti-
cles of soil ; and in over-limed soils, in which
ditches have been dug, lime is always found resi-
dent upon the surface of the subsoil, and there-
fore, as during its descent its chemical action can
only occur on ])articles through which it descends,
the effect must be greater than if plowed under,
for then the portion above it could not be affected
by the lime.

Wood ashes should always be plowed in at the
surface, for then the gradual leaching downward
of the potash will be brought in contact with all
the materials which can be decomposed, or al-
tered in their condition, by its presence.

In the use of superphosphate of lime, it re-
quires to be entered in the soil only so far as will
cause it to come in contact vt^ith humid portions,
so that its slowly soluble character can develop
itself, and cause its downward travel to bring
about all the chemical changes of which it is ca-
pable, and at the same time, present the requisite
pabulum to roots.

We have made some curious experiments, that
go to suggest the fact that phosphorus is the true
chemical light of the soil. We all know that a
plant grown in the dark has no color. The leaves
and flowers are white, and when the soil is fully
charged with soluble phosphates then this diffi-
culty, in degree, is remedied, for the leaves are
green and the flowers are varied and intense in
their hues.

With barn-yard manure, and particularly in
soils which have been before thoroughly disturbed,
we highly approve of the plowing them deeply un-
der, for then the volatile portions, while rising in
the gaseous form after decomposition, will hs ab-
sorbed by the soil, instead of being lost in the at-
mosphere, while the straw, litter, etc., will tend
to loosen the subsoil, and leave passages through
which the air may enter. And this cvration of the
soil may represent, in degree, the benefits of un-
dei'-draining and subsoil plowing.

This phenomenon may be observed in the travel
of insects in the soil. Thus the seventeen-year
locust, which in some localities has already ap-
peared above the surface, presents holes to the
depth of four feet through which it has risen, each
one of which should chide every farmer who has
neither under-drained nor subsoil plowed his
land. It seems to be a wise provision of nature
to do for the lazy agriculturist what he has failed
to do for himself. — Ed. of WorJcing Farmer.

For the New Ensland Farmer.
REAKIlSra AND FATTENING OP SWINE.

Gluttons and dyspeptics have always been in-
structed by intelligent physicians to eat slowly,
and masticate the food well, and thoroughly in-
corporate the same with the saliva, to secure
good digestion and a uniform appetite.

The rule holds good with hogs and should be
early taught and enforced, both for the advantage
of the pig, and his owner. Everybody knows
that a pig cloyed in early youth with strong food,
greedily eaten, becomes a dyspeptic, and never
does well after. Now, say to your pig, "learn to
eat slow, and all, other graces will follow in their

proper places." Perhaps many good farmers may
say "it can't be done." Nothing easier. Give
the weaned pig at G or 8 weeks old, in a clean
trough, half a teacup of dry shorts or bran, and
after his dry food is all eaten, give his drink, and
increase the dry shorts according to the age and
appetite till 3 months old, then add one-half In-
dian meal for two months, and then dry Indian
meal till fattened sufficiently. I have followed
this plan for five years past with success. I have
2 pigs now 5 m.onths old that are fed one quart
Indian meal each, three times a day, which takes
half an hour to moisten and swallow, and this
quantity, with the slops and dish-water, (all of
which they take after their meal,) will carry them
to 200, dressed, at 6^ months old. At one year
old the same breed weigh 400. One at 9 months
weighed 375. I have a sow that has brought me
126 pigs, and will have another litter in Septem-
ber. L. Long.
Hohjohe, Mass., 1860.

EXTRACTS AND REPLIES.

ITNKXOWN INSECTS.

I enclose a few msccts now common with me. A
fortnight ago I saw tlie first of them. They then were
wingless — a few of them showing wings just starting.
Now they are to bo found upon apple, ash and maple
trees alone. Three days ago I caught a few, winged
and wingless — to-day they are all winged.

I have looked over "Fitch on Insects," but find
nothing answering to their description, nor do I recol-
lect reading of anything like them in "Ivirby."

You may know of them, and they may be very com-
mon ; if so, I shall get laughed at for my ignorance.

S. A. Nelson.

Georgetown, Mass., Aug. 18, 1860.

Remauks. — These insects were about last year, but
seem to have greatly increased this. "When quite young
they cluster together on the stem of the tree, and upon
touching them suddenly diverge in cveiy direction,
like the rays of a star. We know not what they are,
or what they are to make. Before the decease of the
lamented Dr. Harris, of Cambridge, we had a person
to whom we could send samples of strange insects and
find out their names, habits, &c., but now we know of
no one near us wlio will furnish that much needed in-
formation. We thank you (not laugh) for bringing
these insects to notice. Quite likely now some one
will tell us all about them.

ALKALINE COMPOSTS.

In reading your interesting articles on "Composts
and Manures," I have not seen any reference to alka-
lies. I have a lot of pearlash which I want to convert
into the most profitable fertilizer. I thought to com-
post it with a very fine meadow muck which I have.
Will you be kind enough to give me some information
on the subject, through the Farmer f

Addison, Me., Aug., 1860. John Plummee.

Remarks. — We regard pearlash as one of the best
specific fertilizers, to mingle with muck or loam. Sev-
eral years ago, we were engaged in a series of experi-
ments in which most of the special fertilizers were
tested, such as guano, superphosphate of lime, ground
bones, poudrette, salt, &c. Added to these was a cask
of potash, containing 700 or 800 pounds. This we dis-
solved and sprinkled upon beds of old, finely-pulver-
ized muck, and an equal money value of it was ap-
plied to the same space of land as was applied in the
other fertilizers, and the results were favorable, wheu
compared with the other tests.

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

463

FINE SAMPLES OF FRUITS.

Having my attention called to the article of "E. C.
P." in regard to the plum, curculio, &c., I agree with
him that we may yet enjoy the luxury of the plum,
but we must suffer the ravages of the curculio among
our other fruits as well as the plum. When I first
commenced raising tlie plum, aliout fifteen j^ears ago,
I was not troubled at all with that little enemy, but in
a few years they began their depredations, increasing
yearly. At that time there was no black wart on my
trees, but as soon as the curculio had become very nu-
merous the wart appeared also, wliicli led me to the
conclusion that it was caused by the same insect punc-
turing the wood, as well as the plum. Then this little
pest coniincd himself altogether to the plum tree or
its kindred fruits, but now, after becoming legions in
number, their appetites have sharpened, and thcj' read-
ily lav hold of apples and pears, and almost all kinds
of fruits that adorn our gardens. Some of my pears
this season were nearly covered with the crescent fig-
ure of this hard shelled bug but, fortunately, the pro-
gress of incubation docs not prosper in the pear, al-
though where they are badly bit it makes the fruit
stunted and inferior. When there is a great blossom
and setting of fruit, like the present season, there will
be enough escape, but when the reverse, the fruit -will
be mostly affected. Hence we see the reason of the
plum, in some degree, escaping this year. I send you
a sprig of my plums, and some specimens of early ap-
ples.

I send the William's Favorite, Early Harvest and
Early Rose and one for which I have no name. Also,
a sprig of plums, a fiiir specimen of the whole tree.
Some of my plum trees fail, or but few.

I wish to inquire when is the best time to cut in pear
trees and peach trees. Peter Wait.

Remarks. — Thank you, friend Wait, for the speci-
mens of fruit sent. Pomona must be smiling upon you
this y ear.

We should think that after the leaves fall would be
a proper time to head in peach or pear trees,

ENTOMOLOGY — THE CROPS.

The old adage says "make hay while the sun
shines," but as it is the first real rainy day we farmers'
boys have had for some time, I will improve it by ask-
ing you through the Farmer, how a farmer's boy could
obtain some knowledge of entomology. Could I do it
without a teacher ? Xvhat books would be necessary,
and their cost ? While haying, I have noticed the
great number of ditferent insects, and thought I should
like to know more about them. We are having a fine
rain now. Haying is closing up, and there will be
about two-thirds of a crop. Grain of all kinds prom-
ises an abundant harvest. Corn will be good if there
are no early frosts. Fruit will be much more plenty
than it was last year. Sam.

Enfield, N. H., Aicg., 1860.

Remarks. — Certainly, you can obtain a pretty good
knowledge of entomology, or almost any other branch
of learning, without a teacher. Take any of the com-
mon works on insects and read them well, — such as
Kirby and Spence, Harris or Fitch, and long before
you will get through with them you will learn the dif-
ferent orders, and the reason why they bear their dif-
ferent names. When you have done this, you will
liave learned what other steps are necessary in order
>o pursue the subject more thoroughly.

CROPS IN VERMONT.

In this section of Vermont we are going through
such an ordeal as we have never passed through be-
fore. Since the first week in April the drought has
been severe, and what little vegetation did grow, the
grasshoppers have taken. The farmers are in a panic
in regard to the staiwing condition of their stock.
It will take years to restore as good stock to the far-
mers as they had in the spring. Many of our choice
flocks have already passed from us, at the gi'eatest
sacrifice, rather than see them in such a starving con-

dition. It makes them very poor to look over their
farms and see no herds or flocks, or at least feel so.
But we may as well liear in mind that "sufiicient for
the day is the evil thereof." S. Aiken.

Benson, Vt., Aug. 12, 1860.

PASTURE LAND.

I have a piece of pasture on which I have com-
menced mowing the bushes, which I shall get mowed
and burnt up before your next number is out. Part
of it bears swale grass, and a part is covered over with
sand or clay from the railroad, and a part of it plowed
and planted with potatoes. Had I better plow it all
up and plant what I can, and let the remainder sum-
mer till, or what shall I do with it ? j. m. c.

Holliston, Aug. 11, 1860.

Remarks. — If you plant with potatoes what you
can tend well next summer, you will certainly do
much towards thoroughly reclaiming the laud. Plow
in the fivll after the potatoes are han'ested, then plow
again in the spring and sow with oats and grass seed—
and cut the oats for fodder. Prepare compost manure,
and as soon as you can after the oats are cut, give the
land a good top-dressing. This will place the land in
good condition.

HUNGARIAN GRASS SEED — OATS FOR FODDER.

I see by the Farmer that its columns are open for
inquiries and replies : I have some Hungarian grass
and I v/ant to know how I can save the seed and the
fodder, boih.

In what state must oats be cut that are designed for
fodder ? i. -w.

Clarendon, Vt., Aug. 14, 1860.

Remarks. — Grass left for its seed to ripen does not
make so good fodder as that cut earlier, so that in
saving the Hungarian grass for its seed, there will be
a depreciation of the stem for fodder. We are not ac-
quainted with the best process for securing the seed,
but some of our attentive correspondents may be able
to inform you.

Oats intended for fodder should be cut just as the
grain is formed, and before it will show any milk, as
it is termed, by pressing it between the thumb nails.

SOWING CLOVER SEED IN THE FALL.

Please say whether it will do to sow Western clover
in the fall ? Will it stand the winter and not kill ?
Barre, Aug., 1860. A. Barker.

Remarks. — It is not the practice in New England,
either of a few or many, to sow any kind of clover
seed in the fall. The difficulty is, that it does not have
time to root sufficiently deep before the cold stops its
growth. The roots having only a shallow hold, are
thrown out by the heaving frosts, and what is called
winter-killing is the result. Buel says "a better prac-
tice would be to sow with buckwheat in July. The
plants would have time to establish themselves well in
the soil. We, however, think that spring sowing is to
be prefeiTcd in the Northern States." So do we.

new INSECTS.

I discovered on a plum tree in my gardens yester-
day, a swarm of insects which somewhat resemble the
curculio ; on further examination I found them on my
pear and apple trees ; they all appeared to be moving
vj) the tree. I should think I killed enough to fill a
pint pot ; others I discovered in the act of leaving the
ground for the tree ? A specimen of the live insect, I
send j'ou for inspection. f. d.

Lijnn, Aug., 1860.

Remarks. — We spoke of these insects last week,
Hope some of our correspondents will tell us what
they are.

464

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

Oct.

{

A GKOUP OF APBICOTS.

In the Farmer of August 18, we said, "we are
indebted to Mr. J. Q. A. Wild, of Quincy,
M;^.sr,., for a cluster of the most beautiful apricots
that we ever saw. Their fragrance is delicious,
and our 'mouth is watering' for them while the
artist is sketching their fine proportions. We
have never seen fruit of this kind so handsome
in the Southern States. They measure 6^ inches
in circumference one way, and 7^ the other. Will
Mr. Wild be kind enough to send us his mode of
cultivation, soil requisite, &c., to accompany the
engraving which we shall have prepared to illus-
trate them ?"

In compliance with our request, Mr. Wild
says, — "I am sorry that I did not send one of the
largest ones with them ; for there were a number
that were three-fourths of an inch larger ; but as
they were not on the cluster, I did not think of
sending one. As for the soil and cultivation, they
are not different from those necessary for the cul-
ture of the pear and other trees. I think their
fine gi-owth is owing to the locality. The tree is
trained on a trellis on the west side of the house,
and sheltered from the northwest winds, and on
cold frosty nights in the spring I have been in
the habit of covering it with a sheet."

1860.

NE^V ENGLAND FARMER.

465

For the New En?limcl Farmer.

DOMESTIC KECEIPTS.

Apple Puffs. — Take sour apples that cook
well ; stew, sweeten, and spice with lemon, nut-
meg, or cinnamon. Add a little butter, while the
apple is hot. Make a good puff paste, roll it
quite thin, and cut it in strips about three inches
wide. On one-half of the strips put the apple,
a spoonful in a place, leaving room enough be-
tween to cut the paste. Cut small openings in
the upper crust directly opposite the apple ; lay
these strips over the others, and cut through both
thicknesses of paste, either with a glass tumbler,
or a common cake-cutter. Bake in a moderate
oven, and if the paste is good it will be very light.

Jelly Cake. — Take three eggs, one cup flour,
one cup white sugar, two teaspoonfuls cream tar-
tar stirred in dry, and one teaspoonful supercar-
bonate of soda dissolved in warm water ; this
should be mixed with the eggs and sugar, before
stirring in the flour. Prepare square baking tins,
and pour in enough of the batter to cover the bot-
tom ; bake in a moderate oven, though not too
cold ; watch it closely, as it burns easy ; as soon
as done take it out, and spread on either apple
or currant jelly while the cake is warm ; roll it
up and lay it away to cool. Cut through in slices,
and it will resemble round cakes Avith two rings
of jelly. When properly made it looks tempting,
and the taste is by no means disagreeable. It
may be baked in any other form, and by making
the cakes thicker, and baking about twenty min-
utes in a hot oven, it makes a very good sponge
cake, without the jelly.

Pumpkin Sauce, No. 1. — Prepare pumpkin as
for stewing, only cut finer ; put in the kettle, and
pour over it the same quantity of boiled sour
cider as you would if it were apples ; cook the
same as for apple-sauce. If you wish to use it
at tea-time, stir in a little sugar previous to send-
ing it to the table. It can hardly be known from
apple-sauce.

No. 2. — Prepare the pumpkin as in No. 1 ; add
three pounds of brown sugar to ten pounds of
pumpkin ; pour on it a little water, and stew un-
til the raw taste disappears ; but not enough to
break the pumpkin much. When done, flavor
with lemon.

No. 3. — Same as No. 2, only use molasses in-
stead of sugar, and spice while hot, with cinna-
mon. This sauce answers a very good purpose,
and when apples are scarce, is well worth a trial.

Steamed Indian Pudding. — Two cups full of
sweet milk, one tablespoonful of molasses, two
eggs, one teaspoonful of soda, two cups full of
Indian meal, one of flour, and one of dried cher-
ries, currants, or other fruits, all thoroughly
mixed. Have a tin dish ready, into which pour
the batter ; set it in a steamer, and cook it an
hour and a half. Send it to the table hot, and
serve with any good sauce.

Johnny Cake. — Two cups full of Indian meal,
half a cup full of flour, two cups full of sweet
milk, one tablespoonful molasses, and one tea-
spoonful soda. Bake in a hot oven ; it will be
Tery light.

Minced Pies. — One cup full of finely chopped
meat, and two of pickled beets ; mix over night,

and add spices to suit the taste. Pour on it some
West India molasses, and a little good cider vin-
egar ; lot it stand till morning ; then add one cup
full of raisins, and one of currants, half a cup
full of sugar, and hot M'ater enough to make the
mass of a proper consistency. Add a teaspoon-
ful of butter to each pie before putting on the
upper crust. Equally as good as pies made with
apples, and in a scarcity of fruit, is well worth
trying.

Imitation Apple Pie. — Take dried pumpkin,
and cut it in pieces about the size of a quarter of
a small apple ; stew it till soft, but not enough
to fixll to pieces. Add one cup full of currants,
or other dried fruit, to pumpkin enough for three
pies ; mix well, and put on plates the same as
apple ; then pour on each pie a teaspoonful of
sharp vinegar ; strew on some sugar, and spice
to taste. Put on the upper crust, and bake. A
good substitute for apple pie.

Another. — Take ripe pumpkin, cut it in small
pieces, and stew until soft enough to beak easy
with a spoon. Take it up, and add sugar and
lemon, or other spice to suit the taste. Bake with
or without upper crust.

Tomato Pie. — Take ripe tomatoes, scald, skin,
and take the seeds out. Line the plates with
paste, and slice on tomatoes enough to cover each
about as thick as you would for a tart ; spice with
lemon, nutmeg or mace ; add a little butter, and
cover with a good puff paste ; bake well, and you
will have a pie good enough for the best man in
town.

Squash Pie. — Stew squash the same as you
do pumpkin, allowing all the water to dry away
before taking it from the fire. Pass it through a
colander, and add a little butter, or sweet cream,
and some new milk, but not as much as for pump-
kin pies ; stir in a small tablespoonful of flour
and one egg tq each pie ; flavor with ginger and
nutmeg. Pies thus made of the marrow squash
have a close resemblance to sweet potato pie.

E. H. V.

Salt and Fence Posts. — A correspondent of

the N. H. Journal of Agriculture says:

I have just been to examine some that I set 30
or 31 years ago. I found them all sound and
erect. That is, I tried every one of them, and
found them to stand firm. They are white oak,
about 12 inches square, with the part set in the
ground unshaved. After setting, I bored into
each post about three inches above the ground,
with a two inch auger, at an angle of about 45°,
and filled the hole with salt, and plugged it up.
The plugs are all in, and the posts look as sound
as when set. I put in about one-half a pint of
salt to a post. As I tried none without salt, I
cannot say whether it was the salt or something
else that preserved the posts.

Winter Wheat. — Mr. John Steele, of Stone-
ham, Mass., showed us some winter wheat of his
raising, where he obtained at the rate of thirty-six
bushels per acre. It was very handsome. He
thinks wheat can be raised easily and profitably
in this State.

466

NEW ENGLAND FARMER,

Oct.

For the New England Farmer.

MUSINGS AMONG THS MOUNTAINS OF
NEW ENGLAND.

Top of Grand Monadnoc Mountain, )
August 15, 18G0. |

High up in the azure blue, 3500 feet above the
"city of notions," I have dined to-day. This is a
beautiful mountain, standing entirely alone in its
native majesty, towering up into the clouds in its
granite stateliness, with no other elevation around
it to creat monotony or destroy the romance of a
full view of its base. Not a farm extends up to
its base but some portion of it may be seen from
this point. Deep ravines, huge piles of rugged
gi'anite all around, a beautiful farming country as
far as the eye can extend, clouds flitting by just
above your head — everything seems to inspire
one's thoughts v/ith lofty emotions and holy as-
pirations, and force upon his mind the impression
that he is nearer God and the Heavens than those
far down in the valley below. What a "masterly
inactivity" seizes upon the imagination ! Occu-
pying the easterly slope of the mountain, reach-
ing up to the very pinnacle where I stand, and
stretching far away upon the rich valley below,
lies the town of Jaffrey, one of the best farming
toAvns in Cheshire Co., with its five beautiful lit-
tle lakes, its many fine fields of wheat now ready
for the harvest ; its rich patches of corn, oats, rye,
barley and potatoes, all looking exceedingly well ;
its hundreds of young fruit trees recently planted
out, loaded with fruit ; the old church at the cen-
tre of the town where the late Rev. Laban Ains-
worth ministered to the people for nearly half a
century, said to have been raised June 17, 1775,
the day of the Bunker-Hill fight, and now used
as a "town house;" back of this is the old burial-
ground, M'hich holds the first century of the town,
among whom ai'e the following names : Rev. and
wife, the father, mother and one brother of Joel,
Isaac and Edmund Parke, names familiar to every
business man of Boston ; O ! and a few steps
more brings me to the grave of a mother ; "and
she was the dearest mother that God ever gave" —

"She's sleeping in the valley,

And the mocking bird is singing all around," —

a sister and a brother.

Four miles from its base, in the easterly part
of the town, situated upon both sides of the Con-
toocook River, is the beautiful village of East
Jaffrey, unsurpassed in its healthy location, its
romantic scenery, its magnificent hotel, erected
the past season for the accommodation of parties
visiting the Monadnoc, and the public generally ;
its beautiful school-house for the district school,
(the best in the county,) fine dwellings, busy
work-shops and factories ; all this lies spread out
before me as I stand upon this rock in the clouds
and look away to the East. Upwards of 200 per-
sons have visited this spot to-day. The present
accommodations upon this mountain are meagre,
but I believe ere long some person of means will
seize upon the opportunity to build a fine stone
house near its top for the accommodation of those
wishing to board for a season. The sun-rise seen
from this point, in a clear morning, is truly beau-
tiful. In a clear, pleasant day, with a powerful
glass, I think Bunker-Hill Monument might be
distinctly seen.

About four miles from this point, directly north,

iS the ti wn of Dublin, another good farming town.

Here is where the late Rev. Sprague spent

his ministerial life, about whom, in connection
with the Rev. Laban Ainsworth before mentioned,
so many curious anecdotes have been related.
Here in Dublin, is the dividing ridge between the
Connecticut and Merrimac Rivers. The church
in which the eccentric Sprague used to preach
was literally "the dividing of the waters" as re-
ferred to in the Scriptures, for the water from the
north side of the house went to the Merrimac, and
that from the south side to the Connecticut. Upon
the western slope lie the towns of Troy and
Marlboro'. Next beyond is the town of Keene,
a wealthy and beautiful town. Far away in the
smoky distance, faint and blue, rise the broken
ridges of the Green Mountains.

The mountain cranberry grows luxuriantly to
within a few feet of the top of this mountain, and
the vines are now nearly red with a fine crop of
fruit. I would suggest to persons experimenting
with cranberries on upland to plant out some of
this variety. The barn swallow is up here to-day
twittering about merrily, while a large portion of
them left for the South about the fourth inst. I
had a fine flock of martins this season, which left
the fifth inst. From some cause or other the
swallows and martins have left about three weeks
earlier than usual. The spring time is gone, the
summer is nearly ended, and the sweet little songs-
ters that came up among these mountains to war-
ble their cheerful notes to the tillers of the soil,
and obey the laws of propagation by multiplying
their species, are nearly silent ; the season of the
rose, the noblest of flowers, is gone, but stupid is
the man who will suffer his garden to be void of
flowers until cut down by the icy hand of the
north. But the most interesting of all seasons,
the harvest season, is at hand. Never did crops
look more promising than at this moment, in this
section. The midge is doing some injury to the
wheat crop here, but the earliest fields are so far
advanced that but little damage will be effected.

East Jaffrey, Aug., 1860. L. L. Pierce.

For the New England Farmer.
IN-DOOKS-F ARMING.

Messrs, Editors : — I noticed in your issue of
June 30 a short article on "In-Doors-Farming,"
from a New Hampshire farmer's wife. I think,
with her, that it is too often the case that the far-
mers' wives are the most hard-working class.
Their cares and anxieties, it is true, are almost
endless ; still, I think the writer has enumerated
some things that no farmer who cares for his wife
as he ought, would expect her, as a general thing,
to do. I think the milking, feeding hogs and
turning the churn crank, belong to the men folks,
as a general thing. But if they are sick, or un-
avoidably obliged to work unseasonably late get-
ting in hay, or grain, before a rain, or anything
of that kind, they will find no one any more wil-
ling than myself to help in these matters. No
reasonable man Avill ask his wife to do these things,
much less expect them, as a matter of course.

Another thing. I don't think it hurts the men
folks to help wash. They do their share, and no
small share either, at dirtying the clothes ; why,
then, should they not help wash them ? perchance

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

467

they might be more careful, Two hours' work of
a man with a washing-machine, on Monday morn-
ing, will help along the week's work in-doors
more than twice that time can help along the out-
of-doors work. My husband either himself helps
■wash or finds a hand to do it. He says it is
cheaper than it would be to hire a girl, provided
there was one to be found. No matter how rich
a farmer is, he can't hire a girl to do house-work,
in this region, for thei-e are none to be had.
Therefore, if we are fortunate enough to have
daughters of our own, it is our duty to instruct
them in all the branches of in-doors farming. And
let us not allow the idea to creep into their heads
that it is degrading to work, but rather teach
them that it is honorable to kiioio liow to work,
and to be willing to do it.

A Northern Vt. Farmer's Wife.

For the New England Farmer.
"WHAT MAKES THE "WATER BAD P
BY JUDGE FRENCH.

This inquiry is for the benefit of the rural dis-
tricts, and of those who are supplied from wells.
It is plain enough what makes Croton and Co-
chituate water bad, because do we not all read in
the papers, how those great disgusting eels come
squirming out of the pipes, leaving, nobody knows
how many that have been long past squirming,
all along the line, and have we not all seen the
monstrous, horrid, and ill-favored creatures rep-
resented in shop windows, by those who sell fil-
ters, and by other disinterested persons ? O, no !
people who live in the country, do not drink that
sortof stuff. And so of cistern water; country-bred
people are not to be imposed upon with any of
your rain water beverages, filtered and purified
though it be, by forty layers of charcoal. Like the
true prince in the fairy tale, who could feel a single
pea in his bed at the bottom of forty feather beds,
they who live in the country are not to be deceived
by any substitutes for the pure and sparkling wa-
ter of the crystal fountains.

Nevertheless, we do not unfrequently hear a
mild murmur of complaint, as we visit our friends
in the country, or call at a neighbor's in the vil-
lage. At one time it comes in the form of an
apology. "Our water is not so cold as we could
wish, the fact is, there is something the matter
with our well, and we are obliged to send to Mr.
Smith's for water to drink." At another it takes
the form of scientific investigation. "What can
be the reason of this little disagreeable odor in our
■well-water ? It is so very slight that perhaps you
do not observe it." Of course, we had noticed it,
and setting down an untasted glass, wondered
how any body could drink a drop of it. Wonder-
ful is the force of habit J Here is an illustration
in point. We mentioned to a farmer's wife, that
although turnips fed to cows would give a bad
flavor to butter at first, yet after a few days, the

eff"ect was not observable. "Yes," said she, "our
folks tried that last year, and we found that after
a few days, there was no bad taste to the butter,
but when we came, months afterwards, to use the
butter I had put down at the same time, v/e found
the turnip taste as bad as ever ; the fact is, we
had all got used to the turnip flavor, so that we did
not notice it." Yes, wonderfully kind is Nature !
We are informed by a tanner who had been long
in the business, that he had not smelt any thing
for twenty years, and a lecturer on bees, at Yale,
last winter, stated that after being stung a few
times by bees, people usually suflfered very little
from their sting. Whether habit dulls the sense
of pain, or whether the first half-dozen stings op-
erate by way of inoculation, let doctors decide.
If you wish to learn whether there is a bad taste
to water, ask a stranger. Everybody perceives a
peculiar quality in water to which he is not ac-
customed.

But to return to our question — What makes the
water bad ? Let us deal tenderly with our suff'er-
ing friends. Nobody wants to be told plumply
that he is daily imbibing the drainage of his
vaults, stables and sinks, and pouring out the
same delicious compounds to his wife, and chil-
dren, and guests ; especially nobody who lives in
the country, where they boast of not only pure air
and water, but even pure milk. Let us rot add
insult to afliliction, by any rudeness in our mode
of dealing with a subject so delicate. An inno-
cent and respectable man may have an infec-
tious disease, but that is no reason why he should
be made to acknowledge it in the public streets.
His physician will privately and kindly say to
him. "The symptoms are plain. Sir, and the reme-
dy is simple ; we doctors know very well that
every man considers himself an exception to all
general laws, that he expects to draw the first
prize in the lottery, and to be the last man killed
in the battle. Do not trouble me with any pro-
testations that it cannot be possible, nor say, 'Is
thy servant a dog,' but wash in the Jordan, and
be healed."

A hundred farmers who will read this paper,
have been troubled with bad water in their wells.
What makes it bad ? Let us reason togeth^
calmly. You will agree that there is some cause.
We know that the rain comes clear from the
clouds, that is to say, substantially so, and that
therefore the impurity which exists in the well-
water is in some way acquired in its passage
upon or through the earth. The source of the
trouble is then to be sought near the well, be-
cause even impure water would be filtered by a
long passage through almost any kind of earth.

Whence comes the water which we raise from
wells ? Primarily from the clouds. Then it soaks
down, and in sandy soils usually rests on clay,

468

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

Oct.

gradually percolating towards lower places, and
bursting out on hill-sides and near swamps in
springs. Wells in sandy places are usually mere
holes where the rain water stands clear and pure,
if it is not corrupted in its passage down from
the surface. In soils not homogeneous, such as
exists in stony districts, the rain water is collect-
ed by fissures and seams, and various obstruc-
tions, into little streams or veins, which we strike
in digging, or which are drawn aside from their
course by our excavation. This water is usually
cold and clear, though often hard, from some
quality acquired on its underground passage,
"But the bad water does not come from those
deep springs ?" Certainly not, but as it comes
from somewhere, let us inquire further. About
forty-two inches of water annually falls on every
foot of your farm. What becomes of it ? It falls
in your barn-yard, and you are too good a farmer
to let it run off the surface, and so of your garden
full of manure, and your fields.

Your sink drain carries somewhere a constant
stream of filth, usually received into some mere
excavation, and so of the vaults for matters still
more off"ensive. Sometimes those receptacles are
water-tight, of brick and cement, but on farms
this is the exception. The vast quantity of rain
water, with all the impurities acquired in all those
ways, passes downward, and where does it go ?
It seeks the lowest level and outlet. We should
expect a four-foot drain in ordinary cases to
draw, as it is called, some twenty to thirty feet,
and to take off the water down to nearly the level
of its bottom, in forty-eight hours. A deep pit
from which you should pump out the water would
drain much further. You would expect such a
pit to drain everything within many rods of it.
All the drainage water would gradually find vent
in that pit. Just such a pit is your well. It is
the lowest opening for all the water that descends
from the surface into the earth for a certain area.
But the water is good a part of the year, and only
very bad in summer. It is hardly civil to say
that your broth is thinner when much diluted.
We will therefore suggest that so large a quanti-
ty of pure water flows into and out of wells
supplied by veins of water in the wet season,
that the small proportion of surface water is not
appreciable ; or we may suggest that when the
well is comparatively full, the surface water runs
off at the surface, because it finds little or no de-
scent toward the well. It is evident that no wa-
ter can run into a well already full, and that the
depth of the well for drainage, is its depth to the
surface of the water.

We have been consulted many times on this
subject, and often have suggested what has proved
to be the true source in the particular case. The
list of causes may not have a poetical savor, but

what makes the water bad in most cases, is, first,
some dead animal, as a dog or cat, toads or frogs,
and in sandy soil, angle-worms, which often crawl
down for moisture and die. It is surprising how
small a decoction of these dead creatures will give
an "ancient and fish-like smell" to a whole well
of water. Secondly, the drainage from stables
and barns. Thirdly, and generally, the drainage
from sinks and vaults, which, after a shorter or
longer time, so saturate the earth that it cannot
longer filter out the impurities, and they pass
downward with the surface water.

Our article is already too long, and if the sub-
ject seems worth pursuing, we may speak of the
remedies for existing troubles of this kind in the
future.

For tlie New England Farmer.
THE OLD BARKT.

Dear Sir: — The following, to me, at least,)
beautiful fragment of poetry I chanced to read
some time ago, as it was floating along on the
public press, I know not whether you have seen
it before, and even if you have, I think it will bu
new to most of your numerous readers, I there-
fore send it to you for insertion in the Farmer, if
you think it worthy to occupy a place in your val-
uable journal, I know not the author, but its
perusal will cause many a heart to travel back to
to the scenes of boyhood, while memory, ever
faithful, will point to the Old Barn, situated on
the old homestead, so aptly portrayed in the fol-
lowing verses — the scene of many a frolic and
pastime in days long since gone by.

Boston, Aug., 1860. John F. Tilton.

Rickety, old, and crazy,
Shingleless, lacking some doors —
Bad in the upper story,
Wanting in boards in tlie floors ;
Beams strung thick with cobwebs,
Ridgepole yellow and gray,
Hanging in helpless impotence,
Over tho mows of hay.

How the winds turn around it ! —
Winds of a stormy day —
Scattering the fragrant hay -seeds,
Whisking the straws away —
Streaming in at the crevices,
Spreading the clover smell,
Changing the dark old granary
Into a flowery dell !

0, how I loved the shadows
That clung to the silent roof —
Day-dreams wovl with the quiet
Many a glittering woof.
I climbed to the highest rafter,
Watched the swallows at play,
Admired the knots in the boarding,
And rolled in billows of hay !

Root Culture, — This subject was under con-
sideration at a late meeting of the "Harvest
Club" of Springfield, Mass. Seven members of
the club had raised last year, an aggregate of
15,000 bushels — a single individual 4000. One

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

469

find a half acres produced twent)--eight tons of
mangolds ; one-fourth of an acre 250 bushels.
Commencing early in September the lower leaves
of the mangolds may be fed to stock. It seemed
to be admitted by the club that carrots do not in-
crease the flow of milk, when fed to cows, but that
turnips do. A correspondent of the Country Oen-
tleman says that a person of his acquaintance
who sold milk in Troy, N. Y., after careful exper-
iments with various roots to secure the greatest
quantity of milk, gave the preference to the sugar
beet, and raised that exclusively while he remained
in the milk business.

For the New Ensland Fanner.
ABOUT A BOLIiER AND GRASS SEED.
Dear Sir : — What is the best kind of roller for
farm purposes ? Are they to be found at the ag-
ricultural stores in the city ? If so, what is the
material, — wood, iron or granite ? And what the
cost ?

In answering the above, you will oblige one of
your constant readers, and one, too, who has for
many years been a book farmer, and for several
years last past, a practical farmer. In this partic-
ular, he has had no experience, save the loss of a
bushel of herds grass seed, sown two years ago,
last of September, on a piece of light upland, not
one seed of which has ever been seen, or heard
from as yet, though the ground has not been since
plowed. Another bushel of the same lot of seed,
sown at the same time, on the meadow land near
by, came up well, and has done well. Two acres
of meadow land, prior to that time full of stumps,
windfalls, withey bushes, cat-o'-nine-tails, bull-
rushes, frogs, snakes, lizards, and all sorts of of-
fensive smells in the height of dog-days, has been
reclaimed, drained, and covered with yellow sand,
in places where the plow did not reach the white
two inches deep, spread from a horse cart in De-
cember, after the frost had stiffened the muck hard
enough to bear, has produced since that time,
what may be termed with propriety a heavy bur-
den of hay. It was not weighed, but there was as
much as could be made upon the ground. I send
you, herewith one head of the herdsgrass, that grew
upon the muck beds, 11;J inches long. This must
not be taken as a specimen of all the rest. This
is the only head of that length found ; 7i inches
may be deemed nearer the average length of heads.
Many heads were found eight, nine and ten inches,
but this is the only one 11^ long. Why the herds-
grass seed took well on this, and proved a total
failure upon the adjoining upland, I do not know.
One farmer of some experience has told me, "it
would have come, if I had rolled the land after
sowing," He remarked, "The late Judge Hayes,
of South Berwick, could never grow a good catch
of hay seed on the light soil of his farm, until he
used a roller." I therefore want a roller, if for no
other reason, to experiment with.

Old Berwick.
BochingTiam County, N. H., 1860.

Rem.'iRKS. — The rollers sold at the agricultural
stores are usually iron, and cost from $10 to $30,
mccording to size. Any small seeds come better

to have the earth pressed a little about them.
Where grain is sowed, have you not noticed that
it comes quickest and best in the tracks of the
cattle ?

THE USES OF MOUNTAIITS.
Rev. T. Starr King, in his work on "The White
Hills ; their Legends, Landscape and Poetry,"
published by Crosby, Nichols, Lee & Co., thus
pleasantly discourses upon one of the uses of
mountains :

"Mr. Ruskin notes it as one of the most prom-
inent uses of mountains that they cause perpetu-
al changes in the soils of the earth. The physical
geographers assure us that if the whole matter of
the Alps were shoveled out over Europe, the lev-
el of the continent would be raised about twenty
feet. And this process of leveling is continually
going on. By a calculation, which he made in
the valley of Chamouni, Mr. Ruskin believes that
one of the insignificant runlets, only four inches
wide and four inches deep, carries down from
Mont Blanc eighty tons of granite dust a year ;
at which rate of theft at least eighty thousand
tons of the substance of that mountain must be
yearly transformed into drift sand by the streams,
and distributed upon the plain below. On White-
face mountain, of the Sandwich group, a slide
took place in 1820 which hurled down huge blocks
of granite, sienite, quartz, felspar, and trap-rocks,
and cut a deep ravine in the sides of the mountain
several miles in extent. But compensation vv'as
made in part for its destructive fury. An exten-
sive meadow at the base, which had borne only
wild, coarse grasses, was rendered more fertile by
the fine sediment, here and there four or five feet
in depth, that was distributed upon it, and now
produces excellent grass and white clover. Take
a century or two into account, and we find the
mountains fertilizing the soil by the minerals they
restore to it to compensate the wastes of the har-
vests. The hills, which, as compared with living
beings, seem everlasting, are in truth, as perish-
ing as they. Its veins of flowing fountains weary
the mountain heart, as the crimson pulse does
ours J the natural force of the iron crag is abat-
ed in its appointed time, like the strength of the
sinews in a human old age ; and it is but the
lapse of the longer years of decay which, in the
sight of its Creator, distinguishes the mountain
range from the moth and the worm."

Sheep in Texas. — A Texan correspondent of
the Country Gentleman says that he has been in-
formed of one man who had 400 and others from
100 to 200 sheep frozen to death by the severe
northers of the past season. One gentleman
who had a varied flock of 500, containing many
Merinos and common Mexican sheep, a few Ox-
fordshire sheep, a recent English stock from the
flock of John T. Andrew, of Cornwall, Ct., lost
sixty Merinos, &c., from his flock during the
norther of the first of December, while the thick-
fleeced Oxfordshires seemed quite indifferent to
the cold.

470

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

Oct.

THE BAROMETER AND ITS USE.

The attention of the agricultural community
having been called to this instrument the past
season, more directly than ever before, mainly by
the advertisements in our columns and in other
Agricultural Journals, of the instruments manu-
factured by Messrs. John M. Merrick & Co., of
Worcester, we propose in this article to explain
briefly the character of the instrument, and its
utility as a weather-guage.

The word Barometer is derived from two Greek
words, signifying weight and to measure. The in-
strument, therefore, is to measure weight, as ap-
plied to the atmosphere, or is, in other words, to
determine the pressure of the atmosphere. It
is well known that the weight of a column of air
one inch square, and of the height of the atmo-
sphere above the earth, is equal to about 15 lbs.
This column will then sustain a column of water,
mercury or any other fluid of similar size, and
high enough to make it equal in weight. The col-
umn of water which can thus be sustained is 32
feet in height, the column of mercury about 29
inches. Galileo commenced, near the close of his
life, experiments to ascertain why a column of
water could be raised in a vacuum only to the
height of 32 feet. Without completing these ex-
periments he died, and left his pupil, Torricelli,
to pursue the investigations. He used mercury ;
filling a tube, closed at one end, with the fluid, he
placed his finger over the other end, which he
then immersed in a basin of mercury, holding the
tube upright. Upon removing his finger, the mer-
cury in the tube sunk and finally rested at a
height of 28 inches above the level of that in the
basin. Repeated experiments resulted in the
same way, and thus was discovered a principle in
natural law which is as unchangeable as the na-
ture of the Creator.

The Barometer thus being invented, it was not
long before the changes of the atmosphere were
discovered to afi'ect it, Pascal, a French philos-
opher, also inferred, and established the truth of
his inference by experiment, that the Barometer
would indicate a lessened pressure of the atmo-
sphere by ascending with it above the ordinary lev-
el of the earth's surface. These experiments were
conducted in the years 1642 to 1648. Numerous
attempts have been made to modify the form of
the barometer, but those now most approved are
essentially the same as Torricelli's, a straight in-
verted tube, about thirty-two inches in height,
and mercury as the measuring liquid. Some have
been made where no liquid was used, but the
weight of the atmosphere was determined by its
pressure upon the sides of a metal box from which
the air had been exhausted. The mercurial ba-
rometers are, however, the standard, and much
preferred by scientific men.

It is obvious that the weight of the atmosphere
is not always the same. The presence of mois-
ture, the variations of heat and cold, and the force
of the winds, all operate to make the weight of
the atmosphere at any point, an almost constantly
changing quantity. Observations for now more
than two hundred years have enabled us to judge
with much accuracj', by these changes in the
weight of the atmosphere as indicated by the ba-
rometer, of approaching changes in the weather.
It has been found that almost invariably certain
atmospheric changes precede a change of the
weather from wet to dry, or from dry to wet, and
that the barometer never indicates so high an al-
titude during a storm as during dry weather.
These observations have established a set of rules
for judging of approaching changes of weather,
which we shall give at the close of this article.

The index affixed to some barometers, marking
upon a circular disc the height of the mercury,
with the alleged corresponding condition of the
atmosphere, is of no value, and is calculated to
mislead. In fact the altitude of the barometer at
any given time is not alone a guide to the weath-
er which may follow, but the true guide is —
whether the height indicated is more or less than
that indicated a short time previously ; whether
the mercury is declining, or rising, at the time of
the observation.

There are also changes of the barometer in our
latitude, which indicate no corresponding change
of weather. For instance, the mercury during fair
weather may stand at a high altitude in the morn-
ing and decline a little towards the middle of the
afternoon, with no variation of the weather follow-
ing. But should this change continue, and the mer-
cury still decline, and not return towards midnight
to its altitude in the morning, then a change is sure
to follow. We notice this change in a Timby's
Barometer which hangs by our side as we write this
— Tuesday P. M., (Sept. 4th,) — which has declined
one-tenth of an inch since 9 o'clock this morning.
As it fell in a similar manner yesterday, and rose
again at nightfall, we apprehend no change unless
this decline continues. It was a knowledge of
these changes which led us last week in noticing
this instrument, to caution people against imput-
ing to that, faults which exist only their in own
ignorance of its principles, and to advise them
to obtain an understanding of the laws which
govern it, before judging falsely of its indications.
Mr. Timby's Barometer is a simple instrument, its
indications plain to be read and easy to under-
stand. We believe it to be thoroughly made, as
the mercury has that brilliant lustre which be-
speaks its purity, and in inclining the tube it
strikes against the top with a sharp click which
indicates a perfect vacuum. These points show
a correct construction ; and as the principle of

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

471

the barometer's action is unchangeable, it follows
that a correct and careful construction of the in-
strument is all that is needed, to make it as per-
fect as any instrument of the kind can be.

This article is already longer than we designed,
and we close by giving the following rules from
a distinguished English authority, which we ad-
vise all who own a barometer to preserve and
consult :

1. After a continuance of dry weather, if the
barometer begins to fall slowly and steadily, rain
will certainly ensue ; but if the fine weather has
been of long duration, the mercury may fall for
two or three days before any perceptible change
takes place ; and the longer the time that elapses
before the rain comes, the longer the wet weather
is likely to last.

2. If, after a great deal of wet Aveather, with a
low bai-ometer, the mercury rises slowly and
steadily, fine weather will come, though two or
three days may elapse before the change ; and the
fine weather will be permanent in proportion to
the time that passes before the perceptible change
takes place.

3. If a change of weather immediately follows
the motion of the mercury, the change will not be
permanent.

4. If the barometer rise slowly and steadily for
two days or more, fine weather will follow, though
it should rain incessantly during these two days.
But if on the appearance of fine weather, in the
above instance, the mercury begins to fall again,
the fine weather will be very transient. Apply the
reverse of this to a change from fair to rainy
weather.

5. A sudden fall of the barometer, in spring or
fall indicates wind ; in the summer, with a sultry
atmosphere, an approaching thunder-storm ; in
the winter, if after continued cold, a change of
wind, with thaw and rain. Or should the cold be
unabated and the mercury fall, snow may be ex-
pected.

6. Rapid fluctuations of the barometer do not
indicate permanent change of weather ; only the
slow, steady and continued changes of the mer-
cury.

Local atmospheric influences may vary these
rules somewhat, and therefore experience is ne-
cessary to enable a person to judge with entire
accuracy in any case.

For the New England Farmer.
COEM" AFTER RUTA BAGAS.
Mr. Farmer :— Although a mechanic by trade,
I am not strictly one by nature, for I take a great
interest in the farming world, and enjoy no little
pleasure in reading many articles on the subject
in the Farmer. Many times I have been tempt-
ed to reply to inquiries, but thinking that there
were many more capable of doing so than myself,
I have deferred until now. In perusing the pages
of your issue of the 18th inst., I noticed an arti-
cle by"T. M.," which contained some ideas which
appeared rather erroneous to me. He says "Nei-
ther covn nor tobacco will grow after ruta bagas."

He adds, "Why not ? What will ?" I know noth-
ing about tobacco, (and am not desirous to learn,)
but I do know that corn will grow after ruta ba-
gas. While writing, I can look out upon a piece
of^ corn, which looks as well as any I have seen
this year ; it is well silked, and has not a few ears,
and last year at this time there was a good piece
of ruta bagas upon the same ground.

Perhaps the "secret of success" is this : The
man who cultivates the above-mentioned ground
uses a large quantity of wood ashes.

West Minot, Me., Aug., 1860. Observer.

For the New England Farmer.

FAKMEHS' "WIVES AND DAUGHTERS.

Farmers' Wives Hard Workers— The Other Side— Farmers and
Mechanics- Pursuit of Knowledge under Difficulties— Latin
Lesson-s- Churning and Frying Pancakes— Mountain Girls
must Hunt for more Sunshine '.

Mr. Brown :— Will you allow another "farm-
er's daughter" to speak "through the columns of
your paper ?" Not in pity and in sympathy for
that much abused band of farmers' wives, — but
rather to congratulate them upon their happy sit-
uation ; and also to correct some erroneous ideas
advanced by our friend from the "Old Granite
State."

Having spent considerable time in mechanics'
families, I may safely say, that it is not a "well
established fact, that farmers' wives are the most
hard working class in existence ;" that their la-
bors, generally, are not more arduous, and that
they have quite as much leisure for improving
the mind, as they would have in other stations of
life.

Is there not as much intelligence and refine-
ment in a farmer's family as in a mechanic's ? A
farmer's wife whose "ideas of human nature and
the world are limited to her native village" can
scarcely be found. And a very large proportion
of our present teachers are from farmers' families.
Does this show that their advantages for educa-
tion are limited ? There is less real poverty
among farmers than among mechanics. But sup-
pose, in some instances, rigid economy is neces-
sary in order to live comfortably. The "expan-
sion of the germs 'of intellect" is not dependent
upon the "profits of the farm." Any brave-heart-
ed, courageous girl, may acquire a good education,
although a course of study at a public institution
is not permitted.

Very little money, (and a willing heart will find
ways to earn that little,) suffices to furnish all
necessary books ; and no one who has not in ear-
nest tried it, is aware how many leisure moments
there are in a day, which may be devoted to study.
I assure you that a Latin lesson may be very read-
ily committed to memory, even w'hile turning a
churn-crank, or frying "pancakes !"

With regard to the young lady mentioned by the
"farmer's daughter," permit me to say, (and I have
no doubt that you thought the same, Mr. Editor,
although too gallant to express it !) if said young
lady_ refuses to marry a farmer, simply because
she is fearful of hard work, and because he has
not wealth to provide a piano and large library,
she deserves to remain single through life.

It is the fashion here in Massachusetts, when
we cannot afford a piano without being in debt
for it, to make all the music we can without it, —

472

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

Oct.

and economize, with faith that one day it will be
forthcoming, "free and independent."

No heart need pine for pictures upon the walls,
when all about us we have paintings more beauti-
ful than ever human artists could form. Here,
from my window, is a view, — a blue lake resting
like a gem in its setting of foliage, and the "ev-
erlasting hills" touched up with a golden sunset
light, — a view which fills my heart with gratitude
that my home is far from the busy town, — that I
am a farmer's daughter.

I trust our mountain sister will, by searching,
find more sunshine in farm life than she now
dreams of; and not doom the "I'ising race" of
young farmers to perpetual bachelorship, by
"striking so mournful a strain." Anna.

W , Ilass., 1860.

EXTRACTS AND REPLIES.

SUCKERS AMONG COHN.

I wish to inquh'C of you, or some of your farming
correspondents, if any advantage is derived ia cutting
out tlie suckers among corn ? I have a field of corn
which is very stout ; it is planted four feet apart each
way, and I have left only four speai"s in the hill, but
the suckers have come ovxt so thick that it makes a
complete swamp of the field. 0. L. Sanborn.

Concord, N. JL, 1860.

Remarks. — Opinion is divided as to this matter.
"We head in grape vines, squashes, tomatoes and trees ;
why not subtract a portion of the surplus plants among
com on the same principle ? Wc should be glad of
opinions on this point from observing and experimen-
tal persons.

IMPROVEMENT OF SHEEP FOR WOOL.

Having just commenced the business of keeping
sheep, and being obliged to make up my flock of aliout
five hundred from such as I can find for sale from half-
blood Merino to common Canada, I find it necessary
to improve in some way on the quality of the wool.
Whether it would be best to cross them with a Merino
or South Down, I am not able to say. Any sugges-
tion in regard to this matter will be gratefully re-
ceived. Freeman Doaxe.

Remarks. — Among our correspondent?, we have
those conversant with this matter, persons who under-
stand the results of the crossings, and the demands of
the market for wool, and we pr^efer their opinions
rather than offfer our own, made up from more limited
experiences. The question asked is important, and we
hope will be replied to early.

questions about cider mills.

I would like to inquire through the columns of the
Fanner of whom I can get information concerning ci-
der-mills, and what kind are the best ? Whether those
that press the pomace immediately are equal to those
where the cider can remain in the pomace for a length
of time ? What the arrangements are for pressing a
large cheese, or making, without the use of Ftraw, and
where any are located of the common nut mill kind,
run by water power, where the ajjplcs are put in above
into a hopper, and the pomace falls in a bed beneath,
if thei'e are any such in this vicinity?

Wether sfield, Ct., 1860. A Subscriber.

Remarks. — We do not possess the knowledge
wanted. Will some one who has it reply ?

FOWL MEADOW GRASS.

Will you please inform me through your paper,
whether the enclosed specimen of grass is the genuine
Fowl Meadow ? If not, what kind of grass is it ?

Ossipee, N. IL, 1860. S. B. Carter.

Remarks. — We liave no doubt but it is.

RUTA BAGAS — CABBAGES — ORCHARD.

Will you inform me through the Farmer what ruta
bagas are worth per bushel in the fall, and how many
pounds to the bushel ? Will they and caljbages suc-
ceed well on the same ground, for two or more years,
with a liberal coat of manure each year, say in an
orchard which has been set with apple trees eleven
years ? 8. s.

Scitnate, Aug. 22, 1860.

Remarks. — Ruta bagas vary in price as do potatoes
and other vegetables. They are usually sold by the
baiTcl, and bring, by the quantity, from sixty cents to
one dollar per barrel in Boston, rarely, however, ex-
ceeding eighty cents. Any crop will succeed well af-
ter them if the land is highly manured, and the crop
well tended. But in a well grown orchard of eleven
years, a large crop of anything ought not to be ex-
pected short of a most liberal manuring.

A list of flowers for a northern climate.

Having seen a piece in the Farmer inquu'ing for a
list of hardy biennials or perennials, I thought I would
give the names of a few, viz.:

Peony, Oribus, Moss Pink, Golden Moss, Phlox,
Chinese Larkspur, English Bluelicll, Fleur de Lis,
Monkshood, Featherfeu, Spidcrwort, Columbine, In-
dian Pink, Sweet Rocket, Ft)xglove, Lady of the Lake,
Double Creeper, Crocus, Daflbdil, Tulip, Queen of the
Meadow, Magnolia, Garden Lily, Tiger Lily, Day Lily,
White Lily, Climbing Honeysuckle, Iceland Moss,
Myrtle, Napoleon Violet, Carnation Pink, eleven kinds
of Roses, red and white. Snowdrop, Muskmalua, Le-
bra Mallows, Honesty, Syringa, Diclytra Spectabilis,
Persian Lilac, Canterbury Bell, Verbena, Jonquil, be-
sides two hundred varieties of annuals and one hun-
dred varieties of house plants. G. S. Jacobs.

Bolton, Mass., Aug., 1860.

Mr. Editor: — A communication appeared in the
Boston Cultivator of 1853, from which I copy the
following, viz.:

pleuro pneumonia.

"This terrible scourge to animals it is said can be
prevented liy inoculation. Dr. Williams, a Belgian,
made the discovery, and has put it to the test through
a series of experiments from 1850 down to the present
time (1853.) 108 cows and oxen thus treated have
been compk-tely protected from the contagion, while
of 50 placed luider the same cn-cumstances 17 have
taki'n the disease. The doctor takes the virus from the
animal snfi'eriiig under the disease and inserts it under-
neath the tail of the sound animal. This done, the
matter gives evidence of its elfccts, and the animal is
rendered unassailable by the disease. If this proves
to be effectual, as it thus far promises to be, the doc-
tor will have performed most valuable service in the
world." ,

Glover, Aug. 13, 1860. M. P. \

HILL-SIDE BARNS.

Constructing barns upon side-hills is a practice
which is gaining favor among the best farmers in
this country. Having once become acquainted with
the advantages of such a location, we are sure no
farmer would be willing to construct his barns in
any other manner, if this were practicable. The
testimony of the Valley Farmer on this subject is
as follows : "The most convenient aiTangement
for a stock barn is upon a side-hill, where the hay
and grain may be carted in upon the upper story,
and pitched into the bays below. This arrange-
ment saves a great amount of labor in hauling the
feed for the stock. Another advantage of a side-
hill barn is the manure may be deposited in a cel-
lar below, where the whole of the liquid portion
can be saved, and where the whole can undergo

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

473

a degree of fermentation before it is exposed to
the washing rains and the weather outside. Upon
the lower side, too, the cellar can be approached
with the team and carts, and material added to
the manure heap to absorb the urine and add to
the general stock, or to rentier the whole easy of
access for hauling away.

"A barn thus arranged not only saves a great
amount of labor in hauling the hay, &c., in stack-
ing and feeding, but the quality is greatly pre-
served by being housed at once after it is cured.
Add to these advantages the still more important
consideration — the comfort and thrift secured to
the animals in consequence of the protection af-
forded from the storms of winter, and it will be
found that no more profitable investment can be
made connected with the farm than in the con-
struction of a suitable barn." — Homestead.

For the New England Farmer.
THE IMPKOVEMENT OF OLD PASTtTSES.

A fine Field of Potatoes— Winter Wheat grown on old Pasture
Land, with the use of Bone Dust.

The improvement, within a reasonable cost, of
the old run-out pastures of New England, is, to
my mind, an interesting subject, and one of the
most important branches of cultivation our farm-
ers can undertake. Having had my attention di-
rected to this subject for several years, I have
been induced to try various methods for the reno-
vation of such lands — the results of some of which
have been given in former communications to the
Farmer. Several interesting improvements of
these lands are now in progress in my immediate
neighborhood ; and having to-day visited some
of the fields either already made productive as
pasture, or undergoing tillage, to bring them into
that condition, it is now my purpose to give the
details, in part, of what was observed. In a com-
munication to the Farmer, in August or Septem-
ber of the year 1856, I described a tract of sixty
or more acres of worn-out pasture-land, then re-
cently purchased by our Vermont Asylum, the
improvement of which had become a desirable ob-
ject, and one in which, from some ofiicial connec-
tion with the Institution, I felt an active interest.
This tract lies more or less rolling, but nowhere
so steep, or uneven, as to be inconvenient, or ob-
jectionable for plowing. The improvements com-
menced upon it five years ago have been steadily
progi'essing since, in pieces of ten to fifteen acres
each, until some of them now have sufficient age
to give them a certain character, from which some
conclusions can safely be drawn. I shall first
speak of three fields comprised within this tract.

The first piece looked at to-day, a field of about
fifteen acres, is now covered Avith a promising
crop of potatoes. The land was the oldest kind
of bound-out pasture, covered with moss, and a
feeble growth of inferior grasses, interspersed
with sweet fern, shrub pine, and other bushes.
The largest bushes were snaked out, root and
branch, by taking a chain-hitch to them with the
oxen ; and others were cut down to the ground,
and the little stumps turned under by the plow.
In November last, the large breaking-up plow,
drf.wn by fovir oxen, was started, and the land
turned over about eight inches deep, in the nicest
and most thorough style. In April last, it was

harrowed, furrowed out in rows one way, three
feet and a half apart, and a shovel full of compost,
made of muck and ashes, was dropped once in
every three feet in the rows. The potatoes Avere
dropped upon the compost, and the planting fin-
ished about the 20th of April. The muck used
had lain in a large pile on dry land, for a year or
more ; and last fall it was composted with un-
I'jached ashes, using about throe bushels of ashes
to an ox-cart load, or one-third of a cord of muck.
After lying in a heap a few weeks, the compost
was shovelled over, and then carted upon the
plowed land, and deposited in heaps of ten to
twenty loads each, at convenient places for re-
loading and dropping in the hills at planting
time.

The potatoes were hoed twice, using the horse
and cultivator between the rows at each hoeing.
Vhe tops have made a large and healthy growth ;
they stand about three feet high, and spread out
laterally, so as to touch each other from row to
row. The hills were examined to-day in various
parts of the field, and the potatoes found to be
large and sound, and promising a good yield. It
is well known, that of late years, our best pota-
toes usually come from these old pasture lands.
The varieties planted are the New Jersey Peach
Blow, the Davis Seedling, and the Prince Albert,
or St. Helena. The New Jersey Peach Blow, a
strong growing, healthy and excellent variety,
bears no resemblance to the kind commonly
known as Peach Blow throughout New England.
This piece of land is to be plowed again, late
this fall, and harrowed smooth and fine. On a
light snow in April following, it is to be liberally
seeded with red and white clover, herdsgrass and
red top seeds, for pasture. No grain is to be
sowed, as a crop of that kind would draw too
much from the land, and injure it materially for
pasturage. Besides, the grasses will catch better,
and sooner aff"ord a full bite of pasturage, if sown
alone, than they would if shaded and encumbered
with a grain crop. The old sward turned under,
and rotted and subdued by cultivation, will afford
nourishment to the new grasses, and thus secure
a productive pasture for several years.

In November coming, some fifteen acres of ad-
joining land, similar to what this piece was, will
be plowed up, and next season manured and
planted with potatoes, and afterwards reeded
down to pasture. If, however, experience should
indicate that an additional stimulus to the land
would, on the whole, be advisable, then future
fields will be dressed with about 500 pounds of
bone dust per acre, at the time they are re-seeded
to pasture.

The next field visited was a piece containing
twelve acres, plowed up five years ago, this pres-
ent month, and eight acres dressed with 400
pounds of bone dust per acre, two acres with SOk
pounds of Peruvian guano to the acre, and two
acres each with twenty bushels of unleached ashes,
and the land immediately stocked down with grass
for pasture, no grain crop being taken off". Hav-
ing spoken fully of this field in a communication
to the Farmer four years ago, and again two years
ago this present month, I need not now go into
particulars about it. Suffice it to say, that the
land has afforded excellent pasturage, ever since
it was thus dressed and re-seeded, and the cows
appear to be very fond of the herbage, for they

474

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

Oct.

keep it always cropped as short and smooth as a
newly-shaven lawn — indeed, any one acre has
been more valuable for what it has produced, than
have any five acres of the adjoining land not yet
in like manner taken in hand for improvement.
The contrast betvi-een this piece and another of
about equal size lying beside it, but not yet as-
sisted by cultivation, is so strikingly favorable to
the former, that I wish every reader of these re-
marks might have been with me to-day to observe
it. It may be remarked in passing, that, while
each of the three fertilizers used on this field
gave good results, the bone dust appears to be of
the most lasting benefit to the land.

Another field of about ten acres was looked at,
which two years ago bore a remarkable crop of
potatoes. It was manured in the hills with muck
and ashes, and planted and cultivated in a manner
similar to the fifteen acres first mentioned in this
article. After harvesting the potatoes, the land
was plowed again, and smoothly harrowed, and
the following spring, or a year ago last April, it
was stocked to grass for pasture, no grain being
isown. The grass came up well, and the land is
now .covered with a very thick sward, composed
of herdsgrass, red-top, and red and white clover,
yielding the best of pasturage. The color of this
field is of so deep a green, as to make it at once
distinguishable at as great a distance as the eye
can discriminate shades of color at all.

The next land visited was a field belonging to
my friend, Richard Bradley, Esq. It was plowed
up a year ago last November, and, in the follow-
ing April, planted with potatoes, manuring them
■with a shovelful of compost in each hill. The
compost was made of muck and ashes. Last
April, the land was jylowed again, 500 pounds of
bone dust sown to the acre and harrowed in, then
twelve quarts of herdsgrass, one bushel of red-
top, twelve pounds of red, and four pounds of
■^vhite clover seeds sown to the acre, and the field
rolled. The grass has made a great growth, and
a full swath might now be mowed.

Then came a smaller lot of Mr. Bradley's, com-
pletely run down by previous owners, with shal-
low plowing, and frequent crops of rye. The
course of cropping had been to plow the land four
or five inches deep, as often as it would boar five
to eight or ten bushels of grain to the acre, sow
it with winter rye, but omitting grass seeds, and
after harvesting the rye, leaving the land to cover
itself with such vegetation as it could, whenever
it could. Last year at this time, the land was
covered mostly with moss, with here and there a
few bushes and feeble grasses. Last November,
it was plowed a foot deep with the sod and sub-
soil plow, and an entirely new soil brought up to
the surface, fine-grained and salvy. In April last,
it was dressed with 500 pounds of bone dust per
acre, together with 200 pounds of Peruvian guano,
to give immediate action to the newly-turned-up
soil, then harrowed fine, and sowed with one and a
half bushel of orchard grass, a peck of herdsgrass,
a half bushel of red-top, eight pounds of red, and
four pounds of white clover seeds to the acre, and
the surface made smooth with the roller. Here,
too, is a superior catch of grass, giving the land a
very different appearance from what it had a year
ago, and showing that much can at once be done
for the improvement of such land.

The last field examined was a tract of some six

acres, which Mr. Bradley is now plowing. This
land has also been much reduced by shallow plow-
ing, and frequent crops of rye. The sod and sub-
soil plow, drawn by four oxen, is turning the
land ten inches deep, bringing up a diff'erent soil
from the old surface one that has never before
been exposed to the day. The plowing is done in
capital style, no baulks or imperfections of furrow
being anywhere allowed. About the first of Sep-
tember, a ton of bone dust to each acre is to be
sown on the furrows, and also about one and a
half bushel of winter wheat per acre, and the two
harrowed in together. The sod and subsoil ])low
prepares a very level, mellow surface, and so
cracked and opened withal, as to make a very su-
perior seed-bed, in which the bone dust and seed
wheat can be well covered by the harrow. Then
one and a half bushel of orchard grass, a peck of
herdsgrass and a bushel of red-top seed are to be
sown to the acre, and the land rolled. In the
spring, the land is also to receive red and white
clover seeds — the design being to secure a thick
sward of various kinds of grass. The land lying
high, with a moderately rolling surface, it is
thought that winter wheat may succeed well on
it. The other two fields of old pasture, on which
Mr. Bradley has applied 500 pounds of bone dust
to the acre, have done so well, that he is inclined
to try the experiment of a very heavy dressing of
bone, and see if the land will return him a good
crop of wheat, as well as an increased amount of
pasturage over what could be realized from an or-
dinary dressing, and lasting for a longer period.
The idea prompting to this generous usage is,
that land will pay very much in proportion to
what you invest in the improvement of its soil, or
that where much is given to it in the shape of fer-
tilizers and thorough cultivation, much may be
expected from it in crops returned. The locality
of this lot is Avithal so convenient to the barns,
that it is quite desirable, on that account, to make
it over into a productive pasture. Application
has been made to Mr. John Johnston, of Geneva,
New York, for the seed wheat. He is a very suc-
cessful wheat-grower, and has several valuable
varieties of seed, which he has been at considera-
ble pains to procure and perfect. This is to me
an interesting experiment, the results of which I
expect to have something to say about hereafter
in the Farmer.

It may be observed that the various fields spoken
of in this communication, being free from uncom-
mon roughness, or steep declivity of surface, are
tolerably well situated for plowing, and are in the
immediate vicinity of a village, where pasturage
commands a high price. Under such circumstan-
ces, one can well afford to improve such lands in
the ways above mentioned. Other circumstances
may, of course, require variations from these
modes of improving pasture land, or may, for the
present, forbid attempts at improvement. Of that,
each one must judge for himself; but as a gener-
al proposition, in the older settled districts of
New England, investments for forming purposes
made directly in the improvement of the soil it-
self, pay quite as well as the purchasing of more
land, and adding it to the farm.

Brattkboro', Aug. 25, 1860. F. Holbrook.

A righteous man regardeth the life of his beast.

1860.

NEW ENC4LAND FARMER.

475

For the New England Farmer.
STOCKING COElXr.
H O AV TO DO IT QUICKLY.

1. Have a good corn-cutter.

2. Lay the corn, (2 or 4 hills in a place,) so
that the tops of the second two rows will lie to-
wards the tops of the first two, the tops of the
fourth two, towards the tops of the third two, and
so on. By throwing the left arm over, not under
the hill, and bending it down slightly, one blow of
the cutter will generally bring down the whole ;
and a large field may be levelled at short notice,
far quicker than the stalks can be cut.

3. Take a small pole, about 3 inches through
at the large end, 10 feet or so in length, light and
dry; if a little curving, so much the better. With
a 1 or li^ inch auger bore two holes quite near
the large end, so as to insert two legs, standing
outward and fonoard, the rounding side of the
pole being upward.' Next, bore a horizontal hole
about 2^ feet from the large end, into which a
broken rake handle or other smooth stick may be
run. Here we have a corn-horse all complete and
ready for use. When the horizontal stick is in,
we have four corners, around which we may set
up the corn ; 16 to 32 hills in a stook. Tie firm-
ly with wilted suckers or small stalks, or, what is
better, rye straw bands. Bend down the tops
and tie a small band over them, to shed rain.

Now, draw out the horizontal stick ; take hold
of the horse just behind the legs, draw it along a
few feet and run the stick in again, ready for an-
other stook.

The husking may be greatly facilitated by break-
ing off' the ears before stripping. By pressing the
thumb and fingers firmly against the butt of the
ears, and bending over with the other hand, one
may acquire the habit of bi'eaking them off, so
that many ears will have few, if any husks left.
The stooks need not be untied. By a little inge-
nuity at contrivance, one may fix a low bench 3
feet wide, or so, throw a stook upon it, sit down,
with feet under the bench, begin on one side to
break off, and make clean work as he goes ; or,
he may kneel down to the stooks as they stand,
or lie on the floor. If possible, let the corn be
fairly glazed before cutting, but if a cold Sep-
tember morning, which threatens a hard frost at
night, finds a field standing, unglazed, I should
prefer cutting and stooking, (with the wilted side
inward,) to letting the frost take it. In such case,
it will harden off better in the stook than in the
field. E.

Framingham, Aug. 30, 1860.

HORSiaS.

We usually feed our horses too much ; that is,
the food is disproportioned to the labor they per-
form. We speak more particularly of our best
horses — fancy animals, that stand in warm stables,
blanketed, and taken out only occasionally for
exhibition, rather than use. To keep a horse or
other animal healthy, the carbon taken into the
system in food must b^ proportioned to the oxy-
gen taken in by respiration. Thus a man of sed-
entary habits, seated day after day in a warm
room where there is little oxygen, can live on
mush and milk, a little toast, or otlier light food,
■while the same man, in the Arctic regions, would

swallow whide blubber with impunity. The ex-
cess of oxygen in the Arctic atmosphere requires
an excess of carbon, otherwise the oxygen would
consume the lungs, and produce pulmonary dis-
ease. If the food (or carb(m) exceeds its due pro-
portion, or is disproportioned to the oxygen, it is
unconsumcd, and is stored away in the form of
fat, which induces acute diseases and premature
death. Now, a fancy horse, that has little exer-
cise, standing in a warm stable, blanketed, with
little circulation of air, and consequently little
oxygen, gorging himself at a full crib from day
to day, requires an excess of carbon ; his mus-
cles are overloaded with fat — he becomes stupid,
and sluggish, and very liable to acute diseases.
— Ohio Farmer.

THE SEASON AND CHOPS.

We have had, up to this time, Sept. 6th, no
frosts to injure vegetation ; in some low places
there has been a little, but doing no harm. Fre-
quent rains and warm weather have kept plants
growing vigorously, so that their foliage is nearly
as bright and luxuriant as in July. The "country
never looked more attractive," is the remark of
all who go out to see it. If the present hot days
and warm nights continue a little longer, the corn
crop must be safe from frost ; as it now stands,
it is so rank and juicy that a slight frost would
injure it essentially. It appears to us that corn,
generally, is not eared so heavily as in some sea-
sons when we have what is called a good crop. It
has a great growth of stalk, and many ears are
set that cannot be carried through. Notwith-
standing, the crop promises well ; the present fine
weather is probably increasing it at the rate of
several thousand bushels every twenty-four hours
in the State of Massachusetts.

Wheat. — The attention called to this crop dur-
ing the winters of 1858 and 1859, through the
agency of Farmers' Clubs, has resulted in pro-
ducing, we think, twice or three times the usual
amount of wheat harvested in any one of many
preceding years. The crop is also of excellent
quality. AVe are informed that in some towns in
Cheshire county, N. H., enough has been raised
to supply the wants of the inhabitants. This in-
crease of one of the staple articles of food may
be fairly credited to the dissemination of books
and nev.'spapers devoted to agriculture, and to the
discussions that have been held among the peo-
ple in relation to farming matters.

The wheat crop in the Western States has been
absolutely immense — indeed, it is inconceivable.
Wisconsin will have tioentij-ftco millions of bush-
els, after deducting losses in harvesting and clean-
ing up ! California, we see it reported, will have
thirty-six millions of bushels ! The other West-
ern States, with Virginia and Maryland, we have
not heard from — but they must swell thf umount
to an astonishing aggregate.

476

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

Oct.

Barley. — This crop has been excellent, though
not cultivated very extensively in New England.

Oats have come in well, weighing, where grown
on good soil, thirty-three pounds per bushel.

Rye has come in as about an average crop.
It was badly winter-killed in many places, and
the sharp spring drought kept it back, and re-
duced the crop considerably.

Beans have had ample time to mature, and
the crop will be a good one, where they were not
planted on sand lulls.

Hay. — The grass crop has been abundant, as a
general thing. In some localities the drought
was severe, and the crop almost cut off; but such
districts are comparatively small, and there will
be an abundance of hay in New England.

Potatoes. — Crop not all harvested yet. If
they do not rot, what in the world are we to do
with them all ! They are now excellent, large,
and of fine flavor.

Roots. — Mangolds and ruta bagas look well
now, and have a month or more to grow.

Fruit. — The apple crop will be abundant, and
the fruit larger and fairer than it has been for
many years. We hope our friends will not des-
pair of getting a fair price for them, as when
they are plenty it encourages shipping, and the
price is usually as high as when the crop is small,
and little or no shipping takes place. It is our
opinion that all good apples, gathered and put
up well, will bring a fair price.

Pears. — A fine crop, but it is said they are not
so high flavored as usual.

While, then, the "varied year" has been com-
fortable for man and beast, it has also been full
of wonderful attractions and beauty. Spring cov-
ered the earth with flowers of exquisite hue, and
form, and fragrance. Midsummer found it clothed
in the richest drapery of twig and foliage, and
now autumn is crowned with the substantial har-
vests which her sister months have aided in bring-
ing to perfection !

In the enjoyment of such blessings, we need
not wait for a proclamation from the Governor
to set apart a day for thanksgivings ; they should
houi'ly rise, as freely as God's blessings have risen
through the spring, summer and autumn to per-
fect the plants from which we must seek our com-
fort and support.

Sunlight in Houses. — The following fact has
been established by careful observation : That
where sunlight penetrates all the rooms of a dwell-
ing, the inmates are less liable to sickness than
in a house where the apartments lose its health-
invigorating influences. Basement rooms are the
nurseries of indisposition. It is a gross mistake
to compel human beings to reside partially under-
ground. There is a defective condition of the
air in such rooms, connected with dampness,
besides the decomposing paint on the walls, and

the escape of noxious gases from pipes and drains.
All school-rooms, especially, should be open to
the sunlight, yet as a general rule, they are
darkened like a parlor.

THE OLD GKIST MILL.

The gri3t mill stands beside the stream,
Wit'i bending roof and leaning wall,

So old that when the winds are wild
The miller trembles lest it should fall ;

But moss and ivy never sere,

Bedeck it o'er from year to year.

The dam is steep, and welded green ;

The gates are raised, the waters pour.
And tread the old wheel's slippery steps,

The lowest round forevermore ;
Methinks they have a sound of ire,
Because they cannot climb it higher.

From morn till night, in autumn time,
When heavy harvests load the plains,

Up drives the farmer to the mill.
And back anon with loaded wains j

They bring a heap of golden grain,

And take it home in meal again.

The mill inside is dim and dark,

But peeping in the open door,
Tou see the miller flitting round,

And dusty bags along the floor ;
And by the shaft and down the spout,
The yellow meal comes pouring out.

And all day long the winnowed chafiF,
Floats round it on the sultry breeze,

And shineth like a settling swarm
Of golden-winged and belted bees ;

Or sparks around a blacksmith's door,

When bellows blow and forges roar.

I love my pleasant, quaint old mill !

It minds me of my early prime ;
'Tis changed since then, but not so much

As I am by decay and time ;
Its wrecks are mossed from year to year,
But mine all dark and bare appear.

I stand by the stream of life :

The mighty current sweeps along,
Lifting the flood-gates of my heart.

It turns the magic wheel of song.
And grinds the ripening harvest brought.
From out the golden field of thought.

R. H. Stoddabd.

The Okra Plant. — The consumption of this
plant has materially increased within a few years.
Mr. John Buckland, of Monmouth county, N. J.,
now raises seven acres per annum. When the
pods are in a fresh state, they are used for soup,
and give off a mucilage which enriches the soup
materially, while the less soluble portions of the
pod are softened together with the seeds, and
produce an admirable potage. The gumbo of the
South is made with this plant. The soup is al-
ways easy of digestion, and very nutritious.
When the plant is suffered to ripen, the seeds are
large and hard, and the amount produced is very
great ; these by being burned produce an im-
itation of coffee, scarcely inferior to the best
Mocha, while the fibrous character of the pod
strongly recommends it to paper -makers. It is
perfectly evident to those who have examined it,
that neither the aloe, the beech-wood, ordinary
straw, or any of the substances now being made
use of in place of cotton or linen for paper, sur-

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

477

pass it for this use ; and we are surprised that it
has not found its way into general consumption.
— Working Farmer.

Fur the New England Farmer.
A VALUABLE TABLE.

I notice in the Farmer of July 26 an article
under the above caption, which would be valuable
if it was correct ; but I find so much discrepancy
in it that I am constrained to write.

When I was a boy I learned from Adams' old
arithmetic that 268.8 cubic inches make a gallon
dry measure, and on that supposition, the first
box 24 by 16 by 28 inches, said to contain five
bushels or one barrel, is correct if you call 40
gallons a barrel ; but that is not the way we reck-
on barrels here. No matter — it is the boxes we
are after now ; all correct so far.

But the second box, said to contain half as
much as the first, is of the same length and
breadth and should be 14 inches deep instead of
12 inches.

The third box, 26 by 15.8 by 8 inches, said to
contain 1 bushel, does contain over a bushel and
a half.

The fourth box, 12 by 11.2 by 8 inches, said to
contain 1 peck, does contain just half a bushel.

The fifth box, 8 by 8 by 4.2 inches, said to
contain a gallon, is correct.

The sixth box, 4 by 8 by 4.8 inches, said to
contain a half gallon, is 19.2 cubic inches too
large.

The seventh box, 4 by 4 by 4.1, said to contain
a quart, is 1.6 cubic inches too small.

Now I have my hand in, if you have room to
spare, I should like to give a simple rule to ascer-
tain the correctness of grain measures in the form
commonly used for half-bushels, j^ecks, &c., that
is, the round or circular form.

First, to find the area of any circle, multiply
the square of its diameter by .7854, that is the
decimal form of 7854-10,000, and the product
will be the answer. And now for the half bushel.

Measure the diameter carefully in inches and
fractions of an inch, (a carpenter's square will an-
swer all practical purposes, but the Gunter's
scale is better, because it gives the fractions in
decimal form) then multiply its square by .7854
as directed above, and you have the number of
square inches checked right out on the half bush-
el bottom, by which divide the number of cubic
inches in half a bushel, and the quotient will be
the required depth in inches and fractions of an
inch. Now measure perpendicularly, and if not
correct, cut down the top or move the bottom
outward or inward. H. Briggs.

Fairhaven, VL, Aug., 1860.

Lichens. — And as the earth's first mercy, so
they are its last gift to it. When all other ser-
vice is vain, from plant and tree, the soft mosses
and gray lichen take up their watch by the head-
stone. The woods, the blossoms, the gift-bearing
grasses have done their parts for a time, but these
do service forever. Trees for the builder's yards,
flowers for the bride's chamber, corn for the gra-
nary, moss for the grave. Yet as in one sense
the humblest, in another they are the most hon-

ored of the earth-children. Unfading, as motion-
less, the worm frets them not, and the autumn
wastes not. Strong in lowliness, they neither
blanch in heat nor pine in frost. To them, slow-
fingered, constant-hearted, is intrusted the weav-
ing of the dark, eternal tapestries of the hills ;
to them, slow-penciled, iris-dyed, the tender fram-
ing of their endless imagery. Sharing the still-
ness of the unimpassioned rock, they share also
its endurance ; and while the winds of departed
spring scatter the white hawthorn blossoms like
drifted snow, and summer dims on the parched
meadow the drooping of its cowslip gold, — far
above among the mountains the silver lichen-spots
rest, star-like, on the stone ; and the gathering
orange-stain upon the edge of yonder western
peak, reflects the sunset of a thousand years. —
BusJdti.

For the New England Farmer.
NATURAL SCIENCE— PROGRESS.

Mr. Editor : — I am the hearty advocate of
science among farmers, especially the natural sci-
ences in the field of which the farmer's labors are
continually going on. Thirty years ago, however,
it would have been next to an impossibility for a
young farmer to acquire much knowledge, even
of the most common and simple of these sciences.
They were, then, in comparative infancy, and were
so mystified with jaw-breaking technicalities, that
the first view made them repulsive, especially to
the young.

But investigation has brought many new things
to light, and being seen, their beauty, loveliness
and general utility are developed. The minds of
learned men are becoming more expansive, so
that what they see and admire they deem fit ob-
jects of sight and admiration of others. The bot-
anist and geologist are bringing those sciences,
not only to a general focus, but are adapting them
to the capacities of the very young. So, too, with
writers on the subjects of animal creation ; and by
making us acquainted with the nature and habits
of the birds and beasts that surround us, they
teach us that these, too, are not the enemies, but
the friends of man.

I rejoice, most heartily rejoice, in this day of
progress in these things. It augurs a good time
coming for the general intelligence among men,
in the things that surround them, and in which
their labors and successes are intimately connec-
ted.

It has been urged as an objection to the intro-
duction of these sciences into families and com-
mon schools, that no books were prepared, adapt-
ed to the capacities of such learners. This vain
plea is happily yielding to some stubborn facts in'
the case. Gray's "How Plants Grow" is admi-
rably adapted to the juveniles, and at the same
time instructive to the advanced capacity. Hitch-
cock's "Elementary Geology" is a work with which
any one can become familiar who is disposed to
do so, and what is equally good, Messrs. Harper,
of New York, have just "brought out a highly il-
lustrated work, prepared expressly for the young,
by Dr. Hooker, of New Haven, on the "Natural
History of Animals," which we heartily commend
to the consideration of loving parents, accom-
plished teachers and all good boys and girls, both
little and big, who wish to make their minds big-

478

NEW ENGLAND Ex\HMEP..

Oct.

ger and their lives happier by a knowledge of the
varied objects of anin^ate creation.

Doctor Hooker is certainly fortunate in his hap-
py talent of making the subjects of his thought so
attractive and understandable as this book as-
sures us.

He, in the first place, classifies animals, showing
the difference existing- between them as classes.
Then he takes up the sub-classes, or species, and
last, the varieties, with the native country and
habits of each — together with their uses in the
economy of nature. He uses some technicalities,
of course, but only just enough for novelty to the
young reader, and these are so beautifully angli-
cised, that they make the work interesting. Some
300 engravings illustrate the work, and a series of
questions at the close of each chapter are well
prepared to aid inexperienced teachers, who may
introduce it. I have read the work with much
])leasure and instruction, and fully commend it
for schools or for families. W. Baron.

Biclimond, Aug., 1860.

For the New England Farmer.
BAKKEN- GKAPE VINES.

Dear Sir : — In your monthly journal, page
331, of this yeai", there is an article entitled, "Cause
of Barrett Qrape Vines." Two drawings are giv-
en, one of an imperfect, the other of a perfect
flower. There is one point on which information
would be acceptable, of which, however, nothing
is said directly, in the above named communica-
tion. 7s it ascertained that the impression of
these barren Jioivers is radical and perpetual, or it
is a result of immatiirity,iohich time will remove'?

The point is one of importance. The late Ru-
fus Clark, of this town, informed me that a vine
which was then bearing several bushels of bunch-
es of grapes was accounted to be barren for twen-
ty-five years. It sprang from a seed, and was
only saved from the axe because it made a hand-
some shade while it occupied no valuable room.

Another gentleman has fruit on a vine this year
which for four or five seasons past has contented
itself with flowering, and was called barren.

The small bunch of flowers sent herewith is
from a vine, (at the Parsonage, in Brattleboro',
which I occupy,) a very rank grower, short joint-
ed, and generally attractive to the eye of grape-
growers, but barren for four years. Its age is
six. The flowers sent are forced out from cutting
back too closely. They are flowers of next year
properly. The point on which light is sought is.
Do those vines which are for a time barren, have
then imperfect pistils ? Or are they always per-
' feet, only lacking in vigor ?

Until this point is settled, what shall prevent
vines, which might ultimately be far better than
the Concord, being thrown away as hopelessly
barren ? George P. Tyler.

Brattleboro', Vt., Aug. 27, 1860.

of sward ten inches deep, and it did the work to
my satisfaction — it entirely buried the sod, and
brought up about six inches of new black soil
that never had been up. I anticipated a large
yield of corn, but in that I was disappointed. The
yield was not as large as on similar soil plowed
in the ordinary way. I also plowed loose ground
nine inches deep with no better result."

Remarks. — Mr, E. A. Brackett, of Winches-
ter, is familiar with this matter, and we hope will
reply.

Deep Plowing. — ^Mr. D. H. Kellerman writes
to the Ohio Cultivator, "last spring I purchased a
Columbus Doubl4 Sod Plow, and plowed a piece

EXTRACTS AM"D KBPLIES.

CRANBERRY CULTURE.

Mr. Editor : — As a portion of your columns are de-
voted to questions and replies, I would like to make a
few inquiries concerning the culture of cranberries. I
have an old bog meadow which I am at work upon,
and have taken the top off, below all the grass, roots,
&c. What shall I do next ? Is it necessary for me
to put on a lop-dre-ising of some sort before setting
out the vines ? Is clean, white sand better than any-
thing else for the above pui-posc ? If so, why? will
sand which wo can get from old pine hills answer ? It
is hard getting white sand at a convenient distance
from the meadow. How would loam do ? Shall I
plant the vines this fall, or had I better wait until the
spring ? T.

Hudso>i, N. H., 1860.

Remarks. — If the meadow is composed mainly of
decomposed vegetable matter, what is called muck, a
top-dressing of sand, or even gravel, wilt be of essen-
tial service. The sand supplies silcx, which means
sand, to the plants, and probably benefits them as sand
does grass, when applied to meadows — that is, sup-
plies the stiffening principle, that hard surface cover-
ing which enables the plant to sustain an upright posi-
tion. When sand underlies a meadow, we are in-
clined to think that it operates as a strainer, by pass-
ing oil" the surplus water, as well as supplying silex.

Set the plants this fall after growth has entirely
ceased, or in April or May.

BUTTERNUT TREES.

In the last number of the Farmer I noticed the in-
quiry of "L. T. S.," respecting the bad effects of but-
ternut trees on fruit trees. The remark was made to
me some live or six years since that ajiple trees would
not grow near a buttenmt tree, and I liave ever since
been tookijig for evidence in proof of the statement. I
have ibund one case in point which looks very strong-
ly in that direction. In an orchard set some fifty years
since stands a large spreading butternut tree, and the
apple trees for some reason give it a widebei'th; as
there are none standing within four or five rods in
either direction, and those nearest are dwarfed, timid
things, and appear as if they were enduring the frowns
of the lof(y butternut.

I am very much pleased that "L. T. S." has made
the inquiry ; for I am sure that the facts will be drawn
out from the observations of j'our numerous readers.

I should have said above that the balance of the
orchard stands in the order which it is usual to set
troos M

wllbraham, Auff. 30, 1860.

ABOUT MAKING PICKLES.

Can you, or some of your readers, inform me how-
pickles arc prepared as they have them to sell in jarsj
or by the barrel ? a. g. c.

Westboro', Sept., 1860. _

CROPS IN NEW HAMPSHIRE.

The crops look well here — hay came in well, the
drought not having much effect upon it. i. d. m.
West Witidham, N. H.

Remarks. — The description of a new cheese press
accompanying the above was so imperfectly written ,
that v/e could not clearly make it out.

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FARRIER.

479

AYRSHIRE STOCK._

I noticed lately in the Salem Gazette a carefully
prepared statement of the milk products of two Ayr-
shire heifers recently imported by the Hon. E. S.
Poor, of South Danver.-;. Tliey were two years old in
April, and then had their first calves. From the 20th
of May to the 30ih of June, on grass feed alone, they
yielded four gallons Qf milk, each, daily, or nearly
this. Their milk was said to be of very good quality,
much like the milk of Jei-sey animals.

Perhaps the gentleman who lately asked for a com-
parison of the milking properties of these two classes
of animals would like to examine these heifers of Mr.
Poor. I believe they will be found worthy the atten-
tion of the curious in those matters, as I know his own
Jerseys to be. *.

NORTHERN AND SOUTHERN CLOVER SEED.

I would like to inquire if there is any way by which
the seed of Northern clover can be distinguished from
that of the dwarfish Southern article ? For the last six
or eight years I have paid an extra price for Northern
seed, but have obtained it only once, the rest of it all
proving to be tlie small Southern article, getting dead
ripe befoi-e the herdsgrass blossomed. j. h. c.

Mclndoe's Falls, Vt., 1860.

Remarks. — We have inquired of a gentleman who
buys and sells large quantities of clover seed, and he
says it is very difficult to distinguish the Northern
from the Southern seed.

SAVING HUNGARIAN GRASS SEED.

In answer to "I.W.," of Clarendon, Vt., I would say,
let it stand till the seed is mostly ripe, at which time
the blades arc usually about one-half turned yellow.
When cut at this time and well cured, you will have a
good crop of both hay and seed.

I think it best to thresh it right from the field. The
seed and hay are very much inclined to heat, and
should be closely looked to, till perfectly dry.

William Richards.

Richmond, Mass., Sept. 4, 1860.

EXTRACTING COLORING MATTER FROM MAPLE SUGAR.

Can you, or your readers, give a process of extract-
ing the coloring matter from maple syrup so that it
will be clear like honey ? If so, they will do the pub-
lic a favor. e. g. c.

West Rutland, Vt., 1860.

The Bees and the Mathematicl\ns. —
Reaumur, the eminent French entomolgist, pro-
posed to M. Konig, one of the ablest mathemati-
cians of his day, the following problem :

Amongst all possible forms of hexagonal cells
having a pyramidal base composed of three simi-
lar and equal rhombs, to determine that which
can be constructed with the least expenditure of
material.

The mathematician undertook the solution of
this very beautiful theorem, and at last demon-
strated that, of all such cells, that would require
the least material the angles of which should
measure, respectively, 106° 26' and 70° 34'. M.
Marraldi, another eminent naturalist, had in the
meanwhile calculated, with as much accuracy as
he was able, the real angles in the cell of the bee,
and found them to be 106° 28' and 70° 32', leav-
ing only two minutes difference betv/een the cal-
culation and the result of the measurement ; and
more recent researches, conducted with the deli-
cate instruments of modern science, have shown
even that slight discrepancy to be erroneous, and
proved that the angles pointed out by mathemat-
ical research and those adopted by the insect la-
borer are precisely identical. — Joneses Natural
History of Animals.

For the New England Farmer.
KUTLAKTD COUIJTY PAIB.

Mr. Editor : — Being called by business up to
this State, it has been my good fortune to be pres-
ent on the opening day of the Rutland County
Agricultural Society, which is being holden at
this thriving village, and I have thought I would
give you my impressions in regard to it. The so-
ciety have some forty acres enclosed by a substan-
tial fence, which is admirably suited for the pur-
poses for which it was designed, on which are
built good, substantial buildings for the various
uses of the society, together with that ever-present
nuisance, a race-course.

Vermont has ever been famous for her good
horses, and in the show to-day, Rutland county
has done herself credit, the Black Hawk stock, I
think, claiming its full share of attention. I
would like to mention some very fine animals no-
ticed, but stock and all articles are entered by
number, and without the owner's name and resi-
dence attached, which makes it very inconvenient
ascertaining the owners amid the bustle of a race
course, where the Vermonters are especially proud
of exhibiting their stock. The shov/ of cattle was
very good, mostly native blood, although some
very good Durhams and Devons are on exhibi-
tion. My im])ression is, the Vermont farmers do
not pay enough attention to their breed of cattle,
and that the infusion of more Short Horn blood
into their stock would be very much to their ad-
vantage.

The show of sheep was far below my expecta-
tions in point of numbers, yet there were some
very fine animals on exhibition of the various
breeds of French and Spanish Merinos, Leicester,
and the various crosses between them. The Span-
ish largely predominated, and as far I could learn,
are taking the preference among the majority of
wool-growers. J. B. Proctor, of Centre Rutland,
exhibited some very choice stock of Spanish Me-
rino sheep, which to my mind Avere the best on
the ground. One yearling buck in particular was
the nearest perfect of any sheep I ever saw. He
also exhibited ewes, ewe lambs and buck lambs,
vv hicli are a credit to his skill as a breeder. Messrs.
Farr & Rich also exhibited good sheep, and oth-
ers wliose names I did not learn. The show of
dairy products and vegetables was good, but not
superior. The show of fruit was very meagre,
showing plainly that the Green Mountain boys
pay more attention to their sheep than to their
orchards. I leave for Addison County Fair to-
morrow, and may give you a few notes in regard
to it. W.

Rutland, Vt., Sept. 6, 1860.

Remarks. — Thank you, sir — we sha^J be glad
to get them.

Art of Thinking. — To think clearly is among
the first requirements of a public teacher. The
faculty may be improved, like other faculties of
mind or body.

One of the best modes of improving in the art
of thinking is, to think over some subject before
you read upon it, and then to observe after what
manner it has occurred to the mind of some great
master ; you will then observe whether you have
been too rash or too timid, in what you have ex-

480

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

Oct.

ceeded, and by this process you will insensibly
catch a grp.at manner of viewing questions. It is
right to study, not only to think, but from time
to time to review what has passed ; to dwell upon
it, and see what trains of thought voluntarily pre-
sent themselves to your mind. It is a most supe-
rior habit of some minds to refer all the particu-
lar truths which strike them to other truths more
general; so that their knowledge is beautifully
methodized, and the general truth, at any time,
suggests the particular exemplifications, or any
particular exemplification at once leads to the
general truth. This kind of an understanding has
an immense and decided superiority over those
confused heads in which one fact is piled upon
another, without the least attempt at classification
and arrangement. — Sidney Smith.

For the New England Farmer.
FERTILITY OF MOUNTAINS.

Every man who has an eye to a good farm, will
notice that from the land in the valley between
two mountains, good crops are produced without
manure. Ask the cause of this fertility, and the
universal response will be, "the soil of the moun-
tain is washed upon it, which causes it to reproduce
largely." Look at yonder mountain ! Is there
any soil there to be washed down ; if there was,
why does it appear so sterile ? My theory is dif-
ferent. In the warmer part of the season, the
rocks are filled with water, and in the colder part
of the season, the water, in the act of freezing, ex-
pands and tears the rocks asunder, so that on the
commencement of a thaw, large pieces become de-
tached and roll down into the valley below, when
they break to pieces, are decomposed, and finally
dissolved into a mould.

Look at the fruitful valleys of Switzerland,^ and
no one will doubt, but the gradual decomposition
of the mountains furnishes food for the plant in
the valley. Is there a chance for us farmers to
learn a lesson from nature ? I say, yes ; not many
years will elapse, before some one will discover
the art to hasten the decomposition of the rocks
in our mountains, and we shall be led to look at
the wisdom of God in causing them to be formed.
On the Faulhorn, which is situated in the south
of Europe, and rises 8000 feet above the level of
the sea, on removing the snow, and after pene-
trating the ground some feet, is found a black
mould of a rich quality. This valuable deposit
was evidently derived from a decomposition of
the strata of black lime-stone rock. The moun-
tain torrents, when swelled, carry this deposit to
the lowland, which accounts for its extraordinary
fertility. Jn taking a birds-eye view of the vari-
ous coimtries, it will be found that the sustenance
furnished to the human race, by an all-bountiful
Providence, has been wisely adjusted to meet
their wants in every clime. Take the condition
of the Esquimaux ; his only food is the seal and
walrus, which abound in fat. It is a substance
exceedingly rich in hydrogen, and in the body
eminently combustible, and weight for weight,
when consumed in the blood, will furnish more
heat than any other substance which can be taken
for food. s. P. M.

Cape Elizabeth, ^ept., 1860.

For the New England Farmer.
WINTER AND SPRING- WHEAT

Messrs. Editors : — I noticed an article in th©
Fanner from the pen of H. Poor, Brooklyn, L.
L, under the head of "Information about Winter
Wheat," in which he says he never has despaired
since the commencement of his own experience,
that New England would in due time raise all the
wheat necessary for her rural population, and
more or less for her seaboard and inland cities.

I heartily concur with him in this, but when
he says that winter wheat is a much safer crop
than spring wheat, I say it may be in his vicinity,
but I think that for most of New Hampshire and-
Vermont the spring wheat will generally aver-
age more to the acre by as much as twenty-five
per cent. Having just harvested, threshed and
marketed my spring wheat, I Avill give you a few
statistics in relation to my crop this yeai-. I
sowed four bushels of Italian wheat on 2-^ acres,
the 12th day of April, from which I threshed,
Aug. 22d, 114^ bushels, making 45 bushels to the
acre ! The ground was manured on the turf, brok-
en up, and planted to corn the spring of 1859,
and plowed again in October, after the corn was
harvested.

I sowed another piece of 4^ acres the 18th of
April, and sowed eight bushels seed on it ; the
ground was a side hill pasture, planted to corn
last year, and plowed again last fall. This last
piece has never been manured at all. Threshed
Aug. 21st, 102^ bushels, averaging over 22 bush-
els to the acre. I sold my wheat for eight shil-
lings per bushel. Were it not making my article
too long, I would give you the exact cost of rais-
ing said wheat, as I keep a daily journal, and can
show the exact cost and manner of preparing
ground, &c. R. H. SiMONDS.

Hartford, Vt., Aug., 1860.

Remarks. — Please give us the cost, and any
other information about the culture of wheat.
Do you soak, or prepare the seed in any way ?

FACTS FOR POOR FARMERS.

"Those farmers who have most difficulty to make
both ends meet, always plow most and keep most
stock. Now these men take the true plan to keep
themselves always poor, because their crops and
stock are always poor and bring little." So writes
John Johnston, in a letter to the Secretary of our
State Society; and he thus illustrates his state-
ment : "It is good profit to raise 300 bushels of
wheat from ten acres, but when it takes thirty
acres to raise that amount, it is raised at a loss.
So it is with cattle and sheep — you will see the
thinking farmer making four-year old steers worth
from $60 to $80 each, and his neighbor's at the
same age not worth over $25 to $40." His ad-
vice to the latter is, "if his land is exhausted, he
should plow no more than he can thoroughly ma-
nure. Seed with clover and grass, and let it rest,
and that field will not only pay well for tillage,
but it will furnish manure (if rightly managed) to
make another field of the same size, rich also."
And then keep it rich, do not run it with grain
until again exhausted, or "the latter end of that
land will be worse than the fii'st." — Country Gen-
tleman.

1 SGO.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

481

BATES'S STUMP AjNTD BOCK LIFTEK.

We present our readers this week a cut and
description of this machine, which, for simplicity
of construction and economy of power, exceeds
any machine for the purpose which has ever come
under our notice. It is the invention of Mr. Ca-
leb Bates, of Kingston, Mass.

It consists of a rocking head A, supported by
knife-edge trunions B B (like the bearings of a
scale-beam,) resting in the eyes of the hanger.^
E E. A double rack-bar, D D, passes through
the centre of the rocking-head, with a hook at its
lower end. The levers, F F, slip into square
sockets in the rocking head to be thrown down
when the machine is not in motion. Within the
head is a pair of pawls, in the form of square
links, crossing each other outside of the rack-bar.
Clearly shown in Fig 2.

There are also guides to the rack-bar, not
shown. The whole is suspended in a tripod of
poles or joists, fourteen feet long. Two pieces
of spruce joist, four by five inches square, with a
strap of board bolted on them ; and one stick four
by six inches, having iron braces hooked into it
from the others, as shown above the machine. A
pin in each leg to carry it by, and strongly cleat-
ed pieces of plank to throw under the feet, and it
is ready for use.

When the hook is fast to the object to be lift-
ed, the operators work the levers up and down,
and the pawls engaging alternately with the racks
on opposite sides of the bar keep it in continuous
motion. As the head rocks, the relative position
of the working parts changes, producing a pro-
gressive power. For, as the operating pawl ap-
proaches its culminating points, its journals ap-
proach a plane which intersects the points of con-
tact with the rack and bearing edge of the
trunions ; the lifting power increasing from
the commencement to the termination of each
vibration.

To reverse the action of the machine, a
tongue of steel, G, is tipped up. Then with
the same vibrations of the lever, the weight
will descend gently, with the same speed that
it rises, until the hook is loose ; then, grasp-
ing the rack-bar with one hand, with the
other spread the pawls, and the bar drops to
any point, or entirely out if desired.

The two men stand sixteen feet apart, and
exert the force of two hundred men on the
rock, stump, or other weight to be lifted.

482

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

Oct.

There is not a pound of power lost, for there is
no friction ; and, as can be seen, it is a balance
machine, the men having no levers to lift. Three
men can carry it about with ease when the levers
are slipped out. All parts of this machine can be
thrown ajmrt in a moment, and as quickly put to-
gether ; there being no bolts about it.

HOl'JE'2' DE'W — WHAT IT IS.

In any European journal, it would create sur-
prise if the nature of the so-called honey dew ad-
mitted of a doubt or dispute. Starch or grape
sugar is an essential substance of plants, as much
as carbon is, of which sugar is formed in conjunc-
tion with acids and salts. Flowers and fruits con-
tain this sugar in an eminent degree, as also the
juices of the maples, sugar canes, millets, grasses,
beets, and thousands of other plants. Animal
blood receives its sugar from plants, as it is a life
ingredient of both kingdoms.

Liebig says : "A surplus of saccharine matter,
more than leaf and bud consume, will be exuded
upon the surface of the leaves and bark. Certain
diseases of trees and plants, the so-called Honey
Dew, are obviously ])roduced by a disproportion
in the quantity of furnished nitrogen free, and
nitrogen containing nourishments. The exuda-
tions of sound, healthy plants of mannit, gum
and sugar, cannot be attributed to any other
cause."

"This case appears analagous to the digestion
in the human organism ; if, to every part of the
body, there shall be restored what it loses by res-
piration and secretion, there must be offered to
the organs of digestion a certain proportion of ni-
trogen free, and nitrogen containing substances,
accompanied by certain mineral salts, which met-
amorphose them into blood. Is the quality of the
offered nitrogen-free substances in surplus, they
will then be either used to produce fat, or they go
through the organism unaltered."

So far says Liebig — besides, it is well-known
that saccharine matter is not of a volatile nature,
that the air cannot contain it in solution — how
then can it rain or dew down from the atmosphere
even upon the dusty ground ? The days of the
Jews, when tliey imagined that manna, or mannit,
fell from heaven for their especial use and merit
are past ; that same mannit or gum exudation of
the mimmosa and other plants is found and gath-
ered yet in great quantities in the same and oth-
er similar climates of the globe, so the honey dew
or the exudation of sugar. Bees do not produce
one atom of honey, but are only the carriers of the
starch sugar exuding from plants and their fruits.
The so-called honey dew is in substance the same
in the floAver as it is on the leaf. Bees and myr-
iads of other insects lick it up and exist on it.
That rain washes it from the leaves is very plain,
as water dissolves sugar. Give the bees plenty
of honey-dewed foliage, and they will make plenty
of the best honey without sipping a single flower.

The fibre called silk is in the mulberry leaf ;
the milk and cream of the cow, the oily parts of
the grass, clover and herbs she eats, as is the wool
on the sheep ; or the honey the sugar of plants.
The animal body only digests them, thereby com-
plicating certain combinations of simple elements.
— Valley Farmer.^

For Vie New England Farmer.
FARM TOPICS.

Never set a post in the ground, or even stakes
for a common fence, without first charring the
end. In this practice there is great economy;
there is generally brush enough at hand, and the
boys like a bonfire.

Never break your colts to wearing blinkers, if
you would have a less number of shying, contrary,
skittish horses. The rustle of a leaf at his heels,
or a piece of paper, in fact, all sounds from objects
which he cannot see or comprehend, being blind-
ed as to all, beside and behind, startle and alarm
him. Blinkers or blinders are false ornaments,
treacherous and dangerous, and cause many fatal
accidents. Why not hoodwink the young steers
in breaking them ?

Never use anything but a chain and standard
for tying cattle. The comfort of the tired oxen
and cows carrying their young, should always be
considered.

Never build your grain bins of any wood but
hemlock. It is positively proof against the depre-
dations of rats and mice, who never forget their
best friends, the farmers.

Never get up your winter's wood to be chopped,
split and thrown into a pile, and lie through the
rains and drizzle of the spring months, and then
house it at a loss of ten or fifteen per cent. With-
out loss of time ha,ve it under cover when ready
for use.

Never keep your winter apples in a cellar where
there is a constant opening and shutting of doors.
Apples require an even temperature to keep
sound. A dry side-hill cellar is best.

Never despair of getting a crop of winter wheat
on light, plain, warm land, even if sown as late
as the loth or 20th of this month. See that the
seed is well prepared in salt pickle and ashes, and
put in two to three inches deep. Prepared in
this way, it will come up the fourth or fifth day,
if merely harrowed in. H. Poor.

Brooklyn, L. I., 1860.

TOMATO KETCHUP.

A correspondent recently inquired how to make
tomato ketchup, and we insert the following for
his benefit ;

Take ripe tomatoes, and scald them just sufl[i-
cient to allow you to take off the skins ; then let
them stand for a day, covered with salt ; strain
them thoroughly to remove the seeds ; then to
every two quarts, three ounces of cloves, two of
black pepper, two nutmegs, and a very little Cay-
enne pepper, with a little salt ; boil the liquor for
an hour, and then let it cool and settle ; add a
pint of the best cider vinegar, after which bottle
it, corking and sealing it tightly. Keep it always
in a cool place.

Another Way. — Take a bushel of tomatoes, and
boil them till soft ; squeeze them through a fine
wire sieve, and add half a gallon of vinegar, one
pint and a half of salt, two ounces of cloves, quar-
ter of a pound of allspice, two ounces of Cayenne
pepper, five heads of garlic skinned and separat-
ed ; mix together, and boil about three hours, or
until reduced to about one-half; then bottle, with-
out straining.

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

483

FABM WORK FOR THE AUTUMN.

In the successful management of a farm it is
important to do the work at the rigid time, as
well as in the right way. Indeed, this essential
point is so sadly overlooked in many cases, that
the profit that might otherwise be obtained is
mainly lost. The seasons seem to have changed
considerably, and if they have, our operations
must change with them, — we must do the work
when the elements and other circumstances will
permit,- even if Ave break through the old practi-
ces to M'hich we have been accustomed. Within
the last ten years, among good farmers, much of
the work that was formerly done in the spring
has been done in the fall, and in consequence of
this the whole summer labor has been greatly fa-
cilitated.

For several years past the months of October
and November have been sufficiently mild to al-
low almost any farm work to be done as well as
it could have been in May or September ; and,
occasionally, as late as the middle of December,
most of the out-door work of the farm might
have been performed with comfort and profit.
Let us suggest, then, some of the things that seem
to call for attention in the fall.

Cutting Bushes. — A vast amount of labor is
annually expended in New England in cutting
bushes on pasture lands, where they are usually
left to decay by gradual decomposition, in the way
of the cattle, and unsightly objects to the eye of
the neat farmer. These bushes are cut in August,
under the probability that they will not start
again so readily as if cut at any other time. But
August is a busy season — much haying is left un-
done, in low grounds ; weeds are to be looked
after, and the stalks in the corn field are to be
cut ; the early potatoes, turnips, apples, and
other things are to be marketed, and many mat-
ters are to be attended to which have been a
little neglected during the busy days of haying.
Many pastures have probably been cut over an-
nually during two or three generations, and the
only thing gained is in the bushes themselves, —
they have taken deeper and deeper root every
year, until they have nearly exterminated the
grass, left the surface covered with innumerable
stubs, and a thick coating of mosses in infinite
variety.

The question we desire to ask is this : If the
bushes are cut on a piece of pasture land twice
or three times in a year, the stubble burned on
the places where they stood the thickest, and the
ashes spread upon the grass-producing spots, will
not such a process exterminate them in three or
four years ? We are told that it will, and that
next to plowing and thoroughly reclaiming, this
is the best method.

The operation of Ditching and Draining may
usually be done with comfort and advantage be-
tween the middle of September and the middle
of November. So may that of Reclaiming Mea-
dows. In this laboi it is of the utmost impor-
tance that the first step shall be to draw off the
water and leave the surface free for man and
beast to work upon ; and it should be taken off
some ten or fifteen inches below the surface, so
as not to interfere with the plow, if that imple-
ment is used. The cost of reclaiming a meadow
is sometimes doubled by not pursuing ^his course,
— and there is scarcely any greater discomfort
than working in a black mud saturated with wa-
ter, where men and teams are occasionally floun-
dering, and strained to little purpose.

On rocky farms, the autumn affords an appropri-
ate time to lift the large stones to the surface, and
set them on small ones so that they will not freeze
to the ground, in readiness for hauling away on
the snow in the winter. In this course a treble
advantage is derived ; the cost of labor is not so
much as in summer, and twice or three times as
much weight can be removed in a given time on
the snow as on the bare ground, if the stones
are so large as to make it necessary to remove
them on a drag.

Plowing is also another important work ap-
propriate to the fall. Sward land, intended for
corn or potatoes, derives great benefit from fall
plowing. It covers up a large amount of grass
and roots that commence the process of decay,
and become serviceable to the future crop, while
the fine soil laid up receives valuable elements
from the atmosphere, and the frosts of winter
pulverize the particles and destroy some of the
cut worms that are exposed. The teams, alsB, are
generally in better condition to labor than they
are in the spring, and the work, being done, is off
the mind, and leaves it free to act on other matters.

Top dkessing is another item worthy of espe-
cial attention. Some persons do this on mowing
fields immediately after the grass is cut ; where
this is done there is not only usually a second
crop, but the grass retains its roots for many
years, and yields annually abundant crops. But
few persons, however, think they can afford the
time at such a season for that work. Where
there is a special objection to plowing land, this
course is certainly a good one.

Manures. — Every care should be taken before
the ground closes up to provide loam or muck to
sprinkle on the winter heaps of manure, so that
none of their nutritive properties may be lost.
This saving is not the only gain, for the whole
barn and fodder will be sweeter, and the stock
kept more healthy by preventing the escape of the
ammonia and other gases from the manure heaps.

484

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

Oct.

The Garden. — This should be plowed or spad-
ed and manured in the fall, and the mind gener-
ally made up as to where the early corn and cu-
cumbers, the peas and asparagus, the beans, let-
tuce, early potatoes and squashes shall be plant-
ed, so that in the spring there is no engineering
to be done ; nothing but this : "Here are the
seeds for this square and that ;" and they are
quickly deposited in the rich, mellow soil, made
light and seasoned by the fermentative power of
the crude manures dug or plowed under in the
fall.

We have suggested only a few things — there
are many more that these few may suggest to the
mind of the systematic farmer. It is pleasant
and encouraging to go forth in the spring and
find so much of the new year's work commenced;
it is inspiring, and gives one a start that he feels
all through the season.' So let us take time by
the forelock, and do all things at the right mo-
ment, and do them well.

For the New England Farmer.
SLATES AND LIGHTNING.

In your issue of August 25, 1860, I find "Prac-
tical Slater's" theory so much at variance with
my experience, I am tempted to give a little of
that.

Six years ago I was building an addition to the
house I then occupied, and had covered the new

f)art with slate ; soon after it was struck with
ightning, near the end next the old part of the
house, breaking only two or thi'ce slates, and
passing down the corner part, shivering to atoms
an umbrella which I, but a moment before, put
there, and prostrating my wife and myself. Had
it not been for the timely assistance rendered by
my hired man, (and the blessing of Providence,)
who ^up])osed life to be extinct with me, I proba-
bly would not have been here to answer now.

Scon after the above occurrence, we had two
lightning rods put up, and I think that they were
struck with lightning in the month of June last.
All of which, and a vast amount of shocks by
electricity, have ha])pened within ten or twelve
miles of very extensive slate quarries in this coun-
ty, that have been constantly worked for a num-
ber of years previous to the above occurrences.
E. G. Chatterton.
West Rutland, Vt., Aug. 31, 186U.

Aconite a Remedy for Massachusetts Cat-
tle Disease. — Hon. Adam Ferguson, of C. W.,
writes Col. B. P. Johnson, of New York : "A
friend of mine in Scotland, an amateur veterinari-
an, told me he attended Prof Dick, in his rounds,
when the disease, some years ago, was raging in
Scotland, especially in large dairy establishments.
My friend, D. Henderson, is Professor of Path-
ology in the University of Edinburgh, and is in
high medical practice. He assured me that Acon-
ite was used as a specific, if given in time, before
the lungs were seriously aifected, and had saved
scores of valuable cows."

For tite New England Farmer.
IS THERE PROFIT IN FARMING?

Many thanks, Mr. Editor, to your Chelmsford
correspondent, T. J. Pinkham, for his article,
some months ago, on the profits of farming. I
think it has been productive of much good in the
many able and conclusive answers it has elicited.
And yet there is one phase of the question which
has hardly been touched upon by those who have
undertaken to answer that article.

What is profit in farming or any other occupa-
tion ? Is it truly estimated by the number of
dollars above expenses which it brings into the
pocket ? To be sure, it was only in regard to
money profit that Mr. P. argued the case, and
those who have attacked his arguments have met
him mainly on that issue ; but as, in reading the
Farmer, since that article appeared, my attention
has so frequently been called to the question, "is
there profit in farming," your readers have natu-
rally been led to look at the question in its full
and literal meaning.

I suppose that no one will object to the posi-
tion that the greatest good is the greatest profit,
and that one occupation or calling is more profi-
table than another, inasmuch as it is productive,
in all its bearings, of the greatest amount of hap-
piness. I will not assume that every one may
find in agriculture the greatest profit ; far from it ;
all cannot be farmers ; and fortunately, in the di-
vine arrangement, the tastes and capacities of
men are widely varied ; but let any one who has
been familiar with the residents of almost any of
our farming towns, for the last twenty years, look
up the history and circumstances of those who
have wandered from their farms for other occupa-
tions, or encouraged their sons to do so, and I
think the result will show that while a few may
have bettered their condition, the great majority
ha.\e flatted out, and are now mere dependants,
instead of substantial yeomen, as formerly.

A man Avith a snug farm, though saddled, per-
haps, with a debt of a few hundred dollars, yet in
the prime of life, in good health, with a family
of boys beginning to assist him, and promising
substantial aid in the future labors of the farm, it
would seem, might congratulate himself on the
prospect of enjoying, in a large measure, the real
blessings of life. His own sons can now gradu-
ally take the place of hired help, and he can plan
and execute improvements on the farm.

With room enough to keep all the family prof-
itably employed, he can keep them with him, and
they can have a home and common school edu-
cation, chiefly under the eye and influence of their
parents. Is there not profit here which dollars
and cents cannot estimate ? Let parents, thus
happily situated, as I have described, experience,
for one short month, the trials, anxiety and grief
of some, whose business, though yielding them a
large return of moneyed profits, yet brings their
children into temptations which open up to them
the flood-gates of ruin, and they will realize more
fully the profits of a country farm.

It is sad to notice the change which has come
over families. And the process by which it has
been wrought is plain. The boys had no relisn
for farm work. One must be a merchant's clerk ;
others find employment in shops or factories ; and
one, loving his book more than work, must be

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

485

supported at college. The parents, now in the
decline of life, must buffet its stern realities alone.
With their own hands, or the aid of hired help,
they are trying to secure the annual croj)s. All
plans for "improvement were long since given up.
Thoy have no aid from their children, and little
of their society. The clerk, perfumed with musk,
occasionally comes home to rusticate; the shop-
boys, in their liberal patronage of the livery-sta-
ble, may sometime, especially M'hen the fruit and
other farm luxuries are in perfection, ride over
and see "the old folks," and the student also
comes home at vacation for a fresh supply of mo-
ney, and to tax anew the physical energies of his
mother in replenishing his wardrobe.

The farm is now for sale, and these parents will
soon, no doubt, break the life-long ties of farm
and neighborhood, and spend the evening of their
days elsewhere. Such, Mr. Editor, is a process
which is largely going on in many of our country
towns ; can nothing be done to stay it ?

Boyulston, Sept. 6, 1860. J. Wood.

Remarks. — We hope so. Your article is a
good pioneer.

For the New England Farmer.
"MARRYING A FARMER."

I see that your "Farmer's Daughter" has been
answered by some abler pen than mine. When I
read the article from the New Hampshire young
lady, I felt a strong desire to answer her through
your columns, but this has been so well done, that
I only wish the privilege of adding a few words.

There is too much shrinking from what is
called hard work — the household duties of a farm-
house. I doubt whether such labor kills as many
as the late hours, waltzing, high living, and other
excesses of fashionable life.

It is not labor, the exercise of the muscles, that
makes us grow old so fast ; it is the constant
worry and fretting at the real or fancied disagree-
ables of our daily life. We desire to dress beyond
our means, to have a piano, and rich parlor furni-
ture, or a carriage, forgetting that the real happi-
ness of life does not lie in these things. No, nor
in getting a rich husband either. I say, my dear
"Mountain Sister," don't trouble your head about
this last matter at all. Do your duty as a farmer's
daughter, take some of the care and labor from
that toil-worn mother, who has perhaps had more
than her share. It is no strange thing now-a-days
for farmers' daughters to sit in the parlor with
needle work, wishing they had a piano or richer
clothing, or that some wealthy gentleman would
happen along and bear them off to a city life;
while their mothers are making cheese or butter in
the kitchen. Now, a far better way would be, to
enter at once with energy and will into all the
minutiae of farmer-life — interest yourself in your
father's labors out of doors ; in the crops, in the
cattle, in fruit-growing. You may suggest im-
provements, but at any rate, you will make home
nleasanter to those who toil for you.

If you really desire an education, you can ob-
tain it. There are more ways than one. Remem-
ber Miss Lyon. If you want more money, you
can have it. If you really don't know how to ob-
tain it, I will some day give you a bit of personal
experience.

If you want a husband who will love, cherish
and esteem you till death, you can have one.
"How ?" do you say ? Ay ! that's a secret, which
I will reveal, if you'll promise never again to re-
fuse a farmer, because you will have to work so
hard. a. e. p.

STATE FARM AT TE\?VKSBURY.

On Tuesday, Sept. 4, we made a visit to the
State Aims-House at Tewksbury, to look at it as
a whole, but more particularly to look at the farm,
having heard that some striking imjn'ovemcnts
had been made upon it. Before visiting at the
barns, stock and fields, we passed through nearly
all the rooms of the buildings, and found them in
admirable condition. They were clean, sweet, and
orderly. The bedding, everywhere, would be in-
viting to a tired person of any class. It was white
and whole, and the floors, furniture, and walls of
the rooms, were all bright, notwithstanding the
average number of the family is seven hundred
persons! In the kitchen, the cooking is chiefly
done in four large kettles, heated by steam. Two
of these contained soup in preparation for din-
ner, and another potatoes. In one corner of the
kitchen was a grist-mill at Avork, capable, wc
should think, of grinding ten or fifteen bushels of
corn per hour, and propelled by a small engine
in the boiler house. Adjoining the kitchen is the
bakery, where Jive barrels of flour are made into
dough for one baking, A batch had just been
drawn from the oven as we entered the room ; it
was light, sweet, and of a fine color. We visited,
leisurely, every part of the establishment, and
found each department testifying to the neatness
and systematic management of the Institution.

The Superintendent, Capt. T. J. Marsh, in-
formed us, that when he entered upon his duties
there, only two cows were kept upon the farm,
which consists of one hundred and thirty acres ;
that the bills annually paid for milk amounted to
about $3,500, and that the supposition of the
managers of the House had been, that milk could
be purchased cheaper than it could be made on
the farm. This, however, was not his opinion,
and the consent of the Inspectors being obtained,
he has purchased cows from time to time, until
he has thirty-hoo In the stancheons, and as a
whole, it is as fine a herd as we have seen during
the year. They are not fancy cows, and of no par-
ticular breed, but have been selected with regard
to age, size, and good milking qualities.

About one-half the farm is made up of light
plain land, such as often receives the name of
"pine barrens," and the other half is of granite
formation, a little elevated, springy, rocky, and
covered with bushes, nearly as repulsive as any
lands we have in the State. The sandy lands had
not been improved so as to produce permanent

486

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

Oct.

crops of grass, and the higher lands had not been
reclaimed at all, — so that very little fodder could
be cut to sustain the stock. Eighty tons of hay
■were, therefore, purchased last year, at a cost of
$16 per ton, amounting to $1280 ; and yet, un-
der this disadvantage, the Superintendent finds
he can make the milk cheaper than it had been
purchased. He is also able to use a larger quan-
tity, and of better quality of milk than when it
v/as brought to them from considerable distances.
Beside the thirty-tivo cows, we found six pairs of
noble oxen that are constantly kept at work in
pulling stumps, stones, carting manure and the
materials for making it, plowing and getting the
land into grass, and doiug the ordinary team
work, such as hauling coal, &c.

By sowing oats, millet, fodder corn, &c., and by
careful and systematic attention in feeding, the
Superintendent is enabled to furnish food for this
large stock through the summer, and keep them
all in excellent condition. The oxen and cows
were in good flesh, and some of them in each
class were good beef, although giving milk, or
daily in the yoke. Much of the sandy land is
covered with roots for winter feed, or will pro-
duce its two crops this season, while the teams,
with all the other force he can spare, are subdu-
ing the hard land, so that in less than five years,
with the manure from this large stock and the
well-directed labor in preparing the land for it,
hay enough will be cut to supply the place of all
that he is now purchasing ! Beside the neat
stock on the farm, there are three horses kept
and some tlirec hundred sivine. The manure from
this large stock, and the sewerage from the build-
ings, properly managed, may soon bring the
whole farm into the condition of a highly cultivat-
ed garden.

The feed of the cattle is varied both in summer
and winter, by giving them various green crops
in the summer, with a little grain, and in winter
by cutting the hay and mixing with grain or
roots and feeding occasionally upon long hay.
About two thousand bushels of potatoes will be
raised this year, and some three thousand bushels
of c;\rrots and other roots.

Mr. Marsh had just finished a new bai'n, 40 by
60 feet, with 20 foot posts, with a cellar under
the whole 9^ feet in the clear, with a cement bot-
tom. Every part of this barn was built, we un-
derstood him to say, by the labor of the Institu-
tion, with the exception of the slating. This barn
is intended for storing purposes, and not for stock,
and for such use is a model building.

The farm greatly needs pasture lands, so that a
portion of those now devoted to green fodder may
be set in permanent mowing fields, and as there
is such lanl within a hundred rods of the build-
ings, and adjoining the farm, wo hope the State

will supply the deficiency. A farm with only 130
acres is not sufficient for a family numbering 700
persons, many of them able and willing laborers.

What struck us pleasantly on the premises were
the quietness and order that everywhere pre-
vailed ; every person knew his duty, and certain-
ly seemed to be interested in its faithful dis-
charge. The Inspectors are, Messrs. George
Foster, ofAndover, Dana Holden, of Billerica,
Stephen Manson, of Lowell, and Thomas J.
Marsh, Superintendent.

We congratulate His Excellency on these judi-
cious and happy appointments, and the State in
the possession of such skilful and faithful officers.

EXTRACTS AWD REPLIES.

BARRELS AND BUSHELS.

In examining your valuable table in the monthly
Farmer, page 400, I find some very important mis-
takes, or else I make some in casting.

24x16x28=10,752 the dimensions for a barrel of 5
bushels, (your figures say) hut I suppose j'ou mean 3.

10,752 -=-3=3584, the number of inches in a bushel.

24x16x12=4608, number of inches in a half barrel.
4608x2=9216-^3=3072 inches in a bushel.

26 x 15.8x8=3286 inches in a bushel.

12x11.2x8=1075x4=4300 inches in a bushel, so
that you see that it makes quite a difference in the
number of inches in a bushel. The figures stand thus :

Dimensions for a barrel 3584 to the bushel.

Dimensions for one-half a barrel 3072 " "

piraensioiis for a bushel 3286 " "

Dimensions for a peck 4300 " "

Now the question is, which of the dimensions is
right, if any ? You do not tell us whether your boxes
will hold so much gi-ain or apples and potatoes. I
suppose you must mean heaped measure.

Methuen.

N. B. Will not a box 18)2 inches square and 8 inches
deep contain a bushel ?

Remarks. — We found the table referred to in one
of our exchanges, and supposing it correct did not test
its figures, as we otherwise should. The English bush-
el contains 2150.42 cu])ic Inches, — this is the Ijushel re-
ferred to in the table, and our correspondent will see
that the figures for the barrel are right, allowing it to
hold 5 bushels. A tierce would be the proper name
for it. The box for the half-barrel, (or tierce,) should
have been 14 inches deep instead of 12. The box you
suppose, will contain 2738 cubic inches.

THE WHIP-POOR-WILL.

Mr. Editor : — In* your terse "Talk about Septem-
ber," in speaking of the changes of the season and the
ceasing songs of Nature's minstrels, you say, "The
whip-poor-will is not heard much after July comes in."
Do they usually cease their nightly carol on or .about
July in Masssacluu;etts ? Here in Maine, this year
being the first time observed, in 44° 90', their song was
kept up till September as men'ily as ever, with short
inteiTuptions in the last part of August. Where
they go to, and when they leave different places,
would be information thankfully received from you
and your correspondents by many lovers of birds. Let
us all l)c more observing of birds and commTinicate
what wc learn. 0. W. True.

Elm Tree Farm, Me.

Remarks. — Nuttall, m his admirable "Manual of
the Ornithology of the United States," in speaking of
the Whip-poor-will, says : "After the period of incu-
bation, or about the middle of June, the vociferations of
the male cease, or are but rarely given. Towards the

1880.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

48';

close of summer, previonsly to their departure, they
are again occasionally heard, but their note is now
languid and seldom uttered ; and early in September
they leave us for the more genial climate of tropical
America, being there found giving their usual lively
ciy in the wilds of Cayenne and Demerara."

CROPS IN MINNESOTA.

As you are interested in agi-icultural matters in all
portions of onr wide country, I will say a word in refer-
ence to the farming interest in this region.

The farmers are now in the midst of their wheat
harvest, and all unite in saying that the present in-
gathering is by far the most abundant they have ever
h.id in this region. Indeed, it would ])e a veiy diffi-
cult matter tolind any land which seems so well fitted
by nature to j'ield an alnindant increase of small
grains as this. A soil of limestone formation, just as
rich as nature could make ie, seemingly, cannot but re-
ward the farmer with a hundred fold increase for his
labor bestowed upon it. It is a wonderful soil for pro-
ducing potatoes as well as wheat. One man assures
me that last year he raised no less than sixty bushels
of potatoes from one-half bushel of seed. Did you
ever hear of such a yield before ? His mode of plant-
ing was to cut the seed potatoes into small pieces each
containing one eye only, and planting each piece by
itself. The weather here is unprecedently cold, now ;
I hear of frost in low places. The corn has not grown
any the last week or two, on account of the cold
weathei-. Edwin Teele.

FROST IN THE FULL OF THE MOON.

There was a frost in this vicinity on the nights of
the 2J, 3d and 4th inst., sufhcient to kill the corn and
potatoes in many places. Your Springfield correspon-
dent, (please insert the initials of Dr. Allen's name, I
forget them,) in his interesting letters to the Farmer
last winter, staggered my previous opinion in regard
to the frosts in "the full of the moon. I must watch him
and the frosts hereafter, a little more closely.

To set the matter right, is the frost as frequent on
any three nights of the month of September, as on the
same numlicr of nights at the full of the moon ? I find
it hard as yet to decide in the atiirmative.

Bethel, Me. Sejit. 6, 1860. N. T. True.

Remarks. — The initials desired are "J. A. A."

THE WHEAT CROP IN MAINE.

This crop has not been as good as it is this j'car for
ten to fifteen years, and many old settlers say it has
not for twenty ; but as to this I cannot say. There has
been scarcely a failure of a remunerative ci'op where
it was sown in March and April, and in fact, I have
not seen or heard of a single piece sown thus early but
filled well and had no midge to injure.

In Franklin and Somerset counties, I have seen a
few late-sown fields that were injured by rust and the
weevil or midge, considerably. It was easy to stand
by the edge of dilferent pieces and select heads con-
taining fifty kernels of perfect grain, each, where it
was sown early. Farmers are making preparations to
try its cultivation much more extensively, o. w. t.

THE CROPS — HAWTHORN HEDGES.

There has not been in this town, for many years past
at this time of the year, the appearance of a better in-
coming crop of farm produce than there is now. And
although the hay on both the uplands and inten^ales
has not been quite so much in bulk as usual, it will, 1
think, be more than made up in the extra yield of corn,
oats and barley.

Have any of the readers of the Farmer ever tried to
raise a hedge from the planted berries of the common
Hawthorn (cratcpr/us) ? If they have, with what suc-
cess r John C. Gitchell.

Boscaweii, N. H., Sept. 7, I860.

ADVANTAGES OF A MOWING MACHINE.

Some of j'our readers may be pleased to hear a
brother farmer's experience of a mowing machine. The

season previous to my buying a mower I paid nearly
one hundred dollars for hired help to get my hay. The
season after I liought a mower I paid fifty cents for
help above what I mowed for my neighbors. The sec-
ond season I paid a man thirty-six dollars for work in
haying, did my own mowing, and mowed for others,
and had forty dollars left ! This season grass was veiy
light, and I had but little to cut, but I get thirty dol-
lars clear. Cost of mower $117.

An Old Subscriber.
Addison County, Vt., Sept., 1860.

FROSTS.

There was in Franklin county, Me., a frost July
28, killing buckwheat, cucumbers, &c., in many places,
and in some very frosty places, corn and potatoes. Al-
so, September 2d and 4th, frosts quite general on low
lands and along rivers, doing some injury. Occasion-
ally a piece of corn was spoiled and more India and
buckwheat than in July ; yet in spite of the frosts
crops will be more than an average in Northern
Maine. 0. W. True.

For the New England Farmer.
THE THUNDEH SHOWER.

Mr. Editor: — On the morning of the 8th of
August the thermometer stood at 70° at sunrise,
and 98° at 12 M. The forenoon was so sultry
and so hot that people who labored suffered se-
verely. A little past the middle of the day a few
clouds of singular appearance suddenly collected
a little at the southwest of my dwelling-house,
which were soon succeeded by low murmuring
thunder and the appearance of rain. This little
beginning of a shower advanced so rapidly that
those people who were a little way from home
were thoroughly saturated with rain unexpectedly.
About this time portentous clouds were to be
seen collecting in the northern atmosphere, and
advancing rapidly to form a junction with the
forces from the southwest. While advancing to
meet each other the battle in the elements com-
menced in earnest, the lighter artillery commenced
the action by sudden electric discharges which
seemed to shatter and rend the heavens, and on
the two bodies meeting, (who can abide His
wrath ?) the great magazines of electricity explod-
ed in seeming vengeance at every object below.
I sat and saw the streaming fire issuing from the
clouds and coming down in every fantastic shape,
some zigzag, some in such large bolts as to split
into branches, but all tending directly to the
earth, to the horror of all people, and more espe-
cially of those who had barns well stowed with
new hay. The shower continued till near night,
with a frightful roaring and violent discharges of
heaven's artillery, till every one seemed to be im-
pressed that the damage must have been very
great in the destruction of life and property as
far as the shower extended.

Reports have been afloat that barns were struck
in the towns of Andover, Middleton, Reading,
Danvers, and other places. It would be vi i-y grat-
ifying to many others as well as myself, to be in-
formed in thereports of these barn-burnings how
many had lightning conductors on them, or
whether they were all destitute of lightning rods.
There seems to be a prevailing interest in the
public mind in regard to the utility of lightning
rods. The best evidence is a statement of facts,
and the best way to come at facts, is to know
whether those buildings which were furnished
with rods were entirely exempt from disaster, oi

488

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

Oct.

whether the lightning made no discrimination be-
tween protected and unprotected buildings. Some
people are of the opinion that the attractive pow-
ers of the rods are very limited and feeble, while
others have great confidence in their power ; if
we could obtain the statistics of this and past
years, from every person in the State who has had
a building struck by lightning, it would furnish
us with knowledge we much desire.

Silas Brown.
North Wilmington, Aug. 13, 1860.

The August Pioneer Grape. — A sample of
this grape has been handed us by Mr. A. D. Mer-
KILL, of Lynn. He calls it a native, and it is a
good grape for a wild one. However, it costs no
more to cultivate a fine quality grape than a poor
one, — so that whenever we plant a grape vine it
should be the best we can command, if it is one
that will bear the climate and be productive.

New Seedling Pears. — "We have before us a
few seedling pears, from the garden of Mr. Jacob
Shaw, 2d, of Abington. They have the color of
the Bartlett, and something of its shape, though
not so long in the neck, or upper part. To our
taste it is not equal to the Bartlett — a friend
standing by and eating one says it is better.

LADIES' DEPARTMENT.

FKUITS IN WINTER.

By a little forethought and trouble, the fruits
which just now are so abundant, may be kept
fresh until midwinter, or spring even. The frugal
housewife has long been accustomed to "do up" a
few strawberries, make a little raspberry or black-
berry jam, and occasionally to preserve a jar of
peaches, pears or quinces ; but she has always
been very careful to use as many pounds of white
sugar as there were pounds of fruit, and even then
they have had to be examined frequently, and
sometimes "scaldcd"to prevenf'spoiiing." Again
when "done up," the result has been a very good
sweetmeat, but with little of the natural flavor of
the fruit remaining. Experience and frequent tri-
als have discovered better modes of preservation,
and now the different kinds of berries, "tree
fruits," with tomatoes, and other garden vegeta-
bles— are stowed away in cans and bottles, with
the fall assurance that they will open anytime iii
the course of two years, with much of their origi-
nal freshness and flavor. A few practical sugges-
tions to those inexperienced in the "preserving
art" are nec."'ssary.

First, boil your fruit in a porcelain kettle, with
a small quantity of water. Add white sugar, usu-
ally one-fourth as much as there is fruit. The su-
gar might be omitted entirely, were it not that it
would be necessary to add it whenever the sweet-
meats are taken out for use. Some prefer making
a strong syrup, by using one pound of sugar to a
pint of water, and pouring this into the bottles
after the fruit has been placed in them, to fill up
the interstices. Having boiled your fruit for a

few moments, fill your cans quickly, seeing that
every particle of air is expelled. Have your corks
ready, softened in warm water, and also a mixture
composed of one pound common resin to one
ounce tallow or lard well melted. Having pressed
in the corks, coat them over with the cement. To
guard securely against air, it is a good pliyi to in-
vert the bottles in patty-pans, or other small ves-
sels filled with melted cement. This will render
the cans or bottles absolutely air-tight. After
cooling, set away in a dark room if possible, and
no further trouble need be apprehended. Pears
and quinces should be "cooked" until soft.

FINDING- FAULT WITH YOUK CHIL-
DBEN.

It is at times necessary to censure and punish,
but very much may be done by encouraging chil-
dren when they do well. Be, therefore, more
careful to express your approbation of good con-
duct, than your disapprobation of bad. Nothing
can more discourage a child, than a spirit of in-
cessant fault-finding on the part of the parent.
And hardly any thing can exert a more injurious
influence upon the disposition both of the parent
and child. There are two great motives influencing
human actions — hope f<nd fear. Both of these are,
at times, necessary. But who would not prefer
to have her child influenced to good conduct, by
a desire of pleasing, rather than by the fear of
offending P If a mother never expresses her grat-
ification when her children do well, and is always
censuring them when she sees anything amiss,
they are discouraged and unhappy. Their dispo-
sitions become hardened and soured by ceaseless
fretting ; and at last, finding that whether they do
well or ill, they are equally found fault with, they
relinquish all efforts to please, and become heed-
less of reproaches.

A Good Woman never Grows Old. — Years
may pass over her head, but if benevolence and
virtue dwell in her heart, she is cheerful as when
the spring of life opened to her view. When Ave
look at a good woman, we never think of her age ;
she looks charming as when the rose of youth
first bloomed on her cheek. That rose has not
faded yet — it will never fade. Li her neighbor-
hood, she is the friend and benefactor. Who
does not respect and love the woman who has
passed her days in acts of kindness and mercy ?
We repeat, such a woman can never grov/ old.
She will always be fresh and buoyant in spirits,
and active in humble deeds of mercy and benevo-
lence.

Mary. — Who does not love the plain, yet
beautiful name, Mary ? It is from the Hebrew,
and means a "teardrop." What sweet and joyous
hours of other days — what pleasing associations
the very name calls up in every heart ? Who that
does not love the name, and has not had every
ligament of his heart moved to melody at its
mention ? If there be anything gentle, valued,
and womanly, what Mary possesses it not ? Was
it not Mary who was

''Last at the crois, and earliest at the graver"

And was not Mary the mother of the Saviour
of the world ? Blessed be the name of Mary.

l^^gM^^-^^^^^m

DEVOTED TO AGRICDXTUHS AWD ITS KINDRED ARTS AND SCIENCES.

VOL. XII.

BOSTON, NOVEMBER, 1860.

NO. 11.

NOURSE, EATON & TOLMAN, Proprietors. cnvrrnvr Tivmvmr T-nTTOT? FRED'K IIOLBROOK, ) Ai

Office.... 34 Merchants' Row. SIMON BROWN, EDITOR. HEXRY F. FRENCH^ \ E

ssociate
Editors.

CALENDAR FOR NOVEMBER.

"The wild November comes at last,
Beneath a veil of rain."

oyember, last and
dreariest of the
autumn months ;
few welcome thy
return with plea-
-i':r)Sure: few mourn,
-, even, v,'hen thy de-
parting footsteps
leave us to the
mercy of winter,
:; absolute and un-
doubted. To all inevi-
table things, a man can
make up his mind. When
the sun lies upon the hills
and the bells are jingling
I ttirough the streets, we cease
to dream of summer, and

g^^g^l bend our energies to the great science
-S^i^l of keeping warm; but, hardly have we
settled down to the conviction that the
warm weather is all over, and that henceforth our
pleasures are limited to in-doors, when a day
dawns upon us so bright, so fair, that it is the
very counterfeit of summer, and we wonder that
the leaves do not mistake the season, and burst
forth again in all the freshness of new life. A
soft veil is thrown over the landscape, a hazy
light, which makes a picture, a vision of the
most common scenes.

There is a large, square field, and in that field a
horse is grazing. There is another field adjoin-
ing, where three cows and a flock of sheep pro-
cure a scanty living among the rocks and dry
blueberry bushes. A flock of crows flies over
toward the pine woods that lie beyond. Nothing,
in point of fact, could be more common-placC)
yet, through the soft haze of this November af-

ternoon, how rich, how glorious is the picture.
The bony old horse, whose ribs you have often
counted with heartfelt sympathy, is a much-abused
cart-horse no longer ; he is one of Landseer's
finest productions thrown upon the glowing can-
vas. And his neighbors in the next pasture have
arranged themselves as with a special eye to ar-
tistic grouping. Even the crows overhead do not
suggest the idea of a defunct animal down in the
woods ; no, they are part of the beautiful land-
scape view of which the distant mountains are the
background, and the sun, the "skylight." The air,,
not, indeed, now fragant with flowers, but itself a;^
mild, all-pervading influence, lulls you to the very.;
borders of sleep and forgetfalness, and you think
"how delightful is November." But in the night,
the Avind goes round to the north-east, and you
wake the next morning, and find a wild rain driv-
ing over your landscape, your gallant steed' of
yesterday looks pitifully out of his stable win-
dow, a very raw-boned beast indeed. Your cows
have disappeared — washed out, it would seem, by
the flood, and the sheep have found a miserable
shelter under a tumble-down shed. O, the dreari-
ness of November ! There is no satisfaction to be
had out-of-doors, so you look within, for that do-
mestic happiness which is supposed by some to
be "the only bliss that has survived the fall !"

But over the family group it is fit we draw a
veil, lest we should seem to be personal in our
remarks. There are blithe spirits which defy even
the depressing influences of an autumnal storm, "
but it might be a question whether there is not in
such temperaments a want of sympathy with na-
ture in any of her moods, a corresponding insen-
sibility to the joyous sunlight, and the thousand
charms of a beautiful day. But though we will,
in courtesy, imagine the faces and the tempers of
your household to be as unclouded in November
as in June, we cannot conscientiously extend the
same measure of courtesy to your house. A house
in the country, standnig by itself, can scarcely be

490

:nkW ENGLAND FARMER.

Nov.

so well made that the rain will not beat in at
some quarter. There are the window-sills all
covered with towels to keep the water from the
paper on t}ie walls, and the curtains carefully
tucked aside, and somewhere, "from garret to
baf?ement," there are weak points where the drip-
pings v/ill fall on unwary heads, and dark pools
will run along the floors, though you may be very
certain that Mr. Chip, the carpenter, stopped that
leak a month ago. A cold moisture settles on
ivcrything you lay your hand upon, and doors
open and shut with difficulty, which never stuck
before. Then, if ever, one comes to a realizing
sense of what Noah and his family must have ex-
perienced when "the rain fell upon the earth for-
ty days and forty nights."

But even a November storm has its limits, and
when the heavens have wept themselves dry, there
come a few days of pale, diluted sunshine, inter-
mitting with some of drizzly rain and cold, grey
fog, which would penetrate to the bones of a Fal-
staff, and finally we are glad to settle down to the
good, honest, sturdy cold of December.

Not, however, till we have celebrated our an-
nual feast-day — our passover — our Thanksgiving
— that holiday most rational and peculiar of all
holidays. There is the "meeting-house," well
filled as to the male parishioners, and if there are
vacancies at the other end of the pew, the good
minister does not feel slighted, for certain afi'airs
in the culinary line, at the parsonage, have taught
him how to make allov/ances. He docs not feel
like being severe on those female members of his
flock who obey the apostle's injunction, and, if
they wish to know anything, ask their husbands
at home ! Still, he preaches an unusually long
sermon on this day, the better to show his thank-
fulness, and the choir do an unusual amount of
singing, and then all disperse to the great festi-
val of the day — called dinner.

And what a similarity the social hoards of
the assembly would present to any person who
should be empowered to visit them all. In the
middle of the table lies the great turkey, who has
gobbled his last gobble, and died "a blessed mar-
tyr" for his country's good. On one side of him
lie a pair of chickens, whose ephemeral lives never
looked upon the winter's snow, and on the other
side, another pair from the same brood "are
baked into a pie." Then, for dessert, there is a
plum-pudding, and every kind of pie that the in-
genuity of woman can invent. And there are sto-
ries from grandpapa, and talk of politics and
crops between papa and uncle, and jests and fool-
ish conversation among the cousins, and little
side-snickerings and whisperings among the chil-
dren. And the night closes in with a dance, or a
game at blind-man's-buff', mingled with many
reminiscences of other Thanksgivings, and a rev-

erent naming of those who will never more gather
with us in our earthly homes. For it is only to
children, and very young people, that any anni-
versary is entirely without sadness. Yet how
these meetings revive and keep alive feelings of
brotherly love and interest. How they bring the
thoughts into one channel, and by so doing, so-
cialize not only families, but neighborhoods.

And when you, of your abundance, carry a
great basket of provisions to your neighbor in
her poverty, how is charity promoted in the giver
and thankfulness in the recipient !

THE LEECH AS A "WEATHEK-GLASS.

The following curious account is from the Lon-
don Farmers' Magazine for July, 1860 :

The following observations on a leech M'ere
made by a gentleman who kept one several years
for the above purpose : "A phial of water con-
taining a leech was kept in the lower frame of a
chamber window, so that when I looked in the
morning I could know what would be the weath-
er on the following day. If the weather proves
serene and beautiful, the leech lies motionless at
the bottom of the glass, and rolled together in a
spiral form. If it rains before or after noon, it is
found to have crept up to the top of its lodging,
and there remains till the weather is settled. If
we are to have wind, the poor prisoner gallops
through its limpid habitation with amazing swift-
ness, and seldom rests till it begins to blow hard.
If a remarkable storm of thunder and rain is to
succeed, for some days before, it lodges almost
continually out of the water, and discovers unea-
siness in violent throes and convulsive motions.
In the frost, as in clear weather, it lies at the bot-
tom ; and in snowy, as in rainy weather, it pitches
its dwelling upon the very mouth of the phial.
The leech was kept in an 8 oz. phial, about three-
fourths filled with water. In the supimer the
water was changed once a-week, and in winter
once a fortnight."

THE USE OF KAWHIDE.

How few persons know the value of rawhide.
It seems almost strange to see them sell all of
their "deacon" skins for the small sum of thirty
or forty cents. Take a strip of well-tanned raw-
hide an inch wide, and a horse can hardly break
it by pulling back — two of them he cannot break
any way. »

Cut into narrow strips and shave the hair off
with a sharp knife, to use for bag-strings ; the
strings will outlast two sets of bags. Farmers
know how perplexing it is to lend bags and have
them returned minus strings.

It will out-last hoop iron (common) in any
shape, and is stronger. It is good to wrap around
a broken thill — better than iron.

Two sets of rawhide halters W'ill last a man's
life-time — (if he don't live too long.)

In some places the Spaniards use rawhide log-
chains to work cattle with, cut iiito narrow strips
and twisted together hawser fashion. It can be
tanned so it will be soft and pHable like harness
leather. Save a cow and "deacon's pelt" and try
it. — William llhodes, in Country Gentleman.

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

491

THE MAINE STATE SHOW.

Our brother farmers of Maine held their Annu-
al Cattle Show and Fair at Portland, commencing
on the 2oth of September and continuing through
the week, — one day having been added to the
original time contemplated, owing to bad weath-
er interfering with some of their arrangements.
Having the good fortune to be present on the
third and fourth days, we propose briefly to men-
tion some of the things worthy of note that fell
under our ken.

The grounds fitted up for the display of stock,
fee, were on the top of Munjoy Hill, or rather on
the eastern side, exposed to the full sweep of the
winds, which made it rather uncomfortable most
of the time we were there. The view from this
Bpot is a lovely one, almost enough to overbal-
ance its objections.

The show of stock was very good indeed, but it
seemed to us not quite equal to that of the pre-
vious year.

There was quite a show of horses, but the
Horse Show at Augusta, the week previous had
detracted somewhat from this portion of the ex-
hibition.

The trial of working oxen, on Wednesday, at-
tracted much attention, and the animals showed
docility, patience and good training in a remark-
able manner.

As has been the custom of late years, at most
of the Agricultural Shows, a large portion of
the time and an undue proportion of the premi-
ums, were devoted to the exhibition of fancy
horses.

Sheep, swine and poultry were few in numbers,
but of very good quality. A few of the flocks of
fine wooled sheep from Somerset county, that we
noticed at the last Show, would have added great-
ly to the attraction.

The show of manufactures, implements and
fancy articles was held in the splendid City Hall
building. We found this in many respects supe-
rior to any previous display by this Society. The
fancy work was not very plenty, but we noticed
some highly creditable specimens of feminine in-
genuity and patience.

The Portland Horticultural Society united with
the State Society, and made up an excellent show
of fruit and flowers.

The Dairy department showed much falling off",
both in quantity and quality, owing to the severe
drought throughout the State.

The show of agricultural implements contained
little that was new or striking. The household
fui'nishing department was well filled.

5000 bushels, mostly ground in the Little Giant
]\Iill, states with great confidence his conclusion
that cob meal is the safest and cheapest feed that
is raised in Ohio. Cattle that cost him $18 per
head in the fall, brought him $45 69, after con-
suming only about 12 bushels, 70 lbs. in the ear
per bushel, ground and cooked. Grinding and
cooking, he affirms, doubles its value.

CHEAP EAILROADS.

Corn and Cob Meal. — A correspondent of
the Ohio Cultivator, who has fed not less than

I am gratified in a late number of the Hnme-
stead to see this matter broached. Although it
is said the railroad whistle is now heard in every
town in Connecticut, I infer from the amount of
money which has been lost by railroads, that it is
doubtful whether they will very soon come any
nearer to our farms than they now are. Most of
the farms in this State have more or less besides
the produce of the farm to be conveyed to and
from the railroads, and this is probably upon the
increase ; hence the great necessity of some other
means of transport than that approached by our
common roads. For this purpose wooden rail-
roads, in my view, are meriting our consideration.
They consist of two longitudinal sills, on which
the wheels of a wagon are made to run, say four
inches thick, one of sufficient width to admit of
two pieces of scantling being spiked on, leaving
a rut or space between them for the wheel of one
side of a wagon to run on. The other side _ re-
quires no rut, but should be of sufficient width
to accommodate vehicles with axles of various
lengths. The team, which travels between the
sills on the earth, will draw a load with more
ease than on a plank or macadamized road, no
cross ties being required. These are easily made,
indeed a teamster can carry two pieces of scant-
ling two feet long, made like a wedge on end and
side ; these placed in the rut forward of the
wheels will enable him to turn out at any place,
and by this aid he can get a loaded wagon upon
the road. A prop or brace may be attached to
the hind axle to be applied going up hills to al-
low the team to rest, and on steep hills.

A common road should be made outside of
these rails to go down on. The slight cost of this
kind of road compared with other improved roads
is certainly worthy of consideration, and they are
well adapted to sandy and soft soils and hills, if
not other lands.

More remains to be said in relation to them,
but the shower which drove me into the house
has passed, and I must away to the field. — Home-
stead.

Putridity in Wells. — Sometimes the water in
wells suddenly acquires a putrid taste and smell,
as though some animal matter was undergoing
decay therein, yet which upon careful examination
is found not to be the case. The Homestead tells
of such an instance, and a remedy was found in
the thorough agitation of the water, by working a
chain pump fo"r two hours, bringing the water
more or less in contact with the air. The next
day the water was as sweet as ever. In the case
of a cistern of filtered rain water, the same remedy
of agitation was resorted to with equal success.

492

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

Nov.

For the Neio Ensland Farmer.
A PROFITABLE FARM.

The question whether farming is profitable has
been well discussed in your valuable paper, and
the theory well developed. I have a few facts on
the subject which I think may prove interesting
and perhaps instructive to my brother farmers. _

Not many days since I had the pleasure of vis-
iting the farm of my old friend, AsA G. Sheldon,
Esq., of Wilmington, and as 1 walked over his
broad fields, and viewed the wonderful improve-
ments that labor, rightly and intelligently direct-
ed, had produced, I determined to make a few
notes of what I saw for the N. E. Farmer.

Mr. Sheldon has 1250 apple trees, of which 350
have been set 7 years, and are just beginning to
bear ; 300 ten and eleven years, 520, some full-
grown , and some set only a few years, and 80
twenty years. These last will bear five barrels
apiece every other year.

All these trees are in fine growing condition,
and will all be as valuable in twenty years as the
best of them are at the present time.

The land on which they stand is common hard
land, a gravelly loam, the subsoil gravel mixed
with clay.

In answer to the question how many acres of
improved swamp he had, the reply was, about
twenty. This land was formerly covered with a
growth of maple wood, but, by the indefatigable
industry of Mr. Sheldon, the twenty acres have
been cleared of trees and stumps and are now
among the richest lands of the State. Ten acres
are covered with the rankest growth of potatoes
that I ever saw ; some of the vines are six feet
long, and cover the ground entirely.

I should suppose the potatoes would yield at
the rate of a bushel to ten hills throughout the
field. One acre of this land, I am told, has borne
potatoes eight years in succession and the pres-
ent crop is equal to any former one.

Such land is worth $30 more than upland per
year to raise potatoes in. The other ten acres are
in grass, and bear at the rate of 35 cwt. to the acre.
Now for the figures.

80 trees at $20 each $1,600

650 " 10 " 6,5C0

520 " 5 " 2,600

20 acres swamp at $300 per acre 6,000

Total $16,700

Value of present crop of potatoes in the ground $1,000

Let all doubters of the profits of farming visit
Mr. Sheldon's farm, for "seeing is believing."
Addison Flint.
North Beading, Mass., Sept. 4, 1860.

sun after they are cut down, which should be as
soon as their flowering season is over. Until they
are re-potted into smaller pots, about the begin-
ning of the month of September, very little water
should be given them. Geranium cuttings may
be put in at the time they are cut down. For this
purpose, select the shortest and stockiest shoots
with a growing point, and divest them of most of
their leaves ; keep rather dry till they show symp-
toms of growth, and success is almost certain. —
Dollar Newspaper.

Flowers for Winter. — Flowers intended for
winter blooming, need a season of repose, espe-
cially tropical plants, such as geranium, fuchsia,
&c., which should be allowed rest from growth
during the months of July and August, by almost
entirely withdrawing the supply of water. Of
course the leaves will fall off, but the plants will
be fitted to start into fresh and vigorous growth,
as soon as the water is again supplied. Previous
to this, the branches of the fuchsia should be
pruned in, and water given sparingly at first, in-
creasing the supply, as the young shoots grow.
Geraniums should be partially shaded from the

For the New England Farmer.

THE BIRDS OP NEW ENGLAND— No. 2.
EAGLES.

Golden Eagle— Bird of Washington— Bald or White-Eeaded

Eagle.

Leaving the family of the indolent Vultures,
we pass to the second family of the rapacious
birds, the Falconida^ (Falcons,) constituting by
far the most numerous division of the diurnal
Birds of Prey. They, in general, possess a dar-
ing, and often cruel spirit, and subsist almost
wholly upon living prey, for the capture of which
nature has eminently qualified them ; yet the de-
gree of courage manifested by different species
is often widely at variance. They are solitary in
their dispositions, exceedingly shy of man, and
though a few are generally dispersed over our for-
ests, and make occasional hostile inroads upon
the poultry, the greater part prefer wild, moun-
tainous districts for their retreat, particularly dur-
ing the breeding season, and in general seldom
molest the property of the farmer, while a few
may be regarded as useful, from the number of
annoying vermin and reptiles they destroy. Their
extreme shyness has rendered the study of their
history not a little difficult, and being generally
few in numbers, there are some species concern-
ing which but little is definitely known ; and the
long period required for many of the species to
arrive at a mature state of plumage, as well as
the diverse markings of the plumage of the differ-
ent sexes of the same species, have given rise to
serious difl[iculties in discriminating between dif-
ferent species, and the young and adult of the
same ; and it is surprising that ornithologists
have not been led more frequently into errors.

Some twenty or more species embraced in this
family are found to more or less inhabit New Eng-
land, including as it does the Eagles, Hawks and
Buzzards ; but a few, however, are observed to
be common, and the greater part are quite rare ;
and in various sections of the country, as the old-
er forests are cleared away, the numbers of the
more common species are every year diminishing.
In this class of birds, the female is generally
larger, and occasionally one-third larger, than the
male, more courageous in hunting, and in the de-
fence of her young, and of much handsomer plu-
mage, as, indeed, is the case throughout the or-
der ; and but one brood of young is raised a year.

To the Eagles (forming the sub-family Aquili-
nce,) is generally submitted the first rank, from
their being the most powerful of all the birds of
prey, as well as from their large size and noble
aspect. Of the true. Eagles (genus Aquila,) the
Golden Eagles, {Aquila cliryscetus, Wil. ; Falco
clirTjscclus, Linn.,) is our only American repre-

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

493

sentative. This noble and daring bird is found
throughout the northern parts of both continents,
though nowhere common, inhabiting rough, moun-
tainous regions, generally remote from man, and
though a terror to the wild game of the forests,
seldom molesting the property of the farmer. A
few individuals, according to newspaper reports,
are killed in different parts of New England ev-
ery year, and the fact is always recorded as a thing
worthy of notice. It is said to breed in almost
inaccessible cliffs. The Ring-Tailed Eagle, (Falco
fulvus, Wils.,) formerly supposed to be a distinct
species, is now known to be a young Golden
Eagle of the first year ; but Wilson, supposing
it distinct, in describing it, thus speaks of it :
"This noble bird, in strength, spirit and activity,
ranks among the first of its tribe. It is found,
though sparingly dispersed, over the whole tem-
perate and arctic regions, particularly the lat-
ter ; breeding in high, precipitous rocks, always
preferring a mountainous country." The adult
Golden Eagle is three feet in length, and mea-
sures upwards of seven feet across the expanded
wings. The color of the head and neck is a deep
brown, bordered with tawny or ferruginous ; gen-
eral color of the rest of the plumage, dark brown.
The lofty, soaring flight of the Eagle is proverbial,
and of none is it less so than of the present spe-
cies.

The Washington Eagle, or Bird of Washington,
{Halicetus Washiagtoni, Aud.,) is a very rare
bird, and the largest of its tribe. It was first seen
by Audubon in 1814, and by him its existence
and history was for the first time made known to
the world. It was not until some five years after
this date, however, that he was successful in pro-
curing a specimen, though in the mean time his
ever watchful eye several times caught sight of it
in his excursions, and only a heavy storm pre-
vented his securing it some two years sooner.
This truly majestic bird measures three feet seven
inches in length, SLwdi tea feet two //ic/tes in extent ;
and from Mr. Audubon's description seems to be
quite distinct from any other species, though in
color somewhat resembling the young of the Sea
Eagle, {Falco alhicilla, Linn.,) of Europe. Though
exceedingly rare, it seems to be widely distribut-
ed in the northern parts of America, breeding on
high cliffs, and subsisting chiefly on fish, which it
takes with ease, in the manner of the Fish Hawk
or Osprey, and not by plundering this noble bird
of its hard earned prey, as is the practice of the
Bald Eagle. In the zoological report of Massa-
chusetts it is spoken of as occasionally seen here
in winter, and from an account I have recently
received of an immense Eagle killed in Berkshire
county, I hardly hesitate to consider it the same.
Interesting extracts from Mr. Audubon's history
of this bird might be given, did space permit. In
reference to the name he has bestowed upon it,
he observes : "The name which I have chosen for
this new species of Eagle, 'The Bird of Wash-
ington,' may, by some, be considered as prepos-
terous and unfit ; but as it is indisputably the no-
blest bird of its genus that has yet been discov-
ered in the United States, I trust I shall be al-
lowed to honor it with the name of one yet nobler,
who was the saviour of his country, and whose
name will ever be dear to it. * * * * jf
America has reason to be proud of her Washing-
ton, so has she to be proud of her Great Eagle."

The White Headed Eagle, or Bald Eagle, {Hal-
icetus lucoceplialus, Sav. ; Falco hicoceplialus,
Linn.,) the young birds being also known as the
Gray Eagle, is found throughout the northern
parts of both continents, but is said to be more
numerous in North America than elsewhere, and
being our chosen national emblem, is, perhaps, the
more worthy of particular notice. Concerning
this daring tyrant of the air, I wish I could pre-
sent the reader with the felicitous descriptions of
both Wilson and Audubon, but must be content
with condensing from the elaborate accounts of
these admirable authors the more important points
in its history, with perhaps brief extracts in their
own words. At certain seasons, this species is
generally dispersed over the New England States,
and is the most common of our Eagles ; but dur-
ing summer is more confined to the sea-shores,
or the larger rivers and lakes, to obtain the fish
that form its chief food at this season, and it is
said to be always quite abundant about the Falls
of Niagara. Geese, swans, ducks and other M-ater
fowls, together with pigs, lambs, and sometimes
young fawns, furnish it v/ith abundant food dur-
ing the remainder of the year, and which general-
ly fall an easy prey ; but in times of great scar-
city it will descend to partake of the most putrid
carrion ; and the collected groups of gormandiz-
ing vultures, as Wilson observes, "on the ap-
proach of this dignified personage, instantly dis-
perse, and make way for their master, waiting his
departure in solemn silence, and at a respectful
distance, on the adjacent trees." His great
strength, unequalled power of flight, reckless dar-
ing and cool courage, render him conspicuous at
all times among his fellow-inhabitants of the air ;
while his cruel, overbearing and tyrannical dispo-
sition is not a less distinguishing characteristic.
And though so well qualified to procure his own
subsistence, no sooner does spring open, and the
Fish Hawk appear over our lakes and rivers, and
along the sea-shore, than he at once becomes a
selfish oppressor of this admirable bird, system-
atically watching his manoeuvers, and robbing him
of his well-earned prey, whenever his appetite
prompts him, subsisting for months almost wholly
on the labors of this regal fisher. His manner of
capturing the swan in the air, and the pair acting
in concert to worry the ducks and geese that, by
diving beneath the waters, seem able to elude
these destroyers — the male and female darting
alternately upon them as they rise to the surface
— at once evince the cunning and perseverance
of this bird.

This Eagle breeds in trees, building a large
nest of coarse sticks three to five feet in length,
pieces of turf, rank weeds, &c., the whole forming
a ponderous mass, six or more feet in diameter,
and often as many deep, and visible at great
distances. The same nest is often occupied for
several years in succession. Incubation often
commences in January ; and while the young are
in the nest, it is perilous to attempt an approach
to it.

The White-Headed Eagle measures three feet or
a little less in length ; extent of wings generally
seven feet. Color of the head, neck and tail, in
the adult birds, pure white, sometimes inclining
to yellowish; and the whiteness of the head
probably suggested the epithet hald, applied to
this eagle, as the whole head is thickly clothed

494

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

Nov.

with feathers ; plumage of the body and wings a
deep chocolate brown. The following extract
from Wilson's account may throw more light upon
its history. "Formed by nature for braving the
severest cold ; feeding equally upon the produce
of the sea and of the land ; possessing powers of
flight capable of outstripping even the tempests
themselves ; unawed by anything but man ; and
from the ethereal heights to which he soars, look-
ing abroad at one glance, over an innumerable
expanse of forests, fields, lakes and ocean deep
belov/ him, he appears indifferent to the little lo-
calities of change of seasons ; as, in a few min-
utes, he can pass from summer to winter, from
the lower to the higher region of the atmosphere,
the abode of eternal cold, and then descend, at
will, to the torrid or the arctic regions of the
earth." j. A. A.

TREE PliAjSTTING.
"Have you never heard of the student, who,
on being told that the crow would sometimes live
a hundred years, bought a young crow to try the
experiment ?" Yes, indeed, we have heard of him
— the irony is excellent— and of Dr. Johnson's
growl about "the frightful interval between the
seed and the timber." Still, we say, plant trees.
They who plant at once, instead of wasting their
breath in selfish complaints of the shortness of
life, find luxuriant foliage waving over them
much sooner than they expected. But, whether
yoa live to see the maturity of your trees or not,
be benevolent enough to plant for posterity.
Transmit to your children the inheritance of ru-
ral beauty received from your fathers, greatly aug-
mented. By all means plant, and plant well, and
the result will overpay the labor. And let not
your work end with planting. Feed your trees
from year to year with generous food, and guard
them from injury. And, in the words (slightly
altered) of an old planter : "What joy may you
have in seeing the success of your labors while
you live, and in leaviug behind you, to your heirs
or successors, a work that, many years after your
death, shall record your love to your country !
And the rather, when you consider to what length
of time your work is like to last." If you have
country homes to embellish, be content with sim-
plicity. R,craember that a great establishment is
a great care, and that the proprietor is apt to be-
come a slave to it. Let your dwelling-places be
marked with what painters call "repose." Make
them the abodes of comfort and refined enjoy-
ment, places which will always afford you agreea-
ble occupation, but not oppress you with care. —
North American Beview.

To Protect a Shingle Roof from Fire. —
The editor of the Albany Knickerbocker says, that
a wash composed of lime, salt and fine sand or
wood ashes, put on the ordinary way of white-
washing, renders the roof fifty-fold more safe
against taking fire from falling cinders, or other-
wise in case of fires in the vicinity. It pays the
expense a hundred-fold in its preserving influ-
ence against the effect of the weather. The older
and more weather-beaten the shingles, the more
benefit derived ; such shingles are generally more
or less warped, rough and cracked. The applica-
tion of the wash, by ^vetting the upper surface, re-

stores them at once to their original or first form,
there])y closing the space between the shingles,
and the lime and sand, by filling up the cracks
and posts, in the shingle itself prevents its warp-
ing for years if not forever.

For Vie New England Farmer.

MOWING MACHINES.

"Lest men suspect your tale untrue,
Keep probability in view."

Mr. Editor : — In your monthly for September,
I notice an article on the 427th page, "A new trial
of an old machine," you call it. You say that you
witnessed Nourse, Mason & Co.'s Ketchum mow-
ing machine cut an acre in twenty-four (24) min-
utes, and further state, that "Mr. Shurtleff and
several of the bystanders told you that an acre
was cut, and cut well, the day before, in fifteen
minutes."

The mower cut a swath five and one-half feet
wide, (5^) or just one-third of a rod wide. Now an
acre one-third of a rod wide, would be four hun-
dred and eighty (480) rods long, or just one and a
half miles. Thus the team must have been driven
at the rate of six miles per hour, which is a good
smart trot.

But suppose the acres to have been a square of
10 rods by 16, you must go round it fifteen times,
making sixty quarter {\) turns, and at each end,
the horses had to go about a rod beyond the
grass, and with the extra travel on the coming in,
will make another quarter of a mile travel, mak-
ing 6^ miles travel per hour. You do not give
the shape of the acre mowed, Taut the one I have
supposed, would be as favorable as would usually
be laid off. Then think of turning on a right an-
gle sixty times, and usually having to back a lit-
tle, owing to having gone out too far. It would
take the best part of 15 minutes to make the GO
stops and .j turns, particularly if you were turning
at the rate of Gj miles per hour. Why did they not
show you their best work, and not be about two-
thirds longer mowing their acre, that day, than
they were the day before ? That a paced acre can
be cut in 24 minutes, I will not doubt, but I do
not believe that a guessed acre can be cut in 15
minutes.

I once heard a man say "he could reap a guessed
acre in a day with ease, and he could reap a paced
acre, but he'd be d — if he would reap a chained
acre, any way." FIGURES.

Remarks. — We recognize the hand of an old
and valued correspondent in the above. We have
long been in the habit of pacing out acres in our
farm operations, and believe we come out pretty
nearly correct. We stated what we did, and saw
on Mr. ShurtleS^s farm, and cannot doubt now
but it was substantially correct. The horses em-
ployed did not trot, but they were large and
powerful, and moved all the time on a vei'y fast
walk. Our friend's quotation may answer for his
poetic temperament — but for our matter-of-fact
purposes, we did not pause to temporize with the
truth, but went straight forward to the work, and
stated it just as it occurred. When our horses

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FABMEE.

495

travel on a "good smart trot," and keep on so for
an hour, they make about ten miles, instead of

POVERTY NOT SO GKEAT A CURSE.

If there is any thing in the world that a young
man should be more thankful for than another, it
is the poverty which necessitates his starting in
life under very great disadvantages. Poverty is
one of the best tests of human quality in exis-
tence. A triumph over it is like graduating with
honor from West Point. It demonstrates stuii
and stamina. It is a certificate of worthy labor,
creditably performed. A young man who cannot
stand the test, is not worth anything. He can
never rise above a drudge, or a pauper. A young
man who cannot feel his will harden, as the yoke
of poverty presses upon him, and his pluck rise
with every difficulty poverty throws in his way,
may as well retire into some corner and hide him-
self. Poverty saves a thousand times more men
than it ruins ; for it only ruins those who are not
particularly worth saving, while it saves multitudes
of those whom wealth would have ruined. If any
young man who reads this, is so unfortunate as
to be rich, I give him my pity. I pity you, my
rich young friend, because you are in danger.
You lack one stimulus to effort and excellence,
which your poor companion possesses. You will
be very apt, if you have a soft spot in your head,
to think yourself above him, and that sort of thing
makes you mean, and injures you. With full pock-
ets and full stomach, and fine linen and broad-
cloth on your back, your heart and soul plethor-
ic, in the race of your life, you will find yourself
surpassed by all the poor boys around you, before
you know it.

No, my boy, if you are poor, thank God and
take courage ; for He intends to give you a chance
to make something of yourself. If you had plenty
of money, ten chances to one, it would spoil you
for all useful purposes. Do you lack education ?
Have you been cut short in the text book ? Re-
member that education, like some other things,
does not consist in the multitude of things a man
possesses. What can you do ? That is the ques-
tion that settles the business for you. Do you
know your business ? Do you know men, and
how to deal with them ? Has your mind, by any
means whatsoever, received that discipline which
gives to its action power and faculty ? If so, then
you are more of a man, and a thousand times bet-
ter educated than the fellow who graduates from
colleges with his brains full of stuff that he can-
not apply to the practical business of life — stuff,
the acquisition of which has been in no sense a
disciplinary process as far as he is concerned.
There are very few men in this world less than
thirty years of age, unmarried, who can afford to
be rich. One of the greatest benefits to be reaped
from great financial disasters, is the saving a large
crop of young men. — Timothy Titcomh.

Long Island Lands. — Application has been
made to us for the pamphlet on the Long Island
Lands to which we referred last v/eek. We have
but a single copy. It can be obtained by send-
ing to J. G. Elliott, Esq., 54 Wall Street, N.
Y., Box 3443.

For the New Englmid Farmer.
CAUSE OP THE POTATO ROT.

Mr. Editor : — I have heretofore offered seven
reasons, to show that the potato rot is not, and
can not, be caused by insects. No attempt has,
as yet, been made to answer any one of these seven
reasons, or to show that they are not well founded
in the nature of things, or in point of fact. They
seem to be regarded as impregnable and unan-
swerable. It is true, Mr. Lyman Keed, of Balti-
more, has published a certijicate from seventeen
members of Congress, who assert that, on a cer-
tain day, at Washington, the capital of the nation,
they saw, by the aid of the microscope, certain
insects, on some potatoes, in the act of sucking
and biting them ; and, hence, they jumped at the
conclusion, already forestalled by the assertions
of Mr. Reed, that these and such like insects are
the cause of the ])otato rot. Such certificates and
assertions do not prove anything. They only go
to show how liable the most gifted minds, are to
be deceived, and to substitute, for the cause of a
thing its effect, or consequent, or concomitant.

Let it be admitted, for I have no disposition to
deny that those seventeen members of Congress
actually saw what they say they saw, insects
on those decaying and rotten potatoes ; were
they, therefore, justified in jumping at the con-
clusion, and drawing the inference they did ? By
no means ! Before I draw any such conclusion or
inference, I wish to make a great many inquiries,
examinations and investigations, and ask a great
many questions. I wish to know what causes
vegetables generally to rot and decay ? Is there
any general or known law relating to the rot and
decay of vegetables ? If so, what is it ? If in-
sects of some kind are always found, by the aid
of the microscope, in all incipient decomposition,
does this fact prove, that they cause the rot and
decay ? Is it a fact, that insects cause all the veg-
etables which they bite to rot and decay ? If not
all, which ones in particular, and why ? If I can
obtain a satisfactory answer to the above ques-
tions, I believe I can explain the cause of the
potato rot to the satisfaction of every one who has
no personal or pecuniary interest to subserve.

It would be strange, indeed, if some kind of in-
sects were not found, by the aid of the microscope,
in all kinds of rotten and decaying vegetables.
This is as true of rotten vegetables, as of rotten
animals. All dead animals waste away and are
consumed by insects, while their death has been
owing to other causes. No one, for instance, who
finds a dead horse full of maggots, for a moment
believes that the maggots have killed the horse,
though they be found in every part of the dead
animal. And what is so manifestly true with re-
gard to a dead horse, may be, and probably is,
equally true with regard to dead vegetables. If
it be unreasonable to believe that the maggots
have killed the horse, it is equally unreasonable to
believe that insects are the cause of the potato
rot, because they happen to be found upon the
rotten tubers. They may be the consequent or
concomitant of the rot, but not the cause of it.

Besides it seem to me strange, passing strange;
in fact, the idea seems preposterous, that insects,
bv the mere act of eating or sucking potatoes, on
which they subsist, and which are necessary to
their subsistence, should infuse a deadly poison

496

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

Nov.

into them, causing tliem to rot, and thus not only
destroy their own food and that of their offspring,
but also destroy their own future offspring by caus-
ing the very potatoes to rot, on which their nits
or eggs are laid. This is a species of insecticide
not laid down in any of the books, and is far from
being a true representation of insect ecoiiomy. At
least, it is not thus with other insects. They do not
poison the vegetables on which they subsist. They
bite them ; they suck them ; they devour them ;
but they do not poison them and cause them to
rot. There is no venom in their bite ; so that
the vegetables, thus bitten and wounded by them,
do not blast and rot at a precise, exact time, and
at a particular season of the year, always tak-
ing place within the limits of a very few days.

This, if true with regard to the potato rot, must
be regarded as the commencement of a new and
strange economy of vegetable and insect life. For
these potato insects not only destroy what they
eat, but they poison what they do not eat, and
render it useless to themselves and others. It
will require the most positive, dii'ectand convinc-
ing proof to show, that insects infuse a poison in-
to potatoes sufficient to cause them to rot ; where-
as, it is very easy to prove that the various kinds
of insects breed in rotten and decaying vegetables,
while the rot and decay are owing to other causes.

Besides, how can we defend the instincts of
these potato insects which lead them to poison
and destroy the very vegetables on which they
and their whole race depend for subsistence ? No
other insects behave in this manner ! No other
insects are endowed with such absurd and pre-
posterous instincts ! JoHN GoLDSBURY.

Warwick, Mass., 1860.

PHOSPHORUS— SOURCE AND WATURE.

Phosphorus is but sparingly diffused as a com-
ponent of minerals — it is to the animal kingdom
that we turn for our supplies — to bones and fluids
of the body. These are our magazines of phos-
phorus, from which it is extracted in large quan-
tities now required for matches and the other
manufactures into which it enters.

The leading characteristic of phosphorus is its
extreme combustibility. Place a small fragment
of it in a glass tube, apply heat and ignite it,
when, on impelling a current of air through the
tube, the phosphorus burns with great rapidity.
The combustion having terminated, two different
residues are produced, one a red colored sub-
stance and the other a white one. The latter, or
white, is an acid compound of phosphorus with
oxygen. The former m as long imagined to be a
combination of phosphorus with oxygen, also,
but in a lesser ratio than necessary to constitute
an acid. Within the last few years, however, M.
Schrotter, of Vienna, demonstrated that the red
compound in question was merely phosphorus.
No combination has taken place to form this
compound, but the phosphorus has assumed a
second, or allotropic condition, just as sulphur
does under the operation of heat.

Common phosphoi'us has to be kept in water,
for the purpose of guarding against spontaneous
combustion; allotropic phosphorus, however, may
be kept unchanged in atmospheric air ; indeed it
may be wrapped up in paper, and carried in the
pocket even with impunity. Common phospho-

rus readily disolves in the sulphuret of carbon,
whereas allotropic phosphorus does not.

Phosphorus exists in all grains, and it forms
a minute portion of every loaf of bread we eat.
It exists in the human brain, but the greatest
quantity of it is found combined with lime in the
bones of animals. The phosphate of lime sells at
high prices, as a fertilizing agent, simply because
it is a substance difficult to obtain large quanti-
ties of. Unlike svdphnr and lime, which are ob-
tained most abundantly from the mineral world,
all our phosphorus is obtained from organic cre-
ation.— Scientific American.

For the New England Farmer.
FERTILITY OF MOUNTAINS.

Mr. Editor : — In examining the Farmer of
Sept. 8th, I find a few rather singular ideas (that
is, to me,) advanced. Your correspondent, "S. P.
M.," I see, is trying to give us an insight into the
gigantic operations of nature to bring about the
result of rendering soil lying at the base of a
mountain fertile. That Dame Nature at times
does bring into the field all her tremendous forces
no one questions. But is it not in the general or-
der of things, that a more silent, unobtrusive
agency is employed ? The constant attrition of
water running down the slopes of a mountain will
wear away the hardest rock ; it is borne to the plains
below to rejuvenate the famished soil. The winds
of heaven, laden with a great variety of com-
pounds, among which are free carbonic acid, which
vegetation absorbs, and the compounds of nitro-
gen which the soil will absorb in large quantities,
will go farther toward fitting the soil for a crop
than all the rocks and boulders precipitated to
the plains by Friend "S. P. M.'s" frost-power.
How in the name of reason are nodules of rock,
of any size, lying loose and scattered on the sur-
face, to be disintegrated ? I cannot tell, nor do I
believe that "S. P. M." can. Not many miles from
the town in which I reside, is a tract of land ly-
ing at the base of the Green Mountains, but so
far rem.oved that the rocks and boulders, to do
their utmost, cannot reach it. This tract is from
one-half mile to two miles in width, and fifteen
or twenty miles in length, a share of which has
been under cultivation 30, 40, and some as long
as 60 years. It will produce about one crop of
corn, then three or four crops of rye ; then it
wants rest two or three years, when the same ro-
tation can be gone through with again, and this
without manure. The land is full of small stones
rarely weighing as much as 50 pounds, and from
that down to the smallest pebble. They are com-
posed mostly of silica. Now how is soil rendered
fertile short of the action of the atmosphere ? I
see no other solution of the question. Can any
one else ? Regulus.

EijJton, Vt., Sept. 15, 1860.

Sheep Manure. — In England land is some-
times manured by confining sheep at night on a
small surface, and moving the fence or hurdles,
till the whole field has been treated to a few nights'
lodging. The dressing thus given by 300 sheep,
Stephens says, is sufficient in a week for an acre,
and is worth fifteen dollars.

1860.

KEW ENGLAND FARMER.

497

GAKDEN CHAMOMILE.

In our boyhood we enjoyea the great privilege
of running at will thi-ough a well-kept garden,
stored, in their season, with fruits, flowers and
vegetables. Sometimes we were pressed into ser-
vice there, so that we got lessons in right angles
as well as straight lines, and became skilful in
weeding, thinning, &c. The impressions made
in that garden upon our ductile mind, and the
knowledge gained in that miniature world, have
never been forgotten, and never Avill be effaced
from our memory, so long as reason remains. Wc
would not part with those early impressions for a
kingdom. They well up, fresh as yesterday, in-
troducing anew a troop of loving brothers and
sisters, respected parents, or friendly neighbors,
"walking in the garden," tasting this or plucking
that, or mingling in sweet converse under the
friendly shade of trees bending with fruit ! Not
one is missing in the group that the remembrances
renew, though some have ascended to the garden
in Paradise above.

In one of the angles of this garden was a large
chamomile bed, as thick as a mat, as green as a
leek, and the spot we ran to and rolled upon
when our rows were weeded out. There was fun
in it, and there was fragrance, too ; for like some

good persons, it did not show its virtues until
trodden upon or pressed in some other way. Pos-
sibly, kind reader, you, too, may have frolicked
with brothers and sisters on a chamomile bed in
childhood, and that figuring and speaking of it
here, may revive in you some pleasant recollec-
tions of those early days. Darlington, in his
charming book on "American Weeds and Useful
Plants," says :

"The whole plant, (and particularly the heads
of flowers,) is a fine aromatic bitter, and deser-
vedly popular as a tonic medicine, — for which
purpose it is generally cultivated. It is an old
and still prevalent opinion, that this plant thrives
better for being trampled upon or kept prostrate,
whence it was popularly called Hhe Whig Plant'
during the revolutionary contest in the United
States. The notion is thus incidentally alluded
to by Shakespeare, in the first part of "his King
Ilcnnj IV. 'For though the Camomile, the more
it is trodden on the faster it grows — yet youth,
the more it is wasted the sooner it wears.' This
is said to be naturalized in Delaware ; another
species is quite common about New York, A. ar-
vensis, L., which has the leaves less divided and
the chaff" of the recentacle pointed."

For the New England Fanner.
PIANO vs. ■WASH-TUB.

Mr. Editor: — The farmers' wives and far-
mers' daughters have been patiently heard through
the columns of your valuable paper, and now will
you be so kind as to grant an old spinster a simi-
lar favor ?

I am not a farmer's wife or a farmer's daughter,
but nothwithstanding this, I profess to know some-
thing about indoors farming, and do know that
where there is a will there is a way. As far as work
is concerned, I do not think the farmer's wife has,
as a general thing, a great many over-tasks to
perform ; there may be some exceptions, no doubt
there are, but generally the husband has much the
heaviest burden to bear ; he has, in addition to
the management of his farm, to provide for every
necessity, both in doors and out, and his evenings
are usually spent (if he is industrious, as all good
farmers are,) in a manner alike useful to himself
and family. At this season of the year, you will
find him at work, and often until a late hour, at
night, either husking corn or paring apples, and
very often of a rainy day, while his wife "bakes
and brews," you will find him busy at the churn,
and he performs his tasks cheerfully. He does
not desire to squander his time by the side of
some musical instrument, while others jierform
the tasks which of right belong to him. Let the
wife exercise an equal amount of patience, and
domestic squalls would be less frequent.

Why, my dear good ladies, just compare your
lot, if you please, with that of your grandmoth-
ers' ; compare the old fire-place with its big crane
and pot hooks, and the old brick oven, Mith your
stoves of the present day, so convenient and han-
dy ; and your churns, with the old upright bung-
ling thing of a half a century ago ; and then you
may go on comparing ancient with modern, until
you can but come to the conclusion that you bear

498

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

Nov.

light burdens compared with your grandmothers.
The only piano they ever knew was the spinning
■wheel and loom, the only seraphine the wash-tub
and churn, and, in fact, no music sounded sweet-
er to the ear of our mothers and grandmothers,
than the cackling of the hens, ducks, turkeys and
geese, when mingled with the lowing of the herds
and squealing of the pigs ; and they were thought
to be far below the generality of women, unless
they raised from ten to fourteen fat and rugged
girls and boys, and provided them all with cloth-
ing, both summer and winter, and spun and wove
with their own hands. They were educated as
farmers' wives should be educated ; not to play on
a piano, or make pictures, but to spin and weave,
"hake and hrew, make and mend" while their hus-
bands would plow and sow, mow and rake, reap
and thrash ; and in nine cases out of ten, they
were contented Avith their lot !

If the farmers' daughters of the present day are
afraid to marry farmers because there is woi-k to
be done, they ought to remain single, like this

Old Spinster.

Claremoat, N. H., Sept. 24, 1860.

For the New England Farmer.
RUSTIC PICTURES.

It is a frequent complaint that a farmer's house
must be destitute of many of those "adornings"
which make home cheery, "for want of profits."
Pictures are referred to. It is a fact that fine
paintings or engravings are so high-priced that
many families, farmers and others, are unable to
purchase them. Yet I think there are several
ways by which we poor unfortunate ( P ) farmers'
daughters may obtain substitutes, quite as pret-
ty, and with trifling expense. Have you ever
preserved autumn leaves ? Now, while the trees
are in their glory, try it. Gather fair leaves of
many varieties and colors, and press them until
perfectly dry. Then arrange them in wreaths or
bouquets upon fine drawing paper, fastening with
gum avabic, and varnish them with white varnish.
A picture is of little value unless it brings the re-
ality to the mind's eye. What a panorama of life-
scenes this simple autumn wreath calls forth !

Here is a golden hickory leaf — do you think of
those mornings, those chill, cold mornings, when
we climbed the hill, the grass crisp with ft-ost,
crackling with every step, — to the walnut trees
upon the summit, and how we watched for sun-
rise ere we filled our baskets, and wondered why
we were in the sunlight first, while home, in the
valley, lay sleeping in shadow ?

A crimson maple — a May day scene, when wist-
ful, longing eyes have vainly searched for violets
and wild-flowers, and a maple is discovered with
its red banner unfurled. Were ever flowers so
beautiful P Yellow birch — with one consent, we'll
pass it by, with its unwelcome visions of un-
learned tasks and broken rules ! Brown oak, —
the proud old oak by the school-house, — would
you like to swing on its branches now ? Ferns, —
how they bend to kiss the water which goes
laughing on over the stones ! But I am writing
too long. Just try it, farmers' girls — and mark, if
you have not pictures upon the walls that will
talk to your hearts through the winter days, of
which these autumn leaves are "avant couriers."

Sept. 26. . Anna.

For the New England Farmer.
SMYRNA, OR BEARDLESS 'WHEAT.

Mr. Brown : — Enclosed with this I send you a
sample of my Smyrna wheat, grown the past two
years on the town farm under my care.

I found the land of a light, sandy loam, with a
subsoil of loose gravel and coarse sand, 4 1-5
acres. It had been planted and sowed alternately
with corn and rye, with no manure except that
which was put in the hill, and that rather spar-
ingly. I plowed twice one year last April, and
top-dressed with meadow mud and lime, 2 1-5
acres last year, and 2 acres the present year, al-
lowing 3 casks of lime and 3 cords of mud that
had been exposed to the action of the frost the
previous winter, to the acre. This compost, af-
ter being mixed three times "in ten days, was
spread evenly on the land before sowing the
wheat. I then sowed 2 1-5 acres thus prepared
with 5 bushels of Smyrna, or beardless wheat, and
in August I gathered what yielded 47^ bushels of
the best wheat I have ever seen. I had from 5
bushels and 11 qts., 201^ lbs. of superfine exti'a
flour. I have managed the other two acres the
past season in the same way, and have 42 bush-
els of clean wheat, like the sample I send you. I
would state that the Middlesex South Agricidtural
Society, last year, gave me a premium of ten dol-
lars for my experiments with manure as shown by
the above results. Isaac Osgood.

Marlboro', Sept., 1860.

Reil\rks. — We thank you for the wheat and
for the good example set your brother farmers,
and especially for the detailed account sent us.

SLEEP.

Thus it is that, in early English history, persons
who were condemned to death by being prevented
from sleeping always died raving maniacs ; thus
it is, also, that those who are starved to death
become insane ; the brain is not nourished, and
they cannot sleep. The practical inferences are
these :

1. Those who think most, who do most brain
work, require most sleep.

2. That time saved from necessary sleep is in-
fallibly destructive to mind, body and estate.

3. Give yourself, your children, your servants
— give all that are under you the fullest amount
of sleep they will take, by compelling them to go
to bed at some regular, early hour, and to rise in
the morning the moment they awake ; and, with-
in a fortnight, nature, with almost the regularity
of the rising sun, will unloose the bonds of sleep
the moment enough repose has been secured for
the wants of the system.

This is the only safe and sufficient rule — and
as to the question how much sleep any one re-
quires, each must be a rule for himself — great na-
ture will never fail to write it out to the observer
under the regulations just given. — Dr. Spicer.

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

499

For the New England Farmer.
CHOLBBA.

Mr. Editor : — As you have occasionally pub-
lished articles on dietetics and the means of pre-
serving health, and as I consider experimental
knowledge preferable to theoretical, 1 thought I
would relate a concise history of my own case
which recently took place. In the month of July
last I was prostrated for a few days with a short
fever, and when I got about again my appetite
continued poor, till the 16th of August, at 8 P. M.,
when, to my wonderment, for the first time in my
life, I was suddenly attacked with the cholera,
and experienced every variety of symptom con-
comitant with that disease, from the ejections up
and down to the cramp and cold sweats. Being
unable to swallow the least particle of anything, 1
took nothing for eighteen hours, not even an an-
odyne ; the only application made to me was a
chunk of hot marble to my feet and a plenty of
blankets at the time of the cold sweats and
spasms. Thinking that probably my last hour had
arrived, unless I had sufficient vitality remaining,
with the help of the blankets and marble, to pro-
duce reaction, I began to realize an abatement
of the agonies of the cold and cramps, which
gradually subsided, and were followed by warm
sweating. My distress continued seven or eight
hours. This is experimental knowledge.

Now for theoretical prescriptions. I have been
amused beyond measure, since my recovery, at
reading the sage advice of the author of a publi-
cation called the "London Practice of Physic for
the use of young Practitioners." After describ-
ing the symptoms of the cholera with the wisdom
of Esculapius, he advises the young practitioners
to the following course of treatment : "Chicken-
broth should be freely drank to the quantity of
six or eight quarts, and as fast as possible ; milk
and warm water, new churned buttermilk, decoc-
tions of rice and barley, &c."

Now in the name of common sense what man,
sick or well, could survive such an administra-
tion of the bounties of Providence. I wish the
author a chance to follow his own prescriptions
and see if it would not change his opinion in giv-
ing advice to young physicians. Medical writers
who will give such absurd instructions to young
physicians ought to be punished for their stupid-
ity and rashness. I fully believe if I had forced
down one pint of chicken- broth or buttermilk, it
would have been my last attempt at taking med-
icine.

I fully concur with Prof. Holmes in his senti-
ments delivered in his discourse at the last annu-
al meeting of the members of the Massachusetts
Medical Society. For more than forty years I
have been persuaded that medicine, as it is used,
does more hurt than good, and unless medicine
can be used with more discretion, the world would
be better off if it were all cast into Etna's crater.

Silas Brown.

North Wilmington, Sept. 15, 1860.

The Use of Quails. — Wm. Norton, an intel-
ligent, observing farmer boy, who makes his home
in the southern part of Illinois, has recently been
studying the habits of the quail, or incorrectly,
"partridge," and gives the following testimony to
the Cincinnati ^?'itsa?i: He observed a small flock

commencing at one side of the field, taking about
five rows, following them regularly through the
field, scratching and picking about every hill, till
they came to the other side of the field ; then tak-
ing another five rows on their return, thus con-
tinuing till he thought they were certainly pulling
up the corn. He shot one, and then proceeded to
examine the corn ground. On all the ground
that they had been over, he found but one stalk
of corn disturbed ; that was scratched nearly out
of the ground, l)ut the kernel was still attached to
the stalk. In the cro]) of the quail, he found but
one cut worm, 21 striped vine bugs, 100 chintzl
bugs, that still retained their individuality, a
mass apparently consisting of hundreds of chintz
bugs, but not one kernel of corn."

WATEK CISTERWS.

Every farm establishment should be provided
with a capacious and conveniently located water
cistern. If the farm buildings are numerous and
compactly situated, a very small expenditure will
answer for the construction of all the apparatus re-
quisite for conducting the water from the roofs in-
to the reservoir, which, for greater convenience,
should be located in some place where it may
supply the wants of the animals in the yards dur-
ing winter, as well as the household.

The convenience and value of such an arrange-
ment will be particularly obvious during seasons
of protracted drought, or accidents from fire. In
the latter emergency, where recourse is had to
ordinary wells, too much time is expended in
drawing or pumping, especially when the fountain
is at a considerable distance below the surface ;
but a cistern being situated more superficially,
with regard to its contents, is at all times within
immediate reach, and may be made to pour forth
its treasures at a moment's warning. By furnish-
ing troughs where the water is required, a system
of pipes will be found highly convenient, as
through them the water may be conveyed, in any
quantity, and at all times, to the yards or places
required.

Good and substantial reservoirs, perfectly wa-
ter tight, may be formed of split stone, brick,
plank, or even without either, the interior surface
as well as the bottom being covered with two or
three coatings of cement. We have known them
made by cementing directly upon the earth, but
in our climate of penetrating frosts, such would
not be the best way. They may be made square,
oval or round ; but made in the form of an egg,
they are very strong, and require no "deck" or
top covering, as the opening in the top m.ay be
only a little larger than a man's body, so that he
can enter it occasionally to clean it out.

In a cistern constructed in this manner, the
water will soon become clear and fit for family
use, if the roofs of the buildings upon which it
falls are kept ordinarily clean. Where there is

600

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

Nov.

a good cistern at, or near the house, there is a
feeling of safety and comfort, which one can
scarcely have without it, and these pleasurable
emotions are considerably heightened by the fact
that it is an economical arrangement for supply-
ing water. But the cistern has another recom-
mendation of more value than cither of these,
viz : It provides the women witli those indispen-
sable conveniences, without which we do not be-
lieve a good, genial temper and a pervading har-
mony can long exist in the household. Men build
their fine barns, purchase their mowing machines,
newly-modeled plows, &c., and too often leave
the women to go ten rods and draw water with an
old creaking sweep from a forty foot well, or al-
low them to chop the wood with which to cook
the breakfast, or keep the children warm. Noth-
ing tends more to good order and serenity of tem-
per in the house, and the comfort and economy
of all its affairs, than the existence of the number-
less and nameless little conveniences which ena-
ble each one to perform his or her part of the
household duties with facility and ease — and
among them all, none is more important than a
plenty of pure soft water, near at hand.

FACTS FOR FAKMBB.S.
If you invest money in tools, and then leave
them exposed to the weather, it is the same as
loaning money to a spendthrift without security
— a dead loss in both cases.

If you invest money in books, and never read
them, it is the same as putting your money into
a bank, but never drawing either principal or in-
terest.

If you invest money in fine stock, and do not
feed and protect them, and properly care for them,
it is the same as dressing your wife in silk to do
kitchen work.

If you invest your money in choice fruits, and
do not guard and give them a chance to grow and
prove their value, it is the same as putting a good
hand into the field with poor tools to work with.
If you invest your money in a good farm, and
do not cultivate it well, it is the same as marrying
a good wife, and so abusing and enslaving her as
to crush her energies and break her heart.

If you invest your money in a fine house, and
do not so cultivate your mind and taste as to adorn
it with intelligence and refinement, it is as if you
were to wear broadcloth and a silk hat to mill.

If you invest your money in fine clothes and
do not wear them with dignity and ease, it is as
if a plowman were to sit at a jeweler's table to
make and adjust hair springs.

If you invest your money in strong drink, it is
the same as turning hungry hogs into a growing
corn field — ruin will follow in both cases.

If you invest your money in every new wonder
that flaming circulars proclaim, it is the same as
buying tickets at a lottery office where there are
ten blanks to one prize.

If you invest your money in the "last novel,"
it is the same as employing a tailors dandy to dig
your potatoes. — Valley Farmer.

For the New Ungland Farmer.
THOUGHTS SUGGESTED BY" THE N. B.
FAS.MER, SEPT., 1860.

Page 394. — Colic in Horses. — In this article,
quoted from the Farmer's Advocate, there are two
or three things partly stated, and partly implied,
which are unquestionably erroneous, and quite
likely to lead some of the readers thereof into a
wrong, and perhaps a destructive course of treat-
ment. First of all, it is implied that all cases of
colic in the horse are of the same nature exactly,
or produced in the same way ; and secondly, it is
partly stated and partly implied that all cases of
colic may, or should be treated in the same way.
Now, it seems to require but a very little knowl-
edge or even common sense, as to such complaints,
to make one well assured that neither of these
opinions or medical dogmas is either sound or re-
liable. Then, too, almost every one who has much
experience with horses has met with positive
facts which are utterly at variance with these dog-
mas or opinions. Every such person has found
that some horses are much more liable to colic,
than others which have been fed and treated in
exactly the same way. In such animals, there
must be weakness or disease of the stomach, or
other digestive organs, which creates, or consti^
tutes a predisposition to colicy attacks ; and such
attacks, when they do occur, ought to be consid-
ered and treated as much more dependent on
some disease or debility of the digestive organs,
than on the nature of the food or drink given to
these animals, or than on the mode in which they
may have been driven or managed. Such cases,
and some others which might be named, if treated
with discrimination, or good judgment, will be
treated differently from those more common cases
in Avhich the attack of colic is produced wholly by
the irritating or indigestible nature of the food or
drink Avhich may have been administered. But,
unfortunately, such discrimination is but rarely
to be met with, and it is because it would contrib-
ute to save animals from much unnecessary suf-
fering, and their owners from occasional losses of
valuable animals, that we have thought it worth
while to point out these two errors of the undis-
criminating, and to endeavor to leave the impres-
sion on the readers of this, that, to treat any dis-
ease correctly, intelligently, or successfully, the
producing cause or causes should always be as-
certained, if possible, and the mode of treatment
be modified by and adapted to the peculiarities of
the producing cause.

Leaving these remarks of a general nature, as
germs of thought, to be developed and applied by
those qualified or habituated to such intellectual
operations, we will draw our observations to a
close by one remark of a particular nature. For
the reasons already specified, and for others which
seem not above the comprehension of plain com-
mon sense, the mode of treatment recommended
in the article under notice, cannot, by men of
sense, and should not by any one, be accepted as
applicable or likely to be useful in all cases. In
fact, there can be but a few cases of colic which
are exactly like the one mentioned in the article
under notice, and of course but a few in which the
like treatment would be applicable. Few horses
have that amount of fever accompanying colic,
which would make a wet bed-comforter steam like

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

501

a pot boiling, as is said of that applied to the
horse under notice. For a horse having such an
amount of fever and heat on the surface as to
cause such steaming, a wet blanket might be, at
least, a safe application ; but in a large number
of cases there is no fever, and no increase of heat
on the surface at all, and in many cases, a ten-
dency to chilliness and withdrawal of the blood
and natural heat from the surface, and in all such
cases, both common sense and experience testify
that wet applications only increase the evil, or
run the risk of it, and are, therefore, neither safe
nor salutary.

Suppose a case such as we had during a wet
summer. One horse slabbered so excessively as
to make several streams on the stable floor every
night. During this time of slabbering, the horse
had two or more slight attacks of colic, and at
last a very severe one. The cause in this case
was obviously the flashy, watery condition of the
pasture, and imperfect digestion from the loss of
so much saliva, with depression of all the vital
energies. Now, in such a case, would a man of
any sense apply a wet blanket, or would he not
rather try to relieve the colic of a horse in such
circumstances, by giving a drench containing car-
away seeds, ginger, and perhaps other stimulat-
ing condiments ? We leave the reader to decide
for himself. If he is not given to riding hydro-
pathic or other hobbies, we should be glad to have
his views upon the treatment of colic in such a
case as we have briefly reported. In that case,
half a teacupful of caraway seeds bruised, and
given in a strongly spiced tea of ginger, allspice
and pepper, and repeated in from five to ten min-
utes, was soon followed by entire cessations of

*the colicy attack, which was a most severe one.
Page 406. — Superphosphate for Turnips. —
There are advantages, we have no doubt, to be
derived from reporting cases of failure, when some
particular manure, mode of management, new
plant, or new implement, has been experimented
with fairly and judiciously, and in such a way as
to render the results reliable, and of value for
either scientific, or practical purposes. But are
there not disadvantages also ? There are, at least,
dangers of disadvantage, if not carefully guarded
against, as is evident from this report by Mr. M.
Pratt. The reader is left without any means of
determining, with certainty, to Avhat cause the re-
ported failure was chiefly owing, whether to Coe's
superphosphate, or to superphosphates of what-
ever kind, or to the dryness of the season, or to
something else ; being thus left uncertain as to

• the cause of the failure in the crop, he is, of course,
unable to decide what he must do, or avoid doing
in order to escape a similiar failui-e. And not on-
ly is the reader left in the dark as to Avhat he
must avoid if he would escape a similiar failure,
but he is left exposed to the danger of making
two inferences which might be of disadvantage or
damage to himself, or Mr. Coe. If the reader
should suppose the failure owing to the particu-
lar superphosphate used, he might thus have fall-
en into an injurious mistake ; and if he should
infer that superphosphates generally are not suit-
able for the turnip crop, that would also be a
great mistake, and one which might be of disad-
vantage to himself, if it should prevent him from
availing himself of the aid of superphosphates,
and other phosphates of lime, in raising turnip

crops. A reader not acquainted with the abun-
dant testimony furnished by English turnip-grow-
ers to the great value of the various phosphates
of lime in the culture of that crop, might possibly
come to the conclusion that Mr. Pratt's failure
was owing to the use of the superphosphate, and
that superphosphates were not a suitable fertili-
zer for a turnip crop. This would be a great mis-
take, and might be of great disadvantage to any
one who adopted it, for it is well known to those
acquainted with British agriculture, that phos-
phate of lime, either in the form of bone meal, or
of a genuine superphosphate is almost universal-
ly used in the culture of turnips, and tliat it al-
ways, (that is, v/ith scarcely an exception,) causes
an increase of several tons of bulbs per acre over
and above what can be raised on the same soil in
the same circumstances without phosphates in
some form.

As Mr. Pratt, we are sure, knows all about
the special adaptation of phosphates for increas-
ing the acreable yield of turnips, he could not
mean to lead his readers into doubt in regard to
this well established fact or truth, merely because
of a failure in a single crop, and that in a very
dry season. But it may be better, now that we
have indicated some of the suppositions or guesses
as to his meaning which readers may make, to
leave Mr. Pratt to make his meaning less liable
to misinterpretation, if he should think it of any
importance so to do. More Anon.

P. S. — If Mr. Pratt or any one else coull tell
us how to detect fraudulent bone dust and super-
phosphates, he would confer a real benefit on
many of his brother-farmers. Prof. S. W. John-
son's report is good, but not enough for this pur-
pose.

PULVERIZING THE SOIL.

The efiects of pulverizing or stirring the soil
are numerous.

1. It gives free scope to the roots of vegetables,
and they become more fibrous in a loose than in
a hard soil, by which the mouths or pores become
more numerous, and such food as is in the soil
has a better chance of being sought after and
taken up by them.

2. It admits the atmospheric air to the spongi-
oles of the roots — without which no plant can
make a healthy growth.

3. It increases the capillary attraction or sponge-
like property of soils, by which their humidity is
rendered more uniform : and in a hot season it
increases the deposit of dew, and admits it to the
roots.

4. It increases the temperature of the soil in
the spring, by admitting the warm air and tepid
rain.

5. It increases the supply of organic food. The
atmosphere contains carbonic acid, ammonia and
nitric acid — all most powerful fertilizers and sol-
vents. A loose soil attracts and condenses them.
Rain and dew, also, contain them. And when
these fertilizing gases are carried into the soil by
rain-water, they are absorbed and retained by the
soil for the use of plants. On the other hand, if
the soil is hard, the water runs off the surface, and
instead of leaving these gases in the soil, carries
off some of the best portions of the soil with it.
Thus, what might be a benefit becomes an injury.

502

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

Nov.

6. By means of pulverization, a portion of the
atmospheric air is buried in the soil, and it is sup-
posed that ammonia and nitric acid are formed by
mutual decomposition of this air and the mois-
ture of the soil, heat also being evolved by the
changes.

7. Pulverization of the surface of soils serves to
retain the moisture in the subsoil, and to prevent
it from being penetrated by heat from a warmer
as well as from radiating its heat to a colder at-
mosphere than itself. These effects are produced
by the porosity of the pulverized stratum, which
acts as a mulch, especially on heavy soils.

8. Pulverization, also, as the combined effect
of several of the preceding causes, accelerates the
decomposition of the organic matter in the soil,
and the disintegration of the mineral matter ; and
thus prepares the inert matter of the soil for as-
similation by the plants. — Gen. Farmer.

WHAT IT AMOUNTS TO.

Various journals are engaged in the difficult
task of estimating the amount and value of the
■wheat crop of the country, which is now all har-
vested. However different the estimates may be,
it is generally conceded that the wheat crop of
this country has been a large one, and that_ there
will be a considerable overplus for exportation to
meet the demand now made for it in Europe. Tak-
ing 1858-59 as the basis of a calculation, and the
wheat crop is assumed to be equal to 229,000,000
bushels against 201,000,000 in 1859, and 159,000,-
000 in 1858. The production by States is given
as follows: Pennsylvania, 25,000,000 bushels;
New York, 25,000,000 ; Virginia and North Car-
olina, 18,000,000; Kentucky, 9,000,000; Ohio,
28,000,000; Indiana, 19,000,000; Illinois, 25,000,-
000; other States, 80,000,000. The surplus is
estimated at 61,000,000. In addition to this, it
is supposed that from one-sixth to one-fifth of the
surplus crop of last year is yet in the hands of
producers, giving a total surplus for export of
67,000,000 bushels. The crop in Wisconsin,
which, in the foregoing figures is put down at
16,000,000 bushels, is reported to be fully 30,000,-
000. This, doubtless, is somewhat exaggerated,
but the abundance of the crop may be inferred
from the fact that men, women and children, doc-
tors, lawyers and ministers were in the fields har-
vesting, "and that the work was even performed
by moonlight. Taking all the crops of the coun-
try, it is thought to be v.'ithin bounds to put the
value of our staples this year at two thousand
millions of dollars, or about sixty-six dollars for
each person. — Philadelphia Ledger.

Barkels for Fruit. — Everything in contact
with fruit should be clean and sweet, and the ves-
sel in which it is placed should be dry and tight.
Old flour barrels should not be used, unless well
washed and dried, as the particles of flour left in
the barrel will mould and impart to the fruit an
unpleasant odor and flavor. Old lime barrels, it
is said, are excellent for this purpose — the lime
absorbing the vapor and gases. If this is so, a
little fresh slaked lime scattered on the bottom,
sides and top of the barrel, would be beneficial.
— Genesee Fanner.

A HARVEST SONG.

The toil of day is ended,

The night is at her noon,
And the harvest song swells blithely up

Beneath the harvest moon ;
Then tread a quicker measure.

And chant a louder strain ;
With a dance and song, the dajfS prolong,

That bring the golden grain.

From out the distant mountain

Comes the voice of the cascade,
And the nearer gleam of its silver stream

Makes glad the silent glade ;
Through all the shadowy forest

Is heard the fall of leaves —
And the timid hare treads stealthily

Among the nodding sheaves.

And now, on every hillside,

The purple vintage glows ;
As when a deepsr radiance falls

From daylight at its close ;
No time is it for sadness.

Despondency or fear,
TVhen autumn comes in gladness,

To crown the fruitful year.

Dear is the pleasant leaf-time.

When all is soft around —
When frost-imprisoned rivulets

Are melting into sound.
And dear, too, is the season

When spring and summer meet;
When the woods are faint with odors,

And the hills are dim with heat.

But spring is lout for pastime,

And summer but for show ;
While autumn, like a crowned king.

Has riches to bestow ;
So he shall be the monarch

Of all the shining year.
And a crown shall wear, and a sceptre bear,

Of fruits, and the golden ear.

PRIZES FOR AGRICULTTJRAIi REPORTS.

With the view of inducing the officers of Ag-
ricultural Societies to collect and embody in their
annual reports more information of a character
which will be valuable and interesting, than has ,
heretofore been the case, the Board of Agricul- '
ture of Upper Canada have offered four premiums,
amounting to $75 dollars, for the four best Coun-
ty Agricultural Society Reports ; and four pre-
miums, amounting to $50, for the four best Town-
ship Society Reports.

We consider this an excellent movement. Some
societies in New England publish in the begin-
ning of the year a pamphlet of premiums to be
paid at the Fall Exhibition, with a glowing ac-
count of arrangements for plowing, drawing and
trotting matches, the name of some far-brought
orator, with many other specifications of the at-
tractions of the promised jubilee, but for want of
funds, or other reasons, make no other statement
of their year's proceedings and doings than an
imperfect newspaper report. Others publish in
pamphlet form a bare statement, sometimes with
and sometimes without the Address, of the award

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

503

of premiums. In our opinion there is little prac-
tical good resulting from such management. The
mere fact that 90 bushels of corn, a big ox, a grand
cow for milk, a large pumpkin, or any other veg-
etable, animal or implement, were exhibited and
took premiums on a certain day, is very unsatis-
factory to most minds. They wish to know not
only what the best farmers produce, but how they
do it.

For such information our Canadian neighbors
offer handsome premiums ; and we hope the man-
agers of our own societies will continue their ef-
forts to give to their yearly transactions greater
practical value.

For the New England Farmer.
A FAEMBE'S DAUGHTER OW FAKMIWG.

Mr. Brown : — I have had the pleasure to-night
of reading the able production of your friend
"Anna," entitled "Farmers' Wives and Daugh-
ters." My youth and insufficient education might
present a reasonable barrier to discussion, yet per-
mit me, through your gallantry, to break silence
for once, even at the expense of exposure. Anna
saj'S, she may safely say, that, "it is not a well es-
tablished fact that farmers' wives are the most
hard-working class in existence." This is contra-
diction, and in good humor I beg leave to return
the same compliment. There are exceptions, to
be sure, and 'tis possible I am not prepared to
judge of farming in Massachusetts, but I am pre-
pared to judge of farming in New Hampshire.

She asks, — "Is there not as much intelligence
and refinement in a farmer's family, as in a me-
chanic's ?"

Naturally, there is, but if farming is so very
profitable as some of the Fanner correspondents
contend it is, it would afford the means of pre-
senting to the world a class of people paramount
in the cultivation of intellect to that of mechanics.
If a larger proportion of our present teachers are
from farmers' families, it is only in the country,
and there a larger proportion of the inhabitants
are farmers, a fact which shows they are not ele-
vated above toil, (as they surely ought not to be,)
but are compelled to depend upon their own re-
sources, while their mother or sister is obliged to
preside in the kitchen.

If any courageous girl can acquire a good edu-
cation independent of public institutions, there are
few who can unlock the deep mysteries of science
in solitude, and without the aid of teachers. The
rudiments of science, necessary though they be,
are not sufficient for a gifted mind. No, we want
woman educated, thoroughly educated, in all that
can enlighten and eternalize the mighty mind.

Committing Latin lessons while "turning a
churn crank or frying pancakes," seems to me a
difficult and dry task, and I should prefer to make
the butter and pancakes at one time, and have the
profits of the farm augment father's purse enough
to secure assistance while I learned my Latin les-
son at another time. Suppose there is "less real
poverty among farmers than among mechanics ;"
all the world are not mechanics, and how many
men of wealth are there among farmers who have
acquii-ed affluence by simply farming ? No per-

son of ordinary abilities, with health, need suffer
in this age for the necessities of life, let him be in
whatever occupation he may.

The question in regard to the young lady men-
tioned was not asked, Mr. Editor, expecting you
to decide her fate, for she is one who decides her
own fate, and has already done so by very recent-
ly marrying, neither a farmer nor a fourth-rate
lawyer. The question was asked, as Young
America said, "To see what you would say," re-
garding your opinion of consequence, of course.

My friend seems of the opinion that we should
be content without pictures upon the walls. If
we can be, that is well, but I think she cannot de- ,
ny but what pictures are useful, and render a home
pleasant. Visit the palaces of the Old World, its
picture galleries, its long corridors ornamented
with paintings, the productions of the richest ge-
nius, and one cannot but be awed in admiration.
Visit them in imagination, if no more, and you
cannot fail to admire. But in our homes, the sa-
cred centre of our affections, there place the works
of art. Irving says : in America, literature and the
elegant arts must grow up side by side with the
coarser plants of daily necessity. For instance,
suspend upon your wall Christ on the Cross, and
think you not, that fair-haired boy will discern a
living reality which cannot be painted in words ?
Yes, as the Son of man, with agonized features,
looks upon him so beseechingly, it must pen-
etrate his little heart, and with flowing tears and
generous sympathy, it will plant a principle to
blossom in manhood.

My Massachusetts sister has a view from her
window, "such as no human artists could form."
True, and I have a view from my window, too.
Below, the Mascoma valley, lovely in the extreme,
sprinkled with thriving villages, giving evidence
that here are intelligent mechanics and merchants
as well as farmers. Beyond, lie the Mascoma
and Crystal lakes, their polished surfaces a mir-
ror of Heaven's own beauty ; while all around in
their terrible grandeur and sublimity, rise the
eternal hills and mountains from the Green, the
boast of Vermont, to Mount Washington, the
pride of the old Granite State. 'Tis a picturesque
scenery, glorious to behold, beautiful beyond ex-
pression. And I want time to admire its loveli-
ness, time to foi'get the world, and care, and pro-
fit, in the dreamland of nature. Does a farmer's
wife possess this time ? The daughter may — but
does the mother ?

In summer, we boast of all that is beautiful in
the "Switzerland of America." In winter, though
we miss the multitudes, music, and the drama,
yet there is a magic in the huge snow drifts that
gather about our doors, a romance in the impen-
etrable fort which old Boreas stations between us
and our next neighbor. Often, too, wher. favored
with a north-easter, the subsequent sunshine is
duly appreciated, and as the naked trees are man-
tled in their transparent verdure of ice, and they
dance and glitter and tremble in the sunlight and
breeze, it seems as if the sepulchre of the seasons
proclaims both great and living truths infinitely
real. Indeed, Anna made a great mistake when
she thought we found not sunshine in rural life,
for there is sunshine in any spot when not over-
tasked with care. If she will visit mo in my moun-
tain home I will assure her I can romp with her
as well as any farmer's daughter, climb stone

504

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

Nov,

■walls, ride a spirited pony, manufacture all the
music she wishes on the wash-board or old-fash-
ioned spinning-wheel, or anything else outside of
the piano. These are characteristics of the far-
mer's daughter.

I regret to have shocked the mirthful sensibil-
ities of my friend by "striking so mournful a
strain," but am glad she comes forth in so lively
a style. Contrast is bewitching oftentimes, and
calls out a true view of the reality. Let us look
at farming as it is. It is, ipso facto, a pleasant
occupation, laborious, independent, and honest.
The farmer can say lioni soit qui mal y pense, for
he himself need think no evil. But profitable
enough to secure wealth unconnected with other
business, I think it is not. He who is blest with
strong muscles and a contempt for the scrabbling,
money-making world, is best adapted to this oc-
cupation. Polly.

Enjield Centre, N. H., 1860.

For the New England Farmer.
■WTISTTEB AND SPRING WHEAT.

Mr. Editor : — I am most happy to hear of
another wheat-grower, R. H. Simmons, Esq., of
Hartford, Vt. His success with spring wheat pre-
sents a wonderful amount of encouragement to
farmers. This is the right source and the kind of
information so much needed by your yeomanry.
It is to be hoped the columns of your well direct-
ed paper will teem with it, and that many farmers
even less fortunate than Mr. S. will also give an
account of their stewardship.

But I must say a word in defence of winter in
preference to spring wheat, fearing your corres-
pondent, Mr. S., has not made a fair trial. He
thinks "twenty-five per cent." more of spring
wheat can be raised to the acre than of winter
wheat, in the region where he resides. _ Of this I
have my doubts, unless some new varieties have
come to hand with which I am not familiar. My
experience covered the years from 1845 to 1851.
On strong land v/here I got good winter grain
the spring would rust and mildew, and could not
survive the dog-days without damage. Year af-
ter year the same fatality pervaded Massachu-
setts. Occasionally a farmer would succeed. He
felt no confidence.

All the poor, dark flour comes from spring
wheat, the best and whitest from winter— this I
think is proverbially true. Now, if Mr, S. will
try another year to get his wheat in the 25th of
August, two to three inches deep, so as to give it
root to guard against winter-kill, taking the same
pains as with his spring crop, he will doubtless
get as heavy a yield, and grain of far better quali-
ty. It matures two to three weeks earlier, and is
likely to escape the hazards of dog-days.

As a matter of prudence, every farmer among
you should have his spring and winter patch. If
he fails in one, he may secure the other ; one year
gives him this double advantage for a crop. Prov-
idence has made wonderful provision for the far-
mer, most surely — now will he reject or accept
the terms ? Bread is the home question.
BrooUiin, L. I., Sept. 10. H. Poor.

P. S. The crop of Mr. Simmons, 217 bush-
els from 7 acres, is equal to 54 bbls. of flour in
value for the farmer.

EXTRACTS AND REPLIES.

WILD TURNIP. I

I wish to inquire through the Farmer how wild tur-
nips can be cradicaeed from a field ? If it cannot be \
done, how much will they lessen the value per acre ? |
Will they do any damage while the field is in grass ?

Indian Orchard, Se23t'^20. c. W.

Remarks. — Go through the field as often as you find
any in blossom, and pull it out by the roots. This is
our practice, and it succeeds. The wild turnip is a
robber, always injurious to the crops, and ought not to
be allowed among them.

TOMATO KETCHUP.

I like your paper — in fact, I prefer a farmer's paper,
at any time, l)ctbre a tras^h.y story paper, so I buy the
Farmer; couldn't keep house without it — although
not a former — hope I shall be one before many years.
But what I want now is, to have you tell me or find
some correspondent to, how to make tomato ketchup.
It is no use to see my own tomatoes rot in the yard
and buy my ketchup. I can make a kind that won't
keep, but I want to find out how to make a good kind
that jfiVnvcep. A Mechanic.

Cambridge, 1860.

Remarks. — We gave two recipes, which our women
folks pronounce good, in last week's paper.

A GOOD YIELD OF BARLEY.

My father raised this year, from one acre of land,
forty-one and a half Inishels of barley. The land is a
strong, deep loam, and after a thorough and careful
cultivatiou for thi'ce years, the above crop was realized.

W. H. Savage.

Remarks. — ^We are glad to learn that the barley
crop is receiving more attention than it formerly had.
Wc think it worth more, per bushel, for several uses
than corn meal. Nothing equals it when ground into
meal, for feeding to calves that are being reared by
hand. So it is excellent for hogs, sheep and hens. The
flour, also, makes excellent bread.

soil for pear trees.

I have about an acre of ground on the south-east
bank of a river, where I wish to plant pear trees.
Will you, or some of your correspondents, inform me
how the soil should be prepared? Also, where trees
can be obtained of the best variety. B. Saunders.

Nashua, N. II., 1860.

Remarks. — Drain the soil in the first place, if it is
wet; then trench it, or at least spade it a foot deep,
manure and pulverize well, and set the trees. Stir the
surface frequently, and never allow a weed to gi'ow.
Cultivate corn or garden stuff among them, but man-
ure liberally every year.

RAPID DECAY OF SHINGLES.

There is much complaint at the present day that
shingles decay very soon when placed upon the roof.
Will you, or some of your readers, inform us through
your columns whether sulyectmg them to a high tem-
perature of heat before laid, say as high as the temper- '
ature of a baker's oven when they bake biscuit, or per-
haps higher, will prevent their decaying so soon, and
give them more durability when made use of? If so,
It will be of great use to the community at large.

Derry, Sept. 18, 1860. A Subscriber.

Remarks. — We have had no experience m the mat-
ter. Would not soaking them in a solution of the sul-
phate of zinc make them very durable ? That will pre-
sei-ve posts set in the ground for a long time.

improvement of SHEEP FOR WOOL.

In answer to Mr. Doane I would advise him to cross
with fall blood Spanish merino, and let the buck to
the sheep as early as the first of November.
. Harrisville, N. H., Sept. 12, 1860. C. Barker.

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

505

For the New England Farmer.

SWAMPS AND MEADOWS.

Although the "theme of my discourse" may
seem an uninteresting one to some who may
glance at the heading of this article, yet if there
are

"Sermons in stones,
Bonks in running brooks, and good in everything,"

why is it not possible to derive a little benefit
from an investigation, however slight, of old
swamps and bog meadows. Certainly great good
is already being realized from these natural reser-
voirs of fertility, in the form of muck for the
compost heap, and peat for fuel.

As the soil of New England is comparatively
poor and unproductive, unless much skilful labor
is expended upon it, the all-wise Creator has,
without doubt, formed these rich deposits of veg-
etable matter to supply in part, if man will but
make use of it, this want of fertility. Future gen-
erations will appreciate much better than the
present one does, the inestimable value, to the
farmer, of these lands, which were once considered
almost worthless. But aside from their material
value, I wish to speak more particularly of these
places as subjects for curiosity and geological re-
search.

Innumerable swamps and muck meadows are
scattered throughout New England. Some are
situated upon the margins of ponds, lakes and
rivers, others, frequently of large extent, have
only a small brook running through them ; and
others of smaller area are entirely surrounded by
unbroken ranges of hills, having no visible outlet
or inlet. Those which border upon the shores of
the Atlantic, are denominated salt marshes, and
doubtless, differ somewhat in their formation from
those lying inland, but I have never had an op-
portunity to examine them particularly.

Adjoining the farm where I reside, and partly
upon it, there is a swamp containing about fifty
acres. It has a brook running through it, which
is fed by springs around the margin of the swamp,
and empties into a pond near by. The swamp is
covered by a growth of white, and pitch pine,
American larch or tamerack, maple, spruce, and
white birch. Some of the trees are more than a
foot in diameter. There is a tradition that a hun-
dred and fifty, or two hundred years ago, this
swamp was a smooth meadow, covered with grass,
which was all cut for fodder, as good English hay,
in those times, was very scarce, so far back into
the wilderness as Groton, (if it had, at that time,
an English name,) was then considered to be.

While digging muck in this swamp, I have
made some discoveries, which, although not so
curious and important as some geologists have
made, yet, perhaps, are worthy of mention. At
diff"erent depths, varying from one to five feet, I
have found stumps of pine and larch in the posi-
tion in which they grew. Some of these stumps
must have been nearly two feet in diameter ; and
I have frequently found one large stump directly
above another, v/ith marks of fire upon their bark
and roots. There M'ere, also, and generally below
the stumps, the remains of the leaves and stalks
of flags. Sometimes the trunk of a large tree
would be found lying across the line of the ditch,
with its heart quite hard and sound.

From these facts, J should conclude that a long

time ago, the swamp was several feet lower than
at present, and that it was sometimes covered
with flags and grass, and sometimes with trees of
a much larger growth than those which are now
growing upon it, and, from finding bits of coal,
charred stumps, &c., that it has several times been
burned over. There seems to be an accumulation
of water under this bed of muck and peat, for af-
ter the ditch has been dug to the depth of five or
six feet, the bottom will very frequently rise up,
and bursting open, the Avater will rush through,
and fill the ditch in a few minutes.

There is a deep basin, or "bog-hole," near this
swamp, called the "punch bowl," from its resem-
blance in form to that bowl which is so alluring
and fatal to many. It is about fifteen rods in di-
ameter, and entirely surrounded by a ridge of
gravelly hills, or, as the geologist would probably
say, altered drift, or oesars, which vary in height,
from twenty-five to forty feet. This basin is filled
to an unknown depth, with the usual deposit of
muck, and its surface, except a small, oi>en space
nearly in its centre, is covered by a growth of
moss, bushes and trees, of the same kinds that
grow upon the swamp, except that there is no
pine. About twelve years since, the open space
in its centre was covered with water, and a poker-
ish looking place it was, too, at certain times.
Standing upon the rim of the "bowl," in a sun-
shiny day, the beholder could see, that what ap-
peared to be the bottom of the miniature lake,
was of a light green color, with the exception of
two jet black holes of a circular form, and eight
or ten feet in diameter. When I was a boy, the
sight of these — to me, unfathomable holes — would
almost make me shudder.

But the march of improvement has altered the
face and stomach (if the expression is allowable,)'
of this ugly bog very much, for I have this year
picked several bushels of cranberries over these
same holes of which I had such a dread in boy-
hood. But the thin covering of cranberry roots
and vines is a very shaky concern, (like some po-
litical platforms of the present day,) and at first,
I was somewhat afraid that, after all, one of these
horrid openings would swallow me up in its black
abyss. The cause of this great change lies in the
simple fact that a railroad has been built almost
directly through the middle of the "bowl." An
outlet has thus been made for its stagnant wa-
ters, and the gravel, of which an immense amount
was dumped into it, has pressed the muck more
compactly together, making the surface a little
higher and dryer ; and the cranberry vines have
spontaneously spread themselves over the open
space left by the waters.

In my explorations in muck beds, I have not
yet discovered an elephant, but it is possible that
I may, for it is only a few years since tliat the
remains of one were found in Vermont, beneath a
deep bed of muck. In the same part of New
England, the skeleton of a small whale has also
been found imbedded in the blue clay, a deposit
made long before the vegetable deposit com-
menced.

It would be interesting to know the length of
time which has elapsed since these swamps and
meadows began to form, but that is a point which
is — like many others in the world's history — verv
difficult to decide upon. Many thousands, and
perhaps millions of years ago, according to geol-

506

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

Nov.

ogy, these valleys and hollows, now filled with de-
cayed vegetable matter, were submerged by the
waters of the ocean. It is thought by eminent
geologists, that, at a very remote period in the
earth's history, the level of the sea on the coasts
of America was more than fifteen hundred feet
higher than it is at the present time !

This continent must then have consisted of on-
ly a few large islands. At another, the drift pe-
riod, the ocean v.\is several hundred feet lower
than its present level. At still another, the ple-
istocene period, the sea remained for a long time
four hundred feet above its present bounds, and
has gradually been receding from the land, or the
land emerging from the ocean, until the present
time. During the period last mentioned. New
England and New Brunswick constituted a large
island. This was separated from the main land of
New York by a strait, which extended from the
valley of the St. Lawrence, through the valley of
Lake Champlain, of the Champlain Canal, and of
the Hudson River. The summit level of the ca-
nal indicates the most shallow part of this strait,
which had a depth of about 125 feet. The west-
ern part of Vermont was thickly studded with
small islands in a tranquil sound. The exterior
portions of the New England States, and exten-
sive districts in the middle States, constituted a
beautiful archijjelago of small and picturesque
islands."

Perhaps it was during this period, that in old
Massachusetts, reptiles of the frog kind attained
the respectable size of an ox ; and biped toads
outgrew the elephant ! Many of the rounded hills,
gravelly ridges and bowl-shaped cavities of New
England are doubtless the effects of marine agency.

As the land slowly emerged from the ocean, the
valleys and hollows which had no outlet, and were
not fed by springs, were left full of water, which
evaporated after a time, leaving more or less rich
alluvial matter, upon which a luxuriant vegetation
soon began to grow, and with its decay, the muck
and peat formation commenced. In those valleys
which had an outlet, the muck deposit doubtless
commenced in the same manner, but probably a
little sooner. Ponds, fed by springs, or brooks,
are, in many instances, being encroached upon
by the swamps and marshes around their margins ;
and, ages hence, if the process goes on, will be
entirely filled up.

The muck and peat formation has evidently
been going on during many thousands of years,
the surface gradually rising and gaining upon the
upland, but where the end will be, is hidden in
the unknown future. Those swamps which are
thickly covered by a growth of moss, bushes and
trees, must of course gain much faster than smooth
meadows which annually yield a croj) of hay.

I cannot close without referring to the beautiful
appearance whicli thtse swamps present to the
eye during the month of September. While I am
■writing, the swamp I have described, is decked
with a robe of brighter hues, if possible, than
those of the rainbow. Some of the maples are
bright scarlet, others are crimson and purple, and
some are golden yellow. The larches are brown-
ish yellow. These bright colors, with all their
different shades and combinations, form a beauti-
ful contrast with the dark green spruce and the
lighter shades of the larches and pines. From
the hills surrounding this swamp, one can be-

hold a scene surpassing in beauty the most
exquisite piece of Mosaic work. The green up-
land woods form a picturesque background to this
garden of nature. Passing through New England
at this season of the year, the traveller will behold
hundreds of these magnificent views. In October,
the foliage of the upland forests is also changed,
as if by magic, to the same gorgeous tints, and
then the whole landscape presents a scene of re-
splendent beautv. S. L. White.
Groton, Sept. 25, 1860.

THE OLD YANKEE FARMER.

fA homely old ballari, brought to mind by the coming arni-
versary of the County Fair.]
Here's health to the Farmer who lives on the land,
Made the best and the richest on earth by his hand :
You may search the wide earth, but there's naught to be seen
That can rival the true Yankee Farmer, I ween.

What life is so happy ? He's up with the sun —
He hears the day's poetry sweetly begun
By the lark and the cuckoo, the swallow and merle,
And sees the green lawn all bespangled with pearl !

While sluggards in cities, 'mid tumult and strife,
Lose all the best part of this quick fading life,
He quaffs Hebe's cup at Aurora's first ray.
And lives twice as long as they do every day !

He rules every station, from castle to cot ;
He's neither by noble nor peasant forgot ;
The peer and the jjlowman together agree
That the farmer should never want company.

Look round you — what treasures his riches unfold !
His granaries filled with those sheaves of bright gold !
His pt'ns and his pastures all breathing with life,
And his home far away from all passion and strife !

Then, a health to the Farmer who lives on the land

Made the best and the richest on earth by his hand :

You may roam the wide world, but there's naught to be seen

That can rival the true Yankee Farmer, I ween !

For the New Ensland Farmer.

CULTURE OF CABBAGES.

Although bred a farmer, and taking a deep in-
terest in everything Avhich relates to farming,
practical, or theoretical, I have yet to acknowledge
that I am one of the unfortunates who do not pos-
sess a farm. A single half acre of land is all I
have on which to expend my little wealth of sin-
ews an.d manure. And even on this small pittance
of space, I have not always been successful with
my crops. For instance, I consider a garden with-
out cabbages as a thing far more out of love
with jn'opriety than "a church without a bishop,"
or a Nessus without a shirt. And yet my land
having been many years under cultivation, like
other "old land" (as it is technically termed) has
obstinately refused, until the present season,
to grow cabbages. In 1859 I sat out three uozen
plants, and not one of them "came to a head."
All were afflicted with "club feet," wilted away
and died. Having seen a notice in the Farmer,
a year or two since, that unleached wood ashes,
placed in the hill, and directly in contact with the
plant at the time of setting it out, had proved a
remedy against the disease here indicated, I was
induced last spring to try the experiment. I
placed about half a pint of good wood .ashes in
each hill, mingling a portion with the soil, but

1860.

XE^V ENGLAXD FARiMER.

507

taking care to let the ashes, nearly pure, come in
contact with the roots of the plants. The experi-
ment, I am happy to say, has proved entirely suc-
cessful. Every one of the phints has c;ro\vn to a
thrifty cabbage, and not one has exhibited any in-
dications of disease.

If such is the effect of v.-ood ashes upon one
plant, why not upon others? The "club foot" is
undoubtedly caused by an insect which bites the
root of the plant ; and if thus rendered "innox-
ious," why cannot the grub that destroys the cu-
cumber, the marrow squash, -and other vines, be
disposed of in the same way ? I think the in-
creased growth of plants treated in this way, will
amply repay the cost of experimenting ; for my
garden, in its palmiest days, never produced
handsomer cabbages than those of the present
season's growth. E. C. P.

Somerville.

MBCHAlSriCS' FAIR.

A DAT AMONG THE AGRICULTURAL IMPLEMENTS
AND MACHINERY.

So far as we have been able to judge by sever-
al visits to the ninth exhibition of the Massachu-
setts Charitable Mechanic Association, and by a
cursory examination of the articles generally, and
a careful inspection of those belonging to the ag-
ricultural department, we came to the conclusion
that no previous exhibition has equalled this in
regard to the number of articles presented, or in
the ingenuity of new inventions, or in the style
and excellence of their construction.

In the section appropriated to agriculture, we
found some one hundred articles devised and con-
structed for the special use of the farmer, and
they comprised many of the most useful labor-sav-
ing implements used upon the farm and in the
farm-house, and many of the specimens of ma-
chinery that are happily influencing the industry
and prosperity of the country.

The observing person cannot have failed to no-
tice how much the farmer has been aided by the
introduction of improved implements and ma-
chinery in the prosecution of his labors, — and
taking the broad fields of the west into the ac-
count, it is not extravagant to say that those la-
bors have produced more than double what they
ever have before, through their agency. "Plows
turn up the soil deeper, more evenly and perfectly,
and with greater ease of draught ; hoes and spades
have become lighter and more efficient ; grain,
instead of being beaten out by the slow and labo-
rious process of the flail, is now shov/ercd in tor-
rents from the thrashing machine ; horse-rakes
accomplish singly the work of many men using
the old hand rake ; twelve to twenty acres of ripe
grain are neatly cut in one day with a two-horse
reaper ;" the large hand or "loafer-rake," light
and cheap seed-sowers — wheat hoes and weeders
vith which one man can perform in the same
time as much service as can five men with a com-

mon hoe — mowing machines, hay-caps, grain cra-
dles— lighter, and yet stronger and better, rakes,
pitch-forks, manure-forks, fanning-mills, straw-
cuttors, root-slicers, pumps, and especially new
implements for aiding in the process of draining
lands — one of the most profitable operations of
the farm, and now introduced as a system of the
first importance — which reduce the cost of prod-
ucts nearly one-half from that required twenty
years ago, are now common on most well-con-
ducted farms. The balance, or fly-wheel, in equal-
izing the motion of machinery used by farmers,
is annually saving a vast expenditure of human
power, and that saving may fairly be carried to
the credit side of their account.

As a farmer, we find pleasure in acknowledg-
ing our indebtedness to the genius of the mechan-
ic in devising and constructing the improved im-
plements and machinery v.'hich so greatly lessen
our toil, facilitate our labors, and at the same
time increase our profits. We believe in progress,
and that it is better to balance the grain in the
bag that is thrown across the back of the horse
than to put a stone in one end of it; that it is bet-
ter to lessen the friction of the drag by using
wheels, and that these principles hold good in
most of the tools and machines used on the farm.
We believe that farming is the natural pursuit of
man ; that it is healthful, profitable and honora-
ble, and that as its labors have been guided more
by intelligence, and as improved means and modes
of husbandry have been introduced, the farmer
has assumed a higher rank, and has become more
and more influential in every department of the
business of men.

As these means and modes have progressed,
they have furnished the farmer with the ability to
surround his home with the comforts and elegan-
cies of life. When, fatigued with the labors of
the day, he returns to his home and family,
he no longer sits upon the hard, awkward, old-
fashioned white pine "settle," or upon bare floors,
in uncomfortable, straight-backed chairs which
scarcely relieve the pressure of out-door toil. In-
stead of this he finds chairs, sofas or lounges fit-
ted to receive the weary form and restore it to a
vigorous condition. His floors are covered with
cheap and substantial carpets, economical in a
money point of view, and yet comfortable if not
luxurious. The glare of rooms is softened by
blinds, while a world of woman work is avoided
by the occasional coats of paint which their wood-
work receives. His cooking-stove saves him ten
cords of wood annually, while his food is better
prepared, and with less labor, than under the
open fire-place processes. He has a carriage, too,
of modern construction, to ride to town-meeting,
or to church on Sunday, and really is a stronger
and better citizen in possessing these things, and

508

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

Nov.

for the fifty dollars which he has in his pocket
when voting on town-meeting day for a member
of the General Court, or for a President of the
United States !

These improvements are mainly eifected through
a knowledge of mechanical principles, and no as-
sociation, in our opinion, seems so well calculat-
ed as this of which we are speaking, to increase
that knowledge, and to produce results that will
avert or ameliorate human toil, and ennoble and
dignify mankind.

It has been estimated by Mr. 'J. J. Thomas, the
careful writer whom we have already quoted, that
"the capital for furnishing the farms in the Union
with implements and machinery in the best man-
ner would amount to five hundred millions of dol-
lars, (500,000,000,) and as much more is estimated
to be yearly paid for the labor of men and horses
throughout the country at large. To increase the
effective force of labor only one-fifth would, there-
fore, add annually one hundred millions of dol-
lars, ($100,000,000,) in the aggregate to the pro-
fits of farming."

The axiom of Lord Bacon, that "Knowledge is
Power," is not more applicable to any department
of human industry, than it is to that part of the
late Exhibition which relates to farm implements
and machinery ; for so long as Agriculture under-
lies all other Arts, and affords the basis of all en-
terprise and profit, so long will an increased
knowledge of its wants have a direct influence
upon the wealth and prosperity of the nation.

The Ninth Exhibition is an honor to the Asso-
ciation, to the inventors and manufacturers of the
articles exhibited, and reflects credit upon the
taste, intelligence and progress of the people who
have sustained it.

Barm Itch. — This disorder is a troublesome
and unsightly difficulty, and one which is very
liable to run through a herd of cattle to the seri-
ous detriment of the appearance of the stock.
The remedy is a very simple one, and, as we are
informed by Paoli Lathrop, Esq., of Hadley
Falls, Mass., a very efficacious one. Take a cob
and rub the aff'ected part until the surface is
smooth, and then apply grease as an emollient.
The sime remedy is always efficient for the
scratches in horses, vinless the disease proceeds
from some general disorder in the system of the
animal, in which case other and more efficient
means must be used.

Neutralizing Poison. — A poison of any con-
ceivable description and degree of potency, which
has been intentionally or accidentally swallowed,
may be rendered almost instantly harmless by
simply swallowing two gills of sweet oil. An in-
dividual with a strong constitution may take near-
ly twice the quantity. This oil will most posi-
tively neutralize every form of vegetable, animal
or mineral poison with which physicians and
chemists are acquainted.

For the New England Farmer.
NOBFOIiK AGRICULTURAL FAIR.

The Norfolk Agricultural Society held its
twelfth annual Fair on Thursday and Friday last.
As usual, the attendance was large, and the ar-
rangements admirable. My impression of the
fair, is that, as a whole, it did not sustain the
reputation of the society so well as several fairs
previously held. In some respects, however, I
shall modify this remark, as I proceed. No pre-
miums for cattle had been offered, in conse-
quence of the general apprehension of the cattle
disease, at the time when the list of premiums
was arranged, and no cattle, therefore, were pres-
ent to compete for them. Some fine animals, how-
ever, were here on exhibition, among which the
Kerry stock and Shetland heifer, belonging to Ar-
thur W. Austin, Esq., of West Roxbury, the
Jamestown stock, owned chiefly in Dedham, and
the Ayrshire bull, owned byE. W. Andrews, Esq.,
of West Roxbury, were particularly noticeable,
and attracted much attention. For the general
purposes of a farm, I am inclined to believe that
no animals superior to the Ayrshire bull and the
Jamestown progeny are to be found in the county.
The other stock, belonging to Mr. Austin, is of
recent importation, and its peculiar excellence re-
mains to be proved. It indicates, thus fai', great
hardiness of constitution and peculiar adaptation
to our climate and pasturage. It has a small and
compact form, well set limbs, a soft, glossy hide
and a golden skin. It is remarkably gentle and
docile, feeds quietly, and yields rich milk in larger
quantity than its size would authorize us to ex-
pect. I shall watch its progress with much inter-
est, and may reasonably look, I think, for great
benefit to the farmers of the county from the in-
troduction of it into their vicinity.

The show of horses has never been equalled in
the history of the society. I make this remark on
the authority of qualified and experienced judges ,
my own knowledge in this department being ex-
tremely meagre. I could not but notice, however,
that the celebrated Balrownie, belonging to Mr.
Shaw, of West Roxbury, was the observed of all
observers, and have no doubt that he merited the
attention he received. Other fine animals, jilso,
excited the admiration of skilful judges. In
swine, the exhibitions of this society have former-
ly been particularly full and good. Only a few
specimens were now presented, but these were of
much excellence. Of poultry, ducks and geese,
there was more than the usual display. Some
golden pheasants, beautiful swans and foreign
geese attracted universal attention.

In the house, the chief interest centered in the
fruit. The apples, pears and grapes were unri-
valled. Besides all the common varieties of ap-
ples, I noticed, for the first time here, some beau-
tiful Nevvtov/n pippins, in the judgment of manj',
the very prince of apples. To those who know
Norfolk county, it is hardly necessary to say that
the pears and grapes were in great abundance, and
of the finest quality.

The display of garden vegetables was good, but
small. I was surprised at this, because the prox-
imity to a good market and the almost uniformly'
high price of vegetables cause great quantities to
be raised in this county. So of corn and potatoes,
— the show was extremely limited. A few speci-

1860.

NEVNT ENGLAND FARMER.

509

mens of great excellence wei-e exhibited — but the
farmers do not seem to have felt their usual inter-
est in this, which is really the essential part of
the Fair. I know that throughout the county the
corn and potato fields were seldom more produc-
tive, and yet this department of agricultural pro-
duce was not largely represented. The farmers
failed to do themselves justice. Several speci-
mens of good spring wheat and one of oats were
offered ; but none of rye or barley — crops of
which have been uncommonly large and fine.

Domestic bread was abundant and of great ex-
cellence. It will be a memorable and hapjiy day
for the farmers when their wives and daughters
shall entirely discard salaeratus and soda, — as the
regulations of this society require, and supply their
families with wholesome, and well-made bread.
Butter, also, was more abundant than I have ever
seen here before, and of equal excellence with
that of any previous exhibition. I was particu-
larly pleased to observe the department of agri-
cultural implements, presenting many specimens
of the best construction and greatest utility. La-
bor-saving machines for domestic use, and car-
riages, for travel and for work, were among the
noticeable articles here.

In the department of fancy and needle work, in
which the ladies of Norfolk have always excelled,
there was much that attracted and merited atten-
tion.

An extensive and beautiful exhibition of the
more commonly cultivated flowers graced a large
table in the centre of the hall. Of rare flowers
and hot-house plants, none were exhibited.

Like thousands of others, I was gratified by the
Fair. Yet it was plain that the Interest of the oc-
casion depended too much on the exertions and
contributions of a very limited number of persons,
and that the great body of Norfolk farmers were
not, as they should have been, represented by the
productions of their farms. Many of the farmers
were indeed there, but the evidences of their well-
known knowledge anfl skill were absent. I regret
this the more, because the fact is well established
that the influence of this society upon the agri-
culture of the county has been eminently and
extensively beneficial.

Of the merits of the address by G. S. Hillard,
Esq., of Boston, it would be superfluous to speak.
Every one expected much, and I am sure that
none could have been dissappointed. Similiar re-
marks are also applicable to the speeches of Judge
Marston, the delegate of the Board of Agricul-
ture, and of President Feltox, of Harvard Uni-
versity. Such distinguished scholars and orators
can make no better use of their abilities and learn-
ing than thus to aid the all-essential art of agri-
culture. Observer.

Keeping Apples. — It is well known, says the
Working Farmer, that apples keep longer after
having parted with a portion of the water they
contain. V/lien first taken from the tree, if laid
in a heap eighteen inches in depth, and covered
with a light cloth, or a little straw, they will soon
sweat ; when this operation has succeeded fairly,
the cover, or straw should be taken off, the win-
dows opened, and tl>e apples suffered to dry as
suddenly as possible. By this operation they will
lose five or six per cent, of Aveight, and if packed
in barrels and shipped, arriving at their port of

destination before a second sweating shall occur,
they will be all sound, unless bruised in the pack-
ing or carriage. If dried immediately after the
second sweating, instead of being left closely
packed while damp, they are again prepared for
a still longer voyage before decay will occur.
Those who ship apples to Europe are well aware
of these facts, and use the necessary preventive
against decay.

GOSHEN" CHEESE.

From an article on the manufacture of cheese,
in the Ohio Farmer, we extract the following par-
agraphs on the celebrated Goshen cheese :

There are towns in rocky, bleak New England,
realizing annually more profit from cheeses,
whether estimated per acre, per cow, or per
])ound, than most western towns where the land
is far handsomer and apparently more favorable
every way for the service of a diary. We may
take, for example, Berkshire county, Mass., and
Litchfield county. Conn., which lie contiguous to
each other, and belong to that broken, rocky,
mountainous region, which extends northward to
the valley of the St. Lawrence. We shall encoun-
ter facts like the following. The town of Goshen,
in extent about nine miles by five, and not less
than a third of this barren rock, or swamp, will
exhibit an annual exportation of cheese ranging
from a million and a quarter to a million and a
half pounds. All this brings, in the best markets,
from one to three cents per pound above the price
of ordinary western cheese. It ought, however, to
be said here, that Goshen being the favorite name
in market, so far as this region of country is con-
cerned, (and that probably through the influence
of some enterprising cheese merchants of the last
generation,) the cheese-makers who reside near
the borders yet within the adjacent towns on every
side, as Winchester, Torrington, Canaan, Corn-
wall and Norfolk, quite generally prefer to sell
by way of Goshen, and in this way, of course,
swell somewhat the gross amount which passes
through the hands of the Goshen merchants, re-
ceiving their brand.

There are in this region a considerable number
of manufacturers who keep few or no cows them-
selves, but buy the curds of the neighboring far-
mers. It is a curious fact, those farmers, or far-
mers' wives, (for the mistress of the house always
"runs the curd,") who know how to get the great-
est number of pounds of curd from a given num-
ber of quarts of milk, are also those who receive
the highest price by the pound for their curds ;
that is to say, the greater the amount of curd that
can be obtained from a given amount of milk, the
better will be the curd or the quality of the cheese
that is made from it. And this difference in
amount, under the management of the various
curd-makers, is considerable — enough to aston-
ish those who have no actual acquaintance with
the matter. It is said sometimes to equal a fourth
of the whole amount.

Flavor — the great point in cheese-making — is
here carefully attended to. The farmers, however,
contend that there is something unusually deli-
cious in the grasses of these mountainous coun-
ties of New England, from the Sound to the St.
Lawrence; especially do they claim a freedom

510

NE^V ENGLAND FAllMER.

Nov.

from bitter and nauseous weeds in the pastures.
But, after all, we believe that the delicacy of flavor
in these New England cheeses is, for the greatest
part, owing to the scrupulous neatness and nicety
with which they are treated throughout the whole
process of making, together with a precise, judi-
cious and skilful, but indescribable seasoning of
the curds. Perhaps we ought to add, as an indi-
rect cause, that the largest and best cheese-makers
have this for their whole business. They do al-
most nothing else. To this art and its process
they devote the study of their lives.

For the New England Fanner.

THE BIRDS OF WEW ENGLAND— Wo. 3.

FALCONS.

Fish Hawk, or Osprey — ler Falcon — Wamlering Falcon — Spar-
row Hawk — Pigeon Hawk — Merlin.

With the celebrated Osprey, or Fish Hawk,
{Pandion CaroUne7isis, Bonap.; P.lialkatus, Sav.,)
a bird so familiar to the inhabitants residing along
our sea-coast and the shores of our lakes and
larger rivers, will be concluded the history of the
Aquilime, or Eagles. This truly majestic bird is
so closely allied to the famed Osprey of the east-
ern continent (P'liidion halicctus) that it was for-
merly confounded with it, until the exact research-
es of C. L. Bonaparte, Prince of Musignano,
showed them to be distinct, he distinguishing the
present species as the American Fish Hawk, (P.
Carolinensis, as above.) Though found in sum-
mer inhabiting from Hudson's Bay to Florida, it
generally returns, according to Audubon, beyond
the limits of the United States in winter ; and its
reappearance along our shores as spring opens is
said to be hailed with pleasure by all, and partic-
ularly by the fishermen, as it indicates the return
of those finny tribes that minister to the suste-
nance of both ; and the noble character of this
bird renders him off"ensive to none, while his
graceful form and majestic flight, as well as bis
interesting habits, commend him to our regard.
Wilson, who was a poet of no mean abilities, as
well as a naturalist, thus finely describes its arri-
val :

"Soon as the sun, frreat ruler of the year,
6en»is to our northern climes his bright career,
And from the caves of Ocean calls from sleep
The finny shoals, and myriads of the deep ;
When freezing tempests back to Greenland ride,
And equal hours the day and night divide ;
True to the season, o'er our sea-beat shore,
The sailing Osprey high is seen to soar
With broad, unmoving wing ; and, circling slow,
Marks each loose straggler in the deep below ,
Sweeps down like lightning ! plunges with a roar !
And bears his struggling victim to the shore."

The Fish Hawks are generally seen along our
whole New England sea-coast in spring, a few
breeding there, and along our larger rivers ; they
are frequently seen in this vicinity (Springfield,
Mass.,) in April, and are probably common around
the lakes of northern New England. Preying
wholly upon fish, it never molests the property
of the farmer ; and difl'ering from most of the
rapacious birds in its somewhat social habits, is
frequently seen in large companies. They often
build in societies, three hundred nests containing
young having been counted on a small island near
the eastern point of Long Island, while Wilson
speaks of seeing twenty in a distance of half a
mile, and Audubon mentions of meeting with fif-

ty in a day's excursion. The nest is a large struc-
ture, placed in trees, and composed of large sticks,
mullein and corn-stalks, dry grass, &c., forming
a mass, it is said, sufficient to fill a cart, and vis-
ible at half a mile's distance ; and it is generally
occupied for several years. The common Crow
Blackbirds (Quisculus versicolor) are sometimes
))t'rmitted to build in the interstices of the Fish
Hawk's eyry, "like humble vassals," as Wilson
observes, "around the castle of their chief, laying,
hatching their young, and living together in mu-
tual harmony ;" yet they ])ossess courage, and of-
ten combine against their powerful oppressors,
the Bald Eagles, and drive them from their pre-
cincts.

The Fish Hawk measures twenty-two inches in
length, and sixty-three in alar extent ; upper part
of the head, white ; general color of the plumage
above dark brown ; below, white.

Entering the sub-family Falconince (true, or
proper Falcons) the typical group among the
Fcde.onid(e, we meet with birds of less size and
strength, but characterized by great courage, swift-
ness of flight, and cxpertness in the chase, often
exceeding the Eagles in these points ; and in the
ancient days of falconry were highly prized in
the royal sports.

The Jeu Falcon, or Gyr Falcon, {Falco
Idandicus, Lath.) is one of the largest and no-
blest, and probably the most celebrated of the
birds used in falconry, its size being near that of
the Osprey, and its intrejndity exceeded by none,
it boldly attacking the largest birds, as Storks,
Cranes and Herons. Its native haunts are the
cold, arctic regions of Europe and America, Ice-
land having always been one of its favorite re-
treats, while a few are met with along the precip-
itous coasts of Norway, Sweden and Greenland.
Richardson observed it occasionally at Hudson's
Bay ; Audubon discovered its nest on the deso-
late coast of Labrabor ; Nuttall remarks that a
few pairs are sometimes s*en in Massachusetts
in winter, which is all that entitles it to a rank
in the list of our New England birds. Plumage
mostly white.

The Wandering Falcon, Great Footed
Hawk, or Duck Hawk, {Falco peregriaus, Linn.,)
is hardly less celebrated for feats of daring than
his noted congener just described, but is rather
less in size, yet almost equally famed in falcon-
ry. This species is common to both continents,
if, indeed, it be everywhere the same, which Bo-
naparte d'.clares is not the case, he accordingly
characterizing tiie present species as distinct from
the European, under the name Falco anatum, —
Duck Hawk ; Avhile Audubon found no diff"erence
between those he examined in England and the
ones he had killed in America. They are every-
where noted for sti'ength and boldness, and their
feats of daring are regarded wdth wonder by the
sportsmen along our coasts. In Europe they are
said to be found chiefly in the mountainous dis-
tricts, seldom descending to the plains, and avoid-
ing marshy districts ; while in America they are
most common along the sea-coast of the Atlantic
States, and in the vicinity of lakes and the larger
rivers, where the various imuatic birds abound,
which furnish them with food, — a diflerence in
habit hardly reconcilable, regarding the bird as
identical in the two countries. This formidable
Hawk, known generally as the Duck Hawk, Hen

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

511

Hawlc, Chicken Hawk, &c., pounces upon his
quarry with great velocity and force, striking it
while in the air, on the ground, or floating on the
surface of the water, Avith almost equal facility ;
in the former case striking his victim to the ground
with his powerful talons, and returning, picks it
up and bears it away. It occasionidly displays its
audacity in snatching up the Duck killed by the
sportsman, approaching boldly even within thirty
paces of the hunter who shot it ; and in return
the sportsman is sometimes fortunate in securing
the game struck down by this Hawk. The Duck
Hav/k is said to breed in trees, retiring to the
dark recesses of the gloomy, almost inaccessible
cedar swamps to build its eyry, "where," observes
Mr. Ord, "the wild screams of this bird, occa-
sionally mingled with the hoarse tones of the Her-
on, and the bootings of the Great Horned Owl,
echoing through the dreary solitude, arouse in
the imagination all the imagery of desolation."

The Sparrow Hawk, (Falco sparmrms,
Linn.,) the smallest of our New England Hawks,
is found, according to DeKay, inhabiting the
American continent fi'om 54° south latitude to the
same degree of north, and is quite common in
the warmer parts of the United States ; but Nut-
tall remarks that it is rare in the maritime parts
of New England, but it is generally seen in most
parts of the Eastern States throughout the year,
though not common. Small birds, quadrupeds
and reptiles constitute its chief prey, though
young chickens from the farmyard are always ac-
ceptable ; and it occasionally partakes of grass-
hoppers and other insects. In flight and manner
of hunting, it diff'ers considerably from the Fal-
cons above described ; it flying irregularly, and
occasionally hovering over a particular spot for a
minute, as though watching some object beneath
it ; and at times will watch from a tree-top for a
long time for the appearance of mice, or other
game. It will sometimes approach a group of
small birds with a low and stealthy, but rapid
flight, pounce upon one with the rapidity of light-
ning, and away with it in an instant, striking with
terror the remainder of the group at the sudden-
ness of the unlooked for attack.

This Hawk measures ten or eleven inches in
length, and about twenty-three in extent ; up])er
parts reddish bay, with seven black spots around
the head ; under parts, pale yellowish white, with
longitudinal spots of brown. Nests in hollow
trees, laying four to six brownish eggs.

The Pigeon Hawk, Falcn columbarius, Linn.,)
a little larger than the preceding, and less numer-
ous, is occasionally seen in New England, more
commonly in autumn and winter, it retiring far
to the north in summer to incubate. Its nest has
been discovered at Hudson's Bay, placed in hol-
low rocks, or decayed trees, composed of sticks
and grass, and lined with feathers ; eggs two to
four, white, thinly dotted with red spots. From
its swiftness of flight it is sometimes known as
the Bullet Hawk; and Audubon mentions that
"the daring spirit which it displays exceeds that
of any other Hawk of its size ;" and adds that
he has known them to attack birds in cages sus-
pended against the walls of buildings in the very
streets of our cities ! It pounces without hesi-
tancy upon Robins, Blackbirds, Sparrows, &c., and
even Wild Pigeons, thus proving a serious anno}'-
ance to the pigconer.

Le Petit Caporal, or Little Corporal
Hawk of Audubon, (FaJco temerarivs,) described
by him as a new species, is now supposed to be
the adult Pigeon Hawk.

The Merlin, {Falco oesahm, Will.,) a spirited
Falcon, not uncommon in Europe, is occasionally
met with in the northern ])arts of this continent,
but occurs in New England as a rather rare acci-
dental straggler. It is characterized by the same
daring spirit of those already described, and in
the "olden days of falconry" was highly prized for
the chase. - J. A. a.

OIL FOR BOOTS AND HAKWESS.

Some practice and a deal of reasoning from an-
alogy has proved that the very best oil for all ap-
plications to leather is the common castor oil,
(from the bean of the Palraa Christa plant,) and
identical with that with which careful mothers
sometimes nauseate their children. One of the
reasons of its value is that it has less affinity for
water than any other oil, and less tendency to
harden or thicken the leather, as neatsfoot and
other animal oils do. Leather that has been fre-
quently saturated with any kind of animal fat
and exposed to water, as boots and harness are,
instead of remaining pliable, becomes hard and
dry, losing its elasticity, and finally becoming
brittle and worthless ; but that which is oiled
with the extract of the Palma Christa bean, and
in a less degree with flaxseed oil, appears to re-
tain its fibrous toughness a great deal longer.
The oil is naturally viscid, containing some ghiti-
nous matter, which serves a better purpose than
animal oil to exclude the water which, when ab-
sorbed in leather, is the real cause of its non-
elasticity.

Castor oil, if bought by the gallon, is not ex-
pensive. It was manufactured a few years ago in
Illinois and sold at fifty cents a gallon, and the
beans were grown as a field crop at fifty cents a
bushel. It is well worth the while of farmers to
give castor oil a trial as a lubricator of leather.

For the Netr England Farmer.
COPPER SOLED SHOES.

Mr. Editor : — Some months since, I wrote a
short notice for your paper In praise of copper
soled shoes as a substitute for rubbers. It fol-
lowed a short editorial notice to the same purport.
But experience has not confirmed those views ;
they do not prove as valuable as we hoped.

I was reminded of this notice by reading the
following in the Boston Recorder of May 11th,
1822: "Three persons in Sussex, England, have
lately lost their lives by wearing sheet copper in
the soles of their shoes, to keep the feet dry.
When the inner soles give way, the perspiration
of the feet, acting upon the copper, communicates
to the system an active and dangerous poison."

While on the subject of shoes, I would remark
that a physician of Portland (Me.) has been mak-
ing the anatomy of the human foot a special study
with regard to making a shoe which shall be bet-
ter adapted to it than the present fashion. We
all know that a shoe has but little semblance to
the foot. We wish the doctor success.

Springfield, Vt., Sept. 12, 1860. A. E. P.

512

NEW ENGLAND FAR:\IER.

Nov.

V.\v\>\."*-'S>"^ \.\

—-*!^-

SELF-FASTENING POKTABLE FENCE.

Before entering upon a description of this fence
it is proper for us to say to the reader that we have
not used it, or seen it in use, and judge of it
merely from its appearance, as the model, some
six or eight feet in length, stands before us. From
this view, however, we do not doubt but the fence
will be a good-looking, cheap, and effective one,
and feel no hesitation in recommending a trial of
it by those who need wood fences. The fence is
called by the inventor, "Vandemark's Self-Fas-
tening, or Hook and Eye Portable Fence," and he
makes the following statement in relation to it :

The obsei-ving farmer will readily perceive the
numerous advantages of a Portable Fence which
can be easily pw^ up, taken doivn and removed
from place to place, as convenience may require.

The panels constructed upon the plan of this
patent will make either a Worm, Straight, Square
or Circular Fence. Note also the following facts.

1st. It can be made in bad weather or in win-
ter, when farm hands are commonly idle.

2d. The fence being all above ground, will last
without repair twice as long as a post and board
fence.

3d. It is all made of inch boards, and so sim-
ple in its construction that any farmer can make
it with a hand-saw and hammer.

4th. The same panel will make either a straight
or zigzag fence, a square or circular enclosure.
When straight, it is supported by a triangular
brace put in between the end battens or uprights,
as shown m the above cut, and made of the same
material as the fence.

It is advisable to use 10 feet rails, 5 inches
wide by 1 inch thick. 1,000 feet of lumber will

build 27 rods of this fence, which will make the

material —

"Where lumber is $3,00 per M cost 29 cents per rod.

10,00
12,00
14,00
10,00
18,00

With lumber at $12 per M., and posts at 13
cents each, there will be a saving of $8 on every
20 rods of this fence.

The triangular brace shown above and spoken
of under the 4th head, may be dispensed with and
a couple of stakes used by driving one end slight-
ly into the ground and sawing a notch in the oth-
er and sliding it under one of the boards. We
intend to put it in use in the spring on our farm,
where those interested can see it if they wish to.

BEES AND CATS.

From experiments which I have tried, I have
found that the visits of humble bees, if not indis-
pensable, are at least beneficial to the fertilization
of our clover, (I'rif'olitim pratense.) as other bees
cannot reach the nectar. Hence I have very lit-
tle doubt that if the whole genus of humble bees
became extinct or very rare in England, the heart-
ease and red clover would become very rare, or
wholly disap])ear. The number of humble bees
in any district depends in a great degree upon the
number of field mice, which destroy their combs
and nests ; and Mr. II. Newman, who has long
attended to the habits of humble bees, believes
"that more than two-thirds of them are thus des-
troyed all over England." Now the number of
mice is largely dependent, as every one knows, on
the number of cats ; and Mr. Newman says,
"Near villages and small towns I have found the
nests of humble bees more numerous than else-

1860.

NEW EXGLAXD FARMEE.

613

where, which I attribute to the number of cats
that destroy the mice." Hence it is quite credit-
able that the presence of a feline animal in large
numbers id a district mijjht determine, through
the intervention of mice and then of bees, the fre-
quency of certain flowers in that district. — Lav-
win.

For the New England Farmer.
BORROWING AND LENDING TOOLS.

]Mr. Editor : — I have noticed that some of your
subscribers, having confidence that you are full of
wisdom, and willing to impart to the ignorant,
Avhen they meet with difficulties come to you for
advice. Now I want advice in a matter that has
annoyed me a good deal, and wish you would tell
me, and the rest of your readers, what is proper
to be done by one in my circumstances. The
case is just this : I am a farmer, owning a pret-
ty good farm, with neighbors all arounl me in the
same business. I am in the habit of being neigh-
borly with my brother farmers, borrowing va-
rious tools of them as I happened to want them.
For instance, I have borrowed a corn-sheller of
one man, and because I happened to forget or
neglect to carry it home again, and he had to come
for it a week or two after, he appeared to be really
disturbed in mind about it. So, also, when I
borrowed a seed-sower of another, and he came
for it a month afterwards, he really looked as if
he had a good mind to be so unneighborly as to
make me pay for his trouble in hunting it up. Of
another, (an odd chap who jocularly calls himself
so poor that he cannot afford to borrow,) I bor-
rowed a jack-screw to use in fixing my barn. Be-
fore I was ready to carry it home, the wrench
somehow got broken ; and then I waited till I
could take it to the blacksmith and have it
mended — and finally forgot it. But after a month
or two the owner one day came for it, in some
excitement, said he had spent most of the forenoon
in looking for the screw among his nearest neigh-
bors, having at first forgotten to whom it was
lent ; and ended by saying that he e?:pected me to
pay him twenty-five cents for his trouble in coming
for it. As I am an economical man, and he knew
it, I thought this particularly unkind. When I
told him the wrench was broken, and said he
might get it mended and I would pay the black-
smith's charge for it, 1 really believe he wanted
to sioear ; but he didn't do it ; he merely said, in
a cool and impudent way, that he "thought it
rather a hard case, after he had spent a half day
in hunting for his tools, to be asked to spend more
time in running to the blacksmith's to get them
mended !" So you see by what a churly set of
neighbors I am surrounded.

Now, Mr. Editor, as you know just how I am
treated, I wish you would talk right sharply to
these men, and show them how to be neighborly.
I do not own all the tools I want to use, and so
I must borrow ; and I cannot be expected always
to remember to return them at a jjrecise minute.
It is not natural. Pray help me, if you can, and
so oblige, JOXATUAN DOOLITTLE.

Slackville, Aug. 11, 1860.

Value of Sewage. — If we ask the opinions
of different persons on the question of "sewage,"

we receive contradictory answers. All manufac-
turers of superphosphate of lime are quite agr^^d
on the point, that only the fluid portions pf st •
age water are valuable in agriculture. They do
not, in giving this opinion, deny the good eff"ect
of solid matters, but only mean to say that they
are not worth the trouble of being collected for
manure, because they are ready to deliver from
their manufactories these matters to agriculturists.
The manufacturers of ammonia-salts, and the
dealers in guano, take an entirely opposite view.
These hold that only the solid sewage matters are
to be looked upon as important. There can, how-
ever, be no doubt that both the fluid and solid
matters are valuable for agriculture. — Liebig's
Lectures.

For the New England Farmer,
TOWN PAIR IN NORTH READING.

An agricultural fair was held in this place Oct.
2, under the auspices of the North Leading Far-
mers^ and Mechanics^ Club, and proved a decided
success. No cattle were exhibited, but the dis-
play of fruit, flowers and vegetables was unusual-
ly fine, and the contributions of the ladies in the
shape of embroidery,worsted work, paintings, etc.,
showed, most conclusively, that the ladies of the
place, at least, are fully up to the times.

Gentlemen who were present, and who have al-
so attended some of the County Fairs, were
forced to acknowledge, that, although the quanti-
ty was less, the quality of the contributions was
even superior to that of the greater shows.

If you, Mr. Editor, had not positively forbid-
den correspondents to enter into details, it would
give me much pleasure to enumerate some con-
tributors worthy of especial honor ; as it is, I can-
not refrain from mentioning the name of Aaron
S. Hewes, Esq., of North Reading. His display
of apples, it is universally acknowledged, was by
far the best, and we, "of this ilk," believe them
unsurpassed. Mr. H., though a manufacturer, is
far more of a farmer than some who make farm-
ing their profession. G. F. Flint.

North Reading, Oct. 4, 1860.

Remarks. — Thank you for the notice of your
Town Show, and also for mentioning particular
cases that are specially meritorious. This is what
is wanted, — but not a dull detail of one or two
tiundred premiums.

Preservation of Fruit. — Some time last
spring, Mr. Lewis H. Spear called at this office,
and showed us samples of fruit ]5ut up without
being cooked. Some of it had been prepared for
several months, and still retained the flavor of
ripe fruit when first gathered. The samples of ap-
ples were very beautiful, although they had been
put up for several months, were open to the air,
and were neither cooked, or in a rich syrup. Sev-
eral weeks ago, currants and berries were put up
in our family by this method, and they retain all
their original freshness of flavor, though their col-
or is somewhat changed. The process is very
cheap and simple.

514

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

Nov.

A DAY ON TWO FARMS.

Bochester, Mass., Oct. 4, 1860.

Gentlemen : — I came here j^esterday, by re-
quest, to look at a couple of farms ; that is, to
hold a consultation over them with their proprie-
tors, something as physicians do over a sick pa-
tient.

The first farm looked at, is the property of
Chart.es H. Leonard, Esq., and consists of some
two or three hundred acres, about eighty acres of
■which he has already reclaimed, or is engaged in
reclaiming — the other portion is principally in
wood. Mr. L. is a New York merchant, but being
born upon this soil, and having passed his boyhood
here, is expending a portion of his ample fortune
in bringing the estate into an atti-active and fertile
condition. His object has been up to this time to
clear the land of stumps and rocks, surround it
•with stone fences, lay permanent roads, underdrain
and level, rather than to fertilize and secure crops.
Within five years, an immense labor of this sort
has been performed, and substantial buildings
erected. Two hundred and fifty rods of split stone
wall has been laid, some of it over ditches filled
•with stones, and intended as drains, and the bal-
ance laid upon small stones in trenches. The
walls are four and a half feet high, three feet wide
at the bottom and eighteen inches at the top, and
built thoroughly in straight lines, or in graceful
curves, as the nature of their location required.
The material used is granite, composed mainly of
quartz, black mica and feldspar.

The rocks were mostly found beneath the sur-
face, were dug about, split with wedges, taken
out, and the places they occupied, filled with the
smaller stones turned out in plowing. This pro-
cess results in a pretty thorough trenching of a
considerable portion of the fields, so that where
the work was first completed, and the land seed-
ed to grass, they have secured an average crop of
three tons per acre of the best clover and Timothy
hay. Some of the land treated in the same man-
ner was in corn, and I found it a finer crop than
any I have seen this autumn — one small piece
must yield, I think, at the rate of a hundred bush-
els to the acre. Some splendid ears are now be-
fore me of the King Philip variety, and are ten,
eleven and twelve inches long. Mr. Leonard's
fine green-house, mill-pond, lawns, and many
things relating to the farm, are examples of ener-
gy, and a progressive spirit, that are creditable to
his good taste, and cannot fail to inspire others
to profit by them. They may not enter so exten-
sively into improvements as he has done, but his
thorough-draining, and following crop of three
tons of hay per acre year after year, is only an ex-
ample that any of his neighbors may follow, that
possess the progressive spirit to prompt them to
it. In this operation, there is no fancy to be in-

dulged, but it is one of plain dollars and cents cal-
culation, which will probably add ten to twenty
per cent, to the value of the crops taken off'. The
proprietor of this estate is fortunate in commit-
ting the details of its management to the skill
and intelligence of Mr. Joseph Coe.

My next visit was to an adjoining farm belong-
ing to the gentleman just named, but who has on-
ly recently come into possession, and does not
yet reside upon it. It includes one hundred acres
of variable soil, and has always been managed in
the old routine of corn, rye, pasture, for a few
years, where there was nothing to be eaten, and
then corn and rye again.

Mr. Coe's principal object is the culture of cran-
berries, and he has already commenced the con-
struction of a reservoir for water, whereby he will
be able to flow his cranberry meadows whenever
frost is anticipated, or when the plants are at-
tacked by insects. His contrivances are ingenious,
will not be expensive, and we think Avill be effec-
tive. He will also enter upon a system of tile
drainage, which, conducted by his intelligence
and skill, must afford a good example to all around
him. At some future day, I hope to see his cran-
berry meadows in their prime. He had just made
a visit to the Cape to examine the modes of cran-
berry culture there, and had learned several im-
portant facts which are interesting and valuable.

Mr. Coe is a skilful, intelligent and progressive
farmer ; does not think he knows so much as nev-
er to ask a question; believes a great deal in
books, but not all that is said in them ; closely
observes the practices of others ; and is as willing
to impart his own knowledge, as to draw it out
of others. Very truly yours,

Simon Brown.

Messrs. Nourse, Eaton & Tolman.

CULTIVATUNTG PEACH TREES.

The peach formerly succeeded nearly as well in
southern New England as in the middle States.
Old people tell of the large crops of fine peaches
that were common in their youth, and say that
the trees were then thrifty and free from disease.
But all this is changed now. A healthy peach
tree is the exception, disease the rule, and of
course it is useless to expect a good crop of fruit
from unhealthy trees.

There has been much speculation as to the
cause of this decadence of the peach. Some, not-
withstanding the negative evidence of meteorolo-
gical tables, attribute it to a change in the cli-
mate ; others to the unnatural method of propaga-
tion by budding, and others to the ravages of
worms and insects. But whatever the cause, the
fact is patent to all, and probably the most that
can be done by human means will be merely a
mitigation of the evil.

As far as the writer's experience goes, it is de-
cidedly against cultivating the ground beneath
peach trees. Those in his garden that were under
cultivation, have been exceedingly short-lived,

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

515

while others, closely surrounded by green sward,
and set out at the same time, are still in bearing
order and tolerably healthy. A neighbor some
years since set out an orchard of about a hundred
peach trees, cultivating corn and root crops be-
tween. Most of the trees died within three or
four years from the setting, and scarcely a dozen
remain at the present time. When the trunks are
closely surrounded by grass, they are seldom at-
tacked by the borer. It would be interesting and
profitable to know what the experience of others
has been in regard to the cultivation or non-cul-
tivation of the peach. — Taunton Republican.

For tlie New England Farmer.
FARMERS' WIVES AND DAUGHTERS.

Most humbly would I plead pardon of Sister
Polly, for being so impolite as to contradict her,
yet so thoroughly convinced am I of the fact that
the labor of the farmer's wife and daughter is
no more severe than that of other ladies, that I
must still persist in my statement. I am not
prepared to judge of farming in New Hampshire,
but would only speak of it as it is in Massachu-
setts. The experience of a farmer's daughter only
is mine. But I have the testimony of one who
has been a farmer's wife for thirty-five years — who
has brought up a large family, and who ougld to
knotii. Truly, there are many hours of severe toil ;
yet she has had leisure for improving the mind,
and "extending her knowledge beyond the limits
of her native village," and has kept her heart open
to the "sweet influences" of nature.

My sisters have all married mechanics, and, ob-
serving their daily tasks, I prefer my own. But,
as Polly says, "all the world are not mechanics."
Would she be ready to exchange tasks with any
minister's wife of her acquaintance ? And why
the work of a lawyer's, or doctor's, or merchant's
wife, (aside from the dairy work, which occupies
but a small portion of the day,) should be less ar-
duous than that of a farmer's wife, I cannot un-
derstand. The same amount of cooking must be
done, washing and ironing; dust is "no respecter
of person" or occupation ; doctors and lawyers
are liable to forget the scraper and mat at the
door, and to leave hat, coat and boots for wife or
daughter to put in place. Doctors' and lawyers'
children as mercilessly leave dirty little finger-
marks upon the windows and paint, and are as
diligent in tearing rents in aprons and pants, as
farmers' children.

I think Polly is inclined to consider wealth and
happiness as inseparable. One, of olden time, re-
puted wise, prayed, "Give me neither poverty nor
riches," This is the situation of most farmers,
neither in poverty, nor possessing great riches.
Enough for comfort and luxury. And this may
be gained, "unconnected with other business,"
although the farmer commence life deeply in debt.

A word concerning self-education. No one need
be satisfied with the mere rudiments of science.
With health, aspiration, courage and persever-
ance, any woman may be "thoroughly educated."
The "deep mysteries of science have been un-
locked" to many who wei-e dependent upon their
own energy, and will yet be unlocked to many
more. A large number of our farmers' daughters
are teachers in cities or towns, often in positions

of great responsibility ; one, I now call to mind,
a farmer's daughter from the Granite State, now
one of the "Faculty" of a female college. A few
teach, because compelled to depend upon their
own resources ; more, because their energetic
spirits scorn to remain in idleness — burying their
talents, when a wide sphere of usefulness is open
for them ; because they love the work, not be-
cause driven by poverty from the home-nest.

It is my humble opinion that we "should be
content without pictures," if we cannot consist-
ently possess them. With a moderate amount of
genius, taste and contrivance, I think our walls
need not be unadorned. Place all the works about
your home that you are able. The heart Avill
grow better for them. But because Raphael, An-
gelo, or Claude. Lorraine may not speak to me
from my library walls, I cannot consider it a duty
to pine in melancholy, bemoaning my sad fate.
When the rose on the window-seat opens its
crimson petals, tell the child of the blessed Jesus,
who is the "Rose of Sharon," who once trod this
earth, and who so loved little children, that He
died for them ; and whenever his bright eyes rest
upon the flower, will it not speak to him of the
loving Saviour, with as powerful a tongue as a
picture could ?

Thanks to Polly for her invitation to visit her
mountain home. The song of the wash-board is
an old familiar air, but, as with us, the spinning-
wheel is but a relic of "long ago," now furnish-
ing the attic, I should doubtless enjoy its new and
unknown melody. Visit my cottage home, Poll}'.
and I will assure you that baking, sweeping and
scrubbing shall all be finished, without leaving
"mother to preside in the kitchen," in time for a
quiet chat in the parlor, ahorseback scamper over
our beautiful plain, a walk by the blue water, or
heart-wanderings in "Dream-land," with no in-
truding care to dim the sunshine. ANNA.

October 1, 1860.

For the New England Farmer.

FLOWERS ADAPTED TO A NORTHERN"
WINTER.

Seeing an inquiry in the Fanner of July 14, in
regard to flowers adapted to a Northern winter, I
send a list which I hope will prove satisfactory.
Namely : Cujjid's car, or Monk's-hood ; Balti-
more rose ; Drumraond's phlox, all varieties ;
Canterbury-boll ; Wall flowers ; Marv£l of Peru ;
Feverfew ; Chinese pink ; Mullen pink ; Moss
pink; Grass pink; Persian lilac; Fox'j;love ;
Flower-de-luce, purple and white ; Dwarf Iris ;
Narcissus ; Tulips, all varieties ; Gladiola ; Rud-
beckia; Tassel-tlower ; Garden Heliotrope ; Dou-
ble Buttercup ; Valeria, white and blue ; Myrtle ;
Perennial Larkspur; Mock-orange; Flowering
Almond ; Perennial Pea and Pansy, all varieties.

There are many more which I have not men-
tioned, biennials and perennials, that would stand
a Northern winter, with slight protection from
frost, J. T. Sabine.

Jejfersonville, Vt., 1860.

SvT'AMPS AND MEADOWS. — The reader will find
an exceedingly interesting article upon this sub-
ject in another column, to which we ask attention.

516

NEW ENGLAND FARMER

Nov.

For the New England Farmer.

CROPS IW EASTERN VERMONT.

While portions of our country, and even of our
own State, have suffered from the effects of drought
the past season, we who are favored with a soil
unequal in smoothness, and unequalled in fertility
and ca])acity to endure the effects of extreme heat
and cold, flood and drought, by almost any por-
tion of our country, are rejoicing in well stored
barns and granaries. Though our hay crop is less
than an average by, say one-fifth, the quality is
unusually good, and we have at least an average
supply for our stock. Our smaller grains are al-
most without parallel, even on our own fertile
hillsides. Wheat (spring) ranges from 30 to 40
bushels, and in some cases even more, per acre, of
unusually good quality. Oats, from 60 to 100
bushels per acre ; some fields go even higher
than this. 80 bushels is a very common yield.
Rye and barley also fully repay all the pains be-
stowed upon them. Corn is full an average crop,
and the fodder is secured much better than it of-
ten is, so that we can winter as much stock as
generally.

Now what will our poor kinsfolk on the natu-
rally barren pine jilains and white birch hillsides
of Massachusetts say to 100 bushels of oats per
acre — 75 for an average ? 40 bushels of the finest
wheat ? 50 to 75 bushels of corn? 15 to 20 ox-
loads of pumpkins per acre ? True, they can sell
what rye straw they raise, and get more for their
oats. But how many of them think they can af-
ford to feed out all the grain they raise, while they
strive to raise all they can feed ? True, you have
advantages over us, and we have more over you.
Do not think that we must send you our oats and
corn to raise our interest money. We can better
afford to feed them here, and send you our butter,
and cheese, and beef, and pork. Think not to
buy our oats for a song, though our granaries
gi-oan with their burdens. We have learned that
as bread is the staff of life, so manure is the staff
of the farmer, and that grain is the grand pro-
ducer of good manure. You may sell your ber-
ries, cherries, and plums, fi'om your worn-out
lands at great prices, and then pay your 8 to 15
per cent interest. We can find means to pay our
six per cent., (a plenty at that,) by selling you
butter at 20 cents and pork at 7 cents, nett, and
then have the pleasure of seeing our colts going
to Napoleon, and our nags to your cities, to draw
the solid men of Boston, who have plenty of
money to pay for them !

Come, brother farmers, in eastern Vermont, who
have plenty of grain, let us feed it to our stock,
unless we can get fair prices, and then sell but
little, and see if our future crops do not show us
a better return than the speculator does.

Vermont Eastern Slope, Oct., 1860. p. j.

glowing red heat ; at twenty-one miles melt gold ;
at seventy-four miles cast iron ; at ninety-seven
miles soft iron; and at one hundred miles from
the surface all will be fluid as water, a mass of
seething and boiling rock in a perpetually molten
state, doomed possibly never to be cooled or
crystallized. The heat here will exceed any with
which man is acquainted ; it will exceed the heat
of the electric spark, or the effect of a continued
voltaic current. The heat which melts platina as
if it were wax is as ice to it. Could we visually
observe its effects, our intellect would afford no
means of measuring its intensity. Here is the
region of perpetual fire, the source of earthquake
and volcanic power. — Recreative Science.

THE MECHANICS' FAIR.

Central Heat of the Earth. — The rate of
increase of heat is equal to one degree of Fahren-
heit for every forty-five feet of descent. Looking
to the result of such a rate of increase, it is seen
that at seven thousand two hundred and ninety
feet from the surface the heat will reach two hun-
dred and twelve degrees, the boiling point of wa-
ter. At twenty-five thousand five hundred feet it
will melt lead ; at seven miles it will maintain a

Among the articles which we noticed with spe-
cial interest at the late Mechanics' Fair, were a
Patent Bean Sorter and Cleaner, a Huckleberry
Picler, an Oat Cleaner, and a Potato Sorter, four
small, ingenious, neio, and highly useful articles
to any farmer, each of which would annually save
three or four times its cost, by enabling him with
trifling labor to present his products to the pur-
chaser in a clean and perfect condition, and then
by materially enhancing their price. It is not the
large machinery, the cotton gins, power threshers
and mowing machines, that prove of the greatest
usefulness to man, but the cooking stoves, apple
parers. Babbitt's metal,washing machines, clothes'
pins, and many other small and cheap, but indis-
pensable articles. The articles enumerated above
are of this character. They have been invented
and manufactured by Sanford Adams, of Boston.

An Adjustable Ox Yoke, by J. H. Briggs,
Gloucester, Mass., is an excellent article, the de-
sign of which is to enable oxen unevenly matched
to draw evenly, by a rack at the under side of the
yoke ; and it is all the more valuable because it
can be fitted to any yoke now without it.

David S. Neal, of Lynn, had a Fire Escape
for Horses, showing the crib, mode of fastening,
and means of escape for the horses when their
stable is on fire. We think it would be a good
contrivance in large stables filled with horses.

John M. Dearborn, of Roxbury, had a Coal
and Ash Screen, of the most j)rimitive character,
being merely a straight handle, much like a shovel
handle, run through a sieve, and resting in grooves
on the top of the barrel. A simple, cheap and
efficient mode of sifting coal and ashes, — but does
not prevent the flying of dust.

Messrs. Lookey & Howland, Leominster,
Mass., presented one of their unrivalled A2:>ple
Parers, which pares an apple so quick and easily
that you scarcely know it is done !

A Donble-Actiiig Apparatus, for Sifting any
flour or meal into different grades, was presented
by M. H. Collins, Chelsea, Mass. It is a new

1860,

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

517

invention, and designed to take the place of bulky
rolling screens, and to save expense in flour mills.
The inventor claims that it makes no dust, re-
quires no machinery to screw the flour to artd fro
in the chest, saves room, will not clog, and is ea-
sily managed. Also, that a machine of this kind
six feet long will do as much Avork as two rolling
screens, eighteen feet long, and make as fine flour.
With this he had a Winnowing Machine for clean-
ing corn, rj'e, oats, barley, grass seed, beans, &c.,
which was compact and effective.

J. J. Ayres, East Hartford, Conn., had a mod-
el of a Self-Acting Farm Well, which is claimed
to be equivalent to a living spring in the pasture,
or yard, as an animal can bring its own supply
when it is needed. It is a capital contrivance.
We have pictured and described it in the Farmer
heretofore. He also presented a Self-Acting Oate,
a model of which operated admirably. It is too
expensive for common use, but just what would
be appropriate for the entrance to parks and plea-
sure grounds.

Mr. T. N. Breed, of Lynn, had a collection of
Grindstones, hung on friction rollers, and which
were in every way excellent.

Messrs. WiiiTTEMORE, Belcher & Co., Chico-
pee Falls, presented the Eagle Hay Cutter, Corti
Shellers, Meat Slasher, Boot Slicer, Apple Purer,
&c., all of which were admirably constructed.

Mr. R. S. ToRREY, of Bangor, Me., presented
numerous specimens of honey, together with hives
filled with living bees, so tastefully and inge-
niously arranged as to especially attract atten-
tion. The fruits of these bees, and the intelli-
gent mannfer in which their master had controlled
their labors, needed only to be seen to be appre-
ciated. Mr. Torrey does not only say what can
be done, but shows what he has done. His hives
are constructed upon true philosophical princi-
ples, and are the only artificial ones we have ever
seen which afi"ord a perfect winter ventilation.
As honey abounds in the country, and is a whole-
some and palatable article, and as the culture of
bees has a happy influence upon those who en-
gage in it, we regard the information that will en-
able us to manage bees and secure their products
as valuable to the community.

W. S. TiLTON had a large and somewhat com-
plicated machine for cutting up corn stalks, but
as no one was present to explain its operations,
we did not get a clear insight into it.

Several Rotary Harrows "were on exhibition,
by Thomas R. Blaikie, Boston.

H. B. Davis, of Lexington, had Patent Horse
Rackets, an excellent article, that enables the
horse to travel over marshes or fresh meadows
that are too soft for the bare hoof.

O. R. Chaplin, of South Boston, had a model

The inventor anticipates important advantages
from the ability of his knife-bar to accommodate
itself to uneven surfaces. We doubt whether his
hopes will be realized in this particular, — but the
machine has other important qualities, and espe-
cially one in the power given to the motion of
the knives by the leverage attached to them. The
ease with Avhich it can be thrown in and out of
gear, and backing without changing anything, are
decided advantages. We hope to see a full-grown
machine in operation.

H. Mann, East Attleboro', Mass., had a Vege-
table Hand-Weeder, loith Garden Seed-Soioer At-
tached. We have spoken of this Wceder before
as a most valuable labor-saving machine.

Manny's Patent Improved Moiving Machine, by
Alzirus Brown, AVorcester, Mass., Wood's, by
Walter A. Wood, Hoosac Falls, N. Y., and
the Buckeye, by Parker, Gannett & Osgood,
were on exhibition, and are all valuable machines
and have won good reputation for themselves.
With the Manny Machine there was a Spring
Tooth Horse Rake which we thought had most or
all the good parts of that important implement.

The model of a Potato Planting Machine ap-
peared as though a full-sized one might be a val-
uable acquisition.

A little, simple and cheap Fire and Garden
Engine was exhibited by Joseph Bird, of Mount
Auburn, Mass. It is a new, easy working, and
yet most powerful little machine. It is so small,
(weighing less than two pails of water,) that it
can be taken to the fire in a moment, and from
its largest pipe, 12 gallons of water can be
thrown upon the flames in one minute. It is so
strong that it cannot be broken by working ; it is
not liable to get out of order, and with proper
care will last a century. The best possible recom-
mendation of it that could be given was from a
President of a State Street Insurance Company,
who said, "Where Bird's system of preventing
fires is adopted, I will insure at one-half the usu-
al rates !" Mr. Geo. E. Bigelow, of Concord, is
the agent for the sale of them in that section of
Middlesex county.

Parker, Gannett & Osgood, Boston, pre-
sented a Hoeing Machine and a Potato Digger,
invented by L. Wetherell, Worcester, Mass.
A good potato-digger is an article greatly needed
on the farm. The only way one could judge of
either of these machines would be from actual
test in the field.

R. P. Wilson, of Boston, had an Air Pressure
Churn. It is claimed that this churn will pro-
duce more butter from the same cream than any
other, and that it will be more yellow, and come
quicker. It certainly must be more easy to clean
than any other we have seen.

Whtttemopf, Brothers presented a Patent

518

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

Nov.

CijUndrical Meat Masher. It is intended for
mashing beef-steak, instead of pounding it, and
by the noise driving every body out of the house,
and it is said makes the toughest equal to the
most tender. It certainly promises to do much
toward it. We have strong hopes, now, of eat-
ing a tender beef-steak.

A Patent Tree-Cutting or Felling Machine, by
Col. Hamilton, of N. H., attracted much atten-
tion. It can be used to saw a tree down, and
saw it into blocks after it is down. It is simple
and effective. We saw it take a tree off at the
butt with great facility by a single man-power !

A NEW SEDATIVE.

The Journal de Chimie Medicale contains the
following remarkable account of the discovery of
a powerful sedative in cases of neuralgia by Dr.
Field : Some time ago that gentleman was in-
duced by a homoeopath to put two drops of a so-
lution, supposed to be diluted to the first degree,
on his tongue, in order to try its effect. After
the lapse of about three minutes, he felt a sensa-
tion of constriction at the base of the neck, then
violent singing in the ear, while his forehead be-
came covered with abundant perspiration. He
then was seized with uncontrolable fits of yawn-
ing, and remained senseless for several minutes ;
his head fell back, his lower jaw sank down pow-
erless, he became extremely pale, and for two
minutes his pulse was silent. The homoeopath,
perceiving these symptoms, was terrified, think-
ing he had unconsciously committed a murder.
Stimulants, however, brought Dr. Field to con-
sciousness again, but he continued to feel a head-
ache for half an hour after, with a sensation of
pressure at the epigastrium and general weakness.
These symptoms disappeared in the course of tliat
time. It M'as evident that the substance employed
was a powerful poison, and that it had not been
sufficiently diluted ; and it turned out to be ni-
trate of oxide of glycile, a substance obtained by
treating glycerine at a low temperature with sul-
phuric of nitric acid. One drop, mixed with 99
drops of spirits of wine, constitutes the first dilu-
tion. Dr. Field was immediately struck with the
idea that he had experienced the effects of what
in a much weaker dose, must be a useful sedative
of the nervous system ; while the homiieopath was
oveijoyed at having discovered what he conceived
to be a powerful remedy for apoplexy. After va-
rious trials upon animals, Dr. Field at length re-
solved to test this new remedy on patients. He
did so first on a lady 68 years of age, who had
long been suffering from neuralgia, which re-
turned at intervals of three hours, and had resist-
ed every remedy known, such as ammonia, asa-
fcetida, chloroform, &c. The fourth part of a drop
of the above solution being administered, she was
at once relieved ; but some of the symptoms ex-
perienced by Dr. Field being felt by her also, she
discontinued the remedy, but her sufferings soon
obliged her to have recourse to it again, and she
was completely cured. It has since been tried in
cases of headache and dental neuralgia with equal
success. — Go.Ugnani's Messenger.

ROTATION OF CROPS.

There seems to be a feeling more or less prev-
alent among farmers, even among the readers of
agricultural papers, that those who write upon
"Rotation of Crops," "Improved Stock," "Drain-
age," "Manufacturing Manures," "System in
Farming," and similar topics, belong generally to
that class known as "fancy farmers," or as "city
folks who farm for amusement, without regard to
the cost." We propose, therefore, to vacate the
editorial chair for the time being, and allow an
individual of the "practical" class, one who "has
made a fortune at farming, or a considerable por-
tion of one, and who has the ability to tell how it
was done," to use our editorial pen. He insists
on using the big "I," but as he is a Scotchman,
and promises to introduce himself, this little bit
of independence will be excused. It may be prop-
er for us to say that he comes to us with recom-
mendations from the Secretary of the Canadian
Board of Agriculture. It will be noticed that our
favorite crop, Indian corn, has no place in the ro-
tation of our Canadian friends. Its introduction,
or any other improvement on his system, we leave
to the good judgment of each one of our readers ;
believing that some will be glad to know how a
poor man has improved a poor farm, and made
money by the process.

INTRODUCTORY.

I cam^e to the country thirty years ago, and
burdened with a debt of .'^200 ; I leased a worn-
out farm in Lower Canada of eighty-four acres, in
the midst of a French population, and at an an-
nual rent of $225. Well, in the space of 21 years,
I have paid my original debt, and saved enough
to enable me to purchase in the neighborhood a
much better farm than the one I rented. The
owner of the farm which I bought, was going on
every year from bad to worse, until he was forced
to sell it, whilst I, the tenant of a less productive
farm, and paying rent all the while, was enabled
to buy him out, as just said. What was the rea-
son of this anomaly ? The Canadian was strong-
er than I was, had equally good health, and no
rent to pay. The reason was that he had no sys-
tem ; he let his land become exhausted and full
of weeds ; he let his stock starve ; he wasted his
manure, the gold of the farmer, and let everything
go on to ruin for want of method ; but when I
had got hold of this same farm, and had applied
the system which I am about to describe, the
whole was brought gradually, field by field, into
good condition by the end of six years ; since
then, the condition of the land has steadily im-
proved, and that by resources drawn wholly from
within itself The system to which I allude is
knov/n to all good farmers everywhere as the ba-
sis of all improvement : I mean that of

A ROTATION OF CROPS.

There are two sorts of reasons in favor of a ro-
tation of crops.

1st. Because different plants draw from the
soil different sorts of food, so that one plant will

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

519

grow freely a in soil which is worn out as regards
another.

2d. Because the crops being various, the occa-
sional failure of one is not so much felt, seeing
thit the others furnish subsistence sufficiently
without it.

lu the beginning of the application of this sys-
tem, divide the arable portion of the farm, of
whatever size, into six parts or fields. Apportion
the crops as follows :

1st. Root crops, such as potatoes, carrots, beets,
parsnips, &c., (tui.-nips and also flax,) and in cases
Avhcre the land is not sufficiently open for a crop
of this kind, the field must be left in fallow.

2d. Crop of wheat or barley, (seeded with
grass.)

3d. Crop of hay.

4th. Pasture.

5th. Pasture.

6th. Crop of oats or peas.

That field of the series which is in best condi-
tion for a root crop, should be called field A.

The best for wheat or barley, B.

That which is actually in hay, C.

The pasture fields, 1) and E.

That which is best for oats or peas, F.

Each field for the first year ought to be appro-
priated to the crops above mentioned, and after
the fashion now in use among farmers, except in
the case of field A. By this plan, they will at all
events still get as much from their five fields as
they get at present.

In order to render the thing more simple and
easy of comprehension, I shall suppose myself to
be again ol)liged to take a worn-out farm in the
autumn of 1849. The first thing that 1 should do,
would be to divide the land into six fields, by
proper fences, with communication from the barn-
yard to each fi^ld, and from one field to another,
and I would then take for field A, that which ap-
peared best for green crops or roots : I would
collect all the manure which I could find in or out
of the barns, I would take up the flooring of the
cow-house, stable and piggery, and I would take
out as much of the soil underneath as I could get
for this soil is the essence of manure, one load of
it being as good as four or five loads of common
dung. The portion thus removed ought to be re-
placed by an equal quantity of ordinary soil, or, if
it be ])ossible, of bog earth, whicli might be re-
moved when necessary afterwards.

The dung and other manure thus collected,
should be placed on the field A, in September or
the beginning of October, spread with care, (as
far as it will go,) and covered up in a shallow fur-
row.

In spring, all the manure made during the past
winter should be carted to the field, placed in a
heap, and twice turned. All bones should be
gathered and broken up with a hammer, all coal
and Tv'ood ashes, scrapings of sewers, the dung
from the fowl house, and the contents of the privy,
should be collected and made into a compost, with
dry loam or bog earth. This manure may be used
for that portion of the field devoted to cabbages,
potatoes and turnips.

Manures are of the first importance to the far-
mer, and he must do everything in his power to
increase their amount. The system here pro-
posed is calculated so as to increase the quantity
of manure in proportion as the soil becomes im-

proved. The farmer ought not to sell a particle
of his hay or straw, because these are the princi-
pal materials for manure ; and, consequently, it
is infinitely worse to sell the manure itself. The
manure thus economized, will suffice each year for
the field which is to receive the root crop, (No. 1.)
The greater variety there is in the crops of this
field, the better it will be, provided the soil is
suitable for them. Thus, this field ought, as near-
ly as possible, to look like a kitchen gavden.

SUCCEEDING CROPS.
I have done all that I can for field A. I have
weeded and manured it as well as I can : and af-
ter having taken the crop of roots, &c., this year,
and the crop of wheat or barley next year, I leave
this field to rest until the other fields have been
improved in the same Avay. In the following year,
the cultivation of the diff;n'ent crops will be ac-
cording to the following order :

Crop No. 2, (wheat or barley,) in the field A,
Crop No. 3, (hay,) in the field B,
Crop No. 4, (pasture,) in the field C,
Crop No. 0, (pasture,) in the field 1),
Crop No. 6, (oats or peas,) in the field E,
Crop No. 1, (green or hoed crops,) in field F,
and so on, changing each year until the seventh,
Avhen crop No. 1 will come back to field A, and
the whole will then be in a good state of fertility,
and free from weeds.

The above system has been proved to be capa-
ble of restoring old land, and extirpating all
weeds. It is economical, and does not require
more capital than the actual system, or rather
than the present absence of system, requires. It
will restore fertility to the soil, and maintain it
by the products of the land itself. Manures got
from other quarters than the farm itself, are al-
ways expensive, and, at a distance from town, are
often not to be had at all. It is simple and easy
of application.

It may be said that six years is a long time to
wait for the renovation of the whole farm ; but I
will reply that I know of no other means by which
it may be done in less time, from its own resour-
ces ; and it is worthy of observation that the
land is improving every year. The produce is
larger, even for the first year under this system,
than it is under the present mode of culture ; and
from year to year, the land is improving, field by
field, and is producing more and more, so as to
pay the former better than it does at present, and
to recompense him doubly afterwards, when the
whole shall have been improved under a system
of rotation.''

TREE PIiAWTING.

"Have you never heard of the student, who,
ou being told that the crow would sometimes live
a hundred years, bought a young crow to try the
.experiment ?" Yes, indeed, we have hvara ot him
— the irony is excellent — and of Dr. Johnson's
growl about "the frightful interval between the
seed and the timber." Still, we say, plant trees.
They who plant at once, instead of wasting their
breath in selfish complaints of the shortness of
life, find luxuriant foliage waving over them
much sooner than they expected. But, whether
you live to see the maturity of your trees or not,
be benevolent enough to plant for posterity.
Transriiit to your children the inheritance of ru-

520

NEW ENGLAND FAllMER.

Nov.

ral beauty received from your fathers, greatly aug-
mented. By all means plant, and plant well, and
the result will overpay the labor. And let not
your work end with planting. Feed your trees
from year to year witifi generous food, and guard
them from injury. And, in the words (slightly
altered) of an old planter : "What joy may you
have in seeing the success of your labors while
you live, and in leaving behind you, to your heirs
or successors, a work that, many years after your
death, shall record your love to your country !
And the rather, when you consider to what length
of time your work is like to last." If you have
country homes to embellish, be content with sim-
plicity. Remember that a great establishment is
a great care, and that the proprietor is apt to be-
come a slave to it. Lot your dwelling-places be
marked with what painters call "repose." Make
them the abodes of comfort and refined enjoy-
ment, places which will always afford you agreea-
ble occupation, but not oppress you with care. —
North American Review.

EXTRACTS AND REPLIES,

WHITE AND EED GRAPES.

Mk. Fay : — I send you a few of each kind of gi-apes,
in order that, you may know what those vines I sent
you this spring will produce when they come to bear-
ing, and that you may reject tlicm at once if you do
not like them. If you do think them worthy, as com-
pared with other grapes, I should be pleased ; and if
you please, you may invite the editor of the Farmer,
to look at them.

The top layer is tlie red grapes, the bottom the
white ; the white vine had but very few on it this year.

Foxboro', Sept. 25, 1860. L. E,. Hewins.

Remauks. — The above note was sent by Mr. Hew-
ins to Mr. Fay, to whom Mr. H. had sent some grape
vines. Mr. Fay has kindly brought us some of the
gi'apes spoken of, and we have tasted and compai-ed
them with some other varieties now quite common in
eveiy part of the State. The reader, we believe, will
understand our position with regard to the cultivation
of fruits — it is this : — Never to encourage the cultivation
of fruit of any kind, unless it is of the first character.
It requires no more room, or care, to cultivate a good
grape than to cultivate a poor one, and when the fruit
is produced there is this difference — the good fruit is
pleasant to the palate, nutritious, and affords a real
pleasure in presenting to friends, or pocketing its prof-
its in the market, — while the poor or indifferent fruit
gives no pleasure to the taste, mind or pocket, and one
is all the worse for eating it. If our friend Hewins
could eat a grape now hanging in beautiful purple
chisters on fifty farms in the town of Concord, and
nearly every other town in the State, he would find no
hard core remaining upon the tongue, and a sharp
acid coming from it when pressed too closely, but a
soft, juicy, aromatic flesh, dissolving in the mouth
readily, and invigorating the whole system. We can-
not judge of fruits singly — the test is in comparison.
We do not think the grape sent us ought to be culti-
vated. Just as well to have a better one.

squashing OtTT.

At the fine display of fruits and vegetables in this
place the present week, I noticed four squashes weigh-
ing 338 ll)s. on one vine, that grew in the garden of Mr.
W. T. Dole. The seed that produced these was taken
from the squash grown hy Mr. Porter the last season,
that weighed 164 lbs. There were also 29 squashes of

the marrow variety, weighing 395 lbs., varying from
12 to 20 lbs. each, in appearance of superior quality.
The general aspect of the show was equal to anything
of the kind I have ever seen, and was so pronounced
by disinterested observers. p.

South Danvers, Sept. 26, 1860.

■WOOD MATTRESSES — IRON GRIST MILL.

In your issue of Sept 8, nnder the head of "Mat-
tresses filled with wood," you say, "one of the Yankee
inventions of the past year is a machine for making
curled hair for mattress-fiUingout of wood." Can you
give me the inventor's address or the venders, or let
me know where it can be seen in operation, or give
nie any information in relation to it ?

I saw on exhibition in Quincy Hall, a few days since,
a recently-patented iron grist-mill ; but there was no
one in charge of it to answer questions, neither is it
noticed in the "Journal and Catalogue." I hope this
will meet the eye of the inventor or agent, and induce
him to advertise it in the columns of your widely cir-
culated and useful paper. Lowell,

Remarks. — The article about mattresses was a
"waif" which we found in an exchange. It interested
us, and it appears did others — but we know notliing
personally of it.

The iron grist mill attracted our attention in the
Fair. It is called "The Union Portable Feed and
Flour Mill," E. J. Hyde, Proprietor, Boston.

GRAPES.

Mr. John Cook, of Sandwich, Carroll count}', N. H.,
has this j^ear raised grapes, measuring three and one-
fourth inches in circumference. The scion upon which
they grew was obtained from Lowell, Mass., from the
vintage of D. Carter, Esq. They are of the Mammoth
Globe Seedling. j. p. s.

SPRING WHEAT — A GOOD CROP.

Mr. Alpheus Bachelder, of this town, raised, the
present season, a field of four acres of spring wheat,
which yielded thirty-two bushels to the acre.

The soil is a clay loam, and descends slightly to the
south-west. Mr. Bachelder purchased the land a few
years since, at forty dollars per acre, which was
thought by some a large price.

CaHing the thirty-two Inishels $1,50 per bushel, and
the straw $4 per acre, the crop amounts to $52 per
acre, a very good return for one year.

Spring wheat is mostly raised here in this vicmity,
and considered a much safer crop than winter wheat.

Springfield, Vt., Oct. 1, 1860. J. R. Walker,

GEOW'TH OF COLTS.

I would like to inquire through the columns of the
Farmer if there is any correct way of knowing, by
measuring the limbs or otherwise of a colt three or
four months old, how large it will be when it is fully
grown, and at what age, with proper treatment, it will
reach its full size ? A Farmer.

Andover, N. H., Sept., 1860.

a diseased ox.

I have an ox that has not chewed his cud for the
last eight weeks, but eats as well as ever. When I
work him he lows and makes a gurgling noise. I have
tried various remedies that my iieiiv!il)ors have pre-
scril)ed, but to no good ))!i,|.^su. If you, or any of
your readers, will inform me what to do, they will
confer a favor. A Subscriber.

Warren, Sept. 26, 1860.

A Bartlett Pear. — The finest specimen we
have seen this year, is from the garden of Wm.
C. Brown, Esq., of Chelsea, and the product of a
good sized tree set only two years ago. This
shows what large and fine trees will do when
properly transplanted and tended.

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

521

AGKICULTURAIj bxhibitiows.

September brought the great agricultural festi-
vals of the farmer, which have got to be almost as
much of an institution as the Fourth of July or
Thanksgiving. That they have been the means
of calling attention to the great Art, and of decid-
ed improvements and better modes of husbandry,
cannot be doubted ; and that they have intro-
duced some objectionable features not contem-
plated by the laws encouraging them, or by those
persons who were principally instrumental in es-
tablishing them, is to our mind equally clear. The
tendency is, we notice, in each returning year, to
depart more and more from the original purposes
of their foundation, and fall into practices essen-
tially opposite to those upon which they were
started. The farmer himself is gradually losing
his hold and control of them, and there are symp-
toms everywhere that elements of discord are al-
ready introduced that will finally destroy their
usefulness. In the light of these circumstances,
■we cannot help entertaining the question, at least,
whether the bounty of the State has not been con-
tinued quite as long as is profitable to the cause,
in the direction in which it is 7iow applied 7 There
are other modes of application which have been
put in operation in other places, and which have
not failed materially to promote the cause. We
will not designate those modes at present, but at
some future time, when the hurry and bustle of
the present has passed away, may suggest some
of them for the consideration of those who are
leading in these matters.

Our purpose now is to make record of the fact
that certain societies have held their usual exhi-
bition, and to notice, briefly, such leading {x)ints
as seem to us essential.

We commence with the Show of the United
States Agricidtural Society, From the accounts
■we have seen and heard, we should judge that if
it was not a failure in one respect, it was in an-
other— that is, that it failed to be conducted with
harmony, and gave satisfaction to none. Twenty-
seven thousand dollars, it appears, were appro-
priated in making preparations and paying pre-
miums, and persons employed. The expenditure
of such a sum ought to secure obvious and per-
manent good results. That it has done any such
thing we have yet to learn.

Nearer home, on Wednesday, Sept. 26, the first
annual Show of the Bristol County Agricidfural
Society commenced at Myrick's Station, and con-
tinued two days. There was the usual display of
farm products. About a thousand persons sat
down to the dinner table, which was a capital fea-
ture of the occasion. Speeches of an entertain-
ing character were made by Charles T. Russell,
of Cambridge, Rev. Mr. Brigham, of Taunton,
Hon. Thomas D. Elliott, of New Bedford, and

others. The officers chosen for the ensuing year
are : President — Dr. Nathan Durfee, of Fall
River ; Vice Presidents — J. D. Thompson, of
New Bedford and Laban McWheaton, of Noi-lon
Recording and Corresponding Secretary — Robert
Adams, of Fall River : Treasurer — S. A. Drew,
of East Taunton ; Auditor — Charles P. Robinson,
of Raynham ; Chairman of the Board of Direc-
tors— John M. Howland, of New Bedford.

The Eingham Agricultural and Horticultural
Exhibition took place Sept. 22 and 23, and we
learn was a fine exhibition in every respect. The
people generally took a great interest in it, and
attended it in large numbers.

The Essex County Show took place at South
Danvers, Sept. 26th and 27th. The display of
live stock, fruits, &c., was large, as usual. The
address Avas given by Prof. Russell, of Salem.
He said "the Frenchman who deplored his want
of means to enable him to make a foreign tour
turned his attention to his garden, and there dis-
covered wonders he had not before dreamed of.
These wonderful discoveries were in the reach of
every farmer. Agriculture could be pursued as
an art, and it was a matter much to be regretted
that so many farmers, in their cultivation of the-
soil, in their general arrangements about theis-
fields, and buildings, and in their social relations,^
exhibited the marks of an age that ought to have ■
passed away. They were full of wise saws and
signs, but took no note of the signs of the times.
The barbarous ages of agriculture still lived, and
the best condition we saw was but a development
of that culture. To the nomadic tribes, of this
continent were we indebted for corn, pumpkins,
beans and sweet potatoes.

But as an art agriculture becomes a branch of
national industry, and has relations with national
prosperity. The poorest farm in Essex county
ought to borrow some of the advantages of the
improved cultivation of the day. A well laid out
and carefully cultivated garden ranked among the
highest products of artistic skill. The first set-
tler in a new country finds the trees usurping the
soil. They must be removed to let in the sun-
light, but before the circle is completed he is
again found restoring trees in the places of the
primitive giants.

Obstacles to good agriculture were found inlh'^
too prevalent idea that the cultivation of the soil
was not the most honoralole occupation, and from
an idea that scientific farming was too expensive.
He thought agriculture ought to be taught to those
who are to teach again. At the base of agricul-
ture lay chemistry and botany. There was no
science so elegant, so refined, and so suited to the
youthful taste, as the study of the vegetable king-
dom. Even the weeds that clustered about the
school-house, and looked in so lovingly, were ob-.

522

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

Nov.

jects of interest, and seemed to covet the knowl-
edge denied to them by their organization. Would
it not be as well for a boy to study the wood that
is consumed in the school-house stove as to learn
unpronounceable names of foreign countries? If
men would have their sons settle near the family
hearth, let them make the farm attractive. Adorn
your dwelling with flowers, and encourage your
children to cultivate them. Do not laugh at the
boyish or girlish love of a flower in a cracked tea-
pot. Labor was relieved of half its toil when
smiled upon by the elegancies of life ; and the
kindest hearts were those of people who cultivat-
ed the tulip, where more practical persons would
have had a potato patch."

The officers elected for the ensuing year, were,
President — Allen W. Dodge. Trustees — Horace
Ware, Marblehead ; E. S. Williams, Newbury-
port ; P. 0. Hatch, Hamilton ; G. B. Loring, Sa-
lem ; Richmond Dole, Georgetown ; John B. Jen-
kins, Andover ; Robert Brookhouse, Jr., Salem ;
J. Newhall, Lynnfield ; J. M. Ives, Salem ; Paul
Titcomb, Newbury.

The Society voted to instruct the Trustees to
take into consideration the expediency of holding
their exhibition in future at the Society's farm in
Topsfield. The Society numbers about 1000 mem-
bers, has funds amounting to $10,000, a farm in
Topsfield— the gift of the late Dr. J. G. Tread-
well, valued at $6000 — and a library valued at
about $1500.

The Waltham Agricultural Library Association
held their third exhibition Sept. 26th, continued
three days, showing considerable progress in the
products of the earth, and that the citizens of that
beautiful town are energetic and intelligent.

The Merrimack County, N. H., Agricultural
Fair was holden Sept. 27th, at Concord. The ex-
hibition was a fine one. Address by Eli Thayer,
of Worcester.

The Franklin County Fair, at Greenfield, went
without its usual second day, its cattle, its ad-
dress, its dinner, its speeches, and yet was very
successful, interesting and profitable. There was
a fine display of sheep, especially.

The Housatonic Cattle Show and Fair was
holden at Great Barrington. One novel feature
of the Show was the exhibition of a new patent
telegraph instrument, working inside the hall.
The address was by Stephen E. Burrall, of New
York.

The Carroll County Agricultural Fair took
place at Sandwich, N. H., and is reported to have
been a good and successful show.

The Annual Exhibition of the Maine State Ag-
ricultural Society was holden at Portland. This
was their sixth exhibition, and has been a suc-
cessful one. Every department of the farm, we
leai'n, was well represented.

The working cattle, from their various breeds,
made a fine display, and showed to advantage the
various excellencies they possess. To mark the
improvement which a few years have brought
about in the size of cattle, one has but to look at
the beef creatures now, and call to mind what they
were before cattle shows prevailed. Time was,
and that not so very long ago, when, if a butch-
er slaughtered a creature which, when dressed,
weighed a thousand pounds, he made a great ado
about it, and told all his neighbors. Now the
butcher looks for 1500 or 1600 pounds to the crea-
ture, and generally gets it. This fact speaks de-
cisively concerning the improvement that has been
made in meat culture. It is a practical fact which
all can understand. Agricultural exhibitions have
created this fact.

The Eighth Exhibition of the Worcester North
Society was holden in Fitchburg, Sept. 25th. No
premiums were offered for neat stock. The ad-
dress was by Dr. George B. Loring, of Salem.
Subject — "The Social and Civil Condition of
Farmers." The Society and others dined at the
Fitchburg Hotel.

AMEKICAI3" GUANO.

Extracts of letters and reports of Baron Von
Liebig, President of the Ptoyal Academy of Sci-
ences, and Professor of Chemistry at Munich, up-
on the American guano from Baker's and Jarvis
Islands, forwarded to John B. Sardy, as agent for
Wm. H. Webb, In- James R. Mac Donald, Esq.,
United States Consul at Hamburg. Under date
of Aug. nth, 1860, Mr. Mac Donald writes:

"Enclosed I send you a letter of much impor-
tance, containing a report from Baron Von Lie-
big, Avhich leaves nothing to be desired. Prof.
Liebig, after reporting the analysis of the Guano in
the most scientific manner, (and by various tests,)
states 'that there are no analyses made on order
in the chemical laboratory of the Royal Academy,
and that I take charge of this examination by ex-
ception, not to gain something by it, but as I felt
a great interest in the matter, * * * and I have
spent two months' labor in the matter. * * *
The Baker's Island guano contains more phos-
])horic acid than any other known fertilizer ; and
it is similar in its ingredients to natural phospho-
rite, differing from it, however, in the following
remarkable particulars : Phosj^horite is in a crys-
talized state, and is completely insoluble in wa-
ter. The Baker's Island guano, on the contrary,
is amorphous, is soluble to a considerable extent
in pure water, and when moistened, colors litmus
paper red. The Jarvis Island guano has also an
acid reaction, and is partly soluble in water. It
is worthy of remark, that the Jarvis guano, al-
though only half as rich in earthy phosphates as
the Baker's, gives to water a greater quantity of
soluble phosphoric acid. I regard the discovery
of these guano deposits as a most fortunate event
for agriculture. At the present time the prices
of fertilizers like bones are now continually on
the increase, and soon tlie agriculturist will not
be able to procure, at paying rates, an amount

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

523

sufficient for his wants. Baker's Island guano,
being of all fei'tilizers the richest in phosphoric
acid, will be of especial importance. As far as
chemistry can judge, there is hardly room for a
doul)t that in all cases where the fertility of a field
would be increased by the use of bone dust, the
Baker's Island guano will be used with decided
advantage. The phosphate of lime in the Baker's
Island guano is far more easily dissolved than
that of bones, and if we take the proportion of
that ingredient to be sixty pounds in the latter,
one hundred pounds in the Baker's Island guano
are equivalent to one hundred and forty pounds ot
bones. Thus the agriculturist would be benefited
as much by using seventy pounds of Baker's
Island guano as by one hundred pounds of bone
dust. This guano contains in ammonia, nitric
acid and azotic substances, nearly one per cent.
of active nitrogen. A small addition of salt ot
ammonia would give it the full strength of Peru-
vian guano.

" 'For turnips, clover, &c., the Jarvis Island
guano is just as good as the Baker's. Judging
simply from its per centage of phosphates, it is of
less value as an article of importation ; but it is
rich in sulphate of lime, which is also a fertilizer,
and its phosphoric acid is of higher value, as
nearly half of it exists in soluble phosphate ot
lime. The Jarvis Island guano would seem to be
an excellent means of restoring cotton or sugar
plantations whose soil has been worn out by long-
continued cultivation. I think it is preferable to
Peruvian guano, which, being rich in ammonia,
tends rather to great development of leaves and
stems.' " — N. Y. Journal of Commerce.

A PLEA FOB, THS CROW".

A series of articles on birds, in the Atlantic
Monthly, understood to be from the pen of Wil-
son Flagg, of Beverly, Mass., has given that work
a considerable reputation, in an ornithological
point of view. In a recent number, the author
speaks a good word for the crow, and we hope all
our readers will read the following extract, and
then judge as to the truth of the statement :

"He consumes, in the course of the year, vast
quantities of grubs, Avorms and noxious vermin ;
he is a valuable scavenger, and clears the land of
ofi'ensive masses of decaying animal substances ;
he hunts the grass fields, and pulls out and de-
vours the underground caterpillars, wherever he
perceives the signs of their operations, as evinced
by the wilted stalks ; he destroys mice, young rats,
lizards and serpents ; lastly, he is a volunteer sen-
tinel about the farm, and drives the hawk from its
enclosures, thus preventing greater mischief than
that of which he is himself guilty. It is chiefly
during seed-time and harvest that the depreda-
tions of the crow are committed ; during the re-
mainder of the year we witness only his services,
and so highly are these services appreciated by
those who have written of birds, that I cannot
name an ornithologist who does not plead in its
behalf."

Galvanizing Silk Worms. — Silk worms re-
quire as much persuasion to induce them to work
as the laziest negroes. M. Sauvageon reports to
the Academy his experience in the matter. Find-

ing the little things torpid and unwilling to work,
the idea struck him to stir them up by electricity.
The results, as he gives them, are really marvel-
lous. He took fifty-three worms at random from
among thousands belonging to a neighbor, put
them every day on a sheet-iron plate through
which a current of electricity was passed, kept
them each time as long as they could stand it, and
now has fifty-three beautiful cocoons, an amount
which his neighbors will not obtain, to all appear-
ances, from several thousand ungalvanized worms.
If these results may be relied on, he has made a
very valuable discovery.

For the New England Farmer.
SHINGLING.

Mr. Editor : — A correspondent in the Farmer
asks, "What will make shingles last longer ?"
Twenty-three years ago I found I had quite a lot
of refuse shingles on liand, both sappy and shakey,
and I laid them on the back kitchen and wood-
shed.

I have just examined them, and think they will
last at least seven years longer. The building
has not leaked, to my knowledge.

I soaked these shingles in a very thin white-
wash made with brine instead of clear water.
There has been nothing done to them since, al-
though I have no doubt that to have whitewashed,
or served a coat of dry-slaked lime or fine salt
once in two or three years on them, would have
been of great advantage to them.

As I shingle dilTerently from almost any one
else, I will give you my method, and my reasons
for it.

However wide the shingles may be, I do not
allow the nails to be put more than two inches
apart.

Bcason. — If your shingles are wet or green,
and the wide ones are nailed at the edges, the
shingle must split, or one of the nails must di'aw
Avhen the shingle shrinks. If the shingle is dry
it must huff" or crowd the nail out when it swells.
Thus your nails are kept in constant motion by
every shrink or swell of the shingle, till they are
broken, pulled out, or the shingle is split.

I do not want the nails drove quite in, or so as
to sink the head.

Reason. — The heads of the nails hold up the
butts of the next row of shingles, and give the air
a free circulation.

I lay all my shingles in whitewash. I prefer
brine for making it. I line with red chalk. I
then whitewash the last course laid down to the
line, and after the building is shingled I white-
wash the whole of the roof.

Reason. — To make the shingle last twice as
long as they would without the whitewash, and
I consider it much better than just whiteAvashing
the roof after shingling.

Carpenters often object to shingling in this
way, as it is rather dirty work, and declare they
know it does not do any good — that it is just as
good to whitewash nfter shingling, &c.

Eollis, Sept. 29, 1860. Ed. Emerson.

Remarks. — Capital. A common practice of
these suggestions would probably save thousands
of dollars in time, lumber and nails, annually.

524

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

Nov.

EGYPTIAN COH.N".

Some time in May last, Mr. M. E. Crandall, of
Illinois, advertised what he termed Egyptian
corn, in the columns of the Farmer, stating that
"upon trial last year it was found to ripen, plant-
ed even the first of July. It is estimated, from
its very prolific qualities, to yield 200 bushels per
acre, and weighs by sealed measure, 65 pounds to
the bushel. This corn was produced from some
procured direct from Mr. Jones, our Consular
Agent, directly on his return from Egypt. It re-
quires no different culture from that of other va-
rieties, and in the South two crops can be raised
in one season on the same ground. It grows in
the form of a tree, and twenty-two ears have
grown upon one stalk, and will average from five
to fifteen. For domestic use it is unparalleled.
When ground and properly bolted, it is equal in
color and fineness to Avhcaten flour. As a forage
crop, by sowing in drills or broadcast, for early
feed, there is no kind of corn so well adapted to
milch cows, and none that will yield half the val-
ue in stalks or corn."

His proposition was, that to any person who
would enclose to him one dollar, in stamps or
currency, he would send, postage paid, sufficient
corn to produce enough to plant, the following
year, from twenty to thirty acres, together with
the directions for planting and cultivation.

Some of our readers acceded to his proposition,
and purchased the corn and planted it. One of
them, Mr. Abraham B. Davis, of Palmer, this
State, has brought us a sample of the corn,
stalks and all, taken up by the roots. He states
that he planted it on the 28th of May, in a very
favorable place, where the soil was rich, and hav-
ing the advantage of wash from the cow-yard.
The sample before us is about seven feet high,
and has four upright shoots, all having sprung,
undoubtedly, from one kernel of the corn. Three
of these shoots are quite slender, the fourth being
stouter, but not so large as the stalks of our
common twelve-rowed corn.

On these four stems there were five ears of
corn, each about six inches long, not filled out at
the top, not ripe, and the kernels about the size
of the small, eight-rowed Canada corn. There
were beside these, eighteen ears set and silked
out, but no corn on more than half of them ! The
stalks had an abundance of leaves, and we should
think would make a good article for fodder, either
green or dried.

We refer to this matter to show the results of
one experiment with the Egyptian corn, and to
ask our friends who "enclosed one dollar in
stamps or currency," to Mr. Crandall, and who
have grown the Egyptian corn, to inform us
what success has attended the experiment.

TO HATTIE:

THE BELOVED AND DEVOTED DAUGHTER OF THE LATE A. P.,
DEERFIELD, MASS., U. S. A.

"T/ze Farmer of the Valley; the Man of Pleasant Cheer;
Who iceathereci all the storms of lifj thro' many a passing year ."'

Brown Autumn leaves and golden sheaves

Proclaim the harvest home ;
They seem to say, "With us away,

The spirit land to roam."
'Twas Autumn's boast, a thronging host

Had joined her gorgeous train ;
He waved his hand, — "Your gathered band

May pass, but I remain !"

Winter comes soon, with glittering moon,

And radiant stars of night ;
The sky abounds with sparkling crowns.

And spangled robes of liijht ;
The mighty slain which swell her train

A valiant heart might fear ;
But her cold hand could not command

"The Man of Pleasant Cheer."

Next, beauteous Spring, on Earth doth fling

Her robe of living green ;
Her dews and rain refresh the plain.

And raise to life the s:'ene.
"For one more strife I'll cherish life.

And battle once again ;
For loved ones near, and souls most dear,

I go not in her train."

Last, Summer came, with fragrant fame,

Array'd in blooming flowers :
And balmy June, with rich perfume.

Reviving long passed hours :
In bright array, she passed that way

With her attendant band :
"Welcome !" he said, then, bowed his head,

And soar'd to the Spirit Land.

No mortal sight can trace his flight:

Up mounts the deathless train.
As morning light upsprings from night

O'er hills of waving grain I
Midst shady trees at evening breeze

The Guardian Spirits say,
"Yon happy band to the Spirit Land

"Have passed through the Milky Way !"

Angels of might, with rapid flight,

Descend to Join the throng;
With music sweet, the soul they greet,

Of liira they loved so long.
On sportive wing, let wild birds sing

In joyous notes and clear,
Ani every June their songs attune

To "The Man of Pleasant Cheer!"
London, Nov., 1859. j. e. p.

For the New England Farmer.

SOIL FOB GKAPE?— BARREN GRAPE
FLOWERS.

I find in the Farmer several questions ad-
dressed to me by "W. D.," of Leominster.

First. If it is desirable to trench a strong,
heavy soil two feet deep for grapes ? I do not
consider such a soil suitable for grape culture.
As a general rule, the stronger and heavier the
soil, the greater the necessity of deep trenching
and draining.

Second. I do not lay down my vines in the
winter — but if desirable, those trained to stakes
are as easily laid down as from any other mode
of training.

Third. At the time I wrote the article referred

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

525

to, I had not had much experience with the Del-
aware. As a table grape, I place it at the head
of our native grapes.

Mr. Tyler, of Brattleboro', in speaking of my
illustration of the imperfect grape blossom asks :
— Is it ascertained that the impression of these
barren Jloioers is radical and perpetual, or is it a
residt of immaturity , lohich time will remove ?

I do not hesitate to say that neither time nor
culture will remove the defect. I know of no in-
stance, either in the animal or vegetable king-
dom, where so glaring a constitutional defect has
been cured.

Neither have I any confidence in vines that
blossom five or ten years without showing fruit,
and then suddenly become fruitful.

E. A. Brackett.

Winchester, Sept. 24, 1860.

AUTUMNAL SHCWS.

At the close of the late Merrimack County, N.
H., Fair, the following list of officers was chosen
for the ensuing year :

President — Moses Humphrey, of Concord.

Vice President — Nathaniel White, of Concord.

Secretary — Jonathan E. Lang, of Concord.

Treasurer— Enoch. Jackson, of East Concord.

Directors — John C. Gage, of Fisherville, Aaron
Whittemore, of Pembroke, Emery B. Bachelder,
of Loudon, Moses H. Bradley, of Concord, and
Daniel E. Colby, of New London.

The Cheshire Society^s Exhibition was held at
Keene, Sept. 25 and 26. It had a balloon and
"trotting for the citizen's purse." There were 500
entries on the books. Neat Cattle, 183 ; Horses,
89 ; Sheep, 37 ; Swine, 14 ; Poultry, 8—28 spec-
imens ; Products of Dairy, 4 ; Manufactures, 48 ;
Miscellaneous, 152 ; Fruit, 23 entries, compris-
ing 348 varieties ; Vegetables, 7. There were 10
entries for the walking matches ; 9 for the trot-
ting matches ; 4 for plowing with horses ; 6 for
plowing with oxen.

The eleventh annual Fair of the New Hamp-
shire State Agricultural Society took place on
Tuesday, Oct. 2, and was continued three days.
About 100 horses were entered ; in a quite full
account in the Journal of Agricidture, the report-
er says of neat stock, — "we do not think there is
so large a cattle show as there has been in pre-
vious years." Sixteen sheep, about a dozen en-
tries of swine, and "but a few feathered animals
■were on the ground." Let us see how this looks
analyzed and printed, thus: —
Horses, — 100 — Stallions.

Matched Horses.
Working Horses.
Family Horses.
Mares and Foals.
Geldings and Mares.
Colts.
Horsemanship.

Chief Marshal and some fourteen assistants, all
mounted ^nd uniformed with the tasty blue and
red sash and rosette, first rode around the track
for about one hour, when the track was cleared
and the horses entered to

Trot for the Citizen's Purse.

Ladies' Equestrianism.

Ladies Driving in Carriages.

Family Carriage Horses.

Steam Fire Engines.

Base Ball.

Lady Thrown.

The Great Trot

Pacing.

Walking Horses.

Foot Race.

Stallion Trot.
As this is the eleventh Annual Fair of the
State Agricidtural Society, and as the farmers of
the State are supposed to be the agriculturists, let
us see what they presented to make up an inter-
esting and profitable attraction. Some of the
horses belonged to them, undoubtedly — but prob-
ably more of them to those who are not farmers.
Neat Stock not much — "We shall notice this
department more fully hereafter, when we have
more room and time," says the reporter. The
reader has noticed that something has been said
about horses !

Sheep, — One Buck.

Two superior Sheep.
Sixteen of superior Breeds
Swine, — About a dozen entries.
Articles in the Tent, where the "display of
fruitand vegetables exceeded that of any previous
year," and "the mechanical and agricultural im-
plements looked finely."

Plowing Match — Two entries of horse teams,
and four to plow with oxen !

Such is an analysis of the Eleventh Annual
Fair of the New Hampshire State AgricuUurcd
Society, which will enable the reader to see how
much of the matter was agricultural, and how
much something else. We do not refer to this
society as being singular, but only as falling in
with the popular, and as we consider it, most un-
fortunate practice which has been adopted by
many similar associations. Under these delu-
sions, the management of these shows is rapidly
passing out of the control of the farmer, his pro-
ducts are dwindling down to insignificance, and
that animus, which was once impaired to the
farming community through their agency, is di-
verted to another, and a questionable direction.

We approve of display, sometimes, of public
gatherings for amusement and instruction, and
believe that, as a people, we have too fcAv holi-
days ; but when we have a farmer's fair and festi-
val, we think his mind should be directed and

526

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

Nov.

devoted to the things that pertain especially to
his occupation, and that the time should be appro-
priated to a careful examination, comparison and
criticism of the articles exhibited for his inspec-
tion. The addresses and speeches should be per-
tinent to the occasion, and all the exercises al-
lowed should also relate directly to an agricultu-
ral exhibition.

Why do not the members of the Corn Ex-
change send up a balloon at their annual meet-
ing ? Or the Directors of the Suffolk Mills get
up a foot-race on quarter-day ? Or the managers of
one of the political meetings now so common in-
troduce a "Punch and Judy" company to call away
the attention of the assembled multitude from the
matter in hand ? Any of these Avould be just as
consistent as the trotting or racing of horses,
foot-races, the display of military or engine com-
panies, or balloon ascensions on Cattle Show
day.

One of two things will happen ; the excellent
institution which it has cost so much to establish,
and which, in many cases, has received the fos-
tering care of the State, will dwindle and die
away — or the incongruous and inconsistent lep-
rous spots that have been fastened upon it must
De purged away, — they cannot long work in har-
mony. Such irrelevant matters have no claim
upon the cause of agriculture, and have no right
to embarrass its movements. We trust that in
all arrangements for the future, this holiday of
the farmer will be free from every extraneous in-
fluence. Let the cause stand upon its own mer-
its, and not saddle upon it a thousand fooleries
and vices which tend to degrade it and destroy
its usefulness.

LIEBIG'S RULE FOB INSURHSTG- THE
FERTILITY" OF ANY SOIL.

There exists a receipt for insuring the fertility
of our fields and the permanence of their crops,
and which if properly and consistently applied,
will prove more remunerative than all the ex-
pedients that have ever before been resorted to by
agriculturists. It consists in the following rule :

Every farmer who takes a sack of corn or a
hundred weight of rape, turnips, potatoes, &c., to
the town, ought, like the Chinese coolie, to carry
back with him from the town an equal (or, if pos-
sible, a larger,) quantity of the mineral constitu-
ents of the produce sold, and restore them to the
fiold from which they have been taken. He should
not despise the peel of a potato, nor a straw, but
always bear in mind that that peel may be want-
ing to form one of his potatoes, that straw to
form one of his ears of corn. The cost of carry-
ing these matters to his fields is trifling, and the
investment is as safe as a savings bank, and
highly productive withal. The fertile area of his
field will, in the course of ten years, be as it were
doubled. He will produce more corn, more flesh,
and more cheese, without having, on that account,
to bestow greater labor and time upon the culti-

vation of his land ; he will be less anxious about
his fields, and need no longer keep his mind con-
stantly on the stretch for some new, unknown,
and imaginary expedient to preserve their fertil-
ity in some other way.

All the proprietors of the soil in every great
country, (adds Liebig,) ought to form a society
for the establishment of reservoirs, where the ex-
creta of men and animals might be collected,
and converted into a portable form. Bones, soot,
ashes, leached and unleached, the blood of ani-
mals, and offal and refuse of all kinds, ought to
be collected together in these establishments, and
prepared for transport by the society's own offi-
cials.

To render the execution of a plan of this kind
possible, government and the police authorities
should take measures to insure the proper con-
struction of latrines and sewers in towns, to guard
against the waste of night soil, &c. This must, of
course, be a preliminary arrangement ; but when
once made, an annual subscription of half-a-florin
from every farmer in the land will suffice to call
into existence establishments of this kind in every
town, and there can be no doubt that these estab-
lishments would speedily become self-supporting,
if every agriculturist would only make up his
mind to act strictly upon the advice here given. —
Liebirfs Lectures.

For the New Ibtsland Farmer.

PLOWIWG OF CORNFIELDS— FALL OF
RAIN.

A writer in the Scientijic American from Ken-
tucky says, "It is a curious fact that the Yankees,
with all their ingenuity, have never learned to
plow a straight furrow, while every negro in the
South will lay off a field, however large, without
a bend of a foot in a single row. The furrows
are not only straight, but parallel, the last one in
a field in a quarter of a mile square always com-
ing out parallel with the fence. A Virginia far-
mer sixty years of age told me that he never had
a short row of corn in his corn-field in his life.
In the new States where you see crooked rows
you may know you are among people from New
England, New York and Ohio, and when the rows
are straight you will find that it is a settlement of
Southerners."

The above is a good specimen of what some
writers can say upon improved ploAving and agri-
culture in general, when they really set about it.
We have not been aware before this that there
was such a difference between our northern far-
mers and their Southern neighbors on plowing
straight or crooked furrows, and by negroes, espe-
cially. But this writer goes on to say, in sub-
stance, that he has never yet known a Yankee
farmer that had learned to plow a straight furrow.
To which I add that I have known several Yan-
kee farmers that learned that art several years
ago, and they have not forgotten it to this day,
I am aware that, with all our great plows and im-
plements of improved farming, too many crook-
ed furrows are yet seen in our plowed lands.
And if the Southern planters and their negroes
can learn us, northern farmers, to lay out straight
lands and then to plow even and straight furrows,
why, then, this is just what we want. This re-

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

527

minds me of a story told me some years ago,
about a planter giving out directions to one of his
plowmen in laying out land to plow.

"Sambo, you see that cow on the other side of
the field ?"

"Yes, massa, I seed him."

"Well, then, mark her for a stalce, and then
plow right straight to her, and the furrow will
come as true as an arrow."

"Yes, Massa, I'll jest do dat ting right off."

Sambo started his team, kept one eye on the
cow and while she stood in her tracks it was
well; but as she moved along to feed, Sambo had
to swing to keep her in his eye. Finally the cow
turned another corner, and Sambo, too, as he was
bound to plow up to her, any way. At last he
brought vip at the other side of the field. "Well,
is dat Avhat you call straight furrowing 'cross de
lot, Massa ?" The furrow he had made was much
like one of Tristam Shandy's curved lines on
blank paper.

But to return to the subject. That there is too
much guess work in laying out plowing lands, all
plowmen will acknowledge. And if our South-
ern farmers are always in the habit of laying out
their planting lands in measure, or by a tape line
measure, then with a good team plow, and plow-
man that is a workman, they can turn their fur-
rows true and straight. Again, in order to have
no short rows in a corn-field, it is necessary that
the field should be of equal length on the sides
and ends. That is to say, if the field is 60 rods
in length on the sides and 30 rods in width at the
ends, then there need be no short rows of corn.

But should the field be 30 rods in width at one
end, and only 20 rods at the other end, then here
is an angle of unequal sides, so that if the rows
of corn are marked straight each way, then the
short rows of corn must come off on the side
marked last. The short rows of corn are not of
so much consequence, provided the rows are
marked straight ; it all depends on whether the
field has equal sides or not. The plan of plowing
lands in furrows to plant corn by, in order to
make straight rows, may be all well enough for
our Southern farmers ; but I prefer to make use
of the "corn-marker" for that purpose, and this is
a simple implement which most of our farmers
make use of at the present time.

Take a white oak or hickory scantling, seasoned,
three inches square and twelve feet long, and in
this bore holes with an inch and a half augur, so
as to mark rows from two to four feet apart.
Then take some well seasoned M'hite oak timber,
split out your pins for teeth, and make them
about L5 inches in length. Fit the teeth so as to
go up through the scantling, say a half inch flush
above the top. Then take a small bit, bore through
the teeth on top and fasten them with pegs.
The teeth should be made larger in the middle,
and taper down and round off on the points. Then
take a pair of old plow-handles that are strong
and mortice into the scantling for handles ; next
take a pair of old wagon thills, and your marker
is ready for work. If your field has oblong sides,
begin to mark on the longest straight side first,
then the short rows will come off on the side that
is marked last, marking the field both ways. The
outside teeth of the m.arker must follow each on
the inside mark ; this will guage the width of the
rows correctly, so that you mark one row less

across the field, than there are teeth in the mark-
er. That there is much advantage in having the
rows of corn run straight through the field both
ways, all farmers must acknowledge. It lets the
sun shine on all sides of the corn rows alike.
And then, again, you can cultivate close to the
rows of corn without fear of tearing up the hills,
as is the case when the rows are in and out.

There is an idea abroad, I presume believed in
by many, that for years past there has been a
gradual diminution of rain-fall over the country
at large. I see that this same idea is now preva-
lent in some parts of Great Britain and that some
prizes are offered to such men and writers as will
investigate this subject, by the Scottish Meteoro-
logical Society. Now, in regard to our own coun-
try, on the subject of rain-fail, it is my opinion
when facts are brought out that no falling off
of rain has taken place in this country during the
past fifty years, or the average fall of that time ;
also, my opinion is, that the same facts with re-
gard to rain-fall in Great Britain will hold true af-
ter a fair investigation of the subject. But I will
confine my remarks on this subject, in the main,
to this country.

The arguments which the advocates of rain di-
minution make use of are various. Principal
among them are that the cutting off of timber
over the country has a tendency to diminish the
water in running streams, brooks and springs.
This causes less evaporation of moisture to rise
in the atmosphere, and so less clouds to form and
come down again in rain. This may be true to a
certain extent upon new lands, where the growth
of wood and timber has been cut off and the soil
reduced to cultivation. But still over the old sec-
tions of country the amount of surface water in
streams, taking an average of ten years together,
will remain about the same. Again, taking an
average of ten years together, there will be found
as much rain-fall over the country as there has
been in the past fifty or one hundred years. The
grand processes of nature are always at work, and
why should they not produce similar results in
every generation or decade of years, in the atmos-
phere, as well as upon the earth's surface ? But
if it is true that the fall of rain is diminishing
yearly, pray how long is it since this work of di-
minution begun, and when will it end ? And, al-
so, how long or what proportion of years will it
take to make this country as dry as the Sahara
Desert for lack of rain ? For if this doctrine is
true in theory or principle, this calamity must at
last overtake us. It is a well-known saying in re-
gard to the weather that extremes follow each
other. This, in general, is a true saying. Hence
from November, 18o3, to May, 1854, a period of
six months, more rain fell, causing greater water
floods than were ever before known in all this
section of country.

This was followed by a strong drought that set
in about the middle of July of the same year and
continued till the 10th of September, burning up
the surface soil and grass, also killing many trees
on gravel soils. Since that time there has been
no drought to speak of to injure vegetation. Al-
though for a year past springs and brooks have
been very low owing to the fact that through the
last winter and spring no long continued heavy
rains took place, and so in the spring all streams
were low and have so continued till the present

528

NEW ENGLAND FARJIER.

Nov.

time ; still there have been showers and rain
enough to keep the grass and crops in a good
growing condition ; so that on the first of August
the surface of the earth was as fresh and green as
ever, and looked as well as in June. I can call to
mind twenty-five and thirty years ago, droughts
such as have not taken place in the past fifteen
years at least. I can mention in succession the
years of 1832-33-34-3o, as being summers of
great drought and scarcity of water, especially in
the season of 183.), when the drought began in
May and continued till the next February. The
severe winter of 1835-36 set in with no water in
the swamps, so that cattle had to be watered at the
wells of which many were dry. So these droughts
are not new to this country, but are found to be
old acquaintances in all generations.

I was passing over a section of country in the east
part of this town, (Derby,) a few days ago, through
a by-road that leads into the forest, over which I
had passed before when a seven years old boy,
almost eighty-five years ago. At that time I re-
member passing a swamp of some six or eight
acres in extent, filled mostly with green flags and
large bunches of alder bushes. The flags were as
thick and as high as a man's head. This was in
the month of August, and men were at work in
the swam]i at that time cutting flags for chair-
bottoms, &c. But when I passed this swamp the
other day, what was my surprise to see the flags
all gone, probably years ago, the alder bushes
were gone, and this swamp, that was, now pre-
senting a smooth crop of clear bog grass. Proba-
bly all the improvement ever laid out was to cut
the alder bushes, and to open a ditch part way
round, which has now filled up again.

I mention this fact to show that the grand pro-
cesses of nature by washing in soil from the high
lands around have made this swamp what it is to-
day, scarcely aided by the hand of man. And this
leads me to Farmer Hews' theory of soil culture
and swamp lands. "What's the use of spending
your time to drain swamps, when, if you let 'em
alone they will drain themselves in time and save
you the trouble and expense, tew. For don't you
see that we have got more upland that's dry than
we reap. Then, again, its goin' agin natur and
Providence tew, tu drain land, and taint right
nuther. For you see if Providence had meant tew
have the land all dry he would have made it so
for us in the first place ; T say its agin natur and
the Gospel. You see agin that this swamp water
is wanted in our hot, dry summers for our cattle
to wade in and drink — and for frogs, water snakes
and mud turtles to live in and breed in ; no, it
aint right."

Yes, brother Hews, you have made a good ar-
gument for your side on drainage, quite as good as
some scientific men make for the opposite side of
the question. But, to conclude, probably no year
passes by but that some section of the country
suffers from drought. In portions of Vermont
and Maine, the present season, the farmers are
speaking of a parched soil, burnt grass lands, dry
streams, and grasshoppers. So, also, in some of
the Western States, and more especially in Texas.
Again, where the droughts continue for a series of
months and years together, the climate is more of
a tropical character, like Florida and Texas, than
that of our Northern States ; when the rain does
come, it falls in heavy bodies. Such is the charac-

ter of our summer storms and thunder showers,
principally. Finally, I let this anti-rain theory go
as I find it, believing it to be a subject which far-
mers need not trouble themselves about in grow-
ing crops, but trust this matter to Providence.
Derby, VL, 1860. L. Durand.

A SENSIBLE MOVEMENT.
At the annual agricultural exhibition of the
Worcester South Society, at Sturbridge, instead
of an address In the church on the day of exhibi-
tion, the following questions were propounded for
discussion :

1. Can the raising of wheat be made made the most
protitablc crop, ol'the small grains ?

2. Is sufficient attention given to the raising of root
crops ?

3. Does the society offer sufficient encouragement to
the growing of fruit ?

4. Will it he expedient for the society to offer pre-
miums on neat stock at the next annual exhibition ?

We are glad to see this change in the usual ste-
reotyped programme of our shows ; not, by any
means, because the addresses on the occasions are
not pertinent and instructive, but because, when
the farmer takes a part in the exercises himself,
he will be just as much more interested and in-
structed, as he is more interested and instructed
by laying hold with his own hands of the practi-
cal business of the farm. No man can appreciate
and regard a fine fruit or shade tree, as he who
planted and tended it in person, and so of most
things on the farm. The gentlemen who en-
gaged in the discussion of the first question,
either acquired or imparted knowledge which will
be remembered and applied many times more
than it would have been if delivered in didactic
precision, or if listened to coming in that style.

We should be glad if some of our friends would
send us a report of that discussion.

For the New England Farmer.
E.EMEDY FOB THE POTATO DISEASE.

Mr. Editor : — Some Jenny Lind potatoes
which I have just been digging are badly diseased
over the whole field, with the exception of a small
spot on which, several years since, a coalpit was
burned. As far as the coalpit extended the po-
tatoes were bright and sound, with scarcely a dis-
eased one among them.

Now is it not reasonable to conclude that the
particles of charcoal left in the ground preserved
the potatoes from disease ? And would it not be
advisable for those farmers who can have access
to such coal[)it beds to put a small quantity of the
dust in each hill of ])otatoes at the time of plant-
ing, next year, and thus prove its virtues by a fail
trial ? S. L. WniTE.

Oroton, Sept. 25, 1860.

Shingling. — We hope every one of our read-
ers who owns a shingle, or ever expects to have
one laid over Ids head, will attentively read the
article upon "Shingling," in another column.

1S60.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

529

DBACUT AMBER GRAPE.
We give below Mr. Manning's illustration
"Dracut Amber Orape"
before the public what

and description of the
from a desire to brins

that, in testing new varieties of fruits, it should
be left mainly to persons of experience in such
matters, and to those who will not feel the loss
of a few dollars if they prove worthless.

some good judges of the grape have said to us is
a good one, and worthy of cultivation, — and not
because we have any knowledge of its merits our-
self. It is not improper for us to suggest to all,

Mr. Editor : — I send you
an illustration of the Dracut
Amber grape, with informa-
tion in regard to it. Also,
the season of ripening of a
few other varietiis the pre-
sent year. This is a new
grape, but little disseminat-
ed; origin, Dracut, Mass.,
from seed. It ripened this
season, the week before the
great frost, Oct. 1, wliich de-
stroyed most of the best class
of grapes for table use.

The fact of its ripening t- n
days earlier than the Concord
grape, is sufficient proof of
merit. It is a strong grower,
hardy, great bearer, color
amber, or reddish tinge, clus-
ter large, generally compact,
but sometimes loose, berries
large, and slightly oval ; hold
on the cluster very well. It
possesses the foxy character
to a moderate extent. It is a
good eating grape, but not
equal to a well ripened Con-
cord or Isabella. It is a su-
perior wine grape, making a
large amount of light-colored
wine in proportion to a given
quantity of fruit, and con-
tains nearly four per cent,
more saccharine matter than
the Concord grape, according
to Dr. C. T. Jackson's chemi-
cal analysis, made in Septem-
ber, 1859, while testing sam-
ples of wine made from dif-
ferent native grapes by Mr.
Weber, agent of Patent Of-
fice, who was sent out to col-
lect promising specimens of
native grapes. Mr. W. took
seeds and cuttings of each
variety to Washington for
propagation and hybridiza-
tion for future improvement.
He examined the vine and
fruit in my ground, and Avas
well pleased with it. I caused
a quantity of fruit to be for-
warded to him, and the re-
sult of the test as a wine
grape was highly flattering.

I exhibited the fruit at the
rooms of the Massachusetts
Horticultural Society's annu-
al show, in 1859 ; it was also
shown in 1860. No mildew was visible upon the
leaves or fruit the past unfavorable and wet sea-
son, while many of the popular kinds mildewed
badly, thereby preventing the fruit from ripening
and the wood from maturing.

530

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

Nov.

There will be dead wood upon many vines this
year, but a good root, with a few good buds, will
make the best of growth when planted out.

I find the autumn to be a good time to set grape
vines, as a better growth is obtained the follow-
ing season. Most herbaceous trees and shrubs
do equally as well when fall-planted.

I have propagated a stock of vines, and pro-
cured the accompanying illustration, which is not
overdone, either in size of berry or cluster, as
both are frequently larger than the engraving.

I have ripened various kinds of hardy grapes
this season, in my nursery. It is better to have
a grape that will ripen with a certainty, in this
latitude, even if the quality is not quite equal, as
a table grape, to some, the crop of which cannot
be relied upon. The following list perfected fruit,
more or less, before frost, the present season :

Diana, good clusters, some well ripened, Sept. 25.

Delaware, not iarge enough to bear.

Rebecca, not large enough to bear.

Concord, fiue clusters, nearly ripe Sept. 30.

Dracut Amber, ripe Sept. 18.

Nortiiern Muscadine, ripe Sept. 20.

Hartford Prolific, ripe Sept. 20.

Sage, ripe Sept. 15.

Pearl, ripe Sept. 15.

Large Purple, ripe Sept. 15.

Strawberry Grape, good for jam, ripe Sept. 25,

Clinton, ripe Sept. 25.

Warren Seedling, ripe Sept. 20.

Early Isabella, new, ripe Sept. 25.

Beading, Mass., 1860. J. W. Manning.

For the New England Farmer.
K-EEDHAM HORTICUIiTUKAL SHOW.

Mr. Editor : — As your very just rule pre-
cludes all monotonous details of premiums, I will
simply give you a little account of the Needham
Horticultural Society, held at Village Hall, Need-
ham Plains, on the evenings of Sept. 24 and 25.

Quite early in the day of Sept. 24th, the friends
of the Society commenced sending to the hall
contributions to the Fair, from the farms, kitch-
en and flower-gardens, work-shops, dairy-rooms,
and the more fanciful domains of the ladies.

Seldom have been gathered, even by societies
of more numerous years and more pretentious
claims, a finer collection than the Hall presented,
when all were duly arranged. It would be diffi-
cult to specify any particular department of ex-
cellence, for all in their own sphere excelled.
There were apples very abundant and large, pears
luscious and tempting, peaches, fewer in number,
yet not Avithout attractions, grapes reminding one
of the clusters of Eschol, tomatoes of so many
varieties as to show that these healthful vegeta-
bles are fully appreciated, large pumpkins and
squashes, causing every one to anticipate family
gatherings at Thanksgiving time, potatoes, beets,
carrots, cabbages, &c., of no ordinary dimensions,
and flowers in such profusion and tastcfulness of
arrangement as to prove that our citizens ap])re-
ciate the element of beauty as well as utility. Last
and not least in attractions, were the contribu-
tions of the ladies, consisting of a great variety
of fancy articles, paintings and drav.'ing, cone
frames, worsted, bead, leather and wax work, em-
broidery, &c., all evincing much skill in devising
and delicacy in execution.

In the evening, after an opportunity had been
afforded to examine the articles on exhibition, the

assembly was called to order by the President of
the Society, Hon. E. K. Whitaker, who intro-
duced Rev. E. S. Atwood, of Grantville. Mr. A.
made a short, but highly interesting address. He
was followed by Rev. Messrs. Green and Willard,
of the Plain .Village, in addresses appro])riate to
the occasion. The Society voted to continue the
Exhibition the following evening, when the Re-
port of the Copimittee of Arrangements, an ably
arranged document was read by the author, Mr.
C. E. Keith, followed by remarks from J. S. Whit-
aker, Esq., of New Orleans, who congratulated
the society on the success of their exhibition, and
compared the scene before him from the richness
of its fruits and the beauty of its flowers, to the
paradise of old. Also by Dr. J. Noyes upon the
cultivation of plants and vegetables, and Rev. A.
Harvey, of Oakland Institute, upon the richness
of the soil and healthy locality of Needham.

H. N. B.

PRUNING OF GRAPES.

We have often heard the remark made — ^^ I for-
got to trim my grape vines last fall, and now they
must run at random, another summer" Let us
suggest to thee, friend reader, that at any time af-
ter the foliage has all fallen from the vines, you
go among them with your twig cutters, and prune,
before the weather gets so cold that you will find
no enjoyment in the pleasant labor. It is true,
that, for several seasons, we have had little en-
couragement to cultivate the grape, but that must
not prevent us from doing what lies in our power
to secure a crop — for the next season, and a se-
ries of seasons may follow, that will be favorable.

If shade from the vines is desired, let them run
profusely, merely cutting ofi" such laterals as you
do not want, — but if you wish them kept within
your control, do not allow them more than six
feet in height, and cut down the side branclres to
within two buds of the main shoot. By doing
this, and pinching ofi" the straggling shoots next
summer, the vine may be kept compact, under
your control, and with a plentiful application of
wood ashes, and a little bone-dust and manure, all
your labor will quite likely be amply repaid.

Hints for the Farmer. — Dig your potatoes
when the ground is dry, you can then gather
them free from dirt ; then stow them away under
cover, where the frost will not touch them.

Toads are the best protection of cabbages
against lice.

Plants when drooping are revived by a few
grains of camphor.

Sulphur is valuable in preserving grapes, &c.,
from insects.

Corn meal should never be ground very fine, as
it injures the richness of it.

Turnips of small size have double the nutri-
tious matter large ones have.

Rats and other vermin are kept away from
grain by a sprinkling of garlic when packing the
sheaves. — Ohio Valley Farmer.

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

531

CUIiTUBS O^ TKBES.

1. The healthful development of fruit trees, as
of other living substances, depends on the regular
reception of a ci-rtain quantity of appropriate food.
This food, whether derived from the earth, air,
water, or other natural elements, is conveyed
through the medium of the atmosphere and the
soil. While we have only an indirect and imper-
fect control of the atmosphere and other meteor-
ological agents, the Great Arbiter of Nature has
committed the soil directly to our care and treat-
ment.

2. To this I may add the general sentiment in
favor of thorough and perfect drainage, beneficial
to all cultivators, but indispensable to the fruit-
grower.

3. Not less uniform is the experience of the
salutary effects of a proper preparation of the soil
for fruit trees, both in the nursery and in the
orchard. '

These principles are settled in the minds of all
intelligent fruit-growers ; but they need to be
often promulgated and enforced. It should be
equally well understood that success depends upon
the adaptation of the habits of the tree to the con-
stituents of the soil, the location, and aspect or
exposure. A disregard of this principle, and the
fickleness of seasons, are among the most com-
mon causes of failure, not only among inexperi-
enced cultivators, but amongst professed pomol-
ogists.

More attention should be given not only to the
location, but especially the aspect of trees. A
common error is to disregard the tmie of ripen-
ing. * * *

The sentiments contained in the communica-
tion of Mr. J. J. Thomas, at our last session,
against the growth of any other crop in orchards,
especially against relying upon small circles dug
around trees in grass ground, as a method of cul-
ture, deserves to be h:ld in perpetual remem-
brance. Equally injurious, in my own opinion,
is the habit of deep digging or plowing among
fruit trees, thereby cutting off the roots, and de-
stroying the fibrous feeders, which frequently ex-
tend beyond the sweep of the branches. However
necessary the practice may be of cutting off roots
in old orchards, in the process of renovation, it
should be carefully avoided in grounds properly
prepared, and where the trees are in a healthy or
bearing condition. From experiment and obser-
vation, I am persuaded that working the soil
among fruit trees, to the depth of more than three
or four inches, should be carefully avoided. The
surface should only be worked with a hoe, or sca-
rifier, for the purpose of stirring the soil, and
keeping out the weeds. * # *

NEW NATIVE FKUITS.
Changes of opinion have also taken place in
regard to the acquisition of new sorts of fruits.
Formerly we looked to other countries ; now we
rely more especially on our own seedlings for the
best results. When we reflect upon the great
number of new varieties which have, in our time,
been raised from seed, and the progress which
has thereby been made, no apology need be of-
fored for repeating what has been said in former
addresses in commendation of this branch of po-
mology. It was my first, so it shall be my contin-
ual and last advice: "Plant the most mature and

perfect seed of the most hardy, vigorous and val-
uable varieties, and, as a shorter process, ensur-
ing more certain and happy results, cross or hy-
bridize your best fruits."

What wonders this art has already accomplished
in the production of new and improved varieties
in the vegetable kingdom ! How much it has
done for the potato, the turnip, and other vegeta-
bles,— producing, from a parent stock of inferior
grade, numberless varieties of great excellence !
How it has brought forth, from the hard, acrid,
and foxy grape of the woods, the delicious varie-
ties that are now obtaining notoriety and exten-
sion ; from the bitter almond, the luscious peach
and nectarine ; from the austere button-pear of
the forest, the splendid varieties that command
our admiration ; from the sour crab, the magnifi-
cent apples which now constitute the dessert of
our tables ; from the wild raspberry and black-
berry of the hedge, from the native strawberries
of the pasture, those superb varieties which crown
the tables at our exhibitions. We believe it is
now admitted that our native varieties are more
hardy, vigorous, productive, and free from disease
than most foreign sorts. Thus we have seedling
gooseberries free from mildew, and pears that
never crack. AVhy can we not breed out the black
wart from the plum ? * * *

Truly we live in an age of transition and won-
der ! The invention of to-day supersedes that of
yesterday, and in its turn is to be supplanted by
"that of to-morrow. No enterprise, however bold,
adventurous, or vast, whether the construction of
a railroad from the Atlantic to the Pacific ; the
laying of the mystic wire in old ocean's bed, or
threading it through Behrlng's Straits and wind-
ing it around the globe, is too great for the capi-
tal, energy, or intelligence of the present genera-
tion. * * *

Discoveries, inventions, and improvements
equally remarkable characterize all the arts of
husbandry. Witness, in place of the forked stick
of the ancients, or the wooden plow of our boy-
hood, the improved iron plow of every model, and
adapted to all kinds of soil and situation ; and,
still more marvellous, the vSteam Plow, moving
as a thing of life across the broad prairie, turning
up its numerous furrows at once, and leaving be-
hind it a wake like that of a majestic ship. Wit-
ness, also, instead of the rude hook, the sickle, or
the scythe of the farmer, slowly and tjdiously
gathering his crops, our mighty mowing and
reaping machine, cutting down its ten to twenty
acres per day.

The great industrial pursuit which this Society
seeks to promote furnishes testimony of progress
not a whit behind the most favored of the arts.

Behold the improved methods of cultivation ;
the vast number of nurseries and orchards,
springing up everywhere, as by enchantment ; the
novel processes of reproduction, multiplying
plants in endless profusion, and as by the stroke
of a magician's wand. Witness the interminable
lists of varieties now in cultivation, increasing
with each revolving year, the restless and anxious
desire to obtain everything new and promising
from whatever country and sea-girt isle it comes;
the refined taste for choice fruits rapidly extend-
ing through every gradation of society ; the stand-
ard of pomology, like the star of empire rising in
the east, moving still onward to the west, and ex-

532

NEW ENGIANI) FARMER.

Nov.

citing the attention and astonishment of man-
kind.

But this progress results from no supernatural
power. It is rather an illustration of human ca-
pability, acting in conformity with natural laws,
and in harmony with the benevolent designs of
the Great Husbandman for the amelioration of
society, and the display of His infinite wisdom
and love, "sought out of those who take pleasure
therein." It exhibits the conquests of mind over
matter, the dominion of man over nature, im-
proving, adorning, and elevating her to the high-
est and no!)lost purposes of her creation.

Inspired with these sentiments, let us take en-
couragement, and press on in the career of im-
provement, ever remembering that study and ex-
perience make the inan ; and that, for the highest
attainment and the greatest success, we must de-
pend upon the culture of the mind as well as of
the soil.

"Survey the flobe through every zone,

From Lima to Japan,
In lineaments of liglit 'tis shown

That Culture m;ikes the man.
AU that man has, ha;!, hopes, can have.

Past, promised, or possessed,
Are fruits whirh Cultoue gives, or gave,

At industry's behest."

Wilder's Address.

SMUT IN CORN", WHEAT, AIID OTHER
GRAINS.

We have either given our corn-fields more
special attention within a few years than we ever
did before, and thus noticed the large amount of
smut in them, or the smut itself has greatly in-
creased. What is smut, and what causes it, and
what will prevent it ? ai-e interesting and impor-
tant questions. Some years ago, these questions
were pretty thoroughly discussed here and in
France. M. Philippar, professor of agriculture
in the Normal school of agriculture, Versailles,
France, asserts that smut is a parasite plant, be-
longing to the mushroom tribe of the genus Ure-
do. M. Poiteau declares that it is a local disease,
contagious by touch, and not a parasite plant. M.
M. Tillet and Tezzien, M. Benedict Provost and
M. de CandoUe have written much upon this
subject, and have all expressed their opinion that
it is a parasitical plant, of the mushroom kind,
and agree in the main and more essential points
■with M. Philippar.

A parasitical plant is a plant that derives its
aliment from that ou which it grows. A fungus,
a parasitical plant or production of a cellular
texture, having no flowers, and deriving its nu-
triment from the atmosphere, and nourished also
from the stalk, stem or spawn. Its propagation
is effected by means of small and very curious
seeds, spores, or sporules, enclosed in skinny in-
teguments, called sporidia, or spore cases. An-
imal and vegetable substances in a state of incip-
ient decay, are those which most generally pro-
duce fungi, but those of the simplest organiza-
tion frequently locate on tissues. Of this class,

we may enumerate common mouldiness as being
the most familiar and best known. Of this, how-
ever, there are two types — the first of which, when
examined by a microscope, is found to exhibit
jointed threads, and to consist of a cellular struc-
ture, the small cavities or cells being arranged
"end to end," apparently independent of each
other, and capable, under certain contingencies,
of reproduction. The second type presents the
aspect of a thread-like structure, the spores being
elevated on the tops of the threads, or processes,
and sometimes very thin and minute capsules or
cases, which explode and thus cause the disper-
sion and dissemination of the seed.

The ordinary puff ball found in our fields is
but a fungus, yet in a more elevated phase of de-
velopment than either of the cases named. There
is a determinate figure, and the mass is composed
exclusively of cellular tissue. If we cut a puff ball,
we shall discover that the interior, or central sec-
tion is all spores, and this as it matures and dries,
leaves only the dusty spores, which, in their ri-
pened condition, give character to_ the ball. We
may here remark, that fungi are respectively
eatable, poisonous, medicinal and intoxicating,
and sometimes luminous. A French writer of
eminence, M. Poiteau, declares smut to be a lo-
cal disease, contagious by touch, and not a para-
sitical plant. In commenting upon the theory of
M. Poiteau, a late able writer observes :

"His arguments for and against his opinion are
given at great length. We shall, in a concise man-
ner, bring them before our readers ; and first, his
reasons for deciding against the 'mushroom,'
theory. When smut was first declared to be a
plant, the labors of the microscope, applied to
botany, were very imperfect ; matters were de-
clared to be uredos, erinees, and erysiphes, which
have since been discovered to be insects' nests or
tissular maladies to which the plant was subject.
Hence it followed that as microscopic botany be-
came better known, these pretended plants grad-
ually disappeared from the following editions of
botanical works. Now these plants have been gen-
erally classed in the category as the 'smut ;' and
as these have been proved to be 7iot of the 'mush-
room' race, so may smut also."

The opinions of some living agriculturists are
cited by M. Poiteau, who consider smut to be
"an irritating humor, placed in the plant by the
puncture of an insect, invisible ;" on account of
its smallness ; but he gives no proof that this
can be the case ; he only asserts that such is
the opinion of men worthy of being listened to,
from their experience and habits of observa-
tion. He brings forward the fact mentioned
by BosE, who says, "A most remarkable thing,
is that if the thick oil which is taken from sjn.ut
by distilling it, by holding it over a hot fii- is

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

533

placed in contact with sound grain, nearly one
third of the ear will be affected by smut." M.
Poiteau maintains that this is altogether inexpli-
cable, unless smut be contagious by touch ; but
even allowing this, it is no proof that the former
opinions may not be well founded. M. Poiteau
says that every experiment tried by M. Philippar,
proves as much for the opinion that smut is a dis-
ease, as that it is a parasite plant ; but admitting
this, M. Poiteau does not prove what he desires
to, viz : that his theory is correct. He also at-
tacks M. Philippar's declaration, that smut is
propagated by seed, but we cannot find that he
gives any proofs that such is not the case. He
very fairly cites against himself, the Memoire of
M. Benedict Provost, in which he distinctly states
that he saw the smut change its appearance, and
germinate : but M. Poiteau asks if that can be
called germination which is nothing more than a
change from round to oblong ? If all changes
which are seen in plants are taken for germina-
tion, every vegetable thing in nature should be
deemed susceptible of germination. He gives M.
Philippar great praise for his zeal and ability, but
not the loss insists that he is wrong.

We do not profess to give any opinion on the
nature of smut, but are anxious to lay before the
reader some of the views of others, and to call at-
tention to what seems to us to be an increasing
malady in our beautiful and profitable Indian
corn crop.

INDIAN SUMMER.

At the open window I sit and see

The gorseous clouds that are passing by,

And the soft south air is bringing to me
Perfumes as sweet as in June buds lie.

Even the bees are humming to-day,

And I catch the sound of children at play.

Did I not see the changing leaves

Brilliant in coloring as the sky,
And the reapers binding their golden sheaves,

I should say the summer had not gone by.
It seems as if nature had paused to think.
Before it should reach October's brink.

But with every breath of the scented breeze

There is rustling down a withered leaf.
And I hear the sighing among the trees

That is like the prelude to a grief —
And 'though the sun shines with a splendor like June,
By this I should know 'tis a fall afternoon.

At the open window I sit and see
Clouds that are passing — hopes that are past,

And the soft south air is bringing to me
Memories crowding thick and fast ;

And some of the dreams I recall to-day
Are swept like the withered leaves away.

At the open window I still remain.

And my sonl is vainly trying to see
Over the losses — on to the gain —

Knowing how much that gain would be.
Teach me, 0 teach me, how to wait
For the Summer so endless— Heaven so great.

Portsmouth Journal.

For the New England Farmer.
THE BIEDS OP NEW ENGLAND— No. 4.

HAWKS.

Sliarp Shinned Hawk — American Gos Hawk— Cooper's Hawk
— Stanley Hawk — Broad-Winged Hawk.

The third sub-family among the Falconidce, the
Accipilrince {proper hawks,) constitutes a well
marked group in the Falcon tribe, and is regard-
ed by naturalists as the sub-typical section, and
its members are readily distinguished by their
long and expanded tails, and short and rounded
wings, being often called the short icivged Hawks.
They are a courageous tribe, boldly attacking
birds of quite large size, often seizing their prey
upon the wing, or by pouncing upon it from
above, and frequently rob the farmer of a por-
tion of his young poultry, making amends for the
same, however, in the destruction they wage uj)-
on the mice. Their flight is swift and strong, and
in the days of falconry and hawking, these birds
were considerably valued in the princely sports,
but were considered less noble than the true Fal-
cons, and were termed birds of hawking rather
than of falconry. They are said to be rather syl-
van in their habits, preferring wooded countries,
and breeding in trees. Accipitcr and Astin are
the genera represented in the fauna of New Eng-
land.

The Sharp-Shinned Hawk, {Accipiter Penn-
sylvaniensis, Swain. ; A. fuscus, Bonap.,) some-
times called the Slate-colored Hawk, is an ele-
gant and daring little hunter, and by Audubon
has been termed "the miniature of the Gos-Hawk"
not only from its general appearance, but from
its swift, vigorous and irregular manner of flight,
and the velocity with which it dashes upon its quar-
ry. Its habitat seems to be nearly tiie whole con-
tinent, as it has been seen far to the north, and is
known to exist in the intertropical parts of South
America ; it is found throughout the United States,
but according to Nuttall seems more particularly
to abound in the thinly settled parts of some of
the Southern States than elsewhere. Its food
consists of small birds, from the smallest in size
to the common Passenger Pigeon, mice, reptiles
and chickens, the latter of which it will boldly
pounce upon in the very presence of their keep-
ers ; and Nuttall speaks of twenty or thirty as be-
ing carried away by a single individual of this
species in as many consecutive days.

The Sharp-Shinned Hawk, provincially known,
in common with the other smaller Hawks, as the
Pigeon Hawk, measures twelve inches in length,
and twenty-one in alar extent ; upper parts, dark
slate blue, in the adult ; under parts white, finely
variegated with broad bars of ferruginous. The
female is much brger, a fine specimen now be-
fore me measuring fourteen inches in kngth, and
twenty-five in extent. The plumage of the young
is dark brown above, skirted with ferruginous.

The American Gos-hawk or Black Capped
Hawk of Wilson (Astur atricapilli's, Bonap.,) is
generally considered as a rather rare species, at
least was so regarded by Wilson and Nuttall,
Chiefly inhabiting the more northern parts of the
continent, and migrating southward in the au-
tumn, it is more commonly observed in fall and
winter than at other times. It is said to be an
extremely active and bold bird, sailing aloft in
circles, or, Avhen hunting, skimming near the

534

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

Nov.

ground, along fences or hedges, and pouncing sud-
denly upon its unsuspecting prej'. Thej' subsist
upon birds, mice, and even moles, and I once
caught one in a trap baited with a living chicken.
The present species is so closely allied to its Eu-
ropean Congener, the well known Gos-liaivk, so
highly noted for its feats in hawking, that by
many it has been described as the same.

The length of this species is twenty-one to
twonty-fiveinches ; breadth of wing, about three
feet ; plumage above, fine slate blue, beneath,
white, most elegantly speckled with fine, trans-
verse, pencilled, zigzag lines of dusky. The Hon.
C. L. Flint, Secretary of the Massachusetts
Board of Agriculture, in his last report on the
State Cabinet, speaks of having received as many
as twenty specimens of the Gos-Hawk during the
year, (1859,) from which it appears that they are
not so remarkably rare in New England as for-
merly supposed ; and I am quite confident that
this Hawk breeds in this vicinity, and that it is
often seen skimming over our meadows and fields
with a swift gliding flight.

Cooper's Hawk, {Astur Cooperi, Bonap.,) a
bird named by the Prince of Musignano in honor
of William (Z!ooper, of Now York, is an elegant
and quite rare species in New England, though
said to be common in the Middle States, particu-
larly New York, in autumn and towards winter.
A fine specimen, now in my possession, was .shot
a few days since while prowling about for chick-
ens, it boldly alighting within a few paces of the
house. It seems to be an active, fearless bird, and
its depredations among the poultry are often quite
annoying. The specimen before me measures
nineteen inches in length, and thirty in alar ex-
tent. Color above chocolate-brown, darker on the
head and neck, where it is edged with rufous and
white ; below, white striped with dusky.

The Stanley Haavk, (Astur Sfanleii, Aud.,)
a new species of Audubon, in size and markings
corresponds very nearly with the above (^Isiiir
Coojyeri,) and is now generally considered to be
the same in a different state of plumage.

The Broad-Winged Hawk, (Astur latissi-
mus, Jar.,) by Bonaparte is placed in this genus,
though approaching the Buzzards in habits and
food, as well as somewhat in form. Sir William
Jardin, in his excellent notes to Wilson's work,
doubtfully places it in Astnr, with the Hawks
above described ; but speaks of it as "one of those
birds with dubious and combined characters."
Though not abundant, it is occasionally seen in
all the northern Atlantic States, particularly in
the Middle and New England States, where it is
generally resident, and is rarely seen as far south
as Louisiana, even in our severest winters. Its
food consists of small birds, chickens, ducklings,
the smaller animals, and even frogs and snakes ;
and it is said to be rather sluggish in its disposi-
tion. The length of this Hawk, is fourteen inches ;
breadth of wing thirty-three inches ; plumage
above, dark brown, streaked with whitish on the
head ; beneath, v\^hite, marked on the breast with
pointed spots of brown ; female much larger.

The next section or sub-family of the Falconi-
dce that we meet, the Milvincc (true Kites ; Cym-
indince of some systematists.) is probably unrepre-
sented in the fauna of New England, though a
beautiful representative is found in the South-
ern States in the. Swallow-Tailed Hawk (Naucle-

rus furcaius, Vigars,) and though rarely seen far-
ther eastward than Pennsylvania, has, in a few
instances, been captured in the State of New
York, yet is sometimes seen in the interior as far
north as the 44th degree of latitude. It is a bird
of singular form and habits, devouring its prey,
whatever it may be, in the air, and subsists large-
ly upon insects. Jardins observes, "I am aware
of none that feed so decidedly on the wing as that
now described ; in everything it will appear more
like a large swallow than an acciptrine bird."

The next number, containing an account of the
Buzzard (Butecince,) will conclude the diurnal
birds of prey. j. a. a.

For the New England Parmer.
PIAIfO AND WASH-TUB.

Mr. Editor : — In the Farmer of October 6, in
an article headed "Piano vs. Wash-tub," are set
forth notions and ideas, rather behind the times,
to a part of which I would like to reply. I am not
a son of a farmer, or the husband of a farmer's
wife, or a husband of any kind. The writer ad-
dresses the "dear good ladies," of the present day,
and asks them to compare their situation with
that in which their mothers and grandmothers
vvere placed ; to compare their household applian-
ces and utensils, rude and few, with the improved
many of the present day; states that they, (the
mothers,) knew no piano but the spinning-wheel,
no seraphine but the wash-tub ; that the cackling
of hens, geese and turkeys, blended with squeal-
ir.gs of pigs and lowing of kine, M'as music to
their ears, and that they desired no better ; and to
sum up, they were considered far belov,' the gen-
erality of Vv'omen. Did they not rear from ten to
fourteen fat, rugged sons and daughters and
clothe them all, in summer and winter, substan-
tially and comfortably, doing the spinning, weav-
ing and making with their own hands? That they
were educated as farmer's wives should be, not to
play the piano, or make pictures ; but to spin and
tveave, halcc and Jjrew, make and mend, while their
husbands would plow and sow, mow and rake,
reap and thrash, and in nine cases out of ten,
they were contented with their lot.

Now, Mr. Editor, what do we see in all this,
but Avork, work, dig, delve, eat, eat, drink ; mere
brute contentment ? Certainly, no aims to intel-
lectual or social enjoyment, no newspapers — New
England Farmer included — no pleasant studies,
music, drawing, painting, &c., nothing but "work,
work, work." I admit, that on a pleasant Mon-
day morning, in aback room, a "rub-a-dub," per-
formed on awash-board, with a door-yard accom-
paniment of clucking and cackling fowls, is a
pleasing scene; can almost fancy myself looking
on a similiar one in a particular place in New
Hampshire. I think it quite an improvement in
the times, as we now have both piano and wash-
l)oard in the same house, pluyed by the same
hands. I am acquainted with many people, old
and young, of both sexes, who obtain their living,
and a good one too, by diverse occupations and
labor, and are good practical musicians and sing-
ers, their singing and playing not interfering with ,
their business in the least ; know a young lady
who plays the seraphine, can drive four horses,
and I have no doubt is a great help to her moth-
er ; know ai'.otlier who can get a good dinner,

1S60.

NEAV ENGLAND FARMER.

535

play the piano while the men are eating, and can
teach beside.

Look at our male musicians throughout the
country ; all are farmers,mechanics, artists, clerks,
all engaged in some daily occupation. The "lot"
of which Miss Spinster speaks, people will not be
contented with in those days ; machinery and im-
proved implements of every description have les-
sened our labors. The tired farmer is not obliged
to labor late in the evening, paring apples, husk-
ing corn, &c ; machines help him do this, giving
him most of his evenings in which to enjoy his
books, papers, violin, the society of his family,
neighbors and friends. If our parents and grand-
parents were contented with their lot, we have
reason to be much more contented with ours, and
if we are not, we are a thankless and thoughtless
generation. Old Bach.

ON THE HILLS.

Princeton, October 16, 1860.

Gentlemen : — Why do not more of your nov-
elty-seeking citizens come out here and get up
higher in the world than they evtr stood before ?
Even the denizens of Beacon Street might do
this and find pleasure and profit in it, if pure air
and a good deal of it, and renewed health are val-
uable. Here I am, up, up, I cannot tell how high,
and yet old Wachuset looms up nineteen hundred
feet higher than I am. Sixty feet below the apex
are the white tents of the United States Survey-
ing Party, having a good time when they can.
Sunday night was a "buster" up there, and made
lively work with every thing that was not tied
down to peg or rock. The "rains descended and
the floods came," and along with them snow and
hail, and a breeze that would have started a Cali-
fornia clipper through the water at twenty knots
an hour. One of the party up there said to me :
"The wind blew fearfully that night." They are
encamped sixty feet below the top, so that they
lead a living spring, which they found half-way
between them and the highest point, into the midst
of their canvas village.

I came here last evening to have an agricultural
talk with the people, which toolc place very pleas-
antly to myself, at least, at the Tov/n Hall. I
found many of them appreciating the blessings
which their occupation confers, and with large
views of its dignity and importance. They have es-
tablished a Farmers' Club, and are entering vigo-
rously upon some of the leading topics of im-
provement. Some of the young men were ear-
nest in their inquiries as to the best modes of
draining lands, as that is to be the subject of dis-
cussion next week. Hon. John Brooks, a mem-
ber of the State Board of Agriculture, and one of
the intelligent and progressive men of the age,
has not only the disposition but the means to set
many good examples, and he has done so in a
highly commendable manner. If he is willing to
risk the expenditure of $25 to §50 per acre in an

experiment of underdraining, and the experiment
proves a successful one, and increases the profits
of crops ten to twenty per cent., that example set-
tles the question for all his towns-people who pos-
sess similar lands. They need no longer to labor
in doubt, but with the certainty of success. It is
in this light that men of progress make themselves
especially serviceable to the world. There are
many excellent farms in the town, but my arrival
there was too late to aff'ord me any opportunity
of looking at their stock, or at the crops they had
just secured. The surface of the town is much
broken by abrupt hills which are swept by fierce
winds during several months in the year, and the
roads in winter are often considerably obstructed
with snow ; but this admirably adapts the land to
grazing purposes, so that fine steers, oxen and
milch cows are produced abundantly.

With such pasturage the dairy becomes a
prominent feature in their agricultural industry,
and they produce butter of the most excellent
quality, considerable of which, 1 was informed, is
contracted for at thirty cents per pound in Bos-
ton market. Large quantities, also, of excellent
quality, go to Worcester, where it is always in
demand, the good people of that city being well
acquainted with the butter-making skill of their
neat mountain neighbors. The people of the tov/n
are intelligent, industrious and frugal, and look
down upon the rest of the world with a wonder-
ful degree of complacency, considering how ele-
vated they are themselves !

Returning from the exercises at the Hall, I
had an hour's pleasant chat with my kind host
and his wife before a glowing wood fire in an
open Franklin stove. The frost was sharp and
the wind was up when I went to my chamber, and
v/hen fairly "under the cappers," I could not af-
ford to lose at once in forgetfulness the delight-
ful music it made as it swept from the snow-clad
mountain behind me down to the vvorld below. So
in a dreamy state I laid and heard it sing its wild
mountain song, sometimes fancying the sea before
me, with its restless and never-ceasing waves try-
ing to Avash out the base of old Wachuset, but
waking a little, missed the regular cadences of
coming and retreating waves, and became sensi-
ble that I was in the region of old Boreas and his
attendant train. The snow now lies in little drifts
under the north side of fences and buildings, the
remnant of Sunday night's storm.

My visit has been a pleasant one, for which I
am greatly indebted to the attentions of Major S.
S. Hastings and his kind lady, who took me in
when cold and hungry, and set me down to a boun-
tiful table before a good wood fire ! Think of
that, gentlemen, and believe me,

Very truly yours, SiMON Brown.

Messrs. Nourse, Eaton & Toljian.

536

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

Nov.

LADIES' DEPARTMENT.

For the New England Farmer,
DOMESTIC RECEIPTS.

Ketchup. — I notice by your paper of Sept. 29,
that "A Mechanic" wishes to know the best way
of making tomato ketchup. . I will give you my
receipt.

Take one gallon of skinned tomatoes, fully ripe,
one pint of sharp vinegar, two table spoonfuls of
salt, one of black pepper, two of mustard, all
ground hne, simmered slowly three hours in a
porcelain kettle. Strain through a sieve. It may
be used in three weeks, but improves by age. I
have some now, that was made one year ago, and
it is much better than when new.

Cream Cake.— Three eggs, one cup of thick
cream, one of sugar, flour enough to make it as
hard as pound cake, soda and spice as you like.

Fruit Cake. — Three eggs, two and one-half
cups of sugar, one cup of sweet milk, one of but-
ter, four of flour, a little soda, spice and fruit as
any one wishes.

White Cake. — Three eggs, two cups of white
sugar, one-half cup butter, one cup of new milk,
three of flour, two teaspoonfuls cream of tartar,
one of soda, a teaspoonful of extract of lemon or
rose ; dissolve the soda in water.

You may find better receipts, but these are
good. A Subscriber,

Prescott, Mass., Oct., 1860.

WOMAN'S COUBAGE.
No one can have read the statement of the
clerk of the steamer, which went down on Fri-
day night, without being struck by his descrip-
tion of the bearing of the ladies. "They were
pale, but silent ; there was not a cry or a shriek."
The fortitude and resignation of men may have
failed, but theirs failed not. So is it always in the
great exigencies which women are called to meet.
When troubles or dangers are but slight, they are
more excited and more alarmed than men. But
let an overvvhehning calamity bury the fortunes
and hopes of the husband, or lather, or brother, in
sudden night, let disease or accident strike him
down and stretch him on the bed of keenest suf-
fering, then when strong men's hearts fail them,
when their nerves are unstrung, when quaking
fear or hopeless despondency takes possession of
their souls, the frail, weak woman rises with elas-
ticity and calm determination to the demands of
the terrible emergency, and with untrembling
hand and cheerful voice hastens to perform those
blessed ministrations, for which the might of men
was inadequate. Hovv many scenes of danger
have we heard described, conflagrations, assassi-
nations, shipwrecks, in which women have with
heroic patience and submission bowed meekly to
their fate, and have taught the sublime lesson of
Christian resignation to the husbands and fathers
who were with them. In the hour of trial her
weakness becomes strength, her sensibility is
swallowed up in faith. There were men of re-
nown in the Lady Elgin, men whose names are
known through the Avide world, but none of them
ever did a lu-aver or more heroic deed than was
achieved by those noble women who sat in silence
awaiting their death. — Providence Journal.

EEABINQ CHILDREN-.

1. Children should not go to school until six
years old.

2. Should not learn at home during that time
more than the alphabet, religious teachings ex-
cepted.

3. Should be fed with plain, substantial food,
at regular intervals of not less than four hours.

4. Should not^ be allowed to eat anything with-
in two hours of bed-time.

5. Should have nothing for supper but a sin-
gle cup of warm drink, such as very weak tea of
some kind, or warm milk and water, with one
slice of cold bread and butter — nothing else.

6. Should sleep in separate beds, on hair mat-
tresses, without caps, feet first well warmed by the
fire or rubbed with the hands until perfectly dry;
extra covering on the lower limbs, but little on
the body.

7. Should be compelled to be out of doors for
the greater part of daylight, from after breakfast
until half an hour before sundown, unless in
damp, x-aw weather, when they should not be al-
lowed to go outside the door.

8. Never limit a healthy child as to sleeping or
eating, except at supper ; but compel regularity as
to both ; it is of great importance.

9. Never compel a child to sit still, nor inter-
fere with its enjoyment, as long as it is not ac-
tually injurious to person or property, or against
good morals.

10. Never threaten a child ; it is cruel, unjust
and dangerous. What you have to do, do it, and
be done with it.

11. Never speak harshly or angrily, but mildly,
kindly, and, when really needed, firmly — no more.

12. By all means arrange it so that the last
words between you and your children at bed-time,
espcially the younger ones, shall be words of un-
mixed lovingness and affection. — Hall's Journal
of Health.

Elderberry Wine. — The quantity of fruit re-
quired, is one gallon of ripe elderberries for every
two gallons of wine. For ten gallons wine take
five gallons berries, boil them in five or six gallons
of water, then strain the liquor, and M'halever the
liquor proves short of ten gallons, make up as
follows : Add water to the pulp, stir it about and
strain to the rest. Add thirty pounds sugar and
two or three ounces hops. Then take three-quar-
ters of a pound of ginger-root bruised, five oun-
ces cloves, one of cinnamon, and put them to-
gether in a bag and tie loosely. Put the bag with
its contents into the previous mixture, and boil
two hours ; when quite cool, ferment with yeast as
you do beer. In two or three days draw the li-
quor off" into a cask, suspend the bag of spices by
a string not long enough to reach the bottom ;
paste over stiff' brown paper. It will be fit for use
in two months. — Boston Cultivator.

It is well for us that we are born babies in in-
tellect. Could we understand half what most
mothers say and do to their infants, we should be
filled with a conceit of our own importance, which
would render us insupportable through life. Hap-
py the boy whose mother is tired of talking non-
sense to him before he is old enough to know tb«
sense of it !

DEVOTED TO AGRICULTUEB AND ITS KINDKED AHTS AND SCIENCES.

VOL. XII.

BOSTON, DECEMBER, 1860.

NO. 12.

NOURSE, EATOX & TnL>,:AX, Proprietohs.
Office 34 JIerciiants' Row.

SIMON BROWN, EDITOR

FRED'K HOLBROOK, ) Associat;
HEXRY F. FREXCH, \ Editors.

CALENDAB FOS, DECEMBBK.

'O tell me not of fairer lands,

Beneath <a brighter sky ;
Of streams that roll o'er golden sands,
And flowers that never die !

My native Isle ! my native Isle !

Though bare and bleak thou be ;
And scant and coll thy summer smile,

Thou'rt all the world to me !'

ECEMBER, last palc
\ visitor of the
lt'',relve, she comes
) and scatters the
sno'iY -wreath over
the roofs of our
dwellings, and

along our frozen
streets — she nips
the latest flower
that has dared to
lift its little head
the sunshine — she
drives every living thing
under shelter, and bids
man seek in-doors for
that comfort which he can no
longer find abroad. Now wc
begin to see what a blessed
thing it is to have a hovie. Perhaps
we used to think, sometimes, last
summer, that the birds had a mighty nice time of
it, singing up there among the green leaves. No
farm, no merchandise, no workshop, no office to
trouble their little brains. Nothing to do but fly
about among their vast possessions, and get their
dinner — which never needs cooking — and then fly
back and sing another song ! But now we see
that we have some privileges which the birds have
not. At the first cold vrind, the poor things must
quit their homes, and fly away — av^-ay — nobody
knows where — but although it may be to a far
pleasantor clime than ours, this perpetual migra-
tion does not meet our views at all.

On the whole, we are glad we are not a bird.
Man, though a working animal, finds a compen-
sation for his labors, and his greatest compensa-
tion, in the power to establish a permanent home.
He may be exposed to cold and hardship through
the short winter day, he may have to buffet a
driving storm before he reaches his own door, but
once there, he feels that it is a haven of rest. To
be sure he stands there in the hall looking like a
great snow-man, but then it is his wife's hands .
that help him ofl" with his great coat, — it is his
own little bright-eyed girl that stands laughing and
dancing while he emerges from his heap of wrap-
pings. She it is who has got his arm-chair and slfp--
pers all ready for him close by the fire. By-and-
by, when he gets warm, he gathers with his family
about the pleasant tea-table, and all are eager to
hear what news lie brings from the great world
without to his little world within, and he, on his
part, has been looking forward to this very home
through all the busy day. Perhaps he isn't a man
of any great importance anywhere else, but he
has the satisfaction of knowing that he is the
centre and stay at one household. '^Trencli" (on
the use of words,) — some of our readers may not
have seen it — says husband means house-hand,
that strong, embracing power that unites and
holds together all the family. There are men who
seem born with a propensity to rove. They wan-
der over land and sea, and are never at rest, yet
often the very motive which sends them farther,
is a latent desire to obtain means to found, at last, ,
a pleasant and comfortable home for themselves. \
In most cases, a man will not expatriate himself if
he can help it, and if, by chance, he inherit his
father's house, the homestead cot — with what te-
nacity he cli^igs to the spot. He would not give
up these old associations for anything sliort of a
home in Paradise !

When the Prince of Wales visited the United
States a fevi^ weeks ago, he was welcomed with
enthusiasm wherever he went. He was followed

538

XEW ENGLAND FARMER.

Dec.

by crowds as he rode through the streets of our
cities — ladies threw bouquets and waved handker-
chiefs at him — men cheered him — he was taken
sight-seeing — he Avas invited to lunch — balls were
made for him — and thus day after day — week af-
ter week — until, if we may venture to suppose
him made of flesh and blood at all similar to that
of other mortals, the brains of his Royal Highness
must have whirled in confusion. Now, in the
depths of our republican heart, we could not help
wishing that the programme might have been va-
ried a little. He can see at home more splendor,
more diamonds, and as many gay men and women
as we could possibly show him here. All this
was very well, but it could be no novelty to him.

What idea could he obtain from it of the life
of the great multitude of the people ? Of that
wherein our great strength lieth ? We would like
to have had him make a "progress" through the
quiet villages of New England, to have had him
talk a little with our plain country people, as well
as dance Avith our city belles. He should have
seen the white church spire rising among the hills,
with the school-house and academy near by, and
the comfortable but unpretending dwellings of the
inhabitants. We could even wish that his Royal
Highness might have stepped his foot into one of
our meeting-houses, might have visited a district-
school — aye, and been introduced to its pretty
mistress — that he might have called at the house
of some untitled citizen.

These things are American, these things are
characteristic, while a ball-room is a ball-room, all
the world over.

He did go hunting on the prairies — we are glad
of that, and he saw our Falls of Niagara too, in
all the right royal majesty of nature, roaring and
dashing over their stony walls untrammelled by
etiquette, and not introduced by the "Mayor."

Well, the year has almost gone by that brought
the young stranger to our shores, and his visit
will long be remembered by a friendly people, and
will go down to posterity as a matter of history,
and the year has made other records too — some
public, some private, — the first will find a place
in the archives of our country, the latter in the
hearts of individuals — but whatever its record has
been, it is almost finished now. A few weeks, and
■we shall bid farewell to its departing footsteps,
and welcome the dawn of Eigliteen Hundred and
Sixty-One.

Cats Free from Headache. — It is quite won-
derful to see a cat jump down heights. She never
seems to hurt herself, or to feel giddy with the
fall ; she always falls on her feet, and these are so
beautifully padded that they seldom or ever get
broken. I never knew of a cat breaking its leg
from an accident, but in one instance, and that
was a French cat, which fell down stairs in the

most stupid manner. Why does not the cat get
a headache after her deep jumps ? — why does she
not get concussion of the brain, as a man or dog
would, if he performed a similar acrobatic feat ?
If we take down one of our dry cats' heads off" the
keeper's museum wall and break it u]), we shall
see that it has a regular partition wall projecting
from its sides, a good way inwards towards the
centre, so as to prevent the brain from suffering
from concussion. This is, indeed, a beautiful
contrivance, and shows an admirable internal
structure, made in wonderful conformity with ex-
ternal form and nocturnal habits.

For the Neiv England Farmer.
"SHINGLING."

Mr. Editor : — One of your correspondents, un-
der the above heading, in answer to "What will
make shingles last longer," gives some instruc-
tions and reasons which you very justly call "cap-
ital ;" yet his methods, in part, by which he ar-
rives at those reasons, are not quite so clear as
they ought to be.

Laying shingles as they should be requires more
mechanical skill or knowledge than it is often
supposed to, or else we should not so often see
inexperienced boys, and any Jonathans who may
happen to be procured for small pay and board,
shingling alone M'ith a few meagre instructions,
and those being mostly disregarded. But howev-
er properly laid, if not properly nailed, the de-
sired object is in a great measure frustrated. In
respect to the nailing, Mr. Emerson says :

"However wide the shingles may be, I do not
allow the nails to be put more than two inches
apart."

Query. — Where are the nails to be put in the
shingles ? I have seen those who would have but
one nail in a shingle of any width, and that near-
ly in the middle ; and those who would have but
one, and that in one edge ; and again, those who
would have in a shingle, say six inches wide, three
to four nails, and so on in propoition to the width,
making, if equally spaced, aljout as near as your
correspondent directs. From his reason, aided
by my own notion, I infer that he uses but two
nails in any shingle, however wide ; yet, one
holding to using more nails might prefer a nail
every two inches, perhaps.

Again, he does "not want the nails drove quite
in, or so as to sink the heads," but to "hold up
the butts of the next row of shingles." True, it
will ventilate the roof, but will it not let the snow
and wind liberally through the roof or walls on
our New England hills, and increase the liability
to their being blown off? If sheathing paper is
used, or the interspaces are properly filled with
whitewash, paint, or cement, applied upon each
course as they are laid, this will be avoided, of
course, in a great degree.

Would it not be much better to use a "straight-
edge" about as wide as the shingles are laid to
the weather, and thus avoid the "dirty work" of
which the carpenters complain ? But as it is not
intended to give my views and experience in this
article, but rather to call the writer's attention to
the matter so that he may give more light upon
this important subject, let this, for the present,
suffice. O. W. True.

Elm Tree Farm, Maine.

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FARMEH.

539

Fw the New England Farmer.

OUB Towisr.

Mr. Editor : — I frequentl}' see communica-
tions from other towns, describing their location,
their improvements, their general progress, and
other matters more particularly connected with
such towns, but have never seen anything written
from our town ; and as a town, I am not aware
that anything has ever been published to give us
even an introduction to the world. And now, with
your approbation, I should like to give, through
the medium of the Neio England Farmer, a brief
sketch of the business operations in the little
town of Fairhaven.

It is a small town, situated in Rutland county.
Western Vermont, a few miles from the head of
Lake Champlain, and separated by a small stream
from the Empire State. Its area is only about
fifteen square miles, one-third of which is unin-
habited, the soil being somewhat unfavorable to
cultivation, but valuable for Avood and timber.
Its population is a little less than 1400, (being
an increase of over 50 per cent, within the last
ten years,) a large proportion of which are slaters
and other manufacturers.

Agriculture is receiving some attention, espe-
cially of late, as you will see by your subscription
list, that quite a considerable number of copies of
the New Enr/land Farmer are taken here. Our
farmers are waking up to the importance of im-
proving their stock, as was plainly indicated by
the exhibition of horses, cattle and sheep at our
Town Fair this fall, and to the importance of
making and saving manure, deeper and more
thorough tillage, building good barns, instead of
the coarse, sham things of "olden time," under-
di-aining, &c., though the latter has not, as yet
been carried out very extensively, but some have
made beginnings.

The slate quarries employ on an average about
100 hands, and produce 1500 to 2000 squares per
month. Here let me remark that a square of slate
covers ten feet square, or 100 square feet of roof.
Slaters generally contract to furnish, transport
and lay the slate fifc- so much per square.

Our factories are small, compared with some
others in the country, but are doing good busi-
ness for the amount of capital invested.

We have one forge of two fires, with rolling-
mill and nail-factory attached, producnig from
iron made here and elsewhere, some 1200 kegs,
or 60 tons of nails, and as much more of marble-
saws, nail-rods, horse-shoe iron, &c., per month ;
a beautiful saw-mill, grist-mill and tannery ; new
woolen factory, just ready to go into opera-
tion, with some 800 spindles and twelve to fifteen
looms.

A paper-mill that has been in operation nearly
half a century is now undergoing thorough re-
pairs, and ex])ected to produce twenty-five to
thirty tons of paper per month, and will employ
fifteen to twenty hands.

Our marble-mill runs twelve gangs of saws,
employing twenty-five hands, and cutting equal
to 16 or 17,000 feet, two inch stuff', per month.
Here I remark that marble-saws are simple plates
of soft iron without teeth, used in sufficient num-
bers to cut up a whole block at once. They work
horizontally, and, by the constant application of
sand and water, work through a large block in

four to six days. I would also remark that the
marble company quarry their oM'n marble in the
town of Rutland, where they employ fifty men, at
an expense of over .$1000 per month, and that
other business men of this town are also doing
considerable in other places.

A factory for cutting and finishing marble, and
for sawing, cutting and marbleizing slate, has just
commenced operations. It promises well, and has
already produced some of the finest specimens of
that kind of work, all within the space of a quar-
ter of a mile. The Saratoga and Whitehall Rail-
road passes within a few rods of these works, af-
fording ample facility for transporting every kind
of commodity with the utmost convenience.

We have four stores of general merchandise,
two of flour, two groceries, one hotel, and a suf-
ficient number of doctors and lawyers.

The village proper is on a level plain somewhat
elevated above the river, having a public green of
about eleven acres, with a large park in the cen-
tre, laid out in elliptic form, enclosed by a fence
with posts of marble, and well planted with trees,
which already begin to assume the appearance of
a grove. Here are four churches, small, but con-
venient, and neatly finished, and regularly occu-
pied, and another nearly finished. A Town House
of brick, some forty-four by sixty-four feet, and
another large house of marble, cut and polished,
with a large number of smaller ones of wood, are
now in course of erection. I should like to speak
of some other things, but have already written
longer than I intended. H. Briggs.

Fairhaven, Vt, Oct., 1860.

VENTILATlOlSr OP THE APPLE BARREL.

By this we mean the boring of holes in the
head staves of the barrels that will allow the es-
cape of the moisture that is constantly passing oft
from the newly gathered fruit. AVe hazard noth-
ing in the statement that one-half the fruit sent to
this market this season, so far, has been materially
injured from this cause. The eff'ect of confined
vapor upon the apple is not at once apparent.
The fruit appears uncommonly bright on the first
opening — but as the surface dries oflp, the apple
begins to grow dull looking, and if a light skinned
apple, in a day or two will present the appearance
of half-baked fruit.

But this steaming from confinement not only
injures the sale of the fruit, but to the great dis-
appointment of the consumer, his fruit does not
keep as he supposed it would, and as the variety
of apple he purchased led him to suppose it would.
Premature decay is sure to follow as a conse-
quence of this want of ventilation. — Chicago
Fruit Dealer.

Salt for Fence Posts. — A correspondent of
the N. H. JoiLnial of Agricnlture set some white
oak posts, about twelve inches square, thirty years
ago, and on examining them the other day h;-
found them all sound. After setting, he bored
into each post, about three inches above ground,
with a two-inch auger, at an angle of about 45°,
and filled the hole with salt and plugged it up. It
took about half a pint of salt to each post. The
plugs are yet in, and the posts look as sound as
when set. He tried none without salt.

540

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

Dec.

For fhe New England Farmer.

EGYPTIAlSr COKIf.

Gentlemen : — In your rogardecl issue of the
13th, I notice your remarks headed "Egyptian
Corn," concluding as follows, viz : "We refer to
this matter to show the results of one experiment
with the Egyptian corn, and to ask our friends
v/ho "enclosed one dollar in stamps or currency to
Mr. Crandall, and who have grown the Egyptian
corn, to inform us what success attended the ex-
periment."

I would state, in answer, that nevp.r seeing your
advertising columns filled with gullibilities, and
disgusting insertions, I felt a confidence in re-
sponding to the notice of Mr. Crandall as con-
tained in your issue of May last, and at once, on
reading the same, I remitted the one dollar indi-
cated to the party, accompanied by stamps for
the appropriate return. Soon after, I received by
mail an envelope containing about two teaspoon-
fuls of the so called "Egyptian seed corn," with a
few words of direction, (printed upon a mere scrap
of paper,) and naught further ! At once I placed
the corn in the hands of the gentleman with whom
I reside, (one of your subscribers,) a most intel-
ligent and practical farmer. He prepared some
ground forthwith for the reception of the seed, in
the very best portion of his farm and manured the
same well. Planted four kernels of the corn in each
hill, making in all about twenty hills. This plant-
ing took place about June 1st, last past, and the
hills were well hoed and cared for. The result of
all was a very slow coming forth of the corn at all.
At last it poked its lazy and attenuated develop-
ment upward, but gave never an indication of
product for a long time. Finally some ears ap-
peared, but "few and far between," I assure you.
The last past week the result was harvested, yield-
ing from the entire twenty (perhaps thirty,) hills,
a short half bushel of ears of the so called "Egyp-
tian corn," part red and part white, looking as sick-
ly as if it had left home too early. From these we
were enabled to secure about twenty-five ears only
worth looking at, and with the balance we insult-
ed our hogs by tossing it to them, and a poor mess
they had of it, too, you may well imagine. For
it was but a short half bushel of stunted, worthless
corn that was the rendering, from the all prom-
ising Crandall seed of Egypt ! The stalks are
coarse, wiry, with a sort of saw edge, and reject-
ed by our cattle, — as they are ever accustomed to
a better feed, not being of Egyptian descent, and
not in any sense familiar with the "leeks and
onions" of that region.

A sample of the best ears I could find in all, I
send you by express, and you are at liberty to
use the same, or aught from my letter, as you
may choose. I must only, however, remark in
this reply to your request, that I think there must
have been two omissions in the grouping of the
"Plagues of Egypt," as given to us in the ancient
Mosaic records ! The first of these I deem to have
been this "Egyptian Corn," (if such it be,) and
the second the ancestry of this intending bene-
factor of mankind, Mr. Crandall, if he came from
"those diggings."

Be assured, Mr. Editor, that Mr. Crandall hum-
bugged your readers most essentially,who sent him
their money for his worthless trash. However,
this is but the second lime I have been deluded

by such puify advertisements, and in future shall
ever deem them as unprofitable, and let them pass.
At present, please regard me but as him of whom
it was said, "Fool and his money soon parted."

Yet parted not for any "corn"

That-s worthy a flescriplion —
But for a corn — lookoil so forlorn,

They christened it Egyptian.

Should you wish any further information as to
this very rare cereal, the gentleman with whom I
reside, (Mr. John Williams,) will cheerfully af-
ford you the same, and give you the result of its
fattening qualities on his swine, who were favored
with a homoeopathic taste of the same.

Edward Brinley.

Oalc Hill, Oct. 15, 1860,

For the Nctv England Farmer.

"WHAT WE FIISTD I]M AW EKTG-IiISH
NEWSPAPER.

BY JUDGE FRENCH.

How much a single number of a well conducted
newspaper tells us of the condition of the countrj'
where it is published ! I am led to this reflection
by reading the "Mark Lane Express and Agricul-
tural Journal," a paper published weekly in Lon-
don. How significant is every paragraph of the
differences between Old England and New Eng-
land. The number of Sept. 24, 1860, is before us.
Let us look a moment at its contents. Here is a
little table showing the quantities of "corn" im-
ported into eleven ports in England and Scotland
for the week ending Sept. 12th. We must bear
in mind that corn in England does not mean In-
dian corn, but all kinds of grain. The amount for
the week is 222,416 quarters, which multiplied
by 8 gives the number of bushels 1,779,328 !
nearly two million bushels of grain brought into
those ports in a single week, equal to about 324
thousand bushels per day. This is truly sur-
prising, and we should at once conclude that this
must have been an extraordinary week. If, how-
ever, we turn to Caird's recent letters on Prairie
Farming, we shall find at page 9 the following :
"During the last year, (1858,) we have imported
into this country at the rate of nearly one million
quarters (8 million bushels) of grain each month.
We have thus, in addition to our home crop, con-
sumed each day the produce of ten thousand acres
of foreign land." Now ten thousand acres of
wheat, at 25 bushels per acre, would give 250,-
000 bushels, a little short of the daily quantity re-
ported in the Mark Lane Express for the single
week. Great Britain, then, it seems, consumes all
her own grain, and requires a little farm of some
three and a half million acres, all in heavy grain,
equal to 25 bushels of wheat per acre, to keep her
population supplied with food !

No wonder the interests of agriculture attract
attention in England, No wonder that her lords
and ladies, as well as her agricultural population

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

541

express so deep and constant an interest in the
crops, the weather and the harvest ; for a faihire
of the crops there brings distress and even fam-
ine, while with us no failure has ever been so
general, that the want could not be supplied with-
in our own borders, and our only complaint has
been of a rise in the price of flour and meal.

FARM IMPLEMENTS.

But let us look further into our paper. Here
is one of a series of articles upon "Farming with-
out the Plow." This, to one who has seen Eng-
lish husbandry, moans much more than others
might suppose. The writer advocates not any
new Terra-cultor, like that recently patented out
West, a sort of rotary digger to claw up the earth,
as Talpa suggests, like the claw of a mole, but the
use ot a class of implements well known in Eng-
land, but almost unknown here.

If we turn to the advertising columns, v,'e find
advertisements illustrated with cuts of scarifiers
and cultivators, heavy, powerful implements, with
from seven to tea steel teeth, some eighteen inch-
es long, curved forward, borne on wheels two or
three feet high, the structure of which at once in-
dicates their adajjtation to old, well-tilled fields.

I have seen a scarifier of this description drawn
by five horses through wheat stubble after har-
vest, before any other process. The design was
to clear the field entirely of all rubbish prepara-
tory to the next crop, which would be turnips.
The long, sharp, shining teeth forced, a foot deep,
through the soil, give a fine pulverization, at
small expense, for the scarifier, although requir-
ing a heavy team, works a breadth of several feet
at once, and thus compensates for the power re-
quired to move it.

Upon many of our fields clear of stones and
stumps, such an implement, instead of the shal-
low cultivator in use in New England, might prof-
itably be substituted. We find also cuts and no-
tices of Drills of various kinds, for sowing Avheat,
turnips, and other seeds. Nearly all the grain in
England is sowed in rows or drills, with these
machines, drawn by horses. VvHieat is drilled
from G to 10 inches apart, and a breadth of say 8
feet is covered at one operation. In the after-
cultivation, horse-hoes, made exactly to match
the drills, are drawn between the rows working
the same number of drills. A man follows the im-
plement, carefully watching and guiding one hoe,
and all the rest of the set are governed by this
one, and as the implement goes in the track of
the drill, the rows of which are parallel, although
not precisely straight, there is little injury to the
crop. The turnip and mangold crops are hoed in
the same way, four or five rows at a time, with
great facility. Horse-hoeing, upon wheat is only
practised on light soils, but universally, the wheat

is horse-hoed or hoed and weeded by hand, on
all well conducted farms. This skilful use of
tools, and thorough cultivation and care, tell of a
more perfect husbandry than is any where seen in
America, at least in the Northern States.
MOCK AUCTIONS OF LIVE STOCK.
Further on, we find several communications on
the subject of auction sales of cattle, in which it
is charged that many of the pretended sales of
short-horns and other animals, so common among
breeders in England, are mere shams, in which
men of respectable position engage to get rid of
their poor stock, by advertising their well known
and high bred animals to attract bidders, and
procuring the best to be bid in for their own use.
The Mark Lane Express has contained several
articles recently on this subject. From what I
know of English gentlemen and English farmers,
I should expect to find as much fairness and hon-
or in their dealings as in those of any class in any
country. Honesty is an English trait, and char-
acter is an Englishman's capital, and if such
practices have prevailed there, public sentiment
will soon drive them from existence.

MARKET FAIRS.

This paper contains regular reports of all the
grain markets in the world, agricultural reports
from the various counties of the condition and
prospect of the crops, reports of the cattle, wool
and provision markets, with weekly averages of
prices. Fairs are regularly held all over Great
Britain, in the principal towns, weekly, monthly,
or at other intervals, at which farmers, and oth-
ers buy and sell all their farm products. I at-
tended several of those fairs, and witnessed the
manner of conducting their business, and was
struck with the perfect reliance placed upon
the seller's representation. Grain is usually
sold by samples. The farmer is met by a buyer
who accosts him with, "What have you to-day to
sell ?" or the like. The farmer replies, "So many
quarters of white wheat, so many of red wheat, so
many of barley." "Have you samples ?" The far-
mer takes from his capacious pocket several small
bags of a half-pint each, opens them, and allows
the buyer to examine, which he does carefully by
feeling, tasting and smelling. The price is named,
and agreed on, and the buyer takes the sample
and pays the price, and never sees his purchase
till received perhaps in Liverpool or Manchester.
I was assured that fraud was almost unknown in
these sales, and most of the grain sold in the
country changes hands in this way. Can we not
profit by this example ? The farmer wants free
trade and an open market, in order to protect
himself. In this country, an agent from the city
slips round before harvest, and bargains private-
ly for all the wheat, or wool, or apples, for all

54^

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

Dec.

the butter, cheese, poultry, and everything else,
at the farmer's door, and monopolizing the article
adds a frightful commission, and giving the far-
mer the lowest prices, compels the consumer in the
city to pay the highest prices. Thus both produ-
cer and consumer, by being kept apart, support a
large class of middlemen who wax fat at their ex-
pense.

If any man doubts of these things, lot him try
the buying and selling price of any of these com-
modities, in Quincy Market, in Boston, any day,
and he may learn. Market fairs we want and
must have, regularly, in all our large towns.

Much more might we learn of the Mark Lane
Express, had we time and space, but between text
and commentary, our sheet is already filled, and
we must await a future opportunity.

For the New England Fanner.
AUTUMNAL SHOW S— APPROVAL.

I like the tone of your article in the weekly
Farmer of the 13th October, headed "Autumnal
Shows," wherein you give an account of the New
Hampshire State Agricultural Fair. It would an-
swer for a description of some local fairs, held re-
cently in our region, at which agriculture, or what
properly pertains to its true interests, was entire-
ly in the back-ground, and a secondary matter —
but horse-races, raree shows, Yankee peddlers,
faro-tables, and the like, were first and foremost.

If the time has come, as some of the officers of
our agricultural societies seem to conclude, that
fairs cannot be sustained, except by the aid of
these things, so utterly foreign to every agricul-
tural interest, for one, I should be willing to have
them cease at once, unless they can bo sustained
wholly upon their own merits.

If I pay my quarter for admittance inside of
what are termed the fair grounds, it somewhat
grates upon my ears to be assailed immediately
upon entering "the enclosure, to expend another
quarter for the purpose of witnessing the wonder-
ful performance of the noted "Ethopian minstrels,
direct from New York," or to view the '"largest
living snake in America," or the "fat baby," or
the "what do you call it." No, Messrs. Editors,
this is not what I bargained for, and I wholly ob-
ject to its being thrust upon my notice in this
underhanded way.

Seriously, I think the public will soon insist
that these things be purged from our fairs, or, as
an institution, they must go down, and their pri-
meval usefulness be lost. W. J. Pettee.

Salisbury, Conn., Oct., 1860.

To GET Horses from a Stable on Fire. —
Mr. Elisha French, of Braintree, Mass., has in-
vented a means of unfastening and taking horses
from their stalls when the building in which they
are kept is on fire. The contrivance, in model,
looks to us as though it would be useful. He says
it is so constructed that a person may stand at
the outer door and unfasten and lead a horse out
without exposing himself in the least to injury.

THE OLD GBIST MILL.

The grist mill stands beside the stream,
With bending roof and leaning wall,

So old that when the winds are wild
The miller trembles lest it should fall ;

But moss and ivy never sere.

Bedeck it o'er Irom jear to year.

The dam is steep, and welded green ;

The gales are raised, the waters pour,
And tread the old wheel's slippery steps,

The lowest round forevermore ;
Methinks they have a sound of ire.
Because they cannot climb it higher.

From morn till night, in autumn time,
When heavy harvests load the jjlains,

Up drives the farmer to the mill,
And back anon with loaded wains;

They bring a heap of golden grain

And take it home in meal again.

The mill inside is dim and dark,
But peeping in the open door,

You see the miller flitting round,
And dusty bags along the floor;

And by the shaft and down the spout,

The yellow meal comes pouring out.

And all day long the winnowed chaff,
Floats round it on the sultry breeze,

And shineth like a settling s.varm
Of golden-winged and belted bees ;

Or sparks around a blacksmith's door,

When bellows blow and forges roar.

I love my pleasant, quaint old mill !

It 'minds me of mj' early prime ;
'Tis changed since then, but not so much

As I am by decay and time ;
Its wrecks are mossed from year to year,
But mine all dark and bare appear.

I stand by the stream of life :
Ths mighty current sweeps along,

Lifting the flood-gates of my heart.
It turns the magic wheel of song,

And grinds the ripening harvest brought

From out the golden field of thought.

APPLES.

There is scarcely an article of vegetable food
more widely useful and more universally loved
than the apple. Why every farmer in the nation
has not an apple-orchard where the trees will grow
at all, is one of the mysteries. Let every family
lay in from two to ten or more barrels, and it will
be to them the most economical investment in the
whole range of culinaries. A raw mellow apple is
digested in an hour and a half; whilst boiled cab-
bage requires five hours. The most healthful des-
sert which can be placed on the table, is a baked
apple. If taken freely at breakfast with coarse
bread and butter, without meat or flesh of any
kind, it has an admirable effect on the general
system, often removing constipation, correcting
acidities, and cooling off febrile conditions, more
effectually than the most approved medicines.

If families could be induced to sid^stitute the
apple — sound, ripe and luscious — for the pies,
cakes, candies, and other sweetmeats with which
their children are too often indiscretely stuffed,
there would be a diminution in the sum total of
doctors' bills in a single year sufficient to lay in
a stock of this delicious fruit for a whole season's
use. — Hall's Journal of liealih.

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

543

A KIDE ON A PATENT CAKRIAGE.

Several years ago, while passing among the ag-
ricultural machinery at the State Fair in Vermont,
our attention was attracted to a winnoioing ma-
chine of singular construction and power, and we
immediately sought out the inventor, who set it
in operation and explained what he considered its
advantages over other winnowers. The notes
then taken of that and some other articles were
lost, and no opportunity until now has since oc-
curred for us to speak of it. He calls it a "Fan-
ning and Assorting Machine," for separating all
kinds of grain, seeds, and pulse, dividing the
large and earliest ripened for seed, from the small-
est and medium-sized. It is as remarkable for
its velocity of operation as a loinnower, as it is
for its accuracy as a separator".

One of our neighbors having a quantity of bai*-
ley in the chaff, we are told that Mr. Nutting,
•with one of his machines only three feet and two
inches long, winnowed it up for him at the rate
of seventy-two bushels per hour, and that, at the
recent State Fair at Manchester, he winnowed
rye at the rate of 100 bushels per hour, and at
another place, India wheat at 78, and oats at 120
bushels per hour ! As a winnower and separator
combined, we have seen nothing equal to it.

But we have almost lost sight of the patent car-
riage, as we had of its inventor, until he gave us
a call the other day, and invited us to ride with
him, which was accepted, and proved an agreea-
ble one. The peculiarity of this carriage consists
in the novel construction and arrangement of the
springs and draft-rods, whereby the usual rocker,
perch, reaches, braces and hinges, with their con-
necting plates, bolts and rivets are wholly dis-
pensed with, thus diminishing the weight about 15
per cent., and the cost about 10 per cent.

The motions of the carriage were decidedly
easy and pleasant. While it seemed more elastic
than the common carriage, it also appeared to
be more firm and steady in its motions, and re-
tained its position better, scarcely swaying over
at all when making the shortest turns, or having
all the load on one side.

The inventor states that these improvements
have been in use more than four years, and judg-
ing from this trial, he believes the carriages con-
structed with them more durable than any other
in use. The improvements are applicable to any
kind of carriage, with two or four wheels.

We noticed, also, that he has a simple, yet ef-
fective method for retaining the tugs upon the
whilfletree, instead of the leather string usually
in use.

Thomas' Draining Plow. — An interesting ac-
count of the Draining operations at "The Mead-
ows," the residence of C. S. Wainwright, Esq.,

lately appeared in the Tribune. Mr. W. has al-
ready, it appears, put in five miles of tile drains,
in addition to an equal extent of stone drains laid
down before tile could be had in this part of the
State. He is constantly extending his system of
drainage, having now 10,000 tiles, it is stated, as
a first installment in a new portion of the meadow;
and, remarks the writer, "the opening of the ditch-
es is greatly expedited by the use of a surface
plow and Thomas' draining plow — a simple but
effective subsoiler that disturbs the soil at a depth
of twenty inches or so beneath the surface. In
half a day, with two men and two pair of horses,
Mr. Wainwright started drains for 9,000 tiles, one
spit deep, leaving the remainder to be dug with
the draining spade.''

PALIj AISTD EARLY- winter CARE OF
SHEEP.

Probably no part of farm stock pays so liberally
and promptly for care and attention as do sheep.
The difierence of one pound of wool per head, at
shearing time, would be regarded as an item of
no small importance in figuring up the value of a
years' clip from a large flock ; yet there is often
a much larger difl'erence than this in the income
of flocks, resulting from the manner of feeding,
housing and tending. Sheep may have good pas-
turage in Summer, and good attention after the
winter season has fairly set in, and yet suffer for
want of proper care during the cold storms of Fall
and early Winter, and from an insufiiciency of
food "between hay and grass." The follovving
remarks which we extract from the Michigan
Farmer, are timely, and to the point.

There is no season of the year when sheep are
more liable to lose nearly all they have gained,
than during the Fall and early Winter ; and if they
do, there is an end to the hopes of a crop of wool.
For the want of food has the efiect of stopping the
gi'owth of the wool, and the moment the growth
is stopped, the end of the fibre is completed, a
change takes place, it becomes dead, in a manner
analogous to the stem of ripe fruit, and a renewal
of good feed after these months, and after the
growth of the wool has been once stopped, only
prepares the skin to send forth a new growth that
pushes oft' the old Heece, and causes it to be lost
before shearing time. The cases are not unfre-
quent, when we have been told by the owners of
flocks of sheep, which were shown in a very tat-
tered condition in the spring, that they did not
know what had got into their sheep, they "had
fed them grain ever since February, or perhaps
since New Year's ;" it could not be poor feed that
had caused the loss of the fleece. But in fact
the harm was done perhaps before Nev,- Year's.
The sheep had been allowed to lose their condition
in November and December, the growth of the
fleece had been arrested, and the interior works
of the skin that produced the pile of wool had
been stopped for want of supplies. When the
works Avere again set in motion by sufficient sup-
ply of food, they produced a new crop, which did
not connect Avith the old one. Nothing is more
evident from this than that the economy of the

544

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

Dec.

wool-grower consists in keeping his sheep well
fed during the early part of winter, and also well
protected from storms, for it is plain from the
fact that wool begins to grow even on poorly kept
sheep, as soon as the temperature of spring per-
mits the animal economy to divert some of the
supplies from being consumed in keeping up the
mere vital organization, to the increase of the
fleece, that heat has as much to do with the growth
of wool as with the growth of plants. Hence we
say, give sheep protection at an early date in the
beginning of winter, if you desire to keep the
fleece in full growth during the cold season.

THE HUMAN" BODY.
When we have gained some slight knowledge
of the wondrous mechanism we name the body,
how multitudinous its combined actions, how ea-
sily the disturbance of one will affect the the
healthy action of the rest, and how recklessly we
disregard the plainest rules of health, wonder
at a few men having succumbed in the course of
an intense intellectual life ceases at once, and a
new M'onder emerges — wonder that any man can
live this life, and retain his faculties in healthy
activity. The very predominance of the nervous
system implies a predominant activity, and this
is liable to be stimulated to excess by two potent
tempters : ambition, eager to jostle its way
through energetic crowds ; and fascination, which
lies in intellectual labor, the brooding storge of
creation, the passionate persistence of research.
These temjjters hurry men into excess. Men who
live much by the brain have seldom the cour-
age to be prudent, seldom the wisdom to be pa-
tient. In vain the significant words of warning-
become louder and louder ; in vain the head feels
hot, the ears are full of noises, the heart fluttering
and thumping, the nights sleepless, the digestion
miserably imperfect, the temper irritable : these
are nature's warnings to desist, but they are dis-
regarded ; the object of ambition lures the victim
on, the seduction of artistic creation, or of a truth
seen dancing like a will-o'-wisp, incessantly soli-
cits him ; he will not pause — at length he cannot
pause, the excitement has become a fever, the
flame tliat warms destroys him : madness arrives.
Sad this is, and would be infinitely sad if there
were no help for it, if the very glory and splen-
dor of the intellect were necessarily allied to its
infirmity and ruin. But it is not so. Men can-
not transgress nature's laws without incurring
nature's penalties.

How TO Plant Willow. — Mr. Skean gives
the following directions in the Farmer and Gar-
dener. "The proper time to plant is before the
sap starts in the spring. Take your limb or pole,
point it with a keen hatchet, and having made
a hole with a suitable crow-bar, insert the pole,
tapping it on the top with a mallet to make it
firm ; or, what is equally good, ramming the
ground firmly around it with a common post ram-
mer. The pointed end should be inserted, if pos-
sible, until it reaches the water, otherwise they
will not thrive so rapidly. The willow succeeds
best where the water is fresh, and not stagnant."

For the New Bngland Farmer.
COBN'-FIELDS AND THE BLUE JAY.

Mr. Editor : — In perusing the communica-
tions of your ornithological correspondents it has
sometimes occurred to me as a little strange that
no one, so far as I have observed, has had anything
to say respecting one bird which, from its preda-
tory habits, is at this season a great pest to the
farmer. I allude to the Blue Jay or Jay bird, as
he is called by some. While the petty pilferings
of the robin upon cherries and currants have been
fully discussed and commented upon, the moi-e
important depredations of the Jay upon our corn-
fields have (perhaps from being considered an una-
voidable evil) been passed over in silence. I think
one bushel an acre is a low estimate of my aver-
age loss every fall by their plundering, — rather a
heavy per centage u])on the product of our light
lands hereabouts. Not content with the supply
of their present wants, they are said to lay up a
store for the v.'inter, which I believe to be a fact,
as, while at woi-k in the woods, I have found corn
stuck into holes and under the loose bark of dead
trees, which I set down as their place of deposit.
Just now, whole flocks of them are almost con-
stantly on the wing betwixt the corn-fields and
their haunts, filling the air with their discordant
screams, — and they keep steadily at work so long
as an ear remains unharvested. I consider them
a much greater plague than those who pull corn
in the spring, as I know how to prevent their op-
erations, but I confess I do not know how to
stop the Jay, unless by shooting, and it would
require three or four in different parts of the fit Id,
as he is by no moans bashful, and this would not
pay. If you, or any of your correspondents,
know of any redeeming points in his character, L
shall be glad to be informed of them. At present
I consider him an unmitigated thief. If every
one loses in proportion all over the country he
inhabits, the amount will be no trifling item.

Rochester, Oct., ISGO. A Subscriber.

Dead Horses. — From two to three hundred
horses are supposed to die in this city every week,
and the average value of the carcass is about $10,
yielding about 1-^ lbs. of hair for cloth, about
oO lbs. of hide, 6 lbs. of hoofs and tendons, for
glue and buttons, 100 lbs. bone, made into snuff-
boxes, knife-handles, jihosphorus and superphos-
phate of lime, and GO lbs. of blood, yielding prus-
siate of potash. In addition, it is suspected that
a portion of the meat finds its way into our mar-
kets ; that the baked heart and liver season a good
deal of coffee ; and that the intestines are used as
skins for sausages. Nevertheless, our city pays
a large sum annually for the removal of these val-
uable materials to Barren Island. — N. Y. Sun.

Jerseys and Oxfords. — The sale of Jersey
cows and Oxford Down sheep, advertised in the
Farmer three or four weeks since, took place at
Mr. Fay's farm on the 5th instant. The Jersey
cows sold for $100 each, as an average, and the
grade Jerseys, $46. The sheep averaged .$10 per
head — one Oxford Down ram, three years old,
bringing $51.

1860.

NEW E^^GLAND F2VIIMER.

545

TEE FEIZZLED JPOWl,.

This fowl, more curious than useful, is said to
be a native of Japan, and other parts of Eastern
Asia, and is frequently called the "Friezeland
fowl," from confounding the proper term frizzled
with Friezeland. Captain Steadman has observed,
in his "Voyage to Surinam and the interior of
Guiana," that the natives rear a very small sjie-
cies of fowls whose feathers ai-e ruffled, and which
seem to be natives of that country.

"This fowl," says Layard, in a letter from Cey-
lon, "is called by the Ceylonese Caprikuladlo. It
is found here but rarely, and the natives say they
came from Batavia." Sonnini and Temminck
agree that it is a native of Southern Asia, but
that it is domesticated, and tlirives well in Java,
Sumatra, and all the Philippine Islands. It is
the gallus crispus (Frizzled fowl) of Brisson.

Martin says, "this breed is originally from.
Eastern Asia, and is often seen in Java, Suma-
tra, and India. It is a new variety, and not a
distinct species, as some have supposed." It is
occasionally met with in this country, but is not
common. It is called by some "French fowl."
It takes its name oi frizzled, from the feathers —
with the exception of the tail — being turned or
curled towards the head, giving it the appearance,
as has been facetiously remarked, of having been
"drawn through a knot-hole." Here, at the north,
our climate is even too severe for the grown
fowls. They are tender — the feathers do not af-
ford protection against wet, and they are unable
to bear exposure. "The open, ruffled appearance
of their feathers," says another writer, ''suggests
the opinion that they must be unsuited to our
climate ; but those best acquainted with them in-
form us that they are hardy, and do not suff.-r

more tnan other fowls from the weather of this
country. They have the power, it seems, to bring
their feathers close together during the occurrence
of rain.

Characteristics. — Temminck states that the
prevailing color of the wild race is white, and
that in these the legs are smooth ; but there are
many specimens variously colored with black and
brown, and some of them have feather-ed or booted
legs. ^

The cock has a beak much hooked ; hackle
slightly tinged with yellow ; comb cupped and
toothed ; ear-lobe white ; feathers over the entii-e
body white, and projecting from being curved
back from the body, so as to give the bird an ap-
pearance of being ruffled, and of having its feath-
ers rubbed in the wrong v/ay ; tail ample and well
sickled ; legs bluish ; height 18 inches ; weight
4^ pounds.

They are not good layers, and their eggs aver-
age little more than 2 ounces in weiglit. The
liens are good mothers, and the chickens are har-
d}'. Though small, they are good table fowls. —
Bemenfs Poulterer's Companion.

Drought in Minnesota. — A correspondent
of the New Hampshire Journal of Agriculture,
writing at Vv^'inona, Min., Sept. 3d, says : "To-
day I have been back into the country, sixteen
miles. Wheat is in abundance, and is the prin-
cipal crop. The drought is very severe on the
rolling prairies. At one hotel, in Stoton, they
are obliged to use brook water, and to draw even
that five miles, for both man and beast."

546

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

Dec.

A PHOI'ITABLE GKASS FARM.
A correspondent at Palmer, says an exchange,
gives us some interesting facts respecting a cele-
brated grass farm in Palmer, Mass., owned by B.
Franklin Morgan. The farm comprises 400 acres,
and is adapted to both mowing and pasturage.
A meadow of fifty-five acres is represented as
being unequalled in New England, or the United
States. It averages nearly four tons per acre at
the first crop, and produces at the second two to
three tons per acre. The bep't of the meadow has
produced five tons the first crop. The entire crop
per annum is over 200 tons. The meadow is top-
dressed either every year, or every other year.
Our correspondent adds :

As I rode over it, it was apparent that the crop
of grass now standing would yield two tons of
rowen per acre, which is not to be cut, neither is
it to be fed much by cattle. It is the most pro-
ductive piece of land for the labor bestowed upon
it, in New England.

Mr. Morgan keeps 150 head of cattle, fifteen
or twenty horses, some sheep, and sells about 100
tons of hay per annum. Of his 150 head of cat-
tle, loO are cows, 90 of which are in milk now.
He supplies the State Alms-house with milk, a
very convenient market, as the grounds thereof are
contiguous to his farm. His pastures are good,
being a deep loam, producing, whan tilled, great
crops, and heavy grass when seeded down. Thus
have I sketched the best grass farm, considering
the area that is mowed, in the United States.
Let farmers consider for a moment, that the av-
erage crop of hay in Massachusetts is less than a
ton per acre, while Mr. Morgan's farm yields more
than three tons per acre under its present culti-
vation. He occasionally turns this meadow over,
manures it and re-seeds it, keeping it in grass all
the time, or the principal part of it. Mr. Mor-
gan has several farm-houses located over his farm,
where his help are accommodated with homes,
food and raiment."

Perversion of Agricultural Fairs. — The
editor of the Illinois Prairie Farmer, in giving
a description of some four or five country fairs
which he had attended, laments that the "sports
of the ring," "negro minstrels," "jewelry lotter-
ies," "eating and drinlcing booths," are becoming
the most attractive features of these agricultural
festivals. At one fair he was told that there
were twenty of these jewelry gambling establish-
ments on and adjacent to the grounds— at least
a dozen of them inside — at which the purchaser
of some trifling article was entitled to a shake
of loaded dice for a pin, a watch, or some other
glittering but valueless bauble. These stands
were crowded all day, while the various legitimate
departments of the exhibition were sadly neglect-
ed. About the liquor booths there was a con-
stant bedlam, an incessant flow of profane lan-
guage, and occasionally fighting and disorder.
"One valuable life," says the editor, "was sacrificed

on the grounds of the Champaign county Society,
the day before we were there, by a knife in the
hands of an intoxicated man." We are sorry to
read such accounts of farmers' exhibitions at the
West, and hope that societies, both here and there,
will be careful in making arrangements for future
fairs to prevent the repetition or occurrence of all
such disgraceful scenes. They must be prevented,
or they will most assuredly prevent the attendance
of farmers and their families.

ACTIOTi]" OF FSOST UPON SOILS.

The soluble part of the soil is the inorganic
food of the plant. Rain water cannot come in
contact with the soil, or even with a gravel heap,
without dissolving some of it. Expose almost
any stone, or handful of gravel, washed clean, to
the action of a quart or so of rain water for sev-
eral days, and upon evaporating the water, poured
off carefully from the stones, it will be seen from
the whitish residue left that a portion had been
dissolved. Now let these same stones be ex-
posed, covered or partly covered with water, in a
saucer, to the action of frost, setting them out of
doors for two or three snapping cold nights, tak-
ing care that they thaw by day. Pour off the
water, rinsing with fresh, and evaporate as above,
and it Avill be seen that a very much larger quan-
tity has come into solution. The reason is, that
all stones, being somewhat porous, by the action
of the frost their outer portion is broken up,
scaled and fissured, and a vastly greater surface
is exposed to the action of the water, even though
this Assuring is not visible to the eye.

Application. — When land is exposed to alter-
nate freezing and thawing, the same efiects must
take place ; and when it is thrown into ridges in
the fall, these effects are produced more conve-
niently than in any other way.

Snow will He unthavi-ed between the ridges,
ensuring a co],d temperature, and the tops of the
ridges v.'ill, unless the fall cf snow is very heavy,
be exposed to the sun, and will thaw by day.
Thus a considerable portion of the soil during a
great part of the winter, will be alternately frozen
and thav.-ed daily. This effect on many soils, es-
pecially those of a heavy clayey or gravelly na-
ture, will be equal to a dressing of manure. —
Ilomeatead.

Advantages of Draining. — There has been a
severe drought in Texas, during the past summer,
and the editor of the Working Farmer calls the
attention of cultivators to one of the advantages
of draining, as follows :

We hope our Texan friends will observe post
holes, and spots where deep tap roots have been
taken from the soil, and see whether those spots
are not less severely affected by drought than oth-
ers. We have seen in a grass field during drought,
green tufts existing only where an old fence had
been, and the deep post holes had filled up by
washings, leaving the loose earth in which the
air could enter and deposit moisture ; and this,
too, long after the removal of the old fences.

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FARIVIER.

547

MILK— ITS USES.

A few evenings since we hoard an experienced
physician assert, that "a child could be healthfidly
nurtured on arrow-root." This more nearly con-
cerned his vocation than ours ; we did not contra-
dict him, but listened under the hope of being in-
structed by his arguments. It proved, however,
that his views were entirely empirical. Upon
turning to the analysis of arrow-root, we find that
it contains no phosphate of lime ; in examining
the composition of milk, we find it does contain
this necessary element, and feci inclined to agree
with St. Paul, that milk for babes is a proper ali-
ment. We should rather our friend, the Dr.,
prescribe for his own child than for ours ; and
notwithstanding the proverb that we should "love
our neighbor as ourself," if we contemplated de-
voting a pound of arrow-root and a gallon of milk
to the children of our neighborhood, we might be
tempted to igore the former and use a goodly por-
tion of the milk at home.

The bone-making principle in children, as well
as in other young animals, is highly important in
the earlier stages of growth. Every farmer knows
this, and it is practically illustrated in sections
where phosphate of lime is deficient in the soil,
and therefore in the crops. We might as well at-
tempt to build a house of flexible material, as to
nurture an animal organism with substance that
will not furnish the bone-making element ; for
not only is the rigidity of the bone consequent
upon the presence of phosphates in the food, but
the strength of the membranes is due in a degree
to the same cause.

There can be no doubt that the sustenance fur-
nished by the healthy mother is in a better con-
dition for assimilation than that supplied from
artificial sources ; and thus for the infant the milk
of the mother is more valuable than that of the
cow. The phosphate of lime it contains is more
progressed, and will be more thoroughly assimi-
lated.

Our medical friend, it is to be hoped, will re-
view his rationale as to the value of arrow-root.
We believe that thousands of infants have been
hurried into eternity by the use of arrov/ root as an
aliment ; and if they have escaped an early death,
it has only been to wear out an unsatisfactory life
for the want of the early formation of the proper
organism. — Working Farmer.

THE LOV53 OF FIiO"WBRS.

No man can cultivate too earnestly a hearty
love for flowers. We may not measure the value
of them as we measure merchandise, for the in-
fluence flowing from them is ethereal and intangi-
11 c; yet not more necessary is pure air to a
healthy growth and broad development of body,
than is a loving communion with these "sweetest
thoughts of God," needful for all true upbuilding
and expansion of the mind. The notion that it is a
weak and feminine thing — a thing for women and
children — to interest one's self in flowers, is ut-
terly false. One of the most humanizing, and
therefore noblest, things in the world, is a devout
study of these beautiful works of God. There are
granite peaks lifting themselves, bare and bald,
with forbidding aspect, which though clothed with
glandeui', are nevertheless the unloveliest objects
in nature. There are otiier peaks which have as

much of majesty, yet nestled in whose rifts, and
climbing up whose sides, manj'-colored flowers
unfold their beauty, and by their soft hues re-
lieve the sternness of the dull, harsh rock. He is
the truest man whoso character thus combines
strength and conciliating tenderness — whose prin-
ciples are firm as mountains, yet at the same time
are always adorned by the verdure of a gentle
charity. From no source can man gather so many
gentle thoughts and unpolluted feelings, as from
intercourse with flowers. If the Infinite is ever
turning from the care of circling worlds to the
adornment of the violet, surely it cannot be be-
neath the dignity of man to follow his Maker with
a reverent step, and learn the lessons which he
has written for him in the humblest flower. — W.
Iloyt, in Rural New-Yorker.

For the New England Farmer.

MARTHA'S VINEYARD AGRICULTURAL
SOCIETY.

Mr. Editor : — Having noticed a request in
your paper that some one would give you a short
description of the several agricultural fairs as they
were held, and not being aware of your having a
correspondent on the Vineyard, I have concluded
to send you a few items concerning the Third An-
nual Meeting of the Mnrtha's Vineyard Agricul-
tural Association, which was held on the loth and
16th of the present month. This society is as yet
in its infancy, consequently much could not be
expected of it. The Fair was in many respects
superior to either of its predecessors, yet there is
much room for improvement.

On the first day the grounds were devoted to
the exhibition of fat cattle, sheep, swine and
poultry. The show of fat cattle was unusually
good. The sheep were not numerous. Among
them were two bucks which I understood were
brought from China ; one of them had four horns.
They were covered with a coat of hair instead of
wool ; and in my opinion better deserved the
name of goats than sheep. During the exhibition
of the swine, my attention was drawn to some
very fine pigs from four weeks to two months old.
The show of poultry v\as very small.

On the morning of the second day of the Fair
I vvas much gratified in witnessing the fine dis-
play of horses and colts. I was particularly inter-
ested in the colts, some of which in a few years
l)id fair to equal, if not surpass, any of the horses
imported from Vermont.

In the hall I observed huge pumpkins and
squashes, long ears of corn, samples of wheat,
and other vegetables, which I think no society in
the State would be ashamed to place upon its ta-
bles. The ladies' department was net contribu-
ted to as largely as would be desirable to have it.
There were some articles, however, which reflect-
ed great credit on the skill and taste of those who
manufactured them. The most attractive were
several bouquets of prettily formed wax flowers,
that almost equalled nature. On one of the ta-
bles, in a conspicuous position, was a very large
shoe, said to be seventy-six years old, which,
when placed beside one of the present day, would
show not a little improvement in appearance,
though perhaps the former would be the most du-
rable. On the opposite end of the table was a
brick on which was the impression of a child's

548

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

Dec.

foot. This brick was recently taken from the
chimney of a house built more than a century
ago.

On the afternoon of the second day the people
assembled in the hall above, to listen to the
speeches, which were very entertaining. The Pres-
ident, Mr. Thaxter, of Edgartown, was prevented
from being present by sickness. His place was
filled by Dr. Pierce, of the same town. He con-
gratulated the farmers on the bountiful harvest,
which had been as a reward for the labors of the
past season. He was followed by several other
gentlemen who v/ere, with but one exception, pro-
fessional men.

Why is it that there are so few practical farm-
ers to speak on such occasions ? Is it for want of
education ? With the present advantages en-
joyed in our common schools, the young farmers,
at least, ought to be as capable of speaking upon
agricultural topics as the young physicians.

Novih Tlsbury, Oct. 19, 1860. H. G. N.

WATUBAL LIB'E OP THE HOJXTEY BEi3.

The majority of persons who have the care of
bees, entertain the idea that the working bees live
many years. Their conclusion is drawn from the
fact, that colonies sometimes inhabit the same
domicil a long period — fifteen or twenty years —
never thinking that as fast as they die off naturally
and from other causes, they are continually re-
placed by a new progeny. The natural life of the
honey-bee worker does not exceed six months,
and from recent experiments, I believe does not
exceed in the summer season three months.

By the aid of the Italian or Ligurian bee, this
may be easily and satisfactorily tested. On the
2d of July last, I gave to a very powerful stock of
native bees a pure Italian queen. To-day, Sept.
15, this stock was examined, to ascertain what
proportion of the bees were of the Italian race.
The stock is in a Langstroth hive. Taking cut the
frames one by one, both sides of each comb were
carefully inspected, and so far as I could ascer-
tain, at least nine-tenths of the bees were purely
Italian.

Also on the 17th of July I gave an Italian
queen to another stock cf native bees. This stock
was also examined to-day in the presence of a
friend, who assisted me in the examination. Ex-
amining the combs as before, we did not find in
this stock a single noiivebee !

This change has taken place, as will be ob-
served, in less than two months. Since the 17th
of July, I have taken out of this colony combs of
maturing Italian brood — giving them to other
stocks — more than enough to make a good colony
of bees. Tlius it will be seen that the natural life
of the honey-bee in either of these instances
would scarcely exceed three months ; also, that it
requires only a fev/ months to change an apiary
of native bees to those of the Italian race. — M.
M. Bald RIDGE, in Country Gentleman.

Book Premiums. — We see it stated that the
California State Agricultural Society ordered of a
single publishing firm in New York, agricultural
books for premiums to the ainount of full two
thousand dollars.

EXTKACTS AND KEPLIES.

GAS LIME.

Will j'ou, through your columns, inform your read-
ers of the value as a fertilizer of lime obtained from a
gas manufactory ; and in what manner it should be
used. Is it good for trees ? G. T. Hawes.

Beverly, Oct. 17, I860.

Rejiakks. — We find the followmg in relation togas
lime in the "American Muck Book :" —

Gas lime, hov/cvcr, in no case, if po.-sil)Ie, should be
wasted, as it would appear that it may always be safe-
ly employed with good effects under the following cir-
cumstances : —

1. It may be used directly upon mossy land, upon
naked fallows, and in spring when preparing for tur-
nips.

2. In composts, in which the whole of the soliilile
salts of lime will have a tendency to be converted into
gypsiumby the action of the air; and consequently the
Ijenefits, which result from a large application of gyp-
sum, will be obtained by laying such composts upon
the land.

3. As it appears usually to contain only a small pro-
portion of caustic lime, it may with safety be mixed at
once with barnyard or other animal manures, though
not in too large quantity. It may also prove a valuable
admixture wirnigaano, on which its action would ulti-
mately be to fix rather than expel the ammonia.

4. Strewn sparingly over the young turnip plants, it
is stated that it prevents the attack of the turnip fly ;
and harrowed in, when the ground is naked, if the
quantity be considerable, slugs and wire Avorms disap-
pear from its effects.

5. If applied in too large quantity, it is liable to bej
injurious to crops of young grain. But grass lands,
though at first browned by its application, soon recov-
er and repay the cost by yielding a greener and an ear-
lier bite in spring.

Gas lime, fresh from the works, it is also stated, is
one of the best materials to lay under the floors of
farm buildings ; for it not only serves to absorb and
fix the fertilizing gases in such situations, and after-
wards will form a good manure, but being excluded
from the air, it retains its disagreeable smell for a long
time, and is much disliked by vermin and rats.

KEEl'IXG CABBAGES TUROUGU THE WINTER.

Can yon tell me through your paper the best way to
keep cabbages sound and good until spring? I have
now a good dcai of troar)le to keep (hem in a cellar,
and thiaipht you might know some better way.

North Hanson, Oct., 1860. A. E. Luther.

Remarks. — They are kept well in a cool cellar, set
in sand just as they stood when growing. Miner s
Rural Amcricmi says cabbages may be kept m good
condition through the winter, by laying down rails or
poles, or strips of boards, just far enough apart so
that when the heads of cabbages arc set upon them,
with the roots up, they will not touch the ground.
Leave the cabbages where they grew as late as possi-
ble and not freeze, and then place them upon the rails
or poles as above, with roots upward, and then bank
up the earth on each side about a foot deep, covering
the roots about six inches deep, and in the spring the
cabbages will be found as fresh and green as they were
in the fall, with the exception of a few of the outside
leaves being decayed.

Another plan is to dig shallow trenches in a dry
place, about two feet apart, and plant the cabbages in
them as cIol-c as possible. Then drive stakes or small

1830.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

549

posts along the rows, ten or twelve feet apart, and
al:iout two feet high, upon which nail anything that
will support a covering of sa-aw or cornstalks, placed
with then- butts down, in the form of a roof, and thick
enough to keep out the frost. Cabhages kept in this
manner are said to come out in the spring in excellent
condition. The first plan wc have tried, and found it
a good one ; the other we have not tried.

EGYPTIAN CORN.

I saw in last week's Farmer that Abraham B. Davis,
of Palmer, had shared his profits in the culture of the
Egyptian corn. When I saw Mr. Crandall's adver-
tisement of the above mentioned corn in the Farmer,
last spring, I enclosed one dollar to him ; in return I
received one hundred and forty kernels, and planted
it the last of the fitVh month ; about one-third of it
came up and shot out in tree form. It averaged about
ten or twelve cars to a stalk, upon wliicli only about
three ears had corn on them, and were three to live
inches long, and not filled out at the top. I had to cut
up even this, to save ir from the frost. I think that
Mr. Crandall made a mistake in stating that there
might be two crops i-aised in one year. Mine would
have gi-own another year, if it had not been for a
frosty winter, before the ears would have filled out.

A. S. Payson.

FoxboroKfjh, lOth Month I5th, 1860.

EGYPTIAN CORN.

Noticing the advertisement of Mr. Crandall in the
Farmer, I was induced to send for the seed, which I re-
ceived. I supposed it must be something better than
our common corn. I thought no man would have the
audacity to recommend to the farmers of New Eng-
land anything opposed to their interest through the
columns of the Farmer. I accordingly planted my
corn wiih much care in good soil, well manured, and
took good care of it, and gathered it after the frost in
October. The husk was very green when the frost
came, though I think that some of the cars may lie
ripe enough for seed, if any one should wish to try it.
I planted it about the last of May. The best of the
ears are not more than five or six inches long, and
very small, the larger number being entirely without
corii. Now it seems to me that Mr. Crandall meant
to impose upon the public bj' his great statements that
this corn was better in quality than any other corn,
and that it would produce two hundred bushels to the
acre, when, according to my success, it would not
yield more than twenty. Peter Wait.

Daiivers, Oct. 16, 1860.

PENCE POSTS AND FROST.

Will you inform me through the columns of your
paper, the best method for setting fence posts on frosty
land, where every spring the fences arc tumbling over,
being hove up l>y the frost. 11. H. Davis.

Essej;, Sept. 20, 1860.

Remarks. — We know of no way to prevent posts
being thrown out by frost but to set them so deep that
the bottom of the post shall stand on firm ground be-
low whei-e the frost reaches. This would require a
pretty long post, but that would be cheaper than to be
at the cost of building up the fence annually, and re-
pairing the parts broken by the tumbling over of the
posts.

DRAIN TILE.

Having been engaged more or less during the last
Six years in draining my land with tile, instead of
the stone drain that t formerly had been very conver-
sant with, and finding b}' mj' own experience in tile
draining a great advantage and satisfaction, I have
several times procured tile for my own purposes, and
at the same time accommodated such of my neighbors
as are draining their lands.

I have found that in draining land naturally too wet
for cultivation with profit, that the increased crop of

two seasons, with early potatoes and cabb-age, will ful-
ly repay all the cost of draining. P. E. Hall.
'Medford, Sq^t., 1860. _

A GOOD YIELD OF BARLEY.

On the 5th day of May last my father sowed one and
a half l)ushc!s of barley, on one and one-eighth acres
of land, and threshed and winnowed upon the 6th of
October, sixty-five bushels of good barley.

Stephen E. Gale.

Canterhury, Y. II., Oct. 9, 1860.

FRITTERS.

Have you ever eaten fritters made as follows ? If
not, try them.

One cup of squash, boiled and strained, one cup of
milk, one egg, seasoned with salt and enough Hour to
make a batter. Methuen.

THE LESSON OP THE LEAF.

We men, sometimes, in what we presume to be
humility, compare ourselves with leaves; but we
have as yet no right to do so. The leaves may
well scora the comparison. We who live for our-
selves, and neither know how to use nor keep the
work of past time, may humbly learn — as from
the ant, foresight — from the leaf, reverence. The
power of every great people, as of every living
tree, depends on its not effacing, but conforming
and concluding, the labors of its ancestors. Look-
ing back to the history of nations, we may date
the beginning of their decline from the moment
when they ceased to be reverent in heart and ac-
cumulative in hand and brain ; from the moment
when the redundant fruit of age hid in them the
hollowncss of heart, whence the simplicities of
custom and sinews of tradition had withered away.

Had men but guarded the righteous laws and
protected the precious works of their fathers with
half the industry they have given to change and
to ravage, they would not now have been seeking
vainly, in millennial visions and mechanic servi-
tudes, the accomplishment of the promise made
to them so long ago : "As the days of a tree are
the days of ray people, and mine elect shall long
enjoy the work of their hands ; they shall not la-
bor in vain, nor bring forth for trouble ; for they
are the seed of the blessed of the Lord, and their
offspring with them."

This lesson we have to take from the leaf's life.
One more we may receive from its death. If
ever, in autumn, a pensiveness falls upon us as
the leaves drift by in their fading, may we not
wisely look up in hope to their mighty monu-
ments ? Behold how fair, how far prolonged, in
arch and aisle, the avenues of the valleys — the
fringes of the hills ! So stately — so eternal ; the
joy of man, the comfort of all living creatures, the
glory of the earth — they are but the monuments
of those poor leaves that flit faintly past us to
die. Let them not pass without our understand-
ing their last counsel and example : that we also,
careless of monument by the grave, may build it
in the world — monument by -which men may be
taught to remember, not where we died, but
where we lived. — Buskin's Modem Painters.

Top-Dressing. — A con-espondent of the Fm'-
mer and Gardener contends that the beneficial ef-
fects of top-dressing applied in the fall are owing
to its action as a mulch, rather than as a manure
— that it protects rather than enriches.

550

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

Dec.

For the New England Farmer.

POTATO BLIGHT AND SOT IS CAUSED
BY INSECTS.

Mr. Editor : — In your papers of July 14th
and September 29th, I find, in each, a communica-
tion from Mr. John Goldsbury, of Warwick, an-
swering mine published in June, (dated the 5th,)
on this subject, I read the one of July 14 the
13th inst., being the day which that paper reached
me. I now answer both of his communications,
and would have done so separately, but from the
fact of not duly receiving the first paper. Mr.
Goldsbury expresses "profound surprise," because
I have "not given a logical answer to his seven
reasons," against the depredation of insects, as
the cause of potato blight and rot. He thinks his
"reasons are impregnable and unanswerable," —
that my reply, supported by certificates from sev-
enteen members of Congress, the Smithsonian
Institute and Secretary Flint, is "no attempt, as
yet," at an answer or refutation of his logical as-
sertions. He says I "deceived" those "gifted
minds" — made them "jump at the conclusion"
that insects cause the blight and rot. He does
not deny that "they actually saw the insects," but
declares that "such assertions prove nothing."
He assumes a hypothesis which is jJositivdy tin-
true. It is this : that the "insects were on rotten
potatoes." This statement by him I positivelli/
deny. What are the facts ? Two hills of potato
vines, old tubers and earth connected, and in a
growing state, were taken from the field directly
to the committee room in the Capitol. The earth
was removed from the vines and tubers, by the
committee. The old tubers were hard and inidc-
cayed, sending forth strong, vigorous vines. These
are what Mr. Goldsbury calls "dead or decayed
vegetables." Upon the lower imder^ground joints
and roots myriads of living larva insects were
seen, sucking the sap, leaving, wherever congre-
gated, a brown rusty diseased appearance. The
committee also examined the same kind of pota-
toes, undecayed in glass jars, showing vigorous
growing sprouts. These specimens were firm, still
the committee, and others, saw innumerable mi-
croscopic insects crowded together subsisting on
the sap, and leaving the same brown poison ap-
pearance on the surface, which connects with the
sap or vital element ; thus the disease is infused
into the growing tubers. These seventeen mem-
bers witnessed these ocular facts, and from them
made up their minds deliberately. The conclusion
"jumped at" by them, was not from any "fore-
stalled assertion" made by me. The committee
voluntarily invited such of their colleagues as they
thought possessed scientific attainments and agri-
cultural knowledge, to aid them in their investi-
gation and decision, and they have unitedly given
their judgment to the world. More than five
hundred other persons, including those of scien-
tific skill and agricultural experience, have also,
as secondary witnessess, examined these facts, and
not one has questioned the decision of the com-
mittee, but the correctness of their judgment is
frankly admitted by all. Mr. Goldsbury alone
questions their decision. He declares these devel-
opments oi facts, and certificates of their reality,
"no attempt as yet" to refute his "seven reasons."
1 ask your readers to form a judgement for them-
selves, candidly, whether my facts, thus revealed,

and attested to by high authority, are not a per-
fect and unanswerable refutation of his "seven
reasons." He wants what he calls "logical an-
swers." His "reasons" are nothing but theories
logically supported. I produce facts, the living
enemy at their work of destruction, as a reply to
his reasons, and ask him to refute these facts.
They over-balance and set aside all theory, and
all "logic." A few days since cattle were in my
corn-field. I saw them. There is no "logic" in
the power of man that could then have convinced
me that cattle were not there. Their presence
was an unanswerable demonstration that my crop
would be destroyed, if they remained.

These visible enemies were cleared from the
field, and my crop was saved from destruction.
This statement is only such a fact as Mr. Golds-
bury or others often experience. I have found
also by microscopic research, microscopic insects
under ground on my potato vines and their roots.
They are very small but very numerous, and by
repeated experiments and agricultural tests, year
after year, I have proved the fact, that they actu-
ally poison and destroy, prematurely, my potato
vines and their tubers. In the prosecution of
these experiments, I have discovered how to an-
nihilate these little enemies, and when cleared
from the seed in which their embryo is hibernated,
the vines continue to grow vigorously and very
healthy, yielding abundantly, while others under
ordinary culture prematurely decay and rot. Mr.
Goldsbury has in his possession certificates of
these facts, and he cannot refute them. Facts
based upon agricultural tests showing demonstra-
tions that no "logic" can set aside.

The Smithsonian Institute, and C. L. Flint,
Esq., Secretary of Mass. Board of Agriculture,
have also given certificates. I will briefly state
the facts relative to these examinations. The
Smithsonion Institute examined the same un-
decayed potatoes examined by the seventeen mem-
bers of Congress, and they not only found insects,
but the eggs of these microscopic insects imbedded
in the perforations and cavities of the epidermis
of these undecayed tubers. Mr. Flint, of Boston,
states particularly what he examined, and what he
saw. He had charge of the potato, and kept it as
described. The microscopic examination was in
June, then the potato had vigorous sprouts. —
Among those present was the late Hon. B. V.
French. He declared the "potato sound, suitable
to plant, or cook." There were four persons
present, to hear this assertion : Mr. Brooks, IMr.
Sweeney, Mr. Flint, and my son. Mr. Goldsbury
can consult them, if he doubts the assertion of Mr.
French. Furthermore, the Patent Office have made
a most rigid examination, not only as to the cause
of this disease, but relative to the specifications
for a remedy. In the first reply the Office made,
answering my petition, it was intended to place
before me unanswerable objections to granting
the patent. The Hon. J. Holt, then Commissioner
of Patents, made six objections, declared in the
following words, viz :

1st. "Your specifications contain much irrele-
vant matter."

2d. "The perfect insects, sent by you, are not
Aphides."

3d. "It is proved, beyond all doubt, that neither
the Aphis, nor any other insect, is the cause of
the potato disease."

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

551

4th. "The dots pointed out by you, on the
specimen potato sent, are not perforations caused
by the puncture of insects, but belong to the
structure of the tuber."

5th. "That eggs do not exist whei-e you assert
them to be."

Gth. "That a method of cure operating upon a
non-existing disease must be a fallacy."

It is unnecessary to give here particulars of
this long examination at the Patent Office. It
must be, however, understood l)y the reader, that,
according to the rules of the Office, no patent can
be granted unless all the various objections cited
by the Commissioner are refuted, either by es-
tablished authority, or ocular demonstrations
convincing to the Commissioner of Patents. It
is sufficient in this case for Mr. Goldsbury to
know, that, a careful and rigid investigation was
made by Commissioner Holt, aided by the ablest
scientific examiners in Washington ; by the Judges
of Appeals and their own selected witnesses, all
with a view to refute authorities and facts, which
I placed before them at the several examinations.
Their attempt failed. They could not sustain
even a single one of their own objections. All
were refuted ; and the Commissioner acknowledged
to rao personally, at the last examination, that
"the proof was clear in my favor, that the Judges
of Appeals did not sustain the objections of the
Office, therefore, my patent was granted." Can
Mr. Goldsbury, by "logic," annul this high official
decision ? Can he make you and your readers be-
lieve that seventeen members of Congress, the
Smithsonian Institute, the Commissioner of Pa-
tents and his scientific examiners, the Judges of
Appeals, with their witnesses, and Secretary Flint,
have all been "deceived" by me, and by "fore-
stalled assertion" all "jumped at a conclusion ?"
Does he really believe in such a wholesale "decep-
tion," and that I have not refuted the arguments
of these high functionaries selected to examine
a\\ new discoveries'^ I ask him to furnish his
proof about "deception ?" There is abundant au-
thority and facts to settle conclusively that some
insects leave a poison at the fountain of their
nourishment. This particular subject it is un-
necessary here to discuss. The discovery which
I have made is new to Mr. Goldsbui-y, as also to
others. It is truly as he says, a "new and strange
economy of vegetable and insect life" v/hich I
have microscopically discovered. These new and
strange facts are the "ocular demonstrations,"
•which Mr. Goldsbury will not believe. He is
skeptical, and denies the attestations of the com-
mittee of the U. S. House of Representatives,
"that new and important discoveries have been
made by me." He says if I would not talk so
much about "ocular demonstrations, and direct
my attention to the cause of the rot," I should
be "sure of his respect and make some converts."

I can assure Mr. Goldsbury that I have been
"directing my attention" each summer for nine
years to the investigation of the cause of the po-
tato blight and rot. By microscopic research I
have revealed, from spots, all opaque to him, "oc-
ular demonstrations" which his "logic" cannot
refute. It is the "ocular" yac^s, I presume, which
annoy him so much. They are more reliable than
any man's "logic." And what the public want is
facts. They have had enough of theories and
"logic" on this subject. Mr. Goldsbury has

declared that there are "seventeen Yankee farm-
ers" whose judgment is more reliable than the
"seventeen members of Congress."

I have heretofore asked him to furnish the
names and publish their investigations of this sub-
ject ? This he fails to do. I have also asked him
to give the authority and evidence, "that insects
are the consequence of disease ?" This he also
fails to do. The insects in Mr. Flint's bottle and
on other specimens, were not the "consequence"
of disease, of "decay," or of "rot !" Now, I ask
Mr. Goldsbury where th^s insects came from,
which Secretary Flint saw on that nndecaycd
potato taken from the corked bottle in his pos-
session ? Lyman Reed.

Baltimore, Oct. 15, 1860.

PROFESSOB HOBSFORD'S MODE OF
PRESERVING CIDER.

At this season of the year, when so many peo-
ple are making or laying away cider for future
use, they will be looking for some mode of pre-
serving it in a sweet or mild form. So here is Prof.
Horsford's, which has been tried and found ef-
fective :

When the cider in the barrel is undergoing a
lively fermentation, add as much white sugar as
vtill be equal to half or three-quarters of a pound
to each gallon of cider, and let the fermentation
proceed until the liquid attains the right taste to
suit ; then add an eighth to a quarter of an ounce
of sulphite (not sulphate) of lime to each gallon
of cider in the cask ; first mixing the powder in
about a quart of the cider, and then pouring it
back into the cask, and giving it a thorough shak-
ing or rolling. After standing bunged up a few
days, for the matter added to become incorporated
with the cider, it may be bottled or used from the
cask.

Don't mistake sulphate of lime, which is a nat-
ural production, and known as plaster of Paris,
for sulphite of lime, which is a manufactured ar-
ticle, and is worth by the barrel about 33 cents a
pound and by the cwt. 37i| cents, and by the single
pound, 50 cents. It has been of late years much
used by sugar-makers to prevent fermentation of
cane juice ; and in our opinion it Avill be found
more effective as a preventive of fermentation
in cider than an arrester of it after it has pro-
ceeded nearly to completion.

Fences in Ohio. — Acres of enclosed land in
Ohio, 18.000,000 ; one mile of fence to each 40
acres, 450,000 miles ; cost 80 cents per rod, or
$256 per mile, is $115,200,000; yearly expenses
equal to renewal every fifteen years, $7,680,000.

Suppose our farmers should adopt the soiling
system more generally, the saving in expense of
fences would enable them to perform tlie good-
natured act of paying the interest on the national
debt of Great Britain, by merely leaving out their
division fences. Ohio is not alone in this matter ;
it is one of the silly heirlooms entailed upon us
by our forefathers, who required some easy mode
of getting rid of excess wood ; we keep up the
fas!;ion v/ithout the slightest excuse for so doing.
— Worldng Farmer.

552

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

Dec.

For the New England Farmer.

APPLES, PEAKS A]MD GKAPES.

Mr. Editor : — I have forwarded to you nine
specimens of apples, seven of which were origin-
ated here on the Shaker premises in Canterbury.
The most of them we have been growing for sev-
eral years, and think them Avorthy of more public
notice. They are packed in the box, each variety
by itself, with a card and number to correspond
with the following :

No. 1. President. Late Fall.

No. "2. Banian. Ycrj handsome. Will keep till March.

No. 3. Aiitinnn Beauty. Till December.

No. 4. Manzane.

No. 5. September Sweeting. Very fine.

No, 6. Fall Sweet.

No. 7. Winter. No name.

No. 8. Winter. No name.

No. 9. Bedckeek. Midwinter.

No. 10. Pear. Wish to know its name.

No. 11. Noi'thern Muscadine Grajje.

The scions of the President apple I received
from John P. White, of Pelham, Mass. The orig-
inal tree grew in his pasture. We have grown the
apple here some ten years, and find it a very de-
sirable fruit in its season, which is about Decem-
ber.

The Manzane we received from New York
State with that name attached to the scions. If
you are acquainted with the apple, please inform
me whether or not that is the name it bears, as
I cannot find it in any of the fruit books.

I also Vi^ish to know the name of the two pears.

The grape is the Northern Muscadine, a per-
fectly hardy grape for our northern climate, need-
ing no protection during our severe winters. Ri-
pens about the middle of September. The only
objection which I have to it, is its property of
falling off from the cluster after having been kept
a few days, as you will see by the specimens sent
you. They have been kept about two weeks.

The Redcheek, No. 9, is an admirable winter
fruit, possessing a favor equalled by few apples.
It is matured at about midwinter. For dessert
and pits, it is particularly esteemed. The other
■winter varieties will show for themselves, if kept
till matured. I have kept the Baniin, No. 2, till
March.

I should like to see an engraving of the Presi-
dent, with its description, in your valuable Far-
mer.

The specimens of the Autumn Beauty and Fall
Sweets are not so nice as I should have been glad
to send you. In consequence of a powerful wind
they all dropped from the trees, and were more or
less injured. If you consider any of them worth
circulating, please inform me.

Can you, or any of the readers of the Farmer,
inform me where I can obtain a correct process
of making good grape wine.

I should like to know how the "Shaker graft-
ing cement," which I sent on trial last year,
proved among the grafters.

Peter A. Foster.

Shalcer Village, Mer. Co., N. H., Oct., 1860.

Remarks. — The "box and its contents" were
duly received, and contents tested. Some of the
apples were very handsome, such as the Presi-
dent and Banian. The September Sweeting was

very fine, juicy, fine fleshed, and good flavored.
The Redcheeks were also fine looking. We can-
not decide upon the name of the pears — one of
them strongly resembles the Flemish Beauty, and
may be that variety somewhat afl'ected by soil
and climate. The grafting wax worked admira-

bly.

EEMEDY FOB CHOKED CATTLE.

We have been requested to republish the fol-
lowing remedy for choked cattle. It appeared in
the Farmer, for March, 1853.

We were not aware, until quite
recently, that there is an annual
loss by the choking of cattle which
amounts to a veiy serious item in
the commonwealth. On mention-
ing the subject lately, a gentleman
informed us of several instances of
quite recent occurrence, some of
which proved fotal.

Having a cow in the habit of get-
ting choked, w^e found it necessary
to find some ready way of relieving
her, or else to see her die. The
plan described below is easy and
sure. At any rate, we have known
a woman "unchoke a cow," re-
peatedly, alone, with these imple-
ments.

Take a round stick, fifteen inches
long, and two or two and a half
inches in diameter, and bore an inch
hole through the centre, as shown
in Fig. 2 at 6 ; take a common broom
handle and pass its upper end
through the hole at h, in the stick,
Fig. 2, and draw it along to the lower end, at let-
ter a. The end of the stick at a, must be wound
with cotton cloth to make a bunch about two and
a half inches through, and
the cloth nailed on so as to
prevent all possibility of its
slipping off, — then cover
the cloth with lard, so as
to make it slip easy. Now
place the stick. Fig. 2,
across the cow's mouth,
and fasten it with strings
or straps about the roots of the horns, then gent-
ly press the stick, or probang, down the throat,
and the work is done !

These articles may be fitted ready for use in
half an hour, and should always be in readiness.
After having them by us for several years, we find
that the practice is an old English one, and the
same operation is described in some of the Eng-
lish books.

Fig. 1.
Cattle Prolan

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

553

BAKED APPLES.

A homely subject enough, many will say ; but
an important one, nevcrlheless, in the edible
world, and its virtuous tendencies will bs evident
enough before we get through Vvith it. We are
disposed to no glowing eulogy on apples, either
raw, roast, baked, stewed, fried, puddinged, or
preserved. We propose to speak simply what we
know, what we have already lived on for weeks
past, and what we in all honesty recommend to
every good house-keeper — most emphatically to
those having families of children.

A sweet apple, sound and fair, has a deal of su-
gar or saccharine in its composition. It is, there-
fore, nutritious ; for sweet apples, raw, will fat cat-
tle, horses, pigs, sheep, and poultry. Cooked
sweet apples will "fat" children, and make grown
people )lcs]iii — "fat" not being a polite word, as
applied to grown persons. Children being more
of the animal than "grown folks," we are not so
fastidious in their classification. But to the mat-
ter in question. In every good farmer's house
who has an orchard, baked sweet ap])les are an
"institution," in their season. Everybody, from
the toddling baby holding up by his father's knee
— children are decidedly a household commodity
— away back to "our reverend grandmother" in
her rocking-chair, loves them. No sweet-meat
smothered in sugar is half so good ; no aroma of
dissolved confectionery is half so simple as the
soft, pulpy flesh of a v.'ell-baked apple, of the right
kind. It is good in milk, with bread. It is good
on your plate, with breakfast, dinner, or supper
— we don't "take tea" at our house. It is good
every way — "vehemently good" — as an enthusi-
astic friend of ours once said of tomatoes.

Now, for the kind of apple to bake, and the
choice of them in this, in the midst of the apple
season. Apples have tvi'o qualities;, one for eating
raw, out of the hand ; another for cooking, or ci-
der purposes. We cannot go into the explanation
of all these things at this time, but will recur to
it hereafter. Some varieties combine the perfec-
tion of the two qualities — those of eating raw and
cooking. Others are good for nothing until
cooked, or their juice expressed into cider. The
latter we let alone, for the present. We do not
even propose to describe the qualities of the best
apple to bake, only that they be sweet and rich.
We v.ill name a few kinds, and the seasons in
in wliich they are in perfection. They are all to
be found in market in their various times of eat-
ing or cooking. Some are already past the sea-
son ; but more and better ones are coming in for
this and the two coming months. We will, how-
ever, mention all that occur to us, past, present,
and to come, that those of our readers who in-
tend planting may profit, if possible, by our sug-
gestions. First, in season, v/e name the Bough
— early Sweet Bough some call it. It is among
the earliest — being ripe in August — as it surely
is the best of its season, large, fair, and yellow,
with a slight blush on the side. We cannot de-
scribe it at length, now. It grows freely through-
out most of the northern and middle States.
Next in season is the Golden Sweeting — a good
sized, yellow, fair fruit, with a long stem and
slightly oval shape. It is equal in flavor to the
Bough, and slightly richer. It ripens early in
September, when the Bough is done, and remains

near, or quite, a month in season. It is a thrifty,
harder grower, and holds a wide range of climate
and soil as its habitat. Scon after this comes the
Jersey Sweeting — a large, red, fair apple, with drier
flesh than the last, but a good baking fruit. Suc-
ceeding this comes the Lyman's Pumpkin Sweet,
or Pound Sweet — very large, whitish-green in
color, and plashed with still lighter stri])es from
the stem downward. Not so delicate in flavor as
the first named, but excellent when ripe. Still bet-
ter than either of those we have named is the
English Belle-bonne — large, yellowish green, and
intensely sweet. It is the best baking apple we
know ; ripens in October, and will keep well cared
for, until January. No sweetmeat is richer than
this. We have known good molasses made from
it, and it is good eaten from the hand, or made
into apple-sauce, for which purpose no apple is
scarcely so good. It is not a common fruit. We
first saw it in New England. We have it in an
orchard, and would rather spare any variety we
have than this. Next to this is the Talman Sweet-
ing— a medium sized, whitish, round, winter ap-
ple. Its best qualities are not developed until
cooked, when it becomes a perfect sweetmeat. It
will keep into May, properly put up.

These six are the best varieties of several ba-
king apples, which now occur to us. There are,
however, various local varieties of good sweet ap-
ples, which are grown in different parts of the
country, perhaps equally or nearly as good as
those — indeed, we know some such. But as we
did not intend writing up any particular variety
of apple for baking or cooking, when we com-
menced, we are content with recommending the-
use of the sweet apple in general, as a decidedly; -
valuable article of household economy, and leave
it at that.

Tart or sub-acid apples are preferred by som«
for baking, but they are not so generally liked as
the sweet, nor are they so nutritious. But we
must stop, or we shall wander far into the details
of pomology. — N. Y. World.

Rats. — A correspondent of the Oa.rdeners
Monthly says : "I tried the efl'ect of introducing
into the entrance of their numerous holes,, runs,
or hiding-places, small portions of chloride of
lime, or bleaching powder, wrapped in calico and
stuffed mto the entrance holes, and thrown loose
by spoonfuls into the drain from the house. This
drove the rats away for a twelvemonth, when
they returned to it. They were treated in the
same manner, with like effect. The cure was
most complete. I presume it was the chlorine
gas, which did not agree with their olfactories."

A Sure Remedy for a Felon. — It is said by
somebody, who pretends to know all about it, that
the following is a sure remedy for a felon :

"Take a pint of common soft soap and stir in
air slacked lime till it is of the consistency of
glazier's putty. Make a leather thimble, fill it
with this composition, and insert the finger
therein, and a cure is certain."

We happen to know that the above is a certain
remedy and recommend it to any one who may be
troubled with that disagreeable ailment. — BvffaJ^ ■
Advocate.

554

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

Dec.

For the New England Farmer.
IMPORTAJXrCE OF THE "WHEAT CROP.

Mr. EDiTOrv: — It has been my pleasure, the
paf5t week, to receive a superior specimen of
White Flint Winter Wheat from my esteemed
friend, James F. C Marshall, E^q., from his farm
in Westboro', Mass. At my suggestion, he says,
he was induced to try the experiment which has
resulted in giving him thirty bushels per acre.
The size and plumi^ness of the berry indicate a
weight of G3 to 65 lbs. to the bushel. Here is the
value of seven barrels of flour to the acre, while
the strav/ for tlie farm or the markets in tnat local-
ity, will nearly pay for the labor. Such an exam-
ple should be followed by every farmer in this
neighborhood and surrounding towns.

1 am more than hopeful of every farmer of New
England in relation to this matter of raising his
bread. He neglects no other crop, and surely no
crop is so indispensable to his household com-
forts as this.

I notice in your issue of Saturday last, "A sen-
sible movement of the Worcester South Society,"
— the first question being, "Can the raising of
wheat be made the most profitable crop of the
small grains ?" This question would seem to be
affirmatively answered by the foregoing statement
of my worthy friend from Westboro'. His state-
ment falls somewhat below some others that you
have published the past season, but it is fair to
estimate it at two dollars a bushel when the price
of the best flour is eight to nine dollars per bar-
rel, and seldom below this figure. While this
would seem to answer the question, as being /ar
the most "profitable crop of vhe small grains,"
(probably nearly doulile of any other,) yet it is
the imperative duty of the farmer to raise his rye,
barley and oats for the general wants of his farm.
Let us suppose the product and value of an acre —

30 bushels wheat, at S2 $60,00

30 " rye,at$l,25 37,50

50 " oats, at 50c '25,00

40 " barley, at 80e 32,00

Now, this tabular statement is much in favor of
wheat. The ryo and oat crop is pretty largely
represented, but it may be a fair showing, rela-
tively— cost of producing, the same.

Mr. Editor, you may recollect ten years ago,
and since, I was urgent in advocating and recom-
mending that Massachusetts and the otlier New
England States should ofi'er a special bounty on
wheat-growing, showing by statistics at that time
that your State alone imported about twelve mil-
lions of dollars of bread-stuffs. These figures look
immense, but they are, nevertheless, true ! With
the few past years of development and encourage-
ment to the farmer, if aided by a State bounty of
a few cents on a bushel, for a term of three to five
years, would it not bo an additional stimulus ? It
would add millions of revenue to your State. It
would add value to your now worthless, unpro-
ductive acres. It would keep your valuable, solid
young men with their families, at home, who seek
(to be disappointed,) a more prolific soil in the
West. There the church, the school-house, the
farmer's club, the social gatherings, the rollick-
ing sports of the young — all disappear by reason
of loneliness, far-off neighbors, compelling every
sacrifice, better known to those who have ex-
changed them, for a happy New England homo !

Wheat and corn are nearly all the marketable
products of the West, if, perchance, the season is
favorable to make them. At your own New Eng-
land home you can raise your wheat and corn,
and every pound of hay, every pint of milk, every
chestnut, apple, pear, onion, cucumber, cab])age-
head — nay, all of mother earth's productions, have
value and a ready home market. Then encourage
the avenues to agriculture. If it is bread, and a
small State bounty required to make it, then by
all means propose it — for all the oxd!^, the ins will
be returned a thousand fold to vcur State.

Brooklyn, L. I., Oct. 22, 1860. H. PooE,.

TEXAS.

A correspondent of the New York Evenivg
Post declares that Texas is not an agricultural
State. He says :

"Ten years' wandering through almost every
part of Texas, with some little experience in stock
raising, gives me reasonable grounds for ventur-
ing an opinion on her capacities and resources.
Along the Gulf coast, and in the bottoms of the
lower Brazos, Red and such large streams, crops
are generally sure ; elsewhere, Texas has not one
single clement of an agricultural country. Farm-
ers, with all their labor, are never sure of raising
corn and breadstuff's for the su]iport of their fam-
ilies ; and in my short experience I have knov/n
several seasons when the people through the
greater portion of the country have subsisted al-
most entirely upon meat.

Texas is, however, a stock country, and in the
western part of the State, pre-eminently so. There
the Mozquit grass, which stands the frosts of win-
ter and long resists the droughts of summer, cov-
ers immense tracts of country, and cattle range,
multiply and keep fat through all the vicissitudes
of climate.

Sheep-raising is yet in its infancy ; it is an ex-
periment in which more persons have failed than
succeeded. But a very small portion of the coun-
try is suitable for sheep, and some species of the
Mozquit grass have their seed armed witli needle-
like and barbed spires, which torment and even
kill the sheep, and render their wool unprofita-
ble."

To succeed as a cattle raiser, the emigrant
needs from six to ten thousand dollars, otherwise
he must go to the extreme frontier, and shift his
stock from place to place, as settlements crowd
upon him. He has to depend for protection
against the Indians upon his rifle and revolver,
and leads a life of constant danger and hardship,
without neighbors, and debarred the necessari(5^
and comforts enjoyed by the negro on one of our
poorest Southern plantations.

English Horses. — A writer in the London
Review complains that the noble breed of useful
English horses is becoming ruined. He says :

Our country, once famed for the best breed of
saddle-horses in the world, is becoming overrun
with a lot of worthless, weedy, refuse racing stock,
which by many inexperienced farmers and breed-
ers, are gradually "neing crossed with, and thus
deteriorating the brood of our short-legged, deep-

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

bodied, wide-hipped, strong loined saddle-horses,
the lineage of which, in a few instances, we can
still trace, by their compact forms, to the breed
of race horses encouraged by our forefathers, who
bred horses for nseftd jjurposes, to carry men long
distances, and not the spindle-shanked velocipedes
bred by our turfmen of the present day, that break
down after running a few furlongs with a baby on
their backs.

ECOETOMY IN FEEDING STOCK.

In some parts of New England, the hay crop,
this year, is very light, and in many sections it
falls considerably short of an average yield. In
portions of Western Vermont it is almost a fail-
ure. A gentleman whose farm lies on the shore
of Lake Champlain informed us recently, that on
the same land which last year produced one hun-
dred and twenty tons, he cuts this year only twenty
tons ; and that in his immediate neighborhood,
many fields were not mowed at all, as it would
not pay to swing a scythe over them.

These facts naturally suggest to every farmer,
the importance of economy in spending his hay.
But even where there is a full crop, our long win-
ters and the severe cold of our climate make the
question of economy in feeding stock one of
great interest to the farmers of New England.
Even in old England, where the winters are far
more mild, this subject is much discussed and
much experimented upon. Scientific men, like
Mr. Ilorsfall, Dr. Anderson, and others, have
instituted the most thorough experiments in com-
pounding the various materials of food, while
practical feeders are fully alive to the necessity of
using every means to economize that part of their
crops which is consumed on their farms.

Wo believe that American farmers have rather
neglected this branch of farm economy. They
have in many ways endeavored to increase the
production of their fields ; have taken advantage
of various appliances to diminish the cost of pro-
duction, by the use of machinery and better con-
structed implements ; have made trial of artificial
manures, new crops, and new processes of culti-
vation; have been careful in harvesting their
crops — scolding Billy or Georgy roundly if a few
thin scatterings from a huge load of hay have
been left upon the ground. But after the barns
are filled, and the inclemency of the weather has
driven the cattle to the shelter of the stables, with
a sharp appetite for the winter's store, it would
seem that the great majority of our farmers are too
indifferent to the importance of economy in feed-
ing out so large a portion of the whole production
of their farms as is required to sustain their ani-
mals during the long period of frost and snow,
which makes up our New England winters.

In our monthly for January, we published some
suggestions bv Mr. 11. Lincoln, of Lancaster, for

a plan of warming stables, and of steaming or
cooking in some way the food for the cattle, based
on the success which some English feeders claim
for their experiments in those particulars, by
which stables are kept at a temperature of 60°,
and the cattle are fed with warm and palatable
messes.

But remembering the adage, that "we must
creep before we go,'' we think it will be well for
most of us, in this country, to begin by battening
our stables, and perhaps where the soil is suf-
ficiently dry and warm, by lowering the lodging-
rooms of our cattle a little below the surface of
the ground, so that when we do conclude to erect
furnaces and cooking apparatuses in the base-
ment of our barns, the change to which our stock
will be subjected may be less than it must be
now, when a loosely boarded stable admits, by
broad cracks from beneath, as well as from the
sides and ends, the "bracing" cold of our frequent
zero-mornings, and the chilling dampness of our
protracted north-east storms.

A constant improvement is going on in New
England in respect to the shelter of stock. A
New Hampshire farmer recently stated that he
could remember when there were but two or three
barns in his town, which had "great doors." The
drive-way to the floor was guarded by poles or
boards a few feet high, allowing the snow to drift
in, by cart-loads, and making the temperature the
same in the barn as out of doors ; hence the say-
ing, "as cold as a barn." Now, he continues,
"our farmers use only well seasoned and matched
boards, or they double board or batten ; and they
would almost as soon erect a new house without
a cellar, as to build a new barn without one."

Some experiments in feeding hogs, reported by
a correspondent of the Ohio Farmer, show a sur-
prising difference in their gain in vt^arm and cold
weather. In the latter part of October, 100 hogs
averaging 200 pounds each, were fed in covered
pens all they could eat of corn and cobs ground
together, steamed, and given in allowances five
times a day, In a week they were weighed, when,
reckoning 70 pounds of corn and cob as equal to a
bushel of corn, and pork at four cents a pound,
the hogs paid 80 cents a bushel for the corn. The
same experiment was continued. The first week
in November, the weather being colder, the hogs
paid 62 cents a bushel. The third week the corn
brought only 40 cents, and the fourth week it
brought only 26 cents, the weather continuing to
grow colder. Another lot was fed through Decem-
ber, which gave only 26 cents a bushel for the corn.
A part of the time the temperature was at zero,
and then the hogs only gained enough to pay^i'e
cents a bushel for the corn.

In respect to the economy of wai-mth in the

556

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

Dec-

feeding of sheep, we find the following experi-
ments reported by English farmers.

One hundred sheep were placed in a shed, and
ate 20 pounds of Swedish turnips each, per day ;
while another hundred, in the open air, ate 25
pounds each, and at the end of a certain period,
the former animals gained each 30 pounds more
than the latter ; plainly showing that to a certain
extent, warmth is a substitute for food.

Five sheep were feed in the open air, between
the 21st of November and the 1st day of Decem-
ber. They consumed 90 pounds of food per day ;
at the end of this time, they weighed two pounds
less than when first exposed.

Five sheep were placed under shelter at a tem-
perature of 49"^; consumed at first 82 pounds,
then 70 pounds per day, and increased in weight
23 pounds.

A similiar experiment was made by another dis-
tinguished farmer in the same country. He placed
80 Leicester sheep in an open field ; they con-
sumed 50 baskets of cut turnips per day, besides
oil cake. On putting them into a shed, they were
immediately able to consume only 30 baskets,
and soon after but 25, being only one-half the
quantity required before ; and yet they fattened
as rapidly as when eating the largest quantity.

Every farmer expects that his cattle will have
keen appetites in cold weather, but few probably
know exactly how much more fodder they con-
sume with the mercury at zero, than when it
stands at some sixty degrees above that point.
We therefore invite practical farmers to write out
for our columns their opinions and experiments
on the effect of temperature in feeding stock, and
other topics relating to this important subject.

DKAIlSr TILE— NEW STYLE OP.

There is now on exhibition at our office a new
kind of drain tile, made by mixing Rosendale ce-
ment with sand, in sufficient quantities to leave it
porous for the admission of water ; and we are
surprised to find this tile so very strong, contain-
ing so large a proportion of sand. The discoverer
of this process has patented it, and will be pre-
pared at an early date to supply orders. Of course,
tile made in this way requires no baking, and as
Rosendale cement is now sold at $1 10 per bar-
rel, capable of tempering eleven barrels of mate-
rial for tile making, the tile is very cheap. Li a
few days after being made, it becomes extremely
hard, and the longer it remains in the soil, the
stronger it will be. When both ends are stopped,
and it has been immersed in a pail of water, it
fills itself in a few seconds. This promises to be
a great improvement in districts where a suitable
kind of clay for tile making, or the necessary fuel,
cannot readily be procured. — Working Farmer.

SuBsoiLiNG vs. Drought. — We have had an
opportunity during the late season, of observing
the benefits of subsoiling on corn crops. The

drought has been very severe, and subsoiled fields
can be picked out as far as they can be seen, ex-
hibiting corn in full vigor ; while on shallow-
plowed land the crops were scarcely worth the
care necessary to maintain them. Where a lifting
subsoil plow of the smaller size has been used in
place of the hand hoe, and in place of the small
mould-board plow, in the cultivation of corn, the
crop has been saved, even where drought most
prevailed. How long will it take our farmers to
learn that subsoiled land never suffers from
drought ? — Working Farm.er.

For the New England Farmer.

THE BIRDS OF WEW ENGLAND— No. 5.

BUZZARDS.

Red-tailed Buzzard — Common Buzzard — Roush-legged Buz-
zard— Black Buzzard — Red-shouldered Buzzard — Winter
Buzzard — Marsh Hawk, or Harrier.

The fifth and last sub-family of the Falconidce,
the Buzzards, {Buteoninaj, or Circince of some
authors,) embraces those birds of the Falcon
tribe characterized by their slothful and inactive
habits, comparatively weak bills, feet and claws,
a softer and more downy plumage, and a rather
heavier form than most others of this extensive
family. Their flight is graceful and protracted,
generally performed in sweeping circles ; and
several of the species delight in soaring to im-
mense heights, apparently enjoying the coolness
of the upper atmosphere, yet will remain perched
for hours, in idleness, until forced to exertion by
the calls of hunger. They breed in trees, gener-
ally in the interior of forests, many of the spe-
cies retiring to high northern latitudes during the
period of incubation. Their chief subsistence con-
sists of such humble prey as small or wound-
ed bird?, the smaller mammalia and reptiles,
and when forced by hunger, sometimes prey upon
the poultry in winter and early spring ; but from
the multitudes of Arvicola;, or field-mice, they
destroy, are rather beneficial to the farmer than
otherwise. The Buzzards are allied in form to
the Eagles on the one hand, and on the other
approach the Owls in some of their characteris-
tics. All undergo great changes of plumage, and
one or two species are somewhat nocturnal. The
New England genera that we shall recognize are
Buteo and Circvs.

The Red-tailed Buzzard, {Buteo horealis,
Swain,) a species peculiar to America, inhabits
the United States from Canada to Florida and
Mexico, and far to the westward, and is even
found as far north as the 58th degree of latitude.
It frequently breeds in the forests of New Eng-
land, but is said to be more abundant in the
Southern States, great numbers retiring from the
higher latitudes at the approach of winter to
these milder regions. From its occasional dep-
redations upon the poultry in winter and early
spring, when its more common diet of birds, rab-
bits, squirrels, meadow mice and reptiles, is not
easily obtained, it is generally well known as the
Hen Ilavi'k, Bed-tailed Hau'k, &c. It is one of
the most active of the Buzzards, being somewhat
allied to the true Hawks and Falcons, and seems
to delight in soaring in the higher regions of the
air in fine weather, rising until it is lost to view
amid the fleecy clouds, or clear blue of the sky ;

1860.

NEW EXGLAND FARMER.

557

while from this altitude iis clear, shrill, and well-
known cry of kae, kae, prolonged, and but little
varied, is distinctly heard. In Louisiana it is
said to build its ne.st early in February, but in
New England it is not commenced till near the
first of May, at which time it retires to the dense
forests, selecting one of the tallest trees for the
receptacle of its nest, which is large, and placed
as near the top as convenient, comi^osed of coarse
sticks and twigs, and lined with finer materials.
The eggs, four in number, are dull white, thinly
marked with brown.

Lengtli of this specie, twenty to twenty-two
inches ; breadth of wing, three feet, nine inches;
above, dusky brown ; beneath, brownish-white,
streaked with dai'k brown ; tail, ferruginous in
the adult birds.

The Common Buzzard, or Short-winged Buz-
zard, (Buieo vulgaris, Bechst.,) inhabiting the
northern parts of the continent and the Rocky
Mountains, is met with in New England, but
more commonly at the approach of winter. In
Europe it is described as a common and well-
known bird. Its disposition is sluggish, content-
ing itself with the most ignoble game, and rarely
exhibiting courage enough to attack the domestic
fowls. At times it delights to soar at great alti-
tudes, but generally remains perched near mead-
ows and swamps, v,-here it indolently watches for
the appearance of frogs, mice, and other small
animals. It is of about the size of the preced-
ing species. It breeds in trees, commonly in the
higher latitudes, laying five greenish-white eggs,
blotched with brown.

The Rough-Legged Buzzard (Buteo lagopus,
Bechst.,) is also a European species as well as
American, but here appears to be more common
in the northern parts of the continent than else-
where. It visits the United States in winter, but
at the approach of spring again returns to more
boreal latitudes, where it has been found to breed.
"This handsome species," observes Wilson, "not-
withstanding its formidable size and appearance,
spends the chief part of the winter among our low
swamps and meadows watching for mice, frogs,
lame ducks and other inglorious game. Twenty
or thirty individuals of this family have regularly
taken up their winter quarters for several years
past — and probably long anterior to that date — in
the meadows below this city, (Philadelphia,) be-
tween the rivers Delaware and Schulykill, where
they spend their time watching along the dry
banks like cats ; or sailing low and slowly over
the surface of the ditches."

The rough-legged buzzard is twenty-two inches
in length and fifty in alar expanse. Color above,
chocolate brown edged withferrugineous, beneath
ocheraceous streaked with dusky; bill uncommon-
ly small, suited to the humility of its prey."

The Black Buzzard, {Buteo Saudi Johannis,
Bonap.,) is a rare species, said to be remarkably
shy and wary, and described as partial to the vi-
cinity of the larger rivers, swamps and marshes
generally, where its favorite food of mice, frogs
and moles is observed to abound. It spends the
summer far to the North, breeding in Newfound-
land, Labrador and around Hudson's Bay, visit-
ing the United States in winter, but is rarely seen
here in summer. Its flight is easy and sailing,
occasionally swift, and apparently performed with
but little exertion. The length of this species is

twenty-one inches, breadth of wing fifty ; general
color quite black, with slight touches of brownish.
This species has been described by some writers
as the young of the preceding (Buteo lagopus.)
but is now generally considered as distinct.

The Red-Shouldered Buzzard, {Buteo lin-
eaius, Jardine,) is dispersed over the greater part
of the United States, though according to Audu-
bon, rarely observed in the middle districts, and is
generally considered to be a quite rare species. In
summer it is confined chiefly to the woods, breed-
ing in the tallest trees, constructing a large nest,
somewhat resembling that of the common Crow,
near the extremity of a large branch, and laying
four or five bluish white eggs, faintly marked at
the smaller end with brownish red. It is said to
prey much upon squirrels, silently watching for
them in an erect posture, and killing them instant- .
ly as it pounces upon them ; but larks and small
water-birds constitute an important part of its
food. It is described as one of the noisiest birds
of its tribe, frequently uttering its shrill, discord-
ant ka-hee ka-liee, especially in spring, and de-
lighting to soar in swift gyrations at great eleva-
tions. This species, in connection with the fol-
lowing, has been a source of perplexity to natu-
ralists, it being often described as the Red-
Shoiddered or Winter Hawk, and in the account
is blended together the history of both, and it is
now hardly decided whether one or two species
really exist under this cogn«omen, though there
seems to be sufficient reason for regarding the
Esd-Shoiddered Buzzard and the Winter Buzzard
as two distinct species. Indeed, they were so de-
scribed by Wilson and Audubon, though Bona-
parte and others have regarded them as the same
bird in diff'erent states of plumage. The species
described as

The Winter Hawk, (Astur'? hyemalis of
Jardine, Falco hyemalis of Wilson and Audu-
bon) seems to be a migratory species coming to
us from the north at the approach of winter, be-
ing quite common in that season, even in those
regions that the Red-shouldered Hawk is seldom
observed to frequent. Wilson describes it as a
dextrous frog-catcher, these reptiles constituting
its chief food, and speaks of extracting from the
craw of a single individual, "the broken frag-
ments and whole carcases of ten frogs of different
dimensions," and Audubon mentions frog-catch-
ing as a characteristic of this species. Its cry,
resembling the syllables kay-o, is clear and pro-
longed, but is not often uttered. These birds are
about the size of the Red-tailed Buzzard, the
Red-shouldered Buzzard being rather larger than
the Winter Hawk, and they differ much in the
color of their plumage.

In the genus Circus we meet with birds some-
what approaching the Owls, in having a collar of
fringed feathers surrounding the face, and in the
relative size of the head and neck. They are bold
and vigorous birds, possessing a powerful and
easy flight, but subsisting chiefly on such ignoble
game as mice, reptiles and small birds, though
when pressed by hunger fearlessly attacking the
poultry. The common Marsh Hawk or Hen
Harrier, Circus Hudsonius, Vieill.) is a well
known species, inhabiting the whole United
States and far to the North. Species closely al-
Hed to the present are found to exist in nearly all
parts of the world, and for a long time this bird

558

NEW ENGLAND FAE^SIER.

Dec.

was described as identical with the Marsh Hawk
of Europe, Circus cyaneus. It is found dispersed
throughout New England, but most abounds
where there are extensive meadows, and is said by
Wilson to be very serviceable to the planters of
the Southern States by the havoc it makes among
tiio immense flocks of Rice Birds or Bobolinks,
that at times are so destructive to the rice and
grain fields. They possess a voracious appetite,
and destroy multitudes of mice. An individual
that I recently dissected contained the greater
part of a young rabbit, and several meadow mice.
The Marsh Hawk breeds upon the ground, lay-
ing four roundish, bluish white eggs. Length
tvv-enty-one inches, breadth of Aving, three feet ten
inches ; color above, glossy chocolate brown,
slightly skirted with ferruginous ; beneath, very
pale ferruginous, marked with brown. J. A. A.

For the New England Farmer.
■WASHINGTON AS AN AGKICULTUKIST.

Dear Farmer : — Perhaps a short account o
Washington as an agriculturist, may be new and
interesting to some of your readers. His views
upon the raising of tobacco might well be pon-
dered by our Connecticut valley producers of the
weed. I copy from "Washington's Political Leg-
acies," to which is annexed an appendix, contain-
ing an account of his illness, death, &c. &c. Bos-
ton, 1800.

"Colonel Washington was one of the greatest
landholders in North America; his estate at
Mount Vernon was computed in 1787, to consist
of nine thousand acres, under his own manage-
ment and cultivation : he had, likewise, various
other large tracts of land in other parts of the
State ; his annual receipt from his estates, amount-
ing in 1776, to four thousand pounds sterling,
and it was then believed would have sold for up-
wards of one hundred and sixty thousand ])ounds
sterling, which is equal to more than $606,000.
AVhat his revenue was recently, we do not know,
but there can be little presumption in supposnig
it was much increased under his prudential guid-
ance, and practical economy.

"He allotted apart of the Saturday in each week
to receive the reports of his overseers, which were
registered progressively, to enable him to com-
pare the labor with the produce of each particular
part, and it is affirmed that this weekly retrospect
was duly considered by this great man during the
stormy movements of the revolutionary war, and
his presidency of the United States. He has
raised in one year, seven thousand bushels of
wheat, and ten thousand bushels of Indian corn,
on his Mount Vernon estates ; in a succeeding
year he raised two hundred lambs, sowed twenty-
seven bushels of flax seed, and planted seven hun-
dred bushels of potatoes : at the same time his
domestics manufactured linen and woolen cloth
enough for his numerous household, which
amounted to nearly a thousand persons. With
him, regularity and industry were the order of each
day, and the consequent reflection made them all
happy. Though agriculture was pursued by him
M-ith such undeviating attention, he used it rather
as the means of his pleasure, than the end of his
wishes, which concentrated in the labor to im-
prove the well being of his fellow-citizens ; and to

effect this, he desisted fron. planting tobacco, to
employ himself in the introduction and fostering
such articles of vegetation as might ultimately
tend to a national advantage." F.

Amherst, Mass., Oct. 17, 1860.

GOV. FAIKBANKS' ADDSESS.
The address of Gov. Fairbanks to the General
Assembly of Vermont, now in session, is an ex-
cellent one. A portion of what he says of the ag-
ricultural affairs of the State wo give below.

"From an abstract of the seventh United States
Census, it appears that in 1850 there were in this
State two million six hundred thousand four hun-
dred and nine acres of improved land, — a quanti-
ty exceeding that of any other New England
State; and that our agricultural products for that
year exceeded in quantity those of any of the same
States, in the articles of live stock, butter, cheese,
wool, wheat, oats, potatoes, hay, and a variety of
other crops. The value of live stock, as shown by
that census, was twelve million six hundred forty-
three thousand two hundred twenty-eight dollars,
and the aggregate of farming productions for
that year, shows a valuation, including live stock,
of about twenty-five millions of dollars, being
nearly equal to eighty dollars for each individual
of our population.

The well-known industry of our citizens, en-
gaged in agricultural pursuits, and the capabili-
ties of our soil, have been made available for in-
creasing the amount of these products, under the
stimulus of augmented prices, consequent upon
the opening of railway communication with the
markets. It may therefore be assumed that this
department of industry has not only maintained
its relative importance, but that it has, during
the intervening years since the above date, ex-
perienced a constant and healthful growth and in-
crease ; still it is conceived that it is capable of
far greater development, and a much more abun-
dant increase.

Vermont is essentially an agricultural State.
The great body of its citizens are engaged in ag-
ricultural pursuits. The salubriousness of its soil,
and the variety of its physical structui-e, adapt it
to the cultivation of the most essential and profi-
table crops, and to the successful prosecution of
cattle and sheep husbandry. Other important
interests exist, and are successfully prosecuted ;
but it is to this, essentially, that we are to look
for the most marked and healthy growth of the
State in wealth and prosperity."

He says the evidence of thrift and prosperity ia
observable among all classes of the citizens of the
State, but the remark is especially applicable to
the department of agriculture. He recommends
the establishing a State Board of Agriculture for
the collection of statistical and other information
relating to agriculture, to be embraced in annual
reports for distribution tlu"oughout the State.

Poets make a book of nature, wherein they
read lessons unknown to other minds, even as
astronomers make a book of the heavens, and read
therein the movements of the planets.

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

559

A CRACK IN THE HOG-TROUGH.

Some time ago a friend sent mo word that he
gave, everjf day, nearly twenty pails of butter-
milk to a lot of shoats, and they scarcely im-
proved a bit on it. Thinks I, this is a breed of
hogs worth seeing — they must be of the sheet-
iron kind ; so I called on him, heard him repeat
the mournful tale, and then visited the sty. In
order to get a closer view of the miraculous swine,
I went into the ])en, and on close examination
found a crack in the trough, through which much
of the contents ran away under the floor.

Thinks I, here is the type of much of the fail-
ures and misfortunes of our agricultural brethren.
When I see a farmer omitting all improvements
because of a little cost, selling all his good farm
stock to buy bank, or railroad, or mortgage stock,
robbing himself and heirs, thinks I, my friend,
you have a crack in your hog-trough.

When I see a farmer subscribing for half a
dozen political and miscellaneous papers, and
spending all his leisure reading them, while he
don't read a single agricultural or horticultural
journal — thinks I to myself, poor man, you have
got a large and wide crack in your hog-trough.

When I see a farmer attending to all the politi-
cal conventions and coming down liberally with
the dust on all caucus occasions, knowing every
man who votes his ticket : and yet to save his neelv,
couldn't tell who is President of the County Ag-
ricultural Society, or where the Fair was held last
year, I "unanimously" come to the conclusion
that the poor soul nas got a crack in his hog-
trough.

When I see a farmer buying guano, but wast-
ing ashes and hen manure, trying all sorts of ex-
periments except intellectual hard work and econ-
omy ; getting the choicest seeds, regardless of
cultivation and good sense ; growing the variety
of fruit called "Sour Tart Seedling," and sweeten-
ing it with sugar, ])ound for pound ; keeping the
front fields rich and neat, while the back lots are
overgrown with elder, briars, sna])-dragon, and
thistle ; contributing liberally to the Choctaw In-
dian Fund, and nevtr giving a cent to any Agri-
cultural Society — such a man, I will give a writ-
ten guarantee, has got a crack both in his head
and in his hog-trough.

When I see a farmer whose hogs are so lean
that they have to lean against the fence to sus-
tain themselves while squealing, I rather lean to
the conclusion that somebody that stays at home
Vv'ill have a lien on the farm, and some time the
bottom M'ill come entirely out of the hog-trough.
— Orange Co. Farmer.

Cider Making in Connecticut. — According
to the New Haven Journal, a very large business
is carried on in cider making near that city, one
town alone, (Cheshire) manufacturing 8000 bar-
rels for market. It is first clarified, and then sold
in the spring for bottling, at about one shilling
per gallon. It is, when clarified, as pure as wine,
and is, when bottled, in great demand at the
South at $o per dozen. The Journal adds :
"The fruit-growers of Connecticut can cultivate
the apple with but little expense, and can realize
at least 20 cents a bushel for all they can raise.
The past season those who have mills at Cheshire
have paid from 18 to 20 cents per bushel for all

they could find, taking them from the orchards
where they have been collected, the raiser being
subjected to no expense except that of picking
and piling in heaps."

For tlie New England Farmer.
ADDRESSES AT FAIRS.

Mr. Editor : — In a late number of your val-
uable paper, it is proposed to discontinue the an-
nual address at our shows, and to substitute there-
for a discussion of some definitely proposed top-
ic. This would do very well, provided you could
be sure of speakers competent to conduct the dis-
cussion. In most of our societies, the announce-
ment of a topic, that had not been particularly
considered by the speakers, would result, as do
many of those discussions at the Legislative Ag-
ricultural Meetings, in " Vox pretcerea. nihil,"
[that is, empty sound. — Ed.] No man can in-
struct others who has not well considered the
topic on which he speaks. If he has reduced his
thoughts to writing, he will be likely to have
them better arranged and better condensed, than
if he proceeds otherwise.

For forty years, I have attended such meetings,
and am free to say, that much of the best instruc-
tion springing from them has been found in these
addresses ; especially as they are revised and pub-
lished bv the officers of the society. Essex.

October 20, 1860.

Remarks. — Nothing escapes the critical eye of
Essex. We agree with him, that the addresses
at our county fairs are usually sound and instruc-
tive,— still, a little diversion from the usual course
may be profitable.

India Rubber Waterproof Varnish. — A
writer in the Scientific American says :

"I have used a solution of India rubber and tur-
pentine for about twenty years, as a waterproof
varnish for my boots and shoes. I make the ap-
plication before blacking is put on, or else remove
the blacking by water. When the leather is
moist I take the solution of India rubber and ap-
ply it Vv'ith a rag, taking care to rub it in ; then I
put tlie boot in a moderately warm place until the
whole is absorbed. The process is repeated
twice, or until the pores of the leather are filled,
when the surplus is wiped off. In a few dajs
afterwards blacking may be put on, and the leath-
er will polish well. By this method of treating
my boots I make them not only water-tight, but
also much more durable, and the leather is always
kept soft and pliable. I treat every pair of new
boots in the manner described, and effect a ccu-
siderablo annual saving thereby."

Cure for Lockjaw. — A young lady ran a nail
into her foot recently. The injury produced lock-
jaw of such a malignant character that her phy-
sicians pronounced her recovery hopeless. An
old nurse then took her in hand, and applied
pounded beet roots to her foot, removing them as
often as they became dry. The result was a com-
plete and astonishing cure. Such a simple reme-
dy should be borne in mind.

560

NEW ENGLAND EAIIMER.

D£C.

A SUBURBAN BESIDEWCE.

We copy from the August number of The Hor-
ticulturist one of Mr. Harney's attractive de-
signs of a dwelling suited to the suburbs of a city.
Persons about building may be greatly aided by
referring to, or carefully studying designs from
the hands of persons so well qualified as is Mr.
Harney to prepare them. Even with the im-
proved taste of the age in architectural matters,
nothing is more common than to -witness a depar-
ture from all good taste and correct architectural
principles in the construction of our dwellings.
We do not give this design, and other original
ones, which we intend to present, merely as pic-
tures to embellish our columns, but because they
have an intrinsic value to those who wish to build
and are willing to consult them. The editor of
the Horticulturist, in describing this design, says :

The design which we here offer, was made for
a gentleman in the vicinity of a neighboring city,
and, we think, will be found adapted to the wants
of many of our suburban builders ; combining, as
it does, economy with convenience, and having,
also, some slight pretensions to ornament in its
exterior

It is to be constructed of wood, and may be
covered in the vertical manner Mith sound inch-
and-a-quarter plank, and two-and-a-half-inch bat-
tens. The front door is shielded by a broad hood,

supported on heavy brackets ; all the lower win-
dows have broad plank hoods. The height of the
first story is ten feet in the clear, and the second
is seven feet high at the plates and ten in the cen-

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

561

tre of the rooms, the space above servinj? as a
ventilator for the whole house, having ventilating
flues opening from the principal apartments.

The interior finish should be plain throughout,
the doors and windows having plain architraves
with a neat baud moulding, and the base being
eight inches high with a bevel on top. The walls
are to be finished for papering.

The arrangement of the plan gives a hall, A,
six feet wide, opening on the right into the living-
room, B, which measures fourteen by nineteen.
This i-oom communicates through a passage, F,
with the kitchen, D. The passage is to have three
draws, with three wide shelves above, and is
lightL'd by a narrow eight-light window. The
kitchen is fourteen by sixteen, and has a fire-
place, a sink, and two good closets. A door
opens into the entry, E, which communicates with
the cellar, and opens out upon the portico. It
also connects with the parlor, hall, and living-
room.

The second floor contain a hall. A, opening in-
to the several chambers, B, C, D, and the bath-
room, E. At the right of the bath-room is a large
closet, belonging to the chamber, B.

The cost of this house would be about eighteen
hundred dollars.

Kansas for Sheep. — Gov. Medary, of Kan-
sas, has written an article for the Ohio Cultiva-
tor, from which we copy the following :

"In my travels through the territory, I have
persuaded myself that Kansas is the best sheep
and wool growing country in the Union, Texas
not excepted. I have examined the country south
and west, and have got myself into quite a fever
on the subject. Extraordinary as has been our
drought, I have not seen a spot, on high or on
low lands, nor upon broken hill points, where
sheep could not live and fatten. Is there any oth-
er soil in North America that can show such a
tenacity for moisture ? I think not."

For the New England Farmer.
FENCE POSTS.

Mr. Editor : — I noticed an inquiry in your
paper of Oct. 20, of Mr. R. 11. Davis, concerning
setting posts on land liable to heave out by frost,
and also your remarks following. You say ; "we
know of no way to ])revent posts being thrown
out by frost, but to set them so deep that the bot-
tom of the post shall stand on firm ground below
where the frost reaches." Now I wish to inquire
how much less a fence will rise every winter, by
having long posts in the ground than those of or-
dinary length, say 24 to 30 inches in the ground.
I live in a region where cedar rails are tolerably
plenty, and have but little need of board fence,
yet on mine, as on most farms, a small amount of
board fences is desirable. My land is clay, and
heaves badly with frost, yet I have but little
trouble in making a fence stand, provided it is
built in the right way. My way is to dig a hole
two feet square, more or less, according to the
nature of the soil, and set the post in the centre,
then fill the hole with cobble stones and drive
them solid with a crow bar during the whole op-
eration of filling ; then throw a very little earth
over the top, which ought not to come in contact
with the post.

I have a pair of gate posts and fence built in
this way some 23 years ago, which stand as strong
as ever, and will probably stand as long as the
timber lasts ; they s'.ill retain their perpendicular
position, and have not been raised any by frost.

The reason why posts draw out, is because the
earth freezes at the top and adheres strongly to
the post, and as it freezes deeper the earth
rises by its own expansion, drawing the post up
from the bottom. The earth being wet and loose
at the bottom settles into the cavity below the post,
which prevents the post from settling back again
when the ground thaws ; therefore, the earth set-
tles back to its original level, leaving the post at
its highest point. Posts, when well set in stone,
will not rise with the surrounding earth, because
they have no contact with it, and no frost can
penetrate below the bottom of the post with suf-
ficient force to raise it, provided it is set two feet
or more in the ground. D. Buckland.

Brandon, Vt, Oct. 24, 1860.

Remarks. — In cases where cobble stones are
scarce, it might make the operation detailed above
somewhat too expensive ; but the operator must
remember that it is expensive, too, to reset his
fence every spring. Where the stones can be
procured at small cost, the plan of friend Buck-
land is undoubtedly a judicious and profitable one.
AVe shall adopt it when we come to set posts
where they are liable to be thrown out by frost.

It has been well said, that a single year's crop
of corn is worth more than all the gold of Cali-
fornia. In addition to its other uses, it is now
found that it produces a clear fluid, that burns
without odor, without smoke, and is inexpensive,
afi"ording a good light in an ordinary kerosene
lamp for half a cent an hour. The corn-oil is as
clear and colorless as water.

562

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

Dec.

For the New England Farmer.
SKETCHES OF TRAVEL.

Mr. Editor : — I improve my earliest spare mo-
ment to give you some account of my travels in
New England, New York, Ohio and Canada, since
my arrival from the Hawaiian, or Sandwich
Islands, in the spring of the present year. Let
me begin at once, without apology or introduc-
tion, save the above.

May 12th, 1860, I landed at New York, after
an absence from my country of thirty-two years
and six months. I am not about to tell you of
my emotions when I set foot on shore, after so
long a separation from the scenes of my child-
hood and youth. This, could I do it, a thing by
the way exceedingly difficult, would be of little
account to your readers. Some good, however,
might accrue to them from a brief account of my
journeyings through the countrj^, especially as I
had my eyes open to the state of agriculture wher-
ever I went. Allow me, then, to give you my
impressions of the country, of the farms, houses
and barns which I passed, together with such new
objects of interest as fell under my observation
from May 12th, 1860, to this day.

After spending a fevvf days in New York and
vicinity, I took the cars, and travelled in this, to
me, new and wonderful style, to your city, pass-
ing through Great Barrington, Pittsfield, Spring-
field, Worcester, and other pleasant towns. It
was in budding spring time. The trees were cov-
ered with beautiful foliage, and many of them
with blossoms, giving promise of the abundant
fruitfulness with which the Great Husbandman
has since crowned the year. The fields were be-
ing carpeted v/ith grass and the springing grain,
and the cattle on the hills and in the valleys
seemed exulting in the liberty which the opening
season was giving them from the rigors of win-
ter. In the pleasant town of Great Barrington,
I spent a little season with delight and profit ; re-
newed my acquaintance with robin -red-breast,
bobolink and whip-poor-will, one of Mhich, and
the only one I have heard since my arrival in the
country, gave us some stirring notes one evening;
visited the splendid country-seat and farm of Da-
vid Leavitt, Esq., spending an hour or two in his
picture gallery, and formed a slight, but pleasant
acquaintance, with several families in the neigh-
borhood. It is an excellent town of intelligent
farmers. Why should such men or their sons go
to California, or even to Pike's Peak, to se^k for
gold, or exchangatheir beautiful farms for lands
further west ? "Godliness with contentment" will
make any man happy in a town like this, or in
multitudes of towns in old Massachusetts. The
Lord bless the good old State, I pray.

From Boston, early in June, I took up my line
of march for Western New York. I tarried awhile
in Oneida county. Here is much good land.
The farmers I found hoeing their corn, beginning
ere the sun had appeared, and toiling long after
his last ray had faded on the distant mountain's
top. It seemed to me a great vrhile to toil in a
single day, and, followed up, must wear upon the
constitution. I need not say that our days and
nights at Hawaii are much nearer of a length
than with you in New England. I was glad to
find, however, that farmers throughout the coun-
try, during the long days, have their evening meal

at about 5 o'clock, P. M. A great improvement,
I think, on the old fashion. It must be an eco-
nomical arrangement.

From Oneida county, I went to Watertown,
Jefferson county, v>hich I made my headquarters
some ten days. Watertown is a beautiful and
wealthy place, the residents intelligent and re-
fined. The means of social, intellectual and mor-
al improvement are richly enjoyed, and are ex-
tended, I believe, to all classes in the neighbor-
hood, whether agriculturists or mechanics. From
Watertown I rode with friends to Carthage, up
the noble Black river, twenty-five miles or more.
Riding in an open carriage, I had a fine view of
the country through which we passed, the f;\rms
at one time highly cultivated, with excellent
houses, painted white, with neat outhouses, and
flower gardens in front. At another time, our
road lay through a country quite new, with now
and then an opening made in the wilderness of
heavy timbered land, in the midst of which had
been erected a small log house, and where corn
and potatoes were growing among the stumps.
I was glad to see that the residents of these new
countries had commonly better barns than dwell-
ing-houses, thus securing their crops and pro-
tecting their cattle, instead of expending their
means at first in adorning their dwellings. Cai'-
thage is considerable of a village, having excel-
lent water privileges, and is a manufacturing
place. The same is true of Watertown, and of
Teressa, another village in the same county. I
was much pleased with Jefferson county, so far
as I saw it. It seems to bs a growing part of the
great State of New York.

We took stage at Watertown, and rode about
ten miles to Sackett's Harbor. From my early
youth, I have heard of this place, and have de-
sired to visit it ; not because I supposed (I had
no such thought,) that it was a pleasant village,
or that the country around it had any particular
attraction — but because it Avas one of the seats
of the unhappy war of 1812; the place where
government built barracks for soldiers, and ships
of war to distress the enemy on Lake Ontario —
the place where brother with brother fought and
weltered in blood. It was the place, too, of graves,
and as I rode along the way near the village, my
guide said, "These hillocl<s so near each other, are
the places where the soldiers who died in the bar-
racks were thrown, and covered so slightly that
every now and then the bodies are disinterred,
or rooted up by the swine !" Some poor fellows
of my own neighborhood were among those
wretched men v.ho left their bones on this com-
mon. As I walked about the barracks, and through
this grave-yard, I felt that a soldier's life is mean
and unworthy, by the side of the poor, but indus-
trious farmer v.ho earns his bread by daily toil.
When will men he wise, and live in accordance
with the will of Heaven ? What an expenditure
of money, of strength, and of life has been made
at this point ! Gladly did I move on to my next
stopping-place, Rochester, Monroe county, N. Y.
In 1817, I took up my abode in the then small
village, now the liourishing city of Rochester. I
made this my home during five years, though
some part of the time I lived in a neighboring
town, and I left in the autumn of 1822. Of course,
the place lias changed surprisinglv, l\1 fir?t, I
was oev/iidered, but oji walking about, 1 found

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

563

many familiar places, and a few old friends. The
rapids on Genesee river, the falls, both upper and
lower, and two or three streets seemed quite nat-
ural. There have been striking improvements, not
only in the city, but in the surrounding country.
I spent two Mceks in Monroe county, and was
delighted with what I saw among the farmers.
They were beginning to harvest their wheat, which
was of good growth, and excellent quality. Oats
■were very heavy, corn promising, and the pros-
pect of fruit of every kind had never been better.
Hero, for the first time in my life, I watched the
operation of the mowing and raking machine.
What an improvement on the old-fashioned meth-
od of cutting grass and securing hay ! I find a
great advance, as it seems to me, in the work of
farming, while there is still room for progress in
this noble employment. With crops so abun-
dant, and means of securing them of so improved
a character, I see not why the farmers of your
whole country may not flourish, become comfor-
table, affluent, not to say wealthy.

The Lord bless the labor of all who till the
ground, for our sakes, no less than for their own.
Yours affectionately, I. S. Green.

P. S. — In my next, I hope to speak of my trav-
els onward — my visit to Ohio, the oil wells, &c.,
&c. Hope to write you soon, perhaps from Ver-
mont.

Whitesboro', Oneida Co., K. Y., Oct. 20, 1860.

FATTENING HOGS— FERMENTATION
OF FOOD.

Now is the time to give attention to the im-
portant matter of fattening swine, that is, criti-
cal attention, — so as to learn the comparative
value between cooked and uncooked food, and be-
tween food that is fermented and food in which
that process has, in no degree, not taken place.
The following we find in the Rural New-Yorker :

Among the many of your contributors, I would
ask for information concerning fattening hogs. I
have farmed it for thirty years, and when I com-
menced, I adopted the plan of keeping swill bar-
rels and saving all the surplus water of the kitch-
en, with the milk and whey, and mixing some
kind of meal or middlings with it, then let it go
through the process of fermentation, after which
I fed it to the hogs. I supposed I was doing
things about right, until last week, when travelling
on the cars, I got into conversation with an in-
telligent appearing gentleman, who said this pro-
cess was all wrong — that the fermentation des-
troyed the most of the fattening properties of the
grain. He also said that making meal into pud-
ding would not fatten as fast as dry meal. Now,
I would inquire of your readers whether these
things are so.

Rain Water not Absorbed by Leaves. —
It has always been thought that the rain water
which falls upon the leaves and stems of vegeta-
bles is gradually absorbed, and nourishes the
plant. It appears, however, that this opinion is
merely instinctive, and when tested by careful ex-
periment, it proves unfoundid, as is shown by a
small paper lately published by M. Duchartre.
For four years this author has endeavored to dis-

cover, by direct experiment, whether or no such
absorption takes place. The plants submitted to
these experiments were in pots, their stems and
leaves being exposed to the rain, whilst the roots
were prevented from absorbing any moisture, be-
ing hermetically closed up in the pot. All the
plants submitted to this kind of investigation,
gave similar results ; after remaining exposed to
to the rain, sometimes for eighteen consecutive
hours, they showed no increase in weight ; indeed,
in some cases, they appeared to have experienced
a slight diminution. — London Pliotographic News.

EXTRACTS AND REPLIES.

EGYPTIAN CORN.

Mr. Editor : — As "misery likes company," allow
me to say that I, too, purchased the "mummy corn."
My first impulse was to keep mum about it ; but I
deem it my duty to say that of the eighty-six kernels
received from Mr. Crandail, only twenty grew at all,
and this was more than one would expect from the
appearance of the seed. Most of it must have been
shelled from the top of an unripe or frost-bitten ear.
It was planted June 2d, in good rich soil, and as well
cared for as any need be. Behold the harvest ! One
ear some four inches in length, corn of two colors,
with other unmistakable evidences of its havingmixed
wirh other varieties of corn. Many of the kernels v/ere
imperfect ; this, with a few apologies for cars, is the
amount of the crop. The stalks are still standing a
monument of my folly and Crandall's honesty. Were
they nearer my dwelling, I should expect to hear the
wind screeching through their leaves, "Crandail corn,
— came from Egypt, — may he ever have to eat it."

Let him lie fed on this corn for the rest of his life,
say I, and his Ijody will i)ecome embalmed while he
lives ; as will his memory, by this disagi-eeable ex-
ploit. Pass him round. H. E. H. Wood.

Putneij, Vt., Oct. 27, 1860.

Mr. Editor : — In reply to a request in your paper
of the 13th ult. about the Egyptian cora, the seed of
which was sent to me by M. E. Crandail, of Illinois, I
beg to say that equally with your correspondent from
Palmer, I and one of my neighl)ors have been hum-
bugged. Wc planted it under the same fovorable cir-
cumstances as to soil and culture, and the crop is an
utter nullity — an acre of it would not produce a bush-
el of sound corn, even if the season had been two
months longer. It is a tropical corn, similar to the
Guinea corn of the West Indies, and good for nothing
in any part of the corn-growing section of the Union.

Now, this Mr. Crandail either knew this fact, or he
knew it not. If the tirst, he has raised money under
false pretences, and if the latter, he has been an agent
in the hands of some base speculator. In either case,
he is equally reprehensible. Farmers are the most
honest part of any population, and from that veiy
cause most easily imposed upon. The shopkeeper who
cheats, expects naturally to be cheated in retura, and
is accordingly always on his guard. But tanners are
usually honest themselves, at least, so far as concerns
the trifles upon which I am now discoursing, but they
are often too slow in guarding against the "arts of the
designing. I would advise all fiirmers, when in fu-
ture they read such an advertisement as that of Mr.
Crandail, to send if they choose for the article adver-
tised ; but never to inclose any moncj\ The impostor
will thus be soon disclosed if'he is an impostor, while
the honest man will, if his articles are indeed valuable,
become apparent by personal knowledge in the prop-
er time. A Subscriber.

Kensington, N. H., Oct. 26, 1860.

ASPARAGUS.

I lately saw in your paper an inquiry respecting set-
ting asparagus beds in the fall. I can speak from ex-
perience on this point. Last Octol)er I set about one
and one-half square rods of ground to asparagus, and
soon after, on the first of November, covered the
plants carefully over with leaves, and put brash on the

564

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

Dec.

leaves to keep them down. The result was almost a
total failure ; not one-twentieth part of it came up ;
but not for the want of beinjj pi'operly set, for this was
done with great care. I would inform your correspon-
dent that his plants will re luire a great deal of care
and labor in weeding, yet I am not prepared to say
that this 1 ibor Avill not be a)jundantly rewarded.
Eliot, Me., Oct., 1860. A Young Farmer.

TO PRESERVE PUMPKINS.

Cut and stew the pumpkin soff, sift through a colan-
der or pumpkin sieve, then press the juice out Ihrough
a cloth, and return it to the boiler. Weigli your pump-
kin after it is pressed, and for every pound of pump-
kin, take one pound of sugar. When ihe juice is lioiled
down sufficiently, add the sugar; when dissolved, add
the pumpkin, and as much salt and spice of whatever
kind you prefer as your pies will need. Pack in a
stone px and cover with molasses. Prepared in this
way it may be kept a year. A heaping tablespoonful
is sufiicicnt for a pie. Add eggs as usual. j. e. t.

Pittsjield, N. H., 1860.

For ihe New England Farmer.

THOUGHTS SUGO-SSTSD BY THE IST. E.
PAKMBR, OCT., 1860.

Page 444. — Superpliospliate of Lime in Corn-
Hills. — The impression most likely to be made by
the first portion of this article — the impression or
persuasion which most readers will be apt to re-
ceive from it — will be to this effect, or sometliing
like this, that superphosphate of lime is an excel-
lent fertilizer for Indian corn crops. Whetlier or
not it was the intention of the writer that such an
impression should be left upon the minds of his
readers, and that they should be led, in conse-
quence thereof, to make purchases of artisles sold
as superphosphates, and to employ them as ferti-
lizers for their corn crops, it is difficult, and per-
haps of little importance to determine ; but with
■whatever intention the writer penned this article,
we think the majority of the readers of it will get
from it such an impression as we have named,
and be led to purchase and employ for their corn
crops some one of the various articles which are
sold to farmers as superphosphates, probably
without much discrimination as to the real value
of the articles sold under this name, differing as
they do greatly in composition and in value for
manurial purposes; and probably, also, without
even a knowledge of the fact, that there are some
"trashy mixtures" sold as superphosphates, which
do not contain even one per cent, of soluble phos-
phates, instead of from twelve to twenty per cent.,
as the best superphosphates do, and which are
not really worth more than $12 to $15 per ton,
though sold to the unsuspecting farmer at $45
and $50. Now, as no friend of the farmers could
allow himself to mislead any of them to their inju-
ry, and would gladly welcome from another, or
make for himself, any correction or caution needed
to prevent such misleading or injury as might re-
sult, as in this case, from any statements he may
have made without due qualifications or cautions,
we may reasonably presume that Mr. Holbrook
will welcome, and that his readers will be benefit-
ed, or saved from disappointment, deception and
loss, by the suggestions now about to be subaiit-
ted to those who have read the article under con-
sideration.

What, then, is needed, in the case of some, or
perhaps many farmers, in order to prevent their
being misled, to their disappointment or loss, by
the article under notice ?

First of all, let us take the case of those readers
who are likely to get the impression, or draw the
inference, that superphosphate of lime is an ex-
cellent fertilizer for a crop of corn, and that they
may certainly calculate on an increased yield by
purchasing and using some of the articles sold by
that name. Those thus led to expect benefit and
returns that would pay expenses or afford profits,
and, of course, likely to purchase, if the article is
to be had in any market within their reach, should
be cautioned against taking up with the too com-
mon opinion that all superphosphates are alike, or
that any article so called is just as likely to pro-
duce good results as any other of the same name.
In the present state of matters as to articles of-
fered for sale as superphosphates, and in consid-
eration of the great probability that an unsuspect-
ing farmer would be likely to have imposed upon
him as a genuine and valuable superphosphate,
some of the trashy mixtures which have been so
unblushingly and so persistently pushed into mar-
ket, it seems the duty of any one who reports
well of the use of superphosphates, to caution
those likely to be influenced by his report, to be
u])on their guard when they purchase, as there are
articles of very varying degrees of value — some
of them not worth more than a fourth or a third
of that (^i others — sold by that name. It certain-
ly would, at least, be kind and friendly, if not
strictly a duty, that those who lead farmers to ex-
pect that the use of superphosphates will increase
their crops and their profits, should suggest such
cautions, or give such information, as may help
those induced to buy through their representa-
tions to avoid being imposed upon by fraudulent
manufacturers, and to secure a good, or the best
article of the kind to be had.

We cast no reflections, certainly, upon Mr.
Holbrook for his omitting to give any warning of
the dangers which surround the person who is
about to purchase a superphosphate, or for omit-
ting to refer those who may purpose purchasing,
in virtue of his recommendation, to some book,
pamphlet or periodical in which they might find
such information as would assist them greatly in
avoiding the risk of being im])osed upon, and in
securing an article which would be worth their
money, and likely to produce profitable, or, at
least, paying returns. But since the need or util-
ity of such cautions or such assistance seems not
to have occurred to him, and since some of his
readers may be purposing to purchase the article
he has spoken so well of, before next spring or
next planting time, we may presume that he will
regard these suggestions as a useful addition to
his article, and that those having any such inten-
tion will now take the hint and endeavor to pro-
cure such information as may serve to guard them
against being made the victims of unprincipled
and dishonest manufacturers, or teach them how
to manufacture this article for themselves, or fur-
nish them with the means of testing articles of-
fered them, so that their genuineness and value
may be determined, with at least an approxima-
tion to the truth. '

There is yet another impression likely to be
made by this communicati(m of Mr. Holbrook,
even as there is another class of readers. The
class of readers, whose impressions from reading
this article we have already noticed, consists of
those who are in the habit of jumping to conclu-

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

565

sions quite too rapidly, ami in disregard generally
of all the laws of logic or sound reasoning ; who,
for example, when they read of any manure or
any mode of culture having been productive of
large crops in a single instance, immediately and
without any consideration of the many influences
and differences there may be between that partic-
ular case and that in which they may be purposing
to make a similiar trial of the manure or the
mode of management, conclude that they will cer-
tainly obtain results equally large or profitable.
The other class is made up of farmers of greater
soundness of judgment and of less facility in
jumping to conclusions which the premises or
facts do not warrant. A reader of this class would
probably notice that Mr. H. has said nothing def-
inite about the amount of corn harvested, and
that, therefore, there is no real foundation for the
inference so hastily arrived at by the former class
of readers, viz., that the superphosphate had pro-
duced quite an increase in the crop. True, it is
said that the growth of the stalks seemed to be
made more luxuriant ; but it is known to men of
discernment that greater luxuriance in the growth
of the stalks or of straw is not always accompa-
nied by a corresponding increase of grain or corn
upon the ear. And even if, in this case, there had
been a large yield of grain as well as a thrifty
growth of stalk, a farmer of this class would not
have considered a single case conclusive as proof
of the benefit of any particular manure or mode
of management, but would only value this partic-
ular result as one fact to be collated with many
others before any safe and reliable conclusion will
be deduced therefrom. A farmer of this class
would, in order to ascertain the exact value of the
statements made by Mr. Holbrook, immediately
compare them with whatever similar reports he
might be able to recollect or refer to, relating to
the effects of superphosphates upon a corn crop.
He would be able, probably, to recollect that the
general result of applications of phosphates of all
kinds to cereals has proved that they are far less
serviceable in promoting the growth of grain, than
they are in forwarding that of the grasses, the bul-
bous and other root crops, and herbaceous plants
generally. He would be able, also, perhaps, to
recollect or refer to the results of some experi-
ments made with much care and accuracy by Mr.
Harris, editor of the Genesee Farmer, and report-
ed two years ago to the New York Agricultural
Society. According to these experiments with ar-
tificial manures on Indian corn, experiments to
which was awarded the premium of seventy-five
dollars offered for the best — it appears that though
the rows to which superphosphate had been ap-
plied were more forward than any other during
hoeing time, yet they fell far behind at harvest,
the increase in grain being small, and not nearly
enough to pay for the cost of the superphosphate.

More Anon.

of the city of Worcester, Mass. When we pub-
lish an article coming from any town in this State
we do not give the name of the State, but other-
wise we give it.

Dates. — A correspondent asks, in speaking of
the dates of the communications which we insert,
"Is it not better always to give the 'State,' as
well as the 'Town ?' " Certainly — and this we
always aim to do ; but in some cases, the post-
mark is completely illegible, and we have no
means of doing so. "New Worcester" is a part

PEOPHECIES OF THH SEASOTT.

Where late the meadows blushed with liloom,
And daisy flakes were white as snow,

The spectral shades of autumn gloom
Prophetic wander to and fro.

The hills, so long encrowned with green,

A browner garb begin to wear;
Gay summer half inclines to screen

Her beauty from the daylight's glare.

The woods full -leaved stand waiting nigh.
Their verdure touched with crimson stains,

Yet loth to lay their honors by,
As age to part with all its gains.

A sadder note from grove and glen,
Whence all the robin's young have flown;

While mournfully the little wren
Pipes through the fading trees alone :

The brook, that prattled one sweet tone
When summer mist was soft and dim.

Kef ps up a low incessant moan.

That times with Nature's graver hymn.

The swallows, too, have left the eaves

And flit and form in noisy bands,—
The goldfinch plans among the leaves

Her coming flights to southern lands.

Above yon mountain's rocky side.

The wary hawk swings round and round,

A friendless rover, winged with pride,
That scorns the touch of kindred ground.

These, these, are but the first faint signs

Of autumn's presence ; — day by day
She draws in bright but fading lines,

The picture of her own decay.

Anthont Hoxie.

For the New England Farmer.

POSTS THBO-WBT OUT BY FKOST.

Mr. Editor: — I noticed in the Farmer, to
which I am a regular subscriber, the following
question, viz.:

FENCE POSTS AND FROST.

Will you inform me, through the cohimns of your
paper, of the liest method for setting fence posts on
frosty land, where every spring the fences are tum-
bling over, being liovc up by the frost ?

Essex, Sept. 20, 1860. R. H. Davis.

To which you remark thus : —

"We know of no way to prevent posts being
thrown out by frost but to set them so deep that
the bottom of the post shall stand on firm ground
below where the frost reaches ;" from which I beg
leave to differ, although I may not be correct in
my views, having but a short practice in my par-
ticular theory. I own a small piece of land which
is moist and low, producing good crops of grass,
and is called "very heavy" or frosty. I have
known the land twenty or more years, and have
always noticed the posts being hove up and thrown
about in different directions, which led me to the
following experiment.

A year ago last spring some of the posts were
so rotten that I procured new ones to replace
thera, and on taking up the old ones I noticed

566

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

Dec.

quite a space between the bottom of the post and
the bottom of the hole, which was two feet four
inches below the surface. A thought struck me
that the post was not raised by the ground heav-
ing below the bottom of it, for it was hard and
gravelly, but by the soft rich mould, composing
the soil, separating from the former and taking
the post with it ; consequently, when the frost
comes out of the ground, which often thaAvs at
the bottom first, the soft mud settles under the
post, enough to prevent its settling back into its
place.

I then tried the following plan, which has so
far fully sustained my views. I dug a hole two
and a half feet square to the hard bottom, which
in some places was not two feet deep, and carried
the soil to my yard, which repaid me for the extra
labor. I then got a load of gravel, very similar
in nature to that under the post, (which should
be alike, to prevent separation,) placed the post
butt down, after tapering it a little about six
inches at the bottom, filled in the gravel, punch-
ing it in with an iron bar, it being better than
tamping with a blunt instrument. I cannot dis-
cover that they have started in the least. Last
spring I set half a dozen more the same Avay, ex-
pecting good results from the experiments. I
think the softer the ground, the larger the hole
should be. N. F. Robinson.

Brimfield, Oct. 23, 1860.

Remarks. — We are glad the inquiry about the
throwing out of posts by frost has drawn out the
information that friend Robinson had in his pos-
session.

For the New England Farmer.

LETTER FROM GROTOOT.

"The fairest apple hangs on the topmost branch."

Yes, so it is said ; and who has not seen in the
centre of some fertile valley, protected from the
chilly winds, a large, flourishing tree, whose gold-
en fruit, on the heavily laden boughs, seems day
by day to gather additional size and beauty ? But
as the eye glances on this luxuriance, it cannot
fail of resting Avith a more than admiring gaze on
one apple, which is not only conspicuous by its
high and lofty station, but also by its superior
form and richness of color. And what is said of
this tree and this "topmost"' apple, may be said
of all trees and their fruit the present year in this
town and vicinity. The fruit harvest is a very
large one, and mostly gathered, and, what is not
designed for winter use, is being dried and made
into cider. Several orchards in this vicinity, and
among them is the one to which the "axe Avas laid
to the roots," a scraper to the trunks, and a saw
and pruning-knife to the branches of the trees
thereof, last February and March, yield from
three hundred to a thousand bushels of fine fruit,
and from ten to fifty barrels of cider, each.

Well, "harvest home" is the song, and the
summing up of the harvest account, is the only
remaining pleasant duty of the husbandman. The
harvest, as a whole, is a bountiful one, although
the rot and rust have affected the potatoes, more
or less, and the severe frost of the first of the
month the corn.

A most terrific thunder-storm, accompanied

with wind, hail and rain, passed over this town
at about two o'clock on the afternoon the 26th
ult. The storm lasted about one hour during
which time the peals of thunder were very heavy,
flashes of lightning unusually vivid ; the hail-
stones large, some measuring one inch or more in
diameter, completely covering the ground in a
few minutes, causing considerable damage to the
glass in several dwellings at North Groton. Since
the storm, the weather has been exceedingly mild
and pleasant, affording an excellent opportunity
for plowing and other out-door farm work. B.
North Oroton, Nov. 1, 1860.

SAWD PILLARS.

I have often witnessed a phenomenon on these
sandy plains of Central Asia, which accounts in
some measure for the innumerable sandy mounds
that are found in some regions. When seen at a
distance for the first time, it made a strong im-
pression on my mind. About twenty pillars were
in view, Avheeling round and licking up the sand.
As they passed along, a cloud of dust was raised
on the ground, apparently eight or ten yards in
diameter. This gradually assumed the form of a
column, that continued to increase in height and
diameter as it moved over the plain, appearing
like a mighty serpent rearing his head aloft, and
twisting his huge body into contortions in his ef-
forts to ascend. The pillars were of various sizes,
some twenty or thirty feet high, others fifty, sixty
and one hundred feet, and some ascended to
near two hundred feet. As the whirlwinds began
gathering up the dust, one might have fancied
that antediluvian monsters were rising into life
and activity. The smaller ones seemed to trip it
lightly over the plain, bending their bodies in
graceful curves as they passed each other ; while
those of larger dimensions revolved with gravity,
swelling out their trunks as they moved onward,
till the sandy fabric suddenly dissolved, forming
a great mound, and creating a cloud of dust that
was swept over the desert. — Atldnsori's Travels
in the Amoor.

Rather Strong. — Col. Haraszthy makes the
following statement in an address at the fair of
Sonoma county, California :

"Why, sir, every profession and trade through-
out the Union has its schools and colleges, and
those who Avish to become proficients in their spe-
cial pursuits, undergo a regular process of train-
ing. The farmer alone — to whom above all the
others perhaps 'knowledge is poAver' — is left to
Jeel his way in the dark."

We had supposed that there were many "trades
throughout the Union" no better off for "schools
and colleges" than is agriculture.

A Bond of Union. — A writer for the Home-
stead makes the following statement :

"My richest neighbor and poorest neighbor
meet upon a common ground of fondness for cel-
ery ; under the shelter of that vegetable spring
up and flourish a variety of social feelings and
neighborly courtesies."

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

367

For the New England Farmer.
HIGHV7AYS.

Mr. Brown : — Did you ever think that the
public roads through a town are a pretty good in-
dex by which you iiiay judge of the common sense
of the people ? I feel most sincerely that the pub-
lic sentiment is not right yet, fur from it, on the
subject of roads. In our own town, although we
raise one tliousand dollars — money tax — I believe
it would be economy to raise double that sum,
and then have it judiciously expended. Why
should we oblige our teams to drag loads through
beds of sand, that might be covered vv'ith road
gravel from a neighboring hill ? Let all such
places be covered and kept in good order, I say.
Then the muddy places ; what a scourge and vex-
ation they are in March ; and all capable of being
put in good condition, if coarse gravel be put on
early in the spring before the ground settles.

How does it affect you to ride over the same
cobble stones day after day, and month after
month, lying in the ruts ? I cannot help complain-
ing and wondering why the surveyors don't take
their garden rakes and pass over the roads and
clean them from such annoyances. Shouldn't you
sup})ose that an intelligent surveyor would walk
behind his cart while going over his district, and
clear out every stone ? I can assure you that it is
PxOt a universal practice yet.

The highways may be in a bad condition, even
when a large sum is expended upon them. The
rains that we have so frequently, do a great deal
of damage. The water in our district generally
runs in the middle of the road. It is not shecked
and turned out at the sides by bars, but follows
the wheel track from the highest hill to the lowest
hollow's. I confess that my patience is sorely tried
by such neglect. I know that if our roads were
all properly crowned, most of the water that falls
would be turned off. But the I'oads cannot be all
shaped up for several years, and for the present,
it is wise to open frequent water-courses at the
sides of the walls, and build, quite across the
ways, bars, to stop the water. I know that bars
across the road are disliked by many. They ought
never to be made so as seriously to jolt a carriage,
A good model is a tortoises back ; the wheels
should rise gradually ; more good gravel should
be used, and the "bar"' be longer.

I will tell you, Mr. Brown, just what I think
we should have done on our I'oads. They should
be repaired early in the season, with the best of
road gravel, and not with sand, sods, garden
loam and cobble stones. The water should b
kept off, and not allowed, as it is now, to run in
so many places, a good quarter of a mile. The
loose stones should be cleaned off, at least once a
month, by a competent person. May I expect
that you will say. Amen !

Yours truly, w. D. B.

Remarks. — Certainly, we do. Few persons un-
derstand road-making — merely because they have
not given attention to it, as a science ; for road
making is a scientific work. We passed over a
piece of road this morning in going from our
dwelling to the station, less than fifty rods in
length, which we believe has had enough expend-
ed upon it during the last ten years, to pave it

thoroughly with stone or iron — and yet it is a
miserable piece of road, the mud being two or
three inches deep and the wheels continually
striking the stones under it. To make this piece
of road nearly perfect, does not require a stone or
a load of gravel, but simply a little judicious
drainage. But road-making is held something as
farming is ; most persons who have ever seen a
road, think they know all about making one.

OUR CHAM-QING CLIMATE.

The frequent changes of our uncertain climate
give rise to many forms of disease, and we often
murmur and repine at their suddenness. But there
is a bright, as well as a dark side in all the ordi-
nances of nature, and Washington L-ving has
painted the bright side of the fickle season in the
following glowing terms :

"Here let me say a word in favor of those vicis-
situdes of cur climate which are too often made
the subject of exclusive repining. If Ihey annoy
us, they give us one of the most beautiful climates
in the world. They give us the brilliant sunshine
of the south of Europe, with the fresh verdure of
the north. They float our summer sky with gor-
geous tints of fleecy whiteness, and send down
cooling showers to refresh the panting earth, and
keep it green. Our seasons are full of sublimity
and beauty. Winter with us hath none of its pro-
verbial gloom. It may have its howling winds
and chilling frosts, and whirling snow storm.s, but
it has also its long intervals of cloudless sunshine
when the snow-clad earth gives redoubled bright-
ness to the day, Avhen at night the stars beam
with intensest lustre, or the moon floods the
whole landscape with her most limpid radiance.

And the joyous outbreak of our spring, bursting
at once into leaf and blossom, redundant with
vegetation, and vociferous with life ; and the
splendor of summer, its morning voluptuousness
and evening glory, its airy places of sun-lit clouds
piled up in a deep azure sky ; and its gusts of
tcm.pest of almost tropical grandeur, when the
forked lightning and bellowing thunder volley
fromthe battlements of heaven and shake the sultry
atmosphere ; and the sublime melancholy of our
autumn, magnificent in its decay, withering down
the pomp of the woodland country, yet reflecting
back from its yellow forests the golden serenity
of the sky. Truly we may well say that in our
climate, "The heavens declare the glory of God,
and the firmament showeth His handiwork. Day
unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night
showeth knowledge."

Ca>\\.dian Agriculture. — The Canadian Ag-
gricidtmist represents the Fifteenth Exhibition
of the Agricultural Association of Upper Canada,
held at Hamilton, last month, as the most suc-
cessful which has yet taken place in the Province.

We judge by the fact that twenty-four pages of
the Fccrmers' Journal are devoted to the award
of premiums at the Exhibition of the Agricultu-
ral Association of Lower Canada, that its late fair
at Quebec Avas equally successful.

568

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

Dec.

STEAM FOR FABMERS.

ow FEW, even
among the most
scientific and san-
guine, anticipated,
t\ycnty years ago,
the great variety
of forms in which
steam would be
used, and the vast
benefits which it
would confer upon
mankind. Those
who have not paid
much attention to
the matter, suppose
that its use is principally confined to factories, to
propelling steamships, cars, and other things re-
quiring a gi'eat amount of power. But such is not
the fact. If a true tabular view were given, we
should find that its use in small, minute matters,
greatly preponderates over the large, bulky class.
Steam is now introduced everywhere, in the
country as well as the city ; in the dwelling-house
as well as the factory ; in the store of the mer-
chant, the shop of the shoe-maker; into the kitch-
en of the hotel as well as every other part of the
building, where it pumps, boils, roasts, bakes,
stews, washes the dishes, and dries them, ready
to go upon the shelves, and washes and irons the
clothes ; into the shop of the cabinet-maker,
carpenter, piano-forte maker, baker, brewer, tin-
ner, watch-maker, saddler, blacksmith, and vat of
the tanner. It hoists boxes, bales, bundles and
huge crates from the holds of vessels, and exhausts
them of thousands of bushels of grain in a day,
and deposits it in a loft up just under the clouds,
ready to be let down again and passed between
ponderous mill-stones moved by the same power,
to be converted into flour or meal. It fashions
tubs and pails, polishes the plates of the photo-
grapher, saws up huge blocks of marble into
thin and delicate slabs, and works out and gives
elegance of form to mineral teeth for the human
mouth which almost surpass the happiest efforts
of nature herself. Among all the blessings which
it confers there is nothing in Avhich it is more
comfortable, nor, if generally employed, where
it would be more profitable, than in tcurming our
dwellings. Those who have not introduced it for
that purpose, in a large house with a large family,
and especially where there are young children,
can have no just appreciation of the comfort,
safety, healthfulncss and economy in the con-
sumption of fuel, which it confers when used for
this purpose.

To the farmer, it has not yet been made plain
of how much direct consequence it is to be in his

business, — though he has already learned with
what facility his grain may be thrashed, his wood
sawed, and his trees cut into boards or timber
suitable for building, by the aid of its power. In-
directly, it has already conferred signal blessings
upon him in the cheaper construction of the im-
plements and machinery of the farm, and at the
same time furnishing them to him in a lighter,
stronger and better form. It will yet be more in-
timately connected with his business, aiding it in
many ways, and, perhaps, successfully and profi-
tably hitched to his plows in our small New Eng-
land fields !

But general and indispensable as it now is, it is
destined to become still more general, and to
confer benefits still more signal on the human
race, and to aid us to a higher and more perfect
civilization. It is to become effective on our car-
riage roads at no distant day, and thus extend its
blessings down to the toiling and sweating brutes.
It will be no fancy talk for us, by-and-by, to say to
the boy : —

"John, touch a lighted match to the kindlings
under Projnethetis, and in ton minutes drive to
the door."

Ten minutes have transpired, and a light ap-
pearing carriage stands before us. It is about ten
feet in length, sets a little nearer the ground than
our common carriages, and is airy, and in every
way comfortable and inviting. In front is an up-
right boiler, about eighteen inches in diameter,
containing numerous vertical tubes, but entirely
closed in by the wood-work of the carriage. The
fire-box is on a level with the floor, and in the
winter has the delightful appearance of a fire in
a Franklin stove, and warms the carriage, or
when the weather is sufficiently mild to make a
fire unnecessary, is shut off at once by a simple
device, so that no heat escapes to it.

In less time than is required to take a pair of
horses from their stalls and harness them to a
carriage, Prometheus is at the door, and though
full of wonderful energy, is as quiet as a sleeping
child. He neither paws up your gi-avel road, nor
breaks his bridle to reach the springing grass,
nor perils your life when getting into the car-
riage by impromptu piungings and rearings not
much less dangerous than the piungings of a
ship on a lee shore. There the giant stands, wait-
ing your will. His breath is hot, to be sure, but
there are no signs of fever or feverish anxiety
about him. His pulses are regular, calm and
strong. Jump in. Let us see, all seated — six la-
dies and six gentlemen, including the man with
"the ribbons." "All right — go ahead," What was
that, Mr. Meadows ? I cannot tell you, sir,
whether it was a corn-field, or a piece of sprout
land. I had no idea we had gained such a speed
as this. You arc excited, sir — we have only

1860.

NEAV ENGLAND FARMEIl.

569

reached sixteen miles an hour. But M'ith what
ease, precision and comfort the old god carries us
along ! O, that Watt and Fulton, and a host of
those worthies, were here to witness the result of
their genius !

The trial having been successful, up-hill and
down, as a locomotive for speed with moderate
loads, it will prove equally so as a power to take
our products to market, pump water, thresh and
grind our grain, turn the grind-stone or cider-
mill, or press the pomace, saw the wood and tim-
ber, or exhume rocks and stumps from their an-
cient beds ! When all this is done, there will be
an unexpended energj' remaining, which may be
transferred by a flexible pipe to a fifty-bushel feed
box, where the fodder for twenty-four hours may
be cooked in thirty or forty minutes, for as many
head of cattle ! In summer, with slow and state-
ly march, we may see it moving a ten-foot cutter-
bar, and prostrating and spreading the grass at
the rate of two acres an hour, accompanied only
by a small boy to guide it round the corners !

There are, undoubtedly, many other ways in
which this young Prometheus may be used which
we have not the penetration to foreshadow, and
which will secure to us the lasting gratitude of all
the laboring quadruped race !

We believe that a power something like this
will yet be devised — that it will be cheap, the
first cost being less than is paid every week in
the city of Boston for a single horse, — that when
at work the expense for fuel and lubrication will
be but a trifle more than that of sustaining a
working horse, and that when still it will neither
eat, drink, catch cold and have a "distemper,"
nor break its legs by falling down "through the
trap."

There cannot be a doubt that when old Prome-
theus stole the fire from heaven, he intended it
expressly to heat water and make steam for far-
mers, as well as other people. Let us, then, be
grateful for the blaze, and touch up the kindlings
under a useful machine bearing the name of Pro-
metheus !

Keeping Horses' Legs axd Feet ix Okder.
— If I were asked to account for my horses' legs
and feet being in better order than those of ray
neighbor, I should attribute it to the following
circumstances : First, that they are all shod with
few nails, so placed in the shoe as to permit the
foot to expand every time they move ; second,
that they all live in boxes instead of stalls, and
can move whenever they jilease ; third, that they
have two hours daily walking exercise when they
are not at work ; and fourth, that I have not a
head-stall or track-chain in my stall. These four
circumstances comprehend the whole mystery of
keeping horse's legs fine, and their feet in sound
worki!ig condition up to a good old age. — Miles
on tlie Horse's Foot.

VABIETIES OF BAEIjEY.

Very little barley has been cultivated in this
vicinity till recently. The variety grown here is
that of the two rowed, having a long beard, and a
gritty hull enveloping the grains. But everybody
knows all about this and similar kinds of barley.
But two or three years since, there was introduced
into this country from Italy, through the agency
of the Patent Office, a variety of hulless barley —
some of the heads are two, and others six rowed,
but it is long bearded. I sowed a small quantity
on good land in May, 1859. It proved to be a
short, weak-strawed affair, but yielded tolerably
well. This year sowed it on a good loamy soil":
the same short, weak-strawed barley resulted ; the
yield not great, raising but little over a bushel. I
carried a bushel to mill, had it ground and bolted,
the flour of which is as white, and makes as good
bread as some of our poorer qualities of spring
wheat. For "iiippers" we prefer it to buckwheat.
Upon the vv-hole, I am rather sorry that I disposed
of this "Tuscany barley" in such a summary way.
I have also grovrn a small patch of the Nepaul
variety ; this has neither hull or beard. It was
sown too late, and was somewhat injured by the
midge. If it shall prove a productive and other-
wise valuable variety, it will become a great fa-
vorite among barley growers, unless they, like
Young America, prefer a long beard to none. —
Levi Bartlett, Warner, N. H., in Country Gen-
tleman.

Leaves in Hot-beds.— From an article m- the-
Homestead on "Leaves as Mulch and Manure,"
we copy the following paragraph, which may in-
terest those who have not access to proper ma-
nure for hot-beds :

"The use of leaves in hot-beds is one not to
be overlooked. Laid in hot-bed pits, from which
the residue of last year's soil and manure has been
removed to the de])th of twelve or fourteen inch-
es, well covered, they v.ill remain fresh, and but
little frozen till time to get the hot-bed ready.
Then a moderate quantity of potash water or wood
ashes, mingled with the whole mass, will start a
uniform and continuous heat."

Cinders for Pigs.— J. J. Mechi, of Tiptree
Hall, Eng., has been publishing his experience in
fattening swine, and, among other things, he has
learned the fact "that pigs are very fond of coal
ashes or cinders, and that you can hardly fat pigs
properly on boarded floors, without giving them
a moderate supply daily, or occasionally." He
says : — "In the absence of coal ashes, burned cla ■
or brick dust is a good substitute. If you do nc;
supply ashes they will gnaw or eat the brick walls
of their sheds. I leave to science to explain the
cause of this want. It is notorious that coal deal-
ers, where pigs have access to the coals, are gen-
erally successful pig-feeders. Those who find
that their pigs, when shut up, do not progress fa-
vorably, will do well to try this plan ; a neighbor
of mine found that a score of fat pigs consumed
quite a basket of burned clay ashes" daily. We
know that there is an abundance of alkali in
ashes."

570

NEW ENGLAjST) FARMEE.

Dec.

Fur the Nete England Farmer.
AWCIEIM? vs. MODBBlSr TIMES.

I was very much surprised, upon reading an
idea produced by "Old Spinster," tliat "our
grandmothers were educated as they should be."
Why, dear "Old Spinster," do you live in the
present age or not ? Our grandmothers' education
of work was all right, I admit, but they possessed
an intellect and powers which God had bestowed
upon them for cultivation which were left to
slumber in rude ignorance. I venture to assert
that not one-fourth of our grandmothers could
read or write, and would you have modern ladies
about you thus unprepared to understand the
true relations and responsibilities of life ? You say
that woman's labor is less severe now than in the
good old times. Botli man's and woman's hard-
ships are lessened, through the aid of mechanical
knowledge and machinery. I would ask what has
brought about these means, and this great revo-
lution ? Is it not the cultivation of our noblest
faculties and the advancement of knowledge ?
This is an age of progress, and we should thank
Heaven that it is. If our modern wives and
daughters must know nothing but to "bake and
brew, make and mend," whit, think you, will be
the condition of our glorious country in the fu-
ture. Woman's influence is mighty and untold ;
leave her in heathenish ignorance, and in one
century you leave your whole country there also.
Sheridan said : "women govern us ; the more
they arc enlightened, so much tlie more shall we
be. On the cultivation of the mind of women,
depends the wisdom of men."

Not that she is to be lieard in the forum or the
political world, but her mission is silent, in the
sanctum of home. From her teachings in that
spot, there will emanate a glory to brighten the
world and glitter far hence when she is sleeping
in yonder valley.

The farm is truly the place for woman to exer-
cise her powers most beneficially, when not de-
voted exclusively to care and labor.

While we reverence the memory of our grand-
mothers, and sigh for their hardships and unim-
proved minds, let us appreciate the effects of ed-
ucation upon this our modern age, and endeavor
to the utmost to keep the ball of progress in mo-
tion. Polly.

Enjield Centre, N. ff., 1860,

Vulcanite Tools. — The manufacture of abrad-
ing tools of vulcanized rubber and emery is one
of the most recent novelties in practical mechan-
ics. These tools, in consequence of their perfect
evenness and great keenness, are found to be of
peculiar utility to machinists, particularly in finish-
ing, cutting or grinding the best quality of work.
The process of manufacture is as follows : The
emery is incorporated with vulcanite, or a compo-
sition of India rubber and sulphur. The com-
pou7id is kept in a plastic state by heat, and is
moulded with suitable pressure in moulds of met-
al, &c., like clay, or teri'a cotta work, and from
the m.ould receives any shape desired. The tools
made of this material can, it is stated, be used dry
or with water, or with oil. When water is used,
it gives a grindstone or ruffled finish. When nil
is used, it presents a dead finish ; and when used

dry, a beautiful polish is obtained. The wheels
are formed with a hole in the centre, which can
be enlarged when necessary by burning it out
with hot iron. If a wheel gets out of true, or be-
comes uneven, it can be turned true and even in
a lathe, as if made of iron. — Exchange.

For the New Ew^land Farmer.
THE BIRDS OS' NEW EK"GLAWD— Wo. 6.
OWLS.
Hawk Owl — Snowy Owl — Acadian Owl — Richardson's Owl.

The Nocturnal Birds of Prey, the Owls, consti-
tuting the family Strir/idcxi of naturalists, from
their recluse and nocturnal habits, noiseless
flight, grotesque appearance and hideous cries,
have ever been objects of suspicion and awe with
the ignorant and superstitious ; and the "boding
Owl," delighting in scenes of desolation, has al-
ways been regarded as a bird of ill omen. They
have been represented as armed assassins, invad-
ing the stillness of the solemn hours of night with
their dismal cries, relentlessly pursuing their
murderous avocation in the dimness of twilight,
and in the darker hours of the night, approaching
their innocent, reposing and unsuspicious prey
with a stealthy, spectral flight and deadly aim ;
or, as dismal, defective beings, necessarily lead-
ing a life of gloomy monotony, because incapable
of enjoying the splendors of day ; while in reality
they are as perfectly adapted to the sphere allot-
ted them in the admirable plan of Nature as their
diurnal relatives of plunder, or any other tribe of
animals to the life they lead • nor are they found
to be half worthy of the proscription they receive
at the hand of man, but on the contrary, most of
the species are highly beneficial to the agricultur-
ist, from their preying in a great measure upon the
nocturnal vermin that ravage their fields. Poets,
taking advantage of these popular superstitions,
are prone to introduce the Owl, to heighten the
eff"ect of their descriptions of midnight storms, or
scenes of melancholy desolation.

The Owl'i seem to hold the same rank among
the birds, that the Fclince, or Cats, do among the
quadrupeds. From their solitary habits, cliiefly
exhibiting their activity and peculiar characteris-
tics in the night time, still less is known of their
interesting history than of the diurnal accip-
itrine birds. The species are not very numerous,
but are wid.ly distributed, some being found in
all parts of the world, and sometimes the same
species is met with over very extensive regions.
But twelve species were known to Linna-us ; we
now reckon that number as common to New Eng-
land ; forty are found on this continent, and one
hundred and forty species are at present known
to naturalists. Their large, sensitive eyes inca-
pacitate most of them for distant vision in the
hours of bright daylight, though a few are ob-
served to be quite diurnal, particularly those in-
habiting the extreme northern regions. Their
plumage is remarkably soft and downy, fitting
them for a noiseless flight through the still night
air, while their extremely sensitive auditory or-
gans take cognizance of the least commotion
around them. In fine, one need but contemplate
their forms and organs to be at once struck with
wonder at the nice adaptation of these birds to

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

571

the life they lead — doubtless to them one of plea-
sure and variety. Owing to their vision being
defective by day, they appear quite stupid and in-
active in the clear light of the sun, a few species
being quite bewildered at such times, and allow-
ing themselves to be taken by hand. The Crows,
Jays, and most of the smaller birds, seem to take
great pleasure in teazing them when thus situated,
but are aware of their danger as soon as darkness
approaches.

Commencing with the more diurnal species, we
meet with the genus Surnia, in which the typical
characteristics of the owl are less developed than
in those more nocturnal, and considerably resem-
bling some of the Falconidce in form, aspect and
habits.

The Hawk Owl or Day Owl, (Surnia fune-
rca, Dum.,) also known as the Canadian Owl
and Long tailed Siberian Owl, is a constant resi-
dent of the northern parts of both continents,
migrating southward in winter, when they are oc-
casionally met with in New England, and are
sometimes seen as far south as Pennsylvania.
The vicinity of the Arctic Circle, however, seems
to be their favorite abode and place of breeding,
where they construct a nest in trees, laying two
white eggs. This Owl is quite diurnal, hunting
by day as well as by night, and seems to have
about as much the aspect of a Hawk as of an
Owl, it evidently forming the connecting link be-
tween the diurnal and nocturnal rapacious birds.
It is a fearless bird, preying much upon Par-
tridges, and will boldly snatch up game killed by
hunters, and it is said to often hover about thetn
for that purpose. The White Ptarmigan is said
to be its favorite food in winter.

The length of this species is fifteen to eighteen
inches ; color above, brown spotted with white ;
beneath, elegantly barred with dark brown and
white.

The Snowy Owl, or White Owl, {Surnia
Ntjdea, Dum.,) like the preceding, is an inhabi-
tant of the remote Arctic regions of both conti-
nents, but in winter descends to milder latitudes,
being met with here at that season, and is some-
times seen as far south as Florida. Wherever it
appears it is sure to attract attention, from its
lai-ge size and white plumage. It hunts with ease
during the day, as well as by twilight ; its usual
prey consisting of rabbits, grouse, ducks, mice,
and, it is said, even carrion ; and it is described as
being fond of frequenting the shores and banks of
shallow rivers, over which it slowly glides, or
perches on a projecting rock, in search of fish,
which it clutches with a sure aim, whenever they
come within its reach.

The desolate countries of Lapland, Norway,
Siberia, Iceland and the country around Hudson's
Bay are its most favorite haunts, where it is com-
mon throughout the year ; and the forlorn moun-
tains of Greenland, where the silence of death
and desolation reigns almost supreme during a
large part of the year, echo to the horrid notes of
this wild and hardy monarch, which are so doleful
that they are said to increase the gloominess
of the desolate scene. This formidable hunter
measures two feet or more in length, and five feet
across the extended wings. Plumage, snow white,
thick and downy, marked with lunated spots of
brown.

The ACADL4.N Owl, (JJlida Acadica, And.,) is

one of the smallest of the Owls, but little exceed-
ing a Robin in size ; but, to use the words of
Wilson, "like many other little folks, makes up, in
neatness of general form and appearance, for de-
ficiency of size, and is, perhaps, the most shapely
of all our owls. Nor are the colors and markings
inferior in simplicity and effect to most others. It
also possesses an eye fully equal in spirit and
brilliancy to the best of them." It is common to
both continents, being frequently seen in IMiddle
and Northern Europe ; it is seen on the Ameri-
can continent as far north as Nova Scotia and
Hudson's Bay, but most abounds in the IMiddle
and Northern States, where it is constantly found.
It exhibits a preference for the vicinity of the sea-
shore, and dark pine forests ; the melancholy and
gloomy umbrage of those solitary evergreens
forming its fovorite haunts, where it sits dozing
and slumbering all day, lulled by the roar of the
neighboring ocean. It is extremely active by
night, and has the reputation of being a noted and
dextrous mouse-catcher. A very pleasing account
of this little Owl may be found in the Atlantic
Mnnthbj for August, 1859. This species is but
seven inches in length, and eighteen in alar ex-
tent ; above, plain olive brown, spotted with
white ; beneath, streaked with pale ochre and red-
dish bay. This bird is often known as the Saw-
Wket Owl, from its peculiar note, and sometimes
as the Sparrow Owl, from its feeding upon these
birds.

Richardson's Owl, ( Ulula Bichardsoni, ,)

is a northern species, seldom seen as far south as
Massachusetts, or even New England, even in se-
vere winters, but abounds in the northern parts
of the continent. An individual of this species,
was killed one severe morning in last December,
by the writer, and the specimen is now preserved.
To escape from a pack of noisy Blue Jays that
discovered it as soon as daylight appeared, it
sought refuge in the vicinity of the house, but
met a more fatal enemy. It has generally been
described as identical with its European congener,
Ulula Tengmahni, or Tcngmalni's Owl, which it
very strongly resembles, but has finally been de-
clared distinct, and appropriately dedicated to its
enterprising discoverer, who has the following ob-
servations concerning it : "When it accidentally
wanders abroad in the day, it is so much dazzled
by the light of the sun as to become stupid, and
it may easily be caught by the hand. Its cry in
night is a single melancholy note, repeated at in-
tervals of a minute or two, and it is one of the su-
perstitious practices of the natives to whistle when
they hear it. If the bird is silent when thus chal-
lenged, the speedy death of the inquirer is thus
augured ; hence its Cree appellation of Death
Bird" On the banks of the Saskatchewan it is
so common, that its voice is heard nearly every
night by the traveller, wherever he selects his bi-
vouac. The length of the specimen before me is
eleven inches ; extent twenty- four and a half; up-
per parts grayish tawny brown, with numerous
white spots on the head and neck ; lower parts,
mostly yellowish white. J. A. a.

How the Bean Cliaibs the Pole. — Profes-
sor Brewer, of Washington College, Pa., commu-
nicates to the American Journal of Science and
Arts the result of some experiments made by him

572

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

Dec.

on climbing vines — the hop, the Lima bean, and
the morning glory. He finds that they will climb
around a transparent glass pipe just as well as
anything else, and that they are warmest in their
embraces when the pole is Avarmer than the sur-
rounding air. During the day, the vine is all at-
tracted toward the light, but at night, especially
on cool nights, it turns to the pole. He learned,
also, that the color of the pole makes no differ-
ence ; the caressing instinct of the vine has no
prejudice against any shade. The element of con-
stancy is very largely developed, the vine, after it
has reached its pole, showing a much stronger
tendency to wind around it than it did before to
reach it.

EXTRACTS AISTD REPLIES.

VERMONT APPLES.

You will please accept a few Vermont apples ; they
arc not sent because we think tlicy are equal to some
of your Massachusetts apples, but only to let you see
some of our native varieties.

The dark red apple is a native of Barnet, and keeps
well until late in tlic spring, and is familiarly known
here as the "Granny Baylcy." The other two varie-
ties originated on the old Wliiteland farm in this town,
a part of which I now occupy.

The sweet one we call the VVhiteland Winter Sweet.
It is a good keeping apple and a good baking apple.

The other variety has been known here as the
Pumpkin apple ever since my earliest recollection.

You can test the eating and keeping qualities, and
while doing so please accept the l)est wishes of

Ryegate, Vt., Oct. 29, 1860. W. T. Whiteland.

Remakks. — Thank you for the "Vermont apples."
"VVc have tested the eating qualities, but shall find it
somewhat difficult to test their Jceeping qualities. You
must depend, mainly, upon your native varieties of
apples for your supply. They will probably be i-elia-
ble when those introduced from other localities would
fail. _

SKIM MILK — APPLES FOB COWS.

Will you, through the columns of j'our paper, in-
form your rcAders whether milk fed to cows is injuri-
ous, or not ? It is said by some to cause garget, and by
others to cause them to shrink in their milk. Are ap-
ples injurious to a cow giving milk ?

West Orange, Nov., 1860. L. Gage.

Remarks. — We have never heard that skimmed
milk fed to cows in proper quantites is injurious to
thcui, and we do not think it is. Some persons place
little value in apples as a feed for cows ; others value
them highly, and we are inclined to be found with the
latter class. A friend who keeps two or thi'ee horses,
and who is an excellent judge of them, told us the
other daj', that when his apples began to fall in Sep-
tember he gave his horses no more grain, but substi-
tuted about a peck of apples each day ; that the horses
had continued to perform their work as they had be-
fore, af.d that they continued in good flesh and spirits,
and that while they enjoyed the apples highly as food,
tliey had every appearance of doing as well as they did
upon the grain.

Fed jadiciously to cows, why should they not have
a similar influence ? Byjud/ciouslg, we mean as grain
is fed, — as a rclishcr and vai'iety, but still as affording
valuable nutriment.

now TO RELIEVE CHOKED CATTLE.

Seeing a communication in your last showing a good
way to relieve choked cattle, I thought, for the benefit
of your numerous readers, I would send a remedy
that I have known for over twenty years. I have been

called upon to administer it several times during that
period, and have never known it to fail. In some in-
stances where all others have proved abortive, it has
given the desired relief.

Take a small quantity of powder, enough to load an
old-fashioned musket, do it up in some soft paper like
a cartridge, raise the animal's head, draw its tongue,
put down the cartridge as low as you can, so that the
creature will attempt to swallow. After a few minutes
let it move about, and soon the creature will be re-
lieved and no damage be done to it in any way, which
I have known done by the other remedy.

Wancick, Nov. 5, 1860. Hervey Barber.

WOMEN AND HARD WORK.

Permit another New Hampshire girl to say a few
words in your columns — not to complain of the hard
tasks of fiirmers' wives and daughters — though I am
glad the sul)ject has been introduced ; but to state
briefly a fact or two in my own experience.

I am one of those farmers' daughters who have com-
pleted a regular course of education ; of substantial
acquirements, rather than mere accomplishments. J
Many an hour have I spent at home upon preparatory
studies, while my hands were busily employed. When
at school my l)ills were promptly paid, nearly half by
myself; and I may safely say that had it not been for
my own exertions, I should now have only a common
education. Thus much has one farmer's daughter
been able to accomplish ; and I doubt not that many
others have done even more, while obtaining an edu-
cation.

I do not feel called upon at present to decide wheth-
er I will be a farmer's wife or not ; but, were I placed
in such a situation, I would endeavor to have good
books and papers (among v/hich should be the Neio
England Fanner;) and I think that almost any one
engaged in farming can afford a few of these for him- «
self and family. J

I hope your correspondent, "A. E. P.," will inform ^
farmers' daughters how to get money, rather a scarce
article among that class ; and also reveal the secret
spoken of, for the benefit of those, (myself included,)
who are not afraid of hard work, and will not refuse a
man merely because he is a farmer.

Oct., 1860. _ Sallie, ofX. II.

cows — fall feed — APPLES.

I wish to inquire of you, or of any who can tell me
through the Farmer, what ails my cows ? They had
l)een in rich after feed aliout two weeks, at which time
they all, four in number, dried up their milk full one-
half, in, perhaps, two or three days. They had been
put in the stable at night, and in the morning fed with
a few apples, each ; the ([uautity did not exceed eight
quarts to a cow. Some of my neighl)ors think that
the apples did the mischief; but I have been in the
practice of feeding my cows with apples, when I have
had them, and thought I knew how to do it, as the
results have always been favorable. Please give your
opinion of the cause of the evil, and also name a rem-
edy, if you know of one, and olilige,

Snow's Store, Vt., Nov. 5, 18C0. Adin Bugbee.

"WHEAT IN WARWICK, MASS.

Sowed 30 qts. of wheat on 75 rods of ground, April
24, and sowed broadcast three barrels of wood ashes.
May 22. No other manure the present year. Planted
with corn and manured highly last year. Reaped Aug.
16 and 17, rather green, 390 bundles. Threshed 50
bundles Aug. 24, yielding 2 bushels, 2 qts. Making liy
estimation on the piece, 16^2 bushels, or 35 'i bushels
to the acre. Hervey Barber.

Wanoick, Sept. 9, 1860.

P. S. Since the above I have, with Hill's threshing
machine, threshed the remainder and winnowed up
13^3 bushels of No. 1 wheat and Vi bushels of No. 2.
Making 16 7-8 Inishels in all.

Remarks. — This wheat was raised on the hard,
rocky soil of Warwick, where it is somewhat expen-
sive getting in a crop, — but it is a soil upon which
wheat generally flourishes well.

1860.

NEW ENGLAXD FARMER.

573

LAYING OUT GROUNDS NEAR THE HOUSE.

I have a small piece of land in front of ray house
that I wish to lay out for a front yard. I want to lay
it out handsomely, and I am not used to such business,
nor is there any one here who docs understand laying
out grounds in good shape. I hope you will assist me
through the Farmer. e. h. p.

Naugatuck, Conn., 1860.

Remarks. — Send to "Luther Tucker & Son, Alba-
ny, N. Y.," for a volume of their Illustrated Rural
Register, in which you will find just what you want.

REMEDY FOR CHOKED CATTLE.

As soon as you discover that the creature is choked,
take hold of the windpipe, below the potato, or what-
ever it is, with both hands, having one thumb on each
side, and work out. If that fail,-, take a horseshoe and
put into the mouth to hold it open, then mm the hand
down the throat and take it out.

I knew an ox once that was choked with a potato to
throw it out by giving him two or three spoonfuls of
Cayenne pepper. C. M. Fisher.

Cahot, Vt., Nov. 5, 1860.

A LARGE CALF.

Mr. Benjamin H. Wilson, of Bristol, R. I., has a
bull calf born on the 8th of April, which now weighs
nearly 800 1I)S. At the age of four months it weighed
500 lbs.; at five months 595 lbs.; at six months 705
lbs. It is half Devonshire and half Durham, is of a
dark red color, well proportioned, and in every way a
very splendid animal.

THE CLOSE OF THE YEAB.

In the rapid march of Time, another of those
periods defined as a year has nearly run out its
last sands. The Seasons have succeeded each oth-
er in their regular order, bringing variety, beauty,
and unnumbered blessings to us with them. They
have brought the snow and rain and stormy
wind, as well as gentle airs, refreshing dews and
the grateful and all-invigorating sunshine. Each
season has performed its part in the wonderful
operations of Nature, filling the earth with glad-
ness, crowning it with beautiful objects for our
investigation and admiration, and providing every
needful thing for the teeming, animated life that
seeks support from her generous bosom.

No influences assigned to these seasons have
been neglected, or left in an unfinished condition.
If there were apparent defects in the short or un-
ripened crops of some localities, — they vvere de-
fects in our own imperfect vision only, and not in
the Master Mind that controls and regulates them
all. Perhaps a closer investigation of the laws of
nature, and a more skilful management of the
soils under our care, might have given a more
gratifying result to our labors, and if so, it goes to
show what yet remains to be done on our part to
make the earth yield her full increase. Nature is
certainly true to all the duties assigned her, what-
ever defects may appear in man.

Summer and Autumn have passed away. The
crops of the farm have been perfected and gath-
ered in. The leaves have faded and fallen, and
now float on the breeze, strew the ground, or are

collected under fences and in corners whei-e they
will gradually decay. How emblematic of life !
"Our earth at one season is clad in her beautiful
dress of living green ; the bright rays of a vernal
sun enrich, expand and beautify every scene in
creation. The soft warm air is filled with music,
sunshine and perfume ; and all nature shines out
in unrivalled beauty and splendor. But the with-
ering breath of a few revolving months robs the
fields of their blooming verdure and loveliness,
the forests and trees of their magnificent foliage
and causes the green-clad earth 'to lay her glory
by' until the time shall come for the reproduction
of flowers and plants, upon the face of nature.
Change and decay are unfadingly impressed upon •
all things earthly. The eye lingers not upon an
object, however beautiful and lovely now, but
what the breath of Time shall some day mar or
efface it."

"Where now are all the blossoms fair,

Flowers of the sunuy gleam,
Which grew profusely everywhere

Along the forest stream ?
Ah ! their brief summer day is o'er ;
In these wild dells they bioom no more 1

"Is not our day of life as brief?

Do we not pass as soon away ?
Bsholdest thDuyon falling leaf,

Traced with the lines of dull decay?
Such is our life — thus do we fade.
And falling, mingle with the dead."

Truly such is our life ; the bloom of childhood,
the freshness of youth, the vigor of manhood,
the decay of age, and then the earthly drama is
closed !

But — thoughtful reader — is not this in exact
accordance with the other operations of nature,
and is there in it any cause for sadness or alarm ?
If we have rightly improved the past, this is but
the falling of the leaf, or the dropping of the
seed, to germinate again and come forth in a new
and higher life, and instead of oppressing us with
sadness, should be received as we welcome the
changing seasons, or the ripened harvests, with
grateful confidence and love. The Father has or-
dained this change in us, as our highest good ; it
is our own imperfection that gives it a seeming
evil.

Surrounded with so many manifestations of
the Father's wisdom and love, as the farmer al-
ways is, he, of all men, should be filled with an
enlarged faith and confiding trust, — and in this
spirit he should sow and gather in his harvests,
and set an example to the world of an unquench-
able love and perfect obedience to the divine
will. He cannot be a good farmer, or husband, or
father, who is not a good man ; and though his
acres teem with fertility — and herds fill his stalls,
— though sons and daughters grow up about him
as the cedars upon Lebanon, he cannot be a true

574

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

Dec.

farmer and citizen if the love of God be not in
his heart.

There is but one thing to mourn over and be
sad about in life, — and that is, the neglect of duty !
All else is in the hands of Him who knows bet-
ter than ourselves what is best for us, and will or-
der ever'y thing for our good. Our prayer should
be, —

'•What conscience dictates to be done,

Or warns us not to do,
This, teach us more than Hell to shun,

That, more than Heaven pursue."

Our life, to be a happy one, must be made up
of sweet affections and noble, voluntary actions
and aims. We must not be content with leaving
the world no better than we found it, but beauti-
fy the earth with well-directed industry and skill,
and make it "as the garden of the Lord," better
because we have lived in it and wrought upon it.
And while we study to improve the soil, we must
strive to elevate the mind by our daily walk and
conversation ; impress it with hopeful and cheer-
ful thoughts, and direct it into itself to find there
"the kingdom of heaven." Our actions will be
the fruits of our life by which we shall be judged.

"Action is life ! — 'tis the still water falleth !

Inaction ever despairolh — bcwaileth !

Keep the watch round, for (he dark rust assaileth.
Flowers droop and die in the stillness of noon !

Action is glory ! — the flying cloud lightens !

Only the waving wing changes and brightens !

Inaction only the dark future frightens !
Play the sweet keys would'st thou keep them in tune."

This, fellow-pilgrim, is our lay sermon for you
at the out-going of the year. We do not regret
its departure, because it has done all that it was
created to do. Let us do the same, and our de-
parture will be as consistent and peaceful as that
of the year One Thousand Eight Hundred and
Sixty.

Fleshy BUT not Fat.— In speaking of a "fully
fatted animal" that was exhibited at the late State
fair of the Agricultural Society of Michigan, the
Farmer says :

There is a very great difference between an an-
imal in full flesh and one perfectly fat, and yet
there are many persons who have handled cattle
all their lives, and who know so little about
stock that they are entirely ignorant as to what a
good, ripe, fat animal means, but are quite likely
to pronounce a well fleshed ox fat, when in reality
he has only rounded up his muscle preparatory to
laying on a good coating of fat.

Sand for Horses' Beds.— Mr. Small, of Dun-
dalk, a veterinary surgeon of considerable expe-
rience, states that sand is not only an excellent
substitute for straw for horses' beds, but superior
to straw, as the sand does not heat, and saves
the hoofs of the horses. He states that sand is
exclusively used for horses' beds in his reposito-
ry.— Valley Farmer.

For the New England Farmer.
EGYPTIAN COBTsT.

Mr. Editor : — Having seen Mr. Crandall's no-
tice in your valuable pa])cr, setting forth the won-
derful properties of the Egyptian corn, and being
anxious to test the value of every thing that
claims to tend to the advancement of agricultural
matters, 1 mailed to him one dollar, and in due
time received a small package containing 125 ker-
nels of the corn, with directions for planting, hoe-
ing, &c., all post-paid. On the 14th day of May
I planted 120 kernels, and in six or eight days
31 of these shot forth their puny stalks ; and on
the 1st day of July, the remaining five kernels
were planted, but only one of them came. The 32
stalks were watched and tended with the utmost
care, according to the directions, as near as pos-
sible ; and on the 28th of September, the corn
was harvested, though in a perfectly green state ;
the stalk planted in July havingjust "silked out."
Taking the best hill for a sample, there were six
stalks, all apparently from one kernel. On these
were fourteen ears, from two to five inches long,
that had corn on them, but not filled out over the
end, nor ripe. Besides these, there were fifteen
ears set and silked, but no corn. I am confident
the corn cannot be profitably raised in New Eng-
land, either for the corn or the fodder, for the
stalk is hard, wiry, and of a waddy texture, and
wholly unfit for anv kind of stock.

Pomfret, Vt., Oct. 29. Samuel S. Doton.

Remarks. — See article below.

For the New England Farmer.
EGYPTIAN" COElSr AGAIN.

1 saw an advertisement in your paper last May,
recommending Egyptian corn, and sent one dol-
lar to Mr, Grand all for some of it. He sent me
128 kernels which I planted the ISth day of May
and about one-sixth of it came up. I got one cob
and a silk, and no corn. My other corn got
ripe. 1 once thought your paper came from the
house of prayer, but I am afraid it has turned in-
to a den of thieves. G. w. P.

Tyson Furnace, Vt., 1860.

Rejlvrks. — This will answer for the Egyptian
corn. The reports to us are all of the same char-
acter. It was "a sell," as the "boys" call it, and
no mistake. We do not intend to publish any
thing, even as an advertisement, that is not open,
fair and honorable — and there was no reason ap-
parent why we should distrust the fairness of Mr.
Crandall's advertisement. We shall be on our
guard in the future, and hope the reader will. He
must remember, however, that because we publish
an advertisement or a communication, we do not
endorse its sentiments. We sometimes publish
both that we have no faith in whatever. A news-
paper, under certain conditions, is a medium for
the public voice, and an editor does not always
feel bound to notice what he may consider erro-
neous, but leave it for the criticisms or commen-
dations of others.

1860.

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

575

THAT TKACK.

The Editor of the Homestead attended the late
Fair of the New London County Society. The
association has leased twenty acres of ground, near
the city of Norwich, for its annual exhibitions,
and, among other fixtures, has prepared an excel-
lent half-mile track. The contemplation of this
level, wide and well rolled highway must have
left the most pleasing impressions on the mind of
the sedate Editor of the Homestead ; for he writes
out an account of the show, in which we find such
facetious reflections on the future of this "circu-
lar show ground" as the following :

It is furnished with a judges' stand, and a spa-
cious amphitheatre of seats where farmers' wives
and daughters, and genteel ladies from the cities,
can look on and see the sport of fast horses and
faster men. We should think it was a race-course
if it was in any other place, and if running horses
for money was in fashion. But appearances are
deceitful. Sometimes they mean a good deal more,
and sometimes a good deal less than they ought to.

Some have fears that this track or circular show
ground will degenerate into a race course ; that if
it do not become such at the fairs, it will be used
for such purposes on other occasions. Here it is
in the neighborhood of a city, and the Society
has no use for it beyond three days in the year.
It is so good a track and so handy, why should
not other people have the benefit of it ? But such
fears are probably a little old-fogyish.

There are others who are afraid that the interest
of the multitudes who come up to the farmers' an-
niversary will be all concentrated upon the track,
and the fair will become mainly an annual horse
fair ; that if the horse is introduced every half day
in the exhibition, not much else will be seen but
horse, that the v/omen and children will hear
nothing but horse talk, and will go home to talk
and di'eam of horses for a month after the fair ;
that the mothers will be naming their babies after
fast horses, and the family Bibles will be lit up
with blazonry of modern horse nomenclature ; as
for example, Flora Temple Smith, born Oct. 10th,
I860— Putchen Smith, Nov. 1st, 1861.

Now, ye gentlemen of the old school, please
put off your spectacles, and do not see too much.
We will say a word in behalf of the management.
There may be some danger of the calamities you
imagine, but they can be guarded against. Great-
er speed is what is wanted in all domestic animals,
including man, and the track can be so used that
it will result in quickening the pace not only of
horses, but of all Now London County. Perhaps
you have overlooked in the programme a foot-race,
with a prize of ten dollars for the greatest human
.speed. This is classic, and as you love the good
I'old times, the managers have brought something
from heathen Greece for your entertainment. ]VIen
and ambitious youth emulous of fame and an X
mark are to scour the track promiscuously. Yo'i
have often complained of Bill's laziness, and
scolded Seth as a slow-moulded blockhead. Here
is something that will take the mould out of them,
and limber their joints. We want nimbler feet
on the farm, after the plow, after the cart, after
the cows, everywhere, and there is nothing like
exercise to make perfect. The track is not simply

to perfect the speed of horses, but of men and

other animals.

Probably another year the programme will be
varied somewhat, and be made still more i)ractical.
We might have a race with loaded wheelbarrows,
say ten dollars to the highest speed in wheelbar-
row, loaded with three hundred pounds of dirt,
best two in three, half mile heats. This would
bring out the Michaels and the Patricks, and
would tend to quicken the pace of all who use
wheelbarrows, in all parts of the county.

Then we need a faster gait in cows, especially
in those that run in poor pastures, where they
have to walk far to get their food. Now many a
cow is not able to walk far enough in a day to get
a full stomach, and does not make the milk or
butter she would with a higher speed. Perhaps
we shall have a premium on a cow race, best three
in five.

Then cats are a neglected class of domestic
stock, that need to be improved. Many a mouser
now just misses her prey for lack of a little higher
speed, and the farmers' cellars and corn-cribs suf-
fer by reason of the slow gait of cats. If they could
be brought up to a 2.40 speed it would be the sal-
vation of many a grain bin and root cellar. Thou-
sands of dollars are sacrificed every year to a slow
moulded race of cats. Shall we have a cat race ?

Indeed, there is hardly an animal upon the farm
that does not need rubbing up, and that may not
be improved by a judicious use of this track.
Many a hen brings up a lean, half-starved brood
of chickens, for want of a higher activity in
scratching. Shall we not have a hen race, in
which the delinquent biddies shall be made to
come up to the scratcJi'?

So you see, gentlemen of the old school, that
your fears about this track's running away with
the Society are utterly groundless. It is designed
to bring up universal nature, including yourselves,
to a higher speed.

Raising Cotton and Corn. — A correspondent
of the Southern Bural Gentleman, in an article
advocating a greater diversity of agricultural
products at the South, makes the following state-
ment :

"I was told by a planter this summer, that he
had sold twenty-one bales of his last year's crop
for $170 nett. This cotton grew on about twen-
ty-one acres of the best land in the world, and land
that would have produced sixty bushels of corn
per acre with the same culture that was bestowed
upon it while in cotton, could have been saved
with one-fourth the labor that it took to save the
cotton; and would have amounted to 1260 bush-
els, or $1260, and that at home and in the crib."

Agricultural Meteorology. — The Smith-
sonian Institution is preparing, by order of Con-
gress, a most interesting report on agricultural
meteorology, which will be a welcome boon to our
farmers. Besides meteorological statistics, col-
lected during the last ten years at nearly four hun-
dred stations, it will contain the arrival and de-
parture of birds, fishes, and other migratory ani-
mals, and also the time of planting and harvesting
of crops, etc., at different parts of the United
States.

676

NEW ENGLAND FARMER.

Dec.

A NEW VOIiUME.
Sustained and cheered by the steady patronage
of the industrious and intelligent farmers of the
country, — but chiefly of New England — and es-
sentially aided by the mechanic, inventor, mer-
chant and professional man, and especially by
clergymen in the latter class, — we shall enter up-
on the Sixteenth volume of the Weekly Neiv
England Farmer, and the Thirteenth of the
Monthly, with a determination that it shall keep
pace with the progress of the age, and within the
scope of its aims, in whatever will tend to inter-
est or be of pecuniary value to its readers.

It shall be printed upon good paper and a large,
fair type, so that it shall not discredit the noble
art of printing, and so that it may be read by
eyes older than they were last year, and do them
no harm.

It shall be issued promptly, so that it shall be
a constant and reliable visitor, not a spasmodic
one, coming just as you are sitting down to din-
ner, when you least expected it, and when your
usual leisure hour has passed that you could have
devoted to it.

It shall contain in a condensed form, notices of
all the important general news of the world that
shall reach our shores, in the Weekly form, and
of the agricultural in the Monthly.

Each of the forms shall be illustrated with such
engravings as will be of practical value to the
reader in his business of life, and not introduced
merely as embellishments to please the eye. Skil-
ful designers and artists have already been en-
gaged to furnish them, and they will bo scattered
through the pages of the coming volume.

The attentive reader has already observed that
very little has been given in the form of essays,
or extended articles upon old practices or new
theories, — the editor believing that his readers
are mostly engaged in the active business of life,
and prefer brief thoughts and words, just as they
spring from other active minds, and that the
comparatively few who would like to have sub-
jects more thoroughly discussed, can readily find
all they want in the excellent agricultural books
that have now become quite common.

The favors of correspondents have heretofore
been so numerous that our space has been mainly
occupied with them, so that we have not availed
ourselves of the excellent articles in our exchange

papers to such an extent as we have often desired
to do. Still, every exchange paper is carefully
examined, and we believe there is not one upon
our list that has not been extracted from, and
proper credit given it, during the year now clos-
ing.

We desire to express our thanks and obliga-
tions to correspondents for their frequent and val-
uable articles, and to ask a continuance of them.
The benefits are not ours alone, for whoever writes
carefully upon a subject not only impresses what
he writes m.ore firmly upon his mind, — but the
writing leads to a closer thought and investiga-
tion, and, consequently, to a better understanding
of the matter under consideration.

We hope farmers, and especially young men,
will write often, and will not wait until they think
they can give a finer turn to a period. We want
the ideas, and will cheerfully correct any inaccu-
racies of expression that may occur through haste,
or a want of practice in composing.

Finally, we mean to be up in the morning, and
keep along as closely as possible with whatever
seems to be sound progress in the art of cultivat-
ing the soil, and lay it before the reader while it
is fresh and new. We have no "hobby" or "Ex-
press pony" to ride — nothing of the kind : our
interest is your interest, and yours are ours, — so
let us amble along through the pleasant journey
together, and pluck flowers, taste fruits, drink at
the crystal brooks, and make the world a happier
and better one that we have lived and labored in
it in the year Eighteen Hundred Sixty-One !

Wish 'twas True of all of Them. — Col. J
F. IT. Claiborne closes a letter to the Southern
Rural Oentleman, written in New York, with the
annexed paragraph, a compliment to which some
"northern farmers" we are sure will feel that they
are not entitled :

In farm houses and equipments the northern
farmers are far ahead of us. Their work horses
are kept like carriage horses, well fed, well cur-
ried three times a day, covered with sweat-cloths
the moment they stop work, and carefully littered
and stalled. Nearly the same care is taken with
their oxen and cows. Even their choice hogs are
nicely curried down. Their farming implements
are kept in bettor order, and always carefully
cleaned before being put away. Their rule is, "a
place for everything and everything in its place."

ftBl8

Internet Archive Audio

Featured

Top

Images

Featured

Top

Software

Featured

Top

Books

Featured

Top

Video

Featured

Top

Mobile Apps

Browser Extensions

Archive-It Subscription

Save Page Now

Full text of "The New England farmer"

See other formats